Devil's Staircase where you gonna sleep tonight?

@Archer <3 permission given to pp

Nori had hardly expected to find herself a traveling companion so soon after arriving back here - she’d surprised the both of them by offering to help Archer out on his search. It wasn’t like her to offer that kind of thing, but there was something about this man that she couldn’t ignore. Maybe it was that she saw something in his eyes that reminded her of how she was feeling, herself.

But it was nice, having someone around. It got her talking more, helped her sleep, got her to eat more - all things she encouraged Archer to do as well, because you should take care of yourself! How do you expect to find your daughter when you’re starving and exhausted?

Her companion was a quiet one, and it was clear he didn’t think highly of himself. Nori hadn’t asked many questions about him so far, but when he spoke so little and used nearly all of his words to put himself down… well, Nori couldn’t just leave him alone.

This was good, for however long it lasted. Having a purpose. Helping someone who needed it. God, her younger self would think she was so lame.

And maybe she was lame, avoiding climbing the mountain again. Too scared to scale the cliffs, too scared to face her family. She was scared of everything these days, it seemed.

So lame.

They were walking in companionable silence next to a river today, in a forest much more lively than the one they’d met in. Nothing caught Nori’s eye in particular, though, until she spotted the steps.

A set of tiny waterfalls collecting in pools that reflected the sky above. It was warmer today, and the urge to hop into one was strong. Nori glanced over at her companion, then back to the water, and made a decision. She bounced into the water, sending a wave over to hopefully drench Archer, and gauged his reaction afterward. He looked kind of owlish, staring at her with what she could only guess was bewilderment, so she wagged her tail and gave him a second before purposefully splashing him again.

The two of them could stand to let loose a little, she figured.

Archer

Somehow, Archer had been talked into travelling with this strange woman who had appeared out of nowhere. It hadn't really take a ton of convincing, to be fair; he didn't have the energy to argue even if he'd wanted to. He had to admit having company would be nice... and helpful, since he was clearly not paying enough attention as he travelled. She was also annoyingly insistent on mothering him. He occasionally grumbled about it, but always acquiesced to her demands that he eat, rest, drink water. He'd been simply stumbling about for so long now...

Well, now they had a sort of plan. They were going north around the mountains. Archer hadn't gone that far yet, and he wasn't ready to try climbing the mountain again. If not mentally that certainly not physically. He was smart enough to know he wasn't doing well, and it was his own fault. Another reason travelling with Nori was probably a good thing; she was keeping him from running himself into the ground.

As their paws turned them toward the water Archer was fully expecting another demand to drink and take a break, and was rudely pulled to attention by a splash of water. He blinked at her, startled, as she wagged her tail, and then bounced forward. He barely dodged back in time, ears back in annoyance. What was she doing?

And then his brain caught back up with him and his expression softened. He wasn't quite in the mood for play, but he made himself hop forward into the water anyway, offering a half-hearted splash to soften his previous annoyance.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Splashing him had been sort of an impulse decision, and she wasn’t sure how he’d take it. Annoyance flicked across his features and Nori felt the playful spark that had started in her chest start to fizzle. Yeah, playing would be kind of a long-shot, she figured. He probably wasn’t in the mood, and-

Water splashed her across the face, startling her out of her own thoughts. A surprised laugh escaped her when she realized he’d jumped into the water with her. He still didn’t look extremely excited about the whole ordeal, but he was trying.

The sight warmed her a little.

“‘S that all you got, Archie?” she teased, tail waving back and forth. She hadn’t really thought she was in much of a playful mood, either, but maybe this was a good thing. She didn’t want to wear him out or anything, but when was the last time either of them had relaxed?

She knew for herself it had been a long time, and looking at Archer, she could only guess the same. But she rather liked the softness on his face - it made her wonder, if he wasn’t so down on himself, what kind of wolf would he be?

Would she get the chance to get to know him?

Nori swiped another wave of water at him, testing what she could get away with. “I think you can do better than that,” she invited, smile widening just a bit.

Archer

He could see her moment of hesitation in response to his surly expression and Archer felt bad; she was only trying to help, and here he was being a grouch.

...Just like his dad had been after Sephrina's death.

Hiding his internal wince he tried to be better, which was aided by her playful comment. His brow rose in surprise at the nickname. Archie? A bark of laughter escaped him, nearly as startling as current events. It felt... good.

And then she challenged him. His grin grew a little more genuine as he ducked down into the water a little further, pouncing to use more of his bodyweight to send a wave her way. His tail even wagged a little behind him.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

The tension eased when he laughed, and Nori felt a little prickle of pride rising in her. She was about to open her mouth again to comment when the man sent a wave of water over her, and she ended up choking on a mouthful of it.

It was nothing serious at all, but Nori liked to pretend it was. She coughed and groaned and dragged herself to the shore, flopping unceremoniously on the dry land with legs sprawled in a similar way to a dead bug.

"Vanquished," she wheezed, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth to really sell it. She was soaked, and the sunlight warmed her a little though the air was still cool. It was nice, she thought, having a moment like this to just play and relax and take a break.

Archer

Archer enjoyed the moment of play, perhaps a little too enthusiastic, and Nori suddenly choked on the water as it washed over her face. She coughed and dragged herself out of the water and Archer froze, all the play bleeding out of him as his eyes widened in horror, all the nightmares of his sister's end swimming behind his eyes. He hadn't seen her die, but he'd seen her body, he knew what water could do, and he'd dreamed of it, dreamed of joining her, and now he'd drowned his friend-

Only, she was just fine, sprawling dramatically on the ground and wheezing out a tease, tongue even lolling out of her mouth. Archer took a deep breath, and then another, and forced his locked muscles to relax. Forced himself to remember that they were playing. Forced his vision to clear. Forced a smile to his face. This was Nori, not Sephrina, and they were okay. He slowly waded to shore, waving his tail in what he hoped was the image of triumph. "Victory," he said, hoping his voice wasn't too strained. He dropped beside her.

(This post was last modified: Aug 08, 2024, 01:43 AM by Archer.)

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Nori had no clue the trauma she'd just dredged up from her flamboyant display. No idea that someone close to him had died in a similar way. She didn't even see the stress on his face - too engrossed in playing her part to study him properly. It was fortunate that it hadn't caused more panic, and she would have felt terrible about it if she'd known. But all she noticed was a drenched man crawling up to join her, indulging her in the game she was playing.

It was kind of sweet. This was clearly not something Archer did often, but he was trying. She wondered momentarily how long it had been since he'd done something so juvenile as splashing around in a river.

How long had it been since she'd done something like this? Felt good enough to play?

"I've been bested," she conceded, a smirk playing on her maw. It softened just a touch afterward - with less bravado, she added, "Thanks, by the way. This was nice." It was almost like she'd forgotten how good it could be to just relax a little.

Archer

She smirked at him, further proof that she was just fine as she thanked him for the play, and the coil of tension inside Archer eased a little further. He didn't think it would be going away and he feared his sleep that night would be plagued with nightmares he'd thought himself past, but for now... they'd been having fun. He didn't want to ruin it with his own weakness. He offered another smile. "Yeah," he said softly. "It was." He tried to search his memory for the last time he'd been so carefree. He hadn't even played like this with his daughter, too caught up in trying to keep Andy alive after Kateri vanished...

Would she ever get the chance to play as a pup ought? Had he doomed her to a life of grief by walking away from his family, for not talking Kateri into staying to give their children the best chance possible?

He tried to shake the weary thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to worry about his endless mistakes right now, in this moment.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

After his agreement, silence enveloped the two of them. Nori could think of nothing more to add, and so she didn't. Instead, she enjoyed the quiet, letting the sun slowly begin to dry her fur and warm her up. She didn't know where they were going to end up, or if they would succeed in finding his daughter, but there was no point in a joyless journey, was there?

At the very least, couldn't she help in that way?

Eventually, Nori grunted and got to her feet, still damp but no longer soaked to the skin. She offered her companion a smile, back to her usual confidence, and tipped her head to the side. "Well?" she prompted, more eager to continue on now that they'd relaxed a bit. "Ready to go?"

Archer

They lay in companionable silence, allowing the sun to dry their fur and warm their skin. The spring was still young and there was still a chill to the air - especially wet - but the moment was peaceful and stretched on long enough for Archer's anxieties to fade back into a quieter itch at the back of his mind. Something he could mostly ignore. He even began dozing off, until Nori stood and spoke. Archer stretched and yawned, shaking the last of the damp from his fur as he did so. He nodded once. "I am," he said, turning to resume their journey.

He glanced back at the water, almost wistful. He wished their play could have lasted a little longer, that his sour mood hadn't allowed it to end so soon. He wished his daughter was here to play along too, to get to be a child. He hoped wherever she was, she was safe enough to enjoy play.

Archer turned away again and with a soft sigh continued the search.

FADE

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.