Jade Fern Grove Turn Around Turn Around

Massaraq turned away from nuutuittuq, kept it in sight even as his path took him in the opposite direction. He did not know where he was going anymore and yet stubbornly refused to let the feeling of being lost sit long over his shoulders. The verdant forest reminded him of the summer and he could not think of that without some bitterness, of a time when things were more simple. Had he been wise. A million things he thought, pushing each consideration away.

Instead he focused on the smell and the sound of the crickets, let them soothe him as he traveled, let his own steps strike strong and sure upon the earth as it staid strong beneath him.

Esma had not intended to wander away from her home. She had no natural desire to ever leave Riverclan - a place, where she felt protected by her mother and the gods she worshipped. Anything outside the safe confines was scary and chaotic - she preferred to observe it from the safety of the borders, letting her imagination stray far beyond and fill the details of the alien world she was afraid of and not familiar with. 

However, today, while playing near the Mudminnow river, watching the fish and trying to bring out some weeds, she had got distracted by a small herd of deer. At first the grazers were just part of harmless background, until something scared them and they came charging directly to, where Esma was. She caught sight of them only, when the first one dashed past her, making her crouch and duck and tumble in the water awkwardly. She inhaled it, making her cough and splutter, all the while the deer kept coming. 

In a panicked attempt to get away from the situation she took off in the direction she believed to be home, but in reality it was the opposite one. Esma realized her mistake only, when she had recovered enough to take in the surroundings properly and understand that none of this was familiar. Worse - there were no scents of wolves around either. Another wave of panic rising in the pit of her stomach, she got up and padded through the strange place, not knowing, what to do. 

Until she caught sight of greyish-white pelt that belonged to a young man in the distance. Esma froze and then went to hide behind the nearest tree, watching the stranger in anxious silence. 

Unknowingly Massaraq passed closer to the other wolf's hiding place, he was not on the trail of any prey and so his steps were not quiet as he moved through the earth. He was far from home, and yet he did not feel as if all that he found was unfamiliar. Perhaps it was what was familiar that made him long for those things the most. But he tried not to let that longing overwhelm him, especially when he should have felt even more urgently by his current task.

A few moments and he had nearly passed the other wolf without catching sight or sound of her, and yet when he chanced to move his head he caught the fresh scent of a stranger. Confused he stopped and breathed in once more, after all he could neither see nor hear the wolf that his sense of of smell told him must be nearby. "Hello?" He called out tentatively, continuing to look around swiveling his ears as if a more furtive second glance would reveal them.

Upon closer examination Esma could tell that the guy was roughly the same age as her. The size difference between them, however, gave the young man more maturity than her though. And in her fear and stress she felt even smaller than she actually was. 

Rather than moving away, he neared her hiding place and it would only be a matter of time, before he would catch sight of her. With him being so near her hiding place in the trees, there was no chance that he would not spot her (curse that tawny-piebald coat of hers!). She gulped, shrunk even smaller and thought frantically on her next course of actions. 

If she were to run off, he could catch up with her easily. Plus, she had not the slightest idea of, where she was, and taking off again with no sense of direction would make her situation even worse. Engaging in a conversation was out of the question, because she was not supposed to talk to strangers. And socializing with people scared her. 

Then in a moment of desperation she decided that her best course of action was to charge forward and catch that danger before her by surprise. Therefore she lunged in is direction with a loud half-growl-bark that sounded like: "WARGHW!"

Massaraq heard her before he saw her and when he did whirl to face the sound a half-growled out bark and the sight of the other wolf lunging for him he did not let himself think. A snarl built up in his throat and though he had never been in a real fight before he reacted instinctively, like he was playing but without pulling the strength from his jaws or the force from his claws. He leapt forward to meet her half way maw wide and aiming for the side of her ruff a good place of leverage and a quick getaway if she attacked against him, head lowered both to account for their difference in stature and to protect the soft underside of his throat. His blue eyes blazed and yet white ringed them in fear.

The young man was quick to react to Esma's lunge and met her mid-way. In a failed attempt to change her course and duck, she crashed in him, felt his teeth graze her skin and then she fell on the frozen ground with a muffled thud. All of this lasted a second or two, but felt like an eternity.

She panicked, disentangled herself and scrambled away from him, eyes wide in utter fear, ears flattened against her skull. She crouched to the ground and her gaze darted from him.to her surroundings, her mind frantically trying to come up with a solution.

The other wolf skittered away from him and now looking more clearly he could see signs of fear in her flattened ears and wide eyes hugging the ground. Perhaps she had simply not expected someone to be able to respond to her attack. He spoke carefully head still lowered a low growl in his throat, showing none of his own hesitation. But she had jumped at him and he felt his own heart beat quickly in his chest. If she hoped to steal from him he had nothing that he could part with, neither his life nor the herbs his anaa had given him he needed for his spirit walk. And if she hoped to fend him off some claim he had missed he was willing to be on his way.

Not wishing any further violence his voice was rough over his throat. "I have no prey for you to take and want no trouble. Let us both leave in peace." He stared her down, less out of any aggression and more to keep his eyes on her every move, afraid she might attack again.

The young man spoke, but in her absurd fear of him, Esma's mind did not register the words. She continued to stare at him in utter bewilderment and her whole body trembling. Oh, how she hated to be in this situation! And the sense of being completely trapped grew with every second.

In the end the only logical solution for her was to bolt away, even if it meant that she would get further away from home and more losy than she already was. She ran as fast as she could, eager to put a long distance between her and the stranger. The rest she would figure out later.

Sorry that's so short. Esma is a hyper-introvert it seems.

Massaraq blinked when she fled, his blood taking a few accelerated heartbeats to cool. But he convinced himself it was a good thing that she had run, for he did not want trouble and as soon as he could no longer see her in the distance he went his own way, ears pricked just a bit more alert for more trouble.

no worries! 10/10 relatable