Kione was ever still the exploring rogue roamer. He’d spent his life roaming but it still seemed entirely different to do so without his large family beside him. The springs were a nice place however and offered him a nice chance to roll about in one of the warm shallow pools. It was a fine day with good weather and the scent of spring with the light of the sun were welcome friends. Kione was used to a life of sleeping at night with all work and play saved for the day. Safe to say the cursed land had taken away his preferred schedule for a time.

The grass was turning greener and as the now soaking wet dog exited the pool to shake off he made a slow walk about the springs, sniffing at some of the scents of the different plants. Large ears up and twitching to pay attention for any sounds of strangers bumping into his good time.


"Speech"

Today is a glorious day! The sun warms Ricin’s coat as he weaves his around bubbling springs and through dense vegetation that surrounds the area. With the bright, warm promise of fun day, Ricin jumped at the chance to go exploring when Chade left to find them food. Of course, the lighter-hued pup had promised to stay safe before the brothers had struck out in opposite directions. It wasn’t difficult to find the springs and Ricin had decided to follow to follow the water upstream. At first his pace is slow as his wandering eyes roam over and inspect every little thing that he passes.

Unexpectedly, Ricin’s ears pick up a faint sound and he pauses in forward progress. What was that? Should he go find out what it is? For a moment, he just stands there, weighing his options carefully as he tries to think of what Chade would do. After a moment, he tests the air and quickly wrinkles his nose as the overwhelming smell of sulfur fills his nostrils. A frown tugs at his light-colored lips when he realizes that the sulfur is drowning out all other scents. Finally, Ricin makes up his mind and strikes out toward where the sound had come from. Chade would want to know if there are any predators to be worried about nearby… right?

Ricin is proud of his reasoning as he quickly makes his way toward the source of the sound. Okay so maybe he hadn’t been paying close attention to Chade’s lessons about sneaking up on dangerous creatures (something about downwind and going slowly?)  but Ricin still needs to determine what kind of threatening animal has decided to stray so close to the springs. Chade is going to be so proud of him! He can already see his brother’s eyes when he tells him how he found a giant bear and lived to tell the tale.

Lost in his daydreams, Ricin is unaware of the amount of noise he making in the dense foliage he is jogging through. His light form bursts into a clearing and comes face to face with a colorful dog. Surprise is stops Ricin in his tracks as he stands there, shocked. After a moment, Ricin rumbles out uncertainly, “Uh. Hi.”


"Speech"

Kione’s large ears were sharp and it would have taken someone near deaf not to hear the sounds being made.  It wasn’t anything very large and it wasn’t very good at hiding.  Kione imagined any predator or prey he could think up to fill the gap.  The sulfur did make picking up any scent hard so finally, curiosity dictated he go investigate.

Just as Kione neared the foliage, brows raising as a pup came face to face with him.  It was a damn large wolf, just about the same size as he was.  Some of these wolves got absurdly sized!  This one was bound to be one of the large ones in the future. “Hello, there lad,” the painted dog with an entertained expression.

Well, the boy had helped Kione in a way.  He was firmly decided this wasn’t a great spot to live.  Sure, the ears and eyes told a lot but he’d prefer to have an easier time to scent what was in the area. “You know, lots of dead plants still about after all that dark.  The dead stuff makes a lot more racket than the soft spring grass.” It was true, too much of the brush rattled about the area maybe the boy would take the tip for future use. “Lost or here for a bath?”


"Speech"

The tall pup stands as still as a statue, staring at the strange dog he has come face to face with. The dog looks at him with an amused expression and says hello. A lopsided grin appears on the light blue pups face as he says, “Hello! You have a funny way of talking.” Puppy logic wins the day again as Ricin points out the blatantly obvious to the dog, not even considering that he already knows this and perhaps, just maybe, the way Ricin speaks is strange to him. Ricin has a distrust of adult wolves but has never met an adult dog before. Maybe they aren’t so bad? Quickly, the pup makes up his mind to get know this guy a little more before passing judgement.

The dog’s words have Ricin looking back over his shoulder at the path he made, broken dead sticks and crunched plants littering his wake. Oh right, Chade had mentioned about being sneaky. Well, that doesn’t matter now, he found the culprit of the strange noise early and is still alive. He will take that as a win. Turning back to the dog, he shrugs his light-colored shoulders and says, “Being sneaky really isn’t my thing. Now my brother, he is the master of that stuff. I bet you wouldn’t have even heard him coming!” Ricin is proud of his brother and the lopsided grin becomes a full-blown smile as talks about Chade.

Stepping out of the foliage, giving his coat a good shake to rid it of any lingering plants, Ricin answers the dog’s question, “Neither. My brother’s out hunting for food and I was just exploring. Hoping to find a safe place to sleep for the night. What brings you here? Want to explore with me?” Ricin is all over the place, his energy boundless and the prospect of having someone join on his adventures causing him to become even more eager. Tail wags lightly as he looks to the dog, the blue pup’s tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as he watches the colorful creature.

As an afterthought, Ricin says, “Oh yeah, my name’s Ricin.” He looks behind the dog, pointing a paw toward the direction of the waterfalls and asking, “Went to get a closer look at the falls over there?” His tail still wags as the blue pup is extremely pleased with himself. Chade can’t be mad with his exploring now! He found an adult to protect him.

"Speech"

The wandering rogue grinned at the pup’s comment on his voice.  “Well, I talk just like the rest of my family do-es” The word ‘does’ had started to come out so naturally when his mind reminded him it should have been past tense.  Only a moment of stalling could easily be brushed aside.  No need to talk to a pup or remind himself of such a harsh thing as death of family.

Kione’s first assumption was brother meant an older brother who was watching over the younger one.  Eventually, the brother should be able to follow the boy's trail and realize where he wandered off to.  The blue pup got another large grin at the mention of not hearing his brother. “With these ears?  I could hear a mute cricket walk’n cross the ground a mile away.”  Sure, it was a tall tale but it was the sort of thing most kids loved to hear.  “If your brother can beat that I’m impressed!”  

Did he want to go exploring with him huh? “Tell ya’ what, how about some real fun for ya.  Ever gone swimming before?  Got some nice size pools here.” Kione looked from the boy back to the pools, “For me, I love soaking and lounging,” then looking back to the kid, “but ya know what my favorite was at your age? Still fun now.  Leaping in and seeing how big of a splash I can make.  Names Kione.”


"Kione"

The colorful dog grins at Ricin’s comment about his voice and says something about his family. A pang of sadness hits the blue pup as he remembers his dead siblings and father, so he misses the dog’s moment of stalling. Ricin quickly brushes off the emotion and continues to talk about Chade. The large eared dog grins widely at him and talks about he can hear things a mile away. Crimson eyes light up when he talks of Chade beating that and Ricin eagerly says, “He could! He is so silent that you wouldn’t know he was standing right next to you!” A wide, proud smile rests on the light blue pup’s lips as he looks to the colorful dog.

Okay, so maybe Ricin was fibbing a little but he so proud of Chade that he is willing to stretch the truth a bit to make his brother look good. The smile fades and drops as the dog talks about having some real fun. He explains about the pools and making the biggest splash. Then he offers his name. Ricin’s eyes dance with joy as he looks from the pool to Kione and back again. Looking back to the colorful dog, Ricin says, “Is this a contest? What are the rules? All good contests have rules.” The blue pup listens intently to Kione, ready to make the biggest splash the dog has even seen in its life. He awaits the relaying of rules to officially start the contest.


"Speech"

It was only natural for a kid to look up to their older siblings.  Kione nodded slowly, “quite a talented brother you got there then friend.  Don’t let him go.  There is nothing on this land more important than family.” Truest words of the heart right there but, it was said with a mild fact to it.  No need for the young man to think of losing family or any grim details.

A contest huh?  Kione hadn’t imagined it so much that way but maybe when he was a pup the competitive edge was more in there.  Rules though? Rules had never been part of it.  Why did a contest need rules?  Well then!  “Well ‘course it has rules.”  Kione walked to the edge of the pool tapping the water, flicking it into the air just to see a sprinkle of spray.  

“The most important rule is having fun.  If at any point you aren’t having fun you could be disqualified.  Your opponent winds that easily.” Kione flicked a bit more water with his paw aiming to think up other rules, “Hm, I believe adults were stuck with the rule of not shoving pups underwater.  Oh, right, you are not allowed to talk underwater.”  Technically it was impossible but Kione wasn’t sure if the boy knew that or not.  If he tried to break the rule he’d learn fast.

“Got it? You can go first.” Kione sat down, a confident smile tugging at his mouth.


"Kione"

Kione’s words about family do not fall upon deaf ears and Ricin solemnly nods, saying, “I won’t. Not as long I am alive. Chade is stuck with me, wither he wants me or not.” Ricin offers a sad smile, dismissing the fact that he has told Kione his brother’s name. The dog seems friendly enough and the blue pup hopes Kione is as trustworthy as Ricin thinks he is. However, sad thoughts do not have long to clutter the pups head as the colorful dog is talking about a splashing contest. The pup’s mind turns to rules and Kione thoughtfully tests the water before announcing them.

Ricin can have fun! No problem there. And no talking underwater. He can do that too. Nodding his head firmly, Ricin lets Kione know he understands the rules. The dog steps the side and sits, allowing the pup to go first. The dog’s confident smile earns him a smirk as Ricin walks several steps away before turning to face the pool. Crimson eyes sparkle as he says, “Prepare to be amazed.” And with that he takes off. Pumping his legs, gaining as much momentum as possible in the short distance, Ricin uses his last step to coil up his muscles and launch his frame into the air. He aims for height not distance and, as his body falls toward the pool, the blue pup twists and stretches, trying to get as much of him out sideways as possible.

Gravity pulls him to earth and, with a mighty splash, the pup lands sideways in the pool. The impact stings his side lightly but Ricin quickly pushes himself to the surface and paddles over to the side. A huge smile rests on his lips even as his wet mohawk sags in front of his eyes. Pushing himself from the water, Ricin shakes out his coat and prances over to where Kione sits, plopping his butt on the ground and saying, “Beat that!” The happy, soggy pup grins widely as he waits for the colorful dog’s response to his splash. No way he can beat that! Right?


"Speech"