Bad Weather, Good Company

Walk | Talk | Think

To his credit, Leon played along with the joke rather than declare it false right from the start, but it only went to further prove how thoughtless her actions had been. She tried not to groan aloud at the prospect of weaving around the forest a moment longer than necessary through this soaking rain and only just managed to close her eyes before their roll could be detected, still grinning sheepishly all the while. Thankfully he was already turning, and as his chuckles faded in the air between them, a small spark of brightness in the bleary storm, Ashtoreth followed in his paw steps, keeping close and watching her footing to make sure no accidents were made during the last small leg of her journey while the rains persisted. She only hoped by the time the rain departed that the ground would have soaked up a majority of the moisture. While the soaking effect of the rain would have been minimal then, slipping would still have been a danger, and needing all her faculties for hunting an injury, no matter how slight, would have been detrimental to their pack's two wolf hunting party.

The center of camp slowly began to loom ahead, manifesting through the rain and thunder. Ash stared ahead and around Leon at it with relief, but rather than make for the center of it, where a majority of the pack seemed to gather, the light brown wolf led her away and off to one side. For a moment, she was confused - were they not headed back to camp after all? - but as she still peered around the wolf, could see the rocky structure that he led them toward, her relief came again in earnest. Finally! A dry place to sit out of the rain and warm up.

He gave no hesitation as he led her to it, though he did pause outside of its entrance to speak to her, earning a bemused grin from his slim grey companion. Hm, wonder which that will be, she mused wordlessly to herself as she followed the other wolf through the gap in the three boulders and sighed as the rain's consistent drum upon her back at last ceased. Water dripped heavily from her coat, which clung to her body too snugly for her liking, and with the air fully hitting her sides the draft caused her to shudder suddenly. Her gold and purple eyes settled themselves on Leon, who had gone to lie himself in the very back of the den, welcoming her to his home. It was undoubtedly generous of him to invite her here of all places, back to the place that was to be his sanctuary and his sanctuary alone, and though the significance of this was not lost to her she tried not to read any further into it than she had to. He was her friend, really one of the only ones she had, and he was willing to look out for her at the sake of his own comfort and privacy.

Gently so as not to splatter water every which way and further wet the cozy den's owner, Ashtoreth carefully rustled her sides and coat, letting what water could fly off in a half shake, before following Leon's example and curling up against one side of the den close by him. For it only having one occupant, it certainly boasted of a lot of room to move, even with the both of them comfortably placed inside. "You sure know how to pick 'em," she stated admiringly, her two-toned eyes shifting around the small space to rest on the den's entrance as the rains still persisted outside. "Mine's much smaller than this. If I ever decide to move, I'll have to ask for your help in scouting out locations." She turned her head and peeked at him from the corner of her eye, a playful smirk dancing about her lips as she complimented his choice in residency. Though hers suited her solitary lifestyle, and its small size ensured that her tendency to curl up would keep in the most warmth during the colder months, there was little room to stretch in her den as there was here, and because she could she unwound a little from her curled up position on her side, extending a paw in a stretch forward as her body relaxed upon the dry floor. "Thanks for bringing me here," she said appreciatively, lying her head alongside her outstretched paw and closing her eyes momentarily as she shifted her shoulders to hide another small shudder, grateful that warmth was slowly beginning to come back to her.