This was one prime example of why the white, russet-marked fea needed to stop wandering aimlessly. She had strolled into the area, only looking at the beautiful scenery around her. This place was gorgeous with its lush vegetation, huge trees, and clear lake. But she happened to glance down and see a long, brown snake slither past her paws from one patch of vegetation to the next. She yelped and stumbled back several steps, her ears folding back against her head. She had continued on, only to spot two more snakes of various colors and sizes around her path. Apparently while the land was beautiful it still held many dangers. She felt like there was some kind of metaphor in that, but she was too worried about watching her step to worry about figuring out the meaning behind it. Euph wandered over to the lake in the middle of the territory, looking around for any more snakes before she sat down on the shore with a sigh. She had never seen so many snakes in more place in her whole life. She leaned down to get a drink of water and a cotton mouth swam by across the surface of the water a few feet away. She whined and took a few steps back again. She wanted to get going and leave this place as soon as she could, but she had been traveling for quite some time and was tired and wary of the road ahead. She just wanted to rest for a moment, but it was hard to do with so many serpents around. She relaxed the best she could, settling in to wait till she felt like moving again. "Speech."

Gargoyle was no longer in a good mood. He hadn't been that great when the day had started off. Something was brooding in the back of his head. Old thoughts he didn't like. He'd thought all that was long past him, but today... today wasn't a good day. Anyway, he'd taken himself away from his pack, knowing that during these sort of days it was best for him to be alone, and he'd gone off in search of something raw and red and delicious. Or maybe he'd just go fishing. Fishing could be calming. While his stomach decided what it wanted, his paws drew him further and further away from Mt. Volkan. He remained in the west though, following stray scents and game trails until he found a lush green forest opening up before him. Once he was beneath the leafy canopy, he declared it to look more like a jungle. It had so many layers of greenery, from the grass and ferns to the hundred types of bushes and thickets, to the trees - and even the trees, as though not emerald enough, had ivy and creepers and tendrils spiraling up and over it until the woods became so thick that it nigh on impossible to see more than a dozen yards ahead.

And of course Gargoyle already smelled the snakes. So he'd made it into Serpent Plains hmm? He'd heard the name, and this place certainly belonged to it, though for plains, there were plenty of forests tucked into the corners and dips of the land. Gargoyle followed a faint muddy trail frequented by deer. It curved here, banked there, took him under a tree which had fallen at a propped up angle, and then eventually brought him to a rippling stream. Of course, it wasn't just rippling by stone or wind. He saw the head of cotton mouth disappear under the surface. He didn't smell any eggs or nesting scents nearby though, so continued unafraid to the water's edge and dipped his head down, lapping at the water at first, and then, after a moment, dunking his whole head in. Refreshing. He pulled back and shook himself, hoping to open his eyes with a clearer head. But as his lids raised, revealing lizard like yellow-eyes, he had a bit of a shock. There was another wolf here! Sitting on the other side of the river, backed up from the bank! She was mainly white, but bore bronze markings that made her look as though she might have been related to Gargoyle's sister Crusade. But he hadn't planned on seeing anyone today. He'd come out here to get away from wolves, and yet here he was probably looking absolutely ridiculous as the water dripped down the side of his face.

After several minutes the fea was feeling a bit better, her paws no longer so sore and her muscles not so tense. She had no idea how much farther she was going to travel. There was nothing from stopping her from walking to the ends of the earth and back, traveling till she wore her paws down to nothing. She hoped that something caught her attention and kept her in one place before she reached that point through. The pads of her paws were already rough from use and she was feeling more and more wary every time she stopped somewhere. She sighed, trying to look on the bright side. At least she was getting to see so many different beautiful places, meet lots of interesting wolves, and have tons of experiences. She was taking on the world first hand. Even still, it was getting tiring. Just as she was about to walk up to the water's edge to make another attempt at getting a drink of water, a wolf emerged from the forest across from her. She froze, watching as he walked up to the water for a drink, seemingly oblivious of her presence. Euph wondered if maybe she should just turn and walk away before he did, just in case he wasn't of the kind sort. He didn't look like he was in too good of a mood anyway. But his behavior made her pause, one brow lifting quizzically. He had dunked his head down under the surface, shaking himself off as he came back up into the air. Then his golden eyes opened suddenly and found hers. She blinked at him, her brow still raised questioningly. She had never seen a brute randomly dunk their head in the water unless maybe they were fishing which he didn't seem to be doing. "Um... Hello," she called over to him, giving him a slight nod, her voice with its slight twang of an accent drifting across to him. She was always friendly, no matter how strange the circumstances. "Speech."

Gargoyle shook his head again, spattering the nearby plants. "Yeah hi," he muttered. Normally he was more curteous, espically where females were involved, but not today. Today he really just wanted to be left alone. Alot had been happening in his life these days - some wonderful, some terrible. He had the love of his pack, yet the fates seemed to be against them all. Glaciem or Glacias or the current Tortugas or whatever they were supposed to call themselves now had been forced out of one home after another ever since the beginning - whether it was due to fire, disappearance of prey, the earth spewing out it's insides through the top of a mountain, or some ambitious challenger with a lucky snag to Gargoyle's arteries. He'd never show it before his packmates, or even his mate if he could help it, but there were times when the dark thoughts took their toll on the giant. Sometimes he just needed to get away for a bit. Things were so much simpler when it was just him and his infuriating excuse for a mink, Frisk, traveling the world, like a couple of kick a-- bachelors.

But no, no that was glorifying the past. At the time things had been horrible. He'd been running from the monster he'd become; from the mob where he'd learned to kill and enjoy taking his time while doing so. He didn't want to go back to that. Not even if he'd been stronger back then. ...Right?

Gargoyle decided that he didn't care if there was another wolf around, he was going swimming, he needed to cool off. It was nice little creek - in some places it ran only a foot or so deep over smooth stones and fern dotted banks, but in other places - here being one, it created a pool both deep and wide. The water was a bit murky from the bankmud, but it smelled clean and wholesome. Gargoyle stepped through the tall plants that littered the bank and started wading his way in. As the water level rose he looked something like an aligater - just his head, then water, then his shoulers, then more water, then his black rump. But he was so tall that he could touch the bottom even in the very middle. Only by bending his legs and ducking his head could he immerse his whole form in the creek, and it was wonderful to feel the pull of the current against his fur.

Of course it was while his head was under water that the cotton mouth who'd gone slithering by before, started coming back up stream, right towards were Gargoyle had disappeared under water. And when his head did come back up again, he was facing the wrong way! He didn't see the serpent winding his way and he was about to turn around keep splashing.

Syne's ear turned back against her skull for just a moment from surprise at the wolf's rude reply. Usually wolves at least dealt with the pleasantries of meeting another wolf, but apparently what was not in his cards today. Her brows pulled together and she was about to turn and leave him to whatever it was he just wanted to be alone so much for, but her jaw dropped as he slowly submerged himself in the pool of water before her. It was turning out to be a very strange encounter at the very least. Soon she could only see the top of his head, shoulders, and rump, and then all at once he was gone under the surface of the water. What in the world was he doing?! She knew it had gotten hot and she was sure the water felt good, especially if he had traveled any distance like she had, but there was no way she would have gotten in that water after she had seen that snake swimming through it. She hadn't seen many snakes in her life, but her mother had taught her a few to look out for since they had lived near a place with some snakes at one point so she knew that cotton mouthes were one to stay far away from. He must have had a death wish. That was her only conclusion. Well, she wasn't going to stick around to see it happen. She pulled herself to her paws and turned to walk down the length of this river. She had taken several steps when she saw the cotton mouth in question slither past... toward that rude brute. She froze and quickly turned, watching as the snake wiggled through the water right for the splashing brute. "Oh no..." she whispered to her self. He had been a jerk, but she wasn't about to let a snake kill him out of spite for him being rude. She wasn't that heartless. She dashed back toward him along the bank, calling out to him, "Look out!" She quickly leaped into the shallower part of the river right behind the snake, grabbing the tail end of it in her jaws. Before it could swing around to bite her, she flug her head and tossed the darn thing several feet away, hearing it hit the ground with a thump. Luckily it didn't try try fight back, instead slittering off into the forest brush. Syne sighed and climbed out of the river, shaking off the water that had gotten on her legs and stomach. Luckily the part that she had lept into wasn't near as deep as the pool the brute was in, but it was still enough to get her wet and stain her white coat with the muddy water. "Speech."

Gargoyle had stiffened up, even rising onto his forelegs a little as, no sooner had he resurfaced his head, then the white girl came flying at him. The quiet forest was suddenly rent with splashes and Gargoyle got a face full of creek-water. Blinking one, water logged yellow eye, his sidestep had taken him back for enough to see what was going on. The girl had snapped up a snake in her jaws and flung it away into the forest. Gaze as unreadable as ever, Gargoyle watched her climb calmly out of the water and shake off herself dry. "Well," said Gargoyle as he sat there, his head and shoulder tops just out of the water. He blinked. "That was dramatic." Had she just-? Yes, yes she had. This she-wolf had charged straight into the water and attacked a snake for him. Gargoyle remained staring in the direction the serpent and "flown" for a minute. The surprise seemed to jolt some of the moodiness out of him. At the very least it reminded him of his manner.

He looked back to the now slightly muddy girl. "Um, thank you," came his quiet rumbling voice. "But, uh, I'm immune." Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Maybe he should've let her go on believing she'd just saved his life, but he tended to be a rather blunt individual. He could add that he wouldn't have swum there if he wasn't but no, that would be a lie. Gargoyle didn't fear anything - except himself - and certainly not the living belts known as snakes. Venomous or not. He stood and and waded out of the pool, this time joining the female on her side. He stopped at the edge though, his giant paws still in the water, and, planting his feet, shook rather like a dog. He had a thick coat, but not quite as much fur as his sister Crusade. When she came out of the water and shook, all her fur fluffed up til she looked like a giant puffball mushroom. And the best part was she never seemed to notice. Gargoyle on the other hand, most of his fur all smoothed down til the curves of his muscles could be seen with every move he made. All except for the fur around his neck and back, those long hairs tended to spike when they got wet. All in all, the male's appearence was improved by water, but, just like his sister, he never seemed to notice.

Dramatic? Well, yeah, jumping in the water to save a stranger from a snake was pretty dramatic. Not exactly the response she had been expecting, but not all that surprising as she thought back to his rude, grumpy answer earlier. She was a little annoyed by that, but at least he did say thank you... only to then tell her that he had been immune in the first place. So pretty much everything she just did was actually no help at all and just made her look dramatic and muddy. Her ears folded back and she blushed furiously. Who did he think he was?! She had been ginuenly concerned for him and now he basically tells her that it was for nothing. He got out of the water on her side of the river, shaking off the excess water and making his pelt lay against his body, showing off his handsome frame. Somehow, him looking better coming out of the water than he went in just made her more angry with him. She was a muddy mess thanks to her stiring up the dirt on the river floor and the water just molded his fur to his muscles. She gave a soft, frustrated growl, clenching her teeth to keep from saying something she would regret later. He may be rude, but Syne knew better. Her mother had always told her to be on her best behavior every where she went, no matter what, and she took that commandment with her always. Without a word she turned back the way she was heading before this whole ordeal happened, stalking away from him while still steaming and feeling embarassed for herself. "Speech."

Gargoyle wasn't usually the clunky, awkward, unfeeling sort of male in situations, but every rule has it's exceptions. Today, having been 'off' from the start, seemed to be home to one of them. Gargoyle didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly hadn't been for the female to spin round like she was insulted and stalk off through the greenery. Gargoyle hadn't even tried to push her away. He just stood there, blinking for a moment. Was he really that repulsive? He wondered for a moment. He shook his head. Then why in the world did Ocena bother putting up with him?

Oh well, when he'd first come he'd wanted the she-wolf gone, and now she was. End of story. The male, if not exactly in a better mood than when he'd started had at least been distracted. He turned his back on the female and returned to his pleasant dip in the pool.

--END--

(aaand i think we just won the award for most anticlimactic thread ever XD )