Out on a Ledge (Echo and Lazarus)

Lazarus

Lazarus never messed up. He could find his way out of any situation, no matter what it could be.

But, well, he supposed there was a first time for everything.

During a less than careful leap from one rock to another, the young male had been shocked to find it loose, and before he knew it he was ten feet down, sitting on a ledge, with his foreleg killing him.

He wasn’t scared, really, or mad. Just annoyed. He tried to move, but his leg made him freeze again and slump back down, wincing. Youch! How was he supposed to get out of here? The rocky ground sloped away on one side and on the other was the steep cliff upward that lead to the path he had once tread. “Hello?” he called, his voice a tired howl. He didn’t expect anyone to be around. He wasn’t in a particularly busy part of the territory. And not to mention he had been sitting here for quite a while. The gravity of the situation hadn’t hit Lazarus yet, and probably wouldn’t hit him until he was almost dead of starvation. But he made a point to call out every so often anyway. It’d be so frustrating if someone walked by without even noticing he was here. He was getting pretty hungry….

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Echo

Echo trod quietly along the rocky terrain, tracking a young deer just for the fun of it. She was curious how long she could follow it before it noticed her and she wondered where it might be going. Did deer have planned out destinations or did they just wander aimlessly in search of food and company? This one was starting to look a little lost as the terrain grew more rocky and Echo noted with interest a rise in its anxiety level. The deer's increased agitation seemed to only serve to work itself into a panic and it suddenly huffed and bounded forward at full speed, disappearing into the thicket.

Rising from her crouched position, Echo prepared to follow the panicked doe when a familiar scent wafted into her nose, making her pause. Lazarus? What was he doing out here? Echo didn't know the young male very well personally and finding his scent out here made her curious. Maybe this would be a good chance to get to know him better.

Lifting her nose to the wind, Echo followed the scent of her packmate to a narrow path running along a steep incline. About halfway across, a boulder blocked the path and the scent suddenly disappeared. Echo checked herself, a bit puzzled. Scents didn't just disappear. Looking along the path, she noticed an area of loose dirt that had shifted recently. Surely he didn't- A lonely howl answered her before she could even finish the thought. Looking over the edge of the path, Echo discovered a very pensive looking Lazarus on a ledge below her. "Lazarus?!" She called down to him, "What are you doing down there?"

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Lazarus

The sight of a light brown head peering down at him filled Lazarus with joy. He wagged his tail, “Hey, Echo! About time someone showed up!” he said, grinning up at her. He snorted in laughter at her question, “just hanging out, enjoying the view! Care to join me?” He shuffled over to the side, as if to make room for her on the ledge, his silver eyes twinkling with mischief as he gazed up at her. Lazarus was not a wolf to engage serious situations, even if he was in one. He’d much rather make fun.

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Echo

Echo felt her initial concern for her packmate recede slightly as he spoke. He must not be in too much trouble if he could joke about his situation. The corner of her mouth slid up in a smirk at his banter as she continued to look down at him on his ledge. "And how is that view? Oh sure! I'll be right down." Giving a teasing chuckle, Echo gave the younger male a quick look over. From her vantage point, she could see no obvious injuries and she felt a small relief. ”Are you planning to stay there all night?" she gave one more tease.

On a more serious note, the young courser was pretty sure his intention was not to stay there and she glanced around to try and figure out a way to rescue Lazarus from spending the night on the side of the cliff. It was a tricky spot. The ground was crumbly, the sun was starting to set so light wasn't the greatest anymore, and Echo was not a wolf known for her physical strength.

Frowning slightly, Echo studied the ledge and the slope leading down to it. "Hey Lazarus, are you hurt at all? If I find something for you to hold on to do you think you could climb back up here?"

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Lazarus

Lazarus wagged his tail a bit, happy that she was engaging. He shrugged his shoulders at her question. Views didn’t do much for the dark furred wolf even if they were good ones. Not to mention this view… his brother Raph was probably the only one who could enjoy a bunch of shadowy rocks. Maybe Tzuri, he seemed to like things like that too. “Boring, don’t recommend it.” he answered, then snorted at her next question, “not if I have a choice!” he laughed, shifting his weight to take a look at his injured leg, his silver eyes disapproving as his laughter faded. His body had never let him down before, what made this stupid leg think it could crap out on him right when he needed it most?

He looked up at Echo. “Yeah, that’d probably help,” he said, “this leg’s busted but the other three haven’t failed me yet,” he got up and balanced easily on his three paws, holding the injured forepaw off the ground, to show Echo.

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Echo

Laughing with Lazarus at his response to the option of spending the night, Echo lifted her gaze to glance around at what resources she had available nearby to help her pull the younger male back up. “Alright, let me see what I can do,” she chuckled back to him.

Her smile faded into a frown and her brow furrowed as Lazarus presented his injured leg. Her limited knowledge of healing didn’t help her much in identifying the problem from so far away but it did increase her determination to get him out quickly so she could evaluate the injury. Remembering the thicket that the deer from earlier had leaped into, Echo hoped she could find something around the trees that could help her. All she was seeing in the immediate vicinity were boulders, dirt, and weeds. None of which were very helpful at this moment. “Hang tight for a bit Lazarus! I’ll be right back. I think I have an idea,” she called down to the other as she backed away from the edge of the ledge. “Try not to use that leg too much!” Turning, Echo raced back down her previous path to the patch of trees.

Skidding to a stop, the young courser began searching the trunks of the trees. It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for and her eyes lit up with delight. Before her stood an old tree, it’s trunk made to look much wider than it actually was by the many large vines weaving around its girth as they climbed towards the sky. Sniffing along the tangled surface, Echo searched for a younger vine. One that was small enough to still be flexible but strong enough to not snap under pressure. Locating her prize, Echo promptly chewed through a section of the plant and used her paws to gently but quickly untangle a lengthy section from the old tree. Chewing off the other end to complete her rope, the small female did her best to drag it back to where Lazarus waited without tripping on it.

She peeked back over the edge as she arrived, “Hey! How are you doing?” she called to her packmate. “I’ve found a vine that might work to pull you out with.” Echo tossed one end of the vine down to Lazarus. “Grab onto that and try to climb back up the slope. I’ll hold the other end to try to anchor you and help pull you out. Let me know when you are ready and I will pull it tight.” Echo backed away slightly to give herself some forward space in case Lazarus proved to be too heavy for her and picked up her end of the vine, ready to brace for the younger male’s weight.

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Lazarus

Lazarus sat down as she promised to return, letting out a yawn as the moments passed by. He looked around, peering over the edge of the ledge, wondering if he could get out that way. But… that didn’t look practical at all. Hmm…

He heard Echo coming and turned back toward the edge, looking up at her. “Hanging tight, as instructed,” he answered with a smile, watching as the end of the vine came tumbling down toward him. He paused, looking at it doubtfully. She really thought this would work?

Eh, worth a shot! He grabbed the vine with his teeth, a short way up the end of the vine. “Alright, I’m good!” he called up to her, his voice muffled from the vine in his mouth. He put a tentative forepaw on the cliff wall. It was a steep angle, too steep to climb safely even with four good paws. But perhaps with the vine it could be done. He just hope he didn’t yank her down with him! He was careful with every pawhold, trying to depend as little as possible on the vine, as he began his ascent.

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Echo

Pricking her ears as she heard a muffled sound that she took as Lazarus being ready, Echo backed further along the ledge, pulling the slack out of the vine and bracing herself. Taking a deep breath and sending up a quick prayer to The One for this to work without injuring herself or further injuring her packmate, the young female was as ready as she could be for this game of tug.

As the weight of the young male was added to the makeshift rope, Echo clamped her jaws down and grunted. She felt her teeth dig into the woody fibers of the vine and she worried that they might be pulled out of her mouth but she did not relent her grip. The muscles in her neck and shoulders strained painfully as she held on and she felt her paws wanting to slip on the rocky ground. Her breath was already coming in loud snorts through her nostrils from her exertion. Praying for Lazarus to climb quickly, Echo pulled back on the vine and slowly worked her small body backwards every time there was slack in the line from her packmate's progress up the steep cliff side.

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Lazarus

Lazarus wasn’t particularly worried as he worked his way up the cliff side, aided by the vine. At least not until he was getting close to the top. Because, well, it was a long way down from here! But he could hear Echo’s labored breath from on top of the cliff, and he himself felt his paws sore and raw from climbing up the steep slope. He knew that one slip could end them both tumbling into oblivion.

But luckily, he didn’t slip. And before long, he found two solid footholds near the top and used them to push, grabbing the edge and scrambling so his forepaws spread over the top of the cliff. He released the vine, panting for breath, his hindquarters still hanging from the ledge. He tried to pull himself the rest of the way up but found himself lacking the strength, or the purchase. And he feared falling backwards again. He dropped his chin to the ground, panting, his silver eyes flicking up to Echo, “Uh… a little help?” he asked with a half-hearted grin between breaths. He would sure owe Echo a lot after this!

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Echo

Time felt like it was standing still as Echo fought to pull back on the vine. Inch by inch she drew further away from the ledge and inch by painfully slow inch, she felt her strength begin to fail. What was taking so long? Surely he was almost to the top by now? Her legs trembled from her exertion and she felt her paws begin to slip on the slick stone beneath her feet. She was beginning to grow worried that she couldn't hold him when she finally saw movement at the edge and, a moment later, Lazarus popped up onto the ledge. Well, with his front half anyway.

At his call for help, Echo stumbled forward in alarm that he might slide back over, spitting out the vine as she went. Her legs felt like rubber as she hurried to her packmate’s side and reached over to grab his scruff to help pull him up. Her whole body screamed with the effort and as soon as his body cleared the edge and he was back on solid ground, Echo collapsed next to him panting for breath and never wanting to move again.

Looking over at Lazarus as he recovered as well, Echo was glad to see that, minus his injured leg, he was ok. She let out a sigh of relief and gave him a tired smirk. “Hey, the next time you decide to go cliff jumping, bring a bigger wolf with you to pull you back out, ok?

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Lazarus

Lazarus, with Echo’s help, finally made it to the top of the cliff, falling to the ground in a pile of exhaustion right beside her. He panted, his whole body aching. Talk about a workout, he thought to himself, unable to stop a breathless laugh. “Thanks Echo,” he said.

Lazarus looked over at her, his silver eyes glowing, at her playful comment, “Heh, will do!”