Rub-a-dub-dub

Alastor · 10-30-2020, 03:02 PM

"Oh no! Did I do that? How clumsy of me!" Alastor could not suppress the growing smirk on his face when he saw what the effects of his splashing had done to Lurid's pristine white coat. Of course he knew what water did to her fur. He remembered the first time he'd pushed her into a shallow pool way back when they were pups, then watched with fascination as her fur seemingly melted and disappeared before his very eyes. At the time, he had no comprehension of what he had caused to happen, even when she had gotten out of the water and chased him for revenge, but now that he was an adult he knew exactly what he was doing. But he had already set a precedent of doing what he could to both rile and loosen up the pale demon and he wasn't about to give that up any time soon. It was far too much fun! Would he ultimately end up doing something she might rebuke him for? Maybe. But that was part of the fun, toeing the lines until he found where he could and could not cross them. So far he had only found a scarce few that were hard boundaries. All the rest were shades of gray he was happy to play with.

Although he was overjoyed to be with his close friend and leader once again, Lurid was not able to conceal her troubled and concerned expressions from Alastor's sharp gaze. He knew he had dropped a bomb on her with the news he bore, but it had been critical that she know what was going on with her pack. For the past several months, he had stayed his course, killing any and all strangers who ventured too close to where the Mirovis pack was hiding, and doing the same to the dissenters and rebels that would spring up amongst the ranks. But as time stretched out without word from their alpha, dissenters became as common as weeds in an untended garden. While Alastor was more than happy to take care of them in his own manner, that strategy was akin to cleansing said garden with a flamethrower. Morbid and Sanguin had done their best to maintain order, but neither inspired fear or respect the way Lurid commanded. Many had listened, but time allowed the distrust to simmer like a foul stew, and the pot was threatening to boil over at some point. Still, he was happy he had found her. Now they could work on a solution together—and he could make sure she wasn't being worked too hard or stressed out.

"A new fear, hmm?" Alastor dunked his head under the water to clean off the splatters of dried blood from around his muzzle and face. "What an odd thing... If any wolf would be able to teach someone how to not be afraid, I figured it would be you. After all, what could be frightening to a pup when he has you protecting him?" He shot a quick wink at Lurid, then swallowed a deep breath and fully submerged himself into the cool water. The river engulfed him, making him a rippling black shadow beneath the surface. The cold temperatures relaxed his body, and the large dire wolf felt almost entirely weightless as he floated just beneath the water. He watched the way the sunlight shimmered and rippled around him, the way the world outside seemed drowned out and distant. He stayed below the water for a minute, then approaching two. His lungs ached, burning for air, but Alastor did not surface. He savored the agony and the burning sensations, hearing his heartbeat thump in his erases the wolf effectively drowned himself. Just before his body kicked in its breathing reflex, he pushed his hind legs off the riverbed and burst out into the world in another large splash of water, gasping and panting for air to soothe his strained lungs.

With his momentary hit of adrenaline now fueling his body, Alastor shook his head to release a spray of water from his fur, then waded idly in the water as he faced Lurid once more. "Well, I think I'm mostly clean now," the brindled brute stated, noting how the clouds of murky red no longer emanated from his body. He pointed a paw at the stains across Lurid's otherwise flawless coat. "Are you sure you don't want to get cleaned up before we head back? You won't startle the boy showing up smeared with blood, will you?"

"Speech" — Thoughts

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