Swiftcurrent Creek the heart remembers things that the body doesn't want

@Indra; all welcome.

Ukko tracks his way back out of the lair and down to the side of the lake opposite of Kelina’s reign. The shadowy woman often appears out of nowhere, knowing how to use her surroundings to her advantage, and he takes every precaution to avoid such an encounter. He supposes they haven’t even noticed his departure anyway, having been scarce since his arrival.
 
He drops his nose and drinks from the lake briefly, before he finds the outlet and follows along the shores of the creek. These lands are only vaguely familiar to him, having been a long time since he’s traveled. His brief stint in the Maplewood is still fresh in his memory but his route had been direct and he hadn’t lingered or stopped to smell the roses. Still, with no destination in mind, he pushes himself forward until something else catches his attention. The sun hangs low in the sky as it begins to settle in the west, lighting the sky with deep colors that remind him of home.

under the thin slant of afternoon light the russet girl crouched, eyes fastened on the ruffled form of a grouse. she sat low to the ground and crept forward on slender limbs, a denizen beneath the tangled web of thicket.

the grouse turned a cold eye in her direction. she sucked in her breath and lunged forth. the crash of fern and snow alerted it of her presence and it fluttered off on rapidly flapping wings, leaving nothing but a single down feather in its passing.

indra pounced upon it with frustration, snapping at the empty air. she whirled in place and her gaze fell across the broad form of a wolf. she shrank then, taken aback by his presence. she had not noticed him before and silently she whipped herself over it.

It is not that Ukko often finds himself lost in thought but life as a lone wolf he does spend a lot of time reflecting. He has nowhere to go and nothing is entirely pressing. He’s given up on what he’s come for and what little attention he’s attracted, but his loneliness grows often. His thoughts become tiresome and, eventually, his mind is blank as he wanders aimlessly along, making it easy for the other wolf to literally come out of nowhere, sending a bird flying away in terror and his own body to jump in reaction.
 
His ears fall back and he growls in surprise but the girl shrinks back apologetically and he shifts, easing himself out of defense. Ukko licks his lips, cups his ears forward, and takes a step back so she may get over her own surprise while he settles his own nerves.

it appeared the swarthy-looking male was also surprised by their sudden interaction -- indra stepped back with her ears pinned flat to her skull, her body low to the ground and fur bristling as he growled.

and then he relented -- almost immediately.

she cast him a wary and mistrustful gaze, unsure of how to proceed. his posturing (like hers) had subsided, but she was still nervous. her heart was still hammering fresh against her thin chest, and her hackles were slow to lose their prickled appearance. he was male, so she was not sure she trusted him.

but she remembered how terance had been spooked too; and how it had been her fault more than anything. she looked guiltily to the ground, wondering if her outward demeanor was so offputting that she was in fact at fault for her unsavory encounters with others. timidly she ventured a quiet "hi," but said nothing else, wondering if she should move on given the somewhat tense situation.

The threat begins to fade, despite the tension. One spooked the other, resulting in a similar backfire, but surely the edge will fade and they’ll be on their way again. Most of his days are spent alone, occasionally running into others. His most recent stint in the mountain showed him he’s in the wrong place and he doesn’t quite know where he’s supposed to be, making any interaction a little weird. 

”Hey,” he says in response to her quiet greeting. ”I’m not much of a bird hunter, either,” he adds, albeit awkwardly.

ukko's admittance was enough to break away the last bit of frosted scrutiny on indra's face -- while she did not openly trust him, the hardness was eeked from her gaze. he didn't seem so bad now that the surprise had worn off -- he still looked intimidating as all get-out, but indra had never taken much stock in appearances. after all, the monster that took her tail hardly looked like he could snap a twig, let alone raise hell.

she looked to the feather between her feet and let loose a haggard sigh, the tiniest of a barely perceptible smile just slightly lifting the corners of her mouth before being extinguished. "yeah.." she admitted, studying the way the thing curled between her claws. "must be nice to fly away whenever something bothers you."

If he could fly away from his problems? Ukko snorts at the thought, looking up toward the way the grouse came from, and wonders if things would be better. He’d get away before the worst happened. The fantasy is short lived and he nods a little, shrugs a shoulder, and returns back to reality. “Probably less exhausting than running from your problems,” he observes with a flick of his tail. “Something bothering you?” he decides to ask with a slight tilt of his head.

indra followed his gaze, though deviated from the path the grouse had fluttered as she witnessed the swallowing expanse of the sky. her breath paused as she studied the endless zenith of the upperworld -- an other-world she would never experience for herself.

her gaze returned sharply to earth as he asked if something was bothering her. everything was bothering her. her lips pursed and she shifted, clearly uncomfortable with answering the question. he was a stranger -- she would not yoke him with her troublesome problems. "no, just an observation." she answered after a pause, shifting her paws once more in the cold snow. "i'm indra," she finally offered, a threadbare smile slow to rise and quick to fade from her lips.