Lost Creek Hollow the kingsroad

For @Ocra <3

Moving south quickly from the peak of the Dragons, Rickon spent several more days on his own, with nothing but unpleasant thoughts and memories to keep his company along the way. He would toss fitfully at night, only to expend most of his energy running through the morning that followed, trying to chase away his lingering horrors. Sleep would have been a welcome reprieve from the gnawing hunger tightening the lining of his gut, but he was forced to endure it all, without any foreseeable alleviation. Eventually he had something to eat, but the swallowed rabbit felt like a single drop in the bucket, and he began to crave that decaying sheep he'd found nearly a week ago, which was surely gone by now.

By the time twilight had begun to bleed darkness into the edges of the sky, turning everything orange and purple, the spidery canine had come deep into the Hollow. In the approaching dark it was most obvious that summer had ended. He took a deep breath, realizing that he would need to find a settlement before winter; the pressure of the mere thought pinpointed the back of his skull, and instantly gave him a headache.

Rickon searched until he found a pond, where he half-stepped in and took a nice, long drink in an attempt to flood his woes away.

Her should felt better once she'd given it enough rest. She'd gone out and evaluated some of their surrounding areas and met a few others but she was glad to have somewhere to return to. Xan still hadn't come back, however, and the others were around but she wasn't sure where. She'd found a little niche where she liked to sleep near the southern point of the grove and the ferns bordered a large willow tree, giving her the illusion of safety while she slept. 

She became restless early in the night and wandered out and away from the territory without alerting any of her own. Uncertain where they'd set up shop, she found it in her best interest to simply move until the energy built up in her legs was gone. She didn't know where she was going, not familiar with the area, and at night she was given a whole new view. Even if she'd pass through her days ago, nothing looked particularly familiar cloaked in darkness. 

The sound of water caught her attention and she swung it around. The night sky played off the surface and in the distance, she could see a darker figure that remained indistinguishable from where she stood. Hesitant to make a move, Ocra remained back for several long moments until the scent wafted enough to determine what was before her. Clouded by her own thoughts and anxiety, causing her legs to take her away, she began the trek along the bank without hiding herself too much. She chuffed when close enough, ears low and the rest of her posture at ease upon her approach.

Rickon's noisy lapping slowed to a stop as his eyes picked up on a source of movement along the west curve of the pond. His head lifted, watching as the other wolf picked a path towards him and came to stop some yards away in cautious greeting. She made a soft, welcoming noise, and the dark wolf turned to close the gap between them— his feet never completely leaving the water as he did so. No matter who she was, he was glad for her presence. It was a welcome distraction from the other things clouding his mind, and Rickon was never displeased to meet someone new.

"Hey," he smiled; "I'm really happy you came this way. I could really use some company for a while..." Of course he realized belatedly that he had opened himself up for emotional injury here. What if she refused, or needed to be on her way very quickly? Nothing was stopping him now from getting his feelings hurt if she were actually busy this time of night.

Her approach was welcomed but what caught her off guard was his sudden move to close the distance. She blinked a few times before she retracted a few steps to make up for what he accomplished. She didn't know anything about the stranger and if he were hostile in anyway, she wanted to make sure she had come kind of escape and right now distance needed to be in her favor. If her shoulder acted up on her expedition, she needed as much space as possible.

"Um," she managed to stammer over and shake her head to reorient her thoughts. "What's wrong with you?"

She moved back, favoring her shoulder slightly as she did so; and though he couldn't tell at that time if she had an open wound or not, he understood her caution to his brash approach. Her question, however, was a little biting. "Uh, n-nothing!" he balked, acquiring his own stammer at the thought of potentially being wrong in some way. Was there something wrong with him. "Well... I dunno. Maybe something. I couldn't tell ya what it was though," he shrugged, realizing very quickly that if there was something wrong with him, it was his mother's fault, not his.

"I'm sorry if I came up too fast," he offered, thinking that the issue. "Or I got somethin' else goin' on that's weirding you out?" he asked, the wag of his tail slowing in his confusion, though now he refused to move any further— not even to come out of the water stilling around his legs.

He stated there was nothing wrong but that didn't make Ocra rush forward and become friends. She was friendly, for the most part, but it wasn't often someone came along that was as eager as he was. And since she'd come across Xan several weeks ago, she was a little turned off from striking up a conversation. She didn't think she could handle two pubescent boys trying to be nice to her.

"Are you alone?" she asked, deciding against the more favored why are you so desperate?

"Yeah," he admitted, having to use some sort of effort to keep the sadness of the truth from crying out childishly in his tone. Maybe even though he tried, he couldn't stop it completely. His tail picked up again, and he began to move sideways— so that he did not come any closer to her— exiting the water quietly. "Are you?" he returned plaintively, realizing that she might be easily spooked, and that speaking too eagerly might send her skittering away, or worse... continuing to think there was something wrong with him. His dark green eyes watched her, though he seemed to be actively trying not to stare while also seeming very attentive; an impossible task, probably.

Ocra blinked a few times when he answered easily then turned the question to her. She didn't answer right away, though her mouth opened to speak, but the answer remained mixed up in her jaws. In the hollow, she'd been alone, but she had wolves. She had someone to count on if she were to need help and while the dark wolf ahead of her (at least, he looked dark in the.. darkness) didn't necessarily give her the wrong vibe, something didn't sit well within her stomach.

"I have a pack," she told him. A small one, maybe, but growing at least, and with a fiery leader that surely could accomplish anything if he talked long enough. She wanted to ask the obvious question but her lips remained sealed to her better judgment. Instead, she rolled a shoulder, "they aren't here right now, though, so..."

Usually when one mentioned a pack, Rickon would be bursting with questions and conversation for his company to consume— always eager to know more than perhaps should be allowed him— but he was intensely aware that the she-wolf with him now was not his usual companion. This wasn't a normal circumstance for the unassuming male. She seemed uneasy with him, using his unfamiliarity as her only reason to be cautious. He supposed this was enough of a reason, he just wasn't used to it where he was from; as the concept of "hospitality" was so taken so seriously there, that it was considered more common for a wolf to be viewed as a friend before they're viewed as a stranger. You had to commit some sort of slight to be at all considered anything but a friend in those parts.

He had to remember he wasn't back in Castlerock. "Did ya want me to, uh.. go?" he asked a little sheepishly, pulling back his ears as he finally considered the prospect of someone not liking him. She reminded him of his sister, to be honest. She hadn't cared much for him, either, it had seemed. He didn't even mind (or even personally acknowledge) the fact that he had been here first.

Things didn't exactly get off to a good start. The other seemed confused, or offended, Ocra couldn't tell, but whatever stemmed his awkwardness, didn't necessarily ease her concern. She told herself he'd asked the questions without any ill intent but having been caught off guard, she isn't ready to let it go. Her teeth ground together before a moment and she licked her lips as she forced herself to stop and refocus on the task at hand.

"Well, no... I guess not," she said and glanced away. She could keep going and head back toward the grove and the safety of those in numbers but she didn't move right away, instead returning her gaze upon the darker male. "Sorry, I just. I don't know this area that well."

His tail, which had fallen limp under the prospect of rejection, suddenly picked up again. It waved slowly, tentative about getting too excited. She wasn't sending him away at least, and this he took to be a small victory; especially given how innately social he was. "Me neither," he told the tawny girl, smiling with a bit more enthusiasm as he'd discovered common ground for them to stand on. "Did you wanna, uh, check this place out? With.. y'know, with me?" Rickon tried, unable to shadow the hope in his tone, though decidedly he held very little for this mistrustful young woman. This would be his first less-than awesome meeting with someone here in Teekon, but it would most certainly not be his last.

Still, there was a chance to turn this particular happenstance around. Or so he thought. "My name's Rickon... if that helps any," he thought to mention, and yet doubted it served any purpose other than to make him sound as foolish as he felt.

Ocra wrinkled her nose a little but she looked around their immediate surrounding. The night didn’t do much in way of being able to see but it wasn’t bad enough that they couldn’t look around a little, at least, as long as the threat she’d felt before stays gone. She nodded her head and took a step back as she decided to pick their first direction. It would at least give her an advantage, should he try and funny business, but the longer she remained she started to feel a little guilty.

Or maybe that was what he wanted her to feel.

She squinted a little but brushed off the intrusive thought.

“I’m Ocra,” she introduced and even gave him a little bit of a smile.

"Ocra," he repeats very fondly (despite the fact that his writer detests the taste and texture of the similarly-named "okra") and wags his tail invitingly. He never meant anything to be anything but a friend to whoever he met, but that didn't mean he'd succeed every time. But all had not been lost between them, it would seem, and Rickon was a fellow more than willing to amend and forge a relationship if ever possible.

She picked the way they would go, and he trotted close at her side, though put a comfortable distance between them so that she might be less inclined to display a continued nervousness about him. "I'm brand new to these parts, m'self. Wha'dabout you, pretty lady?" he asked the green-eyed girl, reverting to his typical southern charm despite the fact he knew she was more likely to be put off by it than welcomed. A fact he acknowledged to himself and decided it still wouldn't change who he was.

They settled in and he kept a distance that she appreciated but didn’t particularly expect. However, when he spoke a little about himself and switched it over to her, she threw a glare at him for a second before catching herself and straightened her features. “Don’t call me that,” she told him before she took a few steps forward and keep their journey from delay. It didn’t stop her from breaking off their new, budding relationship but it definitely didn’t give him any extra points for his weirdness.

Honestly, I don’t even know why she found him weird in the first place.

“I’m new, too, uh,” she paused and realized how misleading she’d been with her home. “Ran into a few wolves and we set up camp in a grove north of here,” she explained then, shrugging it off and keeping up a steady pace through the hollow.