Oh no no, she didn't like this place one bit! The pale girl stood on a log in fear, the water hiding under the marsh grass. She had thought it was a normal place, but then she stepped and there was water everywhere! She had panicked and fled to the closest thing, this strange, green bumpy log. It was kind of slimy too, but it was a lot better than standing in the scary water! She couldn't even see how deep it was, which concerned the little one. Letting out a high pitched whine she shuffled on her now muddy paws, when the log she stood on trembled. Cyan eyes grew wide as she slowly looked down, her gaze resting on what she thought was the end of the log. But a large mouth opened and it hissed at her, making Charmeine quiver. The log thing moved its head towards her and she got a nice view of its seemingly endless teeth. The girl screamed, racing off of the log and braving the water. She was shaking so hard that she could hardly see, trying to brave the water to get away from the log monster. Sniffling she looked over her shoulder, and the thing was coming after her! Squealing in fear she tried to run as fast as she could, but the muddy water was sucking her paws down. Oh crap oh crap, she could hear it trying to catch up with her! "HELP," she screamed, letting out another cry as she raced away from the log monster, trying not to look over her shoulder again.

It was the squeal that caught his attention and jarred him out of his always busy thoughts. Without thinking much more than a 'what in the world was that?' he took off at a full run toward whoever had made such a fearful yell. His dark paws splashed through the muddy water, quickly dirtying up his legs. He didn't pay the mud any mind though, he was much more concerned about this damsel in distress. His orange gaze landed on a pale girl running in his direction, clearly having some difficulty moving with all the mud collecting around her paws. What was more concerning though was the crocodile chasing after her. His eyes widened and he hesitated for all of about five seconds before she cried out for help and solidified his decision to help. He hurried forward, trying frantically to think of some plan of action. He was a fair bit taller than her, standing at almost his full grown height already as a yearling, making it a little easier for him to move around in the mud since he had more leg length to utilize. He sprinted over and skidded as he came up along beside her. Making a gutsy move, he quickly scooped up a paw full of the thick mud and flung it at the crocodile's face, managing to get some in its eyes. It only slowed it down for a moment, but it was enough for him to turn to the girl and say, "Come on!" before running back toward a more solid piece of ground. He stayed right beside her, nudging her along if need be and helping her through the mud till they finally managed to reach a piece of solid ground. He looked back once they were several feet from the edge of the water and saw that sometime in the chase the crocadile had given up and it was now swimming slowly back to where it had come from. He panted as he tried to catch his breath and his warm gaze turned to look at the young girl, through he wasn't much younger than him. "Are you okay?" he asked after a moment, looking her over for any injuries. "Talk" "You" Think

She was panicking, fleeing for her life as her heart hammered in her chest. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to die! But then she heard something, her panic stricken face raising up to glance at the brown boy who was racing towards her. His legs were coated in mud, but he was a lot taller than her. She was nearly at her full height as well, but only stood at 30 inches. She didn't stop running as he raced towards her, and he kicked up mud and tossed it at the log monster. He yelled at her to come on, nudging her and helping her race across the marsh. Her lungs burned as her paws were sucked at the mud, but he nudged and nuzzled her. It gave her courage to push on, trying to thrust her paws upwards with as much strength as she could muster.

Soon they reached solid ground, and as soon as her hero paused she flopped over to her flank, breathing hard. She fought to get her breath back as her lungs kept burning, her limbs flailing about as she tried to breath like a normal wolf. The brown boy asked if she was okay, and she eagerly nodded her head. She was fine, the log monster hadn't bit her with those endless teeth. She just wanted to breath, her eyes wide as fear still coursed through her. Finally after several moments, she started to suck in steady breaths into her lungs. "Jus' 'ired now and s'ill a bi' scared," she panted, pulling herself up into a seated position. She smiled at the boy, who seemed to be around the same age as her. "'hanks for saving me, you're my hero," Charmeine whispered, pushing her head forward and nuzzling into his chest. Charm had no boundaries, and didn't really care. He had just saved her life, and there was no way that she could ever repay him.

Slowly pulling back, her cyan eyes glanced up at his soft orange ones. Letting out a small giggle she turned to look back at the marsh, her body trembling. "Wha' was 'ha' log mons'er?" she asked, leaning her body against his muddy one. Her pale coat was practically coated in mud, but she didn't care. She had never been to these parts though, and had never encountered logs that moved and tried to eat you. And it was so wet there too! It had just looked like a normal grassy area but... it wasn't like that at all.

Hercules was relieved to see that the girl was alright. He nodded in understanding when she mentioned being tired and scared while he continued to gulp in air to catch his breath as well as calm his own racing heart. Even though he had played the part of hero he had still been plenty scared. She nuzzled into his chest and he looked down at her and blinked with surprise, his ears folding back shyly. He wasn't used to anyone being this forward, especially complete strangers so it took him by surprise. All the same, the gesture was sweet and a little adorable. He smiled and replied, "You're welcome." His orange gaze found her clear blue eyes again when she looked up at him and giggled before asking about the monster. Her speech had an impediment, but it wasn't hard to sort out what she was saying. Again, it was something that was a surprise, but at the same time it was adorable in its own way. "It was a crocodile. Or maybe an alligator. I always get them confused. Either way they're big and can eat you if they try really hard." He grinned a little and quickly added, "But luckily we're a lot faster than it is!" hoping that if he made a little light of the situation it would make her feel better. He didn't like seeing her shake like that. They were both covered in mud from running through the moore, but she didn't seem to care so he didn't either. "Oh! Um, I'm Hercules by the way," he added once he realized he had somehow forgotten his manners in all the craziness of their chase. "Talk" "You" Think

Her head tilted to the side when he said the name of the log monster, it wasn't something that was all too familiar to her. In fact, she have never even heard of such creatures. He made a comment that they tried hard to eat you, and the tiny girl shivered again. They were icky, nasty creatures and she didn't like them one bit! Looking back over to where it had crawled away, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at it. The boy made a comment about them being faster, her head turning back towards him as she beamed up at the taller man. Yes, oh yes it sure was! She didn't want to become the croco... alagrateros... crocogater? Whatever it was, she didn't want to become its dinner! She doubted she would taste very good anyways, she was still scrawny and underfed. Once again she turned her head back, taking a few shaky steps as her blue eyes narrowed towards the stump. "Well know I know no' 'o 'rus' a log ever again!" she said with a giggle.

Suddenly the darker boy called out, and her ears flickered towards him as she nearly jumped from her skin. She was still on edge after the chase, but he had only bee shocked that he had not introduced himself properly. Letting out a small giggle, she bounced over to him and flopped down on her rump. "My name is Charmeine," she said softly, batting her lashes at her knight who saved her. Letting out another burst of laughter, she pushed forward again to bury her head in his plush coat. She was cold and wet, plus he was so soft! There was obviously no boundaries for the yearling, nor would she probably ever learn them. "So do you live around here? 'his place is pre'y big..." There was a touch of wonder in her voice, but it was mostly just... sad. It would seem that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't find her way back to her parents.

Watching her made him smile. He had never seen someone with the natural bubbliness she seemed to have. Sure, pups were always energetic and rambunctious at times, but the way she giggled even though they had just gotten chased by a huge creature was so endearing. She introduced herself and he smiled and dipped his head in a very gentlemanly bow. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Charmeine." Again she would press into him and his ears automatically flicked back. He couldn't help it, he just wasn't used to this kind of interaction. It wasn't unpleasant though. In fact, he kind of liked her lack of boundaries in a way, even if she was all wet and cold to the touch. He smiled a little and gently draped one foreleg around her shoulders. As awkward as he felt he hated that she was so cold and wanted to help her get warm. "Yeah, fairly close," he answered with a nod. "My pack is pretty close by." He paused as an idea dawned on him. "Do you want to come stay in my pack with me? It's nice there. It's mostly just my family, but they're all really nice and I know they'd love to see a new face around." He grinned a little and added, "No crocodiles there either." "Talk" "You" Think

Oh he was so nice! Such a gentleman, bowing and being all sweet and stuff. He said it was nice to meet her, and she beamed up at him, muddied tail wagging behind her. "I' is nice 'o mee' you 'o, Hercules. 'hanks again for saving my life..." Without him she would have been food for that mean, ugly old monster. But like her very own angel, he had come and saved her from its massive jaws. It was like those stories that her momma used to tell her! The thought of her mother brought her ears slightly back towards her skull, large blue eyes lowering to the ground. Was she ever going to find her parents again? It really didn't feel like it... She felt like she was going to be lost forever.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she pushed against the male again, his arm draping around her in a hug. A warm smile spread across her face as she nuzzled further still into his coat. She pulled back just enough to look up at him, the underside of her jaw flat against his chest. Her blue eyes grew wider still as he said that he had his pack nearby. But, he was the same age as her! Oh man, she could never imagine herself leading a pack at their age. Realizing that she was just gawking at him, she finally opened her mouth to speak. "Bu' you're so young! Having your own pack.... 'ha' is jus'... wow," was all she could really get out. So he was her big and strong angel AND a pack leader! And then he offered to take her home, and her heart beat faster in her chest. Really, a pack of just family? Would she be accepted in just like family? "Well, I don' have anywhere else 'o go..." she whispered, gray ears falling back against her skull. He teased that there were no croawhatevers and she nodded her head. "I would love 'ha', Hercules."