Big Salmon Lake on my mind

Eljay had kept going north, aimlessly wandering. He kept his pace high to keep himself from panic, but his breathing was still rapid and he felt flustered. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing as he wandered into bramblepoint. The place felt eerie and he was lacking any sort of overview there so he just kept running from narrow corridor to narrow corridor, running, running, running, until he finally breached out of the bramblepoint. Some thorns still stuck to his coat while he stared at what was ahead, wide-eyed, heart thumping in his chest in horror.

By now he was so far removed from home he wouldn't even know how to return if he wanted to. A final slashing of the bonds with Redhawk Caldera, a thing that felt very black-and-white definite in the mind of Eljay. There was a field with a huge lake ahead of him that was painted in the pinks and oranges of sunset, and Eljay walked towards the lake on shaky legs, suddenly feeling all of his emotions of the past day and weeks catch up with him while he leaned down to drink, his sips interupted by sobs.

"He's certainly out of breath, isn't he?" Thought Anne, eyes curiously following the grey male as he approached the edge of the lake. From her distance, it was hard to make out much else about him. He was downwind, so she couldn't even use a scent to tell anything else about him. Not that it mattered, she was going to approach him regardless. His entrance was welcomed, though it did interrupt a particularly whimsical daydream. Making her way closer to him, walking along the edge of the lake, she gauged perfectly the distance from which he'd be able to hear her, and at that exact moment, she began.

"Hello! Isn't it just beautiful here in the evening? When the sunset reflects on the water? Beautiful can't begin to describe it. You must have come here to see it, too, haven't you? That makes the two of us! Oh, oh, wait!" A safe distance away, she stops, as she is able to see now that he is not just out of breath from running, but also crying. Her face changes, expressing genuine concern and confusion. "Oh, no!" She continues closer to him, at this point a bit closer than might have been polite for two strangers, though that would never cross her mind. She would stop about 6 feet from him. "This is absolutely the worst time and place to be sad! Though it is sort of romantic, isn't it? Sorrow by the lake at sunset!" It's obvious she's pleased with herself. It would be hard to get a word in edgewise with Anne. "That sounds sort of lovely doesn't it? But never mind that. I'm Anne, it's my distinct pleasure to meet you, my melancholy friend." 

Inspecting him closer now, she sees he is about her age, perhaps a bit more grown. Thorns stuck in patches all over his pelt. What a mystery! She notices the tremble of emotions running through him and though she had decided to give him his turn to speak, it's something she nearly can't help. "What's happened to you?"

Eljay was so inverted into his own world that he didn't even notice someone else approach at first, just like with Gannet. When she started to speak he stared at her, bewildered and wide-eyed, fearful and the emotion still vividly shimmering in his eyes. She started to speak about the beauty of things and he had a hard time tracking what exactly she was saying because she was talking so fast and especially so much.

She noticed that he was sad pretty quickly, which wasn't surprising, and Eljay found himself frozen still. He had had difficult times meeting strangers in Redhawk Caldera as a youth, but he'd never met any outside of the pack in the two years he was on this earth. Not except Sebastian, who had seemed out-of-pack but turned out to be an ex-member who'd later rejoined, so it didn't really count.

It took Eljay a while to collect himself, and even then he looked disheveled and uncomfortable as he finally said something. "I... The brambles were — it was hard to find my way," he said sheepishly while looking back where he'd come from. "Are... What pack are you from?" In Eljay's mind, it wasn't a matter of whether someone was from a pack, but which one they were from. He hadn't quite pieced together that he was a loner now, either.

'Patience, Anne!' She reminds herself, trying hard to keep her face polite, though it's a little obvious she's impatient as she allows time for him to speak. In this brief moment of silence, she is allowed time to notice things about the stranger she wouldn't normally. He doesn't seem to be very interested in conversation. 'Understandable. Sadness isn't the most friendly emotion.' But even so, it didn't occur to Anne to ask if he wanted to be left alone. He seemed almost frozen, surprised maybe, and for a moment Anne wondered if he would do or say anything. 

He seems to gather himself up the best he can, and Anne is visibly relieved just the same. "I can understand that, I'm sure. I've been lost a time or two myself though I can say that I don't think I've ever been stuck in brambles before. Does it hurt? I'm certain it's not comfortable. Would you like some help removing them?" Taking a good-natured step forward, she continues speaking at such a pace and volume that it could be hard to catch every word even if you were very diligent. Her words are well-formed and clear, but the speed can be hard to keep up with. "There are so many packs, aren't there? I've only been in one myself, as I was born into it, but from what I've been able to detect in this area there are quite a few packs, and big ones at that. My pack was just me and my uncle and my auntie, who is terribly serious, and my brothers and sisters and cousins. One time we were - Well, you probably wouldn't like to hear that story right now considering the sorry mood you're in. But maybe later. At any rate," Finally, a breath, "I don't currently belong to a pack. And it's quite the shame if you ask me." Anne's great joy to meet a set of ears has taken over a bit.

Settling down onto her rump, she allows her tail to rest on the muddy bank of the lake and paint her fur dirty as she tosses it idly. "So you must belong to a pack then, don't you? Oh what a joy that would be! I haven't met a soul from a pack yet. They keep quite to themselves, it seems. To which pack do you belong? Oh! And you still haven't told me your name!" Her eyes are wide with anticipation, and a happy grin is set in her face like a jewel.

For a moment it seemed that their meeting could end, but the moment easily passed and she continued speaking. Eljay was taken aback visibly by the waterfall of words. When she offered to help him remove the brambles he was inclined to say 'no', but somehow still ended up saying, "Sure," almost like he was afraid to disappoint her, because she was being so nice and well-meaning and he didn't want to make her feel bad.

His question seemed to trigger quite a lot of thought from the girl, as she started speaking excitedly of packs and how she had been in only one. Eljay just smiled throughout her story, feeling uncomfortable and like he was never getting out of this conversation, but he also felt relief that she wasn't anyone hostile.

He froze again when she said that he must belong to a pack. Eljay bit his lip and frowned, thinking back to Redhawk Caldera and the great thing that he had left behind. Maybe it wasn't always perfect, but at least he had his family... "I... No," he said, his eyes shimmering with emotion while he tried to wrestle himself through the sentence, "I don't belong to a pack." He wished he could just say 'Redhawk Caldera', and then take the girl there so that she'd have some place to live, too. But he'd told Gannet that he was leaving and he would only be in the way in the Caldera; he needed to find someplace else.

In the turmoil of his thoughts he had completely forgotten to introduce himself (again), and when he realised that he quickly said, "Oh, uh, I'm Eljay." He had already forgotten her name, and considered asking, but then he hoped it might come up in conversation naturally so that he wouldn't have to ask again and be awkward about it.

Anne's giddiness begins to fade, the initial excitement cooling down into idle contentment. She's still happy to have found someone else to chat with, as she always is, but now is visibly more calm and less energetic. She's becoming aware of just how uncomfortable Eljay is, and it wounds her a bit. But her desire for companionship and conversation won't allow her to leave it, not willingly. Now a little insecure, she can tell he's not really looking for help with the thorns in his fur. 'Not really a big deal. They'll come out on their own anyway.' 

He falters, and his eyes gleam again with sadness when he explains he doesn't belong to a pack. "Oh, it's not so bad to be on your own, Eljay!" She says, doing her best to uplift him. Maybe if she can improve his mood, he'll be more inclined to conversation. "Sure, you miss certain things. Big game, mostly." She giggles lightheartedly, "But you get a taste for other things! Have you ever eaten a fish? It's an experience! Plus you get to do whatever you'd like to, and see all the amazing things you might not have had the chance to in a pack. And I bet when you do find a pack, you'll be so much more grateful for it, having always been on your own."

"You look plenty tough, as well, so no one will mess with you!" Anne had never been in anything close to conflict in her life, but she's aware that scraps happen frequently, especially when one doesn't have the protection of a pack.

The cleaning of the brambles never came, but he didn't mind too much. He'd intended to say 'no' anyway, so he didn't push the matter, though he wouldn't have resisted had she actually gone to pluck them out.

Eljay wasn't so sure about her words, no matter how hard she tried to convince him and no matter how convincing her words actually sorta sounded. "I've tried fish," he squished in really quick between things Anne said. He actually liked fishing, because it required a degree of patience that he had. It was one of few hunting things he was actually really good at.

He froze when Anne mentioned that no one would mess with him because he looked plenty tough. He didn't feel very tough. Would anyone try to mess with him? Why? Eljay looked worried suddenly as he asked, "Why... Who'd want to mess with others?" He'd thought the outside world was scary because it was unknown, but he didn't know that it was genuinely dangerous to boot.

They talked for another while before eventually Anne went her own way and so did Eljay.