Qeya River Feels

Re-posting for today's post date. ATTN: SD wolves!

Once on the far side of the treacherous glacial path, Wildfire—miraculously still in one piece—threaded slowly between mountains to the north and woods to the south. She gave her sister's territory a wide berth out of respect, eventually arriving at a bend in the very stream she had crossed over in the opposite direction two weeks back. The ranger paused there to catch her breath and will away the pain in her smarting ribs. She then drifted slightly further north, coming to a joint where river met stream, the waters swelling from all the recent rain.

She chose a relatively calm spot and dipped in a small paw, testing the current beneath the surface. Wildfire then slowly shuffled into the water and began to paddle as soon as it hit her chest. She hissed as the motion made her ribs twinge quite painfully, yet kept kicking. Then an unexpectedly frigid undertow suddenly tugged at her slender legs with startling force. She managed not to get sucked underwater, yet it pushed her quickly downstream, toward a decidedly more turbulent section of rapids. Wildfire fought as the rough water battered her, filling her mouth and stealing her breath.

Some time later, a spluttering Wildfire somehow dragged her weak, weary and waterlogged body onto the shore, having been swept several miles downstream toward Bitteroot Valley. She sucked in deep breaths which made her whimper with pain, collapsing just clear of the water line. Fortunately, the April air was warm, though she nonetheless shivered before she started to cough. That was agonizing and all she could do was roll onto her side, close her eyes and numbly hope for some sort of relief.

Sangilak had been told of the river pack, and repercussions for them should they cross said river. So as she hunted for herds and she saw a wolf matted in water from the river, Sangilak assumed the worst. A wolf from the river pack, of course. The other looked to be in dour conditions, and so Sangilak was far from hesitant as she moved toward the other with an intent to put an end to the creature once and for all. 

In an attempt to settle her mind, Thuringwethil took to the borders. Warbone’s scent is gone. Lucani’s meeting had… not settled well. Her heart ached and she could barely remember the last time she’d felt the same. Worry, anxiety. The commander had died and her life on the line. She never thought she’d be here. With a heavy breath, expelling some of her frustrations, she watches wind of Sangilak’s scent on the eastern border and tags along.

When she sees the dark woman, running, across the valley, Thuringwethil can’t help but feel compelled to do the same. The flash of fur on the ground in the distance has her attention and a roll of thunder surges through, paws hitting the ground that carries her large form. Both women built for strength versus speed, she still has enough agility to begin to close the distance between them.

The soaked wolf on the ground doesn’t have a scent, waterlogged by the river, and she lets a snarl ripple through her at the potential of Phoenix wolf making their move. She curves her stride, moving along the length of the river for signs of others while Sangilak closes the rest of the distance. The closer she gets, however, she sees the flash of red she recognizes—barely—and she’s nearly tripped up at her guardian’s goal.

Thuringwethil, unable to close the rest of the distance, issues a strangled call: not a phoenix.

She didn't see the attack coming, nor hear it. Her pulse pounded in her ears, accompanied by the rush of water beside her and the occasional (and horrifically painful) cough. Wildfire's eyes remained closed, her body limp, wondering why life seemed intent on torturing her lately. She hadn't caught a break since Goober, really. She could feel hot tears welling up behind her closed eyelids, a new tightness constricting her throat as she fought the urge to bawl at the unfairness of it all.

The yearling jerked when a strangled cry rent the air. Biting back a groan, she snapped upward to see a shadow rapidly descending on her. Wildfire gave her own startled cry, instinctively collapsing back to the ground and ducking her muzzle toward her wet chest in an attempt to protect her throat. Her eyes, which had flown open, squeezed shut again. When it rains, it pours! her mind screamed inanely as she waited for the blow to fall.

Her fangs catch the throat, and a howl is heard, loud but not terribly clear over the gargling waters beside her. The voice alone was enough to give Sangilak pause she never would have considered otherwise, and she turns to see Thuringwethil striding toward she and her would-have-been victim. There must have been a reason for the cease fire, which was what Sangilak had supposed she had heard. If she had heard wrong, she and Thuringwethil could easily finish off the doused flame together.

From where she's made the call, Thuringwethil can't determine recognition on the younger wolf's features. In a matter of seconds, she's curled up into a ball and Sangilak is on top of her and she hears nothing but her heart beating in her chest, worried she'd not made the call sooner, but her feet don't slow and soon she's finally closed the distance between them. The dark woman hasn't retreated from the smaller wolf but as she slows her thundering paws, she can make out the features that let her know it is Wildfire.

Thuringwethil swallows the lump in her throat and takes only a second to catch her breath.

"She is not one of them," she says, head squared over her shoulders and tail arched. It doesn't occur to her that Wildfire hadn't exactly seen Heda and only heard of her. "She is a friend."

Fangs dug into the flesh of her neck and Wildfire's second cry was muffled as she attempted to flinch away, her snout practically buried between her foreleg and chest. The skin broke but the sharp teeth did not press any deeper, her assailant suddenly freezing above her. Babbling something incoherent, Wildfire slithered out of the deadly grip even as she heard a familiar voice issuing commands overhead. She looked upward, relief flooding her when she saw a stoic Thuringwethil poised across from her attacker, telling her to stand down in no uncertain terms.

"Thur," the yearling moaned, trying to drag herself closer to the Heda's feet but unable to move, pinned by both fear and pain. "Thank you," she whispered, realizing the Alpha had just saved her life literally in the nick of time. Wildfire wanted to say more, yet her throat—burning from being half-drowned and aching from the teeth that had pierced it—clicked emptily.

Sangilak was informed of the relationship between the two, and though the word is foreign—Sangilak herself knows little to nothing of friendship—she seems to adhere to the others will. Sangilak steps away from the now rising flame, nods to her alpha female, and goes to depart so that she could go and resume her patrol on the Dragonlands. She feels that here she would be of little use to Thuringwethil, who could surely dispose of the soaked she-wolf if need be.

Sangilak had taken a step back before she’d spoken and Wildfire remains on the ground, a half hearted attempt to move goes unnoticed by the dark leader. Her words are clouded from her mind as makes an attempt to keep herself separate, watching the other dark woman pivot and back away, returning to Sleeping Dragon. Negative feelings are not harbored; she’d simply been doing her job, but Thuringwethil is thankful she’d been on her heels and thirsty for the attack.

When the dark woman is gone, out of earshot and eyesight, Thuringwethil turns back to the damp girl. She remains stiff, and postured—they’re much closer to the dragon they had been before—but her features soften and she eases her tail into half-mast with a wag, taking a step forward to lick the water from Wildfire’s face in an attempt to soothe more than dry. A small whine vibrates her chest and she nudges her snout to encourage her to stand, if she can.

Her would-be attacker fell back further, then retreated, leaving Wildfire alone with Thuringwethil. Wildfire would have slumped in relief, had she not already been lying boneless at the other woman's feet. Her amber eyes flicked to the dark stranger's back as she moved away, then her friend snatched her attention wholly by pressing her tongue to the yearling's wet face. A small groan loosed from Wildfire's snout and she closed her eyes, leaning into the touch, welcoming the comforting familiarity of it.

Sensing the unspoken command to stand, the young she-wolf shakily pushed herself into a seated position, then stood. Her legs fell wobbly and weak, yet she managed. She blinked down at her bedraggled appearance, then looked up at Thuringwethil, her expression somewhere between apology and gratitude. Wildfire found herself reaching out to nuzzle her smudged snout beneath the dark leader's chin, her tongue flicking out to lick it.

"You saved my life," she said, pausing for just a beat before adding fondly, "Heda."

Thuringwethil stands close as she makes her attempt to stand and steadies her feet should she be needed for support, but she only takes the nuzzle beneath her nose and the warm wetness touching her her fur. She lowers her snout a little for an embrace and closes her eyes to accept the action that seems something friendly, rather than submission, until her title is spoken into her neck like a prayer.

The larger wolf takes a step back but only by inches, looking her over for wounds or cuts that need tending to. Their healer is gone but Lucani barely remains a thought lest she let acid lick the back of her throat in anger. “Let’s go home,” Thuringwethil murmurs, turning so she stands next to Wildfire then, a brace should she need it.

She knew what she was doing, what her gesture of submission coupled with the reverently spoken title would mean to Thuringwethil. When Wildfire had woken up this morning, she hadn't intended to pledge her allegiance to anyone—just like she hadn't intended to nearly drown—yet everything happened for a reason, right? Her weary heart beat a little anxiously in her chest but it felt right. So when the dark Alpha female said the words, "Let's go home," the yearling's lips twitched into a small smile and she nodded, moving to shuffle behind her as she began the trek back to Sleeping Dragon. She was more than happy to repay the favor with her loyalty.

"I hurt my ribs," she murmured to explain her slow and painstaking gait, "before I nearly drowned, I mean." Wildfire huffed a rueful laugh. She would have to take it easy for a few days but as soon as she felt better, "I'm happy to be at your service in whatever way you need, Thur. Thank you." Suppressing a shiver, she leaned into her new Alpha, brushing her muzzle along the other wolf's shoulder and then pressing her cold nose against the side of a black, swan-like neck.

The gesture doesn't go unnoticed but Thuringwethil is quiet, and she only nods her head. Lucani's departure hasn't yet settled well within her and the bitter rose like acid in the back of her throat at the thought. She wouldn't have anyone to tend to her wounds upon their return to Drageda's borders but they all seem superficial, and would heal over time. Heda wouldn't push her too hard at first, even with the thread of war over their head.

"I am sure Magpie will be glad to see you," she comments but she realizes she hadn't had a chance to tell the older woman of their connection. Things had certainly been a mess and once all is said and done, she would feel a lot better. "But unfortunately we don't have a healer to look you over."

They moved, slowly, and she turns once to glance at the smaller canine and allows her to use her for support. She stays slow, keeping up with her pace and watches from the corner of her eye for any painful reaction.

"There is one thing you must know," she begins and, perhaps if she'd known the relation between the girl and the Phoenix queen, she'd speak differently, but her voice reveals her steely truth. "You cannot cross the river anymore. It isn't safe. The Phoenix wolves to the south are... well. We have an agreement to keep separated by the river. There is a kill order on both sides."

Wildfire withdrew slightly, offering a small smile at the mention of her aunt, then began shaking her head. "Oh, I won't need medical intervention. I think some rest will do the trick," she quickly assured her new leader. She sort of hated that she wouldn't be able to do much for her new pack right off the bat, though Wildfire would make it up to them in a few days' time. Already, she began making plans to start filling stockpiles as soon as she felt up to some small game hunting.

Thuringwethil spoke again, her tone causing Wildfire's ears to bend backward. The news washed over her like cold water. A kill order? she thought with a blink, shuffling in silence as she digested this information. She wondered at the reasons for the clash between the packs. Wildfire didn't fancy herself a peacekeeper, necessarily, but she was a fairly experienced ambassador. Immediately, she wondered if there was anything she could do to alleviate the tensions.

But it wasn't exactly her business, at least not right now. She did say, "I'll be sure to stay in the clear," then paused before adding—purely in the interest of full disclosure—"I'm not particularly close with her but I am on civil terms with Saena. She's my half-sister." If Thuringwethil wanted to use that information somehow, it was her prerogative. After disclosing this fact, Wildfire fell silent and focused on breathing through her body aches.

Even if Wildfire admits to not needing medical attention, it would make her feel better for someone to look her over. Her ribs could be broken and she not know, being washed around in the river could have done more damage, and having a healer would have been a benefit in case something was worse they both didn’t see from the outside. Thinking about it sent a wave of anger through her that she tries to settle with a slow breath, simply nodding her head to the statement and letting it pass. Thinking about Lucani and her betrayal would do little to solve their problems and she can only hope someone else would take the time to learn. 

However, the information Wildfire brings her cause her head to turn in confusion. “Saena?” she questions though Wildfire seems to expect her to know the name. Is that the name of the Phoenix Queen she met on the river’s edge? Thuringwethil isn’t sure what to do with the information, even if she admits she isn’t close with the woman. “I met with the leader not long ago but she did not say her name,” she says though the other knew her own.

A tooth dug into her lip at her companion's confused tone. Wildfire hoped this information wouldn't make Thuringwethil change her mind about bringing Wildfire back home with her. Their feet did not stop moving in the direction of Sleeping Dragon, at least. It became clear why the leader seemed puzzled and the yearling let out a breath that caused her chest to pinch and her sides to ache.

"Yeah, she's the Alpha female of Phoenix Maplewood. White with rusty red markings and a bobtail." Wildfire skimmed her tongue over her lower lip nervously. She hadn't realized that, by pledging her fealty to Thuringwethil, she had also been drafted into a war. But it changed nothing. "I'm no warrior but I am an ambassador. If my services are ever needed..." She trailed off. Again, it was up to the Heda how to process and use this information.

And because she felt it needed to be said (even if the thought made her heart skip anxiously), Wildfire said, "I am loyal to you and Sleeping Dragon now." She could not imagine pitting herself against Saena, despite their previously rocky history, but she had picked sides, no matter how unwittingly. As she stared sidelong at the Alpha's face, her amber eyes softened and she could not bring herself to regret her choice.

Wildfire confirms the woman she met at the river is Saena, a relative of the younger. Perhaps, in the future, Wildfire could be of service, but right now there is little she could do. Until their tensions died down, she wouldn't put the girl in harms way when she doesn't know Saena's hatred of the Dragons for whatever connection she and Wildfire had. Thuringwethil nods and tucks away the information, and focuses instead in their steps.

"I hope you'll be happy here," she says and redirects her gaze for the mountain, and leads her newest recruit into her embrace.