[Zephari] Running from the Sun

[Kyo]

80th of Spring, 515 AV

It was hot. Very hot. He didn't know what it was like within the gates of the blue city, where the stone and the walls and shadows might make things cooler like a cave. Outside the walls, however, on the plains, it was hot.

The coyote had taken care of his dogs for almost as long as he could remember. They were not pups anymore, and they didn't need him for most things as he had taught them to hunt for themselves, to know to protect themselves, to keep themselves safe and healthy and strong. He was no longer like father to them, and that was why instead of pups he now thought of them --and had for a long time now-- as pupmates. Sister and Brother.

But that didn't mean that he didn't want to protect them. And there were things to be protected from other than just bears and creatures that were bigger and with longer teeth. The sun was usually a friend, a light for seeing to make bright the world and chase away the dark of the night. Today, however, it seemed more a predator.

With every breath the coyote panted, as did his dogs, and it had gotten so hot that he was becoming afraid that the heat might make them sick. Sister was not acting herself. She was droopy like a plant that had lost all its water, her ears and tail wilting, her eyes blank as if she slept. Brother still had his energy, but the coyote wondered how long any of them could last.

The best thing would have been to go into the city, but Sister would not. The next best thing would have been rain or clouds in the sky to shade them so that the heat would be gone... but there was none. The coyote almost wished for the storm back just so that it might be cool, though the thunder and lightning had made him almost sick with fear and hate.

So he could only do one thing to protect his dogs: go to the river. This was not something his dogs might like, as they didn't trust water and hated swimming... but it was what they needed. So he brought them in that direction.

Brother always went with the coyote no matter where he led, so the brown-red dog went along willingly. Sister might have usually caused a fuss, but she was so tired with heat and thirst that when the coyote nudged her to move she did, trailing after him with her head down as if she might fall at any moment.

--

It took a while of coaxing, but eventually Sister came to the edge of the big river and lapped at the surface with her feet in the water before laying on her belly in the mud.

--

A while had gone by, and Brother and the coyote now were splashing happily in the water, chasing the little fish and frogs and once a hard-shelled turtle that snapped at their noses. Sister had not come in yet, but she laid with her head down and her eyes watching them with interest. The coyote was trying to get his Brother to actually swim. So far he would not go out of the calm, shallow waters at the edge and into the stronger deeper current. But he might, with time. It was enough he was in the water. The water would keep him safe from the hot unforgiving rays of the midday sun.

OOCHopefully this is alright. I believe it's okay to write about the weather in posts even though there's no such event on the calendar. Just a fun mention, but the storm Kyo was referring to was the one on the 67th (I believe that was the date).

[Zephari]

Not a good day to be out and about. The early morning had started out reasonable, but as the day progressed it turned from a moderately warm day to a brutal scorcher. In the city the only areas of safety from the burning heat where either inside building right down at the harbor, or the underground rooms built into the cliff side. The stone wall of the city acted like mirrors, reflecting the hot sun into every area of the city, making even shadows ineffective at providing a cooling spot to rest.

Zephari had started the day with the intention of going out and socializing, and maybe even doing some shopping. But with the weather being what it was, some shops where even closed and her usual socializing spots where barren. Upon arriving at the last spot she could think of, Zephari let out a loud laugh, making some Akalaks give her a strange look from under an awning. "People really think of this as hot!?" she yelled with a slightly hysterical tone. Looking around for any response from anyone, but finding none, Zephari shook her head and headed for the city gates. Even the guards seemed miserable today. where as Zephari practically skipped out of the gates, heading down to the river blue.

"This is nothing!" she exclaimed, even though there was nobody in sight. The majority of her life had been spent in Eyktol, where this type of weather was the norm, even slightly cool compared to the middle of high summer.

Approaching the river, where a good few rivarians were taking a dip in the cool river, she stopped, looking down at them with a look of disapointment, but also a small amount sympathy. Zephari decided to just take a walk. Not wanting to try to socialize, knowing that overheated people tend to be grumpy. "These people wouldn't make it a week back home... During winter!" she thought, realizing how well attuned she was to the heat in comparison. Following along the river for a couple of miles, Zephari finds a place to rock hop across.

"This'll work" she said, a slight bravado in her voice. She jumped to the first and the second rock with ease, thought the third was slightly farther. "Ok I can do this!" she said, her overconfidence coming to the surface. Taking a double step before jumping, Zephari easily clears the larger gap, and then continues straight onto the next jump. This one she also clears, but now having too much momentum, she slips and falls into the very middle of the river. The strong current drags her down in seconds, her eyes watching the light of the surface fade away. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she flails for the surface. After fifteen or so seconds, she is finally gets back up, gasping for air. Zephari never learned how to swim, living in a desert her entire life. So all she is able to do a flail about in an attempt to tread water, purely fueled by fear and adrenaline.

Zephari was quickly washed downriver, towards the opposide bank from which she had crossed. Bairly able to keep her head above the surface, she shouted "HELP!".

OOC NoteTrying some slightly different things with my writing, and also trying out this new custom template that I got! Tell me what you think, criticism is very welcome.

[Kyo]

OOCLove the template. ^_^ Very nice.

I like that you decided to try for past-tense in the writing, since I think that's what most people on Mizahar write in. Looking pretty good! I also like Zephari's personality, heh, especially the sort of recklessness and the 'you think this is hot?!'

BTW, your post in the other thread made me laugh really hard. That deadpan description of drunk coyote Kyo. Just great! XD

The coyote had just gotten Sister to take a few steps into the water by splashing at her to get her wet. When she looked over in a huff, he gave a low play-bow, hind quarters sticking up and soaked tail splattering droplets everywhere as it wagged. Almost as soon as the great yellowish dog had stepped in to chase him, though, there came a high noise, loud and close, and Sister bounced back out of the river like her feet might catch in an unseen trap.

The coyote might have laughed at her jump had the noise been anything else. Instead his head snapped around, ears pricked, eyes searching. He held completely still. The noise... it had sounded like a person. And it had not been a good sound. It had sounded bad, like distress, like someone was being attacked or hurt or frightened, though he didn't know which. Maybe all.

A splashing like that of a small fish caught his attention, not quite in the middle of the river but close to it. The coyote bounded dripping out of the water and scrambled up the bank, slipping on the wetted grass and mud as he watched intently for more movement. A fast beat of his heart and then another, and he saw the shape struggling in the churning water.

It was human-form. It was not swimming. Not good. It splashed again.

Immediately all thought ran from the coyote's mind. He sprang forward along the riverside, racing to catch up to the current as it pulled the person along and under.

The river was quick, but it didn't move as quick as the coyote, who was sprinting fast as he could, faster even than when he was chasing an elk or other such prey. He could hear his dogs panting and running along far behind him, their heavier paws stomping the river mud, but that didn't matter. It didn't matter how the mud sucked at his feet trying to slow him down. He kept his eyes on the person --it wasn't a blue-man Akalak, it looked like a human, a girl?-- and when he came to a stretch of bank that reached further into the river he turned and suddenly leapt, straight out over the shallows and into deeper territory.

The water caught him and hugged tight to his sides and the canine went under, kicking his legs as fast and strong as he could. Soon his head broke the surface and his back with it. His swimming had to do with kicking, yes, but also with how it was easy for him to float.

Yet another drumming heartbeat passed and the coyote thought he had lost the girl. He frantically swam harder as he searched for her. He couldn't find where she had gone. It was much more difficult to see while swimming. On the bank he had been up higher and hadn't had water splashing in his eyes. He snorted through his nose to try to catch a scent, but all he could smell was river-- mud, water, plants. No human-smell.

Then he thought he saw something, a glimpse of a dark shape --a head?-- bobbing at the surface, and he paddled hard as he could in that direction. He wanted to scream out that he was near, but when he opened his mouth water rushed in and he had to spit and cough it out.

Back on the banks, his dogs were yelping and howling for him to come back.

[Zephari]

The water was brutal, the current stronger than an oxen pulling a caravan wagon, the muddy water impossible to see anything through, not even counting the white foam swirling at the surface. The cold sapped Zephari's strength in less than a minute, making her limps go weak and making harder yet to keep her head above the water.

After screaming for help, she is pushed under again, this time rising back up much more quickly. Her head thundering with the crashing of waves. However this time as her head breaks through the layer of foam, she hears another sounds, faint but true. A dog? No more high pitched. Her head gets pushed under again as she tried to look for the source of the sound.

Surfacing again, she got a glimpse. An ear, a fuzzy pointed ear, moving parallel to the river, matching her speed. The foam in hey eyes prevented her from seeing anything else. Attempting to take a breath before she got sucked under again, this time she got a full breath of water, fully sapping her strength. Her entire torso seized up, her arms stiffening, knees locking, she started to sink.

With her last bits of energy Zephari reached, looking for anything. "Please...." she screamed in her mind, her thoughts getting foggy. Her outstretched hand, fingers pointing toward the last thing she saw, the ear slipped below the foam bubbles.

But not before finding something. Something furry, with sharp points at the end. "A paw....?" she hoped, loosing consciousness. Her fingers on pure reaction alone, tried to wrap around the paw. Fade to black.

OOC NoteSince we are both in another thread at a much earlier date I would assume we know each other once we get Zephari out of the water. And I know the swimming part seems a little extreme and over dramatized, but I myself have almost drowned and this is what it feels like.

[Kyo]

He had lost her.
He had lost her.
The coyote had lost her.

He had swum to the place he had thought he'd last seen the head, and there was nothing there. He couldn't see down through the water enough to tell where she was. Now he ducked his head underwater, frantically scrabbling and splashing to keep swimming, trying to dive to find the lost girl. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Lost. No no no.

Again. Deeper this time. Nothing.

The coyote was kicking towards the surface to catch another short breath when his foot knocked something. A rock. Nothing. Then the rock squeezed his paw, and it wasn't a rock. It was a hand.

The hand clasped his hind leg, a light touch, and yet still it kept him from swimming up, much too heavy for him to pull. The coyote dragged down, further from the surface, too afraid to swim. If he kicked the hand might let go and she would be lost.

He wouldn't do that. He couldn't. So he did the only thing he could do. He shifted.

--

On the bank the dogs saw a flash of glimmering light from beneath the murky surface. They howled louder, twin voices that contrasted in a harsh wail like a siren.

--

Coyote foot turned human, and the hand fell from his ankle, but not before he had twisted in the waters and grabbed her by the wrist. The coyote-turned-young-man kicked his feet with all his strength, and the burning in his chest made him afraid it was not enough.

His foot brushed something again. This time, a true rock. He planted his toes against it and shoved himself and the girl he was dragging upwards. His heart had gone into his ears and he could hear every beat. Then his head broke the surface, and the coyote-man gasped in a breath.

It was maybe the hardest thing he had ever done, except for when he had lost his boy. He had never learned to swim in this form. All he knew was what his coyote-mind knew from instinct: kick legs, paddle arms. But he only had one arm, the other wrapped around the girl's chest to hold her tight. Even harder was making her head be above water when it was hard enough to keep his own up.

More than once they went under again, turning with the river and taken where it wanted, and Kyo soon grew so tired and chilled --his bones cold from the water despite the hot hot day-- that his movements were just fumbles and flails. He learned it was easier to swim where the water wanted to go instead of against. That wasn't good because they couldn't get out, but it was better than being under and lost and maybe lost forever in the dark.

Finally the river brought them closer to the side and Kyo pumped his legs harder and harder, free arm clawing at the water as if attacking it, forcing it to let them go. Finally it did. With a surge they swept into the warmer shallows. Kyo was shivering, chest heaving and panting as his heart pumped much faster than his legs and arms had been able. He couldn't catch his breath. He couldn't stop to, either. He clutched at the girl with shaking fingers and staggered his way to the side of the river, pulling her mostly up out of the water, into the grass and the mud.

His dogs were there, and he pushed Sister away with a weak arm when she snarled at the rescued human. When the female dog rushed closer to bite, he swung a fist and bopped her on the nose. Sister sulked away, still rumbling. Kyo looked down at the one he had pulled from the water.

He felt almost sick with tiredness and fear. She wasn't moving. He didn't know what to do. Panicking, he grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her. Nothing? He couldn't tell. He didn't know. His eyes were hot and wet and he felt a tear in his chest like it had been opened up with a gaping wound that wasn't really there. It just felt like it was.

Before he could stop her, Sister rammed past him at the girl in another attack. She pounced on her chest, and Kyo swatted the dog again, this time hard enough to made her yelp. The dog nipped at him and caught his fingers and then retreated off, but Kyo wasn't paying attention to her.

Water had burbled out of the girl's mouth when Sister had jumped on her. Kyo seized onto the sight. Now the coyote-man did much the same as his sister-dog had, pushing on the girl's chest with his hands, trying to force any water out. Unwittingly a name came to his lips and he muttered it out, again and again, a plea that he did not understand in a language he had not known he remembered, "Morwen. Morwen. Morwen help. Help me."

OOCSorry if this was somewhat long, but I wasn't certain how much you could really write until Kyo had Zephari at least out of the water.

As for having met before, Kyo's too crazy to recognize her in this post. I feel like he was really drunk in that other thread, so I don't know how much he'll remember about her. Maybe a fuzzy sort of recollection.

[Zephari]

Darkness, cold darkness. Almost like a dream, but much more intense, and no actual images. Her eyes where closed and her lungs burning, but all Zephari could think about was the coldness, and the paw. Logical thought slipping away, primal instincts setting in, her mind races to try to figure a way out of the situation. One last formulated thought;Yahal give me guidance... With no answer, panic began to set in, further draining her supply of oxygen.

Then a flash of light, showing bright enough to pierce through her closed eyelids. With what little sensation she had left in her hands, she lost the feeling of the paw. Loosing hope Zephari went entirely limp from that.

The next 2 minutes where nothing but a blur, a mix of the feeling of rushing water, the sound of panting and thrashing, and even barking. The only thing that she could really remember was the feeling of a grip, a strong grip around her torso. Dues to already being in such pain and low levels of consciousness, Zephari felt the grip as a crushing force, her ribs feeling like they where going to implode.

Then warmth. Not only warmth but lack of the sound and feeling of rushing water. A feeling of grip on her back and legs, her weight no longer being carried by the water, she was being carried. On impulse her hand reached for the person carrying her, but it only flopped, ending up smacking herself in the neck. Then loud barking and growling, followed by an impact to her back, presumably her being put roughly on the ground. So much pain, but at least there was some feeling, so she wasn't dead yet.

Her thoughts are then literally shaken back, her entire body being shook violently by a pair of hands. Where am I!? was the first thing to pop back into her head, just before the full brunt of her pain rushed back to her. A force suddenly slammed into her chest, forcing a larger portion of the water in her lungs out. It is followed by several more impacts, each one emptying her lungs further.

Consciousness flooded back to her like a hard hit to the head, her entire body rebooting. Her ears now being assaulted by all the noise, the taste of blood running strong, every muscle in her body starved of oxygen and burning. Then shouting, from a man just above her. Her ears ringing, she is able to make out the word the man is repeating over and over, almost in a pleading tone; "Morwen".

With one final impact, her muscles kicked back to action, forcing the remaining water from her lungs, and causing her to quickly lift her torso up, smacking her head on the chest of the man. Everything hurt, but it was good to feel her entire body again, knowing it is still working. I need get out of here! was her first thought, her eyes opening to the sight of being leaned over by a young man, and being circled by two seemingly angry dogs. Must run.... Zephari attempts to run, but instead only manages to roll onto her hands and knees, which brings up more blood from her throat, forcing her to cough it out. Once the coughing stopped, she realized that the man must be the one who rescued her. After drawing a full, painful breath. She managed to studder; "Thankyou...". She then collapsed into the mud, utterly exhausted, but safe.

OOC NoteNow we can actually have some interaction, I can't wait to see where this end up going. I may have really over written this one but had a hard day so I need to write it out. Also is this a little too high detail/gory?

[Kyo]

Something he had done must have been right. He didn't know what. Dragging her out of the water he knew had been good. But the rest? Shaking her. Pushing on her chest. He hadn't known what to do. He hadn't known how to save her.

But then, with one last push, a stream of water rushed out, and the girl's head popped up, knocking him in the chest. Sister snarled but stayed back, which was good; Kyo panted and watched the girl, still so tired he could fall over, not sure what else to do.

The girl seemed to have woken up, though he didn't know if she was okay. She curled over from her back to her hands and knees and began to cough, and what she coughed out was red, blood, and that scared him even more because he had never seen someone cough like that before. He reached out to touch her, to make sure she was alright. But he saw that she was frightened, and her breathing still wasn't right. He didn't know if that was his fault or not. What if he had hurt her? No, no, that was bad. And like before he didn't know how to make it better. How could he stop blood-coughing?

After a while, it seemed to stop on its own, and the girl even tried to talk. But she was still not okay. "Thankyou..." she said, but then she fell down. "No!" The coyote-man hovered over her, trembling. One of his dogs whined nearby; Brother, not Sister. The female dog had run back aways, and was watching now from a distance.

He didn't want the girl to be dead or dying. He wanted her to get up and be okay. Kyo took her hand and tugged on it, trying to wake her up, to get her up from the ground. "Don't sleep," he said. That was bad. He didn't know why. It just was. "Bad to sleep. Danger." Something about her at that moment seemed familiar, but he was very very tired and his head was not working right. He couldn't think, and he still felt very scared, like they were still in the water. His body wasn't working right either. He could not stop shaking, even now that the hot sun had started beating down on them again, and the cold of the water was gone.

Water. He remembered... something. Something else to do with water, or something like water? And the girl. She didn't smell like anyone he knew, she only smelled like the river and blood and mud. But her face. He could remember her laughing, or being happy. Dancing.

He didn't know where that memory was from and that confused him further. The young man rubbed at his eyes with one hand. All he wanted to do was flop down and lay still for the rest of the day. But he couldn't. He shook his head. The girl... he had to do something.

"Help," he said aloud, realizing, and pulled again on her arm. "You need help." Help would be in the city, not out here by the water. But what if she couldn't walk? He didn't know if he could carry her, but he would if he had to. There was nothing else he could do. He couldn't leave her. "You need help. City... in the city."

OOCNope, it's all fine. Don't worry about gore. I've seen lots worse; you should read some of the battle scenes. Heck, I myself have written my own fair share. It happens, and it's good as long as it's realistic, so might as well put it in!

[Zephari]

Finally, she was out. Saved by a strange man, who had two dogs with him. Lying down in the med Zephari let her muscles relax, and tried to get her breathing under control. While her muscles where able to go mostly slack, now burning from both lack of oxygen and massive amounts of effort, her breathing simply wouldn't return to normal. It stayed erratic and painful, each exhale followed by a gurgling noise from her chest.

"Good god that hurts!" she rasped, alarmed at how badly her lungs still burned, even though they were empty of water. She tried to push herself up from the mud, but her hand was pulled out from under her by the man. He yelled in a panicked voice, but she could not understand what he was saying, thanks to the water and mud in her ears. letting out a fast exhale to clear them, the burning got worse, but she was now able to hear.

"You need help. City, in the city!" he was saying, pulling on her arm. She rolled onto her back, sending searing pain through her sternum. Wincing and leaning up, she looked around, and realized she was now pretty far from riverfall, the monolithic walls tiny in the distance.I got washed so far... I'm not sure I can walk that far.

Her eyes wandering down to her own body. Her legs had a couple of scrapes from the rock she had slipped on, and her chest was covered in mud, with a big red stripe running down the center of her chest.Wear did all this blood come from! She padded her torso down, looking for a major injury. When she found none, she realized it had all come from her coughing.Oh man I messed up this time... Yahal grant me forgiveness for my arrogance...

Looking at the young man, her face covered in mud and blood, she asked; "Help me up" her voice rough and again followed by a gurgling noise. She looked up at the man, her eyes wide with fear and pain.

OOC NoteI figure that our character can talk to each other in a more calm nature once we get moving, or at least once we get close to the city. I didn't imagine Zephari getting this messed up but it just happened. Should I post this injury in my CS by chance? Also we are REALLY gonna need Caelum in on this one, since neither of our characters are exactly field medics.

[Kyo]

She spoke again, but the harshness of her voice and her strange gurgling breaths did nothing to soothe his worries. Kyo rocked up onto his toes nervously, still crouched by the girl... but now he too looked towards the city. Like the girl, he then looked down at himself. He had shifted from coyote, and now was in his natural skin. If they went to the city, the blue-men at the gates might not let him in if he was not clothed, no matter if the girl was hurt.

Much as he disliked leaving her for any length of time, Kyo needed to be prepared for the city or they might get into trouble, and they didn't need any more of that. The coyote-man let out a frustrated, whimpering noise, looked at the girl, and then said, "You stay, rest. Trust me. Don't worry." Then, before she could protest, he whistled once, catching his dogs' attention, and then shifted coyote in a flicker of whitish light. Within a heartbeat he had run off, back towards where he'd stashed his outside-the-city clothing. Sister gave the girl one final growl, pawing one foot against the ground, and then turned and the two dogs chased after him.

The coyote soon grew tired, his breathing hard and panting. Swimming had been very difficult, and afterwards he had not felt right, and he still didn't. Still, he pushed through. The pants he found hidden under a bush, and he grabbed them up in his mouth. When Sister saw them, she leapt forward to try to rip the clothes away, knowing that the cloth meant that he would turn human again... but the coyote jumped to the side --stumbling when one of his tired legs tried to give out-- and then he was too far away for her to try anything again. She broke away, running out of sight, and he thought he would not see her until he was away from the humans again, until he had brought the girl to the city. Brother stayed close by.

Soon enough he made it back to where he had left the girl. One step he was a coyote; the next, a human-form. Quickly the young man pulled on the pants, then shuffled his way back towards the girl, wanting to approach her faster to make sure she was still okay but not knowing if she would be frightened of him. He would hold out one hand to her, crouching again in the mud, then say, "My name Kyo. I help you up, yes. Help you to city. Find care for hurts." Once again, something about her seemed familiar, and it made him uneasy to not be able to remember why.

OOCIf you think it might affect Zephari in later threads, then yes. Likely at the end of this thread, if the ST who grades it thinks that she would have have symptoms within the following days/weeks, they will assign those to you.

However, if Caelum indeed does get involved, he may be able to heal Zephari completely due to his healing gnosis. So perhaps you should wait until the end of the thread and see how everything goes.

[Zephari]

The man was crouched over her, looking her over with a concerned look. When she had looked toward the city, the man did the same. Probably came to the same conclusion as I just did... Looking at the man for a responce, Zephari began to examine him, looking him up and down. What on earth is a naked man doing out here in the middle of nowhere?

The man stood up, looking saddened and worried, letting out an odd dog like whimper. Shifting onto her side for better comfort, Zephari let out a small yelp from chest pain. It was starting to sink in that she was really hurt, and needed medical attention badly.

"You stay, rest. Trust me. Don't worry." the man said suddenly, and before she could respond, the man was covered in a bright light. Eyes burning from the sudden burst of light, the woman rolled onto her face in recoil. What in Yahals name is happening!

Eventually opening her eyes, she saw that instead of a man, there was now a coyote running towards the city. One of the dogs growled at her before bounding off after the coyote. It takes several seconds to realize what had just happened. A coyote? Where did... Is that guy a Kelvic? That's the only thing that makes any sense... Now that any of this does. Now alone Zephari, tried again to get up, but it only ended in further chest pain and her rolling back onto the ground, letting out a groan of pain.

"Well at least I'm not stuck in the city with those heat stroked grumpy Akalaks..." she said, letting out a small giggle followed by a gurgle. Instead of trying to stand up again, Zephari propped herself up against a shrub. Waiting for the Kelvic to come back, she simply sat and tried not to puke.

Less than five minute later the coyote returned with a pair of of pants in his mouth, and quickly shifted back into human form. Yep definetly a Kelvic. She looked up at him with surprise but also curiosity as he approached her after frantically putting his pants on, almost falling over.

"My name Kyo. I help you up, yes. Help you to city. Find care for hurts." he said with a smile, putting his hand out. Zephari took his hand and hauled herself up, her lungs shifting as she did so. "Ack!". She curled over clutching her chest, but forced herself to stand up straight again and start walking. She let the majority of her weight be supported by the man.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Zephari asked in between pained breaths as the two made their way towards Riverfall.

OOC NoteLets get Zephari near the city, and she'll probably collapse and need you to go inside to get Caelum, and we'll have him jump in. Thanks for the fun thread Kyo, this is a very interesting one to write in.