Cheer Up

Walk | Talk | Think

The sun was high in the sky but already the heavy heat that it had been bathing across the world was beginning to lessen. Summer was on its way out, making way for autumn in all its golden wonder, but it had not left without giving them something to remember it by. The earthquake had been strong and startling, frightening Anais when the ground which had for her entire life been stable suddenly shook and shifted beneath her paws, toppling her to the ground as she screamed in fright. But that had not been the worst of it. When everything had settled she ran in search of her family and found that her mother had been injured, blinded in chaos that had unfolded. Her mother had taken the loss hard, and Anais was upset for her.

She had come out this way as a means to clear her mind of the events, but still they lingered. She lay sprawled upon her stomach, forelegs crossed with her chin resting atop them. Lemon-gold eyes stared ahead into the rippling surface of the lake while her mind remained inward, wondering if there was something she could do to cheer her mother up. She knew she liked pretty things and if she searched hard enough she was sure to find a lovely flower that would have appealed to the woman but a flower seemed too silly. She wanted to do something more, something that would mean more in the giving of it.

Quite suddenly she had her answer. Ears perking atop her head the yearling pup lifted her head as the thought hit her, eyes beginning to stare into the water with renewed interest. Of course! A fish! Tahlia always prided herself on her fishing skills and had done all she could to instill the same talent in her daughter, and while Anais herself could barely stand the wait attached to her mother's teachings she had been successful a few times. Maybe, just maybe, she could prove to her mom that all her training had not been for nothing.

Tail wagging, the grinning girl lurched to her feet and took those last few steps that separated her from the water. One paw went in but as the other rose to follow and her golden stare finally took in where she intended to walk she froze. There within the shallows, curved and anchored amid the rocks, was a small snake. Being unfamiliar with the creatures Anais dared not try to walk around it but stared rather intrigued at it, watching as it minutely turned its head as if surveying the water around it. Carefully so as not to upset the little creature, the grey-gold girl lifted her wet paw from the edge of the lake and backed away, deciding against the fish or at least from this location. Lot of good it would do for her to get bitten while trying to do something nice for mom.