Blackfeather Woods praying for the faithless

Somewhere near Namira's Mire

There were signs everywhere of the change in the season: the deepening of color in the leaves of some trees, the blanket of the forest floor by those that had already dried out and been discarded, and the shifting of the weather towards something more melancholy. Mou couldn't see the sky very well from deep within the woods, but he did not need to. He could see the graying of the light and feel the coming of the rain clouds in his very bones — this morning he woke to the sensation of his hips aching. That was a clear sign that there was a storm on its way.

He was groggy from sleep as he sat up, got his feet, and stretched. About five minutes later he paused in his morning routine because he realized something else — his hips hurt. Okay, yeah, we've gone over that already, but this was important. His hips hurt, and after flexing his legs and popping the joints, Mou was staring down at himself as if he'd just sprouted a new set of limbs. The pins-and-needles feelings in his lower back were gone; he could feel his hips. They hurt.

He was grinning like an idiot as he tested his weight on his slender legs, and while they still tired very quickly they did not quake nearly as much. Maybe he'd just had a really good sleep, and everything would be in shambles by that afternoon — but for now he was filled with an inexact amount of glee, and decided to scout out parts of the territory he hadn't visited before, heading due east through the shadows.

"Where am I..." A confused silver wolf stood near a swamp, she looked around questioning quietly wondering where she stumbled upon. She did not know such a place existed, nor did Shisu know of its name Namira Mire. She was more surprised that the area existed in Blackfeather Woods, and strangely enough, brought a nostalgic feeling to her heart. Seeing the spiders, the toads and lizards, she shivered at them, but also remembered them fondly.

Her mentor lived in a swamp, a witch who dabbled with the arts of plants, and lived isolated by the wetlands. Her bright agouti silver pelt stood out from the norms of Blackfeather Woods, and definitely did not seem like she belonged at the mire. However she felt peace, and despite being lost, smiled warmly.

Her smile continued even upon seeing a ghostly pelt. The usual nerves were not there as she saw Mou, for she was more glad he has been doing alright these past few days.

The ground got wetter and wetter the further he went, until he was sloshing each step and his usually white paws were lined with muck. It was sort of fun to traipse about across the soggy landscape, ducking trees and swerving to avoid thick cords of hanging moss; Mou didn't know that the woods held such a place among their confines but he was glad that they did. Until, of course, the inevitable happened: one wrong step and the soil was just too soft for his weight, and slid out from under him. He staggered as his front limbs splayed forwards while his hind-end remained planted halfway on solid ground, one hind foot sitting squarely on an exposed root. It was quite the sight — and Shisu probably watched his comical display of face-planting from her vantage point nearby, unseen by Mou.

"Oh gosh!" As others might've found the moment rather hysterical, she did not. Shisu anxiously rushed on over, but knew to be careful over the soft spots. She would easily end up in the same position if it were not her previous knowledge on swamplands. He however was not so lucky as shown by his gracious slide.

Tip toeing my his side, she peered down with sky blue eyes and looked at him in worry, "are, you okay?"

After some rear-end wiggling and some rooster-stepping he finally got enough stability beneath his hindquarters to squeltch himself out of the muck. His usually white face was layered with slimy mud, capping him with a foul layer of brown up to his ears and dribbling down his chin to whre the moor had caught his chest. One he was free he shook off as best he could, but found that doing that was dangerous with the soil so loose underfoot; it wasn't until he turned towards his bad side that he saw Shisu and identified the worry on her face.

She startled him; he staggered sideways but didn't go down again, thankfully. After spitting some grime from between his teeth Mou tried to scamper back from whence he came, following the path he'd cleaved in the soil, and roosted himself on an exposed knuckle of tree roots. He looked utterly pathetic — and that, at least, was pretty typical of him. Shivering from the October air drying the mud and trembling from the scare it had caused; he could've drowned in the mud, and that would've been an awful way to go.

"O-Oh gosh..." He was like the mud man, she only saw his ghostly white fur once it was shaken off. Even then it darkened him, desperately clinging to Mou. Shisu had gotten a responds of startle rather then an answer, and only continued to worriedly look at him. She felt he was very pitiful- very timid like a rabbit. She was an anxious being herself, but she felt his was a different wave. 

Shisu followed along, being careful to not end up in the same fate he did. The thick fur she held would be a colossol issue once the mud mixed in. She would still feel warm, unlike the figure before her. Short furred and skinny, an awful combination that made her continue look at him in concern while inquiring once more, "are.. you okay?

The boy spat dirt from between his teeth, and realized a moment later he wasn't alone. The scrambling, the sucking mud, and all the chaos of trying to get free had distracted him from her temporarily. She looked familiar - and as he returned to himself, gathered his wits and his breath, he recognized her from around the forest. She seemed genuinely concerned and to ease her worry, he nodded his head sharply, quickly. I'm alright, he was saying. But he was still so cold.

Gosh, he was such a skinny fellow. She had a slender figure, but her plush pelt kept Shisu warm through the more colder seasons. He did not share the same leisure, and so she naturally drew near in worry. It felt like the first time Shisu saw Mou, and he tucked against her. She once again wanted to offer her warm pelt to the ghostly, and skittish fellow. She was to focused on how he was that she didn't mind the mud that may track onto her as well.

She was larger than him, but maybe that was just her coat that was more dense; either way, she came closer to him and cushioned him with her pelt, shared her warmth as he shared his mess, and soon there was warmth where before there had only been wetness and chill. It was appreciated even if it felt a little awkward; she was like a mother bird trying to hunch over a pathetic, newly-hatched chick. But Mou welcomed the contact, and soon was feeling much better.

There was still the matter of getting out of the mire, of course. Crossing from root-to-root might've worked, but Mou wasn't the most nimble creature and he didn't want to waste the girl's efforts. If he fell in again, she would probably panic again. Or worse, dive in after him and fish him out, ruining her pretty coat. For the time being Mou basked in the attention she gave him and after a few deep breaths, felt quite content where he was roosting.

She wasn't sure what to do, and fretted. Should she get some herbs? Gosh he could be injured..? He has so many scars she worried if she would be able to tell if something was fresh! He was so skittish too she was greatly worried if he was eating, or if he was even well-minded. What if he was emotionally scarred? Shisu hoped Relmyna was helping mentally and physically too, maybe she should've checked up on him more, wherever he was kept. He was a bundle that the plush fae worried over.

But their current location wasn't the best place to stay, as the two would be covered in the mud the longer the stayed. He was drenched in it, and only splotches landed on her silver pelt as she crowded close to him, "d-do you want to, uhm, go back?" Shisu referenced going back to the more warmer part of Blackfeather Woods, where most would sleep in, or at least, somewhere away from the swamp-lands.