teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga had been doing a lot of walking lately. Her feet had stopped aching weeks ago, and she felt her body getting leaner and stronger. Or maybe that was part of her growing up. After all, she was really an adult now. She had seen two springs already, and the third was coming fast. It was strange, how fast time seemed to fly. And so much had happened in this past year alone, so much about Solveiga had changed. She was becoming independent, meeting new people and seeing new places. She was really starting to discover who she was, and it was exhilarating.

And now she had made a new friend of sorts. Jendai, her new traveling companion. "The water is up there, see?" she said with a smile, gesturing with her head toward the little beach that backed up the wide river ahead of them. Beyond it was a cave with a wide mouth and a vague glittering light coming from inside. Maybe they could explore that later, after they had gotten a little something to drink. The sand colored woman trotted down a bit of a slope toward the water, looking back to make sure Jendai was still following her. She was. It didn't hurt to check, especially considering what the young woman had recently gone through. But Jendai seemed to be worthy of her trust.

Jendai followed along with Solveiga as she led the way toward a source of water. She couldn't help but have a small shadow of a smile on her muzzle as she watched the sand-hued woman run ahead as the river came into view. Her new companion seemed so much more energetic and carefree than herself. It felt like a nice change of pace to have someone so cheerful around. When Solveiga looked back at her, Jendai chuckled and motioned with her head toward the river ahead of them. "I'm coming, I'm coming! Watch where you're going before you go headfirst in the river," she called, a teasing tone to her voice. She was sure Solve wouldn't just go tumbling in, but she didn't want her new friend blindly walking either. She trotted a bit faster to catch up, slowing as she fell in line beside her friend once again. She stopped at the edge of the water, the rushing water washing over her charcoal toes as she bent her head down to lap up some of the cool water. She lifted her head again with a contented sigh, looking over to her friend with a smile. "This is a huge improvement from the desert, don't you think?" "Speak"

teach me gently how to breathe

Jendai teased her a bit, warning her to watch where she was going so she wouldn't go tumbling headfirst into the water. Solveiga laughed, and it was a bright and cheerful sound. The two women approached the edge of the water and bent their heads to drink, and Solveiga closed her eyes for a moment enjoy the relief the cool water offered her after her time in the desert. "Yes, it is," she said laughing softly again. She stepped forward a bit so her front legs were submerged up to her ankles in the cool water. It felt nice, and she smiled over at Jendai. "Do your feet ache? If they do, this feels really good," She said, smiling shyly as she looked down at her feet in the water, flexing her toes in the soft sand underwater. Then she sighed contentedly too and looked up at the cave, her curiosity piqued once more. After all, she was still a pup at heart, and loved nothing more than to explore.

The cave looked very large and open, and little puddles seemed to have collected inside. Maybe when the tide was high the water went into the cave. Interesting. Solveiga stepped back, away from the water and shook out her paws a bit before walking closer to the cave. The thing she really wanted to see was the source of that weird, multicolored glow. "Jendai," the woman called gently, looking back at her companion. "I'm going to check out that cave, want to come with me?" Exploring was even more fun when you had another person to share your little discoveries with.

Jendai glanced down at her paws when Solveiga asked if they ached, offering a solution. When was the last time they had really hurt? They were so worn and calloused now that she hardly ever really felt the miles she put them through any more. It made her sad in a strange way, knowing that she hadn't stayed in one place in so long that her paws didn't even get sore any more. Still, she followed her friend's advice and stepped forward so she could submerge her charcoal-dipped paws in the cool water as well. It did feel good anyway and it was nice to rinse off any of the sand and dust that had been clinging to them after trekking through the desert. It wasn't till when Solveiga moved that Jendai lifed her head, her vibrant gaze following her sand colored form curiously. At her question Jen chuckled softly and turned to follow with a shrug. "I might as well. What else would I do? Stand out here by myself? That doesn't seem like nearly as much fun." She let her companion take the lead, following along behind her. She didn't say it outloud, but she wouldn't want Solveiga to go in all alone anyway. She wasn't sure what they'd find in there and she didn't want her friend to go without some kind of protection. She couldn't smell the scents of any other wolves so she was sure they would be fine, but all the same she had learned to be a bit over cautious about these things. "Speak"

teach me gently how to breathe

She smiled and wagged her tail briefly to express her happiness at the fact that Jendai was coming with her. She was not afraid of the cave, perhaps because she had not considered the dangers. She did not need Jendai to come in order to protect her, at least not in her mind. She simply wanted someone to share the joys of exploring with.

She led the way into the small cave, slowing as she neared the entrance and she stepped around a puddle or two left by the changing tide as she entered, glancing once over her shoulder at her friend. "From the river I could see a weird light coming from inside," she said quietly, so that her voice wouldn't echo as much. Her voice was soft as it was, so she really didn't have to worry about that. "Any idea what it could be?" Solveiga knew that her new traveling companion was far more experienced than she. Maybe she had seen glowing caves before and knew what the source of the light was. And if she did not, they would find out soon enough. The sand colored woman continue to walk slowly into the depths of the cave, her eyes moving all about as she took in the new sight.

Jendai followed along by Solveiga's side as they made their way into the cave, staying at her shoulder as she let her friend lead the way. Their gazes met when she glanced back at her and Jendai considered her question around the lights she had seen coming from the cave before. She hummed thoughtfully, glancing down breifly to see where she was going to step around the puddles that were scattered here and there. There was any number of things that it could be really. "Hmm, that's a good question," she commented, looking back up at Solveiga again, her voice just as soft as hers had been. "Could be sunlight reflecting off of something... I'm not sure what it could be though. I guess we'll find out soon enough though, won't we?" She gave her new friend a small smile and turned her attention to the cave in front of them again. She wasn't sure how big this cave was or how far they would have to go to find the thing that Solveiga was looking for. She couldn't imagine it would be too far if the light reached the entrance of the cave fine. She happened to glance at the walls of the cave around them and suddenly she realized something. "Oh hey... Look at that," she mentioned, motioning to the cave wall beside them. Usually caves had rock walls that were gray or black and looked pretty dirty and well... rocky. These were unusually... sparkly? "I think that light is reflecting off of everything in here!" "Speak"

teach me gently how to breathe

She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting the bright green eyes of the woman beside her. She still had to appreciate the fact that they were nearly the same height. It was so rare for her to be able to see eye to eye with someone in the literal sense. Her new friend spoke in a similarly soft tone, saying she wasn't quite sure what the light could be, but they would find out soon enough. Solveiga smiled brightly and nodded, continuing on ahead with Jendai at her side. They continued to walk in silence a while, just exploring and concentrating on avoiding the puddles at their feet. But then Jendai noticed something.

The sand colored woman looked at the walls as she had been told to do, and right away she saw it. The walls themselves were sparkling! Solveiga had never seen anything like it before, and she gasped softly as another bright smile overtook her. "Whoa," she whispered, walking toward the wall and sniffing lightly at it. It didn't really smell like the rock she was used to, it was different. Then again, stones and rocks and jewels didn't have much smell to start with, so it didn't help her identify anything to be honest. So she just looked at them, her eyes still wide with wonder. They were so colorful, too. She had never seen such beauty.

"I wish I could take one with me," she whispered, and then tilted her ears back a bit, shyly. That may have been a silly thing to say, out loud at least. But it was true. She wanted to carry beauty like this with her wherever she went. "What color is your favorite?" she asked suddenly, her voice gentle and contemplating as she glanced back at Jendai. It was a fair question, and there were so many pretty colors to choose from, right here in front of them.

Jendai wasn't disappointed in her friend's reaction to her discovery. She padded closer to one of the walls as they paused to take it all in. She lifted one of her paws to brush away some of the dust that lingered on the sparkly stone, bringing out more of its shine as the light hit it. She chuckled softly and nodded as Solveiga spoke of wishing she could take some with her. "Wouldn't that be neat? I've seen some wolves with necklaces and stuff like that before. These would make pretty jewelry." She hadn't even considered that it might have been a silly statement. She didn't see anything wrong with wanting to see something so pretty all the time. Although maybe seeing it this once time did make it a little more special. She looked over to Solveiga at her question about her favorite color and her head tipped to the side slightly as she considered it. In the end it was pretty easy to answer though. "I guess my favorite color is green," she replied after a moment. "My mother's eyes were green like mine so it makes me think of her." It wasn't really something she'd typically share, but she felt pretty comfortable around Solveiga already so she didn't really mind. "What about you? What's your favorite color?" "Speak"

teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga was happy to hear that her wishes were not silly after all; Jendai thought it would be nice to take a jewel along too. She mentioned wolves with necklaces that must have held such treasures, and the sand colored woman looked over with widened eyes. "Well I envy them, then," she said with a little laugh. "I wonder how one would go about collecting these at all. They seem pretty stuck to me." She pawed at a cluster of them just to confirm her suspicions. Indeed, they were immovable, part of the cave wall itself. She eventually shrugged a little and gave up on the idea, turning to her friend to hear what her response to the favorite color question would be.

It turned out to be green, because the color brought thoughts of her mother to mind. It may have been one of the most sentimental things Solveiga had heard from her new friend so far, and it brought a gentle smile to her lips. "Green is beautiful," she agreed. Solveiga was then asked what her favorite color was, and she had to pause for a moment to think. "Hmm," she looked up at the wall of jewels and tried to see if any sparked memories for her like they did for Jendai. And, actually, they did. Her eyes landed on a scattered group of brilliant red jewels, and she stared at them almost blissfully for a moment. "I think it's red," she whispered. "Definitely red. On the island, where I grew up," Solveiga began, looking at the silvery woman beside her. "there were these birds. Macaws, I think they were called. They had a rainbow of feathers, but the majority of them were red, and they were so beautiful. I don't think I've seen anything so incredible since." Except now, perhaps, she had. These jewels were just as vibrant and gorgeous as the feathers of the macaws she loved so much. Now she wished more than ever that she could take one with her, to serve as a reminder of home, and of her happy childhood.