Adrift Without a Life Vest

For several moments she couldn't tell if her signaling was in vain, worrying that she was still too far out for the stranger to take notice of her, but then she noticed the bit of black flying in the air above them and saw the wolf stop on the beach as the bird started moving in her direction. A shuttering sigh of relief left her as the bird pulled the attention toward her and she let her foreleg settle back on the floating piece of wood once more, resting her head between her paws while she struggled to stay conscious, exhaustion tugging her back down into a heavy sleep as if just waving her paw had taken all of her energy. She blinked and then suddenly the bird that had spotted her was beside her on her scrap of a life raft, the feeling of its weight shifting the piece of wood and the sound of its caw in her ear making her eyes flutter open again. She glanced up at the bird, breathing in shallow breaths and focusing all of her energy on just staying where she was while she waited for help. She did ofter the avian a slight, grateful smile, turning her head a bit to tap her nose to its foot in a silent thank you.

A few moments later she spotted the wolf that she had seen on the shore, the male growing closer as he swam through the waves as if he had been doing it all his life. It was almost a little hard to see him out here where the water was deep, the dark hues of his fur almost blending in with the water. She watched in amazement as he cut through the waves to reach her and moved around the piece of wood till he was behind her. All at once her slow, unless shift toward the shore suddenly picked up speed as this talented man pushed her toward the beach. She turned her head a bit to be able to see him with one blue and green eye and she looked at him with a deep gratitude that she was sure she'd never be able to properly express. "Thank you," she managed in a hoarse, cracked voice before she settled her head between her paws again and let her eyes close, just focusing on staying awake and alive now that she had her life line.

"Anthea Dásos"