Whitefish River i only wake up from a nightmare after i die

Afternoon, several miles east of the river.

Diane was adjusting, slowly but surely to life well above sea level. The difference in air pressure would occasionally cause headaches after too much activity, but they were lessening as the days turned into a full week. Porcupine Ridge did not feel like home, but it definitely felt safe. In fact, she had gone several days now without any incident; too busy, perhaps, to dwell on her trauma. 

She curled up into the snug hole she had excavated that was her den, and in feeling comfortable, drifted off slowly with nothing on her mind...

The waterwall crashed down over her, spinning her wild, making her feel like she was being torn apart. The wolf was snatched into wakefulness, her heart pounding and her mouth wide as she gasped for breath she wasn't missing. The instinct for flight took her, and she scrambled out of the cramped dig, streaking down the slopes like her tail was on fire. 

She ran well into the cold, cloudy morning and early afternoon, slowing only when the scent of water began to distract her. It wasn't salty-smelling like the ocean, but she still wasn't keen on approaching a body of water. She had taken to icicle-licking in order to supplement proper drinking. 

Diane panted, her body over warm from the strain. She looked over her shoulder, where the tall juts of the Ridge were still visible and she wondered why she had run so far.

Hehehe, Magnus to the rescue!

Today was the day that the masked boy would continue his journey to the South. At least, he thought so. He had no sense of direction whatsoever and could swear that he passed that patch of snow before. Oh well, his feet were rested and his mind was clean of negativity for today. He trotted away from the warm puddles and horrible smell and sighed when his lungs received clean air. He was still a bit wet, his tail leaving a trail of water droplets behind him. Getting sick was not really a problem for him, he had fought colds and diseases before and was sure that he must do it a lot more times in the future. Perhaps he would even heal the injured and sick on his journey here in this new land.

Lost in his thoughts, he wandered as always. He saw the mountains, the peaks and the beautiful clouds high above. He paused for a minute, stopping in his tracks to get a better look. He had always been a fan of the mountains and the scenery's that went with it, but it was too dangerous to travel on high grounds for such a dreamy boy. It would only take for like 5 minutes for him to fall off a ridge, breaking 3 legs and his spine. Yeah, mountains were bad for him. Wolves that lived there, were either crazy or very brave. Not to say that he wasn't crazy as well.

The sounds of paws hitting the snow covered ground and the smell that hit him afterwards got him out of his thought, and he quickly turned his head. He was surprised to see a flash of gold run down from the ridges as if it were nothing, and he was impressed. After a quick run, the wolf stopped looking behind itself. Magnus cocked his head in confusion. What was this stranger doing?

He decided he had time for a conversation with a confusing individual such as himself. He trotted over to it, a bright smile on his muzzle as he stopped a safe distance away. Now he could really take in it's scent, revealing to him the smell of others and feminism. His tail still dripping and smelling like a wet dog, he greeted her. Good afternoon, m'lady! What are ya doin' out here? He said cheery in his warm accent.

<3

Just as her fear was beginning to ebb and a warmness began seeping back into her bones, a faint scent of seasalt intruded her nose and thoughts. She swung around, watching warily as a male trotted in her direction, carrying the faded scent of the ocean on his dark-spined coat. A shiver traveled through her, and Diane's trepidation was renewed; though she was not quite energized enough to go streaking in fright from him just yet. 

She didn't know him, but he could only be here for one thing.

Something nice came from his finely set muzzle, and though his friendly tone had registered with her, the words had not. She was watching his mouth, wide-eyed and suspicious, as if she thought something more dangerous than his teeth might pop out of it. She didn't say anything at first, and she didn't meet his eye. In fact, her eyes—the gold color of an aged sun—seemed to be looking for an exit.

She eked out a small breath, as if she had been holding it. "H-Have you come to take me back to.. to it? I'm sorry—I-I.. I didn't know what else to do but run..."

Whops, just realized I wasn't subscribed to this thread, I'm a dumbass XD

As his words disappeared into nothingness, the female noticed him. He grinned, but his friendly face quickly turned into a confused and worried one. She looked terrified, not even looking him in the eyes even though they were on neutral ground. She was staring at his muzzle, he noticed soon after, and wondered if there was something on his face, stuck by the wetness of his fur. He rubbed the left side of his muzzle on his shoulder to get whatever it was that had nestled it's way into his coat off. There seemed to be nothing on him, and he returned his hazel gaze to the female, now even more confused. This wolf seemed to be more messed up as himself, and that was saying something.

Her gaze shifted, now probably looking for a way to escape this conversation, but she didn't run from him. Well, not yet at least. 

"H-Have you come to take me back to.. to it? I'm sorry—I-I.. I didn't know what else to do but run..."

Her words didn't make any sense to him, and he cocked his head to the left in confusion. Back to what? Had he met this individual somewhere before orrr... No, he would've remember such a strange wolf. Truly, m'lady, I have no idea what in Glaux's name you're talkin' about. He responded. I ain't here to take ya back to wherever, I'm simply a wanderer lookin' for a conversation. He said, a small smile creeping it's way onto his muzzle again.

Diane could feel her emotions swelling; a noxious brew of fear, anxiousness, uncertainty, and failure. Her breaths came in shallow puffs of cold air, trying not to scent the salt. The smell brought back the gurgling cries of her pack. She awaited judgement, punishment, for abandoning her home. But it did not come swift nor painful. It did not come at all.

She dared to look up at him, wondering if he truly didn't know what she was saying, or if he was feigning innocence for the sake of cruel retribution. The hair along her spine rose apprehensively. "The sea? You.. you're not here to take me back to the sea?" she asked timidly, finding solace in his utter confusion and lack of malicious foretoken.

She speculated at his wistful smile and his kind hazel eyes for a long moment, regarding his red and tan features as if trying to decide something. It was with slow uneasiness that her muscles began to uncoil, and she started to come out of her anxious episode. The runaway extended her muzzle, giving herself a quick shake that went from nose to tail-tip and relaxed the fear-ris"en ridge of fur on back. "I'm sorry. I... haven't been myself lately," she admitted, shy eyes darting away in clear aversion to the topic.

"My name is Diane," the Ridge wolf added (out of habitual politeness), though a part of her still suspected that he was an avenger of Mother Ocean, and already knew who she was.

The young boy saw the girl slowly getting back to her senses. He watched her breath make contact with the winter air, something he always found so interesting in this season. Sure, snow and ice could make beautiful pictures, but nothing was as dazzling as a thing so simple as breathing. Breathing separated the living from the dead, a big thing in his eyes.

The golden flash(Yes, this is going to be her nickname for Magnus, deal with it XD) Finally relaxed a little, now looking up at him. She spoke again, lacking courage. The sea? What kind of herbs was this girl smoking? Wolves didn't belong to the sea, they belonged on land, on mountains or surrounded by trees. Or perhaps he was wrong. Maybe they were all sea creatures, and the ones in the water were actually land mammals. Before beginning to question his sanity, he spoke. No, of course not! Why would I bring ya all the way to the sea? I've never even been there. He said, trying to reassure her that he was not the one she thought he was.

There was a comforting silence between them before she spoke up again. Not herself, huh? Was the normal her more confusing or less? He grinned anyway at her apology. Apology accepted, m'lady. He nodded his head while saying the words.

Diane, a lovely name but foreign on his tongue. It fit her, somehow. Magnus Creatus, enormously glad to meet ya. He chipped happily.

Diane shook her head slightly, trying to free her mind of any further stresses, trying to dispel the roaring horrors that had taken root in her head. Her nose wrinkled, and she snorted, expelling the scent of saltwater. The male, confused but friendly, introduced himself as Magnus—overwhelming the Cove native with both the urge to smile and cry, so her expression remained neutral instead. There was a wolf from home who's name was Magnus... Was Magnus.

The wolf before her was not dead though. He was bright-faced and breathing and very much alive. Her tail twitched slightly, and she noticed then that some of him was wet. "Likewise, mister Creatus. But why are you wet? A chill will set in your bones in these ice breezes," she warned, though was unsuccessful in making it seem like she wasn't trying to change the topic. She thought that if she could keep the subject on him, he wouldn't peer too deeply into the traumatic waters that was Diane's life.

"I'm sure there's someone who'd be concerned about you trying to catch cold."

Sorry for the late reply, I was on vacation :)

The masked boy gave the golden flash some time to settle. Clearly this female had been through a lot. Or she was just simply insane, but he doubted that. She seemed more stressed, traumatized even, than simply not sane. 

The young boy chuckled when Diane called him mister. So formal, so polite and so not fitting for him. He got that she just wanted to be polite, but it sounded funny. Excuse me, m'lady, you can just call me Magnus. No need to be so formal. He commented, before listening again. Her changing the subject went right over his head. He liked small talk more than anything really. She sounded worried about him, although she didn't look like it. Oh well, perhaps she was just curious why a young,clearly not totally sane masked boy was dripping wet in the midst of winter. I took a nice dip in the warm puddles not far from here. It smelled like Hades' armpits, but the warmth was too much for me to resist. He explained. I am well aware of that, m'lady, but please do not worry about me. I've got some tricks up mah sleeve to keep me healthy. He tried to ease her mind a bit, knowing that any more stress for this young girl could be fatal.

"I'm sure there's someone who'd be concerned about you trying to catch cold."

That sentence made him pause for a bit. There would indeed be someone worried about him, but that one person was miles and miles away. His sister, Eirian, would care for sure. She always cared. His happy face turned upside down in mere seconds, knowing that his sister would never return to him. No, I'm afraid no-one would care about it one bit. He confessed, not wanting her to worry about his past. He was alone now, and he had to face that fact. So his face changed back to a smile.

It seemed that none of the wolves in this area were keen on the ceremonious behavior of her homeland. Even though the populace here seemed familiar with the titles she used, this was the second time that such formality had been rendered unnecessary by her company. Magnus was slightly uncouth, but certainly just as deserving of being called mister as any other male she came across—unless there was something about his psyche that suggested he didn't identify with his given anatomy. This was unlikely.

Through her pointed chattiness, Diane noticed that she had touched something sensitive for the red and pepper wolf. Briefly, her ears pulled back, but the reassuring smile Magnus provided thereafter eased the wrinkles of worry that had formed across her face. The tip of her stunted tail wiggled slightly. "I find that hard to believe. You're much too charming not to have any friends," she said, offering him the tiniest of smiles. It was all she could muster as the trauma of her own recent past was taking its sweet time to ebb from her brain.

Instead, she recalled the place he had described earlier. "It sounds like you were at a hot spring. I think they'd be the greatest thing if the smell wasn't so strong..." She idly wondered where he had encountered the thermal spring, but didn't ask. Still wary of water bodies, she was not encouraged to seek out even the warmest of sources. Diane gave her body a shake, eradicating the sudden tiredness that had taken her limbs. She forgot she had been running all night.

"Do you live nearby?" she asked, thinking of the Ridge.

Lol, sorry for the late reply, but I was busy with my other accounts as one is starting a pack and such. Hope you can understand :)

A wrinkle of worry took over the golden flash's face, but ebbed away by time and the smile Magnus had given her. Her sort-of compliment fell well with his big ego, and he perked his ears a bit further up, his tail slowly wagging as the bad thoughts were leaving his mind. That's mighta nice of you to say, though I hate to inform ye that you're wrong. He spoke, now a true smile on his muzzle. 

I have just arrived here in the Far We- Teekon Wilderness and I haven't had much time to socialize much. He had almost used the name that his former pack had used for this place, though he was quick to correct himself. Her petite smile did not go unnoticed, leaving the boy to smile even brighter than before. It seemed to him that whatever had caused the golden flash to freak out was slowly leaving her mind as their conversation went further.

A hot spring she said, the place where he had bathed for a while. It was a weird word for him, almost foreign, as they didn't have those kind of puddles back at his former home. The water wasn't hot, and it wasn't spring, so why would it be called a hot spring? The boy didn't know, and wondered if anyone really knew at all.

Tomato, potato. What a weird word for a warm puddle. Perhaps they should just call 'em waddles instead. He joked.

Teekon. He referred to the region, and it was the first time she was hearing its name; Diane would not soon forget this, perhaps remembering it from that day on. She found herself interested in where he had come from, the things he knew, the places he had seen, but the "golden flash" was not fully herself. She was a mere haunting of her former light, the shadow of loveliness—desperately searching for herself, but unable to find the girl beneath all the crushing water.

Water. An imaginary shiver traveled down her spine, and she smiled dolefully at Magnus, not realizing he'd just made a joke. "Wuddles?" she repeated thoughtlessly, musing over the word as her stream of consciousness finally realigned, and she understood at long last what he'd been talking about. Diane snorted lightly. "I'd rather visit a hot spring than a wuddle," she noted, teeth glinting in smile that rebelled against her current mood. It was boisterous—a ghost of happiness. "Wouldn't you, Magnus?"

After chatting a while longer, Diane forgot about her fear of being taken back to the sea, and bid the friendly Magnus a farewell and a thank you (though he would never understand what she was thanking him for).

Don't worry about it at all! :> Edit: Throwing in an ending.