Porcupine Ridge Electrify me

Diane was hyper aware of the charged atmosphere clouding Porcupine Ridge, centering mostly on the arrival of spring and a strange scent that called to all the wolves in a siren's song, sending everyone's hormones into a rave. The young female avoided the situation entirely, unaware that her own first heat would touch the earth before she could figure out what it all meant. But her aversion to conflict was not what distracted her. It was the snowmelt.

The loss of snow meant that the waters in the territory were swelling exponentially, and the creeks and streams that had been nonexistent at her arrival, were springing up in unexpected places. She found herself avoiding larger stretches of territory, just for this reason. Every time Diane could hear herself nearing the telltale trickling sounds, her imagination would expand, and she could suddenly feel herself getting nearer to the ocean. The thought frightened her so much that she would begin to shake, and tuck her tail, skittering back to where she knew it was quiet. Where she knew it was dry.

Diane was fairly dehydrated because of this, having found her life survivable through the use of puddles and mouthfuls of snow. But the time for avoidance was fast-closing. She knew she couldn't do this forever— especially not if she planned on being a productive member of the Ridge. It was this thought that made her pull herself out of her den that morning, and head quietly for the nearest stream.

As the sound of running water grew louder, Diane's steps slowed. Her legs rocked in vivid uncertainty, but she steeled herself forcefully, marching stiffly forward. The smell of freshwater made her parched mouth dryer, and she thickly licked her chops, pausing several feet away form the edge of the water. It was as close as her body would let her go. She wanted to take the last few steps, but nothing happened except the mild fidgeting of her toes. She whined, suddenly laying down on the spot, and making low, conflicted noises at herself.

It was all frighteningly irrational. And she had no clue how to escape it.

:)

Perhaps all wolves had their own irrational fears. Diane's was water, clearly, and Terich-mir had his own fear of heights. Whatever had possessed him to move onto this ridge, where war and now inner turmoil reigned, was beyond his imaginings now. Capri had really chosen their destination, and ever willing to please, Terich had simply followed her lead. And now he was here, upon this ridge, as Capri grew closer to the dark alpha and further from him, her so-called "best friend." He felt a little low about it, but tried not to let it affect him. It was hard to do that, but at least he tried.

So when the snowmelt began, Terich-mir happily embraced the renewed water resources of their pack, and galloped through the shallow streams and creeks of the lower reaches, splashing like a pup through the water, flinging it every-which-way. He laughed at himself, at his ability to be jovial even during this tense time. Slowly the females were coming into heat, and with it came the madness of men. Terich-mir was lucky he wasn't affected, though he'd never truly thought about the source or reason. He just knew, from years past, that the rage and desire that filled most men, was absent within him. 

Terich came upon Diane, hunched and whining near a stream, and his ears flicked forward. Was she alright? "Diane," he called softly, stepping forward to stand near her. "Are you hurt?" He studied her carefully, bright blue eyes roaming over her form, trying to find the source of her discomfort. He found none. So he turned his head at her in question, and waited.

Diane flinched at the voice, her head snapping around to find Terich's comforting blue gaze surveying her. The small wolf relaxed, her tail thumping against the ground lightly as she whined appreciatively in his direction. She immediately felt better with the male there, her anxieties slipping as some of her became distracted by his presence. "I'm.. I'm okay, Terich," she said quietly, her gaze drifting to the ground as shame began to cloud her features. "I was just..." Diane paused unhappily. She was almost certain that Terich was now the sole proprietor to all of her weaknesses— knowing to herself that she would tell him her problem know— and so she felt her hesitation was warranted. How much weaker could she look in front of one wolf?

She turned her face back towards the stream, and it tumbled along without caring for the conversation of wolves. "I was just trying to.. to find the courage to touch the water."

<3

Whatever he had expected, it wasn't that. He blinked, a thought skittering through his mind like wind-blown leaves, as his jaw dropped a fraction. Oh, was all he said at first, though he didn't mean it quite that way. Terich's mind was taking a bit of time to catch up to his speeding heart, which felt joy and a little anxiety at finding someone else that had fears to overcome. After a moment he blinked away the look and smiled softly, his blue gaze warm as he chuckled. I don't mean to laugh, Diane. Truly. He padded closer to her, pressing his nose gently on her forehead, before stepping back. I have a similar fear that I'm trying to overcome.

Terich moved to stare at the summit that loomed above them. I hate to admit it, but I'm afraid of heights. I have been since I was a little boy. His gaze turned back to her and he smiled again, hoping this time she would see it for what it was. I don't know why I let Capri talk me into moving here of all places, but I suppose I'm a weak man. He chuckled at himself, shaking his head. After a breath, he asked, Are you afraid of all water, or just larger bodies of it?

Diane couldn't hide her affront at his initial response. Her ears fell back, cradling her head as she gazed at Terich, feeling helplessly estranged. Certainly a fear of water was as silly as it felt— especially considering where she was from and the things she'd been used to before the tidal wave. Her gold eyes, watery and averted, shot up to the gray wolf's face as he amended the way he had reacted. As he stepped forward and pressed his cold nose against her forehead, she closed her eyes, inexplicably afraid at first, but her worries simply melted away beneath his reassuring touch; and instead of being faced with the pain she had expected, she was left feeling his absence as he stepped back again.

She opened her eyes, familiar now with the warmth she always felt from Terich's immeasurable kindness. He had soothed her before, and was dong it again like he was natural at it. She could only assume that he was. His next words, however, made Diane gawk at him disbelievingly. Mainly because he said he was afraid of heights— but he lived on a mountain! Now she understand the reason he had laughed, feeling it intensely herself now. Diane smiled: "you're joking!" But he wasn't, proceeding to explain that it was Capri who had convinced him to stay.

Without meaning to, a flare of envy tainted Diane's thoughts of the black-and-silver Alpha. She was beautiful, influential, and strong— and handsome wolves like Terich and Taggarik were at her beck-and-call. She couldn't hate the superior woman though; if anything, she wanted to be just like her. Diane became aware that her companion had asked her something, and she turned her eyes towards him for a second while she recalled what he had said. "Well, I guess it was all water, but I... I got too thirsty so I started eating snow, and drinking from puddles," she said, shrugging. "Hearing water bothers me, but I'm getting over that... Now I'm just— I'm just trying to... trying to..." Diane grew flustered.

What was she trying to do? Get back to how she used to be? That didn't matter anymore. Not on the Ridge. This place was nothing like the Cove, so what did it matter if she got over her fear of water or not. It wasn't like fish was her mainstay anymore. But then she knew why. "I miss it.. the water. I wasn't always afraid of it. I loved the water— it... it was my whole life."

Terich smiled but shook his head, indicating that no, he wasn't joking. And he wasn't meaning to laugh, either, but it seemed almost too good to be true to find another wolf with a crippling fear in this pack. As she explained her fear of water, Terich thought to his own fear of heights, and knew that while it was getting better, this fear was not gone by any means. I still struggle with my fear. I don't know if you've noticed, but I rarely venture into the ridge's upper reaches. Terich ducked his head and grinned, a little abashed. I can't go much further than the first rocky slopes before I start feeling dizzy and my vision gets dark. I will pass out if I don't move back down.

He didn't know how to fix her fear, but he knew that moving past it took effort and many hours of experimenting. At least now he had someone who knew how he felt. Capriccio had always known about his fear, and understood it to some degree, but Diane had her own irrational fear to deal with, and that made him feel safe revealing these things to her. If you don't mind telling me, what changed? Terich knew it could be hard to share, so he started first. I wasn't always afraid of heights. I grew up on a mountain, but when I was almost a year old, a terrible disease swept through our pack and killed nearly everyone. It was still hard to think about. My father, mother, and grandmother were able to escape with me and my siblings. A few others survived, but not many.