a rather sticky situation

Takeshi roamed the swamplands, feeling a bit of a rut. His mother had a new boyfriend, one of his sisters had shipped off to another pack entirely, Ike was busy with her own stuff, and Kuroki had his veritable harem. The Ashen Dragon was the only one without a purpose or others to lean on, it seemed, which was a hard pill to swallow. He knew that walking around wouldn’t fix anything, but it was good to clear his head anyways.

Suddenly, he could hear a series of yapping and yipping in the distance. He paused, auds swiveling forward as his head tilted curiously. It was a canine, and by its tone it seemed to be in trouble. His glowing red gaze turned to glance at his companions, nodding to them before walking toward the sound. Rounding a tree, Take came across the scene of a small dog, or at least small to him, whose front end was sinking slowly but surely into a puddle of quicksand. If one wasn’t familiar with quicksand and the area, it would be easy to fall prey to it.

“Hold on, I’ll help get you out,” the man offered, issuing a swift bark to his companions to tell them to find him a long, sturdy stick. “Just don’t move around too much,” he rumbled.

Speech