Wapun Meadow keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden

AW

he carried a stick out into the open expanse, shouldering the slobbered artifact the way one might proudly proffer a prize. a few times the male worried it, dropping it only to rapidly torment it again. he repeated this a few times until the stick broke between the persistence of his jaws, and he was left with two twigs instead of one.

for a moment he appeared to consider his options -- and then he tried to greedily take both with him, an endeavor that caused him to stop and rearrange the sticks often.

As soon as @Xan gave his blessing, Blondine was crossing the borders with a fervent haste, though not without first saying her goodbyes to @Indra and @Reigi. It wouldn't take her too long, as she didn't plan on going very far. Most of the neighboring territories, Blondine had already seen, but if seeing them again meant that she was able to get away from the hormones of the Valley, then you might as well have called her a tourist. 

Up ahead, Blondine could see the odd form of another wolf-ish thing. She figured that she ought to give him the benefit of the doubt, seeing as he was a canine to some degree, at the least. Howdy, she called out as she began her slow approach, noticing the sticks betwixt his jaws, [q]What'cha got there?[q]

he cavorted with the large branch in tow, striking a comical figure on the wasteland. his parries with the inanimate object were cut short by a stranger, and he dropped the stick with a loud clatter and swept his mule-length ears forward in interest. he went stock-still, assessing her with the reserved green of his cautious gaze.

she seemed friendly, but ich'aak had been fooled before. while he understood nothing of what she spoke, the tone of her voice had a sweet lilt to it -- some strange charm that caused him to dive deep into a playbow and snatch the stick -- swinging round in a wild gallop with one ear cocked back to catch her reaction.

After coming closer, Blondine could tell that this creature was significantly less wolf-like than she had been led to believe. It made her sympathy for his poor manners exponentially greater; instead of scolding him for running off on a lady in such a rude way, she thought that she ought to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, vermin were much less skilled at raising their children than wolves. You wanna play? she asked in a patronizingly kind voice.

The strange boy ran one way and Blondine quickly took up chase. It was her duty to care for the less priveleged species of the world, as was prescribed by the Lord, and so to satisfy Him, she entertained the idea of 'tag'.

LMAO WOW R00D less privileged WHY I NEVER!! !

as he darted along in the snow, his companion was slow to follow. he halted, a scatter of snow underfoot as he turned around and looked at the female with a vexed expression. she spoke words that were absolutely unintelligible to him, but he did not miss the tone -- his long ears folded back and he squinted at the vision of russet before him.

what did it mean? he hadn't liked the finish to it, though he could tell it was a question of some sort.

he wasn't going to trouble himself with deciphering the tone -- and she hadn't waited for an answer before she sprung after him. with a snort he pirouetted and sprinted, bobbing wildly like a hare to play keep-away from her.

That's a Southern Belle for ya!

For a moment, the canine's dismay was clear cut on his face, but it seemed to disappear after the Abernathy struck into action. With every move that he made, she did the opposite; straight dash here, cut-corner there. It had been so long since Blondine had gotten a chance to enjoy herself like this that she'd darn near forgotten how much fun it could be.

Keeping in mind the slight difference in size, Blondine leapt forward in an effort to push the canine down and sprint away.

fading <3 

he was no match for her -- the stick pried from his jaws, his pride sucked from his heart. he watched as her russet form bobbed ahead, and only half-heartedly gave chase. he had been pushed down and he remained in the snow, panting wildly -- their play had been invigorating, but he only had so much energy to expend as a lone creature. after their tumble, they parted ways -- and ich'aak explored the lonely wilderness in solitude once again.