GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... The Rio Grande was a mighty river indeed!  Hárekr gazed out across the banks, his tail wagging violently back and forth from the excitement of seeing such a wide river.  He ran a short ways along the back to his right, then back to the left.  Oh he wanted to jump in!  And look at all the fishies!  He could see their slick bodies shimmering in the clear water, the full moon light bouncing off the surface, mimicking the shimmering of their scales.  Háre paused for a moment….  could he swim?  He could, couldn't he?  Pfft!  Of course the great Hárekr could swim! With out a second thought he leapt into the river and…. "AIIEEEEEE!" Cold!  Cold!  Very Cold!  The current whisked him down river as the brute struggled to keep his head above the water. CRACK!  His head smacked into rock causing his vision to blacken for a moment before the moonlight once again filled his vision and little silver lights swam before his eyes like little water bugs.  Water burned up his nostrils.  No, no, he couldn't go out like this. Limbs moving furiously Hárekr soon found his rhythm and crawled out of the river in a shivering, soaking mess.  Just as he'd managed to climb out of the river a poorly aiming fish leapt from the water and smacked him right in the ass.   Háre turned around and started swearing and cussing at the fish in every language that popped into his head. Sulking the male shook the water from his coat and laid down beside the water to lick his coat clean.  How embarrassing.  Thank goodness there was no one around to see that.  Ow….  his vision was swimming and his head throbbing as he eyed the blood that was dripping down between his paws.  The male gazed upward…. huh… was the moon bleeding?  That was weird… what was Hati up to up there?  Had he bitten the moon?  Ohhhhhh…. ohhh shit was he… was Hati  EATING THE MOON?  Hárekr didn't get a chance to think any further as his vision went dark and his body collapsed.

Leaving her home in Fiori had not been any easy choice, but it had certainly been a necessary one. The weeks of not knowing where her parents were, and where Steel was - and hell, even her other siblings - had grown difficult to handle. It was distressing even to leave Psalm and Hymn behind, her two sons, no matter how much she trusted they would take care of themselves. But they needed answers, and they weren't going to return until they got them. Her thoughts were stuck on her parents. Where they were, and how they were doing. Ara had slipped away from Novel briefly in the night, not because she had any desire to be alone but because she wanted to scout the surroundings and make sure they were safe here for the night. The area was unmarked and seemed safe enough, but she quickly learned they were close to a river and she couldn't help but worry that others might be lingering on the opposite side. Quietly the black and tan furred woman moved through the night, trekking closer to the roaring river. Her head was held low to the ground, nostrils flaring as she took in the scents of the land. Only when she drew close to the riverside did she note the scent of blood in the air. Her stance would instantly grow tense, worry weaving itself onto her face. The scent led itself to a slightly larger brute, his white fur nearly glistening under the bright moonlight. And yet he wasn't moving.. had he somehow injured himself? Wary, she would approach slowly - and despite her insecurity of her surrounds and her dislike of strangers, her inner healer would not let her ignore an injured creature. Gently she nudged the side of his neck, pulling away swiftly, wanting to see if he was conscious at all. Her blue eyes would begin to examine him as she circled to his front slowly to assess his injuries. "Are you okay?"   she asked softly, hoping he might respond.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... "eru…gghh" Hárekr moaned as he tried to fight the pain in his head and open his eyes. His vision was swimming with little silver bugs and the light of the moon made his head hurt and- Hárekr leapt up as something touched him, his fur on end, his paws scrambling so rapidly for a foothold he very nearly fell back in the river. A soft voice spoke to him, asking if he was ok and he realized what had touched him was a woman. Well, well, he was sure running into quite a few Alacritian females… ow. Háre winced, head tilted to the side, body perfectly still for a moment before he shook his coat out, letting it lay flat….ish. "Uhhhh…. yea… I think so…. if the world would stop spinning for a second." He reached up with his right forepaw to rub at the open laceration halfway between his right eye and right ear where he'd managed to hit his head. It was still bleeding. Euugh. Great, that was all he needed, an injury for the healers back home to poke around with. The healers he could stand but that dam lemur made him wary. "Who're you?"

His injuries were not severe, not enough to warrant panic, but they were more serious than a simple tumble. Not that she was prone to panic in such scenarios -- though she had not had a lot of practice on strangers, she was confident that she knew enough to help this one. There was no room to grow frantic. Though her eyes showed her worry, and her brows were furrowed tightly in concern, she was calm even as Hárekr slipped back into consciousness and jerked away from her. His paw lifted to touch the right side of his head. Instinctively she moved forward, as though meaning to stop him, but she paused before touching him again. "Don't do that," she said, her words coming out more sharply than she had anticipated, though her voice held more hesitation than anything. "It'll make it worse. If you let me clean it out I'll be happy to." Her offer came gently, and she would lower her head as he tail curled near her hind paws to assure him that she held no ill intentions. If only Novel saw me now, she thought quietly to herself. Surely she wouldn't perfectly comfortable with Ara helping a stranger in the darkness of the night. This was dangerous, yes, but she couldn't leave a stranger lying here in pain and rubbing dirt into his wounds. Not without trying to help him first. "My name is Ara," she offered carefully. What more would help him trust her, if anything? "I come from a pack north of here called Fiori. I am taking a trip and figured I'd scout out the river and decide where I'd head tomorrow." She didn't mention her wife; it seemed safer to not, for who knew what kind of man this was? Right now all she could gather was that he was hurt and a bit confused.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Pain continued to throb through his head in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Every pulse felt like someone was intentionally bashing out a beat on his cranium and it was almost making the man wish he'd just pass out again. Well at least there was a lovely woman to keep him company. He winced a bit as she scolded him and knew immediately she had to be a healer. "But it itches…" he mock pouted before grinning at her. "Nice to meet you Ara, I am Hárekr Kaltharsis… yes I suppose if you had the time I would appreciate the help." While part of him wanted to shrug it off in true warrior fashion and assure Ara that it was but a scratch the logical part of his mind knew better. He'd seen enough wolves die from their bravado to put his own masculinity aside when it came to his overall health. "I was just looking to try my paw at some fishing… needless to say I am not very good at it."

Ara's normal quiet and reserved demeanor seemed to shift away as she slipped into the role of healer. Despite her lack of formal training, and despite not being known as any great medic, she was deeply confident in her skills and sudden, cool confidence would wash over her as she eyed Harekr. He seemed fully conscious, even cracking a joke, and she would shake her head quickly - and a bit scoldingly.  "An itchy head will feel quite amazing compared to what might happen if you continue rubbing at it," she warned him gently. At his greeting, she offered a meek smile of her own. It had been so long since she'd interacted with anyone of her family thay it almost felt foreign to do so. Harekr seemed harmless enough but she knew it was difficult to tell anything at first glance. Wolves wore masks that concealed who they were entirely - and she could never be certain that anyone was as they seemed. "If you lean down I'll help clean it," she offered finally. Her blue eyes swept their surroundings, searching for anything that might aid in the healing process, but the night was dark and she was hesitant to leave Harekr's side until she was certain his wound was tended to.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Hárekr chuckled, yes he supposed he should stop poking at it. The man did shake his head a bit, sending droplets of blood scattering over the rocks. He nodded. "Aye, I would appreciate the help, I do not think I can reach up there to clean it myself." His tongue would certainly not reach all the way up there. He watched the woman look around and cleared his throat. "If you need to gather herbs of any kind may I accompany you? I had also come down this way to explore and I'll feel like bear bait if I'm left by the river." He grinned at her. While he didn't know many bears that might take on a full grown wolf it still wasn't a theory he wanted to put to the test and truly he was anxious to do some actual exploring.

Sometimes, it felt strange to be around others that weren't part of her family.. whether her immediate family, or the more distance Destructions. Especially to be away from her wife. She felt a slight pit of anxiety in her stomach, though she knew deep down that Novel was likely sleeping soundly without any clue she was gone. She was grateful that Harekr would let her clean the wound. Slowly, with obvious hesitation in her step, she would move closer to him as he leaned down to give her better access to the wound. Though she was full of wariness, she began to clean the wound with the grace of a healer, her tongue steady and certain as she cleaned the wound and squinted to examine it. Definitely not horrible, but not the most ideal situation either. She would ignore his question for a moment as she catered to the cleaning of the blood from the matted fur as best as she could before pulling away when she was finished. Her brows would furrow tightly as she considered his question. "I wouldn't mind finding something to place on your wound," Ara would admit quickly. Unsure if she should explain what she herself was up to, she would pause for a minute before deciding he seemed as harmless as most others she'd met. "I'm traveling with my wife," the female would begin gently. "She's sleeping right now and I went to scout the river before we set off tomorrow. You're welcome to join us for awhile, if you'd like." ... but not permanently. They had things to do that didn't require the help of a stranger - no, they might be harder with a stranger tagging along the entire time, but having some company didn't sound horrible.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Slowly, the sharpness of the pain was dulling into a steady throb as Ara worked on cleaning his wound.  Hárekr squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to focus his thoughts away from the lasting pain as well as the oddness of the situation.  Having another woman touch him so delicately was strangely disconcerting.  Hárekr enjoyed the fun and game of flirting but to be touched so tenderly… well it made him suddenly nervous and when she finished he looked away, pretending to be suddenly caught by the movement of the river. Ears perked.  Wife?  He gazed back at the woman but said nothing.  It seemed strange to hear the word "wife" come out of a woman's mouth but he supposed he had heard of such instances.  Either way it wasn't any of his business.  Hárekr started to shake his head the stopped suddenly, breath hissing from between his teeth.  Ow… ow…  "I appreciate the offer Ara but I really should be getting back north.  My alphess might be wondering if I'm getting myself into trouble again." He laughed.  "I wish you luck on your travels though."

Ara felt like she didn't have a choice but to help others, sometimes - but that she was actually being forced, but because being a healer and helping those in need was so deeply ingrained in her heart. There was nothing strange to her about cleaning his wound, though she was unused to touching others, but she felt slightly strange when she finally pulled away from him. She ought to be getting back to Novel, lest she make her worry. The last thing she wanted was to return to where they had initially laid down to rest only to find her wife panicked and upset. Hárekr seemed just as eager to go on his own way. Though her expression was neutral, she wondered if she had offended him somehow. He seemed amicable enough, and grateful she had helped him. Ara would nod lightly. "Just be careful with it," she would advise him gently, eyeing him one last time. "And you will be fine. I hope you feel better soon, and the same goes for you. Farewell," she smiled lightly before she turned from him, feeling fulfilled that she had been able to help someone, even if in a minor way. It felt rewarding and she felt a content warmth in her chest as she turned to head back toward the nook where Novel slept. -exit-