[ AW ] Run, Boy, Run

Setting: Night, storming, on the outskirts of the forest.

He was lost, well and truly. Even if he'd been able to tell where he was, the universe had decided that now was certainly not the time, the skies opening up to dump water down onto these lands. Callan was sure he would have drowned even if he'd been a fish.

Luckily enough, there was a cluster of trees the bluesteel was able to dart into to take some sort of cover, huffing as he shook out his coat. Fur stook up every which way after that, of course, but he was at least somewhat better off than before. He wasn't being soaked through to the bone, at the very least.

Ears pricked at the sound of a voice, not at all far from him by the sounds of it, rooting him to the spot. Should he run? Should he stay right here, in this exact spot? Or should he press forward and discover who it was in this forest with him? Hackles prickled as indecisiveness frayed his nerves, wore at his mind as a dog would scratch at a door.

Don' be 'n idiot. Go 'n find out where you are. Another huff, this time at himself, mentally kicking his brain into gear. His paws felt weighed down with lead as he forced himself to walk in the direction of the voice, ears slicked back against his skull as he went to discover who else was hiding out from the storm in the forest with him.

The medics had given her a list of herbs vital for Luciel's recovery and she'd been running low on the stock she'd gathered. Her hope was that she would beat the impending storm that loomed overhead. As the first raindrop dabbed her nose, she immediately regretted having not attended to this task sooner. Unsure of how long the storm might last, she pressed onward.

The weather only worsened and when she went to find cover beneath the trees, she ventured much too far. Suddenly she had not a clue where she was and it was impossible to discern her surroundings amid the darkness and rainfall. There was a brief period of panic as she carried what herbs she had collected thus far. Surely, she had not gotten that lost. Heavy winds shifted the direction of the wind and Merrin lowered her head to shield her vision. In doing do, she hardly noticed the downward slope of a shallow ravine. All it took was a single misstep and her paw slid through mud.

She let out a cry of surprise as her feet went out from under her and she went tumbling head over feet down until she landed at very bottom. Shock spread through her and it wasn't long before she felt the pain spreading through her limbs, specifically to one of her paws that she must have twisted on the way down. “Oh...no, no..." She murmured, realizing she'd lost the herbs they she had harvested. "No...Luciel needs those..."

With a whimper, Merrin shifted to where she was laying on her belly instead of her side, her body was completely plastered in mud. She grunted softly as she attempted to stand up, but had difficulty doing so while trying to brace herself against the rain. She lifted her head, thinking she heard pawsteps and she called up from where she was. “Hello? I'm in need of assistance! Can someone help me, please?" Her voice shook as she began to shiver, the chill of her wet pelt beginning to seep into her very bones.

@Callan

table ; bunny - - art ; Raven