Close to you

The woman stretched and emerged from her den, looking around for a moment, wondering what all had been happening. This were weird, but that didn't stop her from wanting to explore. And so, she figured she might as well check to see if her pack home had changed at all. With nose to the sky, she started to explore through the pack, looking to see the different changes and seeing if any new or interesting herbs were laying around.

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thmp

A wet snore-snort followed by a hefty gasp rattled Sam awake. He blinked. Where...?
“Akisu?”

Silence. Nope. Aggressively silent sadness. Like she had been a dream, the face of Akisu drifted away. One moment she was with him, the next, he couldn't even remember the colour of her eyes. Her name rattled in his head momentarily, but it escaped him, wiped of existence along with the life he had lived.

Sam just lay there, at a loss. None of these things smelled right. Mountains were all around him. He thought maybe if he didn't move, he might wake up and figure out what was going on.

An hour passed, and nothing. Birds began nestling in the long grass at the lakeside near him, not noticing the confused wolf laying in a ball. Finally, he made the decision to get a drink of water. Gotta start somewhere, right?

As he sated his thirst and very dry throat, he spotted a dark figure just beyond the water's edge. So, rather dumbly, he raised his head and tried to say "Hi!" but instead said, “H-rrgog-ii!” His mouth was so raspy that it sounded like he'd been dead for two years. He frowned.
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Her nose stayed to the ground, sniffing and searching, looking for herbs that she could possibly use. Her ears were flicking back and forth, taking in all the sounds around her while her gaze remained on the dirt below. Sure enough, she caught the scent of something, but it certainly wasn't an herbs. Silvery orbs flicked upwards just in time to hear the man speak up, or whatever sound that was. 

She lifted her head and raised an eyebrow, a bit taken back by his guttural sound. "Uh, are you alright?" She asked, taking a step forward to try and gauge if he needed help. Her gaze flicked across his form, looking for any wounds or signs of sickness but finding nothing that stuck out to her instantly. And so instead, she would simply cock her head to the side, brows furrowed as she thought for a moment. "Can you speak?" She asked simply, figuring she could go from there.

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For all intents and purposes, Sam appeared to be healthy. He frowned, looking down at his paws as though he expected them to have fallen off. Was there something wrong with him?

The dark lady tilted her head, and Sam tilted his the other way, staring and making a face like she had three heads. “Uuuuhh—” he tried to answer, but as though he was dreaming, his voice seemed to taper in breath and volume. He swallowed, and a mound of what felt like dust or dirt slid down his throat with the bit of water remaining from his tongue. Sam cleared his throat audibly, licking his nose.

Could he speak? “W...waaaa,” he tested, and this time his voice maintained a bit of clarity. “Maybe?” Words! Well that was something. “I uh, I'm s—” COUGH
... “Sorry. I'm not really sure where I am right now. I mean, uh, what I meant to say was...” He blinked. “Hi.”

She was covered in scars. She was terrifying. He frowned, again.
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She stifled a little bit of a giggle as he spoke, raising a bit of an eyebrow as she watched him. After a bit of a struggle, he finally spoke up and she nodded slowly. "Hello to you as well." She gestured towards the lake, a small smile on her face. "Perhaps you could use a drink, you sound like this is your first time using your voice." 

She noticed his eyes lingering on her scars for a moment, but she said nothing, being used to people looking at them with different emotions. Some had worry, others indifference, some even anger, and most, like him, showed a hint of fear. She shook her head slightly, retreating a step back and sitting down. "I'm not going to hurt you." She offered softly, even letting her voice relax in an attempt to show him that she wasn't a threat.

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Sam nodded, quickly shuffling to the water's edge and taking several large gulps of water. When he looked back at her again, a combination of water and drool was dripping from his chin. He wiped himself with his wrist, but still looked like a mess. “Well, I mean, I think you probably already would have ha ha,” he answered nervously, flicking an ear sideways.

“I'm Sam, by the way,” he introduced, thankful at least that he could remember his own name.
He forgot that in times before this, he couldn't remember his name, which was consequently why he had no surname.

“Do you live here?”
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She chuckled softly at his words but let him take his water, keeping her distance just enough to not bother him. But, he was right. If she had wanted to hurt him, she would have already. She nodded her head slightly in greeting to him, offering a small smile. "Nice to meet you Sam, my name is Mystery." Her smile faltered slightly at his question, glancing around at the place that had been her home for a few months now. "Well uh... it used to be. My pack lived here, but they vanished, so I guess it isn't really my home anymore." She flicked her silvery eyes back over at him, offering a slight shrug in an attempt to not sour the mood. "What about you? I haven't seen you around here before." She quickly turned the subject to him, not wanting to talk about herself and her missing pack.

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“Well you're no mystery to me anymore!” Sam claimed, even though he knew nothing about her other than she looked like she had been run over by a lawnmower and did not attack randoms on sight.

In all seriousness though, he was joking because the thought of his pack vanishing on him was extremely distressing. Mostly because it had literally just happened to him. “Sorry just, my family also vanished. I mean I think they did. I remember being able to remember them,” he thought aloud. What was her name? Not Mystery; she was standing in front of him. But he had been thinking of someone else before. Where did she go? She'd been family. No. More than family.

“Well uh, I'm from... I can't remember actually. I'm uh, I dunno.” He wiped his chin again. He could hear a loon somewhere on the lake. This seemed curious, as it was too early where he was from for such beautiful calls. It made him rethink the look of this dark she-wolf, this catastrophe of a woman in front of him. He wondered if, maimed as she was, she was more like him than he had thought. “I'm lost I guess.”

He paused, licking his already wet nose and staring at his feet. Anything he could do to avoid eye contact. “Honestly I dunno what to do next.”
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She found herself chuckling softly at his words, shaking her head slightly. He was certainly an interesting creature and she found herself relaxing slightly at his joke. When the conversation switched though, her smile faltered a little, letting out a soft sigh. She fell silent and watched him, noticing how he seemed to have trouble remembering. She nodded slightly, a small apologetic smile on her face, she knew what it was like to lose family, but she didn't really want to dwell on that. Not after her whole pack vanished like this. 

She shrugged slightly and glanced around, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Well, I was probably going to wander around and explore the surrounding areas, you're free to join me if you're looking for a traveling companion." She figured she would offer, but honestly didn't expect that he would accept. He already seemed a little put off by her appearance, so she didn't really think he would come with her. But, she also didn't mind either way.

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Sorry for leaving this - time got away from me this week

---

Sam was not the kind of wolf to not accept an invitation, even when he didn't know what was going on. In fact, perhaps because he wasn't sure what was happening was why he proclaimed, “that would be great actually.” He heaved a sigh as though he had been holding his breath.

“I mean, I don't want to impose, but two is safer than one?” He said it like a question despite it not being a question. The reality was that he had never gotten far in the world on his own. He didn't know how to be by himself. He might as well take up her company if it meant he could get somewhere without spontaneously combusting.

“Do.. you know where you're going? Like what way?” He looked around. Mountains. Water. The smell of sea salt. They were in a place that was so unfamiliar to him that he thought for sure he was dreaming. Surely, she knew better than he did.
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She found herself relaxing much more and even smiling as he spoke, accepting her offer to travel together. Her stub tail wagged back and forth slightly, even as she thought for a moment before answering him. "Well honestly, I was likely going to go up north. I had heard of a pack there called Vanderfell, though I don't know much about them. I was thinking about possibly joining them."

She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Of course, that doesn't mean you have to join them as well, I don't want to force you into something like that. But perhaps we can travel together until you get your bearings if you want." She didn't mind either way. If he chose to come with her all the way to Vanderfell, then great! But, if he chose to simply travel part way and then go off on his own, that was perfectly fine as well.

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For ooc purposes - for now Sam won't be joining vanderfell but will be around the area!

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When Sam saw her tail wag, he only then noticed how short it was. It was so cute, the way it still swayed as though she had the luxurious tail of a vixen. She had been so kind to him. He had judged her entirely wrong, and he felt like he owed her something for that.

So they would head north. “Well that's not a bad idea,” he answered her, wondering about this "Vanderfell." He wondered if there were lots of parents and children, or if it was all crusty old turds. He wondered if they had weird ideas about stuff and if he would fit in.

“You're really nice... It was Mystery, right? I'm really glad I met you,” he beamed, tail wagging and a thousand percent ready to follow her lead.
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The woman found herself smiling large as he accepted her proposal and she beamed slightly. She was excited to find someone to travel with. While she loved exploring, doing so alone could be quite boring sometimes. 

As he complemented her, she found herself pausing for a moment, not really expecting it. But, she quickly recovered and chuckled softly with a smile. "Yup, Mystery. You're really kind, I'm excited for our adventures." She stood and shook out her fur, stretching slightly. "Lets get going, I'm excited to explore these lands, I think we'll have a wonderful time together." 

She turned to start walking, waiting for him to come join her, not wanting to walk away until he was ready.

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As much as her appearance had initially made him pause, now he started to see an odd fascination or even beauty in it. He didn't know exactly what she had been through and that definitely wasn't his place to ask, but somehow she had come out on the other side being... well, great.

“Well, you're only excited right now because you have no idea how loud I snore,” he laughed. This was actually a partial lie. He snored a normal amount for a wolf, but someone had once told him it was terrible so he continued to believe that forever. ... Or maybe he did actually snore loudly. Who knew?
Mystery would know, that evening in fact.

“Let's goooo!”

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Archivable moment but totally happy to have either an in-between thread before they get to vanderfell or a new one after she joins

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