WC 835
She had been too busy with her plight to bother keeping an eye out for anyone nearby. Of course, calling for help had occurred to her, but it would be too mortifying having to howl for help from AniWaya because she had slipped while climbing a tree! How could she ever visit the pack again and look anyone in the eye? Then, as stories go, it would certainly reach the Court sooner or later. Orin was known for her antics, but still felt shame and embarrassment at the right times. She would not resort to howling for help from an AniWayan patrol unit… if one was even nearby… not yet anyway.
She clenched her eyes shut and her features scrunched as she tried another mighty heave to loosen her foot, though it would not budge. In order to be freed, she would need to be able to lift up, but since so much weight was on her wedged foot she couldn’t get any leverage to do so. Sighing with frustrated exhaustion, she let her head droop towards the ground for a moment of respite and saw… a wolf!
Her worried eyes went wide at the sight of the man below, and her jaw parted slightly in surprise. She had no way of identifying this man as an AniWayan, and so did not know if he was friend or foe. Her one arm twisted around the creaking limb tightened, sharp nails boring deep ruts into the bark as she grew tense with insecurity. There was no way he couldn’t know she was there, though, she had been making so much noise!! The wolfess closed her eyes and swallowed hard, then blinked her eyes open again to the vision of the man looking up at her, and then starting for the tree. What was that he just said? She could hardly make it out through her struggle, and the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. But, she had heard him right.
“Oh, thank you!” She called down to him, and relaxed for a moment. Her time in the tree had been no picnic, and there was no telling how long she had been stuck there before the man happened by, but by the looks of her exhausted state, it could have been hours. She breathed heavily as she watched the autumn-colored wolf climb the tree. He was coming to help! But… something was off… What is that in his eyes? Is it fear? Or is it hunger? Orin was never a very good judge! Still, as long as she could get to the ground she could probably outrun him… that is, if her foot wasn’t too injured by now.
She tried to remain relaxed when his hand closed around her foot and dislodged it from the V in the tree trunk, and did her best to help and not hinder as he pulled her away from the one broken limb that held her up. Just as his arm wrapped around her at the waist, there was a resounding SNAP and the limb that she had been dangling from clattered to the forest floor.
She let out a little whimper, and immediately pushed herself into Shawchert, her arms wrapping tightly around his midsection. It would seem she no longer worried whether or not he was a good guy or a bad guy. Even if he had not intended to carry her down before, her death-grip on him would ensure that he would now. And normally she was so good in trees! Why this, why today?
She stared at the incoming ground while they made a quick descent from the tree, and finally loosened her grip around his ribs (and probably giving him his first chance to breathe) so he could set her down. Her rump bumped to the ground, and she rubbed her sore hands in the damp grass for a moment, savoring the feel of soft, safe ground. Almost instantly, her panicked breathing began to slow as she realized all reason to fear was over… thanks to this wolf.
Thanks to this… she looked him up and down… rather handsome wolf…
She nodded slowly as she carefully prodded at various points, checking for injury. “I think I’m mostly okay… maybe a bruise or two. Let me see if I can… oh! Ouch!” She tried to get up, but the moment she applied any weight to the foot, she sobbed and fell forward into the wolf. “Oh I’m sorry!” Though her tone was sincere, she didn’t look completely apologetic for having fallen into his arms. “I guess it’s sprained.”
She looked down at her foot in pain and dismay. “At least, I don’t think it hurts bad enough to be broken.” She glanced down at the leg for a moment, then turned back to the man, holding herself upright by him even if he wasn’t holding her back. “My name is Orin, thank you for saving my life. Or my foot, at the very least.”