Totoka River Keep running for the sink,

Visala was beginning to believe that nobody was coming for her. She had spent days calling and waiting, waiting and calling with no response. Now she was met with a river, and left on her own she could go no further. There was no way of knowing how deep it was, how fast the current was, what was on the other side.

So she was made to wait once more.

Sat down on pale legs, the small woman lifted her head howled. Should she truly be a prophet, should her parents have been truthful, surely her god would not leave her to die. Then again, that seed of doubt was beginning to bloom. Maybe that man who guided her to the coast had been right.

Maybe she was cursed to die.

Days had passed, and Sam had stuck to the coast despite being a son of the forest. There was something charming about the undrinkable water and the useless substrate called sand, where nothing grew and upon which skittered at least one emotionally unsupportive crab.

Sam's moping had progressed to aimless wandering in search of food. Small game had eluded him all day, and it was only out of sheer desperation that he had stuck his paws in Totoka River and discovered a hidden talent for fishing.

He was crunching his  way through a scaly snack when a howl sounded nearby - a summoning sound, in a voice that seemed familiar. Sam's copper-backed ears twitched. Ghost? It hurt his heart to think that she might still be searching for her friends. She would be starving by now. Ravenous, even.

Shit.

Sam cleared his throat, and sent a response down the river.

A voice comes, and it sends her searching.

Searching, searching, searching.

A scent was close, familiar but dulled by the water so close by and the salty sea. She howled once more, tired but clinging to the thought that this could be one of her followers of Blackwater. Who's there? The distress in her voice is clear when she calls out. She needs it to be a sibling or a cousin.

She wants it to be Nayavanti.

It was definitely the ghost. Sam recognized her tapered ears from afar, and the strange, meandering shuffle of the blind. They hadn't found her, then. 

Sam snatched his half-eaten fish from the ground and trotted quickly in her direction - knowing that she was blind but forgetting the implications. The freshly minted fisherman was close enough to lunge at when he finally said "Eeth Tham" through a mouthful of lunch. Had he ever introduced himself?

One howl split the air; it was like a beacon, a calling of lost souls, and Solenya couldn't help but gravitate towards it. It was her duty to collect the lost and broken like she was a shepherd to a flock. She must seek the forlorn lamb.

As she drew closer, another call echoed the other. Her ears perked forward, catching the way it sounded familiar in its response, almost as if it were saying, here I am! Her lips remained close, she would not join their voices. Not yet.

Another howl drifted to her on the wind, the notes similar to the first. Solenya picked up her pace, her stride lengthening into a sprint.

Coming upon the river, she stood at its banks to survey her surroundings. On the other side, two wolves stood out to her: one with a fish in their mouth, the other seeming lost and out of sorts.

Were they sick?

She called over the sounds of the river, just barely able to even hear herself. Are you both alright?

A muffled voice responds, and she recognizes it to be her non-believer guide. Had she managed to fall back north?

She couldn't remember if they had ever exchanged name's. She doubted it given she was unwilling to share her own; though if she was not found soon, maybe she would need to give that up. She wasn't much of a prophet without those willing to listen to her, anyways.

Visala had only taken half a step to him when another voice joined them, feminine and kind, but nonetheless not one she recognized. Almost out of pure habit she did not respond, waiting for the guide to speak in her place.

She seemed to recognize his voice, but before the ghost could take more than a step towards him, another called from across the river. Judging by Visala's silence, it was not a sibling or friend come to claim her.

"You can have this," Sam told the blind wolf, dropping the party end of his fish at her feet. To the wolf on the other side of the water, he shouted, "WE'RE FINE. SHE'S JUST.." Blind? Doomed? "WE NEED SANCTUARY. " A tad dramatic, but true in essence - they both needed a solid meal, and Visala needed to not be wandering around the wilds without eyes.

The one with the fish answered, while the other still remained lost and despondent. They asked for sanctuary and she could give them that. However, they needed to cross the river to come with her--but, where? Her head swiveled, eyes searching for anywhere they could cross safely. Solenya worried for the smaller of the pair; if the river had a current, which it seemed like that was a high possibility, they could be swept out to the tumbling ocean.

That would not bode well.

She called out to them once more, nodding up river. Follow it inland. Find a narrow part of the river, or something to use to cross safely! I don't know the strength of this river, but swimming it wouldn't be a wise choice.

Sam offered up a fish which she was eager to lean down for a bite of, tensing momentarily as he shouted to the stranger across the river.

She heard the woman say they needed to go inland, an idea which Visala found completely unappealing. She feared that she would lose her way to the coast once more, or miss someone finally responding to her calls.

But, she needed to cross. Swallowing her portion, she lifted her head to Sam once more. Will you take me, just one more time? She was beginning to feel a bit guilty for using him as a walking stick.

Feel free to play out the crossing! Sam will definitely try to rescue anyone that falls in. I rolled for him and he avoided disaster, lucky thing

Inland. Narrow. Cross. He could do that. Very briefly, he considered letting the current take Visala away - all it would take was a nudge, and then he could legitimately add murder to his CV. His mistress would be impressed by that. Maybe. He had a lot to make up for.

But Visala was so small and sad and asking very nicely for help, and Sam was, well, a helper. As hard as he tried to say ha, no, you're on your own, the only words that came out were "This," and "way." He could only hope that the ghost turned out to be some kind of mafia boss. Or a demon. Curse his good nature.

After a short walk and some back and forth with the stranger across the river, they settled on a place to ford the river. Sam did not rate their chances. The path was rocky and the water was wild, but it was this or nothing. "If she has a pack, we're joining them. No buts," Sam told his charge. "You need real food and rest and.. and you kind of smell." Sam flexed his toes into the damp earth and looked toward the grey silhouette on the other side of the river. At a distance, she reminded him of Gorgon, and the thought mixed a little anger into the adrenaline smoothie his body was preparing to serve up. "If she's not into the blind thing, we'll say you're magic. Like to tried to tell me. I'll play along this time and act all impressed that you listen, wowwww." He didn’t have to like helping.

She watched the male pad himself up and down the shoreline before finally following him up river to where he now stood. His gaze on her caused her to tilt her head in question. Did he recognize her from somewhere? Did she have something on her face? At this point, it was not her priority of worries, so she turned her own gaze from his to eye the rocky path that connected her side to theirs. It was timed perfectly, for he began speaking to the impish female.

If it were not for the angry river water, the path would be relatively easy, each stone surface flat enough to land on safely. However, the water continued to wet the rocks and made them slippery, spelling trouble for the two needing to cross. 

But, it was the only way and they would have to make do. She bit her lip, her thoughts racing. What could she possibly do to make this easier? Safer? She turned in the direction of the sea’s coast, her eyes landing on the bundles of kelp scattered on the shore line. Could they be strong enough to hold onto?

Solenya darted down towards the closest bunch, throwing words over her shoulder. These might be useful! She gathered them in her mouth, the taste of them a mixture of salt and sand, returning back to the rocky path.

He gave in.

Visala couldn't understand what was leaving her so nervous, enough for her fur itself to practically be clinging to Sam for her. Maybe she just wasn't as good at being alone as she thought; it was tough. She knew that he or the stranger could snap her like a twig whenever they so pleased, toss her into the river and let her float away. Maybe her siblings could have to, should they not have believed in divine punishment.

What does it matter if she doesn't like the blind? She spoke in return, tone rather hushed. I don't need to be 'magic', you just need to overpower her. Get her respect.. or enough fear for her to catch a few crabs. After all it didn't seem like the stranger was in company, so if she gave them trouble why not take over the territory for a day? Not that she really knew if Sam would actually be able to overpower her. It wasn't quite nice, but most things aren't.

Hearing the woman yelling about something, she frowned as she searched her tone for context. What has she found?

Sam blinked down at his pint-sized companion, pressed close to his shoulder and staring at nothing as she spoke. For someone missing an entire sense, she certainly had a lot of opinions about how the situation ought to go. He couldn't help but approve of her suggestion that he 'just' fight on her behalf – perhaps Sobeille was not the only villain in town. It wouldn't serve them, though. They needed to eat.

"I like your style, but we're going the friendly route. We need to hunt. Unless you want to eat her..." Sam gave his head a rough shake. That was a little too evil. He took a few steps into the rushing water as tje stranger on the other side rushed off, feeling his toes splay on the slippery shelf of rock that would be their bridge to dinner.  When four out of four paws were under water, he tickled the tip of Visala's nose with his tail. "I think you might need up grab on.  GENTLY. She's holding out.." He squinted. "Some brown long plant? LOOKS FLIMSY?" he shouted, "WE'LL WALK NOW. UH.. CATCH US IF WE FALL,  I GUESS." The 'how' of it was a matter for later.

She watched them talking on the other side, the rushing waters drowning out any sound. Solenya’s slender legs were deceiving; they were just as strong as someone more stocky and shorter than she thanks to her father’s push as a young, weed of a girl. The waters were cold and quick, slightly biting at the skin of her legs as she submerged some of herself, the kelp still clutched in her jaws.

The male had yelled to her that they would begin and she could only nod in acknowledgment, her eyes glued to the two before her. Outwardly, Solenya was the image of calm and collected, but inside her nerves burned with fear in having to watch the two slip and meet their end. If their steps were not careful, they would slip into the waters and its current would bring them down the rest of the river and out to sea.

She waited, breath held.

Sam insisted they remain friendly, and given she herself couldn't do much to fight Visala wouldn't protest. Catch me a crab after anyways. She insisted.

The male moved forward to continue their journey to the other side, ordering her to hold on. Soft-mouthed as a retriever, she took hold of his tail and began to inch forward. She could feel the slippery rocks, the water passing through them, and slowly she grew more confident.

If she could swim in the sea, she could manage this.

Every step was a mile. The river roared in his ears, and Visala's very gentle grip on his tail made him nervous. She was one slip away from clamping down – adult teeth and bite strength on his barely skin-covered bone.

Sam refocused his gaze on their goal. As they closed in and her face became clearer, it looked to Sam like she was even more nervous than he was. Did she know something? His legs felt suddenly unsteady. They were feet away. A mere handful of steps.

Leaving this open for either of you to roll a dice and have one or both wolves fall into the water - if you want! Or have them arrive safely :D Up to you.

SAFE! Feel free to PP Solenya’s throw of kelp if you’d like!

Solenya’s heart beat more rapidly with each careful step made. Her eyes glued to the two, ready to spring into action if needed. The kelp remained clutched in her mouth, its salty taste and gritty texture from sitting in the sand made her close to gagging, but she powered through it. Barely.

They were so close, only a few more steps and they were going to be safe. As a precaution, she dropped the sea rope, stepping on one end to secure it enough for her to throw the other when either were ready to catch it.

I'm not going to roll this time! I'm hoping to wrap this thread up so I know where Visala is headed next <3

How close were they to the other shore? Was it safe to breathe again?

She kept her grip as gentle as she could, depsite the tension coursing through the rest of her body. Sam's tail seemed soft, pleasant to the touch and a slightly dirty smell she found herself enjoying. It would be a shame if she damaged it at all.

In the end, the stranger did not need to throw her rope. The second Sam's front paws hit dry land, he turned himself into a pretzel in order to seize Visala by the skin of her neck and pull her ashore – a little roughly, for which he whispered "Sorry." Somehow, she did not drop his tail.

They took a few moments to breathe before Sam introduced himself to the tall, grey female as "Sam" and the wolf holding his tail as "And this is my friend, Ghost." Whatever her actual name was, the nickname would stick.

He did not make any grand claims about Visala's magic or what an asset it was to be blind (a hard sell). Sam was exhausted, tired to the bone,  and hoped Solenya would see that they were neither lame nor covered in ticks and think wow! What a catch! Still, he was very careful to sound suitably meek when he asked: "So how about that sanctuary?" Visala's mouth was still warm on his tail. It was kind of nice. 

Slight Visala PP which we can totally skip. How about we make this the last post from me and fade in on Solenya giving them some back story as the arrive at The Sentinels in a new thread?