it's hot — the kind of heat that settles on her back, reached through her fur and all the way into her bones. she wants nothing more than to dive deep into the river and wallow near the bottom for however long her breath allows, but that would entail moving from her spot in the shade and braving the cruel sun. her tongue lolls from her open maw, and she flaps her tail against the ground every so often in an attempt to generate some semblance of a breeze.
on the horizon, clouds gather and roll with grim determination over the mountains. but they're a distance away, and it'll be a while still until the thunderstorm descends and washes away all the heat. for now, she'll settle for rolling towards a cooler patch of ground every few minutes.
For the first time since joining Kaistleoki, Dulce had found herself with nothing better to do than to relax. It was during the summer that she was most grateful for her southern heritage; while most of her packmates struggled with overheating beneath the high sitting sun, her coat had already started and near finished shedding. This gave her a slightly unfair advantage that she in no way intended to use for the greater good.
Beneath the shade of the river's bountiful foliage was the familiar coat of Dulce's first recruit. She stopped her march along the border and turned on her heels, prancing perkily up the yearling. Hi Fern
, she called once the distance had closed enough, I see you're hot. You know we live on a river?
Of course, she did; it was where they'd first met! It seemed that Dulce was being quite the smartass this afternoon.
she rolled over when the familiar voice of Ollie - no, Dulce, - provided a welcome distraction from the heat. her tail beat against the earth, and she half-rose into her forepaws. "yeah! but," she began, blinking lazily at the woman. "it's so far, and the ground's so hot." it was a five minute trek, and the ground was by no means hot enough to cause discomfort, but the girl was feeling especially dramatic that morning.
It was a stretch, Fern’s complaint, but Dulce didn’t make a point of it. Instead, she gave a humored huff and a half smile before beginning to turn away. You know
, she called over her shoulder, I could really use someone to teach me how to swim better.
Of course, she felt no need to actually improve on such an arbitrary skill, but she was in the mood to have some fun. Who else to better spend the day with than a youthful sprite such as this?
Whether her words had worked or not, Dulce then turned to fully face Fern. Her tail flew up high and began a quick wag to show excitement rather than false dominance. If we walk and talk together, I’m sure it won’t be so bad.
she was disappointed when Dulce turned to leave, though her ears perked atop her crown when she spoke again. she was sorely tempted and lept at any opportunity to be useful, and so scrambled to her paws a moment later. "I can show you!" she offered, prancing after the woman with considerably more energy than she'd appeared to have had a few moments prior. she nodded enthusiastically at the lady's reassurance, eager to have company.
A little corner of Dulce's heart lit up with something she hadn't felt before and likely would never feel again. Unbeknownst to her, it was a twinge of maternal instinct; ask Dulce, and she'd tell you she'd never had it. Anyway, being one to keep her word, she began to strike up another conversation, I know that you fish. Do you do anything else?
The thought of having an apprentice was one that seemed particularly attractive. Of course, it depended on whether Fern was also interested in either of the two trades that Dulce had to teach.
she nods her head at Dulce's question, cheerful even after leaving her patch of shade behind. "yeah! I know all the best places to find plants and moss and mice and burrows, but I'm not real good at huntin'" her expression fades slightly, and she explains. "m' other family told me I wasn't good n' told me to stay outta the way." she was sure that undersea wouldn't have told her to stay out of their way, but she was stubborn in her surety that the other family were good people. still, she feels kind of stupid telling Dulce what she's bad it. "but I can dive real deep and hold my breath real long."
It bothered Dulce to think that the pack one knew as family might be so willing to break one's confidence. Honesty was important, yes, and if she noticed that a packmate was weak in an area, would she address it? Yes! It was the idea of being so generally discouraging, and to a youth no less! She figured that it didn't matter anymore; Fern had found herself a new family, one that Dulce was confident would only serve to build her up from here.
They sound mean
, she breathed, turning to face the girl for a moment, I think you are good at hunting. Better than me.
If she needed to, Dulce could certainly survive on her own (as had been proven), but she was in no way a hunter. She humored the thought of being Fern's apprentice instead of the only way around. Evergreen is a...a fisher, too. He can teach you.
It wasn't like an Alpha to say no to such a request, especially not for one as soft as theirs.
she frowned, slightly unsettled. "they gave me a 'ome, though. so how can they be mean?" she doesn't want to discuss the topic much further, as it causes her to think too hard on the other things they've said. she grinned, though admitted, "I can't get the land animals that good." she revealed that Evergreen was a fisher, too, which surprised the girl - she wouldn't have thought, with him being so big and all. "I like fishing! that's easy, though the fish try 'n trick ya so you gotta be quick." she was quick, and agile in the water; she simply lacked the drive and instinct to be a true hunter on land. "what do you do, Dulce?"
Lucky for Fern, Dulce didn't know how to respond anyway. The ones on land are bigger
, she replied, mentally weighing the two categories, but the ones in water are faster. They're, eh, rezbaladiza. Like, hard to hold.
Although it took a team to successfully down an elk, it took patience to get the hang of fishing; the latter was what many wolves lacked.
It took a moment for Dulce to think up a proper response to Fern's question, as what she'd been doing was quite different from what she was meant to do. I'm a scout. A little bit a mercenary, but mostly a scout.
Thus far, the only experience that she held in the second of the two was patrolling the borders but she had plans to change that soon enough.
she nodded. "I'm too small, I think. and sometimes they're trickier than fish." perhaps she ought to stick to what she was good at, though something tempted her to try for what she couldn't achieve. yet, anyways. she can hear the rush of the river now, distantly, but her mouth almost waters at the thought of the cool relief it'll bring. "so you go on adventures? don't ya get scared, b' yourself?" she certainly is, and is entirely glad she found this place when she did.
There was never such a thing as too small. The little wolves were the ones who did the important work, like tracking and positioning their packmates. The concept of actually dispatching the prey was simple. Dulce thought that Fern did have a point, though; the things that some herds did to protect themselves, the tacticts that they had developed, it was sometimes fascinating.
Dulce shook her head. I was alone for my whole life, really.
She thought back to the last time that she was in a pack, only to realize that those memories had been lost with time. It's not scary as it seems. We can go on adventures, if you want.
she considers a moment, then beams. "ok! only if it's with you, though." the river comes into sight then, and she yips her excitement. lunging forward, she leaps neatly into the water, landing with a splash and a gasp. immediately she dives below the waves and if she could, she'd sigh with relief. she snaps at a flickering shadow, bubbles escaping her jaws almost comically, and surfaces with a grin etched acros her features.
While Fern was clearly enthusiastic about their upcoming water adventure, Dulce was more skeptical. She watched as the girl dove and resurfaced, then took a few slow steps in until submerged to the joints of her forelegs. The scout went to take another step but slipped, sending her entire body below the surface of the water in one swift motion.
It took a bit of struggling for her paws to find the bottom again. She tip-toed on her hind legs until finding a spot where there was enough soil to actually stand. Dulce laughed, saying, See! I'm not very good.
she laughs as Dulce steps into the river, and splashes her way back towards her. "like this!" she cries as she begins to paddle, laughter coming easily. the day is much better shared, and already she's forgotten about the heat as she tries her best to show Dulce to swim as she does, her tail wagging all the while.