Morningside Cuesta I told the reaper he had no right to me

Thread for the Learning Curve challenge! All welcome! Please invade!

The sun was blazing high above the territory, and Grayday was sweltering even beneath his thinner summer coat. A red tongue lolled out of the male's mouth as he made his was back toward his favorite haunt after checking the borders nearest to the whelping den. Later on, he'd look in on Khoe and the kids, but for now, he thought a quick splash in that nice, shady bend of the stream sounded nice.

His tail began to wag as he caught sight of the small stand of trees in the distance. It was a popular hang-out spot, and he wondered if anyone else would be there, enjoying the cool of the trees of the crystal clear water of the stream. Maybe, after his swim, he'd take a quick nap...