Whitefish River it's alright if you run out of breath

It's night, and Raid knows she shouldn't be far from Morningside, especially given that she still hasn't fully recovered - she isn't quite sure if her mind is in the right shape - and it's winter. She should stick close to the pack, to Grayday and Dawn and Aditya and her packmates - safety- but something tugs at her heart incessantly and that night, she finds she can resist it no longer. It's too strong, stronger than her and Raid finds herself becoming the slave to the pull.

Like a zombie, she pads beyond the borders of Morningside into the darkness of the night, with only the pale slivers of moonlight to light her way. It isn't long before she arrives there. It's only when she's there that she realises that it'd been her destination all along. With a shake of her head, Raid picks her way towards the river bank before collapsing, silently staring at her reflection in the flickering black waters. She remembers something now. Or more like someone. Chusi. The second special someone. 

So, who's the first?

And then, Raiden feels it. Feels it deep within her bones, in the strings of her heart and in the silver of her soul. The pain. The way she made Raid feel. The way she still makes Raid feel. And stupidly, her cheeks grow damp and her eyes glitter, and she feels so stupid, so idiotic. Especially since she knows there are more important things to worry about right now, such as the cause of her amnesia. But tonight, suddenly, all she wants is someone (that someone) to be with her. Just be with her, however stupid that sounds.

Wraen had found out that it was easier get rid of unwanted thoughts, if she occupied herself with something and put distance between the Moonspear territories and wolves, who inhabited them. The image of the Redhawk wolf's ravaged face haunted her in her dreams and during the waking hours it was difficult not to think about the injustice that had been done to him. It was easy to imagine anyone else - even her - in his place and wonder, if they would have received the same kind of treatment. And, while she could not look at any of Charon's older offspring (save Korei Julia) without resentment, she felt that her presence among the pack equal being disloyal. 

Therefore she was out and about, working, learning and hunting until she was exhausted and fell into dreamless sleep. This evening her path from the Heartwood led upstream. Osprey had told her of the Fire Hot springs that had once been one of her favorite places, when she had resided in the Kintla flatlands, and now her daughter thought that it was a good time to explore the place. This also meant that she would return home the next morning, but it did not matter that much to her now.

She would have turned and made her way to the place, where she could see the steam clouds rising, had she not heard someone's crying nearby. Thinking that, whoever it was, may need help - she continued her path, until a dark shape, lying next to the river came into the view. A brief examination revealed her to be the source of misery. "Are you alright?" Wraen asked quietly, while keeping a safe distance from the stranger.

Memories come flooding back. Not all of them, still just bits and pieces, flashing images and slivers of conversations intertwined with all sorts of emotions. Her past is still far from complete but Raid now remembers vaguely the story of her first relationship, though she is quick to wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Tears gather in the back of her eyes but she blinks them away and is about to pull herself together and go - because she's acting so stupid, wallowing here alone, in the wild danger of Teekon Wilds wishing for her long gone special someone to appear. Raid shakes her head in disgust and is about to get up when a voice rings through the air.

She's startled and leaps back, hackles bristling fiercely along the length of her spine. Howevery, seconds later, Raid yelps as her backlegs stumble and dips into the icy waters of the river. Quickly, she scrambles onto shore, profanities spilling gracelessly from her lips. Only after she is sure she is not injured and her heartbeat begins to slow down, does she raise her chocolate crown and appraise the stranger, amber eyes bright in the darkness. "Sorry," Raid says belatedly, the tears already dry on her face, probably shocked dry, to be honest. "I'm okay," she assures the stranger, somewhat embarrassed.

I checked my threadlog and found out that Raid (ex-Genie) was the first person Wraen met, when she returned to the Teekon wilds.

Apparently asking quiet and calm questions could startle people just as much (or even more) than if you barged on them yelling and howling. Except in the case of the latter you had a fair warning ahead. Wraen jumped herself, when the she-wolf scrambled to her feet only to break through the river ice. While the other was busy getting out, the girl checked the grounds she were standing and retreated few steps away from the frozen river - just in case. 

Wraen's memory was rather good, when it came to remembering people, even after one meeting, however, she was not that good with names. Therefore when the other finally spoke, the voice struck her as familiar, but she could not place either time or venue, when the meeting had happened. It also seemed that asking "do I know you?" would be the next scary thing to do, therefore she decided to forget that she knew this person for a moment and stick to the common courtesy. 

"That's good to know," she replied. "You are from the nearby pack, right?"

Perhaps if Raid is not an amnesiac, she would recognise the stranger. Unfortunately, however, she remembers little to nothing and even as she squints at the figure and makes out the face and other distinctive figures, she recalls nothing and puts the stranger into the category of 'i've never seen her before.' "Yeah," Raid replies, her tone somewhat wary as she cants her head and appraises the other girl.

'What about you?" she inquires with a birdlike cant of her head and a lick of her lips. She is unwilling to reveal she is from Morningside just yet - some strange feeling in her chest telling her that it's a bad idea. Raid is not one to ignore her instincts, especially in her current amnesiac circumstance where she has next to nothing to rely on other than her guts.

For some inexplainable reason Wraen cared about the well-being of this stranger and was glad that the reason for her earlier crying was not because she was either banished or lost in the wilds. Her wary tone does not escape the girl's attention and it makes her wonder, whether it is because the other one does not know her well, or there is some secrecy about the pack that she claims to be her home. Or maybe she is simply not the talkative kind. 

"I am a Moonspearan - just on the opposite side of the flatlands," she beckoned indirectly towards, where her residence lied. Unless the wolf was entirely new to the lands, she had to know this pack - it had been around for quite a long time now. "Would you be interested in a hunt?" she asked, hoping that some activity together would break the ice between them. "I caught a fresh scent of otter tracks further down the river earlier."

Moonspear. The name, strangely enough, rings a bell and Raid is reminded of a memory from sometime ago, when the girl, Aliac told her of her little 'got too into chasing a rabbit and nearly trespassed into pack territory' story. So, this girl is from that pack...Raid cants her head and appraises her slowly, carefully. Now that she's really looking, she can see that the stranger is easy on the eyes and bears orbs of the clearest apple green. Pretty.

"Yeah, a hunt, sounds good, otter too," Raid scuffs at the ground before braving a sideways glance at the girl. "I'm Raiden, from Morningside," she introduces herself a beat later, voice soft and quiet. She still doesn't know the stranger's name, but it's okay - she's introduced herself, after all, wouldn't it be polite for the other to say their name as well? And anyway, even if she didn't know the name. It doesn't matter. Not really. Not at all. Right? 

"Nice to meet you - Raiden. My name is Wraen," the girl replied and dipped her muzzle politely. Then got down to business, sniffing the air and the snow, looking for the tracks that she had mentioned earlier. After some circling around the perimeter, she finally caught the smell again, looked up to her companion and beckoned her to follow. 

"Have you ever hunted those things?" she asked, falling easily with the steps of the other, while still keeping her muzzle close to the ground and occasionally stopping to be sure that the animal they were after, had not strayed somewhere else.

Wraen. Raid commits that name to memory and as the girl's face becomes clearer through the inky darkness, she makes sure to remember that as well. It's not for anything particular reason, really - it's just, her lack of memories makes her feel...empty? Hollow? Not really, but, it's like there's something lacking. Besides, it's good to remember the wolves she meets, you never know, it might come in handy later.

Raid mimicks Wraen and attempts to track the smell. "No...I mean, I guess I might've. It's just, I don't have my memories - amnesia," she offers, the words ugly and awkward and not at all smooth as they fall off her tongue. Awkwardly, she bites into her bottom lip and avoids eye contact, preferring instead, to to scan the ground they're walking on.

"Oh, I am sorry," Wraen apologized, thinking that she had unknowingly insulted the other wolf. The next moment she was very curious to find out, what this "amnesia" really meant and, how could one person lose one's memories and still know, what they were missing or did not know? But this would be too complicated to ask and even more difficult to answer, therefore she left this problem to solve another time. 

"Well, my mom used to say that, where conscious mind fails you, there your paws and jaws remember the trade," she said. "Let's find them though and see, what we can do about them."

'No, don't be," Raid is quick to reassure Wraen. "It's not your fault. You're not the one who stole my memories. I don't even know what happened." She smiles ruefully. Truthfully, it is hardly anyone's thought - or at least, no one she remembers or knows right at this moment. Something, or someone had to have triggered this sudden memory loss though whatever or whoever that is, Raid has no clue. A part of her, a shameful part of her is unwilling to find out. A fear, somewhat rational, squeezing her heart at the thought.

Raiden remembers her past - the past she had before Teekon Wilds. Remembers every bit of it now, and so it's not without a pang of nostalgia when she regards the words Wraen says. Her parents had been the epitome of supportive until...well, it can't be helped anymore. She just wished she'd fought of her, you know? But, it is what it is, and however hard Raid wishes she would try to find her, she knows the chances of her leaving Frostbite Mountain in itself is slim, let alone be able to find Raiden. Still, yeah. She misses her immensely. She probably doesn't, though.

"I'll follow you," Raid grins and it looks real, though it's not, not really. She needs to take her mind of things, and this, whatever this is, is a welcome distraction. Wraen's straight, most likely, and way out of her league, but maybe she'll find a friend in this girl. Who knows?

"Okay then - let's find some otterprints for ourselves," Wraen told the girl cheerfully, falling in the role of a lead hunter easily. She first went down to the river, where it's icy cap met the snow-covered bank and tested the ice, to find out, if it was solid enough to carry her weight. When it seemed to be safe, she looked over her shoulder at Raid - she seemed to be of the same size and build as Wraen, therefore she also should not have any problems to take the same path. Had it been a heavier wolf, Wraen would have had her doubts.

Fifteen minutes later she came upon the tracks she had found earlier. Not only one set, but two and though the tracks intermingled here and there, they went separate ways eventually. "I think we should split up," she told her companion, pointing out to the tracks. "You take one trail, I will take the other, if any of us find a fresher trail - just call out to each other."

Wraen's cheery attitude lifts Raid's own spirits, even if it's only by a fraction, and the girl feels just a little bit lighter than she'd been before. It's not that she's comfortable around the other wolf - it takes a month or so on average before she gets close enough to anyone to be comfortable - and she's not exactly relaxed because Wraen is still, above all, a stranger and she'd always been and forever will be wary around those she does not know. But there's just something familiar about the girl. Something that's able to force Raid to put some of her burdens aside for the time being. Just a bit.

Raiden is content to allow Wraen to lead the way, knowing all too well that she is no expert hunter. She can hunt to survive, but it is not, by any means, her profession. Quietly, the girl shakes her chocolate pelt and pads after the grey wolfess onto the ice and soon, the two of them find two sets of tracks. Wraen is quick to issue orders and Raiden, though actually not one particularly fond of following commands mindlessly, is happy enough to obey. It's easier to follow a stranger for some reason, than someone she knows. "Okay," she replies easily with a gentle incline of her dark crown and a quirk of her lips. 

After a quick examination of the tracks and a sniff, Raid spares a glance at Wraen before setting off.

Wraen felt relieved that her hunting partner had not made any objections to her plan, because she had it drawn and mapped out in her mind very nicely and it would be very difficult to make changes or bend. She acknowledged the direction Raid was heading and chose the second one, following the imprints in the snow as well as the scent trail carefully. After a while she found a triangle-shaped opening in the ice and caught glimpse of the dark water looming underneath. She hesitated now, unsure of how solid the ice was here, but the fact that there were fresh pawprints going in and coming out, sparked her curiousity. Therefore she tucked doubts aside and approached the marging of the water and looked down.

And a moment later she realized that the water was "staring back" at her - there, slightly above the surface were two bead-like dark eyes looking at her. Perplexed by the event, she entirely forgot to call out to her companion.

so sorry for the wait!

Raid pads tentatively over the snow, amber eyes narrowed as she scans her surroundings with practiced ease; black nostrils flare as she tries to catch the slightest sliver of prey scent in the winter air. It evades her, and she finds nothing. Frustration worms its way up her spine and her ears, tipped in ink, twitches in annoyance. For a moment, the girl debates turning back and finding Wraen but for some reason the idea of admitting failure pains her more than she'd initially thought and so, with a new determined fire flashing in her fiery eyes, Raid continues forward.

The animal seemed to be just as surprised by Wraen's presence as she was of his, because the staring contest lasted for another minute, before smaller one of them two made a smart decision and disappeared in the dark waters with a quiet splash. The hunter let out a disappointed whine and walked around the water hole, in order to see, if the animal would come back (and believing that it should, in case this was the only hole in the frozen river to get out and have oxygen.

This is, when she recalled that she was not having a solitary hunt, she made a shrill bark to invite Raid to see, what she had found, and perhaps offer some suggestion about, how to tackle the situation.

Raiden had no idea where she was going, so she was especially thankful when a familiar voice rang sharply through the air, effectively relieving the aspiring medic from her duties. The girl perked up, brown ears swiveling lightly atop her chocolate crown as she determined her surroundings, then quickly padded towards the direction of her hunting companion. Raid arrived a few minutes later, perhaps less, and found Wraen on the frozen river, staring at a hole in the ice. 

"Found anything?" she asked quietly as she slid to a spot beside the other girl, brows creasing slightly as she too, gazed down into the swirling black abyss of water.

"Yup - there was this little bugger staring right at me from the hole," Wraen explained hastily, only later realizing, how silly this might have sounded to her companion. Therefore she fell silent and cast her gaze away from her hunting partner and stared down at the dark water below, as if hoping that the "bugger" in question would show itself again. 

It did not, however.

"Well, never mind," she shrugged then and decided to ask, how the other had been doing.  "Any luck for you?"

Wraen spent some more time in the Morningside wolf's company and then with less material luck and more that of the experience, she returned home.

Wrapping up older threads. Thanks for this one! :)