After that man had thrown her in the river she floundered, pain ripping through her leg where his teeth had cut through muscle to bone with the force of all of her weight being lifted by one point, and she struggled to keep herself above the surface as she struggled to make it back to shore. She had barely heard his voice over the water rushing past her ears, but one thing had reached her loud and clear and continued to reverberate through her mind as she was swept up in the current that started to carry her down stream. When you least expect it, I'll be there. The taste of bile was still harsh and acidic on her tongue, gasping for air whenever she was able to keep her head above water, paddling desperately toward the river's edge. The water wasn't even moving that quickly and the river wasn't incredibly wide, but her blind panic and terror disoriented her and it was difficult to get her bearings in any capacity.

Her shoulder slammed into a rock and made her grimace, but it at least gave her a place to stop long enough to actually force her way back to the shore, pulling her soaked body back onto dry land only to collapse with her hind legs still dangling in the water. Gwynevere choked on a sob that shook her whole body and she drew into herself, covering her face with her forelegs as she curled into a ball, gasping and trembling. Her one injured hind leg remained stretched out, the cool water of the river continued to run over it and a thin trail of blood snaked through the water away from her, but it was all she could do to just continue breathing. She couldn't think about treating her wounds, all she could think about was the horrible image of his grinning face with her mother's head perched on top of his own that was now burned into the back of her eye lids.

She knew she should call for someone, anyone, but even when she tried to draw air into her lungs she couldn't force herself to breathe deeply enough howl. Silently she prayed that Eilwen would come looking for her or perhaps that someone might notice she was gone and come searching, but how long would that take? What if that man came looking for her again before someone found her? She was constantly hidden away in her room or the infirmary when she was in the castle so how long would it take before someone realized she was missing? Even with all these unknowns running through her head faster than she could process them she still couldn't make herself move. She remained curled up on the shore of the falls, wanting desperately to just sink into the earth and disappear completely.

Gwynevere | Eilwen

Now that he had started to adventure beyond the borders of Fireside Ysmir was finding it hard to stop. He liked the solitude of the loner lands, seeing new things, sometimes meeting new faces. He was still trying to save face from the tournament. Ysmir trotted casually along the autumn wonderland. They were approaching the end of the season and winter would be upon them soon. When it got colder at night he’d already seen flurries of snow. He knew that the waters around the pack were already turning colder.

The silent lad was scouting the wild herds, there were sheep and stuff at home but there was anything he was sick of it was mutton. That was a big reason he was trying to raise his hunting skill so he could catch his own dinners and not have to resort to Fireside’s favorite meal. With his nose to the ground he focused on the land beneath his feet, while Barenziah flew above his head and scouted beyond him.

Her cry alerted him to something being off, and the urgency in it made his blood run cold. Ysmir dropped the game trail and raced towards where the gyrfalcon was circling. She led him to the water and a familiar body curled on the shore. Ysmir rushed to Gwyn’s side, astounded to have found her here and worried that she had already perished. Ysmir rushed to her side, certain he had seen a breath in her chest. The silent boy curled himself around her, unsurprised at how cold and still she was if she had been swept here by the current. He nosed her ear and concerned little murmurs fell from his lips as he worried over her.

She didn't know how much time passed - it could have been minutes or hours. The cool autumn air started to sink in through her drenched coat, seeping into her bones and making her shiver and shake on top of the fearful, panicked trembling. She went back and forth between wanting to completely disappear and needing someone to find her, not wanting to admit to anyone how helpless she had been and yet still wanting so badly to just be home. The man's face continued to paint itself against the darkness behind her eyelids while she hid in herself, curled up tight with her forelegs hiding her face, his words replaying over and over in her head until they began to feel like the truth. Everything he said about her not being good enough, about her being weak, about her not deserving the name her mother had given her... They slowly gripped into her mind so tightly she wasn't sure they'd ever let go.

But as she spiraled deeper and deeper into herself, she suddenly felt someone press into her side and nose at her ear and immediately she jumped with fear, startled and scrambling to make her stiff, frozen body move as she pushed blindly away from whoever it was. In her mind it had to be that man coming back to find her and she whipped her head around to stare at him with huge, frightened mint and lavender eyes - only to see that it wasn't that nameless brute at all. There was heart beat before her mind caught up with her and she recognized the blue and silver eyes of the boy she had helped at the Ashen festival. "Y-Ysmir..." she breathed after a moment, everything crashing down around her as tears collected in her eyes. The relief at seeing a familiar, friendly face, even if they had only met once before, was palpable and she clung to it like it was the only thing that might keep her sane.

She shifted back into him and his warmth, completely disregarding the fact that they hardly knew one another as she clung to him like a life preserver in a storm, pressing her face into his chest and curling into him as sobs shook her form among the shivers and trembles that already racked her. She let his scent replace the scent of her attacker than had clung stubbornly to her nose, putting her entire focus on this young man who had become a fast friend the last time they met. She was glad it was him that found her and not one of her siblings or pack mates. The idea of them seeing her like this stabbed at her already fragile confidence and took advantage of this quiet moment to just let out all of the fear and the pain that terrifying man had instilled in her. She cried hard into his chest, the sound of her sobbing breaking the strongly peaceful and quiet surroundings with just the sound of the running water beside them filling the air.

It took a while, but eventually she was able to pull the scraps of herself together with hiccuping gasps, tentatively lifting her head from Ysmir's chest to look up at him with apologetic, guilty eyes. She didn't know why she felt so guilty, maybe for crying all into his fur or maybe for pulling him into her terror out of a sense of necessity, but despite her guilt she couldn't have been more grateful that he had found her. She didn't know how or why he had made it to her, but she didn't want to question it either. Something or someone was looking out for her and that was what she needed more than anything. "I'm sorry..." she said quietly once she was able to catch her breath, her paw brushing across the damp fur on his chest form her tears and the water that had dripped off of her onto him.

Gwynevere began to carefully pull herself to her paws, but as soon as she put pressure on her back leg that had been bitten it buckled under her weight with a sharp stab of pain. She winced with a gasp and caught herself, shifting her weight onto her other paws. She glanced around, realizing that her bag was gone and all the herbs she had collected along with it, likely washed down the river. Her ears fell back against her head defeated, lingering on the edge of more tears as she just wanted to give up. But she couldn't, not when her family and pack depended on her so heavily. A shaky sigh passed her lips and she looked up at Ysmir again, asking softly, "Could you help me get home? It's... It's not that far, over that direction."

Gwynevere | Eilwen

She shied away from him, her soaked form cold and stiff. The frightened look on her features was unlike anything directed towards him. For a moment he debated lifting himself and giving her space but all at once she realized he was no threat and softed. She spoke his name, she remembered! The thought was swiftly cast aside as she returned to his grasp, clinging to him like there was no other hope. He knew something terrible had happened, but he only barely noticed the wound on her leg. She pressed herself into his chest and Ysmir wrapped hi arms around her thinner frame. He wrapped his head around her own protectively and she cried into his fur.

Anger rose in him, filled his chest and hi smind. Something had happened ot this sweet healer, someone had tried to hurt Gwynevere. None of it was his business, but he was here and especially after she had seen to him so selflessly he couldn’t help but offer her the same support now. It was easy though. She felt like so much more than an acquaintance, and she was so pretty. That made him all the more furious at her current state. He kept the emotions hidden, offering nothing but support to the sweet girl in his arms. He rubbed her back, careful to keep his claws to himself as he tried to soothe her sobbing. She couldn’t stay here, not with the chill and not with her leg like that. Ysmir didn’t dare rush her though. He held her tight until her tears dried.

Ysmir shook his head at her apology, she had helped him and he was in part returning a favor and another part helping a beautiful damsel in distress. She began to lift herself and Ysmir swiftly got to his paws so he could assist her. She would have been able to catch herself, but he was glad he was there as she pitched forward at the sudden pain. Gwynevere looked utterly defeated and he couldn’t help himself as his heart broke for her. He offered her a smile and an encouraging bump under her chin to lift her head and spirits.

The boy nodded again and pressed his shoulder to hers for her to lean on. If he thought he could make it he would have carried her, but being her crutch was the next best thing. He wanted to see her home and healed, he just wished he could do more for her. He could see that there was more than just a swim gone wrong beneath the surface, especially with the way she seemed to daze off, as if remembering the terrors that brought her here.