Firefly Glen Pulling me under

Light rain drizzled down from the cloudy grey skies as white dainty paws sank with each step taken in the watery mud below, the white and grey female attempting to find some form of shelter before darkness took over the land. Amari was unsure of where she was, or even where she was going for that matter. This place was completely alien to her, along with the scents that lingered within the growing night air as she ventured through the narrow terrain, cerulean eyes watching as the dim glow of fireflies levitated in front of her.

With eyes that could hardly see as the ever encroaching darkness began to blanket the land, the white and grey she-wolf's heart began to pound within her chest as she felt a slight sense of panic grow inside of her. This panic was mainly due to her lack of knowledge of her current surroundings, the ever growing darkness making it harder for Amari to navigate her way safely around, causing her to only panic more.

Streams. Amari could hear streams; her ears catching the soft sound just over the gentle crashing of the drizzling rain that fell from the heavens; her ears swivelling a top her head as she tried to pinpoint their exact location. Though she couldn't. Was it the streams that she was partially walking in? Maybe that was why the ground was so thick and hard to walk upon? As the sound of running water trickled below her paws as she continued forward, Amari suddenly paused briefly. The female could feel herself sink somewhat more into the ground. It was then that the young female realised she was walking in some form of thick, watery sludge! And the longer she remained still, the more she found her paws and legs being swallowed by the ground.

Eyes widened as the white and grey female allowed the emotion of panic to take over, small growls escaping her muzzle as she began to push onwards with her sinking her paws. Mud clinging to her white legs and pelt as it flicked and sprayed upwards around her as she tried to find solid ground. Eeyuk! Unknowing to Amari, the more she pressed onward as night grew, the harder it would be to get out from the sinking muck that slowly comsumed her white form.

Poor Amari!

In Scimitar’s absence, Cypress divided his time evenly between the creek-dappled glen and the forest he called home, devoting all of his efforts to the women he loved. Eshe had fallen into a fitful parody of slumber, the exhaustion of her healing body forcing her panicking mind and aching heart to a temporary stillness, and after smoothing a soft kiss across her brow the haggard raven set out again. “Lucy?” he called out softly when he reached the grove of fireflies, half-expecting the previous day’s events to repeat themselves. In his darkest moments he believed he would never find Lucy; perhaps Rannoch had already guided the girl to safety many miles away. Still, there was a strange magnetic pull that kept him coming back. She’s here. She has to be here. She said she’d be here. Lucy was very good at three things: running, hiding, and loving the Frostfur boys. Put together, there was every reason to expect their reunion — but only if Cypress continued to remain faithful and vigilant.

“Lu — ” he breathed, cutting off the sound of her name when the squelching sound of a larger creature walking across a muddy surface reached his attentive ears. He stood his ground, his wild fur damp with rain and sharpened into an array of porcupine quills, squinting into the darkness with eyes that glowed like carriage lanterns. A flurry of growls and the sucking glop! ssssslop! of mud caught his attention immediately, spurring his paws into motion — he was surefooted and swift, and although disappointment clouded his sulphureous eyes at the sight of another wolf who was not Lucy, he moved forward in concern. “Stop,” he called out succinctly. “Stop struggling; you’re making it worse.” Mud from the girl’s struggles flecked his face and shoulders, but he remained unperturbed. The haphazard sway of one of his tall ears and the nervous way he licked at his lips betrayed his agitation, but perhaps she would not notice; his youthful timbre was crisp and clear, stoic as his father’s.

He had nearly mistaken her for October, but her eyes were strikingly different. Blue like Lucy’s. On tenterhooks he circled her, testing the ground with his paws. “Move slowly,” he suggested. “You…you’re not alone anymore.” How he wished to hear Lucy utter those words to him! The ache took his breath away. Feeling for the most solid, shallow swatch of earth, Cypress inched forward a few pawsteps at a time. “Can you move this way?” he asked her. “Try moving just your front legs.”

Through the struggle to once be free of this mess, Amari began to twist and turn her body as she continued to trudge forwards stupidly. She should never have come to this place, especially with rainfall. Which was obvious by the mess that she currently found herself in. Cerulean eyes looked around with panic in their gaze, eyes briefly watching the fireflies hover before her. They were the only thing the female could find some form of comfort in, for they were they the only thing shedding some light on a dark situation.


Then all motion ceased at the sudden sound of a voice calling for her to stop. And that's what she did. White ears swivelling a top her small head as she tried to turn to look at the source of these instructions, her soft voice stuttering some, ”W...worse?” Her eyes closed tightly shut as she inhaled deeply, attempting to calm her rattled nerves. She felt like such an idiot! Why was this happening?

Hearing the young male test the ground as he began to circle around her cautiously, Amari's eyes strained to see her rescuer through the darkness, the occasional firefly aiding her to get a somewhat better visual of the darker pelted male. Amari noticed that his eyes were the only thing most visible about him, the male almost blending in with the darkness that surrounded them.

Listening to the strangers instructions, Amari began to move only her front legs. The white, mud covered female attempting a swim like motion as he called her to a specific direction. Hopefully to the edge of this sludge pool! Amari attempted to lunged herself forward as she moved her front paws across the surface, her small body only just inching through the thick watery mud that was trying to consume her petite form.

Not today! As she continued to struggle toward the edge of the sinking mud pool, Amari suddenly felt her paw hit solid ground. Though slippery and wet, the white female was determined as she tried to clamber herself onto the still mucky, but more sturdier surface.

“Yeah,” Cypress said, his agile mind whirring wildly, “worse.” What would happen, for example, if the girl never found her footing? What would happen, he wondered, if she died? In his innocence and ignorance, he knew with the unshakable conviction of the very young that the girl would be fine — he was here, and he would save her; but even if he was not here, someone would save her. Only bad wolves died. The young wolf’s upbringing had been sheltered, and he’d been fed upon tales of love and war gilded with beautiful words and heroic themes — but the skewed belief that Rannoch would forever be the hero and he, the smaller son, the failed firstborn, would be left to skulk in shadow had begun to take root. A burgeoning taste for the macabre — sympathy for the villain, perhaps? — had begun to rear its head in the Neverwinter prince. “Never mind — nothing bad will happen. Look, you’re doing it. You’re almost out,” he encouraged hastily, a fissure of impatience causing his changing voice to crack, betraying his adolescence. She was supposed to be Lucy — he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was wasting time.

He found a patch of solid ground and reared back, striking at it like a fox making a kill — and when it held, he tossed his mud-spattered head and triumphantly cried, “Over here, Lu — l-look!” Despite his blunder, he shut his mouth tight before the shadow’s name slipped fully from his lips, and the cover was unintentionally convincing. The slip of his errant tongue merely seemed the product of a boyish stammer: “over here, l-l-look!” He shifted restlessly, ready to offer a nod of encouragement should the female look his way again. “Step this way — be careful — and push hard with your front legs. I’ll help pull you out.”

sorry for this crappy reply ><

Knowing she still wasn't out of this yet, Amari clenched her teeth together as she pushed through the thick wall of mud that obstructed her grasp to solid ground. An agitated growl erupting from her throat as she desperately tried to force her way through the muck, white rounded ears arching a top her small head as she listened to the others words. His voice sounded, though at first each word with a brief pause as she continued to struggle for her freedom, the young female still listening carefully to her rescuer as he suddenly began to sound more encouraging. Amari's blue eyes peering over to him as he stood on the edge of the hellish pool, the few swarms of fireflies that scattered the area, illuminating his shadowy form within the darkness.

Head turned as she heard him call out, though she was unable to hear his blunder over the squelching sound of the mud around her, white paws attempting to manoeuvre herself closer to the edge as she continued to persevere with the lunging motion, hid legs kicking constantly underneath the mud. The young she wolf's body ached as a sense of exhaustion began to creep over her, thankfully her paws manage to hit the solid surface, finally. Blue eyes widening as she gradually got a decent footing, maybe there was hope yet. Her front paws pressed against the ground as she now tried to pull the rest of her body from the consuming mud pit, hind legs still kicking tiredly behind her.

Not at all crappy! Mild powerplay, but I left room for Amari to slip out of Cypress’ grasp just in case. ♥
If you are not okay with it, let me know and I will remove it. Short post!

When the girl was close enough, Cypress leaned forward and attempted to grip her scruff securely between his teeth, settling the bulk of his weight against his hindquarters to use as a counterbalance. It was fortunate that the bright-eyed female was such a dainty, petite creature; thanks to his father’s impressive genes, Cypress would outweigh her in a few mere months despite his youth. “This might hurt,” he warned her through teeth that clamped gently around the loose fur and skin of her nape, “but when I count to three, push toward me with everything you have.” He adjusted his stance, his paws gripping the ground firmly as he bent his knees and elbows reflexively. “You can do this,” he encouraged in a low, reassuring tone, finding that she seemed to respond better to kindness, “and you’re going to be okay.” Whisking his tail like a rudder, he lowered his body in readiness: “one — two — three!” With a soft, breaking cry of effort, Cypress leaned his weight back on his heels and tugged, mindful of the female’s comfort level and ready to let go at any moment if the pain grew too great.

Thank you and that's totally fine! :)

She felt the sudden touch of his teeth around the scruff of her neck, white ears flicking back against her head as she felt the sudden the sudden grip of the male, her eyes closing tightly as she waited silently for his attempts to pull her out of this hellish situation. She bared her teeth, ears twitching some at the sound of his voice, Amari just able to hear his words through clenched fangs, that were also muffled by her fur, ”Okay!” She yelled, waiting, ready to embrace the pain that came with her freedom. She didn't care, she just wanted out!

The sound of his encouragements, did indeed help Amari develop some form of confidence within herself as she tried to get free of this consuming muck that almost succeeded in swallowing her. Though most of it had to go to her rescuer here, for if he hadn't come along when he had, she probably would've been found neck deep. Being small also had its disadvantages.

As he began to count down, Amari prepared herself for freedom. When he finally came to three, Amari let out a small growl as she kicked against the mud with her front and back paws, feeling the slightly painful tug around her scruff as the male pulled her with his weight on to solid ground. A slight yelp escaped her muzzle as she fell onto the ground, a loud groan following after as she allowed her aching body to finally relax, ”T..t..thank you.” She puffed some, eyes blinking as she peered back to the hell pool she had finally escaped.

The female kicked free of the muck with a satisfying squuuuuick! — and her rescuer immediately lost his grip on her scruff with a jarring snap of his jaws, tumbling tail over tip until he flopped to an undignified halt. He was spattered with mud himself and clearly disheveled, but his eerie lantern-yellow eyes blazed with triumph. Her breathless gratitude caught him off guard; “oh,” he said, oversized ears betraying his uneasiness as they splayed out to the sides of his head like a mantling raven, “you’re welcome.” The boy untangled himself, his nerves still raw with the need to locate Lucy, rearranging his long legs into a sphinx-like pose. “Is your neck okay?” He moved toward her, gaze drifting with intent alacrity toward her gunmetal nape, but he stopped just short of touching her for a reason he couldn’t quite explain. Awkward in his adolescence, the scruffy duckling backpedaled a pace or two. “I’m Cypress, from Neverwinter Forest,” he informed her, a hollow quality to his youthful timbre. “What’s your name? Where do you live?” Winter was coming — he made a mental note to ask his father whether their home was immune to it, given its name.

White ears caught the sharp snap of her rescuers jaws as he released his grip from her scruff, cerulean eyes closing some as she now felt a sense of relief around her nape. A sigh escaped her as she panted softly for a moment, muck and dirt clung to her white and silver pelt, covering most of her form as she stood quietly appreciating being on solid ground once again. Hearing the commotion of the male as he tumbled and rolled behind her, Amari's small head turned instantly as she caught his simple reply of, 'Oh', cerulean eyes peering over to her now dirt covered saviour as he then continued to speak. Amari offered him a thankful smile as listened to him and then gave a nod of her head when he asked if her neck was okay, ”It is, thank you again.” She said with a wag of her mud covered tail, flicks of dirt randomly flying up behind her. The she-wolf offered the night colored male a sheepish smile as he approached her, his yellow eyes looking toward her neck; where he had pulled to free her from the muck.

Ears flicked back against her head as the rain continued to drizzled down from the heavens above, blue eyes cautiously glancing around at the shadowy terrain before them. The eerie light of the glow-worms only illuminated small portions of these unknown lands, though they helped cast a light, it was still useless to Amari. The muck covered female's attention was back on the male as he introduced himself. Now her saviour had a name. Cypress. And instantly after his introduction, Amari found herself under a siege of questions, pausing as she watched Cypress for a minute before replying quietly, ”I'm Amari.” The she-wolf remained still, unsure of where to stand for fear of ending up trapped in the muck again, ”I don't have a permanent home.” She said as she looked to her paws. Maybe now she would consider survival over solitude. After this endeavour it certainly had her mind ticking. The girl thinking back to when she had been invited to the Caldera days ago by Shrike. Amari now finding herself perhaps regretting her decision in not venturing there sooner; though truthfully she hadn't been paying much attention on the directions that had been given in the first place; her mind having wondered at the time. She was a wolf in unknown lands, after all; now completely lost.

♥ I am very sorry for the wait and the length! Tagging because it has been awhile.

The mud-spattered raven repeated his damsel’s name with great care. “@Amari? It’s nice to meet you,” he intoned politely, his brow furrowing with concern when he learned of her current living situation. “You should come home with me,” he suggested without a single thought to what his parents or packmates might say, “or at least walk far enough to see where it is. There’re a few rivers and streams on the way where we can wash off.” It was the most practical idea that Cypress could come up with, and though the muddy female had not expressly asked him for his opinion, he was helpless to hold his tongue. He couldn’t fathom being in a world without the support system of his parents — especially after losing Rannoch and Lucy. Eshe and Scimitar were the true constants in his life, even if Scimitar was mainly seen in passing or in slumber as he caught an hour or two between searching for the wayward cubs. Amari shouldn’t be alone — Cypress knew that much.

It's totally fine! ^^ Don't worry. And so many distractions whilst writing this post ><"
Would you like to make another post and/or fade the journey? And I'll post a joining thread at Neverwinter Forest? :)

Mud stained ears twitched as she caught the sound of her name roll off Cypress' tongue as he spoke, the dirt covered female giving him; her rescuer, a respectful dip of her muzzle as he mentioned that it was nice to meet her. In truth Amari couldn't help but smile at the notion, finding it slightly amusing to have met in such conditions and for it to be considered a nice first encounter. Ever since leaving her family the female couldn't help but feel that she had made a mistake, since stepping paw into the wilds, Amari was slowly coming to the conclusion that she couldn't survive out here and definitely not on her own. The muck covered she-wolf couldn't help herself but feel somewhat defeated, her brother's words ringing within her ears as she thought back to the day she'd left them all behind. Amorik said she wouldn't survive alone out in the wilds and Amari, being as stubborn as she was, refused to listen to him.

“You should come home with me,” Cypress' words suddenly pushed her brother's voice out from her thoughts, cerulean eyes slowly peering over to the dirt splattered male. Blue stare shimmered in the dim light of the few scattered fireflies as she remained silent, simply offering Cypress a small smile for his concern. “Or at least walk far enough to see where it is. There’re a few rivers and streams on the way where we can wash off.” Her white ears flicked forward atop her small head as she gazed down at her paws, having listened carefully to his words, the ivory girl pondered momentarily on his statement. Amari knew with the way she was currently going, she wouldn't last that long. Not to mention the seasons were also against her, which only added extra pressure on the decision, ”If I could walk with you just enough to know the way..” She said, though pausing for a moment as she looked up then continued, ”..as you probably guessed, I'm not from these lands, so the guidance would certainly be appreciated.” Her head lowered a little as she gave a sheepish smile, paws slowly shifting as she gradually stood to all fours, ”It would probably be an idea to get this mud off first like you suggested.” A nervous laugh escaped her as she examined her dirty pelt, thinking it a good idea to bathe first before meeting Cypress' fellow pack wolves, ”Wouldn't really make a good first impression, would it?” She joked, smiling again slightly as her mud covered tail gave a small sway behind her, paws waiting to follow him out from this glen and to somewhere safer than here.

I’ll fade in my post and send you a PM!

The raven-furred boy’s tail began to wave, spattering droplets of mud that he paid little mind to; he mirrored Amari’s gesture of respect, dipping his mire-dappled maw low, and waited quietly as she began to think over the idea. In truth, Cypress had been denied very little in his four months of life, so it was natural for him to expect that the girl would do what he wanted — the thinking process was just a formality. Owed to Eshe’s doting nature, he and Rannoch had wanted for nothing. He was unsurprised but greatly pleased when she agreed to walk with him, and a boyish grin parted his muzzle, tongue lolling jovially as he replied with confidence, “Don’t worry. They’ll like you. They would like you even if you didn’t take a bath.” Though he had come to the glen to find Lucy, he felt as though rescuing Amari had been an important step in the process. The fledgling’s mind whirred wildly, coming up with a plethora of conclusions, all of them chimerical in nature: perhaps the next wolf he found would be the right color fur with the wrong color eyes; perhaps this good deed would grant him a clue that would lead him to his blackbird; perhaps Amari was actually a fae or a phantasm and would lead him to Lucy herself; perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. The possibilities seemed endless.

“My mama has been sick,” he informed the girl, “and my paw might be out searching for my brother. He’s…he’s gone missing.” For the first time since their meeting, Cypress’ voice felt taut and strained, even without mentioning Lucy. Talking about his missing littermate and the ensuing loneliness of the forest was painful enough. “Someday you’ll meet them — all of them,” he promised her, reassuring himself as much as the murk-spattered girl, “but if you don’t get to today, maybe you can meet my aunt Kaskara or my sister Allure instead. Or October!” He chattered on as he led her back toward Neverwinter Forest, stopping just long enough for both of them to bathe the mud from their fur.