It was hot. Spring seemed like a faint memory now even though it had only just left. She found herself longing for it like some wolves missed their friends. The oppressive heat wasn't kind to large, thickly-furred dark colored wolves. Although her double coat helped repel some of it, she was still panting in the bright sun. Luckily the oceanic breeze coming off of the bay was pleasant and balmy. Theory trotted down the shoreline before selecting a particularly sopping wet part of the shore. It was dark and wet from the tide that had just begun to come in. Grinning to herself, the young alpha threw herself down and lay prone. That's the stuff... As the wavelets lapped at her spine, Theo allowed her eyes to half close. It would take a few hours for the ocean to completely submerge her. As the tide slowly rolled in, she'd just inch her way up the beach towards the dry sand. For now the ocean was a welcome, cool relief.

What even was this? It was so hot he thought he might melt into a soft gooey puddle on the Abaven grass. His eyes felt red and sore from the heat, and the more he rubbed them, the more the spaces around his left eye seemed to hurt. He tried to ignore it, after all he had important frogs to catch. But, being outside, chasing them, only seemed to make it worse. He turned away from the stream, and started to run. He found the cool wind helped with the hurt of it, but once he stopped, it stung even worse.

He started to cry. He almost didn’t see sister Theory, getting soaked by the tide as she was. His red eyes found her, and he rubbed the growing sunburn over his white patch again. Sniffling. “Ry, Ry!" He cried, snot bubbling out of his nose, and tears soaking his coat as he started to run to her. “Ry! It hurts”

Wc: 164
Total: 333

Theory staggered to her feet in the shallow water, splashing around as she sprinted towards Sen. Her mind immediately went to panic mode before she scaled hard back to actually triage the damage. He was still young, she wasn't sure when it was appropriate to over or under react. This whole raising kids thing was beyond her. "Okay, okay, let's take a look," she murmured, sitting down before him and tipping his nose up towards her with her front paw. Theo got a good look at his burn face and whistled a bit through her teeth. "No wonder that really stings! It's just a sunburn, Sen. I think I have something for it - I stopped over in the desert on the way back from Valhalla's festival this spring. They've got a fun plant there called aloe that'll fix you right up. Why don't you follow me?" Being an older sister was weird, but she thought that she was getting the hang of it. With an encouraging nuzzle, Theo led the way to her secondary den that she'd dug just before the soil turned to rocks and then sand. It overlooked the shore and had a lovely ocean view, but more importantly, she kept some herbs there for easy access.

It had been dug just big enough for herself and a small area for storage. Theo slipped inside and fetched the plant before reappearing in front of him. "Alright, sit still now," she instructed as she began to extract the cool liquid from inside the plant by splitting carefully with her sharp canines. Theory peered back at Sen and assessed his face again. "So, the white fur here," she gave him a sisterly kiss just beneath his eyes, "will be more prone to letting your skin get burnt if you stay out too long in the sun. You can try covering it with ash or wet mud if you think you'll be out in the sun all day, okay? Otherwise, be careful and stick to the shade."

wc: 341
twc: 674

Theory came running towards him, and it was an instant gratification to the stress and fear he had been feeling right before she ran to him. He held obediently still as Theory took a look at his face, and assured him that his face was not actually peeling off to show the bones beneath. That was a relief.

“Is my whole face going to turn white Ry?” he asked, it still hurt, but her assurance had instantly calmed him, like water on fire. “I like looking like Ku.” having him and his brother's names shortened to the last two letters, he assumed that was the way to go with nicknames.

“Why is Aloe fun?” he asked, following after his sister as she led him towards her den. He looked curiously inside when Ry disappeared into it, wincing as his facial expressions tugged at the sore parts on his face. He felt like throwing another fit, he did not like the sensation. But, he also looked up to Theory and didn’t think that throwing a tantrum would go down well with the wicked cool alpha sister. He scrunched up his nose at the crip fresh scent of the Aloe as she prepared it. Huffing as it tugged at his sunburn again. “That’s not fair, Ry. Do you have to put mud on your face?” then, as he thought further about it, he decided that digging around in mud and having a reason to, might be fun.

Wc: 259
Twc: 933

The aloe didn't taste great, but she knew the cooling sensation would be pleasant once she managed to get the liquid out. Theory finished splitting the leaf and then slid out the clear innards on to the pad of her paw. Carefully she applied it to the white fur just beneath and over his eye. "No, your whole face won't turn white," she laughed. Puppies were so wonderful and curious. How fun it must be, to have the whole world be a mystery to you. She longed to return to a similar innocence but those days had long expired. Tragedy had stripped her of that easy, pleasant world-view, and Theory was determined to do everything in her power to make sure that their childhood would remain perfect and untouched. Just day after day of games, warmth, and love. "Alight, hold still. This will make sure it works extra well," she said, bending down to give him another kiss above and below where she'd applied the aloe. "I don't have to cover my face with mud, but sometimes I roll in the sand so my back legs don't get too hot... that's kinda the same thing, hm?"

"Tell me if it feels better, okay? If not I have some other things we can try." As much as he wrinkled his nose at the idea, wet mud would certainly feel good on his hot little face. She wouldn't mind playing along if it would convince him. Maybe they could pull Rhyme into it, too. Seeing her father's face smeared with mud would be a good chuckle - just the briefest glimpse of what her childhood could have been.

wc: 280
twc: 1213