lessons for lost boys

Desolate's head hung as he awaited his alpha's response, his small heart beating furiously in his chest. If she said no, he'd be more than just a boy without a mother or father; he'd be a pup rejected by the remaining members of his family too. He didn't let himself hope for her acceptance, though when her response came across to him his head shot up. There was no hesitance to her words and nothing in her tone to make him think she was only joking, and Desolate's tail began to beat against the sand. He absorbed her answer, feeling happiness swell in his chest as he pictured himself returning home to his cousin's den. "Okay, yeah." While his body language spoke of excitement, his words were still rather neutral. An upbeat tone did not come naturally to the boy.

His alpha fell into a play bow, and even with her unnaturally short tail he could see the faint wag behind her. Her nose booped his and he huffed a startled sneeze in surprise, a smile tugging at his lips. She tore away and he found it easy to follow her. "Wait for me!" The sand was a terrain he wasn't used to, it ate at his paws and interfered with his steps. Every few feet he'd lose the rhythm and give a small hop to keep himself upright. By the time he'd reached the waters edge his chest was rising and falling with heavy and excited breaths.

Theory was standing in the water and Desolate paused at the edge of the sand. Bi-colored gaze scrutinized the way it moved around her ankles then shifted to glance up at her face. "Do we gotta train in there?" He asked after a moment, his hesitance clear. The pup had sworn off the bay, blamed it for the season Abaven spent locked on an island. He hated it more then he'd hated the volcano. "I can't swim." It wasn't a lie, Desolate couldn't swim and didn't intend on learning anytime soon.