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 Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:55 am
 The past month had passed in one long, indistinguishable smudge. Something had been set loose inside of her, and now nothing mattered aside from the scattering ground beneath her paws and the taste of blood that lingered sharp along the sides of her tongue.
She had met her nightmare. She had stumbled full-on into the looming spectre who had haunted her for nigh on a decade, and she had finally, finally dealt a blow. And in the wake of years of stymied vengeance, it was incomparable.
She pelted over the terrain in a mania of satisfaction. It had ceased to matter what she was leaving or where she might hope to end up, and when the earth began to quake and the horizon smoked behind her, it provided nothing other than the reassurance that the world itself was complying to her narrative, and that some satisfaction awaited her if she could only keep running.
But she was not a young wolf any longer. She needed food and drink, and when she finally stopped to seek these things, a gnaw at the blackened carcass of a fawn and the lapping at an isolated puddle were not enough to sustain her much farther. The tiny wolf had, in this latest disaster, become fragile. Sick and shaking with nausea, six days past the initial eruption, Thrush finally stopped and looked about herself, and wondered if she had the spirit to keep carrying on.
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:21 pm
 Lucian really did not know what to do with himself. Since his Beginning, his life had consisted solely of survival. It was something that he was good at, he found; but he suspected that it was not the only thing he ought to be doing. The problem was, he had no idea what to do. How did one rediscover one's self? If he had any family - a strange concept, when one did not even know one's self - then he had no idea where to look for them. There was every possibility that they were dead. Whatever disaster had struck, it had been ruthless in the lives it had claimed. Though he supposed that the thought of his hypothetical family's demise should concern him, he found that it did not. What use worrying over the what-ifs of people who might not even exist? Particularly when he could not remember them. If they did exist, then he supposed that they could find him. He doubted that he would recognize them, in any case. For now, all he could think to do was carry on until some purpose presented itself to him. He saw no point in going about wandering about asking if anyone recognized him. On the off chance that someone did, it would do little good. They could, perhaps, tell him about himself, but it would be like hearing a story - potentially interesting, but ultimately meaningless. No, Lucian felt certain that the only way of rediscovering himself was to experience it for himself. The only problem was, it seemed to be a rather slow process. Opportunities to test his character did not often present themselves. Even as he thought this, he caught the scent of another wolf nearby. Female. Unhealthy. His ears pricked with interest. Ah. This had potential. He changed his course to meet with this stranger.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 9:49 pm
She had passed through land after fire before. She remembered feeling exposed, as trees reduced to spent matches did nothing to blot out the vast emptiness of the sky above. But it was a different feeling now; she simply felt alien, removed from context and unsure of what to do next. Her paws were dark with mud and stung as if rubbed raw, and the inside of her mouth was caked with grit. What she longed for was a clear lake to wade into, but the only water she had come across so far was acrid and thick with soot.
The sense of unreality continued to expand until she found herself tottering sideways, thrown unexpectedly off balance; it scared her, and she quickly decided that she should shamble in the direction of the unburnt, rocky ground north of where she crouched. Better to succumb in the middle of heading somewhere meaningful than to spend the last hours of one's own life tottering around in a burnt forest like a heroine at the end of a tragedy.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 4:12 pm
It did not take so very much longer for him to catch sight of the female in the distance. There was little to obstruct his vision. It did, however, take a little longer to reach her - a fact which gave him ample opportunity to study her form. His first impression matched what his nose had told him. The female was in a very bad way.
She seemed unsteady on her paws, her steps slow and uncertain, though she also seemed to be moving with purpose. As she was caked in soot, it was impossible to make out her markings, but he could tell that she seemed very thin. Likely, her last meal had not been recent or very filling. Lucian caught up to her just as she stumbled once more.
"Easy," he said, his voice low and soothing. He hadn't meant to touch her before introducing himself, but his body moved to catch her with a will all its own - an old habit, perhaps? Her body was feather light against his side. "I have you."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 8:56 pm
It was a testament to how unwell, how off-balance the little wolf was that she didn't recoil from his sudden and too-close appearance; in fact, the smudgy face that turned to look at him seemed to have a difficult time registering him at all. The pupils in her pale eyes were pinpricks of black, and the whole affair of her gaze was sliding off in the wrong direction every few moments or so. Her husky voice was hushed and touched with wonder when she spoke. "Do you-?"
Her eyes, which were sending back incomplete and confusing information, repeatedly presented a young dark-hooded male who must be keeping her steady. Her jaw dropped; she tried to focus. "Heather?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:06 pm
His brow crinkled in confusion. Heather? Who was that? The name that his muddied mind had provided him with was Lucian. Surely he had to have that much right. Though, he really had no way of knowing for certain. Still, was not Heather a female name? At the very least, it did not feel right. He had to assume it was not. Besides, the little female seemed delirious.
"I am Lucian," he said. Perhaps the correction was not strictly necessary. What harm was there in humoring a delirious female? But he found that his name was very important to him. It was all that he had of himself and he was unwilling to give it up.
"What's your name?" he inquired. Was that the correct thing to ask? There were more important issues at hand than names, but perhaps it would help her focus a little. Help ground her. At the very least, if the worst came to pass, she would not die without anyone knowing. The thought did not sit well with him. No, it did not sit well with him at all. He would do his best to ensure this female's survival.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:41 pm
((I held out for one last tag before bed. 8D;; ))
"...Luce...Lucian." The name was gradually pulled from black lips to fall with raw disappointment between them. Her eyes seemed more focused as she searched his face, but the clarity brought with it a sadness that seemed to age her by years. She looked down for a long moment, her eyes closed, trying to gather herself.
Slowly, she found pieces of her composure and put them on, made them do. "Lucian." She was reluctant to give him her name, reluctant to let go of the delirium that enticed her with beloved faces. But this was Lucian, and Lucian was not going away.
"Thrush. My...I'm Thrush." Her eyes were still closed, her head still ever-so-slightly unsteady, as if she might shortly fall to her belly in sleep. "I was going north, to get away from the fires."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 9:44 pm
"Yes, as am I." She seemed to be regaining her lucidity. That was a good sign, was it not? But then, she also seemed to be weakening. Losing whatever strength had kept her going until now. That simply would not do.
"Shall we go together, Thrush?" If he could at least get her somewhere a little safer than this, he could perhaps find water or food to help her regain some strength. If she collapsed before then, however, he was not certain how he could safely move her. He could hardly carry her like a pup or drag her like a kill. Would it be possible to balance her on his back, or would she simply fall off?
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 6:40 pm
((I am suddenly filled with regret that I did not just let Thrush stay totally delusional. Damn!!))
The talking helped. After a time, the little wolf pulled her eyes open, and the look she gave Lucian was very tired but lucid. The otherworldliness of a few minutes before had dissipated, and now she was left only with the issue of finding herself unsure of how to walk correctly. The stinging in her limbs had faded and been replaced with a wobbly, weak sensation, as if half the strings used to orchestrate their movements had been cut. How to deal with this, and with this stranger?
"We can try." Her voice was grave. Leaning forward, she got her back feet under her, glancing at Lucian before returning her attention to the precarious situation of balance. "I have not died before, but this seems like a reasonable preamble." Her hushed voice whispered casually over to Lucian as she began to continue, with painful unsteadiness, along their path. "Don't feel like you need to stop to bury me."
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:02 pm
((It would have been amusing. XD But oh, well.))
"I would rather you not die at all," he replied. Though it was true that the thought of his own death did not move him very much one way or the other - it was difficult to condemn or cling to life when one had very little knowledge of one's own - Lucian did not much enjoy hearing this female speak so plainly of her own demise. So, he elected not to think on it.
He spied the rocky ground that she had been moving towards earlier. It seemed as good a place as any for a goal. "What say we get you settled over there, and then I see about some water." At least, he hoped he could find some. There were ways and ways to reach good water. One just had to get a little creative at times. It was enough to make him wonder whether he was resourceful naturally, or if it was something that he had learned.
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