Dragoncrest Cliffs Get your darkness out of my damn way.

Happens sometime between the joining thread and the Tulok thread at the Sound. AW.

The girl did not know what to do except follow @Val around, since he had brought her out of the pit and through the maze, and she didn't trust anyone else. When he slipped from her side and sought out the woman from the meadow things took a turn. Indra didn't choose to stick around after that; what they held was a private conversation and the girl was too nervous to spy.

That left Indra to her own devices for a few hours. She didn't want to go too far. What was Val talking to that scary woman about? Maybe he was going to turn on her after all. Maybe he had only saved her to turn her in. Maybe - - -

With an involuntary shiver, Indra's legs gave out. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of worst case scenarios; she needed time to process everything that had happened, that was happening now, but above all she needed a hot meal and sleep.

As she began to breathe raggedly and hyperventilate, she knew she could do nothing beyond laying there in the dirt, while every sensation grew in to its own insurmountable obstacle. The panic wouldn't abate; for now Indra's default state was panic, which overwhelmed her.

Sobo had no intentions of finding the dark wolf or his red-furred charge when he set out to search for new growth that morning. He didn't have anything against them, he simply dreaded meeting new wolves and had doubts they would stick around long enough for it to matter. When he found the latter lying in the dirt and hyperventilating, however, the houngan side of him suppressed his shyness and sent him to her side at a brisk trot.

Piti, he cooed as he lay down opposite her, even though she was probably similar to his age and not very small at all, deep breat's, yeah? On de count of t'ree... One... Two... Instead of verbally counting three, Sobo inhaled a long and slow breath to demonstrate, nodding encouragement at Indra to do the same.

There was a pressure between her ears which silenced the world. She didn't hear her own breaths so much as feel them, hyper-aware of the way her ribs fought to lift and her lungs expand, and then they refused to deflate. The air sucked inward for each of Indra's gasps and her chest swelled, refusing to relax enough for proper exhalation.

Someone was there with her. She felt warmth press against one of her sides and with a frightened glance, saw Sobo. There was no thought within her mind; only fear, and the obedience born of that fear.

He counted, and breathed. The girl focused on what he was doing little by little, ready to explode with all the pent up pressure in her lungs, and managed a small breath. Then another. As she found a rhythm, the pain eased.

Through a hazy, tearful stare Indra watched the boy.

For a time, he remained at Indra's side, inhaling and exhaling slow, regular breaths for the girl to follow. His mind wandered, of course. He knew she was no trespasser by the scent of his elder sister dabbed finely through her fur, but beyond that, Sobo knew nothing about this girl and nothing about why she was panicking so badly.

You be in Sapphique, he said on a long exhale. De sea cliff pack. You be safe. Dere is not'ing here dat can hurt you. There was no telling if that was what Indra was afraid of, or something else. He said the words for their calming effect rather than their meaning and hoped he wasn't miles off the mark. What be your name?

The boy continued with the breathing excersize and when Indra felt her heartbeat slowing, and that buzzing in her head decrease, she could make out what he was saying. His voice was low; there was a casual affect to his voice that helped diminish Indra's panic further, and as she listened she came to understand.

While he could claim nobody here would hurt her, Indra wasn't keen on believing him. She couldn't trust what any of these strangers said — not right out of the gate — but even with that negativity crowding her thoughts, she saw no evidence of aggression from him.

The nice woman didn't show signs either, until she decided to sacrifice you.

A chill descended her spine as the boy asked for her name, and for a moment Indra forgot the answer. She blinked and averted her gaze before answering: M'name is -- Indra, I'm Indra.

She felt immesurably tired all of a sudden, and tried to steal a glance in the direction she'd come from - where Val had been left to talk with Erzulie at her den - but then sucked in a shaky breath, and watched the dirt by her feet.

Wrapping up!

If he knew anything of the trauma she had endured, Sobo would have given Indra all the space she needed. Having grown up in a family of tight-knit wolves, he knew the comfort that having someone there could bring. The way Njord had excluded Sobo from his new life had stung, but that was little more than petty dramatics next to the betrayal Indra knew.

Indra. I be Sobo. He did not give her space, but remained there beside her, murmuring quiet instructions to keep breathing until she was finally calm enough that he felt safe moving. He did so slowly and deliberately, offering to bring her to a safe and sheltered place where she could sleep off the exhaustion that came from great emotional stress, or at least hide away and pretend to do so. When he did leave her, he made a mental note to check in soon. In the meantime, he would ask Erzulie what more he might do for someone who suffered from panic attacks.