DotW RP: Savior part 1

MatrixPotato:

Hunting. That was what she had forgotten. Out of all the duties that Lyn had to remember, hunting just seemed to slip her mind until her stomach was literally screaming at her to eat something. The others seemed to be pretty capable of getting themselves food, and of course she always had to find something for Tam. But when she was on her own or busy with other things, Lyn couldn't remember to stop and eat if her life depended on it. And actually, it did depend on it!

So there she was, in the pouring rain, where she had stopped while doing an overdone patrol to stare hungrily at the lively fish in the river. They were swimming downstream, trying to jump over a beaver's dam that had clogged their way. Now they were all just sitting ducks, literally throwing themselves at whoever passed by happened to be nearest to the dam. She tried to position herself in the right spot, but each time she tried to leap out and catch one of them in her maw, she nearly fell into the river.

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Quailmix:

There were too many damn packs around here. Rowan couldn't go two miles without hitting some border. He hated it; he just wanted to be alone. He needed to get out of the area. Going around packs seemed so time consuming though. Going straight through was always a better option in his mind, as long as nobody caught him. Rowan was usually pretty good at not getting caught. In rain like this, nobody would smell him. So, through he went.

He'd made it to a river. In rain like this, it was a dangerous spot to be. The water was raging and unpredictable, and the banks could flood in no time. He had to find a safe place to cross, and so began to walk up and down the bank to see if there was a crossing.

In the distance, he saw a dam. That would do. As he got closer though, he saw the wolf atop it. Quickly, he got himself into the tree line, where he wouldn't be seen, and watched the female for a moment. He would have to move on and find a new place to cross.

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MatrixPotato:

Lyn groaned. Obviously her tactic wasn't working. She looked around to try and see if she could get a better position- but there it was right in front of her, the dam, which was exactly where the fish were aiming themselves. She nearly kicked herself. Without another thought, the already soaked alpha lunged atop the dam, making sure her footing was good, all the while trying to dodge fish. It worked- for about ten seconds. As she tried to change her footing, a fish jumped right into her face, causing her to stumble and slip.

She yelped as sudden pain shot through her hind leg. She tried to swim away, but her right left was caught underneath a log. Some of the other sticks and logs were starting to be pushed away from her interference, and the other side of the river began to gush over, creating huge waves. Lyn called out to anyone who might be around as she clung for dear life onto the remaining logs of the dam. He head wasn't under yet, but it would be soon.

"HELP!" She cried. In her mind, she could see herself dying, drowning like some helpless animal. She yelled again, this time more filled with panic. She couldn't feel them, but tears were beginning to form in her eyes, mixing with the rain and the water around her. She didn't want to die, not yet.

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Quailmix:

As Rowan turned away to find a new place to cross, he heard a loud crack and his attention shot back to the scene. Suddenly, the female was gone. He searched the water with his eyes and only saw her again after she called out, and he could see that she was stuck now. His heart pounded. It wasn't his place to get messed up in some pack accident. If he kept going now, nobody would know he was there. That thought left him quickly though, not even needing to choose the right thing, before his feet had already rushed him on top of the collapsing dam.

He didn't say anything to the female as his eyes met hers. There was fear in his eyes, not for being caught in the territory, but for this stranger. As he struggled to keep his own footing on the dam, he found the log that had trapped the female. Without thinking, he quickly clenched his jaws around it, and yanked upwards as hard as he could. The girl was released, but so was the rest of the dam, and now she, the logs, and Rowan were all swiftly taken down the river.

Paddling for his life, he kept his head above the raging torrent. He spun around, seeing both banks, but no female. Hectic thoughts raced through him as he searched the waters, finally, he saw her, and swam hard in her direction. He knew her leg was injured and she might not be able to make it to the banks herself.

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MatrixPotato:

As Lyn struggled to stay above the water and in a position that didn't twist her leg any further, she almost gave up. No one would be around her; she made it a point to keep each of the wolves who volunteered to patrol at separate designated areas of the territory. Because of the packs small size, it seemed the best option to keep it best secured. But now she wished that she hadn't made that choice. No one would hear her, which meant that no one would come for her. However, just as she was about to come to grips with her possible death, a figure appeared above her, dark and menacing.

But his eyes- they conveyed differently. It was only a split second that they looked at one another before he had pulled away the log that had captured her paw and the whole dam tumbled away. They were both swept under and Lyn fought to stay above the water. She was a pretty good swimmer, but the huge rapids and the rain made it seem like, even if she was above the water, that she was still drowning. She coughed and sputtered, trying to regain her bearings as she paddled aimlessly in the water. Finally she caught a glimpse of the shore and aimed herself toward it just as the stranger came up beside her.

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Quailmix:

Rowan followed the female to the banks, doing his best to keep near her. He knew that if they were going to be swept away, the difference between life and death might be sticking close together. Gallons of water poured over him as he struggled to keep his head above water, but finally the two made it to the shore and he pulled himself out of the waters.

Panting, crawling, he struggled to pull himself through the mud. His legs quivered in exhaustion, and he looked down at the wet ground and the water that rushed passed him into the river, and noticed it was stained red. In all the confusion, he hadn't noticed his own injury; a gash to his head, probably from one of the logs that had toppled over him. The rest of his body was plenty sore from being jostled around in the logs and water, but as he examined himself, from what he could tell the rest of him was only bruised or at most minorly cut here and there on his legs.

If the water hadn't been rapidly moving by, he would have looked at his reflection to see how bad his head looked, he couldn't tell as it was. He could taste the blood as it slipped past his lips, and he looked around to see where the female had climbed up with him. Hopefully she wasn't too badly hurt.

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MatrixPotato:

Lyn put every ounce she had into swimming to the shore, and once she was able to feel the embankment under her paws, she pushed even harder, ignoring the pain in her leg when she sprang onto the bank. She toppled onto the muddy earth, gasping for breath as she crawled away from the rushing water. Once she was far enough away, she took a minute to look back at her hind leg; there was a small gash just above her paw, but nothing serious. It seemed to be badly bruised, but not broken or sprained. Now safe and out of danger, she let her body go slack as she rested her head on the ground.

It was then that she remembered that she hadn't gotten out of there by herself. Her gaze turned to the stranger beside her, panting nearly- or even harder -as bad as she was. He had a gash on his head. It was pretty big, but nothing too serious she hoped.

"Thank you." She said between gasps. It was a huge understatement; what was a mere thank you when someone just saved your life? But then it hit her; this was a stranger. What was he doing so far into Chandor? She may be near the border, but it was still quite a ways away. Lyn decided that it didn't matter. If it wasn't for him trespassing, she would have died. She owed him her life.

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Quailmix:

For a moment the two seemed to just look at each other and pant, until the female broke the silence to express her gratitude. At that, he simply gave her a nod, and began to pull himself to his feet.

Once standing, he began to shake out his pelt, but with the pouring rain, it didn't do him very much good. There was a throbbing pain in his forehead as his body shook around, and he thought it was probably best to not make any sudden movements like that for a while, at least until the bleeding stopped. It actually threw him off balance for a moment, and he took a few sidesteps after the shake to regain his footing. Hopefully, he didn't have a concussion.

He licked his lips, the taste of blood faint on them, as he looked at the female, "Your foot?" He asked. The male wasn't the most wordy of them all, but the question was enough to let the female know what he was asking. At least, it would be for most.

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MatrixPotato:

Lyn watched her savior stand and shake off; the cut on his head obviously hurt more than he was letting on because he stumbled a little, but didn't fall over. Lyn frowned at that. If he had any serious damage, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. It was her fault either of them were in this situation in the first place. Why hadn't she just gone after a rabbit or something? Suddenly he was looking at her again and queried about her foot. She looked down at it and wiggled her toes and her leg, then heaved herself onto her feet. Her legs screamed at her, but not from serious damage. Her hind leg did throb a little, but she could walk on it.

She smiled lightly and looked back up at him. "All good." She breathed. "What about your head?" She asked, her smile falling.

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Quailmix:

Rowan gave a short nod at the female's answer, which shot a pain down his spine. Moving his head at all was becoming painful, now that his adrenaline was wearing off. "Fine." He assured the female that he was alright, but as he did so, looking upon her, he saw two of her instead of one. "I'm fine." He said again, the words trying to will himself to be okay. He could feel himself falling off balance, and moved a foot to catch himself quickly, "I'm fine." He repeated, dizziness becoming overwhelming.

Suddenly Rowan was looking at the world from a new angle. He was sideways, looking at the female's legs as though they were horizontal planes. He realized very slowly that his feet weren't on the ground anymore, and his side was completely engulfed by the feeling of wet mud against it. "I'm fine." he repeated, but he couldn't even tell if he was speaking aloud anymore. "I'm fine." his vision blurred to a grey, and then, nothing.

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MatrixPotato:

The smile returned when he answered her- but suddenly it was gone again when he stumbled. Lyn opened her mouth to ask if he was sure, but then he was stumbling again and before she could get to him, he'd fallen onto his side in the mud. Immediately, Lyn rushed to his side. She tried to get him to get up by yelling or poking him, but he was already unconscious.

"Please don't be dead." Lyn breathed, her eyes beginning to sting with more tears. She leaned down and pressed her ear against the side of his chest. She held her breath and prayed for a heartbeat. Thank the stars, seconds later she heard a faint thump. She let out a sigh of relief and pulled away, but now she had to get him somewhere safe. How would that work? He was huge and she was, well not tiny, but definitely smaller than him. She couldn't leave him out in the rain either. They were still pretty close to the river and if it flooded, he would surely drown.

Without any other options, Lyn tried to figure out how to move him. She tried dragging him, but that made his nose drag in the mud and that could suffocate him. Eventually, she decided that trying to carry him was her best bet. She wiggled herself underneath him and heaved his front end onto her back; his head rested atop hers and his front legs on either side of her shoulders, while his hind legs draped off of her on one side. The extra weight on her hind leg made her clench her jaw. She just stood for a few moments, getting used to the weight and trying to ignore the pain in her leg, before she set off- very slowly -toward somewhere dry and safe.