He woke slowly, letting each sense filter in one by one. He felt his fur ruffle at the gentle wind, felt his ears twitch in response. The sound of the earth came next - idle water, whistling wind, creaking trees, the audible noise sand makes as it gathers and settles. The taste of his mouth came next - vague flavors lingered in his mouth of his last meal, the loamy water he drank. Vague smells of wolves who had passed through before him met his nostrils. Finally green eyes slowly opened, letting the light in ever so slowly. The oasis had been his bed last night. He was so tired once he found it, that he curled up at the base of a tree for a nap that lasted the entire night.

The boy rose, stretched elaborately, feeling each and every joint and muscle stretched taught. "Goooood morning!" He said to himself. He shook sand and dirt out of his autumn pelt and looked around. What direction had he come from, anyways? He lazily walked over to the water for a sip, planning his travels for the day.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He had come upon the snoozing male and decided not to disturb him. It’d only been about an hour and he’d spent the time resting and washing the sand out of his coat. He wasn’t aware the older male had woken up and meandered to get a drink while he was under the water, practicing – okay, playing – holding his breath under water. The only indication from above that Ardyn was in there was the cloud of inky black fur billowing under the water, sparking and glowing like a bed of coals disturbed by a breeze before he could no longer hold his air any longer and popped up above the surface, blowing out the air and drawing in a deep breath, head shaking and spraying water in all directions as he straightened. With yearling hood having settled upon him, he was embracing the novelty of being allowed to free range and explore the world. He was also in the midst of a growth spurt, one that had already taken him past the forty-two-inch mark. He now had to look down at her when he spoke to his mother, and he could look his father and grandfather in the eye. His eyes landed on the other wolf with mild surprise before he grinned, greeting cheerfully, “Oh! Hello.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Hudson was not one to jump easily, but he felt a panicked twinge of fear in his guy when the water erupted suddenly and a gigantic creature appeared, spraying water to and fro. He let out a little shriek, but a quick once-over confirmed wolf, not sea monster and he tried to relax his poofed tail and back hairs. He let out a deep laugh at himself. Who was this guy? Deep underwater, in the middle of a desert? The totally-not-a-sea-creature-but-certainly-just-a-wolf said hello with a cheerful expression. Relieved his was friendly, Hudson did what he does best: talk.

"And hello to you too! My god, for a minute, I thought you were some sort of gigantic sea-creature!" He chuckled again. "You must be good at holding your breath." He said, green eyes shining with his typical friendly glow. His posture was relaxed, comfortable, almost dog-like. His tail flung back and forth almost in a lazy wag and his tongue spilled out of his mouth with a lazy pant.

The night had been another restless one. It wasn't something that I wasn't accustomed to. However, this one seemed different. The dream that I had the other day still replayed in my head... flashing images of something ablaze, watching the image of a tall castle pan upwards, the shadows of the trees played with the glow from the embers reflecting in the windows, and the cellar... That I didn't remember images of so much as I did just the feeling of it. Looming. Like something was watching me from the darkness that it incased. I stood frozen, with my eyes closed and my breathing labored, uneven.

"Woah.."

I breathed out and opened my eyes, blinking them in the morning light. The after images faded as the scene before my eyes came into focus. I had posted myself by this chilly source of water. That's right... I had almost forgotten. Shit. How many hours had it been since I had been here? Last night I know I wanted to head as far south as I could without straying too far from where I had set up shop to find something to get my machine running again. Maybe another field of sorts like the one I was at last week that was absolutely chock full of random parts, metals, and stray pieces. It was a long shot but it was one that I was willing to take. That is... unless I ran into - I huffed again, blood orange eyes darting quickly around the ground under my paws before bringing them back up to the sight of the water. It didn't matter... If it happened. It happened. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wasn't about to live my days in fear.

"Phew..."

My maw opened gently to let out a sigh. Wait... I felt my nose twitch reactively to my breath. Ugh. Yep. That's morning breath.

I rotated my shoulder stiffly.

"Ahh, shh -"

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have been leaning up against that rock for as long as I was. With a light groan a contemplated going for a drink, but just the thought of moving right now forced my body into a slump on the ground. A pile of fur that mixed with the grainy topography, spread out like a female in heat. I wanted to get some water in me, get some in my glass jar to bring back to my workstation, and get back to trying to find supplies but the sound of another voice threw my thoughts off track.

"Goooood morning!"

"Huh?"

I whispered, my head lifting off the ground, and searched for where the sound came from. Someone else was here? I stood back up and turned around to find the other being, leading my eyes to settle on another wolf that walked up to the pond for a drink. Weird. I guess I was so out of it last night that I - of course, I forgot to check the area. I'm sure at that hour a bear could have been sleeping here and knowing me I would have snuggled up next to it.

'Good looking. Ciel.'
I shook my head at myself before sitting back down and watching the scenario play out on the other side of the Oasis. Soon enough, another wolf came up out of the water and began calling out to the first one. Did they know each other? As they were talking I settled back down to relax on the floor. I didn't think I wanted to interfere with them just yet and would rather observe them from a distance.

"Speech"