A Time to be so Small [Kyuu&Open]

[Emz]

Tired, injured, hungry. The ginger wolf cracked open his eyes as the first rays of the sun poured into the crevice he was now resting in. He sat near the entrance, groggy mind working to recall the events of the night before, dried blood making the skin on his abdomen feel tight, but at least it had stopped bleeding.

When he remembered what exactly he was doing here, he smiled tiredly. They were far enough away from the city to be safe from any pursuers - those soldiers had enough to worry about than continuing the chase, anyway. Finally, they could rest without being disturbed again.

Zeke rolled his head over to look at his other side, away from the opening to the crevice and towards the form that lay beside him. His gaze was worried and the smile became a frown - was she alright? "Hey." He nudged his companion lightly, taking extra care to avoid her injuries. "Are you alright?"

[Kyuu]

Two dark green eyes, framed by earthy brown, blinked opened. A tired noise came from the she-wolf's throat. She trembled as a phantom limb pain ran through the left side of her whole body. Saku smiled tiredly, leaning to lick Zeke's check. "Morning, Zeke. I'm fine..."

[Emz]

Returning the affection, Zeke breathed a sigh of relief; relief that Saku was alright. He had had a broken sleep, constantly waking up and glancing back over at her, waiting for the tell-tale rise and fall of her chest. He knew it would take some time before the worry subsided, but maybe he would never fully be able to relax – there would always be that concern at the back of his mind. Still, he put on a smile, looking over at Saku.

“That’s good, did you sleep well?” His gaze accidentally drifted to her wound and he had to look away. It seemed it would take some time before he could bear to see that – he felt it was partially his fault, that he should have been there quicker. He didn’t want to worry Saku, though, so he pretended it was just a casual glance out the mouth of the crevice. “Are you hungry? There should be something to eat around here…” He started, thoughtful. He had never been somewhere like this before, so he didn’t know what prey there would be.

Zeke looked back towards Saku, careful to keep his gaze on her face and avoid looking at…that. “I could look around and find something to bring back…” Though he was loathe to leave Saku here on her own, he thought she might need rest – he didn’t want her to overexert herself.

[Kyuu]

Saku gave him a gentle look at seeing his gaze shift for a brief moment. "Zeke. It's okay. I love you and I don't care about my leg. I don't care if anyone stares, even you. As long as I know you love me." She touched her nose to his, smiling. "And yes, I'm a bit hungry."

[Emz]

Obviously he had not been subtle enough when he had averted his eyes from Saku's leg (or lack of leg). Zeke cast his gaze downwards at her words and fiddled with some small stones at his feet. "Of course I love you." He gave her a small smile and nuzzled her before turning away again. "It's just, I..." He stopped himself, not wanting to burden her with his sense of guilt and instead offered another smile before standing up. "It's fine."

Zeke moved out of the crevice and stretched his limbs when he was in the open, grimacing slightly at the skin around his wound tightened with the action. Once done, he looked back in at Saku, "I'll go find something. Stay there; I won't be long." He wasn't intending on leaving her for very long, even if he could only find something small. He walked off after that, following the scents of anything that resembled food and glancing back every now and again.

[Kyuu]

Saku rested her head on her leg, yawning and smiling. "Mm. Okay..." She was still sleepy, but wanted to wait for Zeke. She raised her head again, grinning at him. She tilted her head. "Zeke, I love you."

[Emz]

"Heh." Zeke smiled a little as he moved away from the cave entrance and up the dry ground of the canyon. He kept his senses alert and tried to keep his hopes up, but in all honesty, he really had no clue what sort of prey he would be able to find here. Still, in her condition, Saku would need something to keep her strength up and he would need to keep his strength up so he could do his best to protect her.

It hadn't occurred to him how far away from the little cave he had managed to get in just a short while until he looked back again and he sighed, looking up to where the sun was steadily rising. It was really hopeless, wasn't it? There were only small lizards -hard to catch- and he could hardly focus on the task at hand because his thoughts kept drifting to where Saku was...alone and injured.

With a grunt, Zeke turned back around and started to make his way back to Saku. He didn't want to leave her alone - he could wait until she got more rest and then they could travel together.

[ ew, ew, ew...what is this post? ew. D: ]

[Kyuu]

Saku had managed to move a tiny bit, now facing toward the cave entrance. The sun shone brightly on her fur, causing it to shine from its normal dusky earthen color. She was watching for Zeke intently. When she spotted him in the distance, her tail wagged slightly. "Zeke!"

[Emz]

Unlike Saku, Zeke's tail was hanging low, as was his head. He had failed to bring back any food for them, but his anxiety had been too great and he really didn't want to leave her on her own for too long. There hadn't been many signs of any decent prey anyway.

Zeke moved quicker as he heard Saku's voice and he ran up to her and nuzzled her affectionately before lowering his head again. "Hey. I'm sorry, I couldn't find anything." He sighed, "We'll both move on when you're feeling better and see what we can find along the way." He rubbed his head against hers, breathing in her scent. It was more a comfort to him than to her.

[Kyuu]

Saku frowned, not liking Zeke being this way. "Hey. It's okay. You came back, and that's all that matters to me." She licked his face as comfort for them both. "And...Maybe we should leave the canyons soon." She made to stand up, but accidentally tried to put her weight on the wrong side, sending her back to the ground with a low thump. She laughed slightly, realizing her mistake. "I guess I'm still not used to having only three legs..."

[Alli]

(would anybody like for me to roleplay in this?)

[Kyuu]

(OOC: I have nothing against it. What about you Emz?)

[Emz]

[ ack, sorry I went MIA. was terribly busy and have finally gotten round to making a post, yay! getting back into the swing of things and alli, it's laaaate, but feel free to join! :) ]

The ginger wolf sighed wearily, but smiled gratefully at Saku's words. He nuzzled her and breathed her scent in deeply, "Thank you." The words were released in a breath, but the peace of mind was short-lived as Saku spoke again. "I agree. Maybe-"

The 'thump' and the sight of Saku falling almost made his heart stop and frantically moved forward and down towards her. "Saku! Are you okay?!" He didn't share in her laugh or acknowledge her words as he worriedly licked her injury and checked her over. He didn't know how he was cope with this; there seemed to be a constant state of anxiousness in his mind and what was worse, was that it was his fault that Saku had got hurt in the first place.

[Kyuu]

Saku sighed, letting Zeke fuss before commenting. "Zeke. I'm fine. Things are tough now without my leg, but I'll be okay as long as i have you." She rose again, this time not falling over, and leaned heavily to the right. She nuzzled Zeke on the forehead.

[Emz]

It was hard to stop his concerned appraisal of his companion, but eventually Zeke moved back a little bit, ready to rush in if needed.

If Saku said she was fine, he would have to believe her, but that would not stop him from keeping a watchful eye on her at all times. He’d look after her, protect her, and, should she request, he’d be the best living crutch ever. He would believe her words; she would be okay because he would never leave her.

“Alright.” He returned her affection briefly before raising his head and meeting her eyes. “So are you ready to move on? We really should get out of here.” They needed to move, to find food and hopefully somewhere a lot further away from the last town they had been in. He would love to stay away from humans for a long time after that little –well, more like huge, devastating- escapade.

Glancing at Saku’s non-existent leg and out of his thoughts, Zeke went right back into ‘worry mode’. “But only if you feel up to it! We can stay here for another couple of hours or however long you need! That might be a good idea.” Let’s face it; they weren’t going to get anywhere.