Care for a dip?

[Wayrah]

The sun was high in the western sky, sending out her rays to beat heavily down upon the treacherous earth below. It was quite a scene, really. A lush creek surrounded by a parched, cruel landscape. A figure, too, adorned the earth, and the wolfen form stretched and recoiled as it stepped from mossy rock to mossy rock, having been so lucky as to find the forgiving stream's bank, a generous respite from the jagged rocks.

He payed his slightly torn paws no mind, continuing on his way (though he had no idea where he was going). His steps were curiously alluring and entrancing; his movements were sweeping yet cautious, swift and elegant yet hesitant and tentative.

And suddenly it all came crashing down. Literally. He misplaced a step and took a nose dive into the clear waters, a tumbling mass of fur and moss. He was swept a few meters downstream, and he came up, gasping for breath, sitting awkwardly on a sandbar. After a few seconds, he laughed at himself, his pale blue eyes closing.

[Siri]

A slight, grey wolf had been hunting, the prey tasting that much better from her pack lands to be worth the effort. Her pack was in slight disarray with the prolonged absence of the Alphess, But Siri had risen to keep the pack in order should Fell ever return. They all knew this daring feat could make her Beta or force her into exile, but it was a gmable she was willing to place on her head.

While stalking the river's bank for unsuspecting drinkers, she just happened to hear the splash and saw the wolf swept out into the river. He seemed alright... even if gasping for breath. She turned to leave but stopped in her stride, she couldn't leave him there by himself.

"Are you alright out there?!"

[Wayrah]

He gave another small laugh, now standing on the sandbar. His hindquarters coiled in a spring-like fashion and then uncoiled, propelling him on to the creek's mossy bank. He drew back his right forepaw as it landed upon a sharp rock. "Yes, yes," he began, "I am certain that I will be fine."

He turned in the direction from whence the voice had come, and his ears pricked upon his skull. His voice was level and melodic as he spoke again, "Thank you for asking."

[Siri]

"Your welcome," Came her reply before slinking from the shadowy undergrowth to the bank like a grey ghost. Unlike him she seemed more graceful, avoiding the sharp rocks favoring instead the smooth river pebbles. Her stance while strong it would only have been mistaken as threatening to the most timid of creatures, expecially being only 3 years old and not long an adult.

"Are you sure? You've already scared off anything I could have been hunting, so Im in now rush."

[Wayrah]

Given the ability to do so, he would readily have stuck to the smoothest of rocks or those best padded by moss, but he did not really have a choice. He could go only where his feet took him, listening for sounds and picking up scents in an attempt to not run into things. He had become rather skilled at the practice, but he had not yet mastered the art of avoiding small objects on the ground.

"Yes, yes. I've taken worse tumbles in the past," he said, laughing again. He shook off his pelt, sending droplets of water flying in all directions. He did his best to look at the female, and he was mostly successful, though his eyes seemed fixated upon a spot directly between her ears. He spoke again, "And I extend to you my apologies about your prey."

[Siri]

She sighed in acceptence, "It happens from time to time." Despite being the younger wolf, she seemed the more mature. At once a time, not all that long ago, she had been an Alpha... had... Now she was taking the orders of another, though recently in Fell's absence she had been running the pack.

Noticing his eyes weren't on her, she flicked her ears to destract his attention.

[Wayrah]

More mature than dear Wayrah? Debatable, debatable. Simply being an alpha does not make one more mature. Indeed, he had encountered many cases in which alphaship had weakened a creature, drawn him into an unquenchable lust for power, and turned him into a brute devoid of all reason. Certainly, there was more to maturity than alphaship. He gave a slight smile, saying, "Still, I extend my apologies. I know all too well that food can sometimes be hard to come by. I hope I have not caused you to miss a desperately needed meal."

As her ears flickered, he gave no response whatsoever; he was quite unaware of these particular movements, and it this became rather obvious.

[Siri]

"No, the pack has hunted well recently. Even if our Alpha has gone missing." This was probably more then she should have said but it was the truth. Siri believed in being honest or not saying anything at all, lies were a contagious disease. But anyway, with the disapperence a leader the pack wasn't that under strength.

[Wayrah]

"Well, a missing alpha is no small matter," he said with slight concern, though he could tell that she was faring well anyway. The soft sound of her steps indicated a light frame, but it was not without the resounding notes of strength.

"But you are strong," he continued, sudden resolve in his calm voice, "And if your alpha does not return, I am certain that you will adapt." He gave a light smile.

[Siri]

She smiled sly grin, "Better then you think." Course he had no idea that she herself was a past alpha. Those had been the days, gathering and leading a pack of loners in a campaign to establish their own lands. Back then she had been like a war queen but the pack had been uprooted and scattered and she had been forced to return to loner status.

Well she would enjoy her new status while it lasted. "But what about you? Do you wonder or rest within a pack?"

[Wayrah]

Knowledge of her past alphaship would not have changed his opinion of how she would fare without an alpha of her own, but, of course, he had no knowledge of this fact. He couldn't see her grin, but he could tell from the sound of her voice what kind of expression she was likely making.

"I wander," he said, "I always have."

[Siri]

"It's lonely, isn't it? And it would be more dangerous if you were a female." Many a times she had fought off males, packed and packless alike lustfully persueing her when she had entered heat. Without the safety of a pack and a secure den they would have surely died, possibly along with there mother.

"But, times goes on..."

[Wayrah]

"Lonely," he began, "is not one of many words I would use to describe a true wanderer's life. There are many who wander in defiance, simply because species dictates that they should not; they may become lonely. There are those who wander though they do not wish to; they certainly become lonely. But those of us who wander because it is in our nature; we do not become lonely." He paused, closing his blue eyes.

"I likely would not be alive were I female," he said, "Not that I mean any offense to your gender, simply that you are correct, unfortunately. The world we live in is very dangerous to a wandering female."

"Yes," he smiled, "time goes on."

[Siri]

"Then which one are you?" Her voice was seriously . She had first wondered, looking for something more but soon became quite lonely. It was something she had overcome, despite emotional developments turning her a bit...odd. "But we survive, and that's all that matters."