Duck Lake Step away from my light, I need shine.

For @Xan but it is open. Set Oct 10th.

The banks of the lake were as unstable as everything else within the valley. It appeared as though one of the more recent quakes—quite a violent one—had caused the water to rise up and flood in to the meadow adjacent. As Ibis' trail cut across a segment that she could've sworn had been dry days before, she noticed the way her feet sank in to the soil, streaking with mud.

As she moved she noticed that some areas were soggier than others, and one such misstep took her chest-deep in to a mire of cold water. She hurried to pull herself free, kicking her hind limbs, reaching with her front limbs—until finding something a touch more stable, which she hoisted her fine-boned self on to. Once she was standing above the lake's edge again she could peer around at the reeds, but it didn't look like anything was amiss.

It was disorienting; she felt the wind whipping at her body and began to shiver from the cold, and wasn't sure where to step as she sought shelter. The girl pirouetted on the risen patch of earth, looking even thinner than usual because of the slick manner of her coat, which was altogether pathetic.

lowkey snatches this oops

Of all the places he could have wandered off to, this had to be his poorest choice. He knew the sanctuary had been ruined, he saw it crumble with his own eyes. He didn’t need to revisit the lake, but of course his curiosity gets the best of him. When he had left with Marten, he didn't think about analyzing how bad it had become. Now that he had time to spare, he wanted to check it out.

It was a mess, as suspected. Large pools of water were dispersed across the meadow. Mud caked over his paws and stained his legs. He struggled to traverse this wasteland.

Hono was just about ready to leave when he heard some commotion in the distance. Concerned by this, he made his way towards the sound. By the time he arrived, the loner had already gotten herself out of, well, whatever problem may have occured. Awful isn't it, he comments, mostly to himself.

Ibis tries to judge the terrain from where she's standing, sort-of in the manner of a cat trying to figure out if they can leap from the top of a door frame down to a desk; she lifts her head, tilts her head, leans various directions, and reaches out with one invested fore-paw to try and prod at the nearest section of muck, hoping it is stable enough for her nymph-like body. As soon as her paw touches down there is mud between her toes, and cold water seeping up to her wrist, so she withdraws with a petrified gasp.

Awful isn't it, murmurs a voice that's almost too subdued for her to hear; but she hears something, and turns sharply to meet it. The motion sends her off-kilter a bit and she slides hip-first off of the stable ground, scrambles, trying to keep herself balanced enough to avoid too much of a spill—but down she goes, squelching in to mud and soaking her rear end with chilly green water. The girl lets out a dissonant squeal the likes of which may have translated to some sort of slur in the language of ducks, and then kicks off with a splash to try and get back on the dry patch.

She's more miserable now than before; but she doesn't hold a grudge against the burnished stranger—after a second she looks him over, seeking something to focus on so that she can ignore the cold spawning across her thin coat, and remembers him as the fox from the glen. Yes, terrible, awful, so--so bad, and c-cold! Hnng... You, you're the fox I saw before. Her teeth have begun to chatter; knowing her luck, Ibis will wake up tomorrow with a terrible cold and Okeanos will have to nurse her back to health.

feel free to skip unless/until he’s acknowledged

The lake was once a pleasant place to be, especially when the ducks were not present. But ever since the world started to self-destruct, things had changed. The lands which he once knew were altered, nearly unrecognisable. A few territories had managed to avoid the destruction, whereas others had not. Unsurprisingly, Duck Lake had pulled the short stick and was cast underwater, reminding him of the marsh he’d left behind him long ago.

Alexander walked carefully through the glade, forcing a paw down to test the earth prior to committing to a step. He managed to avoid falling through any major parts thus far, yet the sound of distant splashing suggested that, perhaps, someone else had not been so lucky. Still, Xan continued carefully, gaze drifting towards the shapes of other wolves as he neared them—but, ultimately, he did not outright approach.

He had assumed she had noticed him coming a mile away, with her being so vigilant and all. Her hasty spin and descent into the icy water was left him just as shocked as her. Once again his carelessness had left someone worse for ware. Would this be a recurring thing? He hoped not.

Hono stepped forward, more cautiously then before. Before he addresses the girl, he catches sight of a silver figure in the distance. Marten? He surely wouldn't be happy seeing the firebrand in such a treacherous place. He shook his head, deciding to ignore him for now. The healer didn't seem interested in approaching them now.

Hm, fox. I'm often labeled as such. He sets his worried gaze back to the girl. Are you alright? I didn't mean to startle you.

Right. Not really a fox. The pale man from before had said as much, but at the moment Ibis was having trouble with her recall. When the ginger creature began to apologize Ibis shook her head, a little bit of water flinging off of her in the process, and she tried to dissuade any further apologies by saying—N-no, not your fault, I've always been this clumsy. It wasn't an aspect of herself she was particularly proud of; her ears slant back as she mentions it, but then she's too focused on trying to find a safe route closer to where the man is standing that she goes quiet. It doesn't take long for her to reach him although she makes herself soggy all over again in the process. There was no point in trying to dry off until she was safely planted somewhere solid anyway.

Ibis doesn't notice the drifting pale figure yet; if she sees them at all it is only the vague outline, and maybe her mind tells her not to worry, that it's probably the pale fellow from before—the one with the two-toned eyes—but again, she isn't focused at all on her surroundings. She shakes off some of the frigid water and the effect causes her coat to look spiked all over, like she's touched a light socket, and she giggles softly at the thought of how she must look in that moment. I'm so cold! She proclaims. The tone of her voice is closer to mirth, though, as if this is all a big joke and she's actually entertained by her own suffering, which is odd.

Though she reassured him that the fall was not his faut, that clumsiness was not unfamiliar to her, there is still a hint of guilt. He could have at least made his presence known somehow before he spoke. Hono shook his head. It was over now, she didn't seem too cross with him. She was giggling in fact. So why dwell on such small things?

A small, relieved smile spread across his face. I'd assume so. It was pretty cold out here. Hono had failed to realize this before but seeing the girl shiver along with another scan of the surroundings made him more aware. We could try to find a more... dry place. Oh but look at this mess; it seemed to go on and on for ages. Hono glanced back to where he came. How far had he traveled from his resting place?

He was being very kind, and he was a total stranger! It made her happy to think that the world still had some light in it, after all that she had lost and the strangeness of the current environment. How long before the lake settled back in to place, she wondered? How many more quakes would there be, trees felled, and mountains carved? Was any place truly safe? He offered to find a dry place for her and she nodded, more than eager to find a patch of sunlight to dry herself off.

It was during this moment that Ibis raised her head and gave a quick look around; she wondered which direction would be the safest way to go, and whether or not she should head north, back to the marsh where she'd last seen Okeanos. It wouldn't be dry or warm, but if her brother was there she'd feel much better. She did notice the pale figure (@Xan) drifting nearby and paused, murmuring to the kind wolf beside her, Is that your friend? I mean... From before? From afar it looked very much like Marten, but the longer Ibis stared the less confident she felt about that presumption.

She agreed to the offer, much to his relief. The sooner they left the better. Hono walked forward with much more caution. Wouldn't want to end up as muddy as his companion. Another twinge of guilt caused his muscles to tense but he quickly shook it away.

Is that your friend? He followed her gaze to the supposed stranger in the distance. They were still drifting along, tending to their own business. It could be but I'm not sure, he leaned forward and squinted, It's hard to tell from here... He couldn't pick out any distinct features, nor could he pick up a scent (though it could be from all the mud). Anyways, if it were Marten, surely he'd make his way over here already? Or maybe he simply couldn't see them well enough. Hono turned back to the girl. We should go check. He can come along with us.

Normally, Alexander would be done and out of there the same moment he spotted the pair but, sadly, the marsh wasn’t willing to let that happen—not unless he wanted to fall into some rather questionable pockets of water, that is. Reduced to a pace far slower than the typical, he was a sitting duck, waiting to be spotted. And spot they did—he assumed, anyways, feeling that uncomfortable burn against his side that came with an unwelcome stare. Pausing mid-step, the man glanced in their direction and took note of not one but two sets of eyes on him.

Shit.

In an attempt to further avoid them, Xan turned and tried his luck in a different direction. If he could get far enough from them, he shouldn’t have to worry about an actual encoun—“Fuck!”

One wrong move and he was quickly reminded of the reason for his previously slow and calculated pace. All it took was moving a tad bit too swiftly and he was underwater, an audible splash mocking him. Breaking back through to the surface wasn’t difficult but getting out of the water was an entirely different story. Forgetting about the pair in the distance, he focused on trying to find footholds sturdy enough for him to drag his muddy self out of the marsh.

Ibis nodded curtly; she began to foray alongside Hono in the pursuit of this pale shape, eager to reunite with the boy and find out if anything had changed of late within the valley. She had not seen either the fox-man or the white wolf in a few days, so perhaps they had fared better than she had --

FUCK! Burst a voice from where the shape lingered, and Ibis' ears slicked back suddenly in surprise.

That hadn't sounded like the fox-man's friend, but then again they were at quite a distance - and submerged? Oh! They seemed to be paddling in the mire much like Ibis had been, which caused her a little bit of panic. She flashed a concerned look to Hono and then carefully (but quickly) made her way towards the stranger.

The closer she got the less inclined she was to believe this was the wolf she sought; they seemed bigger, even in their soggy state, and older.

Skipping Hono due to being inactive

Each time he thought he found a decent enough foothold, the earth fell away beneath his paws and he was descending back into the water. At this point, he was completely drenched, cold, and miserable—oh, and pissed off. Primarily at himself for not being more careful but also at the state of the land as a whole; if the territory was just how it had always been, this wouldn’t be a problem right now. But it was, and he was getting more and more frustrated with each second that passed.

After several more failed attempts, Alexander was able to drag himself out of the water and back onto (somewhat) solid ground. It was around then that he also took notice to the drastic decrease in space between himself and the others. Realising that he probably wouldn’t be able to get away without risk of falling back into the water, he stood his ground and stared at them, figuring he would just get the conversation done and over with.