Life has taken a sharp about face since Terra had met Lotus and the earthen girl couldn’t be happier. Since they met, she has felt safe in his presence and, with his support, the girl is slowly coming out of her shell. Traveling has been fun and she is learning to not be so afraid of every little thing but there are still times her old worries peak through. There are so many strange and wonderful things out here that is far beyond anything she could have imagined and Terra is excited to be exploring them with Lotus.

Long legs pull the girl along, a happy bounce in her steps as the pair walk. The strange stone structures that litter this place have the lanky girl’s emerald gaze roaming every which way while wonder paints her features. A cracked pillar lays mostly buried underneath the rolling green grass of the area, only leaving a smooth side exposed to the autumn sun. At first, Terra skirts the object, shrinking back against the taller form of Lotus to gather the strength and courage she desperately needs.

Change is always scary and, having spent most of her life in a small cave waiting for her family to come back for her, the girl still has moments of uncertainty. Emerald eyes flick up to Lotus’s face and Terra softly questions, “What are these things? Do you know who made them?” A short pause falls before she adds the question she really wants answered, “It is safe to be here?” Worry crinkles the lines at the corners of eyes and a frown slowly tugs her lips downward as she waits for Lotus to reassure her.


"Terra Qilaq"

The longer he and Terra travelled together, the more protective he felt of the other wolf. There wasn’t much difference in their age, but Lotus seemed to have more world experience then she did. That, and his height, seemed to create the dynamic of their relationship. Lotus chose to be her protector. Both from physical dangers, and mental ones. Keeping close to her at night to ease any fears she had that he might vanish in her sleep.

As they reached the Stone Steepe, Terra bounded ahead. He shook his head, amused as the shorter girl put a bounce in her stride. When Terra shrunk back against him, he leaned down so he could press the top of his chin against her head for a moment. He said nothing, offering her silent support until she picked up the nerve to speak. “I’m not sure. Maybe they are natural?” He said, but even as he spoke he found himself doubting his words. “It looks safe” He said as they reached the pillar. He stepped forward, placing a paw on the stone and giving it a hard nudge. “it seems sturdy” He told her encouringly.


"Words"

With the help of Lotus, the earthen girl has felt herself growing in leaps in bounds since their fateful meeting. Many of her old fears have begun to melt away as she finds that excitement is more commonplace nowadays along with happiness and an eagerness to live. For her, life had stalled for the many months she had been holed up in a cave, waiting on her family that she knew would never come back for her. Darkness had begun to pull her mind down into a spiral that she knew she would not survive. But then, like a beacon of light and hope, Lotus appeared to chase the shadows

His steady, reassuring presence has helped her and having someone to curl up with at night has helped Terra’s night terrors to lessen in frequency. Still, change is scary and the large, strange pillars that tower over her in this place sends a familiar ice-cold chill lance of fear stabbing painfully into her mind and she instinctively shrinks back toward her protector. It is easy to fit her smaller body into his side, it a familiar, safe place that brings her quiet strength and she is to finally voice her question the safety of this place.

Lotus always knows how to quell the jabbering demons in her head that seem to mock and scream their doubts at her in every new situation and he stands there, tall and strong, watching over her as he speaks. A nod is given and she walks with him, tucked safely into his side as he approaches the pillar, not wishing to get close to it but also unwilling to detached herself from his side. His encouraging words have her looking at the pillar with determination and Terra finally moves slightly away from him so that she can touch the strange object for herself.

A black-lined paw slowly lifts until it gently comes to rest on the inexplicable stone structure. For a moment, Terra allows her paw against it before she moves it to trace the rough face that stares at her. Looking around at the fallen and half submerged siblings of the column, she silently ponders the wide-open space and thinks about what an interesting obstacle course they make. Emerald eyes turn back to the stones in front of her and she gives them a strong push with her paw, noting the way they do not budge or shudder under the weight that pressed into them.

Stepping back, she allows her paw to fall back to the earth before Terra turns her gaze up to her strong protector. With a small smile, she says, “They do seem strong and I don’t think they’ll be moving anytime soon. It… seems safe. Hey, you know… they do make a cool little arena for racing. Imagine jumping over those and then having to climb this guy!” As she begins to speak, her voice is slow and thoughtful but, as she goes on, it picks up in tempo until excitement laces every word. Her paw traces an invisible for him to as her tail wags and she wonders if Lotus would want to race her.


"Terra Qilaq"

Lotus watched as she found the courage to step forward and place a paw against the pillar. Giving her a supportive nod as she did so. He was content to hang back a little, studying the strange pillars. Letting her examine them in more detail as he considered their future. They were still heading North, and were hunting as they went. Trying to stock up on some supplies before tackling the new climate and finding themselves a more permanent home.

It was still strange to realise that Terra was his family now. The wolves he had grown with and known had all slipped away. Terra had become the constant in his life, and he doubted she realised how much he needed that consistency as well.

He was shaken from his thoughts as Terra spoke. His eyes moving back to the tawny girl. The excitement in her voice chased away any remaining doubt or fears, and he grinned to hear it. “You know what… I think you're right” He agreed, his voice giving nothing away, before his body suddenly bunched, and he leaped forward with a laugh. “Last one to the pillar catches dinner!” he yowled


"Words"

Terra inspects the pillar in front of her and determines for herself that it is sturdy and safe. Lotus stays slightly behind her, allowing the girl time and space to come to her own conclusions and, when she turns t to speak to him, she notices he seems to shake himself from silent thoughts. A grin appears as she explains about a race and he grins at her which causes the girl’s heart to flutter in her chest. She lives for that smile, for his voice, and strong support. Life may have stalled for her in that cave but now she lives for him. Tail wags faster as she looks up at the boy as she thinks, yet again, of how grateful she is to have found him.

Without warning, Lotus leaps forward, laughing as he howls a challenge to her. Shock paints her features for a moment as she watches him take off but, to her credit, Terra is quick to recover, barking a laugh as her long legs push off and send her racing after the tall boy. He may have a longer stride but the earthen toned girl is determined to win and she pushes herself, lengthening her stride until she is galloping across the land like she was born to. Laughter fills the air as she moves up to and past Lotus, nimbly leaping over a downed stone structure that lay have buried in their path.

They run, laughter and happiness filling the moments as the pair thunder across the ground. They stay close together, often trading the lead as they go and Terra loves that they are able to keep each other on their toes. Joy fills her chest as the finish draws closer and the tawny hued girl spies a pillar that would make a great runway. Quickly she traces it with her eyes, realizing that, if she runs along it, it would be the perfect incline to line her up with the end pillar. It would put her in a prime spot to leap atop the finishing pillar and she can end the race with a grand flourish. She calculates it all in two blinks of an eye, her body leaning slightly to the side to pull her away from Lotus’s side and line her up with her new objective.

Slowing slightly to allow Lotus to charge ahead, Terra moves out from their original path, easily leaping onto the desired pillar and she begins the run up to the perfect jumping off point. As she runs, the world narrows, her focus becoming solely on reaching the perfect point that will send her leaping effortlessly up onto the pillar and allowing her to claim victory. Legs churn as the point draws closer, excitement zipping along every nerve ending as her muscles bunch in anticipation. Suddenly, a startled yelp has her focus shattering as he emerald eyes divert to where Lotus is worry causing her to take her eyes off the end goal and drop her guard.

This causes a ripple effect. Worry for Lotus makes her eyes turn downward which causes Terra to miss her jump off point. When she snaps her attention back to the shortening runway, she finds she has to jump or fall. Legs push off, sending airborne but, as she sails through the air, her heart leaps up into her throat as the realization that she isn’t going to make it slams into her. Front legs make it, hitting the top of the pillar but everything else falls short. Her chest slams into the side of the unforgiving stones and she feels bones give as pain sparks to life and engulfs her chest.

Still, the fight or flight response has her legs scrambling to push her up and onto safety but, with the pain stealing her breath, her legs quickly grow weak. Terror fills her mind as she feels gravity take hold of her form and she can no longer fight it as she is pulled back down to the ground, her claws make one last, weak scrap along the stone pillar as she begins to fall. While it only takes a few moments for her to fall, Terra feels those moments stretch and lengthen as thoughts and fears bombard her mind. Will he leave her now that she has messed up? Her left hind leg impacts the ground first and the bones snap under her weight, filling the air with a sickening crack and a resounding howl of pain is ripped from her lungs as white-hot pain lances her brain.

The world fades away as she lays on her side, the pulsing, sharp pain becoming a blanket agony as her brain has too many pains to try and sort out. She attempts to slow her breathing since each movement of her chest sends stabs of pain flaring with each shuddering breath she attempts to take. Terra attempts to try and lessen the gnawing pain by shortening her breathes until they are short, panting, wheezes that escape her mouth. As she lays on her side in the green grass, in her own world with the pain, she idly wonders if Lotus will leave now that she has proven how useless she really is.


"Terra Qilaq"

It’s difficult to figure out the terrain on the go, but Lotus managed to place his paws sure and steady as he tore across the ruins. Grinning and keeping Terra in his sights as she caught up to him, and then began to overtake him. A burst of speed keeps him in the lead, but not for long as her long nimble legs clear a few jumps faster than he could manage.

When Terra began to pull away, he frowned, confused, trying to follow her gaze and keep their obstacle course within his sights. Too distracted, he miscalculated his next jump and smacked his toe hard enough that he was sure he heard a crack. With a surprised yowl he pulled to a stop, jumping up and down as he waited for the burst of pain to ease.

Too late. Too late he didn’t realise the danger, and at the sound of her colliding with the stone his eyes shoot up. Only to see her falling. A pained scream escaped him as he launched himself forward. Broken toe forgotten as he tore across the ground. Kicking up dirt as he raced to get her in time. But he couldn’t compete with gravity. She hit the ground before he reached her, and he was already seeing stars. Shock blurring his vision, and the fear building up inside of him tore out in a pained cry. He fell to his knees at her side. At first shaking her, before he realised how very bad an idea that was. “Terra, Terra!” he cried, before raising his head and for the first time in his life letting out a desperate call for help. He didn’t care who heard him, who answered. He just needed someone to, please


"Words"

Manea moved along the border that separated Elysium's land in the Rock Garden and the Stone Steppe as she made her way toward the lake on the other side of her claimed lands. She and spent the majority of her time recently on the island with her young pups, but as they began to move toward the winter season she knew she needed to start keeping a closer eye on the mainland where it was more likely for large predators to start encroaching on their space looking for food. Her normal patrol was interrupted, however, as a series of pained cries in the distance reached her ears, making her pause and turn her attention to the land on the other side of her border with a frown. She lingered there for a moment, wondering if she should go check it out, but the desperate howl that came as a plea for help finally made the decision for her. She quickly signaled for Temno, the raven swooping down to fly level with her as she ran, and she instructed her companion to fly back to the island to have Alastor join her immediately and tell Irilyth and Ikigai to prep the medical den for company. She wasn't sure what she was going to find, but it sounded like she was likely going to find at least one injured wolf.

That did indeed seem to be the case as she rushed to find the source of the howl, finding a tan and brown young woman with a dark mask laying on the ground with a blue and black painted young man worrying over her. She skidded to a stop as she assessed the situation, glancing up briefly as she began to put the pieces of what might have happened together. "Are you able to walk?" she questioned to the currently conscious male, scanning him to see if he was injured and how badly. Even without a trained eye she could see that the girl's leg was in bad shape at the very least so she was already looking around to see what she and Alastor could use to get her back to Elysium for treatment. "My name is Manea, I'm the Matriarch of the pack just across the way there. My husband and I can get you both to our healers."

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Pain. That is all Terra is aware of. It is unrelenting, sharp, throbbing, stabbing waves of pure agony that wash over her. The world is gone, Lotus and the appearance of Manea going unnoticed by the earthen-hued girl as she softly pants in the grass. Everything fades in and out, sounds coming in distorted bursts that make no sense to her addled brain. Taking too deep a breath sends her consciousness skittering away as darkness tries to grip the edges of her mind.

However, she cannot let go. Not yet. there is something that she to do… someone that she needs to make sure is okay. Thoughts are like diamond dust, slipping through her paws as the pain slams another unforgiving lance into her brain. Short, wheezing pants reach her ears as the world slowly resolves and part of her realizes that it her that is wheezing. Thoughts sharpen, take shape and she clings to them.

Softly wheezes out, “Lo… Lotus?” Eyes blink open (when had they closed?) as she searches the blurry forms, trying desperately to find the slate blue wolf that brings her comfort. Chest hitches as a rib cries out in protest but she stubbornly refuses to allow the agony to drag here back under. Not yet. Not until she knows. Blinking her unfocused, emerald gaze, she desperately asks, “Lotus… okay?”

The memory of him crying out in pain is seared into mind and she needs to make sure that he will be okay while she sleeps. Something jostles her and her broken bones send sharp, bright, and unforgiving pain spearing into her brain. That is when reality shatters and everything flees as Terra drops mercifully into the gentle darkness of unconsciousness.


-exit Terra via passing out-


"Terra Qilaq"

Clutching to Terra as gently as he could, he looked up at a wolf answered his call. He found himself surprised. He was so accustomed to it just being himself - and then Terra - against the world, that the appearance of a stranger startled him. He didn’t know where his family was, and didn't have any other friends to call upon. He was no healer, and he was helpless to help Terra with her injuries and pain. He scrunched his eyes up as relief flowed across his expression. Assuming of course that the stranger meant well.

It seemed she did, as her and her mate offered to help. He turned back to Terra, who was wheezing and attempting to speak. His name passed her lips, and he grimaced as he realised her worry was for him. “Shhh, sweet one, I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re all going to be okay.” through he wasn’t entirely sure how he would keep his promise. He had not used a term of endearment with Terra before, and she was surely too far gone to hear it now. He turned his attention back to Manea. “Yes. Please, we accept. Help us.” I’ll do anything He didn’t need to say it, it was in his eyes.


"Words"

Manea nodded as the blue-hued young man accepted her help, the look in his eyes telling her all she needed to know. She had no idea who these wolves were or their relationship with one another, but all that could be figured out later. She recruited the boy's help to carefully lift the girl onto Alastor's back, knowing that he would be the most physically capable to carry her to the island. "Lets go," she said before hurrying toward the island, keeping an eye on the male and matching her pace to his so that he didn't lag behind while still being careful not to go so fast that the young woman's limbs were jostled badly as they transported her. "What are your names?" she asked of the boy as they went, wanting at least to have a name for the face. As they neared the land bridge that would carry them across to the island, she tossed her head back and called for Irilyth and Ikigai, summoning the pack's healers to the infirmary den. She wasn't sure if they would need both of them or not, but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of knowledgeable paws at the ready.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Lotus helped to move Terra onto the black and red wolf. Wincing as he did so. Perhaps it was a blessing that she was unconscious, if she had started to cry out from moving them Lotus wasn’t sure what he would have done. He kept close to Alastors side, ready to help stabilise Terra as needed. “I’m Lotus, my friend is Terra” He said, if there was a slight emphasis on the ‘my’ it was born of worry, and the closeness the two had shared.

They headed towards a sandbar, andLotus realised they were heading towards an island. He cast a worried glance around them, and hoped he had made the right decision. Not that there were any other available to him.


"Words"