It Is Love We Must Hold Onto

Odette crashed through the undergrowth, pushing forward through bushes, brambles, and thorns that snagged and stuck to her fur. She was past the point of caring when all she could focus on was putting as much distance between her and the man from the shadows. She wasn't sure quite how far she'd gone nor where she was when she began to struggle to hold herself upright as she fled. The energy was seeping from her wounds in floods of crimson and without that rush of adrenaline to maintain her, she would not last much longer.

There was no telling if he'd followed her and so, she kept going for as long as she could. Odette ran until her sides heaved and her steps fell unevenly against the earth. She tripped on a tangle of roots and nearly fell, but caught herself against a tree. Panting, she clung to the trunk for dear life, trying to keep herself standing. An attempt was made to push off of the tree and move to the next, but when she looked down, she saw the bark was painted a deep red from her simply resting against it.

The world felt like it had begun spinning and she exhaled an distressed whimper when her shaking legs gave out beneath her. She slid down against the tree until she was laying on her side, her body suddenly tuning into the pain that seemed to cover it entirely. Odette tried to keep her breathing even, her lip beginning to quiver as tears spilled down her cheeks. What if this was it? What if she died out here without anyone knowing where she was? Her eyelids felt heavy, but she fought it with all of her might, thinking of all she had yet to do with her life. This couldn't be it...could it? Mama...please...please help, Mama...don't let this be it...


@Gwydion

He was just leaving town and heading down the long, winding forest path that would lead him home when he heard a crashing in the distance. His brown ears twitched atop his head as he imagined some beast making it's way through the wood but then the noise stopped. Squinting, he slowly began making his way through the undergrowth to where the racket had ceased. He half expected a bear of all things to lunge out at him through the trees but then he heard what sounded like crying and was instantly on his toes. He peered over the brush to see a woman lying beneath one of the trees, crying and... and bleeding.

Gwydion's heart began to thump wildly in his chest as he pushed through the brush and made his way to her side. "What--" he noted where her injuries were, along her nape and shoulder, and confusion pulled his brows together. She wasn't bleeding too terribly, this was definitely something that was fixable, but it had to hurt a lot and he knew she must be scared. He looked around, wondering if whatever had caused this was nearby, but from the way things looked it was just to two of them. Darkness was creeping through the forest but there was just enough lowlight shining through the canopy that he could still see properly. "Hey... hey, it's okay." he said softly as he reached down to touch his muzzle to hers in a comforting gesture. His gaze would meet her golden eyes and he hoped she could see that he was here to help.

With that, he leaned back and looked around the small clearing. With winters chill bearing down upon the land there would not be many herbs he could use to stave off infection but he could at the very least clean the wound and try to stop the bleeding. It would hopefully clot on its own but he rasped his tongue over the injuries gently to clean the dirt and debris away.

There were footsteps and she tensed up, but she couldn't muster the energy to lift herself. Odette exhaled a whine through her nose as she attempted to lift her head, only for her vision to blur, forcing her to lay her head back down against the base of the tree. She felt as though her eyes might be crossing when a figure came into view, though she couldn't focus on the shape. “Nnno..." She uttered, pushing at the earth with her paws to try to scoot herself backwards and away, but to no avail as she simply bumped up closer to the tree.

“Hey...hey, it's okay..." She didn't know that voice. It sounded nothing close to the gravely, dangerous voice she'd been given the displeasure of hearing moments ago. This stranger drew closer to her, a muzzle lowering to touch hers. At first she flinched away, lip raising to warn him that she still had some fight left in her. But then her vision focused on a pair of youthful pools of blue that appeared to be full of surprise and concern.

When he drew away from her, her lips parted to produce words, but she found that she couldn't. “W-wait...don't...don't go..." She rasped desperately, a paw lifting to stretch towards the one who stumbled upon her, before it fell to rest upon snow. She closed her eyes then only for a moment, thinking that the man would leave her be in the snow.

There was a sharp stinging sensation followed by a warm, soothing motion over her wounds and her body tensed briefly before relaxing. Her mind wandered to the evening where Rhodes had cared for her and her breathing hitched as the memories played over in her head. Lashes fluttered halfway open and she blinked in mild confusion, her mind struggling to catch up with her to try to figure out where she was...or better yet, who was with her.



@Gwydion

Whatever had happened her frightened her enough that she wanted to escape even him. A pit formed in his stomach at the terror written all over her face. He did not even think about leaving her as she reached out to him, realizing that he was not here to hurt her. No, he only wanted to help.

She seemed to be coming around as he cleaned the wounds along her shoulder and nape, but there was a nasty tear in her cheek that he wasn't sure what to do with. "I don't think I'll find anything for the pain out here; winter has killed off most of the foliage around," he said, more to himself than to her, if she was even listening to him at this point.

He drew a breath and stepped back, eyeing his work carefully before retreating to the tree line.

"Maybe..." he murmured, then shook his head. He would just have to figure something else out. He returned to her side once again, and moved to nudge the shoulder that was not wounded. "Can you sit up?" he asked. Keeping her face elevated would maybe at least slow the blood flow and help with clotting. It was his best guess, as good as any, and for now all he had.

There was a baritone mumbling above her that slowly formed into words. Something about winter and foliage. That's right... Somehow she'd forgotten the season and with that acknowledgement the cold began to seep into bones, causing her to shiver lightly. Her eyes flickered down to the snow, her focus drifting to the patches of crimson that were only growing larger. She squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself it looked worse than it was, but with the pain of her open wounds, the doubt started to creep in.

A nudge against her shoulder cut through a wave of nausea that threatened her and she blinked up wearily at the blue-eyed boy. “Wha-huh...?" There was a delay in processing her words, but then her brows furrowed as she peered down at her shaking paws. “Ah, uhm...I can...I can try? She sounded as confident as she felt, but lifted herself upward despite her uncertainty. With a grimace and much effort she lifted herself, trying to suppress a whimper as her body swayed, threatening to collapse once more.



@Gwydion

If anything, he had to keep her conscious. Getting her upright would help with that. As she struggled to get up, he moved to her side and helped her. She was so shaky she looked like she might collapse again but he decided to remain by her side and let her use him to lean upon rather than the course tree she'd fallen under. "What... what happened to you?" he asked, trying to keep her talking, coherent.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know what manner of beast had attacked her and he certainly hoped they were long gone by now. He did not want to have to fight something off if he didn't have to -- he wasn't much of a soldier like his father and brother. He was more of a... a healer, a helper... he guessed. He thought about the new school for a moment and wondered if he should join it, to learn how to be more effective in his 'work'. If he knew more about the forest around him he could have found something for her wounds, perhaps. He turned and looked at the bloodied spot on her cheek. "May I?" he asked, offering to cleanse that as well. He didn't want to work so close to her face without asking.

She could feel the weight of herself as her body wavered and was surprised when she didn't suddenly crumple to the earth. Instead she found herself propped up against the plush warmth of a winter coat and the oddly comforting scent of clover. Odette rested her face against this stranger, steadying her breathing until she could attempt to answer his question. “I was..." She felt a trembling in her lip, suppressing the urge to burst into tears if only to get the words out into the open. “I was just trying to go home...same way I always go...and a...a man came out of the trees...."

“I-I'm trying to remember him, but, I...it was so dark and he was dark...his eyes were like...hellfire and brimstone...that's it that's all I can recall about his appearance, but, uhm...he..." Odette trailed off, shaking her head as her breaths came in quick panicked bursts to relive the moment. She had to, though...to be able to even report this to anyone properly, to keep this from happening to others, she had to remember!


“He must have had some sort of injury...I don't know...I think so, though, because, I...I might not have..." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, causing her voice to break. “I might not have gotten away from him...and then he...he would've..." Odette squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming their way out and stinging the wounds on her face. She didn't want to say it much less think about where her interaction with the demon-eyed man would have gone had she not been able to flee.

She realized she was practically clinging to this poor fellow and withdrew some, casting her gaze downward shamefully. She only peered back up with him when he shifted closer and gestured at the wound on her face. Odette hesitated then wordlessly turned her head so that he could inspect it further.



@Gwydion

He didn't mind as she leaned into him; she had been more bloodied before but his work to clean her had helped so that she did not stain his own russet coat with her blood. The wound upon her cheek still oozed and he looked at it warily as she began to tremble, her memories of her attack no-doubt hard to recall. A... another wolf had done this to her? He swallowed, glancing around but seeing no such beast among them. He hadn't followed, or hadn't been able to keep up with her, thankfully. It never ceased to amaze him the lengths of violence his own kind could go to. He'd seen it before, at the protests and during the war but this? What had she done to provoke his attack other than simply exist? It was vile and he felt the beginnings of a growl rumble in his chest. But he stifled it and listened to her continue. She described him as dark with hellish eyes, and some sort of injury. She must have been too frantic to get a good look at him, too desperate to escape whatever ill intentions he had devised for her... Gwydion didn't even want to think about it.

As she spoke she grew closer, but he did not push her away. Her warm, sweet scent distracted him from the tang of blood in the air momentarily and he thought to himself what sort of man could do this to someone? A monster, no doubt, and she'd described just that. She withdrew slightly as she seemed to realize how close she'd gotten and then gave him silent permission to inspect the wound on her face. He turned his head to get a better view. Puncture marks dotted her cheek but they would heal, he just wanted to clean the site so that infection did not settle in. So he lifted a paw to swipe away the blood, finding the traditional way of cleansing too intimate. "You'll heal. You'll live... you'll be okay." he said softly.

"You're okay. You're safe here," he said, a little more solemnly. He didn't know what he would do should the monster pop out of the woods but he would not leave her alone to fend for herself. He drew in a breath, that sweet scent washing over him again and making his cheeks warm as he stepped away, dipping his head apologetically. "Can I help you home or perhaps to a doctor?" he asked. He did not know where she wanted to go from here.

Odette tried to keep still, closing her eyes as she anticipated the sting of contact against the fresh wound of her cheek. It never came. Instead, she felt a delicate brush of what felt like a paw to swipe some of the blood away and heard words of gentle reassurance. Her trembling lessened and she was starting to relax, trying to focus on the present instead of all that came before. It wasn't until she felt distance created between them did she blink her eyes open once more. When she turned to look at him he was dipping his head, asking here where she needed to go.

Golden eyes lifted to the sky that had now darkened, a crestfallen look taking over her face. “I...don't suppose there are any doctors available at this hour..." Odette sat herself up further, gritting her teeth as she adjusted. “Uhm...I needed to go to a doctor to book an appointment for a friend anyway in the morning."
Odette murmured, contemplating her position aloud and pushing a breath out through her lips. “I wasn't expecting to need services myself...my father might be able to dress my wounds in the meantime, but, agh...I don't want to give him a fright..." She pressed her paw against her temple, trying to decide what was the next best course of action.


@Gwydion

It seemed she was conflicted on what to do next and he could relate; he wanted to make sure she got where she needed to go safely. "It's okay, you can take your time." he said softly, allowing her to contemplate her dilemma. After a few moments of silence on his end, he realized he had not yet introduced himself. He hadn't really had time to with all that had been happening but now that she was up and coherent it was as good a time as any, he supposed. "I'm Gwydion, by the way." he offered with a small smile.

The darkening sky above them did not frighten him. He'd wandered these woods alone many times, even in the dark, but it did draw his concern for her. She'd found trouble in the dark and he did not want that trouble to follow her here. Given the wounds she suffered he had to assume whoever attacked her was a fiercer fighter than he was, though if anything he could at least buy her time to run. He shifted on his paws and looked around, still no sign of anyone but the two of them. That was good, at least...