Dmitri walked along the muddy bank of the river with his toes expanded, digging his hardened paw pads into the soothing texture of the earth with a pleasant sigh. How could the land be so cruel and so forgiving only a few miles away? He could live on this bank had it not been so exposed to the rest of the forest life. Only moments ago, it was flourishing with game of varying sizes, but at his approach, they had all scattered like bugs. It bothered him none. He had his share of food for the morning. The wolf bent down to collect the water running near the relaxing mud before simply folding down into it. A little mud never hurt anyone, especially in the heat he was feeling now. He swore he could see vapors rising off of his pelt in the forest shade when he left his sandy home. Now he was in this world almost completely foreign to him. Dmitri couldn't help but be a little tense, even during this glorious, blessing-like moment because of it. He didn't get this far being careless after all. After covering most of his sides and as much of his back as he could, Dmitri lifted his head once again to sense the area around him. {"With hope in my voice."/'And despair on my mind.'}

Code by Andy

Along came Kia, exploring once again. This time she found herself approaching the banks of a river, which was perfect because it was hot today. She could soak her fur, and perhaps catch a bite to eat. She had perfected the art of fishing at a very young age, just as she had perfected lots of other things. Except, perhaps, the art of being courteous. Sure, she was nice when she wanted to be. But she could be an absolute bitch if anyone so much as breathed wrong around her. That was just how she was. Generally, though, she was nice enough.

As Kia came closer and closer to the river, she noticed a creature on the other side. As she drew nearer, she realized it was a wolf, lying down in the water. She grinned. That’s exactly what she wanted to do. Not wanting to bother the other wolf, she turned a bit and padded down-wind from him, though not so far that he wouldn’t notice her. He probably already had, since she had noticed him. She settled herself down into the muddy water, sighing happily, and lapped up a little between her paws. This was heavenly.

Not to long after he put himself on alert-as if his body was responding to some precognition- a wolf came into view. A cream-colored one, and female if he had to guess. She immersed herself into the water, which Dmitri figured would be pretty cool to his fur as well, only to then rest in the mud.   "Ah. What a shame, " Dmitri couldn't help but to say out loud, tilting his head only the slightest. "This dark mud will be a bit harder to get out in a thicker and lighter colored pelt than my own..." {"With hope in my voice."/'And despair on my mind.'}

Code by Andy

Kia turned her head just barely when she heard the male speak, though she didn’t look directly at him. She smiled at his words, pleasantly amused by his concern. “No worries, old man,” she said, just loudly enough so that he could hear her. (At least, she hoped he could.) “I don’t much care about getting my fur dirty. I can just wade deeper in and wash off if that’s the case.” She stopped speaking then, sighing happily as the shallow water flowed gently around her and cooled her off. She absolutely loved summer, and was sad that it was on its way out. Not that there was anything wrong with the other seasons. She supposed it was simply because that was when she had been born…

What a sting. Old man? Was he really old? Looking back on his life and how full it was, how many terrible season he survived, and how vivid and alive the memories were to him, Dmitri smiled to himself. Yeah, he was pretty old, wasn't he? He could live with that however. Crossing his paws and letting his head rest atop them, his leathered nose began to be hydrated and revived by the refreshing river. Her voice was light and undeniably energized. She couldn't have been no older than his brothers. "Aye, but you are still so young. Your fur has yet to mature and you are treating it to mud. My muzzle used to be just like your pelt, but I kept dragging it through dust and it became dust colored no matter how hard I scrub." He chuckled and rose from the mud to stretch, emphasizing his point with dipping his paws in the water and brushing it over the top of his nose, clearing it of the mud treatment he was giving it. "Not that a darker,muddy pelt isn't as beautiful as a light colored one in my eyes. I just don't know many who share that opinion." {"With hope in my voice."/'And despair on my mind.'}

Code by Andy

She watched the older wolf with amusement. He seemed quite laid back, and she was enjoying her time spent with him, however short that time had been so far. She listened to his entire speech, small as it was, without interrupting, and watched as he showed her that his nose was the color of dust no matter what. Something about this male put her at ease.

When he was done speaking, it was her turn. “I’m not that young,” she began. “I am old enough to bear pups, and that is old enough for me. And I don’t much care what color my fur is. If other wolves prefer a darker or lighter pelt, that’s up to them. If they don’t like the color of my fur, they can shove it up their asses. ‘Scuse my language,” she added, though she didn’t sound apologetic at all.

She took another long, happy sigh at this point, and, with a smile, rolled over onto her back in the shallows and squirmed around, splashing water and mud all over herself. With a sudden thought, she pulled her head back so that she was looking at the male upside-down. “You wanna have some fun, Old Man? A splashing contest, maybe?”

Old enough to bear pups was old now, huh? Well he must really be old to not know that much. Looking back on the first time he had ever branched out to breed, it wasn't until another whole cycle of seasons did he start becoming an adult in mentality. "No need for pardons. I actually like your free words. You'd fit very snug in the desert life. " Dmitri said, amusement in his voice and a mischievous grin on his face. "But if I'm an old man, you are a big cachorra. " He walked over to her, casually flicking his tail to and fro in amusement when her request for a splashing contest made him quirk his head. "If its anything like a burrowing contest, then I'm down for it." {"With hope in my voice."/'And despair on my mind.'}

Code by Andy