its coarse and rough

There was so much more of the world to explore - Kaija wasn't even sure how much. Even her dad hadn't explored all of it, and though she damn sure wanted to try, she just knew she wanted to explore places that weren't like.. this. She didn't love the feeling of sand sticking beneath her paws and the dry air. She wanted to see snow and mountains and big islands. She wanted to see the world from high above, and swim in the clear blue seas. Not... this gross little river. But she was more curious about how Ophie was doing than about her life's potential direction, or lack thereof.

"Skipping training?" Kaija echoed, giving a dismissive shake of her head. "What kind of training? Training sounds boring anyway." Her mom wasn't really the type to force her and her siblings to do much of anything, especially not training, something that Kaija definitely appreciated. She gave her coat another little shake, moving now to escape the shallows and climb back to shore. "Yeah, my pack's just south of here. What about you, though? I didn't think you were from around here," she asked curiously. She pried some muck out from between her toes but didn't bother cleaning herself off yet as she stood near the river's edge.