Walk | Talk | Think As her parents instructed, Anais stuck close to where her family had taken up residency in the Faller's Fjord. Before she would have rebelled, sneaking away whenever she got the chance, having her grand adventures, and pretending that life here beside the river was completely comfortable and exciting all on its own. It would have been great fun too, keeping that little secret to herself and managing to please both what her parents expected as well as her need for fun. But too much had changed since then. She was no longer the naive young girl she had been before, the one who had nearly gotten herself claimed and taken away by a male whose forward advances had gone over her head. No, she was familiar with the dangers of the world now, too familiar, and the bubbly, energetic side of her that even she had been most familiar with was quieted by something more fearful, something more cautious, something more real. Her rose colored glasses had finally been pried away, and the world was a much harsher place than she had ever realized. Which was why she did as her parents asked, though she was plenty old enough to make her own decisions. She stayed within the woods that surrounded the riverside dens her family inhabited, never straying far and keeping her guard up. Anais was still nervous, more so because of the autumn season bringing with it a new sort of predicament that only seemed to make everything worse, but she continued to walk about her new home. Uncharacteristically, her head remained low, her gait careful and slow and lacking any of the usual bounce that she once exuded with excess. Only withing her yellow-gold eyes did a little of her former self shine through, her stare hopeful and longing for things to get better, to feel at least a little like her old self again.

All I need is the rhythm divine

He couldn't remember how he got stuck on this land, or how he got separated from his parents. But the man whined, red coloured ears pinning against his skull as he let out a soft sigh afterwards. On the outside he my look very much like an aged wolf, but it was not like that in his broken mind. To him, he was but a child, very lost in this great big world with very little memory to support him. He was alone in his vast landscape, and didn't know where to begin. His golden eyes scanned the horizon, yellow rims making them look even larger and brighter than they were. Paws picked their way carefully over the unknown terrain, looking for anyone who could assist him. He needed someone to care for him, how was he going to protect himself? He was only a pup! Well, mentally that is.

The feather marked boy slunk low to the ground, fear making his hair stand on end. Silky white tail tucks firmly between his legs, covering his muddy belly. He was pretty much coated in mud from his paws up to his belly, the wet dirt caked all over him. It was really hard to tell what colour he was, the only thing that was dirt free was his tail and his face, as long as the ridge along his back. The top of his feather marking on his forehead was visible, faint dusting of red and blue along the middle, fanning out into a wider state and towards his left ear. Lebrah looked like he had been dipped in mud and then dusted with red and blue fairy dust. He was certainly a sight to see, as well as looking nothing like his actual age.

After a few more steps he saw the form of the female before him, her head down as she walked. A loud yip sounded from the boy's mouth, his tail un-tucking as it began to slowly wag behind him. It seemed to be a surrender flag, begging for some sort of help. Low throaty whines left his lips as he walked closer to her, close to the ground as his tongue licked his mud coated lips. Whining, he looked up at her, his body almost on the ground as he curled up before her. "Ik heb hulp nodig , vreemdeling." He said, not even realizing that the words that left his mouth were not English, but Dutch. It was the one of the many languages that he had learned in his past, the memories that he no longer remembered. To him it sounded just like English to his ears, and Lebrah had no idea that what he had said was something that the woman did not know. So here he was, on the ground before this stranger coated in mud. What a fool he looked like -- what a child.

Walk | Talk | Think The woods around the fjord tended to be so quiet that Anais had taken for granted that she was alone here in this little section, wandering with only her thoughts and the trees that surrounded her to keep her company. The illusion of isolation was broken instantly as she heard the yip, loud and meant to grab the attention. It certainly got hers though she jumped first, startled not only by the sound but by the fact she was no longer alone. There was someone else here with her, someone rather close by, and trailing on the ends of her fright was her new found anxiety. Her ears tucked, her gaze nervous, as she turned her head to spy the wolf who had called to her. She picked him out with relative ease, though she supposed she would have even if he had not called to her. He was a mess. Mud caked along his paws and legs, climbing upward even to coat his belly. A look at his anxious face told her the majority of his coloring should have been white, and might even be white below the mud, but the marking that sat centered upon his face, arching upward across his forehead, seemed far more intriguing. Those colors were not...natural. And, more importantly, one fact seemed most prevalent and nerve wracking of all: he was male. She had little to no time to think about it further. With a wave of his tail, a gesture that she thought was about as nervous as the rest of him looked, the muddy, oddly marked wolf was hurrying toward her. Fearing the dangers that her parents had spoken of, the grey-gold wolf backed away a few nervous steps but the male continued to creep forward, eating up the ground that she acquired. He stayed low and whined almost continuously, practically rolled onto his side as he stopped very close before her. Anais stared with wide, anxious eyes, her heart somewhat erratic in her chest. A part of her - the old her - wanted to lower down beside him, to smile and coax him out of whatever worries crippled him so. But the last time she had been friendly, the last time she had wandered with her guard down, everything had gone wrong, and she could not allow that to happen again. He spoke to her, strange phrases that made no sense and had no meaning. It reminded her briefly of her run in with the kindly female beside the pond and the cryptic phrases she had said too. But what had he tried to say? "Are-are you okay?" she asked nervously, once again speaking with the strange stutter she had acquired during her brief acquaintanceship with Pyrros. Silently she prayed that he would be truly kind, and that she would be safe.

Lebrah was clueless to the fear that made the woman step back, he was more focused on the fact that there was a real live wolf here. He wanted help, and he was all alone. She was the first wolf that he had seen since he lost his parents, and all he wanted to do was be near her. He was acting very much like a child, although he did not understand why she was so tense. He wasn't going to hurt her! He just wanted to be close... He had already forgotten that he was coated in mud, that was probably another turn off for the stranger. As he whined and fell at her feet, the woman asked him if he was okay. He blinked, hadn't he said that he was lost? Confusion swirled in his golden eyes, looking up at her with depths of utter lost. "I'm lost!" He whined, English words flowing from his mouth with no hassle at all. Poor beast didn't even know that he had spoken German to her before. His mind was such a broken place, that he really believed that it had all been in English. Thankfully, this time it really had been in a language that this stranger could understand.

Lebrah became a pool of fur and mud at her paws, numerous whines leaving his mouth. It was almost as if he had no idea what to do with himself, now that he had found someone. His somehow spotless tail thumped on the ground in a slow rhythm, and it was not hard to see that this man was truly in a child state of mind. The whines did not stop to leave his inky lips, his body twitching this way and that. He had no idea what to do with himself, and it would be no surprise if the woman would turn tail and run. But he needed help, desperately. Lebrah so clearly needed some sort of direction and care, but why would he? He looked his age, his body was filled out and at full height. His eyes were beginning to dull with age, but the gleam of his childhood mind played with them. It was hard to tell what age he was really... everything was contradicting. And you know, he was coated in a good layer of mud.

The male rested his head, wiggling his body forward until his mud caked nose came close to her paws. He stretched forward, trying to bump one of her paws ever so gently. He just wanted to make sure that he was real, because in his dreams he saw many different wolves that he didn't know. It confused him, he wasn't sure who they were or how he knew him. Little did he know that they were demons of his past. He saw their ghosts sometimes as he wandered, and needed to know that she was real. "Please help me missus."

Walk | Talk | Think Anais wanted to step back, to put a little distance between them as a precaution and to bring her anxiety level back down to something more manageable, but from the jittery, almost clingy way in which the muddied wolf looked at her and wriggled on the ground at her paws she had a suspicion he would only creep in close again. It was so odd, really. He had the shape and build of an adult, lacking any of the telltale roundness of a pup, and yet he reminded her of one, frightened and nervous and desperate for comfort. But fearing it was a ruse she resisted giving in and consoling him. For just a second he looked confused by her question, as if it had come out of nowhere instead of being a response to his nervous actions, but when he spoke again it was with words that the grey-gold wolf could understand. He was lost, and like a pup he was clinging to the first creature he came upon. Any other time, before the incident, she would have professed instantly to being his friend, taken him under her wing, and not questioned a new unlikely friendship. But so much had changed... Anais could feel that old side of her carefully hidden within, longed to embrace it again, but it was simply too dangerous. She had to keep herself safe and quit placing herself in dangerous situations. But was this wolf really a danger? He still whined and wiggled about on his paws, low to the ground and practically flopping around before her like a pup desperate for an adult's attention. There was such an innocence about him that she found it hard to see him as any sort of villain - if she told him to leave she thought he might start crying - but her own trust in her judgment had been shaken and there was no one else around to help her. Somehow she was going to need to navigate this herself. With his chin on the ground, he crept closer with the obvious intent of nosing at her paw, and though the nervous side of her told her to lift her paw away she let it remain, allowing him that small moment of contact if he chose to take it. It was harmless, right? Nothing dangerous about nosing her paw. Or at least she hoped. He was practically begging her for assistance, groveling at her feet, and though it made more sense in her mind to tell him no and leave so that she could proudly tell her parents later that she had avoided dangers all on her own, something about this broken wolf pulled at her. He was so much like a child still, though he should have been old enough not to be. He reminded her of her. "How...how can I help you?" she asked gently, still outwardly nervous though her tone was coated in a hesitant concern.

No matter what he did, or how he acted, it seemed like this woman was still afraid of him. He had no idea why, he was small and lost and all alone. More and more whines came from his maw, cries of a helpless creature. He just needed to be near another, to feel comfort and love. But she seemed hesitant, although Lebrah seemed to not notice it. When he had finally been allowed to shuffle close enough to her to touch his nose to her paw, a big puff of air leaving his lungs. His body finally flopped down to the ground in relief. She was real, warm, and here. The small wolf wiggled a bit closer, trying to fit the entirety of his head on her paws. He just needed physical contact, craved it even. His whole body started to relax, his cries and whines bubbling down to soft whimpers. Sometimes there was even a gap of silence between them, as he just breathed in and out, resting close to this strange woman. His lids closed, 'c' like markings the only yellow to be seen. He felt calm enough to sleep, something that he had not been able to do for awhile.

The woman spoke, asking how she could help him. Opening one eye he gazed up at her again, letting out a little huff. He didn't really know how she could help, he just wanted to not feel so lost anymore. It was draining on him, and it made the nightmares even worse. "Can you make the scary things at night go away? And maybe... I dunno... be my momma?" He asked, opening his other eye to blink slowly up at the stranger. He didn't even know her name, but that didn't matter. He needed a mother, a caretaker, and she was the first wolf that he had seen. Clever, right? His tail picked up the pace on the earth, beating at a steady pace. Surely she couldn't turn him down, right? He was adorable! And coated in mud from head to toe, but still. He had forgotten all about the mud, didn't even realize it anymore.

Wiggling even closer to the stranger he tried to press his nose against her tan leg, a soft whine pressing through his lips. "I promise I will be a good boy missus, honest! I can be good, real good!" He yipped softly, a bit of his personality shining through now that he had been allowed that small amount of contact. His whole body started to wiggle slightly again, although this time it was from a much more happy cause. He might have a momma, he had promised to be good after all! All he needed was a good bath and he would be brand new! Lebrah didn't really like bathes, but there was no way that this stranger would know that. Or his name. Right. Should he tell her? It had completely slipped his mind, just as it did once more. He probably wouldn't say it until asked, since there seemed to be a million other things on his mind.

Walk | Talk | Think He took advantage of her stillness to finish closing the minuscule distance between them and touch her paw with his nose. It was gentle, soft, and followed with the release of a heavy sigh. Anais stayed tense, stayed nervous, still uneasy about everything. Was he safe? Could she trust that he would do her no harm? Could she trust her own belief that he was as harmless as a child? Her brow furrowed over her golden eyes as she tilted her head downward to peer at him, now with his head draped across her paws and a new stillness creeping about him. Maybe he was calming down now. He did whine far less than before, and more quietly at that. Just a little she began to relax, her anxieties beginning to fade even if she could not yet make up her mind whether or not she could trust him. The answer he offered to the question she asked only tugged at her heart more. Make the scary things go away. Be my momma. They were pleas of a child, desperate and lonely, and though they were entirely out of place coming from a wolf who had obviously seen enough years to have grown out of this sort of behavior Anais was touched by them. Maybe it was because her anxiety was starting to recede, but she was starting to feel more inclined to trust and believe what he said. And help however she could. The very excitement of what he suggested appeared to get to him, sending him wriggling and squirming now happily as opposed to before. He touched her leg now but this time she did not flinch or tense. Instead, tentatively, still clearly indecisive, the grey-gold girl smiled. He did act awfully silly for a grown wolf, adamantly promising that he would be a good child if she agreed. And how silly it would be if she did! A young wolf, barely within her season of adulthood, taking on the role of mother to someone who was easily twice her age. What would her parents thing? Just the thought of them sent her ears folding back, but she felt torn. It would have been lovely to agree, to gain a new friend - and a son? - but... They won't approve. The fact he stared at her so enthusiastically, as if to agree would make him the happiest wolf in the world, did not help matters any. How could she possibly say no to that face? Because she could not bare to let him down - They would never approve - she offered a distraction instead, something she hoped might at least take his mind off of the question he had asked if only for a moment. "What do I call you?" she asked, the words spoken gently through her uncertain smile, his infectious attitude finally creeping into her and bringing that sense of her old self strongly enough to counter the odd stutter that she had developed.

He just couldn't contain his excitement now that the possibility of finding someone to care for him came up. She was allowing the contact that he was searching for, and was the nicest wolf he had ever met. Well, she was the first wolf that he had met, but... Still! She was nice and pretty, and was dealing with his silly antics. A soft giggle left his maw, something that sounded so out of place coming from a wolf that looked as old as he. But to him, he truly was a young wolf. His mind had been reset, forced to the last place where he felt safe and adored. So here he was, groveling at this strangers paws for her to take him in. He needed to be protected and loved, that was all he was searching for. A place to belong, to just be. He wanted the scary things at night to go away, and maybe this woman could make them do that. He didn't want to see the images any more. It would seem that no matter how much he tried to forget, they always found a way back to him.

The stranger asked his name, and he barked out a sharp laugh. How silly of him! He rolled onto his mostly clean back, wiggling back and forth on the ground as he looked up at her similar hued eyes. "Lebrah!" He said happily, his tongue falling from his maw. His head tilted to the left, looking quizzically up at her. "I bet your name isn't missus. What do I call you?" He asked, forgetting about what he had asked from her before. It was certainly a good distraction, but a floating leaf would have taken his mind off of it.

The boy poked his upside down face towards her leg again, only seeming to be calm when at least a part of him was touching her. He took in a deep breath, his eyes closing as his mud coated body relaxed. "You smell pretty. Like... a home." He said softly, his front paws flipping over his exposed belly. The single gold band around his left leg jiggled about at it touched his claws, as he absentmindedly lifted the fore paw so that it fell further back up his leg. He didn't want it falling off now! Not that it ever did, but it did come close at times.

Walk | Talk | Think Still not entirely recovered from her anxieties, though they had undoubtedly begun to lessen, Anais jumped slightly in place as the mostly white wolf laughed very suddenly, catching her off guard and giving her a momentary scare. It was nothing more than a harmless laugh, and realizing her jumpiness had been for nothing only caused her smile to brighten just a fraction more out of amusement and sheepishness. And, even better yet, what she said seemed to work as well, providing the right sort of detour for their conversation to steer it away from the touchy subject of being his mother. Lifting his head from her paw, the oddly marked male rolled to his back and stared up at her with a silly grin as he answered with his name. Lebrah. A unique name for a unique wolf. Though she tended to travel a lot - or at least had before - the girl was confident she had never met another like this male before her. No name, no coloration, no manner of being reflected what she saw here, particularly in this combination, and while it was entirely odd and should have been unsettling she could see only the innocence behind him, the childlike state of his mind that made him act as he did rather than how she would have expected. When asked for her own name, she did not hesitate before answering. "I'm Anais," she explained, glad to at least know who he was and have herself known in return even if she could not grant the large request that he had asked of her. It did not help anything when he reached up to nose at her leg again, seeking physical reassurance in a manner that was familiar to her, and suggested that she smelled like home. Oh, if she had not already been torn up over everything already, she certainly was now! Heavily she took a seat where she had been standing, the weight of Lebrah's words drawing her down in an almost physical sense. How was she going to tell him no? How was she ever going to live with disappointing him, this childish, trusting, unusual wolf who asked so much of her? There was absolutely no way her parents would allow it! They would take one look at him, judge him instantly without understanding him, and run him off. And if they managed to find her with him in her den, especially at this time, when she was still in season and vulnerable in a sense that she had never experienced before, she knew they would be furious. Taking him in, adopting him, would be a disaster. And yet the idea refused to leave her mind. Desperately she searched her thoughts, putting things together and twisting things about in such a way that it might work out. It was a foolish endeavor, she was sure of it, but it would have been so much harder to say no. To buy herself some time, she continued to speak and ask questions, drawing out the conversation to keep his thoughts occupied while she tried to work out a solution that they both might find acceptable. "And you," she remarked, taking a leap on trust as she bent her head down and nosed against one of his muddied legs, the one that lacked the golden decoration, "smell like mud." Her smile warmed, grew more relaxed and almost reminiscent of the old her, as she continued to peer down at him, this odd wolf named Lebrah. "I know where some water is...if you want to get cleaned up?"

She introduced herself as Anais, and the smaller wolf nodded his head back and forth, focusing hard on the name. "Anais. Anais!" He said, slowly the first time and then in a happy bark the second. Names for him were a bit hard to remember, when he had woken up he didn't even remember his parents names! Who forgot their parents names? Shaking his head back and forth he ignored those thoughts, surly the names would come to him soon. He was a bit sad that he didn't remember if he had any siblings or not, he just wanted to be a family again. The boy had very few memories that he could focus on, they were hazy at best. Little did he know that it was because there was almost 6 years between now and then. Would he ever wake up and realize who he really was, and why the scary things haunted his dreams. To his fragile mind they were just scary wolves that wanted to hurt him, not people who were once alive that had plotted against him.

Snapping out of his mind he blinked back up at Anais, trying to focus on her instead of his heavy thoughts. It was too hard to focus on one thing at a time, that was clear enough. He was still on his back, paws flapping around as he tried to think if she had said something or not. It would seem that she too was in her own mind, pondering what to do with the creature that lay at her paws. He was quite the hassle, if only he could fully understand that. He only asked what he thought was reasonable enough, but this woman was good at keeping his mind busy and off of the heavy question that he posed her. She bent down though, poking at his leg which made him giggle and tried to swat at her nose. When Anais said that he smelled like mud, he grew rather confused. Mud? Why would he smell like that? Raising his head from the earth he looked down at his belly, thick with the damp earth that still clung to almost every part of him. Oh my! He was very dirty! Lebrah barked out a laugh, flopping his head back down as he wiggled on the ground. "So muddy!" He wailed in delight. That was, until she mentioned some place to wash up. Wash up? Like a bath? Yellow eyes flew wide open as he twisted his body around, leaping to his paws as he eyed the woman. "No bath! Its too much fun being muddy!" He cried, taking a few steps back from Anais.

Lebrah let out a huff, his head shaking back and forth with a great strength. "Why would I wanna get cleaned up?" He cried, he was just going to get muddy all over again anyways. It really was just a waste of time! It would really be a shock to Anais though when she saw all his markings, thinking that just the few she saw were just the tip on the ice burg. Prancing in place the man whined, not liking that there was now a gap between them. He eyed her paws, taking one dancing step towards her, whole body wiggling again. Maybe he had to be all clean to take him home, maybe she lived in a clean place! Gaze roamed up to her face, a whine slipping through his maw. "If I get a bath, will you take me home?" He asked. Uh oh, seems like the distractions didn't last as long as the woman may have hoped.

The dirty wolf lowered himself to the earth, his head resting on his paws as he kept his eyes on Anais. He had promised to be a good boy, right? He nodded his own head, answering his own question. He had! He remembered it now! So maybe this was a little test that she had put in place, trying to see if he really was going to be good! His head raised slowly as he made the realization, blinking slowly. "I can be a good boy and get clean, promise Anais!"

Walk | Talk | Think It made her happy to see how excited Lebrah was to learn her name, to watch him first sound it out in a test and then try it for himself in earnest, obviously pleased by the results. Just her name had been able to do that, to bring that smile to his face and that energetic sort of wiggling quality to the rest of him. How might he eventually react if she at last told him she would agree to be his mother? How different might it turn out if she decided against it and finally admitted that she could not do it, regardless of whatever reasoning she tried to offer him? He would not listen to it. It would not matter in the end either. But he was just that sort of being, the one who wore everything on their sleeve and did not quite comprehend the depth behind everything in the world. She hated to think she might be the one to send him back to the skittering, lonely thing he had been when he had tumbled up to her. Her comment about his muddied condition appeared to go over his head for a moment but his own quick inspection revealed how right she was. He hardly seemed put off by it, grinning and wriggling and admitting without shame that he was, indeed, a muddy wolf. She almost thought he sounded even proud about it, and bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from giggling over his opposing view. There were not many that she knew of who actually took being a muddy mess as a compliment - he may well have been the first. Nor had she seen someone react quite the same way to the suggestion of a bath. He was up and away from her so quickly that the grey-gold wolf managed to startle again, her smile blinked away and a fore paw suddenly lifted nervously as he stared back at her and shook his head in strong objection. Well, that certainly was not how she had expected things to go. But even with this unwanted suggestion made to him, the grown wolf did not show any aggression, or anything for that matter that might have given Anais more worry. In fact, the longer he stayed away, the more she could see him become fidgety and anxious, as if he regretted drawing himself so far away from her. He stepped a little closer, as if to confirm, and she felt her smile creeping back into place...until he returned to the one subject she had been trying to avoid. All at once her guilt and conflicting feelings resurfaced, settling over her once again like a heavy, physical weight. Gosh, how was she going to avoid it a second time? She had to answer him now or risk her evasion being too obvious. Her brow furrowed and her golden stare became for a second worried. Could she really do this? Could she not only take on the responsibility of caring for someone - a grown male wolf of all creatures - and deal with the frightening reaction she anticipated receiving from her parents? Though she deliberated, deep down she felt as if the question had never truly needed to be decided upon. The answer had been there from the very beginning. She had only been too scared to admit it. "Only," she stated, fixing him with an stern yet smiling stare, "if you take a bath." A silly condition, really. She could hardly believed she had agreed, though she had every certainty he would do just as she said in order to make his way into her home. And in the end she would let him. She had no other choice. Sending him away would have been cruel and completely against who she was. No, he had wandered into her path and asked her for help. And she was not the kind of wolf to turn away someone in need. "Want me to show you where the river is?" she asked, for the first time feeling rather excited. She had never had a friend here that she could show off her new home to, had never really had a reason to feel excited about living here. But Lebrah's excitement and joy was catching, and she could feel it infecting her with something similar.

This time he didn't miss her being startled, that paw lifted up as if she was going to flee. His ears dropped to his skull as he let out a low whine, tail tucking between his legs. He was confused at her sudden movement, as if he was going to hurt her or something. He would never dream of hurting someone! He tried to sink down as low as he could to try and seem non threatening as he could imagine, he didn't know why she was so afraid. Unless... Did she see a scary thing? Eyes grew wide as his head spun quickly, looking over both shoulders to see if there were any scary wolves. Fully turning around his fur stood on end, the growl that came out of his mouth seeming to age him. That was... until he spoke. "Stay away from my new friend, meanie! Dun hurt my Anais!" He called, only settling when there was nothing in sight. Turning around, he tilted his head at her. There was no scary things! What a silly wolf, getting scared at nothing! He giggled, head shaking back and forth. "Anais is getting scared at nuffin! Silly Anais." He said with another laugh, soon dragging his body closer to her again.

The woman seemed to think about his offer, until those magical words left her mouth. He let out a yip, but settled when she said only when he was clean. A little huff left his black lips, eyes shifting to the side. It was cold, the water was going to be freezing! But Anais had said that if he got all clean, than he would he able to go with them. So he nodded his head firmly, even though he wasn't fully committed to getting clean. The feel of the cold water would most likely stop him from getting so dirty again, as he aligned himself with Anais' flank. He looked up at her, that common head tilt taking over once again. "Does Anais like to get dirty?" His words were innocent, his clean tail wagging and bumping against her flank -- if she allowed his parallel position. Lebrah rather liked to get all muddy, it was fun to feel the squishy mud under his paws. It would split and goo between his toes, coating his claws. And the joy of rolling in it! Oh joy! It would get all sticky and cling to him, and then it would make him feel all heavy. But today, he had forgotten that he had gotten so dirty.

Lebrah let out a determined huff, squaring his shoulders and strutting forward a few steps. It was then that he realized that he had no idea where he was going. Oh yeah! Spinning around to face her, he let out a chuckle. "I dunno where I'm going." Were his next words, his tail still wagging slowly behind him. He had forgotten that Anais had to lead the way, he didn't even know what this place was called! Silly him.

Walk | Talk | Think It seemed the spooking was coming full circle. No sooner had she startled Lebrah was rounding on the woods behind them with a rather fierce look about him, as if ready to face off against whatever had caused Anais distress. It was surprising and she watched with widened eyes, his unanticipated defense legitimately threatening enough to at least give a potential attacker pause, or at least until he spoke. There was no denying, angry voice or not, that he was no warrior, not physically or mentally, but his bravery was touching nonetheless. How selfless of him to be so willing to square off against the enemy even when one was not there. She took his teasing with a slightly embarrassed grin, finally rising to stand in place as he soured over her suggestion of a bath and then seemed to come to terms with it. That was good. She still worried about what a meeting between him and her parents would be like, still worried that they would react in the worst possible way without even asking a single question to truly understand the situation, but if there was any possibility to making introductions she wanted him to look a little more presentable. Her father might only have been able to tell the mud by its smell, but her mother's keen eye would have spotted it from a mile off and she could only imagine how scrunched her nose would get in distaste. No, she needed to avoid as many of the bad first impressions as possible. His tail bumped against her hip as he moved to stand beside her, questioning her own cleanliness preference. "Not usually," she answered truthfully around a chuckle, "I spent more time playing in lakes and rivers than I ever have mud." It was partly due to having a mother like Tahlia, so prim and proper and expecting the same from her children, particularly her eldest daughter. It was a miracle the woman had never truly called her down more harshly for attaining the scar she possessed against her right shoulder, the one that mirrored those on her brother and father, but it was only because there was nothing to be done about it now. It was permanent, and no amount of complaining was going to make it go away. In his eagerness, Lebrah set off before she did, though naturally he did not get very far. Anais could only laugh again as he turned back and admitted to having no direction to go in, her own tail wagging now in playful excitement. Already she was having great fun just from having made her decision, from releasing the fears that had made it so difficult and accepting that there would undoubtedly be repercussions for it that she would somehow need to face. But there would be plenty of time to face that and give it its fair share of nervousness. Right now she needed to get Lebrah to the river to clean. "It's this way," she instructed him, glancing at him as she stepped around him and began setting off in the right direction. "Just straight ahead." Smiling as she walked, she realized how delightful it was to not feel nervous or anxious or oppressed by her own fears as well as those of her family. In fact, for the first time in months she felt like herself, practically normal again. That must have been a good sign, right? It must have meant she was doing the right thing, that this wolf was indeed harmless and just in need of care and assistance. From the corner of her golden eyes, she glanced at him, the muddied, colorfully marked grown male, and wondered how she was going to do this, not only the big task of caring for him but even just the here and now one of getting him clean. He had already professed to preferring to keep his dirt on him, but...maybe if she could make it more entertaining he would be more willing? "Hey, Lebrah," she called, hoping he would take the bait but speaking confidently as if she believed he would without question, "last one in the river is a rotten egg." Without giving him a moment to process what she was saying, or to determine whether it might even be a good enough threat to constitute him getting wet on his own, Anais turned and raced on ahead, lengthening her lead and hopefully making the stakes higher. If he did not act now, he was likely going to lose, and she hoped his desire to play the game would override his dislike of the water.

The woman told him that she preferred to play in water, and at that Lebrah's face scrunched up as he stuck out his tongue. Ick, water. Mud was a lot more fun! And it had a bit of water in it, so that counted as water, right? Sucking his tongue back into the place where it belonged, he searched her face. "Its okay Anais, don't feel bad! I can teach you how to have fun in mud." Because no matter what she said, there was going to be no keeping him away from mud. Nope, it was a part of him to be always dirty. Constantly. In fact, she was most likely going to have a lot of trouble keeping him clean. What a shame, he had such a pretty coat.

As he was pointed in the right direction of the water, he took a big breath. Was he ready to get clean? It really felt like a huge choice for him to pick between being clean and being dirty, but he couldn't turn down Anais' offer. To have a home was a lot bigger than being muddy. Well... maybe. He took a few tentative steps after her, until she turned and posed a race. Golden eyes flew open wide as she took off. Letting out a loud bark he raced after her, trying not to trip over his paws as he fought to catch up. He was determined, he didn't want to be a rotten egg! The river came into view and he jumped towards it, even though he was rather far away from it still. Lebrah pitched forward and he tucked his his head towards his chest. When he hit the ground, his shoulders were the first thing to connect. He rolled forward, becoming blurry ball of mud and wolf as he rolled towards the river. Yup... he was one special wolf...

Lebrah hit the water, letting out a gasp as his coiled form splashed in. He pushed himself to the surface, the cold water soaking him to the bone. Yelping the boy jumped up onto the bank, grappling with the damp sides. He kicked his back legs, finally pulling himself up to solid ground. His golden eyes cut towards Anais, a pout on his face. He was clean, but soaking wet. The chilly breeze made him shiver as he pulled himself up on all fours, digging his claws into the earth as he shook his pale form. Now all his markings showed, their feather like appearance showing through at last. His red ears faced the dame, his coat all fluffed up as he tried to block out the cold. "I'm clean, can I go inside now?"