Good to be Home

He was laying in his den, trying to hide from the summer heat. It was just touching into the season, and already he felt like he was melting. The mild winter had left him without growing too much of a thick coat, but he was still patchy where large clumpy of fur wanted to fall out. He pulled at one, running his tongue along his teeth to get the fur off of it. Ugh, he could use a good dip, that was for sure. Already the lake in Serpent Plains had dropped slightly, the stream that ran into it was nearly dried up. He hoped that it didn't suck all the water out of the lake, but because of the depth he doubted it. It was pretty much their only source of water besides the rapids, which weren't safe for pups, or anyone really. One bad step would send you headlong into the fast moving waters, and he didn't want to count how many he had lost because of it. Floods one year, droughts another. He supposed that that was the flow of life, nothing could ever be constant. That was one of the reasons why he was actually surprised that Abaven was still here. On it's last legs, sure, but still here. In his time, it had been the longest pack up and running. They weren't the most active, but when he started this pack he had no idea that it would take him this far. The idea of retiring was growing more and more tempting, and he found himself counting the days. He still wasn't sure what he would do with all of his free time, but it would be the first time in years that he would truly be allowed to relax. Letting out a sigh, he got up and headed towards the lake, only to hear a call at the borders. His ears twitched, and he quickly recognized it as Sparrow. Forgetting all about taking a swim, he took off in the opposite direction, heading into the thicket.

Bass pushed his way through the tall grasses, some of the taller blades puling a few strands of his white fur off. He had noticed that a few white hairs were starting to show up on his brown markings, just another sign that he was getting up there in years. So where his kids, and yet none of them had made him a grandfather yet. He longed for the days, to see more little ones running around and to tell them the ways of the world. He wanted to see his family grew before he died, but no one even seemed to have a romantic relationship yet. He let out a sigh as he made his way towards Sparrow, maybe that was his fault. Him and their mother weren't really the best example of a solid couple, they were apart more than they had been together. Would that push them away from finding love? He hoped not, he would hate to be the reason why his kids weren't moving on. Finally, he saw Sparrow, and ran the rest of the way to his daughter. His tongue hung out of his maw, the sun pounding down on his back. When he reached her, he placed a big wet kiss on her cheek, his tail wagging behind him as a soft whine left his mouth. "Sparrow! I've missed you. How have you been? What did you go and do? Did you meet anyone?" The questions came tumbling out before he could slow them down, his tail wagging a mile a minute.

"Speech"