Lost (Sib)

Tessa had wandered away from the pack dens, just exploring, trying to get to know the lands. However, now she found herself lost, and in a frightening place. She was a small female, and a lone wolf that had been rescued by the pack beta and therefore welcomed into the pack lands, at least for the time being. She had hardly talked to anyone, still in the process of recovering from her traumatic experience, and she rarely ever reacted to anyone other than Inferno, the beta. Right now, however, there was no one around, and she found herself in the Sinking Swamp, a very dangerous area of the pack lands.

The more she walked, the more lost she became, but she was stubborn, and she was sure she could find her way out eventually. Soon she found herself leaping form mound to mound in the thickest part of the swamp, her eyes warrily on the water as it rippled every once in a while. She knew nothing of the beasts that called the swamp home, nor did she know the danger that she was putting herself in. However, she soon came to realize it when a set of ripples suddenly leaped from the water and became an enormous alligator, his huge jaws aimed for her tiny body. She squealed in surprise and fear, leaping away just in time as the gator's jaws snapped on air, the sound ringing through the swamp as she scrambled away. But it pursued her, causing her to run and leap faster, not paying attention to where she was going. This was foolish, for she soon found herself tangled in weeds and tree branches, yelping and struggling as the gater got closer and closer, his jaws wide and ready to strike.

He wasn't exactly exploring, no, more of avoiding everyone at the pack. He just wanted to be alone for now, to get used to at least part of the packs seemingly quite expansive land. He had been chanced upon by inferno not that long ago, bloody and bruised, and not a couple days after here he was wandering around, still sore of course, but feeling better anyhow. He seemed to find himself in the Swamp part of the territory, a not so very appealing place at all, in fact, it sorta crept him out.

He hadn't at all really bothered to keep track of where he was, instead figuring he would eventually find his way back, or at least go all the way to the edge of the territory, either way, it was fine with him. He was interrupted though by the sounds of someone screaming, quickly running in that direction. What he found was a bit surprising, a wolf, one he hadn't met yet, tangled in some brush as an alligator was coming for her. He didn't even think about what to do next, instead running right for them, even though he was still sore, he ignored what pain he had, he was more focused on helping her.

He quickly leaped onto one of the mounds, going from one to another before finally leaping a final time, though landing somewhere quite dumb, right on top of the gator's head, landing on it with his front legs and knocking it back into the water for a moment, then leaping off of it, hurrying over to her while he still had time.
"Calm down, you'll just get yourself more tangled."
He said, working at the weeds, biting through what he could before getting through enough so she was lose, only to look back and notice the gator starting to come again,
"Come on! hurry!"
He yelled, pushing her forward as he urged her to run.

Tessa yelped as the gater got closer, and when the male suddenly appeared, her eyes widened in surprise but joy. She did her best to stop struggling as he freed her, not at all hesitating as he told her to run and pushed her away from the approaching gator. She ran as fast as she could, but since she had not completely recovered from her near death drowning, she was a bit clumsy and dizzy as she ran. But she made it away from the gator, and when they finally made it out of the swamp, she collapsed, panting and gasping for air. Her eyes were wide, still fearful, and she seemed to be strugglin to catch her breath, although she finally managed to stop shaking.

Sib was quick to follow her away from the gator, staying right by her the entire time as they ran out of the swamp.. Finally when they were far enough away though he stopped, only see her just collapse. He walked over to her, though tensing up a bit as his old wounds opened up a bit, then running pushed him a bit harder than he should have, but he had no other choice, he had to save her.
"You alright? That was real close just now."
He said, sitting beside her, licking his leg as a bit of blood seeped from it from an old cut. He wasn't worried about himself though, he knew he'd be fine, but she looked as though she just had a heart attack. He gently nudged her, smiling a little now as he looked around,
"Well, you're safe now, so calm down huh, try not to breath so hard."
He said, smiling, he knew though that was probably easier said than done for her.

Tessa did her best to slow her breathing, but her heart was racing. No matter how much he told her to calm down, she couldn't seem to slow her heart. Finally she managed to slow her breathing enough to speak. "Th-Th-Thank you for s-s-saving me." She stuttered between breaths. She didn't even know this wolf, yet he had saved her life. She stared at him, her eyes still wide as she tried to figure out what had just happened. It had all been so fast, she didn't know what to say or do. She was still trembling, her ears pinned back and her eyes wide as it all sank in. He had saved her, yet he didn't know anything about her. Why did he do that? Who was he? The pack scent was all over him, but she had never seen him before. What was happening?

He smiled, laying down for a moment next to her, she still seemed to scared from what just happened to even start to calm down. He just figured she needed to rest for a moment and regain her composure.
"Don't worry about it, what was I to do? Let the gator eat you?"
He said smiling at her. Even if he didn't know her, he would leave someone to just die, but now that he was laying there with her, he could defiantly smell the pack on her, was she another member of it? Perhaps she was one of the member's he hadn't meet yet, and if so, it was probably a good thing he happened to be here, otherwise she might have ended up that alligator's lunch for sure.
"So, tell me,where are you from, you seem to have the pack's scent all over you, are you a member with them also??"
He asked, but still letting her calm down, not at all rushing her, she was still to worked up about what just happened, she needed to rest and calm down for a moment for sure.

Tessa looked up at him as he spoke, wondering how he could possibly be so calm. But eventually she managed to calm herself enough to answer his questions. She took a deep breath, blinking a few times and then opening her mouth to speak. "My name is Tessa, and no, I'm not a pack member. Inferno, the beta male, saved me from drowning in the rapids a few days ago. The pack took me in and saved my life, I nearly froze to death." She said softly, resting her head on her paws, her eyes closing as she tried to relax. "I guess I'm just a magnet for rescues." She said, trying to laugh softly. She didn't know why she was so comfortable with him right now, since she was always a bit stand-offish with everyone, but then again, he had just saved her life. She at least owed him that.

He smiled as she answered, well, they had both been saved by the same wolf, and now he saves her here, funny. He just rolled over, content enough with her talking finally, seeming to have calmed down a bit. She did nearly just die, and by what she had said, this wasn't her first time either.
"Well, even if you are, at least you can say you seem to be protected somehow, obviously you have some luck if you keep getting saved right?"
He said with a laugh, even with what just happened, it was better to laugh it off, better not to wonder what could have happened.
"So Tessa, I guess we were both saved by Inferno then, funny ain't it, both having the same Savior, and now we meet here, though I find it funny I haven't seen you in the pack grounds at all..."
He commented, looking at her, curiosity burning in his eyes, he had a knack for being curious, it was just how he was.

Tessa listened to his words, letting them sink in slowly as they came from his mouth. She was silent as he finished speaking, only to open her eyes as he spoke again and his curious gaze rested on her face. She let his words settle again, soon opening her mouth to speak. "I haven't been in the pack lands long, and most of that has been spent cooped up in a den so I didn't freeze to death. Inferno was in pretty bad shape, but I didn't really recover until just this morning, to be honest." She said softly, explaining why he hadn't seen much of her around the pack dens. "I really shouldn't have, but I was tired of being cooped up, so I wandered off. Inferno would be extremely cross with me if he found out. You won't tell him, will you?" She asked, almost pleadingly as she looked up at him.

He smiled, laughing a bit, seemed as so, so he wasn't the only one being cooped up in a den huh, well, he felt a little relieved, at least he wasn't alone in that aspect. He rolled over on his back, letting his legs dangle over him as he stared upwards,
"Well, trust me, he would probably do the same to me as he would to you if he found out I was out here also, so no need to worry about that, it'll just be our secret, alright?"
He said with a smile, glancing back over at Tessa. He really couldn't care less that she did come out here, he completely understood being cooped up, and how badly one wants out after being in so long. With that said he wriggled around on the ground, using the position he was in to slightly scratch an itch on his back, only to then flop back over on his side, then sat up, looking down at her.
"So, what do you say, shall we get moving, I think we should try and figure out where exactly we are at the moment, and plus I don't much like being here in this swamp, so the sooner we're out, the better I think."
He commented, looking around, wondering where they were, directions weren't at all his strong suit.

Tessa couldn't help but smile as he spoke of himself getting in trouble for wandering off as well. "Deal." She said, getting to her feet and sighing in relief as they remained steady and firm beneath her. She had half expected to collapse again. When he spoke again, she looked up at him and frowned. She had no idea where they were, and since neither of them had been in the packlands long, it wasn't likely that they'd find their way out any time soon. Plus, it was getting dark, which didn't help their case at all. "Well, to be honest, I've been lost for a while now. And when we were being chased, I didn't pay any attention at all to where we were running, I sort of just bolted. And it's getting dark, which is just going to make things a million times harder." She said, not at all meaning to state her thoughts out loud.

But she had, and she didn't care much to take them back, either. "I suppose we should at least find a way out of the swamp, yes." She said, agreeing with him, another thought making it's way out into the open. "But I don't think we'll make it back to the dens before dark, it's getting hard to see already." She said, looking over at him and wondering how he would react to that. "We'll probably be better off finding some sort of shelter nearby after we make it out of this place. I agree that it's definitely not safe to stay here, though." She said, repeating her agreement and discovering that she was babbling, and she didn't even know why. She usually only babbled when she was nervous or scared. Maybe she was still shaky and a bit in shock from the ordeal with the gator.

He nodded his head as she agreed to just keep it between them, and went to just looking as he laid there still. He really had no idea where they were, nor where he first came from, how horrible, a wolf with no sense of direction. He sighed as he looked back at her, listening as she spoke. Unfortunately, she was right, they were lost, and it was getting dark. Getting back to the pack would be utterly impossible and crazy to even try. He grinned, their current situation was quite sad really, chances were that the pack would notice them gone also, so being in trouble was going to be inevitable.

"Well, seems as though we're stuck with just that idea, find temporary shelter till the morning, then try and find our way back to the main dens. Though... I really don't know where to even begin to look for shelter, nor do I know how to get out of the swamps, so looks as though we're just wandering till we find a way out..."
He stated... a bit upset at what their condition was, really couldn't get any worse.... being out here at night sounded really dangerous also, they already had to deal with an alligator, who know's what else is out here. With another sigh he finally stood up, looking at her, trying to fake a smile, though failed completely.

Tessa studied him as he spoke, seeing right through his attempts to be hopeful and optimistic. She knew they were in trouble, and she had no problem being upfront and honest about it. But she wasn't as usless as she appeared to be, and she remained silent, scanning the area around them thoroughly, studying every inch of the terrain. They had come from that direction, they had left foot prints. But knew the swamp couldn't be all that large, for the pack lands weren't completely covered in swamp lands. She was silent for several minutes, taking note of the wind direction, the slow, almost undetectable flow of the swamp water, and even the bend in the trees. She knew that the dens were in the center of the pack lands, and that the swamp was in the southern part of the pack lands. So, she finally decided on a direction, glancing over at the male calmly. "Follow me." She said softly, leaping from one island to the other, in the direction of the pack dens.

She moved quickly, smiling as clear terrain came into view, a forest, yes, but no more swamp. Finally they reached it, and she came to a stop, smiling and wagging her tail. "Here we are." She said, as if nothing had happened and they had not been lost at all. Yes, she probably could have done that on her own, but she had gotten so distracted in studying the swamp that she hadn't even bothered to realize she had been lost. But they were safe now, and that was all that mattered, right?

He watched silently as she looked around, she seemed to be studying the terrain around them. He didn't know what to think... but he kept quiet, just observing her. He was surprised when she finally spoke, simply saying to follow her, did she really know where she was going? If so... he felt even worse for being so useless. He followed her though, not arguing at all, if it mean't getting out of here, he was fine with it, and after following her a while, it became quite clear that she knew indeed where she was going, a nice clearing finally coming into view. She was quite skilled for sure, she must be a natural tracker if she was able to do that, not even he could have figured his way out without hours of wandering around.

"Wow... that's, sorta amazing. You're a natural at that, aren't you?"
He commented, looking at their surroundings. It seemed a lot better than being in a swamp for sure, and probably was going to be easier to find some proper shelter for the night. He smiled finally, now, he knew they'd need food tomorrow, even if they made their way here already, they'd need some food for the trip back, and then he would feel so useless.
"So, now for shelter..."
He said, looking around.

Tessa brushed off his compliment as if she had done nothing out of the ordinary. "I'm just really observant, I suppose." She said softly, looking around again, growing accustomed to their surroundings and getting comfortable with the terrain. Then she looked back at him, smiling. "Yes, shelter. It looks like there may be a stream over there," She said, pointing her muzzle towards the left, "and there's bound to be some sort of abandoned structure nearby." She added, looking back at him to see what he would think of that. She had always had the ability to gague the forest and nature, and she had always loved studying it as well. This fact only made her talent that much stronger. She waited for his input, however, since she didn't want him to feel like he was being useless or unhelpful. She was just trying to get shelter before it got even colder in the darkness. She was already loosing some vision in the darkness, an issue that had occurred after her encounter with the rapids, that she never mentioned to anyone, let alone let anyone believe she couldn't see in the dark. But she did, however, grow more jumpy and nervous as it got darker, making the need for a den all the more strong.

Sib sighed, still looking around as she spoke, he supposed she was quite observant, everyone had their little things they were good at. He sighed, only then to let out a long yawn, already getting quite tired. He looked back at her though as she started to talk of a stream nearby, and the possibility of some shelter, that sounded nice for sure.
"Alright then, let's go before it gets any darker."
He said with a smile. He was just glad that she was so skilled with finding her way around, without that, they'd probably still be lost in the swamp. He gently stretched out a bit, waiting to follow her, and plus, the stream sounded nice, a nice long drink sounded good.

Tessa smiled as he waited to follow, and she led the way quickly, growing more nervous as darkness grew closer. When they reached the stream, she lowered her head to drink, then lifted it to look around. She smiled, spotting a dark hole a bit down the bank. "That looks promising over there." She said, lifting her nose to point. It wasn't far, and it was getting darker, which was making her more and more nervous. Her vision was growing slowly worse as it got darker, and her ears pinned back as she made her way to the hole.

He followed her as they headed toward the stream, keeping watch on the sky as it darkened. He just hoped there was a good place to stay, if not, then they'd have to wander in the dark. Once they finally arrived at the stream he followed her over to it, taking a drink from it, the cool water feeling quite refreshing. He looked over as she pointed out a place, a small hole near the bank. It didn't look like much, but it was something. He yawned again, took another drink, and caught back up to her as they headed over to the small shelter. He could tell that she was getting nervous, about what he didn't know though, they had a place to stay right? He just left it alone though, she probably was still shook up about the swamp, or even almost drowning. Once finally getting to the small hole he looked around, it seemed to be suitable.
"Well, I think this'll do for the night."
He said, smiling.

When the den was found to be suitable, she smiled, climbing into it and sniffing around. It would be a tight fit for him, but her small body fit almost perfectly. She finally laid down inside, figuring that it was an abandoned fox den. They would have to sleep close tonight, but it would do. She lifted her head, tilting it to the side as she attempted to look out the entrance at him. But all she could see was black, making her frown and her ears pin back. She hated that she couldn't see in the dark, and it was even darker in the den than outside, making things worse.

He smiled as she crawled in, slowly crawling in after her. It was a bit of a tight fit for sure, but he could manage, at least for the night. By now it was basically fully night, most if not all of the suns light had left. He sighed, looking over at Tessa, a slight smile on his face,
"You alright, I can't help but notice you seem a bit... nervous."
He asked, wondering why she seemed this way, they had shelter didn't they, well, not the perfect place, but it was something. He laid there silent, looking at her, her ears pinned back, only showing her fear more, he just wanted to know why she was so afraid.

Tessa jumped slightly as he spoke, not knowing that he was there. She took a deep breath as he settled in and questioned her, shaking her head slowly. "I'm fine." She said softly, resting her head on her paws and closing her eyes. She didn't want the pack to know about her vision, it was embarassing and she thought it made her weak. No, she wasn't going to tell him. She sighed softly, flicking her tail and doing her best not to be pressed up against him in the tight space as she tried to sleep.

(wow, I'm having issues with length tonight. sorry)

He grinned at her answer, he could tell she was hiding something, but he wasn't going to push the issue, if she felt it was worth hiding, then that was up to her. He just sighed, laying his head across his paws, curling up as much as he could, making sure he left more than enough room for her, he didn't want her feeling cramped. He stared outside as he lay there, the sounds of the night filling the air, and soon he was asleep. Though in the middle of the night he woke again, getting cramped from the tight space, and crawled outside, stretching and looking back at Tessa in the cave, she needed it more, so he just laid right outside of it. He was to big anyhow, so he would just stay outside for the rest of the night. He laid outside, finally able to fall back to sleep, though a bit cold, he was fine.

Tessa finally managed to get to sleep, and she rested peacefully all through the night, dreaming aimlessly. The night was long, but she managed to sleep the whole time, not even waking when he got up and left. When morning finally came and the light shone on her face, she blinked sleepily, lifting her head and yawning softly. She smiled, glad she could see, but the smile faded when she noticed he was gone. She looked around, her ears flicking backwards until she noticed he was outside. She slowly stood stretching and exiting the den. "G'morning." She said softly, walking stiffly to the stream and lapping at the water. Then she stretched again, arching her back and yawning before standing up straight and glancing back at you. "Did you sleep outside?" She asked curiously, sitting down and licking some messed up fur on her shoulder.

He sleep just fine through the night, though cold he was fine with it, his thick coat keep him plenty warm, though once he felt the sun hitting his back, he stretched out, yawning happily as he woke up. He looked over, seeing Tessa awake also. He smiled a little, nodding at her as he slowly stood up, following her to the stream and taking a drink of the cool water. He laughed a little, looking over at her,
"Yah, I sorta figured that it was already cramped enough in there, and I'm sure you need a bit more comfort than I."
He said with a smile, continuing to drink from the stream, only to stop to stretch again, letting out a long yawn as he did. It seemed like a nice day, almost good enough to actually want to stick around here before leaving, wasn't like they could get into any more trouble than they already were, so why not enjoy being out here?
"Hey, before we do head back to the den's, you wanna just stick around here and look around? At least this time neither of us will get lost, and it is sorta nice out here."
He asked, taking another drink.

Tessa frowned when he said he'd slept outside all night so that she could be comfortable. But when he brushed it away like it wasn't important and moved on to ask her if she wanted to hang around and explore, she looked around and shrugged. "I suppose so. It would be helpful to get to know the lands better." She said, looking back at him and tilting her head to the side. They were near a stream, and she assumed that it eventually led to the river and the rapids, so she shivered slightly. She definitely wouldn't be going that way. But when she looked the opposite way, she saw nothing but the swamp. With a frown she looked across the stream, seeing nothing but extremely dense forest and behind them, thinner forest and patches of meadows and clearings. "Which way?" She asked, looking back at him and tilting her head to the side curiously.