mourning sunrise

If you have time: @Nǚwū

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Yingyue propelled herself forward, freeing her upper body from its submarine holding. She struggled to pull her legs onto solid ground as they shook beneath her weight, struggling to readjust to an earthside pull. She refused to submit to the agonizing ache of each muscle; of each joint; of each memory retained and relived as she was reborn beneath her mountainous throne.

Soft whispers echoed in and out of each ear as she forced her body onward, ignoring its protests. There would be no respite, Ying thought, until she found her.

She wanted to force her body up the steep cliff face to see whatever, or whoever, would be awaiting her arrival. Ying kept walking until her forelimbs buckled and collapsed, her hindlimbs soon following suit, and her diluted consciousness slipped to total darkness.
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 He made his way north again, along the coast Back to the little cove he'd found the week past, where he'd come across two strangers. He had plans of exploring south, but decided that today he'd have a day trip up to the cove again. See if anyone was about.

 Here it was, the key. He stood at the top of the slope, peering down into it. Was anyone claiming this land as part of their territory? If they did, they would be neighbors - so he had a vested interest in whoever made this place their home. He spotted a shape moving in the waves. A wolf, out for a swim? Crux headed towards it, carefully picking himself down the cliff face until he reached the bottom and shifted into a fast trot. He realized suddenly that the wolf was potentially in danger. She was struggling in the water, trying to free herself onto cliffs.

 “Hey!” the word escaped his lips before  he had a chance to think - already he was running, sand spraying behind his paws as he approached the weakened wolf. He reached her just after her limbs buckled beneath her and she crumpled. “Miss - hey, are you alright?” he asked, hurrying to try to catch her fall.

+1 Discovery Point

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Before slipping, Yingyue opened her eyes to see whoever might be calling out. “Qiuyue?” she whispered, an inaudible sound against the violent crashing of waves. 

Moments later, she opened her eyes again, this time realizing with uncomfortable clarity that this wasn’t her daughter and that whoever it was had come too close. Ying snapped toward them with a weakened snarl before dropping her head to the stone once more.

Permission to powerplay! Ying is unconscious so Crux can move her around or whatever to keep the thread moving. :)

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 She whispered something, though the waves were far too loud to hear. He looked about, unsure, then grunted and moved in, ignoring her snapping to try to grab her scruff and pull her up and onto the rocks, away from the grasping waves. She was unconscious and he needed to get her away from the crashing waves, so he lifted her as well as he could and began to pull her away from the water.

 After a good twenty feet or so, he lowered her back down and sniffed her cautiously for injuries. Why was she in the waves - had she awoken there or had she fallen from the cliffs? If he didn't smell blood on her, he'd step back and sit, watching her with concern before glancing around to see if anyone else was nearby.

 From what he could tell, there didn't seem to be anywhere near where he had found her that she should have slipped and fallen. The weather wasn't terrible, though it was late so perhaps she had tumbled down the cliff into the waves. That wouldn't explain her lack of injuries, so he shook his head to himself, considering the lower rocks that perhaps she had climbed onto and then slipped off of.

+1 Discovery Point

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Those brief moments of alive and un-alive felt unending. She would blink her eyes and each time find herself watching a different scene of her life from an outside perspective, being forced to acknowledge every wrong she had ever knowingly done. 

Stillness came eventually. She slowly drifted back to full awareness, marked by the painful realization of her body’s own potential for pain. Every muscle ached differently than the next, but even through the discomfort, Ying could not allow herself to be vulnerable. Not yet.

It would have taken too much to stand. Instead, Ying used her remaining strength to lift her head and pull her body forward, away from whoever, without having to move most of her limbs. She yelped quietly as her skin ripped against the dragging of jagged inland stone.
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 The speckled male watched her, growing concern in his eyes and form. “Hey, stop,” he pleaded, “You're hurting yourself!” He took a step or two away to give her more space though he still hovered in her vicinity, ready to leap in to help her if she seemed to need it. She was pulling away, trying to get away from him.

 Understandable, but honestly right now it was not helping anyone.

 “I'm not going to harm you.” He lowered himself to his belly, frowning at her, forcing himself not to come closer for he knew it would distress her even further. He wanted to help, it was almost unbearable, but how to help one who did not want your help? “Did you fall into the water?” Either that or there was something seriously strange about the way she woke up and he wanted to know more.

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Wrapping this because it took me so long to respond.. sorry! :(

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Everything hurt; each ache was indiscernible from the next, which meant that Yingyue remained mostly unaware of the significant pain of skin splitting against her chest. A thin stream of blood ran from the wound down her stomach, being mostly washed away by residual ocean water being splashed up the cliff side.

She didn’t care to listen to the stranger as she steadily regained strength. Ying knew her body well enough to know that this adrenaline rush, while convenient in the moment, would end in a catastrophic crash; she didn’t mind, as long as it gave her enough momentum to get wherever she was going.

He asked if she fell into the water. Ying, now working her way onto her feet, turned her head back to bark in his direction as a warning that he should mind himself. As she continued with her exit, she gave an appreciative swing of her tail as her only thanks for his help.
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 She continued to try to get away and he relented, frowning in concern after her as she fled, growling a warning after him. He didn't understand, but he wouldn't pursue her if she did not want him to. Watching her, he saw the flip of her tail and sighed, turning from her.

 She evidently needed time to herself to recover.

 He looked back at the sea, its waves lapping dark and angry at the shore. She was lucky to be alive, he knew that many a wolf could get swallowed up by these waters. He turned then, heading towards the solitary exit, careful not to appear to be following the lady if she was heading in this direction. He would give her the space that she desired, though as he made his way up the cliff-side, he wondered if he would ever see her again. Whether it was in this key or elsewhere, he hoped that she would survive this strange land.

+1 Discovery Point

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