The world around her had been so...lonely. Quiet. Desolate. Maddening. She lied on the ice floe, blue eyes staring dead ahead at everything and nothing. She lost track of time, the woman uncertain just for how long she'd been floating along with the currents. Just...going with the flow. Huh...how ironic.. A few times, she'd seen land on this strange journey, but never had she gotten close enough to swim safely to it. So she lied there, on the ice floe that day by day, slowly dwindled beneath her feet. How long until she would be forced to swim? She had done so a few times to catch a fish or two. But they were lucky shots, and often days if not a week or two apart.

With the thought of hunger, her stomach would growl in protest. Causing her to cringe with the hunger pangs. She licked her lips as she slowly rose to her belly, when was the last time she had fresh water? The ice floe she was on only did so much to quench her thirst, but it wasn't enough. She was so tired of living on a piece of ice. She missed her family, and she wished she had been alot more careful before all of this happened.

Sighing, she closed her eyes as she tried to sink back into a slumber that would give her some sort of comfort. A place where she wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or trapped on a piece of ice. Where she was hunting, exploring, living a normal life. Slowly, her head sunk back onto her forepaws as she drifted off. Minutes turned into hours, and the hours turned into the night sky. But still, she would sleep. Unaware of her surroundings, until something went bump in the night.

She startled as the ice floe suddenly lurched forward. Blue eyes opening wide as she looked around. It was night, and all around her was pitch black darkness. Listening, she only heard the sound of the ocean slapping the floe she was on, so surely she hadn't made it to land. Shrugging it off, she attempted to return to sleep before it happened again. Except this time, it was harder. She rose to her paws, heart hammering against her chest as she tried to figure out what was going on. Nearby, what sounded like a water spout pierced the otherwise silent night. That was when her heart pounder faster as the realization set in. She was being hunted by the wolf of the sea.

Una moved to the center of her ice block hoping that if she stayed still and silent, they would lose interest. But of course, she knew better then that. Almost silently, she looked up to find a large black and white head rising slowly from the water, beady black eye met wide blue ones. She knew exactly what they were doing, and it was not good. As it slipped back into the water, minutes went by. Had they lost interest? Did they leave? Did they find something else to eat? A few more minutes, and the woman let go of thy breath she'd been holding, and as soon as she made herself relax, all hell broke loose.

One second, she was clinging to the ice. And next second, she was scrambling to stay on it, and out of the water. They were bumping the ice from beneath, tilting it every which way as they tried to force her off. She would not give in, however. And soon, the sea wolves would realize this. As she clung to one side, one sea creature would jump from the water, crashing down right in front of her and causing the ice floe to break. Her lifeline gone, she tumbled towards the water. Just before hitting it, however, a sea wolf came from beneath, lifting her into the air with its head, jaws opening as itsgiant tongue snaked out to taste her.

With a yelp, she slid down the side of its head, claws scratching the beasts eye on her way down which in turn, made the creature swing its head side to side before crashing back into the water. Before she knew it, she was engulfed by icy sea water. Darkness all around her, her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled back to the surface. The second her head broke the surface, she sucked in a huge breath and immediately began to swim. But she had no idea where she was going, it was too dark to see and the only smell she could pick up was the stench of salt and fear. Her own fear at that.

She paddled in one direction, and as things seemed to settle, another force would break the waves as she was cast up into the air. The force of the headbutt knocked the wind from her lungs, and her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the upcoming pain. With an agonizingly loud and painful cry, it would come. The sea wolf had caught her left hind leg in its jaws, and she felt the bone break with the force. As it began to shake her for playtime, another came bursting from the water in an attempt to join in on the fun. This was it, wasn't it? The predator became the prey. Was this how her prey felt?

As she began to accept that she would die tonight, the grip on her leg was released as soon as she heard a dull crash and the protesting cries of her captors. She went sailing through the air, the world around her spinning and she couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Had one of them gotten too eager and accidentally cost them their meal? It was all she could think until her body slammed onto a somewhat hard surface, rendering her unconscious. She had made it to land, thanks to the orcas whose presence indicated they were hunting seals close to the shore. She lied there in the shallows, her head barely enough on the shore so she wouldn't completely drown, but the rest of her was fired with pain that was beginning to dull with each second. The raggedy looking woman had made it, to some degree.

This land was confusing to him, and it was becoming exceedingly frustrating to navigate and travel through. It seemed as if he were always making wrong turns, being forced to turn around and choose a different path because of some huge, insurmountable mountain, or the sudden appearance of a bottomless chasm. He had spent more days than he cared to count aimlessly wandering through the mountains, searching for a path forward, or a simple sign to show him he had been going in the right direction. However, had constantly been more of the same.

Of course, there had been that incident in the caves, which had been his one respite from this life of wandering in solitude. But even that seemed like a distant memory now, causing him to pause and wonder if he had actually been there, or if it were simply something his mind had dreamt up while he slept. Adrian could not remember. Every day seemed to be passing in a blur now. He knew the lack of food and water was probably having an effect on him as well. He needed something to eat and a few days of good, solid.. rest.

At least he was out of the mountains now, he had made his way down a few days ago. That was a relief. The place he found himself in now was quite the opposite of them, and the change of scenery was nice, despite the darkness of night now putting a bit of a damper on his travels. At least he had the assistance of the moon and stars, though they were faint and partially covered by clouds, it was enough. Golden eyes could only make out slight details of the rocky canyon around him, not that it mattered. He had seen it all earlier, before the sun had set. In all honesty, the view had been rather magnificent, but thus far further exploration had yet to produce much of anything tangible. Though shelter was plentiful, there did not appear to be much food.

Unless he wanted to try going after the sea creatures but... no. That did not seem like a good idea tonight. Especially not when his ears picked up the cacophony sounds going on out there, which sounded an awful lot like hunting. Adrian did his best to ignore them, knowing that some unfortunate creature was probably going to lose it's life tonight. But that was how the world went.

Though they had left him alone as he wandered the shoreline at least, so he would do the same. Perhaps he could attempt to catch some fish which were sure to be found in the water once light rose again, but that was not a very solid plan. Having never been forced to rely on them as a food source before, he was not even sure how he should hunt them, or if there was even a technique to be had. Maybe it revolved around luck, which it seemed had not been on his side lately. At least he was more fortunate than whatever was being hunted out there in the water.

The sandy wolf's ears flicked, and he tensed in surprise as another noise was to be heard, much closer now. It sounded like a body landing on a very hard rock. Golden eyes looked about for the source of this occurrence. Had some unfortunate soul come too close to the cliff edge above, and fallen to their death? Perhaps. He shuddered just at the thought of it, though there was still that part of his mind trying to decide if falling was a worse fate than being torn apart by the large sea beasts.

However, what he soon saw was even more chilling. There, in the shallow water, was a very wolf-like form lying entirely too still. It seemed highly unlikely a body would remain so.. intact after falling from such a long height, but he could not think of her coming from any other place. Shaking the thoughts aside, he splashed quickly through the shallow water, moving closer to the still wolf, his eyes taking in the feminine form of the one who lie before him. He tilted an ear down toward her and rested a gentle paw upon her side, hoping for any sign of life.

To his surprise, her breath was actually still audible, though faint and he could feel life within her. He was still curious to know how exactly she had ended up here, but as he took a look over the rest of her body, the male realized her health was more important in this instant than anything else. All he needed to know was that somehow this lady had somehow been injured before ending up here, and Adrian felt it was now his responsibility to assist. The first priority was to get her out of this cold water. She was soaked in it, and leaving her here in the dead of winter could well mean death, if her other injuries had not already made their claim upon her life.

Tentatively he reached down and took a mouthful of soggy wet fur, intending to drag the stranger out of the frigid waters and further onto dry land. That seemed the most important thing to do first, getting her dry and warmed up. He refused to believe that she would perish tonight.

(((Hopefully you don't mind how I played out this post? I can edit it if necessary.

The darkness felt so warm and welcoming after the last waves of pain began to ebb away. The frigid waters from where she came had done more then numb her pain and the broken bones. It had lulled her into a slumber that brought her to the brink of a realm visited by unfortunate souls. Here, the cold winter winds stirred her pelt and soothed her aching heart. Was she even still alive? Or did the beasts destroy her like the seals they preyed on? She couldn't tell if she was sleeping in a delirious state and still on the ice floe, or if she was dead and this one of those dreams the elders had talked about. The ones that wolves had when they were on the brink of death and saw things, spirits that would either take them away or walk them back home. Either way, she felt...at peace. At least, until her first step brought her lurching forward. The ground suddenly fell away, and the woman felt like she was falling through eternal darkness. Was she one of the unlucky ones to fall into the pits of the abyss where bad dogs went? Or something else? Heart pounding with fear, the pain would suddenly flare up as she felt the ground move beneath her. Water sucked at her body, replaced by sand shortly after as she felt a force tugging at the back of her neck. A silent cry left burning lungs, her scream very audible in her head yet silent to the world around her. Her chest burned with the weight of the water she inhaled, her leg protesting it's fractured state and her ribs crying out with each breath she tried to take, only to fail. Choking on the sea water, she coughed and sharply twisted her head around, yanking her scruff from the grasp of whatever had her. It wasn't intentional, but the lurching of her stomach had alerted her of what was to come. And sure enough, sea water began to pour from her mouth. For a long while, she felt like she was going to suffocate on the sea water she was throwing up. And after several choked moments later, her head fell heavily onto the sand, her head pounding violently as her body followed suit with violent shivers. Icy blue gaze looked about unfocused, barely bringing into sight the form of her savior. Or at least, she assumed he was. Her body throbbing with pain, her lungs rasped with each painful breath she took. And still, she would attempt to speak. "H...he..lp.." She had more to say, but she could barely utter that single word without her lungs screaming at her to shut up. Then again, at this point...it was probably very obvious that she needed help. Walk, "Talk" Think

How he wished he would have paid more attention to the lessons he'd been given about healing. Perhaps then he would not feel so helpless, and would have a better idea of what to do. Adrian vowed to himself then and there, that if he ever had another chance, he would try to learn more about the skill. Right now, he was struggling to think of what else he could do, and it was beginning to worry him. Even as he'd lifted grey-colored female from the water - who was not quite as heavy as she'd first looked, she had not moved or shown a sign of being alive, aside from her breath.

How fortunate he supposed, that he'd come upon her right now. If he'd merely delayed a few moments longer, or taken a different path? He did not want to think about it.

It was still a challenge to get her onto dry land as carefully as he could. Part of his mind was still trying to figure out where she had come from, how she had ended up in the water here. There was no way she could've fallen from somewhere above and survived, he had already decided that. So what other options were there? As he considered the other possibilities, he decided that it almost looked as if she'd been.. attacked, then left to die in the freezing waters. But by who, or what? Should he be concerned for his own safety right now?

Before he could give it any further thought, the lady he carried in his jaws suddenly and rather violently pulled herself away. Adrian remained frozen in his place, as he could do nothing but watch as she coughed up an incredible amount of sea-water. While he assumed that was good, he still wished there was something more he could do. He knew of nothing else that would help, at this point, aside from making sure she was warm and comfortable. At least she was out of the frigid water, and had shown signs of being alive.

Catching a glimpse of her eyes, which had previously always been closed, he discovered they were a magnificent shade of blue, something he had rarely seen. Were it not for the current situation, he might've been more entranced by them. She seemed to see him, if the raspy, weak call for help was any indication. He felt as if he should say something, but he wasn't exactly sure what.

"I'm not gonna leave you." He offered quietly, hoping it would be of some assurance. His eyes looked around the area for anything useful.

There had to be some kind of herb, or plant around here that would be helpful in this time. Perhaps if he spotted something, he could recognize it and bring it back. But Adrian did not exactly want to go looking around in the dark. Especially not if she had actually been attacked, and her attacker was still anywhere nearby. It would probably be better to wait until morning. He had seen a gap, almost a small cave in the rocks just a little ways back that would be good to shelter in until daylight came again. But Adrian doubted she would be able to walk there, and he didn't exactly want to try dragging her again now that she was awake.

The plan would have to stay the same. Now that she was out of the water, the next task would be to have her get dry and warm. Without second thought, he settled himself down beside the grey-furred lady, intending to use the heat from his own body to hopefully help her. "What's.. your name?" He questioned softly. It seemed like a good idea to try and help her maintain her focus by conversing.

"I'm not gonna leave you." Blue eyes fluttered open at those words. A small, nearly inaudible sigh slipping past her cracked lips. She was grateful, truly grateful that she was out of the water and on land with someone. She wasn't alone. At least for now. Sure, she was in more pain then she'd ever felt before, but it slowly numbed into a dull ache as the frozen water worked its way to her muscles. On top of that, the adrenaline did well to mask most of the pain now. She shivered as the male decided to lie beside her, and she was so very grateful for the warmth that would come. Usually, she wouldn't let some stranger get so close, but in this case, she would allow the contact. It was a life or death situation, and she didn't drift all that way just to die from pneumonia or freeze into an icicle on the beach. Her brows furrowed as she tried to steady her breathing, trying to force her body to stop shaking so much. Her ears slightly twitched when he asked her name, and for a horrifying moment she couldn't remember. Everything in her mind right now was muddled, but she knew she had a name. She knew hers...She was the only one... "U...na...my...name..." She gritted her teeth, head slowly shaking. She must sound like some foreign dolt. Or like she had something mentally wrong. No, it would not do. Resting her head on the sand for a moment as she tried to clear the headache, she would try again. "My name...is..Una...th-thank you for...saving me.." It was a struggle to say such a simple sentence, but she hoped that with some rest and warmth, she would be talking alot better then she was now. Walk, "Talk" Think

The sand-colored wolf kept his eyes and ears open, watching, listening for anything or anyone else. Although he was tired, if this lady had actually been attacked by something, and it was nearby, then he did not want it to surprise him too. Whatever had been going on out in the sea seemed to have calmed slightly, leaving him to hear only the gentle, yet somewhat eerie sounds of a slight wind and the water. It seemed he and this stranger were totally alone here, but he was not quite ready to relax just yet.

Adrian regretted his decision to ask her name as soon as she attempted to speak again. Though he focused on her speech, he could not quite make out her name. He'd thought perhaps keeping her awake might be the best choice, but now he was feeling he'd been wrong. Undisturbed rest was probably the best thing for her, now. She seemed to be out of any imminent danger, though she was still shivering. He pressed himself as close as he was willing. Usually he would not be found so close to anyone, under any circumstance, let alone a female, but this situation was different.

My name...is..Una.. He titled his head a bit closer this time, also finding her speech to be a bit clearer. Her name was Una. A slight smile crossed his face for a mere moment, until he heard her thank him. The smile faded away, and he turned his eyes, suddenly unable to look at the lady for some reason he could not quite explain. Perhaps it was because he did not want anyone to feel like they owed him.

"Well.. Una, I'm just glad I passed by when I did." Who knew how much longer she would've lasted in that cold water. Adrian had thought his wandering had been random up to this point, but maybe.. just maybe, there had been some mysterious, unknown factor guiding him to this place, at this exact time, for this reason. It did not seem like a far fetched notion at all.

A small sigh escaping his maw, golden eyes turned back to look at the other. "I think.. you should rest now. If there's anything else I can do.. just, ask." He said softly, adjusting his posture to get a bit more comfortable. This sand wasn't the most pleasant thing to lie on, but it was still marginally better than what he'd had as of lately.

It was...odd, that a stranger was so close to her. Even back home, she didn't let anyone close to her after her parents died. Save for her siblings, that is. Tonrar and the others were the only ones she let get close to her. But this? She wasn't opposed to it in a situation like this. If this young male hadn't shown up when he did, she might not have survived the night. After he had pressed himself closer and listened to his voice, she flicked her ears as she looked at the waters. She was safe. Beaten to Hell. But safe. The sea wolves could not move on land. She sighed in relief for once as her shivering began to cease. Her broken leg dulled to an ache and everything else wasn't as painful now that she was lying still. He shifted for comfort, but she refrained from moving too much for fear of agitating whatever injuries she had sustained. After the male had told her to rest, she was more then happy too. Until she realized she didn't even know his name. "What...what is your name?" She lifted her head slightly to look at him, ears erect. "Or do I just call you stranger?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Una seemed content to rest in the silence that followed his final remark, and he was quite fine with this. Conversing at length had never been a forte of his. There were few other sounds out here, with the exception of what the water made. Considering this, he had to admit after spending such a lengthy amount of time completely alone, it was nice simply to see someone else. Her mere presence was somehow gratifying. Still, that brought back the question of where exactly she had come from. Perhaps in the morning he would ask her, there would be plenty of time to talk more then. If he wasn't too tired, that was. He did not plan on sleeping at all, for fear that some threat might still be lurking just beyond the shadows.

What...what is your name?

The unexpected question caught him unawares. It wasn't that he couldn't answer the question - Adrian had not forgotten his own name yet, but he was not sure he wanted to give it. Or do I just call you stranger? It was a struggle. A struggle between what he assumed would be polite to return his name, or a desire to remain as anonymous as possible. He would never see Una again after this, and as he'd thought earlier, he did not want anyone feeling as if they owed him. Even so.. it seemed like she deserved to know.

"It's.. Adrian." How funny. Hearing himself speak his name, it sounded quite foreign to his ears. He hadn't heard it in such a long time. Golden eyes slowly blinked, head turning away from the other while wondering if it was the right choice. It didn't matter now, he couldn't go back on it. At least her speech was much clearer, that was a good sign. "I am curious though," he spoke again, turning back to face the other as he did, "as to where you came from? I didn't find any sign of.. anyone, on my way here. It was as if you just sort of.. appeared there, in that water."

He hoped his question wouldn't be asking too much. Adrian probably should have waited, let her continue rest until morning, but his inquisitive mind had once more gotten the better of him.