watercolor sunset

'Fuckin' piece'a shit,' Maude mentally cursed, grumpily muttering more swears under her breath as she licked the freshly made snake bite on her paw, scowling all the while. Its creator had long since slithered away, having only bitten her out of shock from being stepped on, not in defense of a nest or anything (thank the stars), so it had no reason to stay and stand its ground. It also, thankfully, wasn't poisonous (she'd had a brief moment to identify the snake before it vanished), so the only treatment she needed was to wash out the tiny wound and make sure it didn't get infected... but damn did it hurt, and that fact that her foolishness was the only thing to blame just made it even worse.

Having been traveling through the desert for a while, her throat had grown parched and dry, desperately in need of a drink, and when she spotted the thin river she was currently half-limping towards up ahead, her excitement got the better of her and she ended up plowing straight through the underbrush, throwing all caution to the wind as she barreled for the water, dangerous critters be damned. Naturally of course, this was the result: a stinging wound that would probably slow her traveling speed until it healed, and traveling slow was never good when surviving on your own.

Oh well, what's done is done, and though she felt like a moron as she pulled up to the water's edge, dipped her paw in, and winced at another fresh sting, at least she could finally get a drink now, which she then proceeded to do after washing her bite. The cool (if a bit murky) waters slid down her parched throat, bringing her such great relief that she all but forgot that stupid snake, and as she opened her eyes to watch the ripples she was making cascade across the water's surface, she realized the sun had finally hit that perfect spot on the horizon, where it painted the sky in a brilliant array of pinks, reds, oranges, and violets, and turned all water sources within reach of its dying rays into the same beautiful display. She lifted her muzzle, water dripping from her chin, and turned her head to smirk at the sky, sighing as she enjoyed the view.

Yep. Willy snake and all, this wasn't too bad, she reckoned...