Vespers of Summer

The sound of pawsteps caught her ears, and one swiveled back toward the mouth of the cave, followed by the turn of her head as she studied the opening behind her. The cave she’d stepped into ended in a wall, at first glance, but she, having grown up in a cave system, thought she could detect a familiar line in the back-left corner that hinted that it was actually a crevice that led further into the mountain.

She slid lightly toward it, questing with her nose and muzzle and finding that it was wide enough to admit her, and possibly even a male as large as her father had he been a long for the walk. But as she glanced back to the cave mouth, she almost thought he had as the other wolf stepped into sight. Her first immediate impression was of molten red, and for a beat she missed the icy blue-white markings.

Turning back, her tail flicked into a banner-esque wave of greeting as she called, “Da—oh.” The greeting broke off as she took in the rest of the male’s appearance and young age (young when you consider who she’d initially thought he was).

This male was hale and sound of legs, lacking the hitching hop in the hind end her father had borne since she could remember, and he lacked the scarring. Not only that, but this male was an impressive mixture of molten hues and markings. In a way, he sort of reminded her of Jupiter Aeris, but the brief whiff of his scent held no similarity to the young male.

She stepped back from her initial friendly approach and nodded apologetically as she began to turn away, interest resurfacing in the crevice she’d been probing.

“My apologies. For a moment, I only saw the red in your coat and though my father had joined me in an adventure beyond our pack walls.” Or was bringing bad news…

Her tone held a rueful amusement, but left the ball open for the other to respond or go on his own way. From a standpoint outside the cave, she was a snowy-white figure, but oddly shaped with how her mane and tail flowed from scruff and tail. A closer inspection might catch the faintest shimmers of different colors. In the other paw, she hadn’t noted the fact that this male wasn’t just molten in coloring – save for his white marks – but also glowed.