Undertow

Sota, much to his chagrin, knew that he needed some help.

During a recent climb, he'd lost his balance and he'd fallen. The fall hadn't been his fault, and he certainly hadn't been climbing trees - he wasn't sure he'd be able to face anyone ever again if he'd made a mistake like that. He'd been doing a little island-hopping when one of the structure he's been climbing had crumbled beneath his very paws. Thanks to his slight frame, the collision wasn't as bad as it could've been, but when he finally came to his senses and tried to pull himself upright he realized something was terribly, horribly wrong.

Given the amount of pain he endured during his swim back to the mainland and his painstaking trek across the east, Sota had no doubt that his hind left leg was broken. It would heal, in time... right? He had to hope it would. But in the meantime he knew he couldn't possibly exist on his own. If only he knew where Balsam had gone, or even Velvette, but he was hopeless.

And by the time he reached the Hot Springs, he wasn't quite sure how much energy he had left in him. A pack's scent, clearly recent, marked the border of this little forest. At the end of the day, Sota didn't have much of a choice. Sure, he might be able to drag himself off somewhere to suffer alone, and maybe he'd end up persevering through it all... but the thought of not being able to climb his beloved trees wasn't an ideal thought at all. That was the only sort of existence he as confident in, at least on his own. Maybe it was time to belong to something greater, something that could give him some purpose? Or at least somewhere he could heal properly, and eventually repay the debt of this pack's protection. Sota couldn't imagine not doing such a thing.

Tiredly he lifted his head and let loose a polite request for help. It was a hard thing for Sota admit he needed help at all, let alone ask it - it wasn't the Songa way. But he wasn't living the Songa life anymore, was he? Not fully, at least. Either way, Songa knew once he healed that he had plenty he could offer a pack, and he wasn't the least bit worried that he was capable of repaying them tenfold. Until someone answered, he nearly collapsed on the ground, no longer able to bear his own weight on his injured leg.