Swiftcurrent Creek And touched the sound of silence

Arric made it back to the pack lands and he shifted away from the light. He thought of @Reverie and panicked slightly, at the thought of the she wolf. He had jumped into so many rivers and creeks on his way here, to get rid of his smell He had zigged and zagged. He'd keep an eye on the borders for days to come.

 One more dip in the water and he stood dripping with eyes closed. All the scars that littered his body, the small and the large. That usually he hid well, bared to the air. Around his throat, his stomach, his legs. Small and medium white slashes, some pink and raised. His fur long enough adn dark enough that they hid them well. But now the water slicked his fur. The warm seeping blood fell from his left shoulder. And he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. 

Absolute self-loathing making off with his control. He shouldn't have attacked her back, he should have run, but then again that would have led her here and he couldn't risk that. Not ever.

Reverie could not leave Blossom alone, but neither could she stand to be confined to her den all the time. It had occurred to her, of course, that she could ask someone to look after her daughter for a time. The problem was that it would require her to trust someone enough to leave them alone with Blossom. The only wolf who might have been afforded that privilege had run off into the wilds somewhere, apparently never to return.
So, when she needed a breather, she toted her daughter around in true purse chihuahua fashion. She did not expect to stumble across Arric, bleeding. Arric, standing in the water, covered in scars she'd never seen. Reverie let out a little gasp, but it was muffled by Blossom's fur in her mouth. For a moment all she could think was that she was glad Blossom's eyes hadn't opened yet. She sat down and set her daughter against her so that she would stay warm.
Arric, what happened? Reverie was surprised by how calm she felt. Surprised and concerned, but there was no trace of panic in her.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Swearing oh arric you adorable idiot

Scent's filled his nostrils, and he turned with wide blue eyes, and winced at Reverie. Not because she was there, because he hadn't wanted anyone to ever see his scars or his shoulder. He had tried so hard to hide that part of his life. 

Uh I pissed off a horny woman. Was all he could think to say, it dropped out of his mouth before he could even think. Then he blinked and gave a soft chuckle. 

Sorry. uh. He cleared his throat and tried again. I made a woman angry enough to attack me....ummm you remember the girl I told you about. Well what i Didn't tell you. You see.

He sighed. I went to take food to her, pretty quickly after uh we did what we did and her family attacked me. I may have flew off the mouth a little, because i didn't like how they were acting like I had some disease or something, and well they attacked me then.

He blinked and looked around with a sigh. I was out walking today. Smelled a woman in heat and in case you didn't know it's kinda hard for a man to not at least investigate the scent and when I did, the woman that had attacked me was at the end of it. I tried to skirt around her I swear, but she flew into this rage and attacked me...I attacked her too...possibly hurt her pretty badly......and well this is what i get for being an ass.

he motioned at his shoulder. What are you and blossom doing out? He eyed the little girl at her mother's feet. She seemed fine.

Reverie blinked. It was a lot of information, and she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about any of it. The only thing she knew for sure was that Arric was hurt, and she felt a fierce need to help him. Whether it was the friendship between them or a side effect of maternal instinct or both, she couldn't say.
Come here, She invited softly. Let me help you. She wished that he hadn't stepped into the water, but there was no helping it now. Regardless, he would need to take her place for a time while she gathered what she needed to help him. Blossom could not be without warmth.

Arric didn't know what else to say, he had to share the beginning to get to the end. He looked at his wet sopping fur and then down at the little girl and shook his head. You got some furs in your den right? You got herbs too? Maybe we can go there. I'll bleed all over the place, but I don't want to make her sick. She's so little.

He was sopping wet. he stepped from the water and walked a good bit aways from Reverie and the little girl to shake as much off of himself as he could. Each pull on the shoulder, drawing  a wince from his face, but he had worse and been through worse and he'd weather it. Because if she told him they couldn't go back, he'd have to hold the little girl, and he didn't want to be as wet as he had been.

Reverie shook her head. She didn't want things like furs around Blossom, not while she was so young and small. I have some herbs, but nothing for this. We can go there when I have what you need, And truthfully she would prefer to keep Arric in her line of sight as long as he was close to Blossom. It wasn't anything personal; Reverie had determined by now that it was instinct, which was odd for her. But having a child had changed many things.
She'll be fine. She's been around more blood than this, Reverie still wasn't sure how she'd managed to avoid bleeding to death, really. She waited for Arric to settle and moved to tuck Blossom against his right side, where he wasn't bleeding. You keep him company, alright? She kissed her on the forehead and reluctantly stepped away. She wouldn't go far; couldn't, even if she wanted to.

Arric hated that Reverie barely trusted him. There was such a thing as instinct yes, but she went a little over the top, but he didn't move. She shifted so more of his dryer fur was covering the child. And he barely moved. Afraid if he moved wrong, Reverie would turn on him with teeth and claws, and he had enough marks for one day thank you very much.

He would look down at the girl every so often, make sure she was okay. Then he waited. Eyes turning inward as he thought of the day and the things that had brought him to this point. It would be an understatement were he to say he didn't absolutely loathe himself, because he did. Hated the very air he breathed. He was so angry at himself for letting her goad him, twice.

Reverie was pleased to find the Creek changed for the better since the last time she'd dared to wander. The snow was melting, and though that disappointed her in some ways, it meant the return of plant life. The return of herbs! She was a little overly enthusiastic, and returned with a mouthful of moss and leaves and a couple flowers just because they were pretty.
She set those aside and settled next to Arric, sorting through what she'd brought quietly. After a few moments she glanced up at him. I'm sorry, Arric. Hopefully she won't come back, She said, gathering up some of the moss. I need to stop the bleeding. Is that alright? And assuming the answer was in the positive, she would start to press it gently against the places where the bleeding was the worst.

Arric was used to healing so he moved so she had better access to his shoulder and then he waited patiently. Didn't even growl when she pressed and it hurt. Just an ear twitch or a wince on occasion. He considered himself lucky, had he inherited more of his father's temperament, he'd be half dead and the she wolf would be dead so he was lucky he supposed he had a handle on it.

Well if she does I guess I'll have to kill her won't i, because then that's a danger to the pups and i brought it here. So it's my responsibility to take care of it.

He was only half joking. He wouldn't like it if that was the result, but if it was something that needed done. If she continued to threaten the safety of those that he cared about, well then he'd have to make short work of her.

I hope it doesn't come to that though. I don't like killing.

She paused to press her nose briefly to Arric's unhurt shoulder, a gesture of reassurance. It's not your fault, you know, Reverie told him softly, and went back to working on his wounds. When the bleeding had slowed sufficiently she started to chew some of the leaves; something topical for the pain, because she didn't think they would need to worry about infection. The wounds were reasonably clean. When she'd finished applying it, she started to gather up the remnants for transport.
And - please be careful. There are people who care about you, She met his eyes for a moment with those last words, because she meant it. Reverie wasn't sure what she'd do if something truly terrible happened to Arric. It was already difficult to see him in pain like this. I can do the rest back at my den. Would you mind carrying these? It was a lighter burden than Blossom, or she might have asked him to carry her instead. She didn't like the look of the wounds on his face, though, and didn't want him to carry too much weight.

He smiled at her with a small wink. A brief reassurance for her. No it is. I shouldn't have gone near her. I got in trouble the first time. But She didn't have to attack me for existing either.

He nodded. I'll do my best to be careful Rev. I care about you too, you know.

He grasped the herbs in his maw, and waited for her to take Blossom before he followed behind her. His face wasn't as bad as it had seemed, it was actually pretty shallow, but face wounds always bled like crazy.

Of course Reverie knew that Arric cared about her; what she didn't know was why, if she was honest, and she wasn't sure she ever would. She gathered Blossom up and led Arric to her den at a slow pace, wanting to ensure that he didn't push himself. Especially now that she'd given him something for the pain.
You should rest for awhile. Here, eat this, She directed him to the warmest spot in the den, where the sunlight cut in through the entrance, and pushed some of the herbs she kept in her den toward him. Reverie busied herself with fussing over her herbs for the moment, and gave one of the flowers to Blossom to see if it would interest her. You should feel a lot better soon. But be careful. You're still hurt, even if you don't feel it as much.

Body curled inward, head between his paws. He blinked bright blue eyes at her. I've been wounded before. I know about healing. I'll be okay. Thanks Rev.

Arric cared because that was in his nature, and because Reverie needed someone to care about her, because she didn't care about herself all that much. Oh she liked to think she was selfish, but really she was self-destructive. Punishing herself for something from her past, but you couldn't tell her that. Arric just knew the signs, because his father had been the same way. And so was he to an extent.

Reverie hesitated for a moment, then tentatively settled near Arric, near enough that their fur mingled. She started to groom his fur gently, starting with his ruff just behind his ears. It was nice to have someone to fuss over other than Blossom, actually. If he seemed uncomfortable she would stop, but she hoped that he would let her offer this small comfort.
Blossom herself might have been relieved to have a break from it. She never showed any sign of discomfort, but Reverie sometimes wondered if it was overwhelming, being an only child to a mother who had no other reason for her existence and no real interest in finding one. It occurred to her that it might be wise to find something else to at least hold her attention before Blossom got older, before she had enough awareness to feel smothered.

Arric shifted, ear twitched once. Though he wanted to return the favor, honestly he was growing tired. And his eyes heavy. 

Rev. Imma conk out on you in a minute just so you know.

He wasn't sure  if she was willing to let him stay or not, but she needed to tell him now before he fell asleep and snored all over her dwelling, because he was about to. Blue eyes heavy lidded and lowered.

He is so pretty. Reverie was lovingly attentive as she groomed him, because there was nothing she loved more than beauty. It was not the same as having Lestan here, but she felt content when she had a pretty face in her den, whether it was Moss or Arric or Tauris. She smiled when he mentioned that he would fall asleep soon.
Blossom won't wake you up. She's very quiet, She assured him. It didn't even occur to her to ask him to leave. She wanted him here, where she could watch over him and make sure that he would really be okay. Reverie went back to grooming him, and would continue for some time after he fell asleep.