Completed A Position of Strength (Redd)

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar scowled at the Kelvic girl's near miss. 'Why in Dira's Dungeons did she wait so long to climb the damned tree? She can surely climb faster than me. Now that petching male has tasted blood! It's gonna take a lot longer for them to lose interest now.' He knew that it had to be the Wildleash. He took note of the fact that it wasn't just aggression that was reduced. It seemed that self-preservation instinct was reduced as well.

He looked at her angle from his nearby perch. He sighed and reached into his backpack, taking out more of his Jile salve and smearing some on a bandage. He draped it across his branch and shimmied himself to a standing position. He broke off a smaller branch and draped the bandage over it, using it to hand the bandage across the gap to the Kelvic girl.

"Here, take it. Wrap that around your heel, be sure to get the salve on the actual wound." He watched as she squirmed to get into position. He thought absently that it would be preferable right now if humans had mating seasons the same as animals. The girl's nakedness was definitely having its impact on him. He tried to look away, but his imagination was filling in the blanks all the same. He decided to remain standing for a time.

There was the constant temptation to aggravate the wolves below. To mock them and get them roused to foaming fury. He looked over at the girl. In another bell or so, she was going to find herself wanting to become feral again, but a wolf form would not sit well in a tree. He chuckled to himself as the wolves roiled around the trunk, jumping and snapping at him. He looked up and something caught his eye.

'Vines!' he grinned. His rope was still on his saddlebags, galloping miles away. It would be some time before these mutts would grow tired of this waiting game. He'd hoped that some other game would send a scent their way. But it was starting to look like they'd have to tie themselves to the tree to sleep. He put his dagger in his teeth and started to climb the tree.

x

[Redd]

She had been taking deep breaths as she struggled to maintain the pain that she had felt from the bite that had been inflicted, her hazel hues watching the blood drip down from the end of her foot to make its long journey down to the ground.

She had almost missed the fact that the male had shimmied over on his branch to hand a bandage over to her on a stick and she blinked with surprise, glancing at his face just to be sure that this wasn't some kind of plot to over balance her and feed her to the wolves below.

"Here, take it. Wrap that around your heel, be sure to get the salve on the actual wound." She heard him say as she adjusted her position upon the branch. Her left hand grasped at the trunk of the tree while her right reached out to gently take the bandage from the smaller branch. She paused for a moment before she smiled softly, "Thank you..." She breathed as she adjusted herself back upon the branch that she sat on once again.

Her mind was telling her that this was some kind of trick and she shook her head, following the instructions given to her by gently placing the salve on the bite and slowly wrapping the bandage around her heel, watching it as it stained red for a brief moment.

Once she had tied it off, she looked back at the male who was still standing there watching her.. She was about to ask if there was something wrong when she noted that something caught his eyes and he began to climb a tree. It was at this point that she began to feel the sudden calm beginning to wane and she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

She was tired, not only that but she could feel her anger slowly leaking back, wanting to shift and defend the only kindness shown to her, but instead she settled into the last bit of calm state of mind that she had left, hoping it wouldn't go away.

Her mind how ever wouldn't let her stay in that calm state before it started mouthing off. Why defend him against that pack of wolves, it was his fault that you're in this mess. She shook her head, if he meant to harm her then why did he constantly help her with her wounds?

It's a trick, her mind told her and she softly growled at that little voice inside her head, warning it off. Which in turn made her blink, she growled, did that mean that maybe she could shift again? Looking down at the ground and seeing the snarling and snapping wolves, she sighed, not unless she wanted to fall into that mess she wasn't.

See? Now you have to find some other pack to move nearby, so than you won't starve through out the winter. "Oh just shut up," she snapped at the voice before blinking once again. Glancing up at the male she shook her head, "Sorry... That wasn't at you, it was at... Oh, um forget about it."

Why was she talking to him? She would have to leave once the wolves took off so then she could maybe find another pack to live with during the winter if she wanted to survive. Her gaze had trailed back to the male watching him and briefly wondering as to what he was doing. "I don't mean to be a pest, but what exactly are you doing?" She called up at him wondering if he would even speak to her. Afterall, he had probably only spoken two sentences to her, but the wolf inside her was enjoying the company, no matter how it had come about.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar kept his eyes on the vine above as the girl suddenly told him to "shut up". He snorted, annoyed, thinking how typically contradictory it was of a female to thank him, and then turn around and tell him to shut up. He swallowed this thought when she clarified that she'd not been talking to him. He pulled himself up, being reminded by a sharp pain that his arm was hurt.

'She's a wolf Kelvic, and she's telling these wolves to shut up? Maybe she's not all bad...' he mused silently in grim humor as he reached another level of branches. He supposed it was possible that the incessant howling and growling could get on her nerves as well. The mocking safety of being out of reach of their leaping, snapping jaws had worn off now as well. He just wanted the mangy mongrels to take their slobber and their noise somewhere else. He scowled at their relentless circling and scratching.

"Yeah, maybe in a couple o' years this tree'll die from having all its bark scraped off by your petching paws. In the meantime, go find something rotten and stinking to roll in, you dumb mutts!" he snarled at them. His answer was renewed din of feral bluster. He cursed himself for giving in to his own frustration.

The girl asked him something. Even as he turned to extend his scowl to her, it registered what she'd said. "What I am DOING is tying to reach those vines. Thanks to YOU, I have no rope for us to tie ourselves to these trees with, until your..."friends" down there give up and go find some damned squirrels to chase so we can get the pox outta here."

The vine was still out of reach when he got to a point where only his injured arm could be used to advance further. The position of the next access branch made using his good arm clumsy and unreliable. He had an idea, but it was not something he'd wanted to try under such extreme circumstances. He'd had an introduction to the discipline called "Flux" not too long ago.

He'd meditated many times since then, as part of an advised regimen, to try to recapture that sensation of flowing...essence...within his flesh. He'd managed to partially experience it from time to time, but whenever he'd tried to direct and hold any transference of this sensation, it had fled from his control and he'd slipped back to his normal balance.

Now he held onto the branch and leaned his head back slightly. He wanted to bolster the strength of his legs, to jump higher and grab the better set of branches above the poorly positioned one. He started with his feet. Letting his focus encompass every sensation in them. He felt the inside of his boots snug on the skin, the sense of each individual toe pressing against its neighbors. He let himself grow aware of his ankle, as he tipped himself up and down on his toes, concentrating on the pivot of the joint. Each rock down bringing the presence of his heel to mind as it touched the branch beneath him, his toes cramping slightly with compression as he rocked back up on them.

This led quickly to the feel of the inner flesh tingling with muscular effort and the flow of blood. The very pulse of life began to come into focus, and he traced this tingling up his legs and spine, out into his arms.

Now was the hard part. Dividing his focus. He made subtle motions with his arms and fingers to maintain the generation of the pulse there. He slowly brought his awareness back down, mentally amassing a higher concentration of the physical ambiance of life flow with it. He still kept a compartment of his consciousness focused on his arms, but let the weakened state of this tingling essence "feel" right.

The more he kept this frame of mind, the stronger the power of the slowly moving force felt as he returned it to his legs. Slowly, he bent his legs in preparation to jump. He knew his focus was divided accurately. He knew that much of the strength of his arms was now bolstering his legs. The Flux had filled his legs with power at the expense of his arms. But he didn't need his arms to jump. His legs were set, his mind was right, the power was held, ready to be unleashed. He made the jump!

Even as his body soared upwards, he realized that the one thing he had neglected was awareness of his target. Being right handed, he instinctively pushed harder with that leg. As a result, he arced slightly away from the trunk of the tree. He also went higher, faster than he expected. The ability to slowly gather his Flux adjustment and focus, with no pressure to hurry, served to magnify its effect considerably.

The lucky aspect of his failure was that he struck his head on the underside of the higher branch far enough from the trunk that it had some flexibility. Not much though. His off-center impact knocked his head sideways, lacerating the right side of his face on the bark, and jamming his neck into his left shoulder with a nasty nerve pinch. Fortunately, the inertia caused his right arm to fly up and over the branch.

His left arm was suddenly numb, but he could still move it. He flung it up and grabbed his right arm forming an awkward loop to hang from. His dizzy brain swam briefly, but was revived by the sudden surge of pain from the hairline fracture in his left arm as the feeling returned. He grit his teeth against the pain and kicked his leg out to hook the vine with his foot where it hung lower than he'd previously realized on the far side of the tree.

Eventually his feet found another branch and he got himself positioned on it while still holding the vine. He sat, breathing heavily, eyes screwed shut from the slowly receding pain. He looked down at the Kelvic girl. "Well, that went smoothly." he joked. He would have chuckled, but he hurt too much.

x

[Redd]

She continued to watch the male for a little while longer as he snarled at the wolves underneath the tree and she knew that that would only give rise to more of the wolve's frustration and they would certainly try a lot harder to get at them. They had the numbers, they could wait them out until they fell out of a tree or die of hunger, or the more realistic version would be, dying of thirst. If it was something Redd had learned, was that more often then not, animals died of thirst before starvation. A pang of loneliness reminded her that for wolves, of which are naturally pack animals, also tend to die of loneliness especially when they relied on the pack to stay alive.

It was at this point that she heard the male's words, loud and clear."What I'm DOING is trying to reach those vines. Thanks to YOU, I have no rope for us to tie ourselves to these trees with, until your... "friends" down there give up and go find some damned squirrel to chase so we can get the pox outta here."
A wince crossed her features as her conscious sat smugly inside her head, almost as if it was giving her a silent, 'I told you so' and her hazel hues looked away from the male as she looked back down at the snarling wolves, snapping up at the male's tree now because of his words.

She rubbed a hand along her jaw and a brief thought occurred to her. Her jaw was only freshly completely healed from her last hunt, which was a hunt on land that SHE knew very well. Land area that... These wolves stayed away from because it was too close to human activity. Redd glanced back at the male watching him as he seemed to roll onto the balls of his feet, curious as to what the hell he was doing. It was then that she realised that he was going to jump and jump he did.

Her eyes followed the male's path through the air and when his head hit the underside of a branch, she flinched biting her bottom lip. However, she continued to watch him as he manoeuvred himself onto a branch while holding a vine. Well, at least he didn't die, her amused conscious told her and she shook her head at his joke. He was probably in no condition to do much, her how ever. Her gaze dropped back down to the wolves, they were certainly paying more attention to him now and while she kept her hand at her jaw a sudden idea popped into her head.

It was a little suicidal, with a chance of survival, but even if she did survive, the chances of her actually surviving next winter was slim and she dropped her hand from her jaw. She would of course have to remove the bandage around her shoulder, shift, fall out of the tree and run like hell. Her ankle wasn't broken because she could still move it, she just had to manage the pain like she did her jaw. Except the motivation isn't starvation this time, this time it was survival of the fittest. She just had to run far enough to stumble upon a certain territory that belonged to a big black cat. It would certainly keep these wolves occupied for a time, so then that injured man could get out of the tree.

The only problem, was being quick enough, survive and keep moving on.

Looking back up at the male, he still didn't look any better and a sigh parted her lips as she watched him for a moment. Wondering how she should pitch it to him. Why the hell do you need his approval? He would probably enjoy the fact that it's a little suicidal for you. Hell, he blames everything on you already. Her conscious told her and she shook her head, it wasn't helpful even at the best of times. Her hand lifted once again to rub her jaw, it was beginning to get to be a nervous habit, she noted before she spoke.

"Look, you're not exactly in great shape and those vines look like they are a little more trouble than their worth for you." Her consciousness couldn't help but remind her of the fact that he seemed to scowl at her all the time and she shook her head. "I have an alternative idea, one where you don't have to sleep in a tree like..." She trailed off as she was about to say, 'like an animal,' but stopped herself. Her conscious was telling her that he should have to feel what it's like to live like an animal, like an unwanted animal, but she shook her head. "You have their attention after that little stunt you pulled, so I should have enough time to shift, fall off of this damn branch and run like today is my last day." Because that might just be true. "I have... Been around these parts for a little while so I kind of know where most of the predators live and... I know where one is that will keep these wolves busy... For a while."

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar was testing the strength of the vine when the Kelvic girl proposed her idea. He recalled how hostile she had been before he'd hit her with the Wildleash. He didn't really want to explain how he'd affected her with a poison."Sweetheart, I've got no complaint with that plan, but I think by the time you can shift, you'll be back to wanting to bite my face off again. Do you really not recall how you attacked me for messing with your stuff. You really didn't give me much time to explain anything."

He tugged on the vine. Something gave above and the sudden slack made him fall back against another branch. He grimaced with the pain of his arm. "DAMN IT! Ow...shyke!...Look, I'm not trying to make like you should have been all friendly about it, I just don't trust that you really want to help me." He didn't think the Wildleash would have worn off by now. When it did, he figured she'd be out for his blood after getting her into this predicament.

It occurred to him suddenly that maybe he'd be better off encouraging her to act NOW for that very reason. "Uhh...But I don't really have any better idea than waiting them out and hoping they pick up the scent of something they can reach. If you think you can shift and draw them off, you've certainly got MY blessing."

He didn't honestly know is she even COULD shift within the given hour of passivity caused by the Wildleash. But she was stuck in the tree. She couldn't even TRY to shift until she was on the ground. She'd fall out hard if she shifted to a dog form while up in this tree. "I think you ought to jump down in this form BEFORE you shift. Or at least close enough not to fall too hard, but off the ground in case you can't shift and have to climb back up. Let me figure out what sort of diversion I can pull off."

x

[Redd]

The female leaned back against the tree as a hand lifed to grip her brindled red hair softly, while she listened to the male quietly. Her conscious sat smug within her head, telling her a silent I told you so as she closed her hazel hues. He was correct about one thing however, she did attack without giving him time to explain and a sigh parted her lips. She was probably more wolf then human now, as she had spent more time wolf and more time alone than in human company. If she saw humans, but they weren't bothering her, she just sat and observed, remaining in the shadows, it was the only interaction she had.

You don't owe him an explanation, her conscious told her, besides, you don't know him, he already told you that he was willing to sacrifice your own so he could survive. She snorted softly, completely in her own world for the moment, she reminded herself, that it was her idea, she just pitched it and he liked the idea. However, her conscious spoke, if you some how survive, by some miracle, you will need to have to run far and fast from this place. She nodded her head, which meant there would be no temptation to kill him, only survival. Besides, she had seen him before and headed off a pack of wolves onto the scent of deer, but in this case... She would have to be the bait because the wolves now associated her with humans. Being associated with this one, was especially not good. Redd was quiet, she hadn't spoken a word to the male at least not for a little while as she tried to maintain a sense of indifference. Afterall, she was the big bad wolf she wouldn't want to disappoint.

"Look, I'm not going to explain myself... Or at least try to explain myself, because you humans are all the same. I don't know why I can't shift at the moment, because I don't know what you did to me, but seeing as it's your doing, you will have to give me a sign, or just let me know when I can shift." She paused for a moment while she took a deep breath feeling the oxygen expand her lungs, as she gathered her thoughts, ignoring that small little voice inside her head.

"I know I can control myself in wolf form, so when I hit the ground..." You're going to be one big doggie treat, her conscious snarled at her while she let go of her hair to allow her hand to drop back to her side. "When I get to the ground, I'm going to be shifting and then running and chances are you won't see me again... Ever." Because you'll most likely be dead, her conscious finished for her and her top lip twinged ever so slightly at annoyance with her conscious.

Redd hadn't opened her eyes, not once while she spoke, because she was tired, more than anything the young wolf wanted to sleep. She hadn't slept in almost over a day, but she was sort of relying on her instinct of survival to kick in once she hit the ground. The one where if a trapped animal could do one last stupid thing before it died, it would it in order to survive.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

Inoadar grudgingly admitted to himself that the girl wouldn't know what had been done to her or how long it would last. A test shift would only be disastrous for her if it succeeded. She'd fall out of the tree in wolf form. She's probably break a leg and be a quick meal for the other wolves. He could not really know how long it would take for the Wildleash to wear off. From his perch in the tree, he could see how Syna had moved in the sky in comparison to the position of branches. He could only make a "best guess" estimate.

But if she dropped and got the attention of the pack, and then couldn't shift, the pack would make short work of her. She obviously was aware of this, but was still asking HIM to gauge when it would be safe? His mind wandered down dark strategies. He considered waiting just a few chimes and then making up some lie to convince her she could shift. She'd have no way to prove it one way or the other before landing on the ground. She'd be unable to shift and the pack would then tear her apart. IF they would then leave, he could get the bag of mizas from her pack. She wouldn't need them anymore.

'But would they leave?' he asked himself. 'Probably not...' he sighed inwardly in resignation, 'and then I'd have no diversion left to help me escape.' She was right though, water was going to quickly become an issue. He'd waited out wolves before, but only because a deer had been a more available target.

"Okay look, I don't know for sure, but I honestly believe that when you feel aggressive again, you'll be able to shift. But I don't know what is going to truly verify enough "aggression" to guarantee shifting. I can only say that I...have never seen it last longer than two bells." He still didn't want to make it clear that he'd jabbed her with a poisoned dart. Somehow drugs, or magic, or some nerve tweak seemed okay as a cause, but not poison.

He knew it would take teamwork. He'd have to move further away from her, and continue aggravating the wolves to keep them focused on him. His innate suspicion made him wonder if she'd try to SNEAK off and leave him there, treed by wolves, or if she'd keep her word and be a decoy for them. Even if the pack only split, he could handle it. He had enough darts to strike a few of them down. It was clearly going to take just the right amount of spacing for them to trust each other.

"I will spend some time working my way down this other way. You just sit tight and try not to attract their attention, maybe they'll sort of forget about you." He knotted an end of the vine and pulled enough free slack to toss it to her. It took a few tries. "If you get to thinking you can shift, hang the vine down and climb partway down. Then if it doesn't work, you can climb back up quick. That's really all I can think of to suggest."

x

[Redd]

Her hazel eyes had opened to watch the male as he knotted the vine and tossed it to her, taking a few tries to do it, but the vine was now in her hand and she nodded towards him as she pondered the thoughts that were left from his suggestions.

She snorted as she mumbled, "Typical humans and they think I'm a dumb un-natural beast. When they are the ones vague on details and don't know how long the after effects will last. Brilliant." She sighed as she tugged a hand through her brindled hair.

In truth, Redd didn't know what she was. Born by two human parents and having lived out in the wild, occasionally relying on a pack of wolves and having not seen any others like her, she kept thinking that she was some kind of genetic failure or something. So, having someone knock her out, do what ever it was that they did and then bandage her up, was a little strange to her. It was certainly not part of her normal day to day activities.

"I think, that I will be able to shift once I feel the pull of my wolf side, it has never been an issue till now, but then again, I've rarely spent time in my human form. Never really had an excuse to. Besides, the wolves down there love you a lot more than me, do you know how hard it is to direct their attention when you cross their path? It's not easy." A shrug of her shoulders was given as her hues watched the male's movements, wondering if he might actually double cross her, it wouldn't be the first time in her life when someone had done such a thing. Maybe an apology might help smooth it over so she might be able to trust him enough to provide the distraction. For once, her consciousness was blissfully silent and she tilted her head to the side.

"Look, about earlier... About the time I came back to find you going through my bag, I'm deeply sorry for attacking. You see, in my experiences, humans don't care whether I may be also human, they just see..." She paused for a moment as she leaned her head back against the trunk her eyes glancing back up towards the canopy of the tree tops. "They just see a beast and they kill first and they ask questions later, it's basic knowledge out here. Well, for the past two springs at least, I think it was two or three? I've lost track of the seasons. Anyway, aggression isn't something I would consider to normally be in my personality. I suppose though, seeing as I am a wolf and my reaction when you first saw me back there, you might think that, but... That's not the case."

She took a deep breath as she listened to a bird's call for a small time, trying to think of how she could sum her words up. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, if I say that I am going to do something, I will do it. I won't back out on my word like you might think I will, because that goes against what I feel is right. I suppose you could say, I'm a wolf with a conscious. It doesn't make for surviving out here easy, in fact it makes it really hard but I'm doing my best."

After a slight pause, her hand moved to rub her jaw, this was the first and longest time she had ever spoken to a human, it certainly put her out of her comfort zone, but if she wanted to trust that he will do what he said he would, she figured she had to let him trust her first. She couldn't quiet place why she felt this, but maybe it was because of his body language, his demeanor that told her that he didn't trust her, especially those scowls and his moments of nothing but silence when she spoke to him.

"I only meant to scare off your beast so then more men or more wolves wouldn't come, it was making such a loud noise that it had to be sent on its way. Unfortunately, I was a little too late on that part and these wolves must have just caught wind of the noise it was making. Anyway, I'm sorry for all for this and I hope that I might be able to redeem myself through this, not that I will be sticking around to find out, seeing as these wolves have a permanent placing here."

Nodding her head she fell silent her hand falling to her lap as she listened to the wind breeze playfully through the tree leaves. She believed she had done her part, or tried to, now she had to just trust he would do what he said he would. She didn't expect to hear him say anything in response so she remained sitting while watching a small black and white bird flit trough the trees, occasionally landing on a branch to wag its tail.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar

"Well, if you think you'll be able to just "tell" when you can shift again, there's nothing I know of to add." He looked around for the best path through branches and narrow gaps between tree trunks to accommodate moving away from where the Kelvic girl was sitting while staying out of reach of the wolves below.

He didn't know why the girl felt so compelled to explain herself. 'Is she ashamed of her feral side?' he wondered. He could not think of any reason why she should be trying to get some sort of concession of understanding and trust from him. He understood this situation well enough. They needed to work together to get out of a mutual jam, regardless of how they'd gotten themselves into it. That was as much understanding as HE needed.

And as for trusting her, the only thing he trusted about wolves was their pack mentality and their hunger. In this case, those elements would be victimizing her as well. That would give her reason to work with him. He had no idea if she was any less feral in nature, while in wolf form, than a true, natural wolf. But he figured he'd play along with this charade, just in case she was really naive enough to think he cared one way or the other whether she regretted her part in how this predicament came about.

For himself, he had considerable doubts that she was doing anything more than trying to put him off his guard, with all this talk about 'sorry this' and 'sorry that'.

But he nodded and muttered agreements in the pauses as seemed appropriate. In reality though, he was searching for the best route to pass through the trees. There were many branches that were close enough to jump to, but the points he could launch from, and the points he could reach, were of questionable sturdiness.

He called back to the girl, "Look, I'm sorry about this whole mess as well, but I need to concentrate to make this jump. I only just learned this trick and I'm not very good at it. I really don't want to smack my head again. The wolves will probably follow me, so you should be able to risk a test shift near the ground if you want. Or just wait, and I'll let you know when I'm ready. or you can let me know when you feel like you can shift again. There's no hard feelings, okay."

He started trying to get the feel of his inner pulses again, thinking back to the triggered effect Miro had subjected him to. It was a big help to him now. At the time, he'd been alarmed by the sensation of his physical energies rampaging out of control through his body. But now it made his grasp on the ability he was trying to generate much easier to attain. 'If only that bitch will shut up for a chime...' he thought sourly.

x

[Redd]

She kept her silence after she had listened to his words and watched him for a moment trying to judge whether he truly understood. Her conscious told her that he was human, humans don't care unless it benefits them and Redd couldn't help but nod her head in agreement to this.

Biting her bottom lip so then she would remain silent her left hand moved to begin to unwrap the bandage from around her shoulder her hues peering at it wondering what on earth had happened while she was out of it. Instinct told her that that something important had indeed happened while she was out, but it was still too weird for her.

She laid the bandage on the branch and untied the one around her ankle, wincing every now and then as the material pulled away from the bite. The good news was that her blood had had enough time to congeal but she knew once she started putting weight back onto it, it would start bleeding freely again.

The bandage was soaked in her blood and a small whiff confirmed that it definitely had her smell all over it. She decided she would keep this to help lure most of the wolves away. If they could smell blood, chances are they would turn and chase the easy prey because the wounded meant that they wouldn't have to spend a whole day running.

It was almost as if a bell had almost gone by and she could feel her wolf slowly returning to her, she could feel that familiar form and also that sense of loneliness that followed with it return back to her. So she loosely tied the blood soaked bandaged around her wrist as she slowly tucked her legs underneath her form, crouching low upon the branch as her hands grasped the vine.

What ever he was going to do she was ready, once she was on the ground she would have to really rely on her flight instinct. After she caught their attention of course.