Beginning of a Journey

It felt like it had been a long trip. Traveling on foot for months tended to do that to one's perception. It didn't help that he was anxious and just a bit paranoid about the fact that he might be followed. That tended to skew one's view quite a bit as well.

But he was fortunate that, despite all his concerns, his journey had actually been trouble free to this point. Food and water had been plentiful. Foraging had been quite easy. He kept his hunting targets small as he didn't want to burden himself with his catch or leave much in terms of remains in his wake.

He saw what he decided would be his destination for the day. There was a town ahead of him. Maybe thirty minutes away at his current pace. He knew that he needed information about where he currently was and the surroundings before he could decide where he'd go next. He knew that he was traveling northward, given the sun's movement, so he knew where he wouldn't be going.

While he had some time, he looked himself over. His shirt and pants, the former a dull green, the latter a dark brown, were both smeared with dirt in various places but were in good condition otherwise. As was normal for him, he was barefoot as he made his way through the grassy fields on this side of the town. He had a sheathed sword hanging at his side in plain view. He carried a grey duffel bag with some other possessions of his. It hung from his shoulder.

Reaching up, the wolf brushes some of his fur aside from his eyes and then returns his gaze to the town ahead.


(OOC: Open RP. Just a note, I am a bit of an improviser when it comes to my RP's. If you would like to join and include your own story elements relating to anything your character is involved with feel free to include them in here. It might end up being a side story here, or I might try to make use of it myself. I'll work with or around whatever comes up. Just have fun. )

'Oh, c'mon... Just... a little... farther...!'

Little squeaks and grunts escaped from the white-furred muzzle of a canine in a rather unusual predicament. Bits of bark fell a good ten feet to the ground below from the tree branch currently being clung to by the dog's arms while boot-clad feet kicked and stretched towards a branch just about a foot away from reach.

'How did I reach this so easily a while ago?'

The Klee Kai's tensed form relaxed, swinging back and forth from the tree branch a bit as she glared off into the distance. She stayed there for several moments to catch her breath and regain a little energy, then started to wriggle, kick, and climb her way back up onto the pine branch that had been her perch for the last half hour or so. It may have been a coincidence that she had just barely been able to jump and reach the unusually low branch of this tree and then, with several minutes of work and struggling, she'd managed to pull herself up onto the second branch. From the hill the tree was on and with an open grassy field nearby, there was a great view of the town she had spent the previous night in. It would be perfect to go on her blog as she continued to document her current venture through the middle of the region. Now, though, the first branch she had used to reach this height was just far down and just narrow enough that she couldn't reach it or risk damaging her camera should she lose her balance and fall to the ground below.

Her focus shifted and her camera bag was moved back around to her lap once she was straddling the branch again. She looked down to her clothes, brushing some tree bark from the front of the close-fitting mint green t-shirt she had on, as well as the short black sleeves. She cared less about the bark falling onto her dark-colored jeans and did nothing about them. Now, though, the thought of having to embarrass herself by calling the local emergency personnel to help her down crossed her mind several times over the following couple of minutes and she absently reached one paw up to run it through her red hair, toying briefly with the lavender streak in her bangs.

Out of the corner of her eye, though, a moving figure caught her attention. The canine turned her head sharply, ears perking up high at the thought of either a potential rescuer or some wildlife to photograph. Upon finding that it was... maybe a wolf of some sort that had caught her eye, she couldn't resist an inward smile at the thought that she'd technically found both. But before calling out, she quickly unfastened and opened her camera bag, removing the large digital camera from its case and popping off the lens cap.

Reena raised the camera to her face to peer through the eyepiece, rotating the lens to zoom in just slightly on her distant silver subject. The caption, 'Potential help in the distance!' flashed through her mind as the camera clicked, saving the image of yet another stranger onto its memory chip. The camera was lowered down to rest on its bag and finally she opened her mouth to shout at the passing wolf.

"Hey!! Heeyyyy!! Over here!"

The wolf's ears perk up and he comes to a sudden halt. He crouches down slightly and one paw reflexively reaches down to grasp the hilt of his sword. He glances around for a few moments, and once he sees that there is no one in his immediate vicinity, he relaxes again and stands up fully again.

He then looks in the direction that the voice had called out from, but he doesn't see anyone there. Of course, he also wasn't expecting to see someone in the branches of a tree, so he didn't spot the canine amongst the leaves. He decides to wait and see if the call is repeated.

She watched the wolf stop walking to look around and an amused smile spread across her muzzle as she realized that she must have surprised him with her sudden call. As he remained crouched, she snapped another picture. For that one, maybe the caption, 'Looks like I spooked him.'

Once he had relaxed, but didn't seem to have spotted her up on her perch, Reena started to bounce on the branch a bit, shaking its foliage and waving with her free paw. "Hey, up here!" she shouted out, "Come over here, will ya?"

Once he hears the voice call out again, he focuses on a tree sitting atop a small hill and sees part of it shifting. Since he couldn't see anyone else in the area, he figures there would be no harm in taking a look to see who was there. He starts walking over towards the tree, wondering just what he was going to find there.

Once he started to approach, the branch stopped shaking and Reena snapped another quick picture.

'Salvation!'

The Klee Kai then lowered her camera down again after looking at the new image. From there, she waited until the wolf was almost underneath the foliage of the pine tree. Now able to see him a bit more clearly, she called down to him, "Think you could lend a paw to a girl stuck in a tree?" She leaned forward over her bag to smile sheepishly past some of the pine needles in her way.

The wolf looks up once he gets over to the tree and now sees the canine more clearly through the branches and needles.
"I suppose I can." he replies, "But aren't felines the ones that get stuck in trees?"

"Ah ha, so it's like that," she laughed dryly. Reena sat up again, pointing out, "You might think so, but I've been told I'm a little bit special." The dog smiled again.
Barely another moment passed before she raised her camera after and quickly added, "Smile!" Without giving any appropriate time for a response, though, the camera clicked as she snapped another photo of the wolf down below.

The wolf furrows his brow slightly and he frowns a little after the canine takes his picture. He crosses his arms over his chest.
"So, do you actually need my help or did you just want me to come over here for fun and games? I have other things I'd prefer to be doing." he asks her.

She glanced back over from reviewing her camera's screen, a slight grin across her features as she considered a caption for the photo she'd just taken. "Well," she started, "as much as I like fun and games, it'd be awfully nice to get down from here without damaging my camera or myself."
Reena shut off the camera for now and replaced the lens cap before lowering her beloved device back into the safety of its bag. The bag was promptly fastened shut again and she returned her silver gaze to her potential savior. "You gonna come up here and get me or should I just leap into your arms?"

"You can jump, but I won't guarantee that I'll catch you." he replies.
Even as he replies, he's glancing more at the base of the tree, looking for a clear spot between the lowest branches so that he could move in close to the trunk and get a better idea of what climbing up and down it might entail.

"Sounds like it's the first option, then."
Reena kicked her feet a couple of times and looked down at the way she'd climbed up earlier. "See, I was able to get to that low branch down there and pull myself up," she explained upon noting the wolf studying the tree. "And I could juuuust stretch and reach this one after." The canine frowned a bit. "Problem is," she continued, "I can't seem to stretch far enough to reach back down there with my feet. Talk about a conundrum, huh?"

"Well, I don't think my climbing up there is gonna help you back down that easily." he says, "I can't carry you and climb."
He slides his bag off his shoulder and sets it on the ground. He moves over to the lower branch she'd indicated.
"I'll climb up below you and then help you climb down so you don't fall." he adds.

Reena watched him and leaned forward on the branch again. She eyed his bag as he removed it, wondering what he was doing out on the edge of town with... whatever was in that bag.
She was snapped out of her curiosity as the wolf starts speaking again and she shifted her focus back to him. "Sure, that sounds like it'll work," she replied, "You can be my fuzzy ladder." She grinned just a bit as she finished speaking.

The wolf doesn't reply as he quickly climbs up along the branches of the tree to the one beneath the one the canine was currently stuck at. He sits down on the branch and leans back against the trunk of the tree.
"Alright." he says, "As soon you're ready to come down feel free to."

Again, the Klee Kai merely watched him. Once he was seated on the branch below her, she braced both paws against the branch she was on and swung her other leg over so that she was facing towards him. Once there, though, she looked over the distance between them, her brow furrowing in uncertainty and her ears lowering down a bit.
"So, what?" she asked him, tilting her head, "You want me to jump? Or try to step down?"

He looks back up at her.
"Depending on how close you can get to this branch, I can grab hold of you and help you down, or you can drop when you're hanging and I can catch you and keep you from falling to the ground." he replies, "But if you have other options, I'll hear them out."

"Alright, let's give this a try then..."
Reena slid her bag around behind her and wiggled forward, adjusting her position a bit. From there, she stretched her legs forward towards the other branch, but it was easily clear that she wouldn't be able to reach. She struggled a bit, trying to not just fall off the branch she was already on.

The wolf shifts his position, so that he's straddling the branch for better balance. As the canine stretches towards him, he reaches out to try and grab hold of her without losing his balance as well. On his second attempt, he grabs hold of her right leg and pulls her a bit closer. He reaches up with his free paw and gets his arm around behind her partway and takes hold of the back of her shirt near her waist. He releases her leg and reaches up with his now free paw.
"Now, take hold of my paw with one of yours." he says.

Reena squeaked a couple of times as she stretched out her legs, trying to work out the best ways to climb on down. It was easier with the wolf's help, at least. When he offered one of his paws to her, she adjusted her hold on the branch and grabbed onto the outstretched paw. Her weight shifted now as well as one of her feet finally touched down on the lower branch. As a result, the canine pulled on her helper's paw and brought down her other paw to grab onto his shirt at the shoulder in her attempt to regain some balance.

Once she got hold of his paw, the wolf tightened his grip on her. He knew at this point he had to anchor her or likely end up falling to the ground with her. Ending up in an awkward position wasn't appealing to him at all. He watches as she manages to plant a foot on the branch he was sitting on and then she pulls on him. He shifts forward slightly, but keeps himself in place by squeezing his legs around the branch and pulling back on her as well. He rocks backwards a little and tightens the hold of his arm around her to make sure she didn't fall backwards.

Although the soles of her boots didn't give her the best ability to balance, after a bit of wobbling, the Klee Kai was standing up on the branch that had first allowed her to climb up the tree in the first place. She was still facing off to one side of the wolf and standing relatively close to him.

Her paw moved from his shoulder up to the top of the wolf's head as she tried to stay balanced. She seemed to take no real note of how that might make him feel about having her paw, still with just tiny bits of bark in the fur, pressed down lightly between his ears.

"Yes! One down!" she exclaimed, her tail wagging back and forth behind her a few times.

The wolf holds her tightly until she seems to gain her balance again. He loosens his grip a bit, but keeps ready just in case. Once she exclaims about getting to this branch, he relaxes his hold on her more and starts to let go of her entirely. He looks up at her to meet her gaze.
"Are you good now?" he asks.

Reena turned her gaze down towards the wolf, lifting her paw off his head. "Yeah, I think I can make that jump," she replied after glancing down towards the ground. She began to crouch on the branch now, resting one paw against his shoulder to maintain her balance while she lowered herself down. Once crouching down, the dog reached back with her other paw to hold onto her camera bag, then jumped down to the ground with a solid 'thud'.

The wolf watches the canine descend down to the ground below. He then shakes his head, dislodging the bits of bark still lingering on his head from where she had been resting her paw. He lifts himself off the branch, so he can swing one leg over the branch, turning his back on the canine. He then moves a short ways away from the tree trunk so he won't hit it and also be clear of the canine so he won't land too close to her.

He glances down, making sure the ground beneath him was clear, then he pushes off the branch and drops down. He lands gracefully on all fours and within a couple of moments, he's back on his feet and walking back over to his bag he'd set down earlier. He picks it back up and slings it over his right shoulder and only then looks back towards the canine.