The pounding headache that greeted her was unwelcome, not to mention the achiness of her joints. It didn't help that she felt fuzzy-headed and groggy in ways she never would have imagined. It took her an inordinate amount of time to pull her blue-pink eyes open so she could take in her situation, and while she was somewhere completely unfamiliar, she found that she didn't have the strength to pull herself back together.

Instead, resigned to her state of confusion, Saoirse wearily gazed around the rock walls surrounding her. She was in a cave, by the looks of it, and... she was alone? Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall what happened to put her in this state. She remembered being out in the snow... it was beautiful and she was dancing.... and then the lake.

The lake! She remembered falling through the ice, and the fear and the cold, but nothing beyond that. She'd drowned, hadn't she? But then how was she here? Had she managed to save herself... and then dragged herself into this cave? No, that didn't sound right. How would she have managed that?

So caught up in her thoughts, the wild dog didn't notice the brown form walking in from outside until he was right next to her. Jumping, she gazed in surprise at the male in front of her. He was much larger than her, and at first, she eyed him in suspicion. All he did though was drop his catch on the floor in front of her and then step back. Frazzled as she was, she didn't realize he was talking until she noticed him staring at her in confusion. Oh. Oh, crap. She hadn't been watching, and now she had no idea what he'd said.

They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, Saoirse trying to decide what to do. "I... I don't..." She cleared her throat, unhappy with how clogged it felt, "Sorry, I can't...." She rubbed at an ear, trying to figure out how to phrase that she hadn't caught what he said.

It was already midday by the time the femme awoke. Anrothan had gotten her into the cave, tried to lick off as much water as he could, and (he'd deny being massively embarrassed over this later) cuddled to build body heat. Thank goodness she had not awoken while all of this was happening too. He wasn't sure he would have been able to build up the courage to do it if she'd been awake.

Once morning had come, the wild dog had decided that food was in order, both for himself and his damsel-in-distress. He'd hunted for the next few hours before managing to snag a rabbit. It was a thin little thing, not much of a meal for himself, but it should hopefully suffice for her.

He was surprised to come back and find her staring blankly at the wall. Nonetheless, he mumbled through the rabbit's fur in his mouth "Hello! It's good to see you awake." He trotted in, not noticing her lack of reaction, "I was worried when you fain-" Her startle at him standing next to her definitely caught his attention though. He'd spoken up but... had she not heard him coming?

A little bemused, Anrothan dropped the kill to the floor and then took a step back, hoping to calm her nerves. When she didn't move, he continued, "I caught you some breakfast, to hopefully gain your strength back." He paused, "Are you alright?"

Now he was starting to get confused, but he perked up when she started speaking. She couldn't...? He blinked, before it finally dawned on him. She couldn't hear him! Oh, he hoped it wasn't due to falling in the water! She was clearly struggling right now though, and so, deciding to make this easier for her, he slowly slid down onto his stomach in front of her.

Now how to communicate with her.... He's heard of deafness before, but had never come across someone who had it. She could clearly talk though, so perhaps, if he mouthed it right....

"Are you alright?" It was a little awkward, speaking yet trying to show his words through action rather than sound. "You were unconscious when I pulled you out of the water." Hm, was that too many words in a sentence? He was running blind right now.

Saoirse blinked, a bit surprised when he leaned down, and again when he was clearly trying to speak to her where she could see him. Normally it took longer to explain how she couldn't hear, and sometimes she tried to forgo it entirely because some people had a habit of speaking as if she was stupid. He wasn't trying to over exaggerate his mouth as he spoke though.

She should probably answer him back. With an uncertain flick of her tail, she did a mental check of herself. Achy and a headache from hell, but she was warm again and she didn't think she was injured otherwise.

"I'm fine," she shrugged, "I mean... sort of achy, but I don't think there's anything wrong beyond that."

Anrothan smiled when she answered him back. Good. He wished that he could do something about her aches and pains, but he didn't know any home remedies to fix that. He, himself, still felt the stiffness that came from being in ice water for too long, but he knew it would go away eventually.

With a nod, he folded his paws in front of him, "That's good, I was worried." He cocked his head to the side, "You don't seem very concerned over not being able to hear.... Is that normal for you?"

Saoirse frowned and then nodded guardedly, "I was born like this." And that was all she was willing to say on the matter. Her deafness was nothing new, and she didn't want him pitying her for it. Just because she couldn't hear didn't mean that she wasn't perfectly normal! She could survive perfectly well.

Hoping to change the subject, the wild dog took a glance around the cave. They were relatively near the entrance, yet still far enough to be in the warmth. He must have gone out hunting while she slept - and goodness, she must have been asleep for a while! The sun was in full force outside.

While she was making these observations, Anrothan was watching her, intrigued over her lack of concern. If anything, she seemed to not want to talk about it. So he decided not to bring it up again. It was probably a touchy subject. Instead, he would adjust himself to hopefully make things easier.

She was a dainty little thing too, all sleek limbs and smooth fur. It rather reaffirmed his assumption that she was some sort of princess, and a princess always needed a knight to aid them.

His ears flicked up at that thought. Of course, his restlessness and searching! This must be who he was meant to meet! He certainly felt like it was fate that he was nearby when she needed help. Watching those blue-pink eyes gaze outside, he felt the urge to protect surge up. Yes, he would happily be her companion, if she would have him... and he supposed that that's what it really came down to. She was an independent princess, would she want a protector?

Well, he would find out. For now though, he silently vowed to help her how he could.

Glancing down at the rabbit, he shuffled forward and nudged it closer to her. When it tapped against her paws, she turned surprised eyes back at him and he took the opportunity to wag his tail and say, "You must be starving, Moonshine."

Raising an eyebrow, Saoirse blinked in confusion, "Moonshine?" Was that... what he was calling her? Well, she supposed that he had no way of knowing her name, and she'd always felt close to the moon, so it wasn't a terrible nickname to have. She giggled and finally started to relax, "Why would you call me that?"

With a goofy grin, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, "Why, for how beautifully you shine in the moon's light. It seemed fitting, though... I wouldn't mind knowing your real name."

The female shuffled in place, a bit embarrassed over the charming answer. Perhaps she shouldn't have asked. Bashfully tucking her nose down, she gazed upwards towards him, "It's Saoirse, but I don't mind if you call me that."

Glancing down at the rabbit, she debated whether to turn away the gift. After all, it was his kill. She had no right to it. However, the sight of food set off her stomach, and her ears flattened against her head. Well... it was a gift. It'd be rude to turn it down.

Before tucking into the meal though, she huffed back, "What about you? Aren't you hungry as well, mister...?"

He shook his head, happy that she was accepting the food, "Anrothan, and I'm alright. I can always hunt later when I'm hungrier. It would be rude of me to eat before making sure my damsel-in-distress was fed."

"Damsel..." Saoirse smirked and leaned forward to shove playfully at him, "I'm not a damsel-in-distress, thank you." At least, she wasn't now, but she didn't say that.

Anrothan.... That was a pretty name. She didn't mind his company, she decided as she tucked into her meal. He was polite and had saved her life, after all. She would see where this meeting took her.