Ocean's Breath Plateau Why can't I leave my demons out?

for @Silence. Us disabled wolves gotta stick together :-)

The rain fell in mist, the humidity driving Aniu to seek shelter in the late afternoon. The mist fell harder by the way of droplets as the woman squinted her good eye, stopping at the foot of a plateau. The rocky terrain appeared flat from her spot at the bottom, trees covering the upper areas though she couldn't tell what kind from here. Aniu hurried to the rocky side of the plateau, ducking into a crevasse in the rock that smelled unused.

The agouti woman shook her pelt out, water dripping from it and filling the cave with a musky wet dog smell. It was not a very large cave, nor very used, and the entrance had a muddy quagmire lining its threshold. 

Aniu moved away from the mired down entrance, settling down in a dark but dry corner to watch the rain fall steadily. 

Whatever brought Silence to this particular place, it wasn't of interest. The deaf girl had no purpose to her travels, had no reason for why she was in Teekon. Silence simply was. It was the same lost wandering that led the girl to the plateau, the rain didn't bother her. 

The world around her was not silent, as so many thought. It was a distant roar in her ears, as if she had stood too close to an explosion. Everything felt muted, as if she were beneath water that had packed her ears so tightly she couldn't hear even the faintest of noise. It was Silence's world and she thrived in it.

The rain fell harder than before, making it hard to see anything even with her overly accurate vision. The wolfdog ducked into a small cave, the scent of wet wolf hitting her nose before she glanced up to see a disfigured woman in the corner.

The stranger might have been considered a beauty at one point, and in a way she still was. There was a strength to the larger female, despite her deformity. The stranger was larger than Silence, no doubt due to the wolfdog's heritage. She had agouti fur in a variety of colors, forming an overall brown coat. Half an ear fell limply to one side indicating its uselessness. The woman's right eye was a cloudy grey and the once black skin around it was now a pink scar. 

Silence could not find it in her to pity the stranger, she herself hated the pity sometimes directed at her for the lack of speech and hearing she possessed. Instead Silence smiled at her, ears flattening and tail lowering beneath her hocks. It was a way of showing she wasn't here to harm the other she-wolf, but rather was here to escape the deluge of rain herself.

so sorry for rambling but I promise she's not crushing, just very observant :-D

Her muscles tensed, half rising to glare at whomever had come to disturb her. Aniu was stopped in her tracks by the oddest looking wolf she had ever seen. The girl was smaller than she with an odd pale red marking coating her too half. The girl did not speak, only smiled and wagged her tail at Aniu. Something about the wolfdog struck her, reminded her of Layla.

Layla had never pitied Aniu, not a single moment. Layla had loved her even with her deformities, had treated her like an actual person and not a burden. People like that were one in a million or so it seemed to the damaged woman. Aniu could not find it in herself to be rough with the girl. She was too much like her daughter.

"Hello. I am Aniu," she introduced herself, tone soft. "What is your name?" 

The stranger whom had been a bit tense upon her arrival, soon relaxed and regarded Silence with soft eyes that spoke of her past. Silence wasn't sure how she knew that the woman was remembering something, maybe it was the unfocused gaze in her working eye or maybe it was a strong sense of intuition. 

Given that she could not speak, Silence survived by watching others. She looked for things that made them tick, things that made them uncomfortable, and just watched them for cues on what they felt. It was how she understood her world and it was easy for her to see that this disfigured woman was thinking about someone else, someone whom Silence reminded her of.

Hello. My name is Aniu. What is your name? Silence's eyes flicked down to the woman's lips, following along as she spoke. Silence frowned, shaking her head and letting out a tone deaf whine. It was the only way the deaf girl could think of to let Aniu know that she could not speak.

Like a lightbulb going off over her head, Silence gestured with her muzzle to the woman's dysfunctional ear and then to herself. Hopefully her cues would be enough.

She watched the girl with a wrinkle in her brow, confused with the girl's silent body language. The girl gestured to Aniu's ear and she feels the knowledge hit her like a ton of bricks. The girl can't hear. Nor can she speak. Thus the two cannot communicate with speech. 

The girl seemed to be adroit at communicating with her body, and she must understand speech if she can answer Aniu's questions. The idea is baffling and yet Aniu is relieved that the girl is not completely alone in her quiet world. She decides to leave it at that, she isn't one to push or pry and won't force the girl to explain her situation. It isn't likely she'll understand what the girl will try to say anyways.

"You're deaf. What will I call you then if you can't tell me your name? Red? Quiet? No-name? Silent?" Aniu offers some examples, waiting to see which one the girl likes.

Silence waited, heart dropping at the confusion on Aniu's features. Frustration overcame her, tail tip twitching slightly in agitation like a cat as her own brow furrowed. Aniu seemed to suddenly understand and Silence's face lit up happily, tail wagging and smile adorning her features.

Names were offered as many wolves had done before, Silence had many of them. Silence, Red, Shh, Girl, That one, You, and many others. They were placeholders for it seemed everyone had a name for her, something they invented for their own use. 

The wolfdog shook her head vehemently against being called Red as that was what Niylah had called her, shaking her head against the other options as well. The last name caught her attention as it was similar to her birth name, causing Silence to nod in satisfaction. She would become Silent for Anui.

Aniu watched the emotions on the girl's face, realizing how hard it must not to be able to speak. It must be difficult, only short basics could be communicated and no long stories. 

Seeing the nod, Aniu repeated it. Silent was, would be, the girl's name. The rain had come to a halt, the sudden peeking from behind the clouds and drying the droplets slowly. The agouti stood slowly, shaking some of the rain from her pelt once more. 

"I am leaving," Aniu told Silent, turning to speak over her shoulder as she approached the muddy entrance to the cave. "Will you come with me? We should stick together you and I. It feels like fate." Already Aniu was feeling protective, not wanting any to hurt this girl.

I'll archive!

Aniu got up, shaking out her pelt and moving to the entrance. Silence felt herself deflate slifhtly, saddened that her new friend would not be hanging around. She perked back up as she read the words on Aniu's lips, nodding vigorously and moving to the woman's side.

Peeking out of the crevasse, the wolfdog pointed in the direction of the west with her muzzle. Aniu made no protest and Silence padded after her companion, eager to start a new chapter in her life.