Forget Me Not

Droid is using one of her tickets ^^

The world was quiet and still as he snuck out of the house to the courtyard after raiding the pantry to find something for his best pet friend Stomps. He really needed to give the bearcat a real name one of these days but the cute bugger was always stomping around, it was perfect! Hmmm, but what would even be a good name? He was at a loss as he pondered this, coming up short on answers with every new one that popped into his head. Ember would follow his companion along the flora, grinning as he watched crumbs fall to the ground everywhere they went. It was like in the tales his elder sister told him from time to time and it brought a sense of warmth to him. He always loved the books she read even if he wasn’t so great at picking up on how to read himself. His mind drifted to the names in those stories, losing himself in those thoughts.

Necronomicon? No. That’s too much of a mouthful and kind of depressing but fitting for himself. He wasn’t naming himself though. Lucas? Nah, too boring. Romeo? Ha, absolutely not! The names just seemed to get worse and worse in his head, even diving into more feminine names like Clematine and Poppy. Nothing was fitting.

“Hmmm? Wha- where am I!?” he would suddenly stop as he noticed he wasn’t on the Tiamat property anymore and the crumb trail had continued but there weren't any pine martens around either. He quickly turned on his paws to look back, seeing crumbs that way too but not very well. What was the story? Hansel and Gretal? He felt like he was one of those kids being guided to a witch’s house as he didn’t see any signs of his friend nor anything that looked like home. Fear crawled under his skin ruthlessly but not for long as a mist crept and his mind became hazier, easing his nerves.

Curiosity would guide his steps, following the trail in hopes it would lead him to safety but instead it seemed like he was getting further from home as a mass of water he had never seen in Rionna would form seemingly out of the blue. This had to have been a dream, it didn't’ feel real. The sound of water splashing would make his head dart in its direction, feeling his heart in his throat as he let out a soft call out with his toes licking the surface of the water at the shore. “Hello?”

manip + code: clae

She was spending another listless night alone, sitting outside and away from the home that Papa Anteros provided their little family. She had eased her way out from the tanglement that was her sister, and tip toed over the floorboards until she was finally free, where the ocean air whipped through her blue fur and the salty scent filled her nostrils.

It calmed her, despite the ocean being such a chaotic enigma.

Dahlia had spent hours outside already, to the point where her skin was beginning to prickle with gooseflesh and she realized that she was growing cold. With a gentle sigh, she rose and began to walk back along the trail leading to home.

Only she never ended up there.

Somehow, a fog settled over the pathway, obstructing her sights entirely and when she finally managed through it, where she ended up completely confused her. Green eyes blinked the mist from them as her gait slowed, taking in her surroundings and realizing that she had never ever stepped foot in a place like this before - though it wasn't like that was unheard of being that she hadn't yet explored every inch of Saora and Rionna like she definitely intended to.

Still, the air here was intoxicating, and despite all her worries and fears and anger, they all seemed to melt away with each inhale she took.

A wide smile then spread across her dark maw as she spotted a body of water! Excited, her tail began to wag as she trotted happily on over to it, noting how it steamed and knowing that the water would be deliciously warm. She was about to dive in when a familiar voice carried over to her.

"Hello?"

Dahlia halted, head turning towards the voice and seeing Haskell emerge from a different direction. The mist clung to his pale furs and Dahlia didn't hesitate in greeting him. It had been a while since they last saw each other, and each time she found herself growing more fond of his companionship that he provided.

And so the massive young lady lunged towards him, closing the distance in seconds and - as gently as she could - bowled him over to place puppy kisses all over his cheeks. It was becoming a tradition of theirs at this point and she was not about to let it die.

"Bunny!" she exclaimed excitedly through licks, before eventually letting him sit back up on his own. She wasn't concerned if it made him uncomfortable or if he didn't like it, because she expected that he would voice this to her like a good friend should. Her tail wagged viciously behind her now, thudding against the ground with a steady beat. "You found me again," she remarked warmly, ears tilting forward in interest, knowing that he would have something funny or interesting to say. "Wanna swim? she then asked, gesturing over to the water with enthusiasm.

manip + code: clae

His ears would perk dramatically as he would notice the persona of the ocean turned into a familiar wolfess he had known since his first memories though their interactions had been limited. Fire embeds would blink frantically as if she was merely a speck of dust caught upon his lashes; he had to flutter away to come back to reality. She didn’t disappear though. Just like when he had accidently explored a little too far on his family vacation to his mama’s home, Dahlia would not fade away, truly a fixture in his path that would cause his tail to wag excitedly, ambient confused on how or why she was in Rionna if she was with her mama now. When he had told his own mom where his friend had gone, she seemed concerned but understanding and a bit relieved. He did find it curious Mister Leo never introduced him to this assumed wife from the Highlands but only dwelled on such a thought sometimes. Tonight wasn’t one of those times, far more focused on the physical form before him.

As he was about to cheer her name, he tensed when she suddenly ran toward him, certain she had gotten even bigger since last time and he admittedly feared he might squish him to death this time. There was no resistance, only the subtle raising of hairs along his shoulders right before she leapt, sending him head over paw into the earth below him and making him grunt out a small noise of pain as pressure was forced down onto him from her weight. That noise would bubble into a merry laugh as she started to smother him in kisses. “Dolly!!!” he chirped between his giggle fit, feeling a tingle of excitement at everything. Her presence to the very air of this place, it brought forth life in him once again instead of the crippling sorrow he held now for his cousin’s death.

This hug reminded him of Ahkoris. He flinched at the thought of the male equally massive, and it made tears wet his eyes, but they would not gain enough weight to fall, hoping that his friend would just see it as tears from the tickles of her tongue or the happiness of seeing her again. He didn’t want to talk about such a fresh wound, another loss and it caused a painful lump in his throat once she released him, wishing she hadn’t let him go.

Why did she appear after something bad happened? It felt like a nice curse to have, the night veiled sun that seemed to keep returning to his life.

With some hesitation, he would sit up, seemingly out of sorts as he tried to gather himself and focus only on her again. Each action was a little sluggish as he glanced around, noticing the smoke like mist becoming all the thicker. He couldn’t see much of anything around this place, and it made him move closer to her, bumping his crown under her chin to show affection while hiding his face a bit longer, even if he had wanted to give her a couple kisses back. She had gotten too tall for him to reach without sitting pretty to gain more height.

Glancing toward the water as she mentioned it, he swallowed. “I don’t know if I can swim, never tried before but… um sure!” he said with a desire to make her happy by not declining her offer since she seemed excited about it.

He sucked in a breath, uncertain of the substance that he had mostly only seen in frozen form when larger than a puddle. The fear that might have riddle his mind usually was nowhere to be seen as he would run into the water, quickly finding it getting higher than he was tall. Before he knew it, he was fully submerged and didn’t know what to do now. All he knew is it sure hurt to breath in as burning went into his nostrils and he started to flail a little, too frantic to think about turn around to get to shallower waters.

manip + code: clae

Again she had grown considerably since their last meet, and her form towered over him as she took a second to observe that he had hardly grown at all since they were little pups. Her paw could fully cover his face should she want to, but of course his face was only met by licks of her tongue. His taste grew more familiar to her with each time they were together, but this time there was something else.

Something salty.

She knew that taste simply from the hours she had spent crying alone, away from her family as she felt so foreign despite her mother and Appa trying to integrate her. The best - well, second best after her family - thing about the Highlands was the water, where that was more difficult to come by large bodies than the Mainland.

Her puppy kisses slowed somewhat as he squirmed to sit up. Leaning back to sit on her haunches, she let him find his grounding again and waited rather patiently while he did so. Bright green eyes searched his face, seeing traces of sadness but not understanding why. Did her presence upset him? The thought scrubbed her smile from her face for a moment as she considered it.

But then they were at the waters edge, him having agreed to indulge in her favourite passtime.

"It's fun, promise - and it's not deep here, not like the ocean. You should be able to stay above the water... but even if you can't, I'll help you," she gently shooed his insecurities away and stepped into the water. She had to crouch to be submerged up to her shoulders, and then she twirled around weightlessly to look upon her dear friend. "See? It's so warm!" a smile graced her features then, only wanting Haskell to be happy again.

The two young kids had been through so much - it was her only intent to make her company delightful and fun for him. After all, it was the least she could do for him to always be so nice and caring with her.

He followed in but she had been so wrong - suddenly she felt a horrible wave of fear as he submerged himself and began to flail within the depths. Dahlia hadn't taken in account just how small he really was, and while it was shallow to her, it was still deep to him. Hearing his gurgled gasps for breath and knowing that water was quickly flowing down into his windpipes, the coastal young lady scrambled to his side, using every drop of her energy to grab onto his scruff with her large jaws and pull him upwards, so that his face at least cleared the water. Then, she pulled him forcefully, dragging him through the lagoon and back to the edge where she hauled him up onto the solid earth.

Breaths came in heaves as she collapsed beside him, rolling to her side and staring at him with wide green eyes. Concern painted her features as she looked to see if he was breathing - if not, CPR would be quickly administered.

manip + code: clae

The promise had been the last thing he heard before the water enveloped his small frame, as if she was foreshadowing what was about to happen seconds before it would. He should have been more cautious. Should have been more attuned to what he words even meant, for it would have made him read something not said, the dangers that came with it. He was just too eager to not think about anything but fun and happiness for a change, cherishing the time they spent together in these little micro moments that kept him a little happier than he otherwise would be. If he never saw her last time, he never would have found his genuine smile again because she was his sunshine. She brought joy forth that no one else could anymore and he appreciated every moment of it.

As he sank into the misty pool, he wasn’t making any effort to find a way out, accepting it all perhaps a little too easily. If mama was right and an afterlife existed, it wouldn’t be so bad if he died now. He could see them again. His lost loved ones. Eyes closed as he felt more and more burning take over his lungs and the fear that came with pain and the unknown. It would be over soon, he was certain.

That thought would be replaced by the sound of movement in the water, though he couldn’t really tell where from until the current the other caused with the strokes of her paws. Just because he was ready to move on if he had to, he realized in that split second, he couldn’t because others weren’t ready. It wasn’t fair for them if he didn’t fight to stay alive. He didn’t want to hurt any of them. Didn’t want to make them sad. Everyone had been so protective when he lost his tail, he could only imagine what they would be like if he lost the whole of him. As much as he wanted them not to be sad, he knew that was nothing more than a dream that probably could never come true. There would be tears.

Worst of all, what if one of them blamed Dahlia? He would regret everything if one of his kin harmed her for something not even her fault!

Shadows were replacing his vision just as he started to try to fight, to free himself of this water prison. Consciousness waning quickly as feeling started to fade into numbness and his body became limp. Next thing he knew weight was crashing down on him, though he couldn’t fathom why. Eyes only opened a millimeter or two, seeing a hazy outline of a body close to him. He still couldn’t breathe as water dripped out of his mouth, fighting for his life. Worrying for her, worrying about him. He didn’t want to worry her as he tried to cough but he still wasn’t getting oxygen.

manip + code: clae

Panic clutched at her heart, causing it to beat erratically as what survival training she had in regards to water began to kick in. Her mind gave way to impulse; acting only on instinct rather than fret over a million different thoughts, a million what ifs. She was determined to ensure that her Haskell would be okay. She couldn't do that when he lost his tail, but she could now.

Emerald eyes didn't see the rise and fall of his chest to show breathing; she realized he also hadn't expelled the water that inevitably flooded his lungs.

Pulling herself up to her paws even though her muscles screamed from the overexertion of pulling a limp wolf from the water, she pressed her paws rhythmically into his chest - one, two three... one, two, three - hoping to work his body enough to get him to puke it all up. Her eyes darted from his face to his chest, waiting for some kind of life, but each time there was nothing even more panic began to make her lose her focus.

Tears welled in her eyes now, but she refused to be pessimistic. He had to breathe. He couldn't leave her - not like dad did. Anger spurred another round of CPR, then another, and another.

But the results didn't change.

Frustration exploded in her head, making her skull pound as she scream cried out his name. Paws moved up his chest, clutching at his jaw before she tried to open his eyes with her toes. "Come back to me!" she choked out, floundering with what to do next. How had this gone so wrong so quickly? She had told him to be careful! Guilt spread like an infection through her, blackening her heart and her mind.

In a last ditch effort, Dahlia placed her lips on his and blew oxygen into his lungs.

manip + code: clae

In his haze, he would start to feel weight on his chest, not just the cruel burning sensation that was already consuming him in a neverending snare. There was some movement, a shift in the slush that rocked back and forth in his airways as he continued to try to take in air, though he was growing weaker with each second he failed to obtain it. He was getting tired, the pain starting to fade with his consciousness, only staying awake at all at the sensation of his friend trying to ease him of this horror and that echoing of her voice demanding his revival. It didn’t sound right though. So strained. So painful. Begging in a way he had never heard before, it felt absolutely surreal to the young boy. Everything seemed like just a bad dream and nothing more, making him try to wake up into the real world.

Dahlia. His mouth tried to speak her name in answer to his own name being called with that mounting heartbreak. He wanted to hold her, console her, tell her everything was okay but to do that right now was impossible. It was like he was paralyzed in a void, stagnant with only sounds occasionally sinking in. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. She brought him happiness while he was only bringing her sorrow no matter how much willpower he tried to muster to do as she asked of him. Return to her.

To her…his happy place.

Just as everything else faded, even those sniffles and shrieks and perhaps death was going to take over where purgatory was gripping him, a flood of fire raged in his chest once more and light burrowed into his eyes. He went to jolt up, suddenly feeling like he needed to throw up, he was met with some resistance, causing him to throw up water on both the one on top of him and his own chest as he collapsed back down and started to cough loudly. Embers flickering open to look at the girl with his life in her paws… in her lips.

“Dolly?” croaked as if those few seconds of fade out had erased his memory of the anguish he had just experienced, and confusion replaced it for a moment until things returned just as quickly as it had gone. His gaze batted up at her as a paw raised shakily to gently press against her cheek, brows furrowing at her tears as he failed to brush them away. “Are- cough are you okay? Don’t c-cry, don’t cry, please. I’m here,” he forced a smile up at her, as frail as it was, it was genuine.

manip + code: clae

It seemed like all hope was lost. His body was as limp as a freshly killed fish in her arms, his flame-kissed eyes rolling back within their sockets and she could have sworn his nose was a few shades greyer than normal. Was his body lighter too? Shouldn't it be heavy from the water retained within his furs? Dahlia scrambled for purchase, desperate to bring him back from whatever there was after death... sobs wracked her body as she refused to accept that her one and only friend had died in her arms.

But then his body convulsed, rejecting the water that filled his lungs as coughs expelled it from within and splattered upon her oceanic coat and all over his chest. Relief flooded her body at the sound of her nickname; his voice hoarse and weak. This in turn made her ears twist back to rest upon her blue crown as her nose brushed against his, forepaws coming up to hold him by his cheeks in an endearing embrace.

"You're alive," she stated, her voice wobbly and breaking with the insurmountable amount of emotions she had just experienced and continued to do so. Green eyes locked with his, having had a fleeting moment where she thought she'd never see those unique orange irises again - but yet he rose again from the ashes of death, stronger than anyone else she had ever known and denied death to take him.

It wasn't long after this that she gave in her to happiness; her tail wagged furiously at her hocks as she stood over him, her dark tongue licking away the spit up on his face before cleaning the rest of the lagoon water and any possible tears from him as well. "I missed you," she murmured as she groomed him, unable to think of anything else to do as she simply was so overwhelmed with relief that he was still here with her.

And then she was suddenly back in her own room in Anteros's home, way up north and far away from Haskell, with lush blue furs dry as if they'd never ventured into the water in the last month. She blinked, thoroughly confused, before getting up out of her bed and leaving the mansion in a clear decision to go down south. In case the dream was a premonition, she had to make sure Haskell was safe and alive.

- exit Dahlia in pursuit of finding Haskell again -

manip + code: clae

He tried to laugh when paws wrapped around his cheeks, drawing him in but pain would cause him to cough the idea right out the door as he wheezed a few times. “Seems that way,” he grinned despite the amusement not being able to carry in his voice. He resisted the urge to say unfortunately, not wanting to cause her worry that he was trying to off himself but the idea wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Those of this world need him though, he couldn’t give into temptations of peace and reunion when he still had those he loved right here. He couldn’t leave his sister behind, he couldn’t upset his father like that either and at this moment, he couldn’t allow Dahlia to live while seeing his last breath, making her think it was somehow her fault. She was already crying, already so frail without him having to shatter her world more. He wanted her to smile, to be happy. Not shed more tears.

“What would you think of me if something you play in succeeded in eating me? Not bouta find that out,” he jested, his tail giving a few weak thumps, trying to take every ounce of sorrow away as he looked up at those captivating emeralds that refused to let him sink back into the darkness.

Before that sentiment could fully flourish it seemed the flower girl had gained a burst of energy and abruptly started loading his face and frame in so many kisses he lost count rather swiftly. He wanted to yelp her name in protest like he might when his mother groomed him but these kisses weren’t quite the same as something so maternal. To bark he could do it himself took away the soothing each flick of her tongue offered him. How it made his core warm up and a few giggles allowed to crack here and there at how it tickled in some places. He found comfort in something he normally loathed from another and it could only watch her quietly.

She missed him? Missed him because they hadn’t seen him for so long prior or missed him because she thought he had passed? “I-” he was about to speak but before his thought could form, her being, her everything suddenly vanished. The mist. The grass. The dead silence. Her scent. All of it was gone except the subtle dampness that lingered on his fur. “Do-ack!” he went to call for her, sitting up abruptly but getting kicked in the jaw out of nowhere. Sheik? He stared at his sister sleeping restlessly next to him, looking stressed until she nestled into his side. Was it all a dream? Then why did his lungs burn so much? How did he get here? All these questions wouldn’t have answers as he flopped back down, staring up at the ceiling in confusion.

It all felt so real.

-end thread-

manip + code: clae