Qeya River but i am petrified

He came through the valley at a skittering pace, like a spider avoiding a rainstorm. Ducking beneath the boughs of the occasional tree, or creeping through the smaller bushes and brambles in his way. Soon enough the slender figure came upon a river. Without much thought, the boy followed it — clinging to the edge as if the river would lead him to safety. By the time night had begun to fall he was tired; his body begged for respite, or at least a drink. So the boy, desperate in his needs and careless in his pursuit of them, crept down to the river's side and dunked his snout in. The cold of the water shocked him at first, but after blowing bubbles out of his nose for a second or two, he lifted it free and began to consume. Kasiya's ears pivoted in every direction, at every sound. It was almost like he was being followed (or perhaps his mind was tainted by paranoia). As soon as he had swallowed a belly-worth of water, he hastily hoisted himself up the embankment.

Ohai. ^__^

It was rare that Lucani patrolled the borders, her duties far more often involving restoring the pack's herb supplies and giving packmates any medical attention they may need. But that didn't mean she outright avoided the borders — on the contrary, she took a guarded route whenever traversing the outskirts of the territory. It just so happened that today, from a hillock that served as a vantage point, she noticed a shadowy figure in the near distance. Weak, ragged, uneasy. The healer twitched. This wasn't a wolf of Sleeping Dragon... but she couldn't hold back her concern. So she moved swiftly beyond the borders of the territory and began her approach.

Her strong limbs carried her from one region to the next. She was an exploratory creature, and did what befitted her. Whether or not she came upon others was of no consequence; sometimes she dealt with them, other times she did not. She was heading now toward the ocean to investigate it, though felt she would likely return to the mountains afterward. There was something of interest there, something she had not expected to find but had. Her tentativeness on the subject was enough to lure her... which was perhaps why she neared the river at all before turning and going to the coastline then and there.

Sangilak's companion was nearby somewhere, and at present she was joined by another wolf of hers she had happened across. The two behemoths traveled side-by-side as Sangilak had told him of her discoveries thus far, and when she bid him go, he departed her company. It was then she noted the skittish wolf who crept up and out of the river, and his familiar features caused Sangilak to move toward him with no query in her step. Her tail was well over her hindquarters as she stared at him, a snarl brewing deep within her throat. There was another coming to join them in the distance, but this was her battle.

Ah, but it was then the scent hit her. No, she did not know this one as she had thought she had. So her features relaxed and her aggression had seemed to fade... but her curiosity had not, and her need to be certain kept her moving toward him. Sangilak already seemed possessive of him on the principle that this might still be the enemy, but if not, well, then things would change entirely.

Ignorant for the time being - despite trying to keep tabs on his surroundings - the wandering boy struggled to the top of the embankment and paused. His legs were filthy from his adventure along the riverside, having sunken in to the moist edge when he desired a drink. The water continued to drip from his snout, plastering the fur of his throat down and giving him a more sleek appearance; coupling that with his evident hunger, and he looked almost like a young zombie. But those eyes of his weren't feverish. They remained bright, and took in his surroundings for a minute or so, as if the boy was deciding where to go next. He no longer seemed interested in the river.

But before Kasiya could make up his mind, he saw first a black figure - a bear, perhaps, - and his head went from the raised look-see position of an eager, excitable child to the lowered omega-stance he was accustomed to. His ears fell back upon his blue-gray head, and he let out a small whine of indecision. Was it a bear? Had he somehow come upon a bear's territory and woken it? It was spring, so perhaps it woke on its own -- and he was small, an easy meal to anything with the right appetite. Whatever aggression powered the entity, it seemed to dwindle as they came closer. Kasiya sank down, his shoulders hunched and eyes averted, waiting for the end.

It was perhaps not entirely utilitarian to venture beyond the borders into the choppy night and strike up conversation with a stranger, but it was kind. And Lucani was kind... not to mention curious as to who the passer-by was. And despite her lending her concern to someone outside to pack, her actions were still dutiful, as this wanderer was close to the borders of Sleeping Dragon. Some pack wolves would watch until he disappeared, some would approach, and some would ignore him entirely. Only the third camp was in the wrong.

By the time the figure was properly in sight, he seemed in even worse shape than he'd appeared at first, but there was a twist — a great, grand shadow was heading towards him. So Lucani turned her attention to the larger stranger first. Although this female was more muscular and imposing than the healer, Lucani was also a tall and androgynous wolf, and had warriors a mere howl away, so she was not deterred. Good evening to you both, she called out. I mean no harm, she added, moving a few paces closer to the submissive male. I may be a stranger, but you caught my concern. You look about ready to collapse, young one...

Sangilak continued onward, and as the other crouched she moved to investigate, taking this as the go-ahead to do what she would. So she loomed over him, her snout briefly intermingling with the furs near his rear haunch, keeping her own body diagonal and ever-prepared to lunge away should his stress reach its breaking point and he turn on her. Sangilak herself would snap at him in turn, but other than the passing thought she seemed at ease once her investigation began. No, this was not the wolf she sought. In her peripherals, another approached them at a decent pace. Sangilak grunted to alert the other of this in her simple way, her dull, glacial eyes remaining upon the other while her ear turned in the direction of the wolf she had discovered.

The others words were rich in sentiment, and sweet in a bitter way. Her eyes judiciously swept over the form of Lucani, and Sangilak licked her chops. Truly curious, she remained here. The others observations were true; but what would this stranger do? Would she offer him a place to stay? Food, from her homes cache? She herself did not speak, having not been legitimately regarded except for an obligatory, well-mannered 'good evening'; Sangilak herself disagreed. The evening was one just like any other, and she never understood the sentimentality of such a phrase.

The boy was stiff-legged and curled, as if there were a great weight upon him, and that weight seemed to grow heavier with each step of the bear-like wolf. She came close to him, and he was afraid - so he did nothing. Any other wolf may have turned and snapped, but Kasiya was sweet; he was far too passive, which was likely why he struggled to much with his new lifestyle. The woman pressed her snout through the gray fur of his haunch, and he twisted away from her, but did not take a step. Once her investigation concluded, he was of a mixed mind — glad to have survived this interaction, but yearning for more attention. More contact.

The other wolf, the older woman with the kind voice, seemed to be just as interested. But her interest was vocal rather than physical -- and so the boy turned again, watching her with his eyes while his ears were pinned back. I'm okay, he murmured in his thin voice, made loud only because of the absence of any other sound around the three of them. He skittered away a step, crawling with his coltish body along the embankment with the desire to put some distance between himself and the strangers — but he looked back at the looming darkness, the woman who had intercepted him, curiosity plain within his gaze.

Lucani knew well this kind of situation. The night was dark, the weather choppy, the gathering a strange one. Sleeping Dragon was a fairly hostile and defensive pack and lay just yonder — and one of the strangers present had great bulk and nothing to say. Although peaceable, the group was on the edge of a knife... something could happen, but to aid in calming the tension she did not rise to it. She stood tall — yes — but was serene and unassuming.

She did not believe the other female meant any harm to the boy, but she could see that he was scared. Anyone could. He was low and worried, and moved away from them swiftly. Are you sure? she persisted only slightly, looking for signs that he was hurt but too frightened to admit it. I will leave you alone if you desire, I promise you that — but I'm a healer. If needed, I can help.

His response was quiet, and she kept him in her peripherals. The moment he moved, Sangilak rose to move with him. He headed in the direction she had come from, and Sangilak simply assumed some measure of dominion over him. The she-wolf could be that way from time to time. The weary wolf had caught her eye and maintained her attention. She imagined he was travel-worn, but would discover if this were the case, or if it was simply weakness she witnessed. If the latter was the case, her curiosity would abate, as it would be pointless to keep it in one that was—in her dark, ever pessimistic-yet-realistic perspective—not long for the world.

An ear turned as the other woman offered him her healing services. Sangilak herself was once again not regarded, and was not affronted by this; she had been passing through, and in turn paid the woman's words only a flick of the ear to acknowledge that Lucani had been heard. Her own cool gaze landed upon the wolf that was regarded, wondering if he would continue to move with her or take the androgynous wolf up on the offer. While interested in observing him, and keeping him in her company, it was neither here nor there what his choice ended up being, so detached was she, except for that measure of wonder about the other and his stock. 

His journey here had been difficult, surely. The land he had left behind was black and smoldering, not that either of these strangers were aware of it. And as the healer spoke, Kasiya seemed to remember this. His attention didn't exactly drift from them, but he did stare off in to space, as if reliving something from days prior. It caught in his mind so tightly that he did not move, did not blink, and only watched with unfocused eyes at some rocks upon the ground. The boy gave a shudder — it slipped uncontrolled down his spine and seemed to be enough to rouse him from his stupor. Blinking his bright eyes, he appeared to return to the present, and to the company around him.

I -- I'm okay, really, but the tone of his voice remained low and thin. He looks away from both the androgynous stranger and the looming dark woman, as if to search the surrounding soil for something - perhaps his wits - and swallowed a lump forming in his throat. When he looks up again, his head rises but his eyes remain downcast and diverted, submissive. Just been... Travelling too long. Kind of hungry... that was obvious by the curvature of his belly, the thin barreling of his ribcage. He was half-starved and more wiry than he should've been, given his age. Yet he asked for nothing — instead, pulling himself away from them a few more feet, ready to escape.

After the boy admitted his state (while still backing away and being understandably distracted by the presence of the looming stranger among them), Lucani regarded him silently for a few seconds. Yes, he looked like he was about to collapse. But he didn't look like a puppy. They were in a cold region, but it was no longer the dead of Winter: he could hunt for himself, could he not? Create a makeshift den to snuggle in, look after himself? Either he couldn't look after himself, or something compelled him to push himself onwards without any regard for his health.

Either way, Lucani felt a natural urge to help him if she could. Food and rest, she summarised. Classic remedies for the exhaustion you're in. Come, I'll show you a very quick method of catching a fish. She inclined her head by way of invitation, but then turned her yellow eyes to the female. Are you joining us? she asked politely.

She had been drawing away as the skittish wolf had been, though her movements were more distinct and indiscreet. Her drive had been to move with him, and when she heard the other offer what the timid male had mentioned, her ear twitched and her eyes turned to him. Sangilak was fully regarded, next, and licked her chops at the invitation. The Inuktitut woman preferred fish from the ocean, but was nondiscriminatory when it came to what she ate at the end of the day. If Lucani knew a place where the fishing was easy, Sangilak herself wanted to know it. Surely she would not take the exhausted wolf she behaved so warmly toward to an area he could hardly stand within. Either way, Sangilak was intrigued by the other and wondered what the limit of her kindness toward the wolves who looked weak happened to be. Sangilak herself scarcely had interest in them, unless they had food she could take from them. Any she did not deem pack were vulnerable to the potential of this, and even if they were there was that risk when the going was hard. The other wolf, however, could simply be tired from his journey... and so, she was not sure where he rest upon life's totem pole.

It seemed as if this woman was determined to help him, and that made Kasiya more and more skeptical. He stutter-stepped a bit longer, trying to escape her good graces (and the attention of the behemoth alongside), but the mention of food made him hesitant to leave. He knew what fish were, but not what they tasted like, or how to catch them. It would be a good learning experience, and yet at the same time the boy was still shaking his head and trying to politely decline. F-fish? he peeped curiously, although his tiny voice was obsolete to the gray woman's own; she was addressing the bear-woman now, which earned a brief glance from Kasiya. If this creature would be lingering, he was less inclined to. Before she could muster an answer (assuming she could speak at all), Kasiya squeaked a nervous question: The fish here -- they, um, y-you can eat them? Back home, the rivers had been too muddy with poisons to do such things - so he had been warned away from them.

There was something very wild about the woman that stood with them. Not savage, but untamed, and thus unpredictable... to some extent. Lucani mainly dealt with civilised sorts, but she also knew that if encountering a creature near-muted by their instincts, it's best to keep those instincts positive. The promise of food could trigger an attack, so Lucani was mindful.

She turned her eyes back to the nervous boy. Yes — the water here is fresh and natural. Look, you see this? the woman proceeded down to the water's edge and positioned herself right next to a sharp bend. The whitefish in this stream are used to straighter tributaries, so you can trick them to getting stuck on the bank. First you stand in their midst, Lucani moved so that she stood in the cold shallows — a streak of a fish immediately swerved to avoid her paw, only to find itself stuck on the muddy bend of the bank. It flopped uselessly, and struggled for a few seconds more before it got back into the water and shot downstream.

You try, she told the hungry male, stepping back out of the stream.

Sangilak watched the other. Kasiya was no longer the object of her attentions. She kept with the woman and waited outside of the water, content to watch for now. Lucani was quick in her catch, but when the woman made no move to take it for herself Sangilak—having positioned herself at such a distance to make this possible—made her own bid for it. Why waste it, if the thing would do her good? Sangilak then shifted to step further out of the immediate reach of Lucani, an ear turned toward her and her glacial eyes falling upon the nervous wolf. She went to trek a couple of feet away from the duo, placing the finned thing down and stripping it of anything edible. The meal was not at all satisfying, but she could not complain for what was, in essence, freely given. Once finished, Sangilak turned toward the duo and wondered if she could profit on either of their failings.

if this pp of the fish isn't cool, let me know! sang woulda went for it though if luc didn't >___>

The boy kept his distance while both the gray woman, and the black bear, moved to intercept the water's edge. He listened while she spoke, unable to ignore the tone of her voice; she imparted great knowledge to him, but still he did not drift closer. Not until a fish was flung across the bank, where it twitched and struggled for air. The movement made his eyes widen, his ears peel forward off of his gray skull - and then he saw the dark creature grab for it. Upon their departure, Kasiya began to skuttle closer. He inched towards the spot where the fish had landed and dipped his head, as if to smell the stones there; he could smell fish, but it was a clean scent, not the rotten, foul aroma he was accustomed to.

You try, the woman suddenly asked of him - and Kasiya's gaze shot up from the stones and caught upon her face, only to be pulled down towards the flow of the water. I.. I don't think... he murmured nervously to himself. It wasn't only the fish that he was afraid of, but the intense flow of the river. Water hadn't been in abundant supply back home either, making this the antithesis of everything he knew and trusted. Instead of heeding her desire, Kasiya watched the pulse of the river for a few moments and said in a slightly louder tone, can you do it again?

np! Sang is such a wild dog, she's so interesting to read~

Pointedly, Lucani was drawing a line between helping a stranger and outright hunting his food for him. The latter would be a foolish move even in the healer's mind, and any fish she caught for a stranger was one she didn't catch for a packmate. The fish scoffed by their mute companion didn't count under this principle, as Lucani had already let it go and thus it was re-caught by the other female. I've shown you how to do it — that should be quite enough, she told the boy. Then her yellow eyes returned to those of the hard and curious female. May I have your word that you won't steal this boy's fish if he catches one? He's starving. And now you know the trick too. If you're cooperative, both of you can enjoy all the fish you can eat.

Sangilak tilted her head at the others direct query toward her. She blinked, but did not scoff at the others question. Naga, came her guttural response, and her ears pricked forward. Sangilak was a wolf, and a lone wolf, at that. Her survival was largely in thanks to scavenging and thieving when she knew she could best the other, but Sangilak never did so unnecessarily, as she knew being gluttonous and greedy was the end of many. The strong survived, the weak died. If Kasiya was weak, no amount of fish eaten this day would save him on the morrow when another force came against him. If food was no the problem, another frequently followed.

But her interest had been lost. Sangilak could promise Lucani nothing of herself; she was a wild animal who looked after herself and Tatkret. She felt, even though the tawny man was capable, he was her responsibility; she knew why this was, but ignored the quiet call. She rose to all fours and then turned to move away from the duo, letting them have their lessons and their fish.

Looks like Kasiya's account is no longer active, so leaving it here~ ty for the thread both!

Lucani was quietly glad when the female left, believing that such wild wolves could be triggered into sudden violence, which would disrupt what Lucani was trying to do here. She proceeded to help the boy in the meantime, encouraging him to feed himself with fish and then advising him on where best to rest. He was weather-beaten and world-battered, but sometimes the best medicine was the simplest: food, water, and rest. Only once ensuring he was set up to retrieve all three did the healer return to Sleeping Dragon and her own rest.