Felltree Marsh Yeah I've been running against the wind

@Valiant

The grey clouds above had dragged down with them an air of solitude and tranquility to the willows, and though the forest was more alive than it had been in a long time, the wolves that now inhabited the land were quiet and ethereal much like the forest itself. Eilonwy herself had never been a very rambunctious one, but with the court she'd become more soft-spoken and tender than she'd been before.

She had also become more curious. Lumi and The Seelie Court had given Eilonwy a lot to think about in the past moons, and she believed she really wanted to become a healer now that she had a place to be useful in. Healers needed herbs, and Eilonwy had been wanting to explore the reaches of the forest for some time, so she took this impulse as the perfect chance to trail the northern borders only to realize that anything beyond that point was perhaps too dangerous to traverse. Too late, though... She was already knee-deep in a marsh that she didn't know how to get out of, and there was no one in miles to help her to get out of her little expedition.

The stormcloaked male was skulking around the willows, not quite brave enough to reenter after returning to them and realizing there were actual border markings. Trespassing was a crime he did not want attached to his name or image, even though part of him was quite resentful about how quickly his home had been taken over.

But they had left it, and this was the way of things.

The marsh was not quite as pleasant a landscape as the willows. It lacked the peace and quiet and was instead filled with the sounds of crickets and frogs, and also his paw steps as he pulled them out of the sucking mud as he plodded along. It was kind if nice, actually; he had missed the liveliness of Round Valley quite a bit since leaving.

It made him wonder what the new wolves of the willows were like — soft-spoken druids? Men pretending to be women? Widowers? Flower children?

To find out, he was following the trail of one of them. A she wolf, still young but perhaps a bit older than him. In his mind, she was just like any of the young mothers of Elysium, soft and sweet and ghostlike. (Sometimes he was not sure if this last quality was real or his imagination.)

What he came upon instead was rather underwhelming.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he approached, long legs carrying him a little more easily through the muck.

At some point Eilonwy got properly stuck in the mud, her short legs unable to do much to get her out of it. in fact, she was starting to believe that struggling was actually making it harder to release herself as the soft soil beneath her paws grew deeper with every move.

Thankfully she wasn't all alone in this. Unbeknownst to her, there was a wanderer around and he approached her, probably realizing she was in some hassle. Oh! She exclaimed when he approached her. The growing fear inside her was suddenly cast by a light of hope. Uhmm... I'm kind of stuck she said with a nervous smile. She didn't know how on earth he could even help her but she was glad he was there.

The mud was rather deep, but Valiant was nimble and strong. He came a little closer, circling around the outer edges of the deepest mud, where the shewolf had gotten herself caught up. "Stuck, huh?" he asked, eyeing her legs as though he were trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

"I'm gonna try and dig you out," he decided, closing the distance between them with long, cautious steps. "We'll try your paws first to see if you can wiggle them out with my help, but if that doesn't work, I'll dig around your chest and belly and try to wedge myself under you. Maybe we can pop you out with some leverage?"

This seemed like a good idea to Valiant, who — with the shewolf's permission — was ready to start digging.

However valiant was the stranger's plan to save Eilonwy, she didn't think that option B was the best idea. What if you get stuck under me? No no, lets try the paws first. she said anxiously. She didn't want to kill a guy because she was dumb. What can I do? she honestly didn't know what else to do to help him help her, but she didn't feel okay with just being the rescued princess.

Drowning in mud underneath a stranger didn't sound like the best plan to Valiant, either, but leaving her to die herself just wasn't an option. When you met a damsel in distress, you saved them. It was just the way of things.

Still, trying for paws first seemed like a good idea. "Just keep testing this paw as much as you can," said Valiant, bumping his nose into her left front leg. "When you can pull it out, try and keep it lifted as much as you can. My legs are a bit long, so I think I'm safe as long as I'm careful — so when you're free, I want you to try and hook your front legs over my back, and we'll try to wiggle your bum out, too."

He was already getting to work, digging carefully around the shewolf's paw.

"I'm Valiant Morningside," he shared, hoping to distract her from her worries. "What's your name?"