his end, when it comes, is at the hands of the sea.

he is racing along the edge of the cliffs. his chest heaves; his lungs burn. he's aware, distantly, that his strength is flagging, that he will not be able to keep up this pace- but it is a thought discarded as swiftly as it is acknowledged. there is something behind him- the shape is irrelevant- and yunxu hears its breath and the crash of its paws, louder by the moment.

he does not realize he is going to die. his paw simply-

-slips-

-and suddenly there is no ground beneath him, only open sky.

he lashes out, clawing for purchase, but it is far too late. there is nothing to grab hold of and no way he could. he spirals down, flailing instinctively, the wind roaring in his face and the storm-grey waves howling below.

the sea reaches for him with the implacable jaw of an ocean current and teeth capped in white foam. in one swift and brutal bite, it swallows him whole.

• •

yunxu wakes drowning.

the adrenaline from the fall thrums through his weary limbs. he gasps a startled breath and pulls in only water; when he kicks out, scrabbling for land, he finds sand under his paws. coughing, heart thundering, he digs in his claws and lunges forward as the sea breaks into sky- and skids to an ungainly stop on the shore, tumbling head over heels and ending sprawled on his sodden flank, hacking up saltwater between desperate gasps for air.

his legs tremble. he remembers he needs to keep running- but not quite why. the feeling is urgent enough to lift his head from the sand, but there is nothing to be seen- just the sky a bright, glittering blue that reflects the glassy stillness of the sea, and an endless expanse of soft white sand and hanging palm trees. there are no cliffs, only distant scraggly pines and a faraway horizon. the air smells like salt and seaweed, like not a single predator has passed by in many turns of the sun.

the adrenaline, fading, leaves him feeling faint and weak. yunxu turns and vomits saltwater and the remains of the fish he'd last eaten onto the sand, and stares at it for a moment; then, dizzily, he takes a few steps away from the water and collapses back on his belly.

he is alive. he should not be. he...fell...and the water had come up at him with its rows of rocky teeth. he had died. he has seen wolves go over that cliff before and be swallowed alive, never seen again. and now the cliff itself is gone- he casts a glance upward, just to be sure- and the sea that took him has instead...saved him. delivered him here.

but why? he is nothing special, and the sea, for its cruelties and kindnesses, is no living being. how would it...?

an afterlife, then? a vivid dream?

the young shark presses the tip of his nose between his paws and squeezes his eyes firmly shut, hoping fiercely that the world will be right when he opens them.

She’d never seen the ocean before. The endlessness had been overwhelming upon first sight. Senka had padded along the water’s edge, admiring the splendor of the sea, inhaling the salted atmosphere. She’d splashed and pounced much like a young pup, tossing kelp and seaweed and chasing shorebirds.

Upon the depletion of her energy, the old wolf plopped herself down among the golden grass to rest. Muscles ached from the unsteady shifting sand. Tongue lolled happily and she stretched with a relaxed yawn.

An unknown amount of time had passed in her ease and admiration of this new world. It could have been hours or mere minutes sitting in the warm sand, the sun beating down, and she didn’t care either way. The tranquility was abruptly interrupted by a splashing, sputtering sound from down the beach. She craned her neck until she saw a black and white figure in the distance. They seemed uncertain on their limbs, collapsing onto their stomach after only a few steps.

Senka pulled herself up and watched for a mere moment before deciding to approach. Her long legs weaved closer, ears upright. The acidic odor of vomit hit her nose first and the old woman slowed to a stop.

Hello, dear! She called out, voice dry and raspy as it always was, Are you alright? Do you need help?

Her fur had dried, sticking out more than usual from her frolic in the water, and sand still clung to her legs and belly. She may have given herself a quick shake had she not been staring at the poor soul in front of her, concern etched across her whitened face.

You look a bit like a drowned rat, at the moment. The words stumbled from her lips before she realized.

when yunxu opens his eyes, the sea and sky look stubbornly like they had when he'd closed them.

...not a dream. maybe he'd just fallen unconscious, and by some miracle of the gods, the sea had buoyed him until he had woken. the possibility is vanishingly unlikely, but nothing else makes sense. unless he is dead after all, but surely death wouldn't be this... uncomfortable.

nor does he particularly want to consider the thought.

to the reality, then. there are worse places to be tossed up like a piece of driftwood on the tide, but that thought doesn't comfort him. he shakes his head, doing his best to banish the sluggishness that's set in-surely the fault of the sun beating down- but the nausea is still clinging; all it does is make him dizzy and send him into another fierce coughing fit.

yunxu works his way through it with hunched shoulders, and then rubs his muzzle shakily against a forelimb. his sister would demand he rest, but-

an unfamiliar voice cuts through the distraction. he startles, hackles bristling as he scrambles to unsteady legs and makes sure there's space between them, only now smelling the scent of wolf- had he really been too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice?

though she- uniquely among the strangers he's encountered recently- seems...like she isn't going to pick a fight. her age shows in her milky blinded eye and the white peppering of her fur. it takes him an extended moment to process that she's even talking to him, much less what she's saying; he hasn't bothered to speak english in some time.

he's never been too fond of concern either, that of family or otherwise- but his luck has always been awful, and it shows no sign of changing.

he realizes he's staring at her.

"我 很 好," yunxu says before he can think to consider his words, and spends another several seconds scraping a couple sentences together in her tongue, too exhausted to go through the pantomime he often prefers, "thank you. i will be fine."

she's trying to be kind, which rankles. he tries not to show it. he must look pathetic, he knows that- it's not a new feeling. "i fell," he says, "from cliffs. i am not sure where this is?"

It appeared her approach surprised the other as they scrambled to their feet. Senka held back a smile and lowered herself into a sitting position, maintaining the distance between the pair. Tail offered a soft wag and her ears dropped in appeasement of the younger wolf. She watched him assess the situation, keeping her left eye fastened on his face.

He speaks, but the words are a mystery to the old maid’s ear. It must have shown on her face as her brain worked to understand, rolling the sounds through her mind over and over. He continued. This time she understood. A quick glance toward the wet pile of vomit nearby and doubt of his condition remained. Senka shoved her skepticism down her throat and simply nodded in response.

At the mention of cliffs, Senka’s brows raise. She hadn’t seen any cliffs in her short exploration, and none were visible from where the pair lingered on the shore. There seemed to be no blood or visible injuries from a fall, thank the Gods, and Senka considered him lucky for that.

Ah. My dear, She pauses to choose her words wisely, It seems the Gods have seized you from your world and brought you here as well. They chose to save your life.

She shifted in the sand and chewed at her lip momentarily, watching his reaction. The old woman had been informed of such only a few days prior and her thoughts returned to the small white dame that had so kindly explained it all.

Or maybe we just find ourselves here, somehow. You know, if you don’t believe in the Gods. Apparently things like this happen often in this world, though I’ve been told that no one knows why or how.

Senka lowers herself onto her belly and hopes the newcomer understands. She sighs and scans the trees in the distance, My name is Senka. There are others here as well, if you are in need of any help. I am happy to sit with you, if you so wish.

his throat burns.

a little more sense has returned to him- which means he has the presence to embarrassed over staggering around as though concussed and vomiting in front of a stranger. shoulders hunched awkwardly, he paces a half-circle away, throwing all of his concentration into not looking like he's about to collapse. he still feels shaky, and is wishing fiercely he'd been left alone to be miserable.

he mutters a curse under his breath, finding comfort in both the language and the knowledge she won't understand it.

had he not thought this might be the gods' doing? it only seems ridiculous to think there is truth to it. why would rizhào or cāng bother to save him? he is not important. he leads no pack and his family does not need him, a year old and still a tiny, scrawny thing, to protect them. he is worth nothing. that is no insult- it is a fact, and not one with a particular sting.

but the gods are one thing. entirely another is...

"from my world...?" he repeats, narrow-eyed, not bothering to hide the confusion. "the sea carries me here. i can walk back. it takes many days, perhaps, but..."

this world. things like this happen often.

yunxu stares at her as she crouches down to her belly. she is not making any sense- it is the ramblings of a madwoman, and he should ignore it, but the firmness in her voice makes him doubt. the confusion begins to give way to panic.

"where am i?" he demands. it carries the unpleasant edge of a plea.

Tension radiated from the male. Single green eye turned to the ocean. The vast endlessness filled her chest with swirling hope, despite the oddities of this world. The warnings she’d received. The ominous dream that had swept through her the very first night, leaving her with little rest. Unlike most dreams, the details never grew fuzzy. Breath pushed past her lips in a sympathetic sigh. She looked down at her paws outstretched in front of her.

You may walk for as long as you’d like, but you will not find your home. I believe this land is called Mythris.

Senka could not see him; an ear remained attuned to his whereabouts. It was with hope that allowing him some space, both physically and by averting her gaze, would ease any discomfort, but she could not protect him from the truth nor control whatever reaction he may have to it. She held space for him, like she’d done for years as a mother and grandmother. He appeared young and she decided he could not be more than two or three years. She thought of a mother or father mourning his disappearance. Her mind flickered to her own daughters. Senka knew she was old enough that her own kin would assume she had passed – a comfort, at least.

It is a new beginning here. For one reason or another, you have been brought here, same as I.

The Gods had reasons for saving him from certain death. It was no question in the old woman's mind. Why they chose her was something else entirely, and for that, she had no answers.

she is not making eye contact with him, which would calm him were he not certain it was the product of pity. you look pathetic, yunxu reminds himself, which, while true, makes him no less agitated. this is why you don't speak to strangers. he should have dragged himself into the trees while he had the chance.

he could demand answers. is it an afterlife, this mythris? is he dead? but the answer will be the same- she doesn't know. sides heaving with breath, yunxu keeps staring until he senses no more words will be forthcoming and, sight blurring with the movement, spins unsteadily on his heels.

he makes it a half-dozen steps up the beach, aiming for the feathery brush that will hide him from what is surely the pitying stare he's being fixed with, before his legs give out and he crumples inelegantly to his chest, sticky with salt.

muzzle planted into the soft sand, yunxu resists the urge to scream.

"起来," he growls instead through clenched teeth, and instantly breaks into another fit of coughing. he is whole and uninjured, and this is not the first time he's breathed water by mistake- there's no reason for his body to betray him now, least of all in front of a stranger. of course the day would pile on him yet more shame. his nape burns with embarrassment; he squeezes his eyes shut and turns his head just enough to breathe without inhaling a lungful of sand.

"i do not want...a new beginning," he hisses, mortified to find tears prickling at the back of his eyes. he forces them more tightly shut. "the gods, the sea... should have let me die. why this?"

Sounds of sandy steps receded. Briefly wondering if he was going to stalk off without further discussion, a small huff caused Senka to look over her shoulder; the black and white figure had dropped to the sand once more, followed by a rumbling exclamation in the unfamiliar tongue. Her heart ached at the sight. Stubborn, angry stranger. So young. His world turned upside down in an instant.

Long limbs pushed herself upright once again. She shook, finally freeing herself of the dried sand that had coated her legs and abdomen. The woman did not follow yet, but merely watched. She listened to him lash out about the Gods, took note of the emotion heavy in his voice. A brow cocked.

Child, She hissed in return, Do you think the Gods have made a mistake? You are young, spry, with a life ahead of you if you wish to take it.

At this, Senka approached. She strode in a wide circle around the wolf until she stood a distance in front of him, head lowering til her gaze could meet his. Lips lifted enough for her canines to show.

If you want to spite their decision, you can let yourself wither away into nothing, until the birds have picked your bones clean. A wasted life. A wasted opportunity. Senka snorted at the thought, turning away from him. To so blatantly offend the Gods without fear of retribution was unfathomable. The warnings of Kirain reentered her mind – plagues winding their murky tendrils across the lands, resulting in injury and death to those who are not careful. Maybe it was punishment after all.

The woman paused with a flick of her tail. Without looking, she spoke, voice softer than before.

Whatever your life was before now, it is no longer, and for that, I am sorry.

---

i am so sorry i love senka but yunxu is such a dick

laying on the sand for the second time that day, yunxu is again reminded why he does not speak to strangers. there are steps behind him. the fur on his nape bristles, but he is too busy trying to control himself to pay it much mind.

but he is a... captive audience, in a word, still unsure whether or not he can stand. another insult- that she has free reign to pace around him, lower her head and force him to look into her eyes, teeth bared. that this woman he does not even know has free reign to talk to him- and to talk to him like this, as though he is a child to be scolded, and then to turn arrogantly away.

the panic and confusion and embarrassment boil down into familiar, comforting anger.

"少废话," yunxu snarls. "you do not understand. i have family- home. what do gods think there is for me here?"

even when things had been bad he had had that. now he is alone, barely able to walk, with a foreign stranger acting as though he should be grateful to have woken up here.

what does she know?

yunxu lurches back to his paws, too exhausted and sore to snap like he would otherwise. "i had purpose. life ahead of me. now nothing. nothing but stranger telling me to be grateful for what has been taken." the heaving breath, this time, only tickles his throat; the young shark coughs once, nostrils flaring. "i will not be."