Big Salmon Lake You're gonna need a bigger boat

@Luke, maybe? :)

She could hardly believe this was Big Salmon Lake. If not for the caldera in the distance verifying her location, Wildfire would have told Dante he was full of shit (or crap, since she wasn't much for swearing). The storm must have blown right through it. The water level was only half of what it once was, leaving a slick rim of muck around the reduced body of water. And there were dead fish everywhere. Having laid in the sun for over twenty-four hours (though the child still didn't realize how long she'd been missing), the place reeked.

Wrinkling her nose, Wildfire thanked Dante and began trotting around the cesspool of a lake, eager to make her way directly toward the extinct smokestack in the distance. But as she reached the far side of the lake, the wind shifted, gusting against her back and forcing the rancid smell deep into her nose. Wildfire couldn't help it; she stopped dead in her tracks to suddenly heave up a puddle of yellow bile.

He had intended to set out immediately, but the next morning found the bloodied and battered wolf still lingering near the lake. He had tried, but he staggered more than he walked, still dizzied from the thump on the head the spruce had given him. His leg throbbed and each step pained his body, which was thoroughly bruised about his midriff from the tree's not so gentle embrace. So, he rested that day, through the evening and night, and most of the following morning. The dizziness had mostly left him, and so he would try again.

He rose, and began to walk. Slowly, and wincing at first, but he acclimated to his pain and discomfort. Hunger found him then, but unfortunately, the sun had taken its toll on the buffet of fish the twister left in its wake. No longer fresh food for the taking, the fish had become a foul, decomposing mess. He had eaten carrion before, but as he bent to sniff at a salmon he found his appetite wane. Had the fish been baked in the sun properly, dried, he would have been thrilled. But these fish? Their flesh was falling off of them as they transformed into a sludge fit only for maggots.

The birds were not so picky. His head lifted to gaze at one bird, a gull, and for a fleeting moment he considered hunting it, but he knew he was in no condition to stalk nor sprint and jump in the way required to catch that bird. As it flew to pick at another fish, he spotted red fur. Was it that fox again? No. Was it the Fox? He hastened to the other, finding not the matriarch of the caldera but a young pup stooped over after having gotten sick.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly. He did not doubt for a moment that this was one of Peregrine's offspring, for who else but him and Fox could produce such a small, fiery girl?

The noise of her own retching concealed the approach of another wolf, so when he spoke, Wildfire jumped to the side, dropping into a defensive crouch. Her amber eyes were wide as they regarded the stranger, then grew even wider when she noticed his strange features. She had never seen a wolf with a blue nose. Then again, she hadn't met many wolves aside from those that called the caldera home. Perhaps it wasn't as unusual as she initially thought.

Although she still wasn't one to mingle with strangers openly, Wildfire slowly answered, "Yes, I think." Then that stench wafted into her nose again and she grimaced, shaking her head. "Wait, no." She felt saliva pooling in her mouth as her stomach turned. She swallowed and took several deep breaths, fighting against the nausea. After a moment, a belch climbed its way up her throat but she did not vomit again, thankfully.

"This used to be a pretty lake," she said quietly, wiping the corner of her mouth with a red foreleg. "Now it reeks." Wildfire frowned, the real scale of the loss only just now hitting her. The fish were definitely the worst part but the water had been drained too. Now it was more of an over-sized, stinky mud puddle.

His expression was compassionate as the girl struggled through another bout of nausea. Fortunately, it ended in nothing more than a sour belch. She commented on the state of the lake, and Luke's eyes swept toward it. "It won't always be like this," he said softly, shifting his gaze back to the pup. He could not be sure, of course, but he believed in time rain and meltwater would fill the lake again, covering the pungent mud, and the fish would be decayed or consumed taking their stench with them.  

"I'm Luke." He sat down, taking some of the weight off his injured leg. Additionally, he sought to ease her concerns about his presence. He had startled her, and she was hesitant to interact with him (rightfully so, don't talk to strangers and all that). "You're Peregrine and Fox's girl aren't you?"

He assured her it wouldn't always be like this and Wildfire clung to that hope. Perhaps time (and a bit of rain) would heal the lake, restoring it to its former glory. She hadn't even realized how much she loved it until now. It had been one of her first destinations when first venturing beyond the caldera. It would always hold a special place in her heart, she supposed, even when she traveled far and wide one day.

His familiarity surprised her. Feeling both cagey and curious, Wildfire looked at him for a moment before replying, "One of them. You know my parents?" Her eyes narrowed, not in suspicion but in thought. Had they mentioned a blue-nosed wolf before? She felt like they might have, though she couldn't quite recall. In any case, she remained quiet, awaiting his reply.

She confirmed what he pretty much knew: she was one of Peregrine's flock. "I do," he replied, smiling warmly as his tail slowly brushed the ground. The dark alpha and his red-furred mate were not his closest companions, but he still cared for them, and worried for their safety and the safety of their family, and for their home. That their daughter was out here alone so soon in the aftermath concerned him more.

"I met your father here at the lake, actually," he shared first, withholding what he wanted to ask for the moment. "Then I met your mother when I visited him at home." His brows furrowed then, his expression soft as his head tilted slightly. "Why are you out here on your own? Are your parents and the caldera okay?"

It seemed he not only knew her parents but that they were on friendly terms. That didn't make much sense to her and Wildfire blinked, her expression vaguely dubious. Peregrine and Fox would never tolerate an outsider loitering at the lake and definitely didn't take visitors at their homestead. What gives? she thought but she decided against mentioning any of her doubts out loud.

"Oh," she blurted when Luke asked about her whereabouts. "I think so. I hope so," Wildfire said a bit nervously when asked how her family had weathered the storm. "I don't know, though. We all went underground and I got lost in the caves. I came out a long way from here and I'm making my way home now." In fact, talking about her parents made her itch to get going...

But the thought of walking, much less the action of it, made her stomach turn. She felt weak and shaky too. She wondered if everything was suddenly catching up to her. She hadn't eaten in a long time, after all, though Wildfire was well past the point of hunger. She was in that nefarious stage where her body badly needed nourishment but the mere thought of food (not to mention the rancid stench of fish surrounding her) made her want to barf.

She thought so. She hoped so. Luke's heart thumped, but then she explained that they had been together in the caves, presumably safe from the storm's wrath, until she had gotten herself separated from them. It allayed most of his concerns, though unease was still settled in his chest; not only for the caldera residents, but for his other companions to the north. He cursed he could not fly.  

"Would you like some company on your way home?" he offered. He had not been to the caldera since its red-furred matriarch had sent him away, and he longed to see the plateau and the rise, but he could not simply leave her. She was young and he worried about her nausea. He knew how quickly vomiting could leave you weak and depleted.

She shook her head when he offered to escort her the rest of the way home. "My parents don't like outsiders coming too close." Wildfire still didn't believe this Luke was an exception to that rule. "I know the way," she reassured him, "and I'm an Outrider apprentice. I'll be fine. Once my stomach stops feeling so gross..." She took a deep breath, hoping that might calm it.

Fortunately, she didn't vomit, though she still felt ill at ease. "I think," she said after a stretch of silence, "that I need to take it easy." Wildfire frowned. She didn't want to delay her return home, yet if she insisting on going now, she might make herself really sick. "Maybe I'll rest near here for the night... or at least for a few hours." She blinked her amber eyes at Luke, as if seeking approval of her plan, then glanced in the caldera's direction with a long sigh.

Luke nodded. He knew first-hand that her parents were not tolerant of outsiders anymore. That would not have stopped him from escorting the fiery pup, but she indicated that she knew her way and was an apprentice to the Outrider trade. He hesitated, but in the end, conceded. "Okay," he smiled. She was small, but she was old enough to be making these trips on her own, and there was not much between here and the caldera. He expected her to bid him farewell, but after a couple moments of silence, she had another plan.

His head leaned to the side, expression soft and warm. "That's probably a good idea," he agreed, his tail wagging gently. Before she could reply, he slid to his stomach, making himself comfortable. "I could use a rest myself." He would rest here with her if she would allow, and part ways in a few hours time or in the morning when she was ready to travel. Truthfully, he was hardly feeling up to travel himself right now.

Luke not only seemed to think it was a good idea, he mentioned he needed to catch some sleep himself. Wildfire stiffened. She didn't think she would be able to sleep with a stranger lurking nearby, no matter how friendly. Hopefully we would seek a bed elsewhere. In the meantime, she coaxed herself to relax, because the anxiety wasn't helping her sour stomach at all.

"Where did you go during the storm?" she wondered. She wasn't the best at small talk, though it was a genuine enough question. Luke looked a bit like he'd been tossed around recently and she wondered if it had been the unseasonably strong windstorm.

Luke gestured with his head to the damaged forest that sat between the lake and the caldera. "I was in there," he explained. "Probably not the best choice, a tree decided to come down and give me a beating," he joked, punctuating with a wink as he so often did. While it had been a poor choice, he also did not have a wealth of options to choose from. The tree had savaged him, but if he had bedded by the lake he likely would have suffered the same fate as many of the fish: picked up and cast onto the earth to rot. It was another downside to being a lone wolf: he did not have the area mapped the same way a pack would map their territory, or perhaps he would have been aware of a safe haven like the caves her parents had sheltered in.

Having sensed her stiffen at his earlier comment to rest here, the blue-nosed wolf rose to his paws. "On second thoughts, I'm kind of hungry," he said. "I think I'll go find a bite to eat before I take a nap. Before I go though," he paused, smiling warmly. "What's your name?"

She followed his gaze, ears fanning backward as she surveyed the obvious damage. Her amber eyes then slid back toward Luke when he mentioned receiving a beating from a tree. She winced. He looked all right, if a bit careworn, but Wildfire couldn't help but ask, "And you're okay? Like, you're not... bleeding internally or anything, are you?" If he was, would he even know? Why would she even say something so morbid?

Luke didn't seem overly affected by the question. Wildfire wondered how he could be hungry at a time like this, then remembered that she was the one with the nausea. Well, if he had an appetite, maybe that was a sign that he was in good health. In a wolf vs. tree showdown, she could not imagine how the former could get away with his life. Maybe his blue nose made him invincible.

Feeling a little delirious from all the walking in the hot sun, not to mention hunger and thirst, Wildfire sank to the ground like a puddle of lava. "Attica," she said wearily, closing her eyes. She didn't see or hear as Luke departed, tumbling into a deep and exhausted sleep.

He was not nauseated as she was but nor was he hungry, it was a ruse so he may excuse himself from her company, that she may rest more easily without the presence of a stranger nearby. He did not fault her for her distrust; it was well placed especially for a young girl like herself. In the same moment she introduced herself she sank to the ground, succumbing to her weariness as her eyes closed. Concern bid him to stay for a few minutes, until he was certain she was sleeping soundly and had not passed out.

Quietly, he left. As he had little energy himself he did not go far before he found a clop of alders to slide beneath. Here, he too closed his eyes.