save me from what i want - private

Spadespaw waded through the shallows, away from a raft that churned emptily in the water. The day was windy and gray, the sun hidden behind clouds the color of sleet, and by the time the lynx reached the shore her paws were aching with the cold. She was accustomed to harsh weather, to unrelenting cold and gray skies that spit rain and sleet like acid, but this was something else; the ocean stole any warmth her winter-resistant pelt might have harbored. She was used to being alone as well, could hold her own when no one else was around to defend her. This is what she told herself, as her soaked limbs shivered with the cold and each step was a fight closer to land, as if her paws were frozen in ice. She didn't need anyone.

When she reached the shore Spadespaw turned and looked back at the raft. From the shore it looked flimsier than it was, crafted out of pine logs and tied together with rope. It was an impressive construction, with its dark wood selected from the most flexible of the mountain trees, lightweight for buoyancy. Still, whoever had crafted it obviously hadn't been overly concerned about her safety. Spadespaw stood devastated on the beach as the impact of this fully hit her. To the rest of the world, what she did from this point on didn't matter. Even though she had survived the journey, no one from her past life was coming to retrieve her.

Spadespaw shivered as a cold wind blew over her soaked fur, rattling her away from dark thoughts. The days she had been trapped on the raft with the ocean stretching in all directions had been the loneliest of her entire life, time spent with her mind still reeling from shock of her family's rejection. She had been too deeply invested with her own grief to notice the waves that battered the craft, not even when the water drenched her and it seemed sure she would be titled into the sea. Now she was fully aware of her discomfort.

Spadespaw's lips curled over an expletive that desired to flash its way past her chattering canines. She was parched and light-headed; now that it seemed she would live, there was the issue of finding water and shelter, not to mention the fact that she hadn't eaten in days. Spadespaw blinked saltwater from her eyes, watching the raft as it became increasingly distant on the horizon. It hovered there for a moment, before disappearing from view. Swallowed by the waves.

Turning away from the sight, Spadespaw began to stumble along the shoreline, large paws making woozy, clumsy progression across the sand. She thought she'd seen a lighthouse when she'd first arrived, and the sight was promising enough to send her headed in its direction, or what she thought was the right direction. Spadespaw knew she shouldn't be too hopeful, but the alternative was to remain on the beach and pass out, and the lynx didn't intend to give in so easily. She realized that in a sense, her family had freed her. She could live her own life now, without her family's suspicion constantly shadowing her. The lynx just hoped that whoever lived here didn't have the same misconceptions regarding her marked fur.

Acecard S.R.B.

It turned out, she had been headed in the right direction. Catching sight of the lighthouse on the horizon, the lynx moved woozily forward, encouraged by the promise of rest and shelter. Her heart began to race with excitement, flooding her paws with sudden strength as she considered that her situation might improve after all. She could begin a new life here, a better one. But the sight of a muscled panther, antlers protruding menacingly from its head, was enough to cause the lynx to question her newfound freedom.

Spadespaw froze, her shoulders tensing as she fixed the approaching figure with a wary gaze. It didn't appear threatening, approaching at an even pace with buckets swinging from those strange antlers. But the lynx wasn't willing to take any chances. She held her ground, claws coiling into the ground and shoulders tensing as she prepared to expend the last of her strength. Whatever was approaching her from the lighthouse, whatever intentions it possessed, no power of sheer brutality could wield the same influence as a spiteful word from her own brothers and sisters. Nothing could afflict the same hurt her family had when they sent her out on that raft.

Spadespaw watched as the panther placed the buckets down in front of her, confusion flickering over her features. Eat? Drink? His words caught up to her, spinning through her dazed mind. The lynx had been prepared for a hostility, or even a fight, not this stranger's unexpected kindness. Although Spadespaw was prepared to withdraw her trust in a moment, if the panther was acting out of simple generosity she would be a fool to reject his kindness. She would probably die if she didn't.

Spadespaw said nothing as she bent her head, first to drink thirstily from the bucket of water before moving onto the fish. At first she devoured them, wolfing them down in starving gulps, until she began to satisfy her hunger to the point that the fishy taste became unappealing obvious. The lynx withdrew from the bucket, eying the fish with distaste as she swiped her tongue over her snout. Had she been so starved?

"Thanks," she grunted, cleaning a forepaw with a few idle swipes of her tongue. Although she was grateful to this stranger for having most likely saved her life, the lynx wasn't about to lead him to believe she couldn't fend for herself from this point onwards - dependency was a weakness. Besides that, Spadespaw felt her prior emotions, which had been briefly pushed aside in her search for food and shelter, coming back to her all at once. It left her with a tired, lingering distrust; if her family could leave her to die, then what was this stranger capable of?

Spadespaw raised her golden eyes to his, "So, if you don't mind me asking, where am I? Because 'The Rift' doesn't really provide a lot of information." She spoke evenly, a casual tone belying the freshly discovered hurt.

Spadespaw flicked a tufted ear, listening. So there were others on the island? Was it a family that resided here, she wondered, or was there something other than a shared bloodline that bound them together? Not that the lynx placed much stock in family loyalty anymore. As far as Spadespaw was concerned, blood meant nothing; otherwise, how could her family have gotten rid of her so easily? It was her expendability that rendered her the perfect scapegoat.

"I have no where else to go," Spadespaw admitted. Seeing as she was pretty much stranded here, she had no choice but to consider his offer. However, it wasn't just out of desperation that she was prepared to accept the panther's generosity. Maybe it was his calm, level-headed demeanor, or the way he made no inquiries into her origins or her arrival on the island, but as Ace spoke, Spadespaw found herself increasingly beginning to trust him. It was possible she was wrong - she had been wrong before. But she didn't think so.

Pausing to shake her head, the lynx continued wryly, "Obviously. I'm not here because I wanted to enjoy the scenery." She huffed, flattening her ears before fixing the panther with a curious stare. If there were others on the island... Was it possible that they were outcasts, like her? "Did your family abandon you too?" the lynx asked, tilting her head slightly to consider Acecard. As steady golden eyes lifted in an attempt to read his gaze, she realized she didn't know his name, nor he her's. "I'm Spadespaw."