Valentine slogged through the swamp with little regard for what might be lurking below the water's murky surface. He'd reached the point in his life where he felt he could take on whatever life threw at him. That was probably not true but he really didn't care. If an alligator chose to come after him he'd beat the shit out of it and be on his way. Or die, but he was old so...so what? Yes, he still had important shit to do - he had a woman to love, grandkids to heckle, and slavers to massacre, etc. - but they'd all get on just fine without him. Except maybe the slavers who would probably carry on blissfully ignorant to what had almost befallen them, but he could always try his hand at haunting and fix that. All that to say he didn't give a hoot about what might be lurking in the water. Or, for that matter, what might be lurking in the fog that was now rolling towards him. He eyed it skeptically and noted that everything it touched was cut off from view. That struck him as promising so instead of heading away from it like a good little boy Valentine frisked into it and was immediately enveloped in white. ""

For once Aerndis thought she'd take a break from hunting and do a little exploration. It wasn't often she found herself well fed but after gorging on fish and a half-eaten mountain lion kill she was more sated than she had been in awhile. With fish still slightly on her mind she'd maneuvered into the strange sights and smells of the swampland. Evening was falling and with it a thick fog that clung to the ground and billowed slowly up into the air. She growled. Stupid fog! It just figured she'd go out exploring and her vision would immediately be impacted by the weather. Cursing she scrambled over a log she managed to avoid sinking into swampier water, almost. Her left hind leg slipped into the slimy muck with a gurgling, sucking sound. Aerndis wrinkled her nose. Ok, she wasn't much of a fan of swamps. Hopefully they at least held tasty critters.  With a huff and a pull she hoisted her leg free and shook it to rid herself of the muck. As she was going about this business she heard the sound of something large moving through the water. Aerndis' ears flicked back as she cautiously stalked toward the sound. Her eyes strained to see ahead and when they succeded she saw a large, shadowy figure. A moose! It had to be this fabled moose she'd heard tell of! A young one by the looks of it. It didn't even dawn on her that she was too far south to see a moose that wasn't at least ailing of brain worms or that what she thought were majestic antlers were actually branches stretching out behind the mans head. No, thrilled at the prospect of finally seeing a moose she threw caution to the winds and sprung. Only about mid leap did she realize she was pouncing on her grandfather and by that point it was too late for her to change course. "Talk" "You" Think

The fog was cool to the touch and left droplets of moisture on the tips of his fur. It was also palpable; he could feel the weight of it in his lungs as he breathed. Objects loomed through the fog as indistinguishable shapes until they were close enough for him to reach out and touch them, and then their true identity would jump into focus. All in all, if given the chance, Valentine would give the swamp a solid 7/10 rating. Nice spooky vibes, but a little cliche. Valentine was up to his neck in cynical thoughts when the sound of a rapid approach put him on high alert. He turned in the direction of the noise when something with a vaguely wolf-shaped figure leaped at him out of the fog. With the fog obscuring his view, Valentine feared the worst and acted out of instinct. He ducked to his left, his paws scrabbling in the swamp's slick mud, and then lunged to his right towards the leaping figure. The fog was too thick for him to plan with precision, but he hoped to ram his right shoulder into the side of his attacker's neck or their left shoulder. If he could hit them before they'd had a chance to get their footing the other wolf would hopefully be throw off their feet. Meanwhile, his head snaked to his right and his jaws parted as he made a wild grab for control of his attacker's head. If given half the chance he'd shake all the fight out of this sneaky bastard and leave them in the swamp for the alligators to munch on. ""

Treat!

Valentine gets a treat!

Even in the chaos of the sudden attack, at Valentine's back paws lies a cluster of rare, shimmering gemstones - able to been seen even through the seemingly impenetrable evening fog and muck that lay all around him and Aerndis. Valentine gains 16 gems!

Aerndis flailed, trying to control her descent. Valentine shifted out of the way and she crashed into the icky swamp water. Yuck! She'd just gotten back to her feet when his right shoulder slammed into hers and she tipped over with a painful squeak, falling back under the water. It was a stroke of luck, though it didn't seem so in the heat of the moment. with her losing her footing and going right under the water she'd missed being seized by Valen's jaws. "It's Aerndis!" she sputtered as her brightly colored head popped out of the water. "What did you hit me for?" She glared at him. Fog or not he needed his eyes checked! She was bright frickin' colors, how could he not recognize her? Then again, she wasn't one to talk. She mistook him for a moose, a moose! "Stupid fog. I thought you were a deer or something edible." She coughed, sniffed then licked at the snot that was running out of her nose from her surprise dunking. "What are you doing out here anyway?" "Talk" "You" Think

Trick!

Aerndis gets a trick!

Oops Apparently poor Aerndis isn't having much luck today. Not only does she lose her footing and fall down into the muck, but she also loses some gemstones as well. Aerndis loses 16 gems!

The girl's unmistakable colors jumped out at him too late. Not that it really mattered. He didn't like being tackled, didn't like the idea of getting pushed down into the mud, so no doubt he would have shoved and bitten her all the same for daring to get him dirty. They collided and Aerndis was thrown into the murky water. Valentine eyed her with no small amount of satisfaction. Served her right for trying to dunk him! "'Cause you deserved it," he shot back haughtily. Damn kid. Her and that brother of hers were both a royal pain in his ass. He loved them, really he did, but Valentine was determined to be grumpy. Valentine disdainfully flicked a glob of muck off his shoulder before grousing, "A likely story. You just couldn't resist the chance to dunk an old man, could you? What is this world coming to?" As for her question, he sniffed dismissively then said, "Just looking for a good place to bury rotten grandkids. How do you like that clump of weeds over there, eh?" ""

Aerndis knew she probably did deserve it and she couldn't think of a good come back so she held her tongue. Standing up she shook the awful water out of her coat. Well as much of it as she could considering she was still standing in it. Which made it all the more curious why Valen was walking right through the water. It was hot and muggy out but she could think of nicer places to go for a swim. "A likely story. You just couldn't resist the chance to dunk an old man, could you? What is this world coming to?" Aerndis stuck her tongue out at Valentine. "I really was hunting. As grumpy as you are old man, I am glad it was you and not an alligator or something. Speaking of which, I am getting out of this water." Aerndis scrambled toward the shore, nearly getting stuck in the silt and the goop as she slipped through the reeds. Seizing a tree root in her teeth she hauled herself back to shore and promptly shook out her coat once more. "Just looking for a good place to bury rotten grandkids. How do you like that clump of weeds over there, eh?" Aerndis grinned, her limbs coiling just slightly in case she needed to spring away. "It's a bit bland don't you think? How about something with a bit more color in the summer? I'm sure you can do better, Opa." She just couldn't resist trying out the nickname she and Jupiter had talked about. "Talk" "You" Think

"Speaking of which, I am getting out of this water." Without missing a beat he retorted, "'Fraid of a little water lizard? Chicken." He made a point to stay in the water, but picked up walking in the direction he'd been headed before Aerndis had jumped him. Valentine would have continued on that way and left the girl to decide to follow or not, had she not froze him in his tracks with a single silly word. "The hell is an Opa," he said flatly. "Sounds like a fart in the water." What was it with kids giving their grandparents stupid cutesy names? He wasn't some cute old person. He was still a man and he wasn't about to let himself be robbed of his dignity by some ridiculous little pet name. 'Opa' was the name of something harmless, something you patted on the head and just shook your head at when it did something exasperating. Valentine was not an Opa. "Should I be worried about you, kid? Not being able to remember my name - maybe you hit our head on a rock while you were under." ""

"Not afraid, just being sensible. I'm not a big bruiser like you. I don't want to fight if I don't have to." Especially not any slimy icky things that might be lurking underneath the water. Aerndis followed along the shore line as best she good. The old man wasn't going to lose her that easily. She scrambled over a series of roots, nearly slipped back into the water but swiftly recovered. Despite herself she was enjoying Valentine's company. Crabby or not he was paying attention to her and she was spending time with family. There was nothing better! Sounds like a fart in the water. She giggled. "I have no idea, I probably picked it up somewhere. Anyway Jupiter said I should definitely call you that." She grinned mischeviously. "I had to give it a try just once. But fine, what do you want me to call you? Valen? Valentine? His lord grumpiness of all that is sour and devoid of joy?" Aerndis had to divert herself around a tree but that was all the time it took for her to have more questions. "So what are you doing? Are you exploring? Can I explore with you?" "Talk" "You" Think

"Not afraid, just being sensible. I'm not a big bruiser like you. I don't want to fight if I don't have to." In response to this Valentine shot a sly look over his shoulder. "So wise for one so young. Where's the reckless naivety of youth?" He tsked and shook his head with mock disappointment before sighing, "I don't understand your generation." Jupiter told her to call him that, huh? We-he-hell. He was going to have to shove that little cosmic bastard down a hill next time he saw him. Aerndis began asking him what she could call him and the barrage of pet names brought a sigh to the old King's lips. He didn't want to be a grandpa. Grandpas were old fuddy duddies who'd somehow managed to live past their usefulness. The problem wasn't with the grandkids or the pet names, it was with his inability to accept his age. He didn't feel old so how could he be old? "Oh," he said dryly. "The last one - definitely the last one." "Told you, I'm looking for a place to bury grandkids." In response to her wanting to tag along, he shrugged and shot a sly glance back at her. "Sure, it'll save me a trip once I find a good spot to plant you." ""