Firefly Ravine River Crossing

Tohka made her way down into the gorge on the east side of the river that flowed swiftly through it. She caught a few salamanders and frogs for a snack, but that wasn’t her reason for being there. Her intention was to cross the river, but she was unsure of the current, thinking it might be too strong for her. She looked up and down the river in both directions, hoping to see a fallen tree or trail of rocks or anything else to span the river, rather than having to swim across it. She had already fallen into a different river a few days past, and she didn’t care to fall into another one, especially one that seemed even more dangerous.

She decided to head downstream, thinking that if she didn’t find any kind of bridge to cross, she might at least find a gentler section of the river that would be easier to swim across. She slowly made her way along the bank, hopping up onto boulders at some points and wading into the shallows at other points. All the while, she kept her ears perked, listening to the music of frogs croaking and insects buzzing against the backdrop of the flowing water.

Sauntering along with the coast now behind her, Quill made a slow approach towards the west front of the ravine, opposite our starting protagonist. She spent nearly an hour perusing the gorge's lip, attempting to determine from her vantage point what would be the easiest way to cross once she was able to find a way to get down there herself. Several miles ahead, to the northeast, the river thinned and appeared to be stymied by what would turn out to be a colony of beaver dams the closer she came.

As she went, Quill spotted a dark figure below— traveling along the other side of the river, and quite evidently attempting to find its way across. She couldn't tell how long the wolf had been at this, but she could tell that they were nearly at the end of their journey, if they'd just continue about a mile more.

Because she would want the same courtesy, or perhaps to earn herself some karma points, the spiny she-wolf opened her mouth and bayed down the steep halls of the ravine; calling out to the stranger with encouraging news of their progress: Press on— you can cross soon.

Tohka made her way along the river, contentedly listening to the sounds of the frogs croaking, crickets chirping, and rushing and gurgling of the river as it crashed against the rocks in its path. She stopped and perked her ears when a new and familiar sound rose above the other sounds, which was the call of another wolf. Standing on top of a large rock near the bank, she turned her head to look across the river to where the call came from. She raised her own muzzle to howl a quick thank you to the other before continuing on her way. It was good to know that there would be a place to cross up ahead, and she appreciated the other letting her know.

She jumped down from the rock to the bank where she cut through some tall reeds and weaved between a few trees before jumping up on another big rock. She made another quick glance across the river, then with a gentle wag her tail, jumped down into the water at the edge making a splash as she did. She proceeded to run along the bank sending water flying on both sides of her path. Her tail fanned the air behind her as she ran.

Katora was finally rid of marshes.  It had been a seemingly endless expanse of squishy terrain, unsure footing, and slow going that had been far more exhausting than simply walking.  Though she wandered aimlessly, she would rather get to wherever it was her feet were taking her sooner rather than later.  She had been wandering through instinct and where food was for so long now that she barely knew where she was in relation to where she had been.  This new land was far different to the almost constantly snowy regions she was used to.  

She heard the other two wolves before she saw them.  They were howling about something on the river.  Katora caught the conversation too late to have heard all of it but she did hear a thank you.  

The wind was against her and so she walked closer to the sound than she might have otherwise.  As she approached from the east she smelled running water and more mud.  A ravine?  

She stopped, considering herself close enough for the two other wolves to hear and tipped her head back.  She howled a long throaty note of greeting.  "Hello, my name is Katora.  Are any of you in need of assistance?" she sang in the long undulating notes of her people.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I’ve been really busy lately, and I also didn’t realize Quill was inactive.

After bounding through the shallows along the east side of the river, Tohka jumped up onto another rock, and from there she jumped to another one higher up the edge of the ravine, then another one that was higher still. As she landed she heard the howl of another wolf echo through the canyon. She guessed that the voice was female as she identified herself as Katora and gave an offer of assistance.

Tohka stopped on the ledge and responded with another howl. “I’m Tohka,” she called out. She proceeded to jump to the next stone which was a bit further down as she continued. “We’re fine. We were just talking about where to cross the riv- AAAHHH!” When she landed on the next rock, she knocked it loose and caused it to tumble down the side of the ravine into the river below. Her howl turned into a surprised yelp as the rock rolled out from under her and left her to tumble into the river after it.

She didn’t have far to fall, and she ended up in the shallows at the edge of river. Fortunately, she fell into the edge of the river where she wouldn’t get swept away by its current. Still, the water was cold, and landing on the jagged rocks didn’t feel good either. After she landed, she also got hit by another rock from the small avalanche that she had created. Dazed and confused, she stood up in the shallow water. Her first thought was that she had just told the other wolf that she didn’t help.

No worries at all.  Life happens.  I'm glad the thread is active again. :)

Katora heard the response.  It set Katora at ease at first.  When she heard the howl turn into a yelp of surprise and fear, however, she began running as fast as she could toward the source of the howl.  

"Are you ok?"  She howled loudly as she sprinted closer to the ravine.  She skidded to a halt just in time to not pitch herself off the top of the ravine into the river.  Below she could see the bedraggled she-wolf, pulling herself out of the river shallows.  Katora hoped she hadn't broken anything, her skills as a medic were very much lacking.

Tohka staggered to the bank, freezing cold water dripping from her drenched coat. So much for crossing the river without getting soaked as she had hoped. By the time Katora had reached the edge of the ravine and called out to her, she had recovered from the shock of the sudden fall and the cold water. However, as the initial shock wore off, a few new pains set in. She had a sore spot on her left flank where she had landed on a small boulder and some scrapes on her left hip where she had slid down the embankment. She also felt a sting on her right hind paw where she had cut herself at some point during the fall. She didn’t think she had sustained any injuries, and her mother had taught her how to keep cuts from getting infected, so she wasn’t in bad shape at all.

But Tohka liked attention and didn’t mind using her fall and exaggerating to get it. Since Katora was close by, there was no need to howl, so she called out her answer. “I’ve got some bumps, but I think I’m alright.” She deliberately limped, dragging her left hind leg behind her, knowing that the other could easily see her, and added, “but my side hurts pretty bad.” The pain was tolerable and would heal in time, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t complain about it.

Katora wrestled her way down the ravine and onto the river bank.  She lauded the bravery of the woman, hauling herself to her feet and attempting to walk after so soon a fall.  Katora was sure the water had been freezing.  Even her own thick coat wouldn't have protected her from the initial shock of the freezing water.  

Katora stayed a cordial distance away as she approached Tohka.  She was still a brand new wolf.  Katora wasn't sure how trusting Tohka was but didn't want to assume since there didn't seem to be lasting damage.  

"Does it feel like a stabbing pain or a dull pain.  In your side that is."  Katora asked, perking her ears.

Tohka returned to the bank and stepped out onto dry land while Katora made her way down the side of the ravine. As she walked, she dragged her leg, looking a little more pathetic than necessary, though her side did throb when she shook the cold water out of her coat. She perked her ears at the sound of the other’s voice asking her about the nature of her pain. “Mostly dull,” she answered as she turned her head around to glance at her left flank. “I don’t see anything bleeding though, so maybe it’s just bruised.” As she spoke, she turned to her head towards the other to give her a questioning look.

It was then that she felt the stinging in her right hind paw where she had cut herself, and she noticed that she had left some blood droplets in the sand behind her. The cut on her paw was now covered in sand and would have to be cleaned out. “Except for my paw,” she said sheepishly. She hobbled back to the water’s edge to rinse off her paw and examine the cut.

Katora lowered her ears in a display of passivity and dared to approach closer.  She sniffed at Tohka's side.  "dull but not horrible is a start," she said tentatively.  "I'm sorry about the sharp pain in your paw."  

Katora sniffed the air again and this time she smelled the little bit of blood through the mist and humidity of the river bank.  As Tohka hobbled to the bank to rinse her paw, Katora followed.  "I'm so glad it wasn't worse.  Even if your ribs are fractured, they don't seem to have punctured anything.  Trust me," Katora shivered, "you'd know if they had."


Katora thought for a moment about what to say or offer next.  "Where you going anywhere in particular?  I can help you get there."

Tohka lowered her ears to match Katora’s and wagged her tail as she approached and sniffed at her side. The movement from her tail wagging exacerbated the pain in her side, causing her to let out a whimper. She immediately stopped and sheepishly said, “Guess I can’t wag so hard right now,” but she soon resumed a much gentler wag, making sure to let the other know she was appreciated. She was unsure about the statement, ‘even if your ribs are fractured’. She asked about that. “Fractured? Does that mean, like, broken?” Broken or not, she would have to try to take it easy on her side. She wasn’t sure what punctured meant either, but she noticed Katora’s shiver when she mentioned it. Perhaps she had survived something like that?

Her paw would be another story as she needed it for walking. She might just have to walk on three legs until it healed. She finished cleaning the cut when Katora offered to help her get wherever she was going. “Well, no place in particular,” she answered, “but I do want to cross the river. Just before you approached, someone on the other bank said there should be a good place to cross downstream from here, so that’s where I was headed.”

Katora appreciated the tail wagging even though it was more subdued an action than Tohka wanted to take.  "Fractured," Katora explained, "means it's cracked but not broken, like a limb of a tree before it falls.  It's not a pleasant feeling but if it is your ribs there's nothing we can do about it but let it heal."  Katora looked Tohka over.  "You seem well enough, you're not having trouble talking or anything right?"

Katora looked down the river toward where the ford might be.  "To be honest, I'm new to this area as well.  I don't know if that's the case.  How about we see if you can walk or not first?"

Tohka visualized a cracked tree limb when Katora explained the meaning of the word fractured. Trying to visualize the tree limb as a rib in her side didn’t work so well. She stood there for a several seconds trying to process the idea before giving up. What mattered was that it was possible that she had cracked a rib, and if she did it would hurt for awhile but would eventually heal. That should be good enough anyway. When Katora asked if she had trouble talking, her answer was, “No. No trouble talking.” She was glad for that at least, as she did like to talk and it would be torture for her if she couldn’t.

By the time Katora suggested seeing if she walk or not, she had the cut in her paw cleaned up. She didn’t want to put any pressure on the cut or get it dirty again, so she held that paw up. While holding her cut paw up, she hobbled on three legs several steps along the bank downstream, then hobbled back to Katora. “I’ll have to walk on three on legs ‘til my paw heals, but I can manage,” she said. “I don’t think it’ll take too long.” It wasn’t the first time she had hurt herself and probably wouldn’t be the last, but she was eager to continue.