This looked like a good place to hunt. Spring had finally begun, and the lands were beginning to burst with the buds of life. Small plants sprung from the earth, grass was coming back to life, and the animals were beginning to prepare for the busiest and most exciting time of their lives. The delta, with all of its waterways, varying landscape and closeness to the ocean, made it a place of abundance. At first, it was a place that might look pretty plain, but if one knew how to look, there was bounty to be found at every glance.

Bright limped carefully toward the edge of the water, making sure not to put too much pressure on her injured hind leg. It was doing well, but she still needed to be careful - it was too easy to re-injure a strain. However, with winter just past, she knew she needed to hunt, the keep up her strength and to have something to bring back to her pack mates. She'd spent a few days laying around, and now she needed to get back to work. As she padded along carefully, she began to notice, just slightly, that the ground seemed quite spongy, and the air was warm and humid. How unusual for this early in the season - still, she didn't really see it as a problem, just an abnormality.

She was so focused on seeking out other animals, her eyes watching their every movement as the birds fluttered around the water's edge and small rodents rooted around, that she didn't hear the distant roaring until it was too close. When it came to her attention that a vague rumbling noise was growing louder, she turned to look upstream, and noticed what seemed to be a large swell in the river. What was that? She squinted, trying to look closer, realizing quickly that it was headed her way and it wasn't coming slowly. Fear caused her heart to begin racing; she needed to get out of here!

The silver-coated woman whipped around, intending to leave the water's edge swiftly, but her injured ankle caught in the muck, and she gasped as the injury twinged. The hesitation in her movement left her without time to spare. She yanked her hind leg painfully from the spongy ground and tried to make a dash for safety, but it was too late. A swell of fast-moving water splashed over her, debris battering her body and causing her to lose any footing she had. She toppled over, and the rush of water over her head was deafening. Her muzzle broke the surface momentarily, allowing her a gulp of air before she was dragged away by the force of the river. She tumbled again and again, sometimes feeling her claws hit the shore, while other times solid ground seemed ages away. Panic began to grip her heart. Was she going to die?

After struggling against the river's flow, she realized she could not win. She had to go downstream, it was her only hope, if there was any hope at all. She paddled as best she could, pain searing through her ankle, lucky enough to catch a breath now and again. She had no idea where she would end up or if she would make it at all, but she hoped that this nightmare would end sooner than later. She didn't know if her will was strong enough to keep going.

What a lovely day. The sand under his paws sucked slightly at his toes as the hybrid ghosted along the edge of the water. He kept his distance, but only just. He was on the trail of his prey. He'd caught the scent about twenty minutes ago, and he'd been doggedly following the trail since then. His inky, fluffy, long coat gleamed, groomed impeccably, and his wicked crimson gaze scanned the area ahead of him, his nose full of the enticing scent. It wasn't long before his quarry came into sight, and he stopped, narrow head lowering as he observed her. Hunting? A roar caught his ears, something that she didn't seem aware of just yet. Ahriman retreated further up the bank, our of reach. If she got out of the way, she'd be heading right for his path. However, as he turned, he saw instead a perfect opportunity. He was just in time to see the surge of water catch the silvery female, sweeping her away. Oh, what a perfect opportunity! He flashed a toothy grin then molded his features into a valiant expression as he charged after the maiden in distress. The water was fast, but he managed to catch up to the waterlogged female. "Hang on!" He put a note of concern into his deep voiced shout, morphing his expresion to match, crimson eyes glittering like rubies as he dove in, just ahead, snapping his jaws for her scruff if she was close enough. He didn't give a damn if he hurt her. If he had his way, she'd be screaming herself hoarse by the end of the day. His teeth were successful, and he hauled back with a not at all feigned growl, front paws sinking into the silt. Despite her smaller size, the force of the water was an extra amount of weight on his muscles. For a moment, he considered letting her go and letting the water take her, but that would be too easy. He hauled harder, and eventually succeeded in dragging his prey onto the shore, away from the water. He wasn't exactly winded, but he threw a pant into his frame, even if it took a bit of effort to release her scruff to follow the act he had in mind. He dropped her, and stepped only slightly away, keeping the pant to his voice and the concern in his eyes and features as he looked her over. "H-h- Are you... alright?" "Save Yourself A Penny For The Ferryman; Save Yourself, And Let Them Suffer."

Be warned. This character is extremely violent, and needs little to no provocation to attack your character. He will be prone to taking slaves, so unless you wish to have your character possibly maimed or enslaved, do not thread with him and provoke him and do not complain when it happens because you ignored the warning written here in bright red and bold!

As her head breached the river's surface again, she thought she heard something, someone calling out to her. Was she imagining it? She wanted desperately to find out if she'd truly heard someone, to go to them, but her eyes could see nothing beyond the furious rapids, and she could focus on nothing but gasping for air. For a heartbeat she felt her paws skim the sandy river floor, and her claws extended, only to be swept away before gaining any purchase. Yet another heartbeat later, she felt a sharp, piercing pain in her scruff. She felt her body being dragged, not by water this time, but by another living being - her rescuer. She felt a surge of hope and renewed strength. She paddled in an effort to make it easier for whoever had a hold of her to get her out of the water.

Her claws touched sand, and this time she clung hard. As her body escaped the clutches of the river, she felt the exhaustion in her limbs and dropped, finding herself dragged further from the water's edge. Sprawled out on her side, she coughed and sputtered and took in great gulps of air, her lungs and throat burning. She tried to quiet herself as she heard a voice asking if she was okay. At last she peeled open her eyes and looked up at her savior, silver eyes meeting with ruby red - there was a glimmer of concern in the man's eyes as he loomed over her. A stranger - a man. And she was in heat. Another wave washed over her, but it wasn't the river that caused her distress this time. Anxiety flooded her, clawing at her belly.

She tried to push it down as she slowly sat herself up onto one elbow, squinting with the effort as she did so. This man had saved her - he was worried, he wanted to know if she was alright. Not every stranger was bad. Being in Fiori had proven that to her. She forced herself to glance up at him again. "I will live... " she murmured in a hoarse voice, losing herself to a bout of coughing before she could say anything more; at last she caught her breath, "Thank you, sir. You... saved my life. H-how did you find me?" Wait, why had she asked that? Surely she'd left a scent trail. He must have caught wind of it and followed her - and for how many reasons did a lone male follow the scent trail of a woman in heat? Anxiety clawed at her throat. There wasn't any other possibility, right? She blinked, trying to clear her mind, but it was futile. She had to believe in the good that existed in others, but experience urged her to stay alert, cautious and very, very afraid.