Totoka River to carry adolescent as an atlas

@Silas.

Qilaq hadn't been fond of the first time she left pack boundaries. There had been something in the back of her mind she couldn't reach, telling her she wasn't meant to be out, but it had equally opened up something she didn't know she had. She never much enjoyed being far from Amayo or Appeh but the former has been too busy to spend time with her and the latter, she can't even fathom an excuse. It is with a heavy sigh, in the middle of the day, she decides to test her luck.

If she could remember her life prior to blackrock, perhaps this would have seemed familiar. Nemesis had left the den to give birth, forgetting her makeshift daughter, and she'd wandered a little too far.

The worry of travel is set aside as she moves along the sandy beaches. It is familiar enough, without scent, that gives her enough comfort to go as far as she's gone. The smells around her are bland and neutral and random and not one reminds her where she is. Once she reaches the river, a source she doesn't recall, she realizes she's no longer in or around the territory. Her feet are tired and the rest of her is weary and she steps into the cold water as it soaks into her fur. With the days getting colder, she doesn't quite realize her mistake and eventually has all four legs with water to her knees and elbows, wading through the river.

When loitering around the willows finally started to feel like too much, he ranged out with a series of hesitations on him -- as per his normal. But, in time, he got moving, and tracking gave him more to pay attention to than his sorrows. He went with the flow of it, and steadily, this carried him further out across the fields then skirted around the base of the ridge. Somewhere nearby there, he managed to fall a small rabbit and once there, he realized the distance he'd covered. A wave of new hesitation almost sent him back towards home, but his heart ached at the thought of what all would await him there: only more time watching over his injured sister, avoiding the pack's whelps, and flying under the radar best he could. Uncharacteristic for the homebody Ostrega, he steeled and ranged on further.

This led him to a river, and by then, his thirst was growing mighty. So consumed in the want to slake it, he'd almost entirely overlooked the dark wolf further downstream in the waters. By the time he did notice any company, he was already with his front paws submerged and lowering his muzzle to the unfamiliar river.. but, still watching the other once he saw her. He sniffed carefully -- although mostly all he smelled was the waters and unfamiliar places.

Silas lapped his tongue but a few times before his interest in it waned swiftly. He swallowed while wondering how to engage her, so very much of a stranger to him, and what she thought of him being here, potentially intruding. "Hey..?" he settled on, halfway calling out to make sure she could hear without him having to get any closer yet, lamely enough.

Qilaq lingers a little too long in the water and feels the chill reach her bones. Her muscles rattle beneath her pelt and she takes a few steps—which only puts her deeper in the river—further in. She doesn’t notice the wolf up ahead the bank as she loses her foot once but she doesn’t panic, quickly regaining her balance as she’s shoved forward and she quickly crawls back out to the other side. His hey goes unnoticed as she shivers, trying to stand on solid ground so that she may shake out the cold from her fur.

When she finally spots him, having finished shaking as much water as possible, her fur a disheveled mess, she quietly gasps in surprise. Having been concerned with getting to the other side, she didn’t think about getting back from where she started. Her head turns in that direction, a few heavy breaths and a nervous panting, despite being frozen, she shuffles a few steps in the direction of the other.

He felt kind of bad for watching her make her way, and glanced away every few breaths when he felt too nervous just peering so carefully and not knowing who she even was or what it was she was doing here. When she spotted him back, he felt more intrusive and swallowed nervously, but swished his tail tight against his legs to show that he meant no harm.

Since she didn't immediately get away from him and he stayed put, too anxious to really do anything about it except gawk when she stepped a bit closer to him. She was awfully small. Maybe the dampness made it worse. Wasn't she terribly cold? He almost shivered on her behalf. Seeing her by herself away from a pack pinged as odd to the forest boy but since he almost never left himself, this was just how he thought it was. "Where.." his voice came out smaller than he meant, so he stopped to gather it up again. "Where are you from..?" he asked, ears falling back as he rushed out the words making it obvious that his meeting skills were very pitiful. Nothing here smelled like anything he knew.

It isn’t long before the cold really settles and sinks through her fur, registering just how cold she is. She hadn’t planned what she was going to do once she’d gotten to the other side but here she stands with a stranger (but his features are young enough that she does not shy away). A little hunched up, she closes the distance again but she does not answer with anything more than a point of her nose across the river. Qilaq begins to shiver then, trembling all the way to her toes, and a beat later she takes a step back and shakes out her fur. Water flies every which way, perhaps even splashing her friend, but as she steadies herself once more, she closes the distance between them.

He tried to understand, and thought that maybe he did in part. But it was hesitantly that he signaled some agreement, though his ears swung at her awfully fast when she moved closer. Silas still felt nervous about this. He didn't meet strangers -- and especially not shivering little black-furred ones like her? He didn't know what to do.

Silas shied away when she shook, squinting and hoping he wouldn't get too sprinkled. He gaped silently, still feeling as unsure as before despite the seconds ticking by. "U..uh," he grunted, then resigned to needing to shake his own fur too, although to far less of an effect. "I'm Silas," he offered next with his ears splaying and a look of concern. He reaches a little closer himself by just a step, but he hopes she'll dry the rest of the way quickly (since he doesn't think he can really help the matter); it's pretty cold for being damp.

Qilaq wrinkles her nose a little as he introduces himself. It doesn’t seem to be he’s so sure about her and she knits together as she tries to figure out what’s wrong. Something lingers on the tip of her tongue before she snaps her jaws shit, teeth chattering together. Every muscle tenses once she realizes how cold she is. Her attention moves to something else, leaving behind his discomfort so she can shake out her fur one more time—disregarding how close he is to her this time—and awkwardly steps until she finally settles her rump on the ground.

“I-I-I—” she stammers, ears back against her head. Qilaq finds herself unable to formulate words and eventually, lowers all the way to the ground and curl her feet into her chest in hopes to begin her reheating.

Wariness, curiosity, and a little extra of his personal brand of perpetual worry blend oddly, and Silas hopes this isn't bothering her. He wonders if she can even discern his discomfort, or if he can fake it decently enough to not be as awkward as he truly, honestly, feels. But as graceless as his efforts to socialize are, he is still learning in bits and pieces. Worth nothing is that he never really seems to get words out of her for answers. He tries to think of a new approach but he doesn't know how to begin.

When she curled up in a little ball on the ground, he peered on with a creeping sense of understanding and small frown. Next, he gestured with his snout at the space beside her. "Can I.." he began, tightening his jawline before he could speak on; this wouldn't be anything to offer if she were a packmate. Used to bedding down in the Crook and occasionally mooching warmth from others when needed, he did know it worked. "..sit next to you..?" He fluffed up his relatively dense and mostly-dry furs to show his intentions somewhat -- maybe. Silas wouldn't blame her if she'd rather he just go away. But he'd feel badly about leaving a cold girl all alone like that.