Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lying on the upper banks of the river just inside pack territory, lie a sleeping wild dog. His yelps could be heard for a ways around, and he had no way of stopping it. Twitching in his sleep, howling at the pain. Sleep was the only escape he got anymore, and lately even it wasn't an escape. He always woke tried and more fearful then when he gave into the exhaustion. This time would prove to be no different.

Jolting awake with a start, the male scrambled to his feet, panting heavily. His eyes wide with fear, and his body trembling something fierce. Wide eyes glance over the area, paranoid of intruders, but there's nothing there but the wind.

Heaving a sigh, the mess of a male slowly stepped back to his little sleeping spot, fully intent on trying to sleep, no matter how much the dreams haunted him. But instead he was met with a different surprise. A slow, long scratch down his back, had it not been for it touching his ear, he might have been ok.

A large yelp set out across the scarce lands, and he scrambled away from the branch that had caused all the ruckus. Now feeling even more pitiful than ever; sleep was no longer on his mind.

There was no escaping the fear he felt. It was what drove him, he would never outgrow it, and yet how much he wished it would just disappear. As he stood there shivering in his fur, his heart nearly beat from his poor little chest. His breath was ragged, and terribly hard to catch. His eyes wide with terror, glancing left and right in apparent fear of the voice he had heard in his freak out. He knew he'd heard it, there was no denying it. He was totally awake, the adrenaline coursing through his veins was proof of that.

There!

Another squeak!

His head quickly jerked in the direction of the sound. That's when he saw it, the eyes were what first caught his attention. Oddly glowing against the darkness around her. Immediately he began backing away, though this distance between them was pretty fair. He wanted nothing to do with her, she could be dangerous. In his experience - everyone was a threat.

Backing away meant not being able to see what you were walking into. Which proved to be a fatal mistake for the male. With one misstep he came crashing down, a large rock being the culprit. Another wail escaped the male, but this time it was obviously more pained than the previous one. He could tell from the shooting pain the something had happened to his hind paw, but he didn't have the willpower to turn and look at it. Instead he whimpered as quietly as he could, fearful of further catching the other animal's attention.

So it was a she. That made the male's heart beat a little less frantic. In his experience, female's were much more kind given his situation than males. Males were impatient, spiteful, judgmental, and just plan rude. Females were more accepting, nurturing, and even willing to help...

The more he tried to move his leg, the more pain he seemed to be in. He winced away the pain as he remained hidden, trying to keep his breathing low and slow.

'I know your here.'

The words took a minute to sink in, and he knew he was going to be found sooner or later. Perhaps if he was quick to surrender she would deal with him less harshly? He could only hope as much. Closing his eyes tightly, he let loose a rough edged, but loud bark. One that the female would be sure to hear, and would hopefully follow.

To be sure he caught her attention, he let out a serious of smaller yelps. He knew with his paw twisted, he would never make it to her. But she could surely make it to him.

A sight for sore eyes is what she was, but he might never admit it. Though he didn't like company, and hardy trusted what he did allow for, he knew he needed her help. He could only hope she was as safe as he first thought.

Timidstep nodded fervently, his body trembling as she drew nearer to his body. Perhaps his assumptions had been wrong? Was she going in for the kill? Wincing his eyes shut he reared his head away from the female and trembled, just waiting for her to end it. Only she didn't...

Nervously allowing one eye to open, he realized she'd only been identifying him. Something he'd nearly forgotten about in his years as a loner. Now realizing she wasn't an immediate threat, the male allowed his tail to wag slowly and let out a quick small bark in reverse greeting.

"Y...eeS" He squealed out, losing control of his voice halfway through. "P--Pek--Peke NA" He smiled having already taken notice of the scent on her. "C-Could you heLP ME!?" He yelped, his front legs twitching out of control momentarily. "I thINk I HURt my p-pAW."

The smooth sound of her voice seemed to calm his nerves, if only slightly which allowed for him to be less jumpy. Though he was still quivering, his tremors has lessened to more of a slight shiver. In all his life he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't shook, at least to some degree and he had come to accept that. This female on the other hand, had no clue of his inner turmoil or its outer effects.

"I CAN't" He barked, his facial expressions showing the extent he was trying to hold himself still. "I'm s-s-sORrY" Timidstep held himself as still as possible, only loosening his muscles once it appeared she had found the problem.

He listed as she questioned his capabilities, and nodded in understanding at her question. Squinting his eyes, and biting his own tongue the male attempted to move his back paw.

While it was a painful process, the paw was able to be moved, and the male exerted a bit of relief at the realization. But his relief soon spread to pain as it jolted through his system. "I c-c-can b-but iT'S paINFul!" He whined, adjusting his position so that she could have a better look at the paw in question.

The deep inhale and sigh gave it all away. She either wasn't happy or wasn't confident in what was about to come out of her mouth. Which only furthered the worry already pacing through his veins, so he simply waited. His mind racing over all of the things that could possibly be going through hers.

But what she said - was far more than he expected, and much more than he could accept. She was a stranger to him, he wouldn't risk injuring her with him. Even more, he wouldn't ask her to do for him, what he could not return. Immediately he began to refuse, at first with just a soft shake of his head. But it soon transformed into something more, not only was his head shaking but his tremors had returned. As the female lowered herself to his level he lightly tapped her on the nose with his good paw.

"N--NO No. Too MUCh EFFoRt, c-c-can we t-trY SOmetHIng else?"

He nodded his head lightly indicating that he would be ok, and slowly pushed himself to his feet. His back paw raised off of the ground and out of harms way. "W-Would YOU KindLY esCOrt me b-back to the p-pride..." Timidstep immediately paused in his broken sentence, realizing he had never learned her name. Embarrassed but also slightly unphased he continued. "ThAnk yOU for your help, m-m-y name is T-Timidstep." He looked up to her with a smile, hoping she would both reciprocate and not question his easier transportation method.

Her small smile was enough to give him the determination he needed to get back home. The smile was filled with warmth and from experience evil doers didn't smile too much! He gave her a slight smile in return, his shakes become less and less rough. "ThANk YoU" He managed, noticing that for the first time this evening he had managed to suppress his stutter.

Nodding in recognition at the female's name and suggestion he attempted to speed up his pace. He didn't want her to tire out either.

Limping his way across the land, he began to make out the shadows of home. He knew it wouldn't be long before he could curl up in his den and rest. At least he hoped he'd be able to.