Skye frequented several such places and was swimming somewhat idly when fae heard a disturbance in the distance, caught a scent. Something spicy was heading faer way fast. Slipping into the cover of the waterfall seemed like a good idea. It wasn't a long wait. A small thing sprinted into view, crashing through the brush without a care. It dove into the water, trailing blood.
In seconds it had reached the other shoreline, scrambled up the embankment, and promptly passed out halfway up.
How curious. What was it running from? Fae didn't have to wait long for an answer. Three men, likely from Reverton, were hot on its trail, and armed about it. They spotted their prey and made way albeit unhurried. No one had noticed faer yet. Skye slipped underwater as one of the men took a slight lead ahead of the other two.
Fae sprang from the water just in time, faer fangs reducing a throat to savaged, blood-gushing meat while faer claws rended a face into a grisly portrait of ruin. Skye cornered the last man as he reached his goal.
Skye growled, fangs bared. The man gestured downward with his blade and spat words. "Back off, mutt, or I'll gut the runt right here." He never took his eyes off Skye. That was a mistake. The feral child roused slyly, quickly assessed the situation, and bit the man's leg.
Hamstrung with one bite. Skye was impressed. The man howled viciously. Skye clobbered him with an elbow. No sense making things even bloodier now that the kid was up.
Skye had learned the local human cant. "Hi. I'm Skye. You're safe from them, now." The kid put on a puzzled face, which scrunched and tilted a bit. Slight twitches said a lot if you spoke wolf. This kid did.
[don't know their words.. know some of yours]
Skye's tail wagged. {Incredible! and you use them well. I'm Skye, am I going too fast for you? Do you have a name?}
It shook its head. [i can keep up. no name. you helped me.]
Skye nodded.
[thank you.]
{You're safe now}
It shook its head again, quirks emphasizing danger. [no we're not. i wasn't running from them i was running from that]
Skye turned, looked into the face of infinite and unparalleled horror. Every death and fate of ruin flashed within. Every single one of faer possible futures clashed against each other in faer mind, each gleeful to announce its odds and faer chances within their embrace.
Faer wolf-speaking feral human was quick. In that singular moment, it ran up between the two and began barking ferociously at the ghost. The illusory embrace collapsed, freeing Skye from the trances of doomed destines. Fae jumped, going for the ghost's throat. The feral was already diving for one of its calves. In seconds the pair of them had it helplessly squirting ectoplasm into the dirt.
They shivered, the goopy blue-green substance strung across its skin and faer fur. Such kills in close quarters were frequently a messy affair. Skye walked back into the water, paused and looked back. {You coming in?} It didn't hesitate to follow faer.
{So, no name huh? Would you like one?}
It nodded its head excitedly.
{How about. . . Ghostbark?}
It grinned, then smirked, reached out, made some adjustments. The words glitched, changed in real time, became gh0stbark. It grinned even wider, barked, then howled. Skye joined in until they collapsed into fits of splashy giggles.
[i'm coming with you, is that okay?] Skye nodded. It came closer, reached out. [is this okay?] Skye nodded again. They touched. It began working the blood and plasm off of faer fur with a deliberate care. It had cleaned wolves before. Fae didn't know much about feral children. Skye decided fae would learn.
