[PRP] Shift of Spring (Lullaby of Gales x Streams of Silver)

[Mika_Yumi]

Winter wouldn’t last too much longer. He could tell when he saw the melting runoff, the streams that had never been before, running over slippery slopes of mud, the swamp levels rising ever-so-slightly. It was a slow process, it was not finished, but it was the beginning of something new. The earth would wake up again soon.

Lullaby of Gales was squishing his hooves in the mud that the melt was leaving, then pressing them into the yet-surviving snow to clean them off. Drawing shapes in the mud, leaving brown smudges in snowbanks. Something about today made him contemplative. He wasn’t sure what it was that had him repeating the process of dirtying and cleaning his hoof with the transition from winter to spring, but it was better than doing nothing, he supposed.

Or, at least, it had been, before he’d started to wonder about it. Gales let out a snort and lifted his head, surveying the swamp around him. There was more to do in the swamp than examine the shift in viscosity of the earth he walked on. In fact, his stomach seemed glad that he’d cleared some room to notice it as it grumbled low and reminded him that he hadn’t eaten much today. Perhaps he should find something to munch on; it was really just a matter of deciding what he wanted to look for, then...  

[Anhelisk]

Mud. Always mud. Streams of Silver despaired of the stuff, at the banks of every source of fresh water, and lurking around what seemed to be solid footing. She was usually fairly graceful when it came to avoiding the stuff, but sometimes, well. Sometimes it got the best of her.

Now, it seemed, was one of those times. What had once been high ground was now nearly the only ground around, and she was surrounded by frosty brown runoff, promising to marr her pristine, gleaming hide and make her feel like she was full of grit. She pressed her mouth firmly closed and took a deep, bracing breath, holding it as she started to ford the water– and immediately gasped out a breath as the cold struck her.

Sometimes, the doe absolutely despised spring.  

[Mika_Yumi]

Berries. At least as a start, berries would be good for his stomach. He knew where he could find some, so he headed for a grove he knew would have some chokeberries and blueberries, among other things. On the way up the hill, however, he heard a surprising amount of water rushing nearby. As he crested, he realized that the smallish stream that usually ran below was reaching fresh heights with the winter runoff, muddying much more of the hill than usual. And forging across the rush of water was a silvery doe with a very disgruntled look on her face. Despite himself, Gales chuckled.

“There’s not really a graceful way to go about it, is there?” Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure that he could offer much in the way of help. He glanced around a bit, but there didn’t seem to be any logs around that would cross the breadth of the stream, nor any rocks that would reach deep enough to make a decent step. Perhaps he could simply take the brunt of the rushing water by crossing upstream of her?

“If you’d like, I can cross up from you and try to lessen the blow?”  

[Anhelisk]

"When the water's cold enough to freeze your tail off? I'd say there isn't!" The doe's voice was thin and high– she was focused on not slipping as she forded the swollen stream.

At his suggestion, she moved to shake her head– and sputtered– she had to hold her nose up to avoid the splashes getting into her mouth. "I'm just fine!" she said, carefully continuing on, slowly continuing her struggle against the horribly cold, muddy tide.  

[Mika_Yumi]

Gales nodded, "Okay." She seemed capable, if upset about her circumstances, and he certainly wasn't one to step in if he clearly wasn't wanted. Still, he took a step downstream and watched, just to be sure that she would make it.

"I at least know there are some berries over here, so there is a snack waiting to replenish your stamina, should you desire." She was making progress, and while he didn't want to distract her, he thought perhaps the promise of a snack could help motivate. Maybe not, but with his stomach still reminding him of his own hunger, it seemed like a fair comment. He offered a smile.  

[Anhelisk]

"Good to know." Truth be told, she didn't care about much more than getting out of this water and getting somewhere out of the wind to warm herself up, but she wasn't about to be rude to someone who was trying to be helpful.

She kept stepping, working along rocks and muddy steps on the bottom, carefully traversing the invisible footing... and slipping.

Her head went under for a moment, and she came up sputtering. "Motherfather keep me, this is damnably cold!" she complained, partially to let her companion know she was fine. She kept going, now that she was out of the deeper part, intent on getting out as quickly as possible.  

[Mika_Yumi]

Gales jumped when he saw her go under, but luckily she was fairly quick to come back up. He was a step away from diving in himself when she reemerged and gave a feisty complaint, seeming to find better footing. He chuckled a bit, though winced a bit for her as well.

"I'm sure we can find a dry patch for you once you've conquered the stream." It was the best he could offer. Were they better acquainted, he might have also offered some of his own body heat, but that was not exactly introductory material. "There may be some decent shelter on the other side of the hill as well." He wasn't sure that he was being helpful, but hope was about the only thing he could provide until she made it...
 

[Anhelisk]

She came out of the water, her gleaming coat soaked to a dark, gray-brown from the mud. Some time to dry off would do some good, but it wouldn't be back to its former gleaming perfection until she could find someplace to bathe.

"Please, yes," she said. "Shelter, then maybe food, once I feel relatively normal again."  

[Mika_Yumi]

He took a few steps to where she was as she emerged from the other side of the river, looking tired and uncomfortable. He gave a nod at her request, "Certainly, I'm sure we can find somewhere for you to rest." With that, he turned to hike up the hill again and get a decent view of what was beyond. On the other side was the grove he'd been heading for, in a sort of grove and sheltered on one side by rocks, though there was no particularly great overhang. Still, it would do for now, and he could scout ahead a bit and see if there was something better once they found a place that would do for now.

"There are the berries I was mentioning," Gales nodded a head down the other side of the hill at the bushes along the rocky crop as the silvery doe joined him. "You should be able to get some shelter there, though I may see if there isn't something further..." Rather than charging ahead to do so, however, he slowed his pace to keep steady with her down the hill... perhaps because he wanted to be sure she was alright. She had just forged across a cold stream -- depending on how bad it was, she could lock up partway down. He just liked to be sure.  

[Anhelisk]

Streams of Silver shook herself off as best she could, before walking over to follow her surprise guide.

"This will do nicely," she said, voice brooking no uncertainty. She got to work practically immediately once she was against the rock, rubbing her head against the grain of her fur, pulling it up to help it dry faster and avoid keeping cold water against her skin.

"Help me warm up?" she asked, leaving it up to him how he'd manage.  

[Mika_Yumi]

He nodded as they settled against the rocks. She seemed certain in how she wanted to approach her drying process, so he turned to the bushes to find a few berries for himself -- and, eventually, her, if she wanted.

But it wasn't a moment before she requested his help regaining warmth, and Gales halted in his search to gaze back at her. He was, of course, more than willing to help, it was just a matter of how best to approach. He nodded and wandered back to her side.

"How best can I assist?" He could tell there would be areas of her fur that she would not be able to reach, and he began to move to help fluff such areas, as it were. He was sure that any warmth he held would also be transferred at least in small part by the closeness either way. Any other suggestions she may have, he would be happy to oblige.  

[Anhelisk]

"Well, you're doing a good job with that," the doe replied idly, working at rubbing one hindleg against the other. "Mind you don't get yourself too wet– it wouldn't do for us both to be shivering through our skins."

She wouldn't mind getting a little cuddly, if he was so-inclined, but she wouldn't be the one to initiate it.  

[Mika_Yumi]

Gales hummed, glad that his initial instinct was good and that he was actually succeeding at it. "Aah, luckily I'm not in too much danger of that, I think." While his neck was getting some bit damp for his efforts, it was certainly not enough to make him shiver, and he'd hopefully be able to shake most of it off since he wasn't getting soaked through.

As he just about finished ruffling the rest of her fur, he looked about to see if there was any hope of other help. There wasn't a good patch of sunny moss or anything that might be approached for refuge. They'd found the best parts of the grove for shelter, and the best he could hope to do is block off any drafts coming from another direction.

He stepped back and shook what water had found him as best he could, then approached her again. "I'm afraid the best I can offer further would be body heat." It was an invitation if she wanted it, but he wasn't one to make assumptions -- much like his offer to help her across the current earlier. He settled, at least, at an angle that cut off any chill from the outside.  

[Anhelisk]

"I'm far too chilly to even consider turning that offer down," the doe offered warmly, shifting so that she was curled against his side. This was nice– if an unexpected turn of events. Her foul mood had lifted at this stranger's kindness– she'd have to see about thanking him later with a proper hunt, or some cast-off treasure of Echo and Cave Yell's.  

[Mika_Yumi]

The buck smiled, and shifted a bit as she curled against him to make sure that she had a comfortable nook. He hoped that he was indeed casting off as much heat as usual, nuzzling a bit against her as they found a new comfortable arrangement.

"By the way," he realized that they had never actually introduced themselves, "I am Lullaby of Gales. I come this way now and then, but I don't remember meeting you before." He wasn't sure if this was in her normal territory or not, though even he only ventured so far every few weeks, and it was always sort of a passing wander.