Alpine Lake here she comes and then she's gone again

it's an unseasonably warm day, and the yearling spends most of the morning seeking out the source of the stream that trickles along despite snow-covered banks. she finds it at the rocky foothills that stretch onward and upward, some of the clearest water she's seen falling in a dozen cascades tumbling down the rock. scrabbling towards the nearest of them, she finds the water to be as perfect as it seems, and makes up her mind on the spot to follow them to their zenith. this is followed by the promp realization that mountain climbing is not in her list of skills, nor will it be made any easier by the snow-covered rock. but it doesn't seem all that high, really, and her gaze is already following what looks like it could be a path through the rock. 

Vuk is on the very trail a few moments later, and she makes good headway until suddenly her next step becomes unclear. her left hind is stretched awkwardly underneath her body, the right tucked tight to her stomach on a small ledge. her right forelimb hoovers uncertainly a good distance from her next foot hold, hind limbs unable to giver her quite the push she needs to make it there. she attempts to twist so that her right hind become the loadbearing limb, but the rock falters beneath her and she's made suddenly aware that things are not as sturdy as they seem. she freezes and resumes carefully her previous position, freezing then in that awkward way while her brow furrows in thought.

Colt had determined it was about time to do a little more scouting of the surrounding territory.  He'd wandered the place a shit ton in the time he'd spent around these parts, but things could always change and who knew what you would find?

He'd often gone west in his recent excursions, so today felt the mountains a more appropriate destination.  Colt had never really been one for living in them - rocks and cold, plus shaky footing at best in many places.  But he enjoyed traversing then sometimes.  It was easy while climbing to get a piece of that thrill he and Finley used to seek out when they were younger, and it almost made him feel years younger again attempting.

Today, though, before he could even think about whether he wished to start, he looked up and saw someone who already had.  And now was just kinda standing there.... wait were they standing?  What were they doing?

You alright up there? he called out.

her brow creased as she tried to shift her stretched-out limb; still sore from the encounter with the boy in the craig, it smarted as she held it in such an awkward place. she might be able to push off it, barely, but she was doubtful the momentum would be enough to carry her to the next hold. considerations were starkly abandoned when the voice of a stranger called out from below, craning her neck toward him, her tail gave an odd little twitch. relief? embarrassment? it was hard to tell, exactly. "I'm a little, um, stuck." she called back after a pause, hoping only that the male would turn out friendlier than the boy (she still did not know where she was), andd that he was a better climber than herself (a feat not very difficult at all).

Oh. Hmm.  Colt stared at the position she was in, trying to figure out how the hell he might be able to help her to get out of it.  She needed to get turned around somehow, perhaps on the ledge below?

Hold on, he returned, then began slowly climbing as well.  As he did, he was reminded of his climb with Relmyna, and inwardly smiled.  Remembering how she'd picked their route actually helped a bit.

I can... tell you how to get back, maybe? he added as he got closer, wondering.  It didn't quite seem the best route to actually get where she was, since maneuvering on the limited rock space wasn't easy. But now that he was closer, if he got to a good angle, he could maybe see where she needed to shift to in order to get back to a place where she could move again.

she doesn't have all the much experience with strangers, but nervousnes is banished by the thought that she could well enough drive him away if her turned out to be one of the bad ones her father had warned of. she was large enough to be intimidating if she wanted to, and if she growled hard enough he might never guess she was a shit fighter. still, she did not think the stranger was bad at all, and she nodded quickly at his suggestion. "I'm stretched too far forward to move back the way I came, and I cant reach to next foothold. I'd try another way, but I don't want to rock to crumble." stretched out as she was, there was no way to test possible footholds and avoid tumbling down the formidable incline.

He didn't want to see her fall, but as she shot down his idea, he wasn't completely sure on another way to help.  Even if he climbed up behind, it was doubtful on the small ledge he could do much more than push her, and that certainly wouldn't be helpful.  

He eyed yes the rock below her.  What if he came up underneath and somehow gave her a step between?  No, there wasn't really.... ah.  Wait.  He did see a possible route, one that if she was lucky she could use to get down.  He would just need to test it first, he guessed.

Here goes nothing.

He began to backtrack a bit to get on the path he found, then climb.  I'm coming to you.  What made you decide to do some climbing in the first place?

he made his way towards her, slow and steady, and she waited with growing discomfort as her leg began to cramp. what had brought her up here? for a moment, she forgot, until her gaze shifted to one of the little waterfalls the launched itself so confidently down the rockface.  "I wanted to see where the water was coming from."  it was a pretty lame reason to have stranded herself up on this cliff, and spoke to her aimlessness in wandering here.

Water, eh?  Obviously from no place we are meant to go. His voice was definitely amused, but how could he not be?  She'd gotten herself into a mess, but it happened to everyone at one point or another.  Except him of course... he tended to either land on his feet or fall spectacularly.

He climbed until he was right behind her, and space wasn't abundant here. Sorry.  I figure I can test the path, tell you where to go.  If you trust me.  He didn't see her as having much choice, and had a bit of a smirk as he delivered the last statement.  His intentions were good though.  He really didn't want to see her fall, much as he might not know her.  He began to back down, carefully checking his weight on the rock.  There's a hold behind you, a bit to the left.  Go for it and I'll tell you when you have it.  Going this way, he could hopefully get her back at least to where she could find her own route.

hmph. if she hadn't gotten stuck here, she surely would have made it up - she looks up and notices the near vertical wall that cuts across the trail she'd chosen, but she's not shaken. she could have made it - not now, though, with her leg cramping as it is. 

he's behind her suddenly, and she figures she hasn't been paying much attention. "I don't have much choice, do I?" but her tone is teasing and there's a grin across her muzzle. at his words, she carefully extended a limb and hoovered it carefully over the open space behind her, moving it side to side carefully and waiting for a signal that she's found the right place to shift her weight to.

Little more.... little more.... there!  He waited while she found it, then stepped back, and would continue to walk back and direct as she found each foothold.  Provided she was surefooted and his decisions solid, she should make it far enough to turn herself and escape back down the rock face.

I seem to have a habit of climbing with strangers, he said conversationally, chuckling.  One who happened to be a Blackfeather, he'd later found... and one who he hoped had escaped the war they shared shortly after.  That sobered him a bit, but it was hard to truly be down on such a beautiful day and in good natured company.

she sets back her hind leg and finds the grip easily enough. she waits a moment for the burning ache in her back leg to subside and begins to back down. she's cautious, but the going is certainly much easier now that she's unstuck. eventually, she reached and earlier ledge she knew to be wide enough to allow her to turn around, and set eyes on the man up close for the first time. 

"they must all be much better climbers than me," she offers with a grin, tail wafting at her hocks. "I'm Vuk, by the way." she tells him further, hoping he'll supply a name as well so she won't have to refer to him as the dude in her mind.

He watched with only a little nervousness as she made her way down, though his instructions had been perfect.  Right on.  

Maybe, but practice makes perfect.  So why don't you hop back on up there and see how many times we can do this thing? He replied, clearly joking from the grin on his face.  Name's Colt.  Nice to meet you Vuk.