Unwanted {Open}

[Zirin]

As far as nights went, this one was relatively normal. The slight hum of insects, the grunts and groans of the local whers, and the occasional squeal of a herdbeasts or wherry as it met its death were regular sounds of the night. The weather too, was incredibly normal; just a light sprinkling of clouds drifted across the sky, occasionally hiding the almost full moon from view before passing by and letting the light shine down on Pern and its people once again. For Trelis Weyr, its was nothing more than an ordinary night… or so it seemed. Something was off: a sound not often heard at such hours of the night.

A canine ran in the Weyrbowl, her mostly grey coat blending in the with darkness around her, though her white belly and brown markings could be seen. Her sides heaved from effort and her legs pounded against the ground as she ran. She was in a hurry, maybe even a panicked hurry, but for what? She stopped in the middle of the Weyrbowl, her tail between her legs and a whine escaping her throat as she looked around for somebody, anybody but the Weyrbowl was empty this night. She stuck her nose to the ground, following the scent back to the only place she knew as home here: the Wher Candidate Barracks.

‘Aroooo’ She howled as she neared the barracks, hoping one of the humans inside would be up and about in the area. Her human may not have been friends with any of them, but they were the only ones she could go to. She entered the barracks, whining and cowering and for all the world looking quite piteous. Not much different than normal really. The only difference was… Gray was completely alone.

[Akira]

Naomi sighed as she sat alone in the candidate barracks. Her only company was her two dogs, Ayame, and Akela. The two dogs were laying quietly on the floor, sleeping, and Naomi was going over the things she had learned in the lesson. She was trying to remember everything they had been taught about whers, and their uses, but she was starting to get frustrated. She sighed and shook her head. She was getting nowhere with this, and that really upset her.

Naomi jumped when she heard the howling of a canine. Stay here you two. Her voice was firm as she spoke to her two dogs. Both of whom were not sitting up, ears perked, and fully alert. They did as they were told, though both of them wined slightly as they watched their human walk outside. Naomi looked around, and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar form. She had met this canine before, and she clearly remembered the canines human as well.

What's wrong girl? Naomi couldn't turn an upset canine away though, it just wasn't part of her nature. She knelt down, and held out her hand for the dog. She wasn't going to force the dog to come near her if she didn't want to. She cowed softly to the dog, trying to gain the females trust. There was something wrong with this female, and since Naomi didn't see the canines human around anywhere. Go figure. Her thoughts held plenty of venom for the male wher candidate.

[Zara]

Zaekrin, having heard Gray's howl, came out into the common area. He frowned. That was Krovin's dog! Where was he? "She okay?" he asked casually, walking a little closer to Naomi. His roommates dog... but no roommate. It was odd to see Gray alone. He knelt down, holding out a hand to her so that she might sniff it and recognize him. She should, of course, as he was sharing a room with her master.

He looked at the other Wher Candidate. What could happen to him here? Maybe they had just gotten separated. Surely that was all it was. They were in a wher for sharding sake!

He was crouching there. He did care about this dog and, in a way that was sort of distant and standoffish... his weyrmate.

((SORREH! IS SHORT D: ))

[Zirin]

Gray's ears perked up as a familiar scent reached her nose; the scent of the other canine's human, the one that made Korvin uneasy. She hesitated about going towards the girl, remembering how protective the one female could be about her girl, but this was a dire situation! She needed help and that girl's canines would surely understand her! The girl moved into a pose that Gray recognized as one of welcoming and friendliness. Still unsure, but knowing she needed to do something, Gray tentatively moved forward, sniffing the offered hand from a distance, and though she once again moved forward slowly, her posture clearly stated her uneasiness. Then she jumped away again as the girl tensed. Had she thought of something unpleasant?

Soon another human joined the girl. This time a male, and wasn't he the one who slept in her master's room? Yes it was! She yipped happily at the roommate. Two humans! Though she had hoped the girl's canines would have accompanied their human. She whined again, running away a few steps before doubling back, whining and barking again before running off a second time. She wanted the humans to follow her. She ran across the Weyrbowl at a pace that would keep her just in front of them if they followed, stopping to turn and whine every once and a while to make sure they were following, and soon they had reached the Weyr's exit. Gray continued on, into the forest.

[Akira]

Naomi smiled softly at the female when she came closer. It's ok girl, I won't hurt you. Her voice was soft, and sweet, kinda like a mother talking to a scared child. She hadn't meant to scare the poor dog, and she hoped that by keeping her voice soft and gentle, it would help to reassure the female that she really did mean no harm. She cooed gently to the female. She was trying to gain the dog's trust again. She didn't know what she had done to scare her, but now she needed to fix it.

Naomi turned and watched as another person appeared. It wasn't the dog's owner, but apparently the female know the man. Ayame and Akela came running when they heard someone yipping. They needed to make sure their girl was ok. Both of them growled low when they saw someone standing near their girl. Naomi quieted the dogs with a single motion of her hand. Both dogs sat down, and that's when they noticed the other canine. Naomi shook her head at the two dogs and sighed.

Ayame sniffed at the other dog, and wagged her tail excitedly when she remembered the scent of the other dog. Akela on the other hand wasn't so excited to see her, but she knew that something was wrong, and she couldn't just leave another dog in trouble like this. What is it girls? She spoke not only to Grey, but to her own two dogs as well. She raised her eyes at Grey's actions, and wondered what the female wanted. Then her own dogs walked over to her, and started to follow her.

Naomi stood, and followed the three dogs without question. Obviously something was up. She knew Akela wouldn't just follow Grey like a submissive omega unless there was something going on. Whether that something was good or bad she didn't know. She could mostly understand the canine's body language, but other than that, she was hopeless. She didn't even hesitate when the dogs left the Weyr. She followed the three canines into the forest without looking back.

[Zirin]

Gray was thrilled that she was being followed, and barked a quick encouragement, a sound that clearly said 'Hurry up, we're almost there!'. She had been worried at first that the other canines wouldn't follow her, especially since she was no pack leader, but here they were! She ran further into the forest, arriving at a river shortly. It was a rather large section of the river, running in between two small cliffs, larger enough to be a difficult climb down for a human and near impossible for a canine. She stuck her nose to the ground to gain her bearings before giving a short whine and running in an upstream direction.



Korvin groaned, consciousness returning to his fuzzy mind. He blinked in confusion, before trying to roll over, only to feel excruciating pain in his arm. Hissing through his teeth and stopping his movement. A moment passed before he lifted his head to see what it was that had caused him such pain. Ah.. that's what... His arm below the elbow was buried under a couple rocks, broken no doubt, though how bad Korvin couldn't say. A sharp bark resounded in his head and he looked up, letting out a sigh as he noticed Boar was standing vigil at the top of the ridge; the ridge Korvin had no doubt fallen off. He looked it over, trying to ignore the pain. There it was! He could see now the section of cliff that had given way beneath him. Another sigh escaped his lips as he tried to find a comfortable way to lie without causing further pain, though for the most part the effort was in vain. Being in the Weyr had made him stupid and foolish. He had survived two turns in the wild without anything but the clothes and weapons on his back, and his two canines, one of which had been a puppy not too long ago. Yet now... now he had managed to get himself stuck. He groaned to himself as the actual realization hit him, and he tried again to push the rock off his arm. He was stuck, stuck good in fact. Had it been his leg he probably would have been able to get the rock off him, it wasn't too large, but without the use of both hands he couldn't do anything.

What was he going to do? Glancing up the cliff he groaned again. It wasn't a tall cliff, but there was no way for the dogs to get to him, a human could... but what human would come looking for him. He had no friends, no family to help him, and no one at the Weyr would likely care to look for him. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself calm. he hadn't felt this helpless since that day, two long turns ago... A whiny, worried bark stopped him from delving into the memory and Korvin looked up to see Gray peering over the edge.



The canine in question whined back to the girl and her dogs that had hopefully followed her this far. She had arrived at the destination! Her human was just down there... help!

[Akira]

Naomi shook her head as she followed the three canines. She raised her eyebrows at Grey when she barked at them. She looked around her, wondering how far they had gone. Alright, where are you taking me? She was panting for breath as she ran after the dogs, making her voice sound a little more breathy than she would have liked. She groaned when they reached a river. She wasn't sure where Grey or what was going on. was leading them, but she wasn't sure she was liking this little "field trip" either.

Alright, that's it! These mutts have lost their minds! Naomi nodded her head, and looked at each of the dogs as the thought passed through her mind. Ayame tilted her head to the side when they reached the river. She saw what Grey was doing, and put her own nose to the ground. She recognized the smell as the human that was with the other female the day they met them, and wondered why they were following the scent. She didn't care though, she was here to help after all.

Akela was getting tired of following Grey, but there was something wrong. She wasn't as heartless as she seemed at times, and this time, she was actually willing to help out this other canine. Though, she wasn't sure what she could do. She was a hunter, not a tracker. So she sighed and just followed the other two females. She wasn't sure where they were going, she just knew she had to help some how. She kept looking back at her human to make sure she was still following them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naomi narrowed her eyes as she followed the canines, they were coming to a cliff, and she thought she could see another canine there. She slowed to a walk as she neared the edge where the canines stood. Her own canines looking over the edge, and Ayame was whining sadly. What is you guys? What's down there that's got you so upset? She knew there wasn't much that could upset her dogs, but she wasn't sure about the other two. They weren't hers, and didn't know them well enough to make a guess.

Naomi carefully, and cautiously looked over the edge, and couldn't help but snicker at the sight she saw. Well lookie here. The big bad hunter's gotten himself stuck. She couldn't help but tease the man. She shrugged her shoulders when Ayame snorted at her. The white and brown female rolled her eyes at her human, and sighed. Akela on the other hand, sat down, and wrapped her tail around rump. There wasn't anything she could do about this.

I'm gonna guess and say you don't want, or need my help. But your dog wouldn't have had me follow her for no reason. Naomi sighed and shook her head as she spoke. She wasn't took keen on helping this man. But since she was already out here, she might as well help him up the cliff. She climbed down carefully, and knelt down beside the other hunter, a very evil smirk on her face. Her light, smokey gray gaze glinting mischievously as she looked at what had the man stuck.

Ayame sniffed worriedly as she watched her human climb down the edge. She gently nudged Grey when she heard the female whine. She was trying to make the female feel a little less worried. Though, she wasn't sure how much comfort she could provide at that moment, she herself was worried. Akela on the other hand just groaned uncomfortable as she laid down on her stomach. She had plenty of confidence in her humans abilities to help the other human.

[Zirin]

She was acting strange, Korvin decided. When she had first peered over the edge, he thought her behaviour was due to him being stuck, but the way she kept peering over her shoulder and barking had him confused. He had assumed Gray had simply been lying out of sight, since she never left Boars side if she could help it, especially since she had been abnormally clingy the last few weeks. She disappeared from sight and Korvin thought he could here the distinct warning growl that Boar always used, but it was such a short sound this time that he smply thought it was his imagination, delusions brought on by the injury. The only reason Boar would growl would be if someone was here, and that was impossible, especially this far from the safety of the Weyr. Gray peered over again, but this time her head was not alone.

Korvin jumped in mild surprise, causing another shock of pain to shoot through him, as two recogniseable heads peered over the cliff at him. Gray.. Gray had gone and brought that damn girl's mutts? Of all the- He hissed silently as that woman's unmistakeable voice joined the general whining and pining sounds from up above. Great, just sharding great. Of all people to stumble upon him in the woods it had to be that hunter-wannabe. What in Faranth's name had he done to deserve this?! Oh but it got even better from that point, the woman had the nerve to TEASE him about it? His face went beet red at her taunt and he looked away, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing she had struck a nerve.

"I'm no' stuck." He retorted angrily, "I'm jus' enjoyin' the scenery!" In his annoyance he had moved slightly, and a loud hiss escaped his lips again and there was no doubt the female hunter would hear it. Shards this was just not his day! Still red in the face, he looked up defiantly at Naomi as she approached, and wanted to yell at her, demand she get away from him, but Korvin wasn't stupid - a little angry perhaps - but not stupid. He was well aware that he was in no position to reject help, even if he didn't want HER help. She knelt down near him, and Korvin could see it in her eyes, her amusement in his situation. He remained quiet, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of his giving in... well as quiet as he could be with pain-laced, ragged breaths.

"Wha' do ye want...?" He finally asked, figuring if she was offering to help him then she must be wanting something in return. He knew as well as she did that they were not friends in any meaning of the word, so that must be it then. She wanted something.

Gray whined continuously from the moment Naomi went over the edge of the cliff, hoping she would be safe, and hoping she would save her human. Boar, on the other hand, was in no way pleased that the human girl was getting so close to his boy. A growl escaped his throat, low and warning; if she dared hurt him he wouldn't hesitate to jump down the cliff and rip out her throat.

[Akira]

Naomi couldn't help but laugh outright at the mans words. Oh yes, such wonderful scenery to be enjoyed while your arm's stuck under a rock! She fell onto her rear laughing as she spoke to the man. She couldn't help it! This big bad hunter had gotten himself into this situation, so why not enjoy it while she can? She shook her head, and sighed, wiping a single tear from her eye that had been caused from laughing to hard. She finally realized that the man's face was red, and that sent her into more laughing fits.

When Naomi finally regained her composer, she was gasping for breath. Sorry about that, I just couldn't help myself. To see such a "big strong" man get stuck is just hilarious! She really wasn't acting like herself tonight. She shook her head at the realization, and took a deep calming breath. I'm sorry, that was rude. She had always been told not to be rude to your elders, and this man truly was her elder. She giggled at the thought, and shook her head.

Naomi sighed and finally calmed down enough to look at Korvin with a straight face. Just in time to hear his question too. I don't want anything. I came out here to help a distressed canine. You just happen to be what's distressing her. She shrugged as if it was common knowledge why she would help him. The fact that some day she might need his help was another reason, but she wasn't about to admit that to him! No, she would just wait and see if that time would ever come around.

Alright, hold still, and try not to cry. Naomi couldn't help but tease the poor man, she wasn't sure why, but there was just something about him that unsettled her. Even though she might not know it, it would be a very well educated guess to say that she might actually be starting to like the man as a friendly rival. She positioned herself to where she could wrap her arms around the rock, and pull it off Korvin's arm, hopefully not on to her own feet.

Naomi fell back on her butt when the rock finally came off the mans arm. It had been heavier than she had first thought. There, do you think there's anything broken? If there was something broken, then that would just make it harder to get him back to the Weyr without help. Though, she was almost certain he would try it anyways just to try and show off. She looked over at him from where she was sitting as she waited for him to answer her so they could figure out how they were going to get back.

Akela growled, low and deep when the male growled at her human. If he wanted to harm Naomi, then he would have to get through her first! Ayame on the other hand looked between the two of them, giving both of them a look that clearly said, "Really? You two are being THAT childish?" and just to add effect, she snorted at both of them. How could they get into a growling match when both their humans were at the bottom of a cliff was beyond her.

[Zirin]

She really wasn't very nice, now was she? Korvin glared again as she continued teasing, well, teasing was an understatement. The witch was outright LAUGHING at him! He supposed in a way it was his own fault, since he had been a pompous buffoon to everyone else, treating them in a way that screamed he was superior. He grumbled to himself as Naomi went through her little laughing fit, wanting nothing more than to beat the snot out of her, woman or not. He inched his foot to the side. If only she was closer, he could have gotten a good kick in... yeah, that would have made everything better. He sighed, realizing even his mind was making fun of him, taunting him. The world sucked. He eyed her warily once she had calmed down, noticing only now that she wasn't being the distant woman she always tried to be the few times they had run into each other. No... apparently getting her to open up only took a man getting stuck under a rock. Wonderful. Korvin grimaced at the thought that she was comfortable enough to answer questions and taunt and tease just because he was in a difficult situation. He would never understand the woman.

He let out a short grunted response as she easily answered his question, and for a moment he was almost thankful Gray had run into her... almost, and if only because he doubted anyone else would be crazy enough to run off into the forest at such an hour after a canine. In a way he had to respect her craziness. If she hadn't come... well if she hadn't come he would simply be lying there growing weaker in the silence of the forest, alone. But was being laughed at a better option? Her next words barely registered in his busy mind. Cry?

"I won't cryYY-AAAAAH" She had lifted the rock mid sentence, catching Korvin completely unaware, and as such he couldn't stop the short cry of pain as feeling rushed back into his mangled arm. Oh shards.. now he'd done it, now she would taunt and tease him for being a weakling. The red returned to his face, as did the slight hint of watering in his eyes from the pain as he tried to move the arm. Well, on the bright side, she didn't look all that composed falling to her butt from lifting a rock.

"Graceful, ain't ya?" He mocked, trying to regain at least a little of his dignity. He winced, hissing as he began to stand, every shaky movement causing pain. "No." He said stubbornly, not willing to admit his little situation had resulted in his arm being broken. Using his good arm, he pushed himself into a standing position, but the movement caused something he hadn't expected. He gasped again in shock as his left leg gave out beneath him, not broken, but a bit scratched up and asleep, just enough that it didn't want to bear all his weight just yet. Of course, with a leg buckling under him he had no choice but to go tumbling toward Naomi, swearing as he fell and twisting in the hopes of protecting his injured arm.

On the ridge, Gray whined as she watched the humans, though unlike before, her tail was now wagging in happiness at seeing she had done well, the human girl was helping! Oh glorious day! Growls from behind her drew her attention to two of the other canines, Boar and Akela once again. Boar turned his growl toward Akela as the female responded to the first growl. The male 's hackles began to rise, just waiting to attack, when Gray weaved in front of him, nuzzling and pushing him away from Akela gently, if a bit persistently. Boar huffed, but Gray had a point, they could fight later, now was a time for protecting. Of course, Boar couldn't stop a final short bark from ripping past his lips. Gray whined and looked sadly at Ayame, sharing the other female's look. Their partners really were a pain!

[Akira]

Naomi raised her eyebrows at Korvin's words. Of course she was graceful! Well...normally anyways. She shook her head as he tried to stand. He had proved that his arm really was broken. Now all she had to figure out was how badly it was broken. She gulped and, unfortunately for her, she squeaked in surprise when Korvin came falling down on top of her. Now she was laying on her back, underneath a man that couldn't even take care of himself...great.

Naomi's cheeks turned a bright read as she stared up at him. She found herself unable to speak, which really is a surprising thing considering the situation she currently found herself in. Instead, she found herself staring into his deep green eyes. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't make herself pull her gaze away from them. She finally managed to pull her gaze away from his when she heard a dog barking. She wasn't sure who had barked, or what had happened.

Do you mind getting off of me? Naomi made sure to keep her gaze well away from the man's eyes. She was afraid of what she might do if she made eye-contact again. She silently thanked the dogs in her head, and made a promise to herself that she would reward whichever one had saved her from herself, with a very juicy reward. Just as soon as they got back to the Weyr, and got everything sorted out, and fixed. Well, mostly fixed anyways.

Akela raised her black hackles as soon as the male turned his attention towards her. She sat up, ready to move if he should try anything. She growled, and snorted, when Grey interjected herself into the situation. It was as if she was saying, "You really need a female to protect you!? What a wimp!" she even had that kind of look on her face. She was trying to taunt the male into doing something foolish. Though, what he would do was beyond her.

Ayame sighed at the two bickering canines. There really was no hope for them. She looked over at Grey when she whined, and nodded her head. She knew how to stop the bickering...well...only temporarily. She stood, and walked over to Akela, and gave her a very sharp bite on the muzzle. Akela yelped in surprise, and quickly backed away from the growling white and brown canine. She knew better than to push her luck with Ayame. She snorted, and rubbed at her nose with her paw.

[Zirin]

Urg, Korvin groaned as his body landed on something... soft? Blinking his eyes open he stared down at the thing that had broken his fall, or rather, the girl. He didn't know whether to be shocked or amused- shocked that she hadn't moved out of the way in time, and amused that she had toppled so easily. He blinked down at her again as her face turned red and he couldn't help but stare at her, wondering what it was that had her so speechless. Was his head on upside down or something? He wanted to say something, anything. 'What are ya lookin at' or ' Fallin for me?' something, anything, but... it was simply too strange a moment to be broken by words. What was she so entranced by? What was it? Why were women so weird!? For the young man, who had never even really socialized with women, her sudden staring contest with him was rediculously unnerving, how was he to know what she wanted if she just kept staring at him!? To his knowledge, this would have been the first time they actually maintained any form of non-aggressive eye contact. He had to admit, as weird as this was, and as annoying as dealing with her could be... she was kind of cute.... sorta... Then one of the canines barked and Naomi broke the eye contact. Korvin raised an eyebrow at the way she was suddenly avoiding looking at him, but at her words, figured it was simply a matter of discomfort. He'd give her that... lying on top of her was not exactly the most comfortable thing right now, well... much comfier than the rock had been, but still not as comfy as he wanted to be right now.

His own cheeks were stained a light pink still, as he did his best to push himself of her, feeling a bit guilty. "Geez, you women ain't got no patience." He scoffed as he finally managed to stand up again. Though, she HAD come all the way out here on a potentially wild goose chase, and she had even helped him out, though he didn't want to admit it. He sighed, the least he could do is make sure he didn't get her into trouble. "Sorry though..." he mumbled, not really sure how to apologize, His leg was still half asleep under him, but at least it didn't seem to be giving out beneath him again, "Ya okay?" He offered her a hand, the good hand, to help her up, though he doubted she would take it. Not that he cared if she took it or not. He just wanted to be done with this strange turn of events, done with the pain, and done with the knowledge that he had needed help. Yes.. he wanted to just get back to the Weyr and pretend none of this had ever happened. He had his dignity on the line!

Boar snarled through his teeth as Ayame goaded him on, and it took a firm pressure from Gray to keep him in the spot he was at. She whimpered, a sound that clearly meant 'please stop...' to the male. Then his snarling stopped as Akela was put in her place by her own partner. He cocked his head and dropped his rump to the ground, confused. The quiet one was in charge? Not the noisy, snarly one? His head cocked to the other side, intrigued.