Just imagine it!

The more mountainous terrain of the falls was only mildly cooler than the lower, muggier mangrove forest, but the water splashing down into the pools was from a higher - and therefore cooler - altitude, so it was at least mildly refreshing.

That was where Satu was at the moment, paddling around in one of the bigger, slower moving pools, letting the waterfall pour more cooling water on her. The water sluiced down her ears, flattening the brown fur of her head and neck as she tread water there. The water was barely deep enough for her to need to do that, being one of the deeper pools in the shallow series.

The pools were surprisingly empty considering. Maybe the steep hike up here was just too much for anyone to want to make in this heat, but to Satu it was absolutely worth it. It was the closest thing she'd had to an actual adventure in quite a bit of time. Between the heat and the birth of several new litters in the pack, she hadn't left the pack lands for way too long. Well, hopefully the heatwave would break soon, and as the new mothers recovered from the births, and the litters go old enough to be left to go hunting and everything, she'd be able to get out again for a while. Right now though - and she sighed to think of it - she had to do her duty to the pack, and to her family.



"Speech"

There's a whole world to explore

Dhiren was exhausted; there was no other word to describe him. The yearling had been staying away from the Oracle's den, only to not be near his mother and the newborn babies. He knew that his dad could be protective over the new lives and that was another reason why he wasn't showing his face. Territorial actions would probably end up taking place between the two men and Dhiren didn't feel like dealing with a potential fight. The third and final reason he had to stay away was because his heart just couldn't take it. He had to leave for a time. Although he didn't stay near the den, he remained on the pack's lands. One of the places he hadn't visited yet was the falls. Rumors of famous lovers meeting there and people arriving just to relax made him want to get there faster, for he needed something to calm his mind of the many thoughts that raced through it. His three black paws, along with the only white one, carried him across the hot landscape. The ebony of his fur made him pant extra hard as he increased his speed. Why he chose to leave in the middle of the day was beyond him! Finally, he reached the falls. It had a serene air to it, one that couldn't be found in too many places of Ludicael. What was so weird about that observation was that Ludicael was a pack of peace, yet for him, there was none. A loud sigh escaped his lips and he padded towards the delicious-looking set of falls. Maybe this was what he needed. Privacy, serenity, peace...all too perfect. Instead, he was greeted by the form of a female he was familiar with by sight and smell, but not personally. He wanted to hightail it and run back, but the heat was becoming too much and he didn't want to be rude because of how his mind was currently working. So, he gave a gentle nod to her and picked his own spot in the same falls. Immediately, he lowered himself in the water and let it hit his back. Water from that spot of impact sprouted and covered different areas of his overheated form. Silver and gold eyes looked up to the female and a gentle set of words left the troubled yearling. "I hope I am not intruding on your fun times." Speech, Awesome pic by Seren <3

Just imagine it!

Satu had just dove beneath the water, paddling around it's close confines and blowing bubbles, watching them rise to the top, then surfaced when her breath was gone. She splashed playfully, snorffling at the water so a multitude of bubbles rose from her open jaws, then snapping at the water like it was an enemy. But the sound of pawsteps had her immediately dropping the silliness to play it cool, just another wolf soaking in the pleasant water, as she peered out of the corner of her eye at the approaching wolf.

She vaguely recognized him, though she really wasn't entirely sure who he was. Maybe one of Song's kids? The older ones, obviously. He nodded to her as he slipped into the water and immersed himself under the falls. Satu grinned; that probably felt amazing for him in this heat, after that climb. Sure had for her, anyway, and the boy had a darker coat than her.

He spoke up softly, and Satu shook her head. "Not at all! They're everyone's falls, aren't they? And it's such a hot day out, I'm surprised the entire pack isn't here enjoying it. Maybe they just couldn't handle the climb, or they're too busy cooing over everyone's new babies," she chattered, grinning teasingly at the last bit. The climb wasn't really that bad, but there really were a whole lot of babies in the pack for everyone to spoil, so that was probably it.

She didn't give any thought to the other wolf's opinion on the new litters, specifically his own siblings - she'd never had baby siblings, so the idea of jealousies arising from it had never occurred to her. Not to mention that since Iorwerth had been taken away, she had felt rather smothered by parental attention anyway. So the idea that Dhiren might be bothered by the topic didn't even cross her mind.



"Speech"

There's a whole world to explore

As the water continued to keep his body cool, his ears perked to listen to the words that left his unknown cousin's mouth. She spoke of the falls belonging to everyone and that those same wolves were probably cooing over the new batches of babies. A smile had been appearing on his face until the later topic was mentioned and a grunt escaped through his lips. The smile faded and he looked away to a random, far off point of vision. "Everyone is sooo in love with those new babies, as if they had never seen puppies before." His tone was gruff and he didn't know if she would pursue the topic. A part of him wished that she would, for the burden on his chest was enough to make him weak at the knees. Not many of his family members knew how he felt and it was kind of a good thing for the boy. He didn't want to become a spectacle of rumors and whispered conversations, but he didn't really care at that point. It was true that Song was aware of how he felt, but his dear Oracle of a mother didn't really want to soothe the anger that was building inside his tormented soul. Canta was already aware of how he felt, for they were like mirror images in regards to their feelings. Such facts made him feel closer to his littermate and he hoped that, in the future, such feelings would be swept away and he could move on to make life better for the pack and himself. These thoughts plagued his mind as a hush fell over the falls and the two wolves present. He pulled himself out of the mental fog and looked over to the light-furred female. "I know we are family, but I don't know your name or how we are connected. I feel silly for not being aware of it, and I apologize for my lack of knowledge." The family tree was something he had wanted to learn from Song, but the Oracle didn't seem to have the time to cover such topics. "I am Dhiren, Song and Cherokee's firstborn of their first litter. Not to mention the only boy in a sea of girls." He smiled as he fondly thought of his sisters. They weren't as close as they were upon birth, but he adored each one anyway. "What is your name?" Speech,

Just imagine it!

Satu remained still oblivious to her young cousin's discomfort, or she might have discontinued the subject and moved on to something happier to cheer him up. As it was, she shrugged, splashing water with the motion. "Yeah, people are always like that with new puppies though. Just wait until they're old enough to start really causing trouble, then they'll shove them at babysitters and take off to get some peace and quiet. Always happens. You'll see." Satu made a face - she'd been that babysitter for her younger cousins, more often than not. "Don't really know why people like babies so much. They're noisy and smelly and they're no fun."

The young wolf would go on to apologize for not knowing her, something Satu waved off dismissively. She could hardly have expected him to know her when she had spent much of his puppyhood away, first back in the family pack and later wandering in search of adventure. "It's ok... Dhiren, you said? I haven't been really making as much of an effort to meet you guys as I should have, being family and all." To be honest, it felt a little strange, being the one single cousin in the much more tightly-knit family unit, and she'd been a little hesitant to butt in on that. "I'm Satu, I'm your mom's cousin. Her dad was my mom's brother. You've got a couple other cousins from my litter somewhere around here too, but I haven't seen either of them in a while. Cirala and Iorwerth."

She felt a pang of guilt; she hadn't seen Cirala since the first day she'd been here, and hadn't really made any sort of effort to track her down again. Was she all right? And there was Iorwerth too - she'd known he was in Seracia since Novella had talked to her about it, but she hadn't done anything.



"Speech"

There's a whole world to explore

As Satu mentioned how babies were messy and stinky, Dhiren couldn't help but laugh. His somber mood would lighten for sure if he continued to hear such opinions! It was something he needed, so he pursued the conversation with her. "You are definitely right about that, cousin. I didn't know we would be so bad when I was born. If I did, I would have tried to remain nice and clean so Mama wouldn't have to worry." Dhiren was a troublemaker when he was little, so he did speak from experience. She admitted that she hadn't really made the effort to meet her family and Dhiren nodded. "Same here, actually. I have been keeping to myself because of the events playing out around here. All the hustle and bustle is weird to me." Satu then explained how they were related. "Ahhh, so you are first cousins with Mama, then. That means if you have a child, that child would be my second cousin. Very interesting." Dhiren didn't show it, but he was really good with genealogy connections. "I'm glad to meet someone aside from first cousins. All of my mama's siblings are either having babies or pregnant. Meeting someone a bit further away from the family tree is refreshing. You say you have two siblings? I hope they are doing well. It's a surprise to me that they didn't come to Ludi, too. It seems that everyone in our family comes here." Speech,