The hills in this place were varied and devoid of much life. Grasses, lichens, and mosses seemed to thrive while there were only a few scattered old tree trunks long felled from past quakes. Silver paws carried the Nightingale boy into the hill, the sun was lower in the sky. Evening was well underway and the sky seemed to go on forever as Oxide lifted his deep garent eyes to the sky. The colors reflected off the clouds made for a brilliant sunset. Slowly the sun descended towards the horizon, its light shimmering tones of pinks oranges and reds.
The rust marked boy climbed one of the long dead trees that had been felled.

Dual toned form scaled the carcass, silver paws gripping at the exposed wood. The bark had long decayed, and the wolf pushed himself into the air. He as quickly silhouetted by the falling sun. Lifting his head and puffing out his chest the boy looked out over the lands. It might as well all have belonged to him. His paws were going to cover all of it.

Oxide stood, still and silent as his gaze lingered on the falling sun. Night was coming fast. With his tail swaying slightly at his ankles and his languid form perched elegantly upon that old dead tree the Nightingale boy felt free. There was nothing out there to hold him back or to hold him down. He was his own wolf, made his own decisions and would forge his own path in this life.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ There was a strange scent permeating the air that Eris couldn't quite place. It was as if the earth itself had let out a great gasp; the smell set her on edge. There was hardly any sound here, and so it was difficult to navigate. She had to rely on her failing sight in the twilight and the scent that she was tracking. She had spent some time with her family, but still was keeping her distance. It was important that their memories returned, and she didn't want to hinder their recovery in any way. Yesterday she had caught wind a familiar scent while she was patrolling the space that the Ademre were occupying and had decided to follow her nose and see where it took her. This hilly area was quite strange. There were great ugly gashes in the earth where hills had been made and remade. Grass hardly seemed to grow - she could feel little underneath her paws but hardy weeds that clung on. Eris gritted her teeth and kept going, picking her way over fallen logs. There were some that were enormous, great titans of trees that had survived this terrain for many years before finally being felled. She wasn't quite sure what had brought their downfall, as she was new to these lands and didn't know any of the local lore. She was young yet and hadn't experienced an earthquake. Eris clambered along over the logs she could scale and carefully made her way around the ones she couldn't. The scent was growing stronger, and thought the light was fading, she was surely on the right track. Eris yipped softly, letting him know she was close. When she came upon the log he had chosen, it was a fair bit larger than the much smaller wolf could scale. Eris put her front legs on it's side and stood up tall. "Hello!" She announced, grinning cheerily.

His stoic pose was interrupted by a quick start at the sound of a familiar yipping. Rusty brows knit together as he turned around, amused at the fact that it had been Eris sneaking up on his rear this time instead of the other way around. Suddenly her cheery face appeared from the side of his chosen perch as she greeted him with much more enthusiasm than he wanted. He shook his head at her, though he doubted she could see as his dual toned body shifted and descended from the log.

While he still wanted to collect his due the Nightingale boy wouldn’t entertain the idea of being rude. One day, maybe. ”Hello, Eris.” His voice was warm despite his ulterior motives. He shifted his bulky form down the trunk of the tree, coming to stand above where she leaned against the trunk. ”Are you following me?” Oxide asked amusedly, curious about her sudden appearance at her side. Hadn’t she wanted to be with her family?

With great care not to disturb her the giant of a wolf leapt over her form, landing on the green grass behind her. He shifted gracefully, turning his form to face her once more.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ "Yes," she replied simply, staring into the empty space where he had once been perched for a moment until she heard him land behind her. She hopped off of the log and turned to face him. "I'm actually here to try and hunt around for some herbs." The lie came strangely and effortlessly to her lips. Eris was desperate for his company, and this seemed to be a more approachable way to go about it. With her family still in turmoil, she would cling to anything familiar in this strange land. "On my way, I caught your scent and decided to say hello! So, hello," she smiled. "Scrubby grassland like this has a lot to offer, even if it doesn't seem that way! You can find loads of heather here, which is very useful for a variety of things... sleep disorders, problems breathing - including coughs! - and sometimes stomach pain." Eris was proud of her knowledge. After she'd been banned from participating in sparring, she had taken the Oath of the Star and studied under a very well-versed healer. She hoped to be able to serve her family for many years to come by expanding her foundation of knowledge. "I think I can track it by smell, but it is sort of subtle. If you'd like to help me look, it's a tallish plant with tiny, purple flowers." Her tail twitched and she scented the air again. Trying to keep it cool, Eris practiced a little bit of her Ademre straight-faced attitude. The female looked entirely neutral, but she desperately wished that he would come along for another adventure.

She didn’t begin to deny his accusation of stalking as she uttered a simple ”yes”. She took another moment to follow his movements, the waning light obviously effecting her unreliable eyesight. He sat back on his haunches and curled his tail around his paws as he watched her and she gave excuse to her behavior. Searching for herbs, she had mentioned that she was a healer. It seemed plausible so Ox didn’t press the issue. Eris was a peppy wolf, nothing like the wolves he grew up with. He hadn’t decided if the personality trait amused or annoyed him quite yet.

Offering up the facade of polite gentleman, Oxide listened as she went on a tangent about her plants. The stubborn boy had never been one for herbology, too much memorization. It was boring. He was a young warrior, and preferrred the active sport to selfless helping. ”...If you'd like to help me look..” Ox felt himself rolling his eyes. She already owed him her life, and now she wanted him to tag along on a herb gathering mission?

He should have told her no, told her to go and find one of her siblings to seek out the plant. Deep garnet eyes looked her over for a long moment. The mostly blind healer out in the night searching for plants without a familal guide? He peered at her for another moment before he gave her an answer, ”I suppose I could spare the time.” If she didn’t offer he would demand his own share of the plant. Occasionally he suffered from insomnia and he wondered if it could help him. ”Should I lead again?” He asked, teasing her about their last encounter subtly.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ "Oh, I'll be just fine on my own," Eris insisted. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two?" She added, grinning. "Consider it the start of me repaying my debt. Do you have any frequent ailments? Back home, there was one wolf who always had a stomach ache after eating squirrel... But that never stopped him." She paused to scent the ground, catching the faint, herbal scent of heather nearby. It was a hardy plant, and she was sure it would be prevalent here, despite whatever had happened to these trees. The fallen trees were also a haven for spiders and creepy crawlies. There would be plenty of web around, which was good for stopping bleeding from small cuts and scrapes. Unfortunately, she didn't have any way of transporting it reliably, and unless she got a good-size ball going, it wouldn't keep anyway. She snuffled along, trying not to check if Oxide was trailing her. Eris focused instead on following the scent of the heather, which was somewhat difficult to track. It had a mild odor, and although most animals seemed to avoid this place, there was the stench of braver creatures to contend with: badgers, wolverines, and stoats. They weren't afraid of everything, and this place was thick with their scent. Eris found a pleasant patch of heather at the end of a hollow log. It was a tree that must have been felled long ago, rotted out from the inside. The heather grew plentiful at the mouth of the log and trailed into the opening. Moss grew just inside as well, which was useful in stopping blood flow and preventing infection. Happily, Eris set to work on gnawing some heather out close to the root, to get full use of the flowers and stem. She was fully engrossed in gathering the plant and didn't notice a faint rustling from further inside the log...

His stalker was quick to assure him that she would be able to lead them this time, maybe a bit of repayment of her debt? He might have protested that fact, but at this point he doubted her ability to say no if he asked her for anything. ”Do you have any frequent ailments?” She asked before going into a quip about someone and a squirrel. He watched her for a moment as her dark nose lowered to the ground and she tried to catch the scent.

”Healthy as a horse,” He told her as he lifted himself from the ground and walked lazily behind her. This trip wouldn’t be quite as bad, he could still see in the dim light and being behind Eris was a rather pleasant view. They were close to the same age, and Ox was old enough to appreciate the way her hips swayed or how the fur of her tail was wrapped up in the breeze. ”Occasionally I have trouble falling asleep though,” he mentioned as his garnet gaze left her thin form.

Eventually the pair of them seemed to find what Eris had described. The log was old and dead, with a plethora of lesser plants covering the ancient titan. Ox’s little companion seemed to go to work on the heather, unawares mostly of her surroundings. Oxide was not though. His rusty ears perked at the sound coming from the log, he felt his hackles raise instinctively as the scent reached him. Wolverine.

”Eris, move!” He commanded as he rushed forward. Had she not moved out of the way he would inadvertently shove her as he met head on with the tenacious creature. With bright white teeth Oxide would snap at the fierce creature, but it wouldn’t be deterred. It pushed forward, snapping its own teeth and swiping its massive claws the beast forced Oxide to retreat. The Nightingale boy’s hackles were straight up on the whole of his spine, his eyes narrowed and ears slicked back to his head as he growled deeply and tried to snake around the wolverine’s teeth and grasp its face in his teeth.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ Eris wouldn't have recognized the appreciation in Ox's eyes if she had turned to see him admiring her backside. She was innocent yet, and a late bloomer - perhaps, in part, because of her size. It hadn't yet occurred to her to look at a male with anything other than friendship or admiration. She was lucky to have an excellent example of masculine energy in her brother, Lament. When her passions did awaken, it would be incredibly difficult to live up to her expectations. Eris would expect, no doubt, to be wooed like a princess. Anything less would be a waste of her time. Her loving (albeit overprotective) family caused her to believe that she was destined for a fairy tale ending. But time would tell if the heady rush of lust during her first season in heat would change her mind. Hormones often had more to do with things than some might like to admit. Or, of course, being saved from imminent danger by a strapping young thing... twice. "Trouble falling asleep, eh?" She muttered, her mouth around the herbs. "These should help." With her head down in the plants, she couldn't react quickly enough to Oxide's command. Eris stumbled aside, buffeted by his body as he rushed the wild animal that had emerged from the log. She quickly stumbled backwards further, every hair on her body on end. The wolverine snarled, a sound that chilled Eris to the bone. Oxide's teeth found their way around its snub nose, but it thrashed in his grasp and aimed a few strong swipes at his chest. Her mind was absolutely blank - it had been so long since she'd sparred, her knowledge of fighting had decayed almost entirely. With the sun setting, their fight took on an epic quality. Their shadows stretched across the heather as the pair duked it out. Instead of fleeing, Eris stood frozen in terror.

Oxide was far from innocent, with his upbringing it had been a long time since he could claim that virtue. He had seen many evils in the world, and often they influenced him. Eris muttered softly before Ox had reacted to the impending arrival of the wolverine. She told him these herbs would indeed be able to help him when he rushed the creature. He wasn’t normally a protective one, Ox had no desire to dominate or own anyone. He loved his freedom and that meant to possessions as well, but here and now all he could think of was to keep Eris out of harm's way.

He would tell you, if asked, that the behavior was only because of her debt to him. However, when he saved her from this danger he hadn’t hesitated like he had near the quicksand pit. Now he was in the thick of battle, his deep garnet gaze focused on his opponent as his teeth found their mark. He grabbed the wolverine in a way that its teeth would be no issues, but it's long steel like claws were another story.

As the Nightingale boy struggled with the creature’s head the claws of its front paws were aimed wildly at his rusty chest. The deadly weapons managed to land as Oxide tried to beat the creature back. He stifled a cry as it tore deep gashes into his chest. Feeling a rage bubble up beneath the pain Ox shook his head with his mighty strength, causing the wolverine damage to its own muzzle as well as disorientation from the abrupt movement.

The bulky boy felt flesh rip and tear as the wolverine cried out again, but by this time it had had enough. It managed to remove itself from Oxide’s grasp and with another bite to its rump by the silver boy the wolverine disappeared into the shadows.

Oxide stood silently, his breath coming in great heaves as he let his head call to shoulder height. Blood poured freely from his wounds as he stood heavily, ready for round two if he needed to be. The pain in his chest wouldn’t start yet, not until the adrenaline wore off in just a few more minutes. Slowly he shifted his rusted features to where Eris stood, ”Are you unharmed?” He asked through grit teeth as he attempted to catch his breath.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ As she heard the scuffle, Eris' eyes desperately tried to follow the fight. She couldn't make out where the wolverine ended and Oxide began. Her breath came in short, labored gasps, and her head was getting light. Now was not the time to panic... To bring herself back to reality, Eris bit her lip hard until she tasted blood. The sharp pinch brought her hurtling back to earth. The sounds of the fight had ceased, and the scent of blood was heavy on the air. Musky wolverine overwhelmed her senses. She shook it off and focused on Oxide's scent, now the second-most familiar thing to her in Boreas. His concern for her was strange. It seemed to transcend the transacational nature of their first interaction. She was too stunned to make any sense of it now. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Eris said quickly, bounding to his side. "We need to move away from this area in case it returns," her words came pouring out of her mouth in one great gasp. She ducked into the mouth of the tunnel for a moment and filled her mouth with as much moss as possible - the thick, peaty smell made it easy to find - then reappeared before him. Eris nudged his chin with her head and curled her tail around his backside, trying to usher him onward. Trying to speak around the moss, she mumbled, "shhleean onsh me," and forged ahead. She headed back the way she had come, recalling a relatively open stretch of land that had been filled with the spicy scent of fresh growth. With any luck, he would have a soft place to rest with a good vantage point of the surrounding area, and she would have resources and a place to work without fear of predators.

He smelled her blood on the air, but as he uttered his question the girl was quick to tell him she was fine. Oxide on the other hand.. Deep garnet gaze watched her in the waning light reappear at his side. She was worried for him. He pushed the thought aside with ferocity as Eris shimmied into the old log. He kept watch, eyes and ears open but straying the direction the wolverine had gone. Blood dripped from the wounds at his chest and coated his front legs.

She was quick in her retrieval, he didn’t expect her sudden touch, but found himself following the silent request without even thinking. Still the stubborn one he didn’t see any need to lean on her, besides he would squish her if he tried. That moment the pain decided to show itself. His chest started to throb as the red ichor fell from rust fur. Oxide grit his teeth as he winced, holding back a cry of pain.

He found himself using Eris as more of a crutch than he intended on, but he managed to mostly keep himself upright. Ox hobbled along beside her, starting to feel panic well up in him as he left puddles of his blood with each step. With effort the boy lifted his head to set his gaze to the horizon instead of his bloody trail.

”This is going to have to be far enough.” He said when he knew he wasn’t able to continue and still be able to defend himself in his current state. Oxide unceremoniously lowered himself onto his right side, lifting his left leg so as not to aggravate the wound, but also so Eris might work. Again he suppressed his need to vocalize any pain, from a young age he was taught to keep the hurt to himself.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but his teeth-gritted recalcitrance was frustrating. Eris had certainly had less difficult patients to tend to, but she appreciated the challenge - and, above all else, she owed Oxide a debt that she knew now she could never repay. If that wolverine had gotten hold of her, there would have been little left. She was certain that she would be seeing those glinting claws in her nightmares for months, if not years, to come. As she felt his weight shift to use her for support, she made a soft, soothing sound in her throat. It was a low keen, drawn from her earliest memories. Before her mother had left her. The scent of blood was almost overwhelming now. She was glad when he acquiesced and settled heavily on to his side. "I've heard it helps if you yell," Eris whispered, nuzzling his ear briefly. It was in her nature to be tender and the Ademre had little sense in the way of boundaries. "This is going to hurt, but I need to clean the area." She set about licking his wounds and the area around the cuts thoroughly. His blood coated the inside of her mouth - it was a strange, violent kind of intimacy. Eris worked diligently, then carefully set moss in place to sap the blood. "I need to find some wild lettuce, I think that's the only thing that'll be around here for your pain... it is a mild sedative, so you may fall asleep after. But that's good, you need to rest to heal." Eris scented the area around him, snuffling close to the ground and pacing circles. "Okay, I'm going to look for it. Keep making noise so I can find my way back to you... sing a song, tell a story, anything." The sun was setting fast, but adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She tracked the scent of the wild lettuce and began digging up the plant whole so it was be easiest to transport. As she was scouting, she also tried to locate some Wooly Lamb's Ear. She wasn't able to find anything, and she hoped the moss would hold for now. Once she had gotten the lettuce, she pricked her ears, listening for Oxide's voice to guide her back to him.

I've heard it helps if you yell," she muttered briefly with her dark lips to his ear as she nuzzled him comfortingly. Affection had not been a very frequent occurrence for him growing up, all of Nysa’s love went to his uncle Deimos. As a child Ox had been reduced to begging for his mother’s love during the dark winter nights, and even then she hadn’t often acquiesced. Oxide froze at her touch as she shifted to his wounded chest. The throbbing hadn’t stopped and he doubted she could make it feel any worse until her tongue was on his open flesh.

She hadn’t lied, it was incredibly painful as she tended to his wounds. Ox tried his best to keep himself silent but as she uttered a few comforting murmurs he felt himself lose control. He whined through gritted teeth as he refrained from retaliating to the pain. His breathing hitched again as she worked, little sounds of discomfort filtered through his lips as she did what was necessary, though the moss was the worst of it as she placed it carefully.

"I need to find some wild lettuce…” He opened his deep ruby gaze from the pain induced squint as she explained her next move. ”I can’t sleep..” He tried to protest about the wolverine returning, or another wolf stumbling upon them and wishing them harm. He sighed heavily as she did as she bid anyway while he remained in his odd position, his left leg pulled close to his side so he didn’t touch the wounds at his chest.

He didn't know what to say so he started by rambling, having no idea how long she might take. ”This really fucking hurts now,” he muttered probably too quiet for her to hear as she was off doing her activities. What else did he say? He started to sing less than amusedly, ”I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts.” He winced at the pain of using his lungs so heavily. ”There they are a’standing in a row.” A little cough as he felt his breath hitch. ”Bum, bum, bum.. big ones. Small ones.” How long was she going to take? ”Some as big as your head.”

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ His cries were good - they were natural and real. To deny yourself that kind of emotion was paramount to sacrilege among the Ademre. She knew this couldn't be easy for me. Oxide didn't seem the type to accept help easily, and there was part of Eris that felt privileged to have the honor to assist him. She encouraged his whimpering with quiet noises of her own. Eris weighed the advantages and disadvantages of staying here. There was something eerie about the land, and it certainly didn't have the resources she would need to help him. If she could see better, the openness of it would be to her advantage - any predator or stranger would be sighted from ways away. But as it was... Yes, they should probably move. She would collect as much of the lettuce as she could to soothe his pain and fight off infection, then they would have to go somewhere for him to rest. And it couldn't be far. Eris pricked her ears, listening for Oxide's voice. She heard him no more than a few yards away to her left, and had to fight back a smile. What an absolutely bizarre tune. Eris wasn't sure if she'd ever seen a coconut before, or even what it is. She trotted back to him and laid the sizable bundle of lettuce next to his head. "Okay, it's right here. You need to eat it all, paying special attention to chewing up the stems. Take your time eating them - it's best if the sap has a little time to dry before you consume it all the way." Eris nudged the bundle close to him. "But you're right... we can't stay here. After you finish, we'll have to move. We can go slowly. I was on my way to a gully nearby, filled with exotic plants. Once we get there, I'll make you a makeshift den. It's best that we stay there... for a while..." She said tentatively, unsure how he would react to being cooped up with her. Everything about him screamed "terrible patient," and Eris wasn't sure if she was up to the challenge. It was no matter. She owed him a debt she could never repay. Even if he fought her claw and tooth, she would be his shadow until the wounds healed.

Eris made no comment of his chosen nonsense as she returned with a bounce in her step. He peered at her from his garnet gaze, she wouldn’t be so chipper if she was the one lying on the ground with their chest ripped open. He stifled an ungrateful growl, though the pain was doing its duty in making him more irritable. Still, Eris was as sweet as could be as she explained what he needed to do. With his head still laid back on the ground it took more effort than he wanted to admit to shift. He was either going to be on his side like this or he was going to have to stand up. There wouldn’t really be an inbetween.

Oxide would try though, awkwardly and trying not to cause his wounds to begin to bleed again, the boy managed to roll himself up onto his paws. Or half onto his paws, with his hips and tail still sprawled out behind him he sat up and looked at the herbs his little shadow had for him. They didn’t seem appetising at all, and he was going to have to ingest them slowly.

”How about a chew as we move?” He didn’t like the feeling this place gave him, and as the sun descended further it was only growing worse. He didn’t like the idea of being on bed rest, but with his chest the way it was he wasn’t in the shape to argue. Hopefully he’d only have to suffer through a day or two of being in the same place. Already he dreaded it. This was a much higher price than he’d intended to pay on Eris’ behalf. ”The sooner we’re there.. the sooner we can leave.” He muttered as he struggled to his feet. Walking with the moss in the cuts would be slightly easier, but he had no doubt they’d likely aggravate enough that he’d be covered in fresh blood by the time they reached their destination. ”Point me in the right direction.” A gully sounded protected enough that he wouldn’t constantly be checking hisback at least.

Leaning his rusty features down he took up a bit of the lettuce into his mouth and began to painstakingly slowly consume them. He could chew and walk.. hobble at the same time.

ERIS PYRE ______________________________ Eris winced as he began to eat. He was clearly in a great deal of pain. "I wouldn't advise it... but you seem uncomfortable here, and you can only really heal once you begin to relax." Moving was a terrible idea, actually. But it didn't seem like they had a choice. Or, at least, Oxide wasn't giving her one. She knew he would be a difficult patient, but this difficult? It was frustrating, to say the least. "Oh, you won't be leaving any time soon," Eris replied crossly, "not unless you those cuts to get infected and start oozing pus all over the place." She scented the air and followed the heady, spicy scent of lush greenery. Since it was summertime, the gully would be alive with small creatures and useful plants. It would be the perfect place to recover. "Lean on me if you need to, and I'm going to take some breaks to reorient myself and make sure we're going the right way." It was another lie, but a kinder one. She knew Oxide wouldn't want to pass, even if he was in immense pain. If she could pretend to need to stop for her own purposes, maybe he would be more amenable. "We'll be there before you know it."