R Where the wind blows

[Soirée]

She had come from the mountains, ambling through its threatening stones and steep switchbacks with caution and fatigue. Soirée had kept moving, despite her better judgement and beating heart. She knew what she was running from, but had little certainty of what lied ahead. For the first time in her life, she was left without the answers to her problems and forced to descend into the unknown in solitude.

It was not exactly the life she chose, nor one she would’ve opted for given the chance. But it was the life she had now, and Soirée was a survivor. She would survive this.

Her paws wept in dollops of red, the callous pads at her feet no match for the terrain that lied ahead. It was a miracle she had even made it out of the mountains in the first place. Although, the forest had been no better. The sound of a roaring river had caught her attention miles ago, and with only the thought of pure survival, she had chased after it.

The young Noir had ignored the way the pebbles beneath her paws pinched at her toes and poked holes in her strength, and instead, she pushed as far as she could towards the river’s bank. Along either side lied puddles of large stones and boulders, each face of the rocks ahead sporting sharp sides and threatening warnings. She did not mind them. The river itself was loud and frightening. Even in the bowels of winter, the current seemed angry and unfed—as though the valley around her required some sort of sacrifice.

But it would not be her.

She paused momentarily, sighing against the tightness in her chest. Soirée lowered herself in the one spot that did not have a circle of sharp rocks, and rested by the river side with weary eyes. She’d drink in a moment, she told herself. Then she’d leave—but only after she closed her eyes for but a moment.

Only for a moment, she promised.

[Bird]

Bird should have known by the scent of iron sifting through the mist, but she easily mistook it for her prey's blood, not a girl's. The doe was pregnant, very much so, and slowed by that, and Bird wasn't pregnant, but was hungry, and was made faster by that.

Both hunter and prey panted, jaws agape, as the chase wore on, the doe trapped between a rushing river she rightly wasn't sure she could cross safely, and the teeth of the wolf at her flank. Out of the mist, the deer spotted the curled up wolf nearly a half-second too late, leaping over the frame of the predator gracefully and forcing Bird to miss a snap of her teeth by a mile.

The doe kept running. The misty-furred woman, however, skid to a stop, stomach growling, defeat a stone in her belly, frustrations mounting. "Fuck." She spat, eyes still skimming the mist as if hoping the doe would turn around and come galloping back, ready to give up.

[Soirée]

Soirée woke with a start, the fresh feeling of pulsing air whooshing over her as she roused. Her eyes shot open, colors of yellow and orange blurring against the fading day. Where was she? How long had she been out? Time melted together, forming an incoherent collage of images in her mind.

There was mountains. And then a forest…A river.

She blinked again, forcing the crumbles of sleep to dislodge from her eyes. And there, smack dab in front of her, was another wolf.

Soirée shot to her paws, chest tightening and ears splaying backwards as she stared. How long had this stranger been here? Had she been the reason Soirée woke up? The Noir girl couldn’t help her curiosity as her eyes trailed to somewhere in the distance, behind her, to whatever this stranger was staring at.

An audible curse was uttered from the stranger, and Soirée couldn’t seem to piece together what the hell was happening.

Had something happened?

“Uh..” She voiced her thoughts aloud, “are you looking for something?”

[Bird]

Things happened quickly, layering one on top of the other as Bird processed them.

Movement, the scent of wolf, and blood, and Bird's pulse still thudding in her ears, building toward...nothing. Bird flinched regardless, scowling at the younger girl as she looked dumbly around them, startled, and lost in equal measure.

She forced a measured exhale from herself, waiting for her initial reaction to pass through her so she could react more appropriately. Bird wanted to snap, but Bird had had the kinds of experiences, by now, to learn how to temper her temper. "Dinner." She said flatly, expression non-plussed. "But it's gone now."

She could smell the injury even through the mist's rainy overtones. Don't. Bird admonished herself harshly. This wasn't the Wasteland and she wasn't anything here, didn't have to do shit about anything she came across. If it didn't threaten her, it didn't matter to her. This, and everything she'd left behind, and everything she'd now encounter, wasn't her problem anymore.

"Guess I'll try the river." Not an invitation, but telegraphing her plan for food wasn't...not helping, either, if the kid could puzzle it out.

[Soirée]

Soirée had never been one to be wholly caught of guard, speechless and confused. But here she was, all three of those things and a true disappointment to her family’s name. Her brows scrunched together as she stared at the silver woman before her, unsure of how to react and what to do next.

It was at the mention of dinner that Soirée realized how long she had slept, and within in a moment of centralized panic, her gaze snapped to sweep around her. Fuck. Her chest tightened and her ears dipped backwards as her own disappointment washed over her.

What the fuck had the last few nights done to her?

Made her weak, she rationalized to herself, made her a lesser version of the Soirée she was meant to be.

“I apologize,” she started, attempting to refocus her priorities to the ones she could control, “If that was my fault.”

At least her mother had taught her manners.

“I’ll help,” Soirée offered, a small tail wag following behind her words, “It’s the least I could do after spoiling your meal.”