Summer was coming to an end. And Galileo was making the most of the sunny days left ,snoozing under the warm rays of the sun was good, but taking a dip while the sun shined above you was the best. That was exactly was he set out to do that afternoon.

While birds sang over his head, the peppered male dipped his toe in the cool water's edge. This creek had been named after their pesky inhabitants the otters, though there was none in sight at the moment.

Slowly he waded into the water, until he was sumerged up to his knees. He allowed the coolness of the water to embrace his toes before beginning to waltz along the silver carpet that was the creek.

Suddenly a voice brought him out of his thoughts, he turned and smiled slightly as he recognized the young wolf's face. He was his packmate. Shadow. Although they had not exchanged a single word during their life at the creek, Galileo was glad to have his company. "Hello! Come on, dip your toes", he offered with a toothy grin.

Shadow was happy to oblige to his offer and Galileo was even happier to have a chance to get to know him a bit better. Only Danica, Leaf and Bazi had made it onto his friend list, he hoped he could add a male to that list now.

As he watched the male sit, the peppered male brushed the tip of the water with his wagging tail. The flow of the current tugged at the male's fur, tickling him with its gentle fingers. "Very well, how about yourself?", he asked with a smile on his aged face. "You do know my name, don't you Shadow?" he asked with curiosity, it'd be completely understandable if he didn't considering they had never exchanged a word before.

It was easy to see the boy was not one to hide his emotions. Galileo could read the tranquility clearly in his eyes. That was good. An honest friend was what he needed now. The smile that had taken over his face only became wider as he listened his name coming from the boy's lips.

He was not a Mr.Nobody anymore. He wondered where he might've caught his name but didn't bother to ask, it didn't really make a difference. "Yes, that's me" he barked while raising his drenched tail from the water. "Just enjoying the last days of summer kiddo, and you?" he answered, he referred to him as a kid but didn't mean so. It was obvious the grey male in front of him was a well made man.

Exploring. Galileo had done his fair share of exploring when he was young. In d¿fact it could be said that his whole life had just been a bog exploration trip. When he had turned a year olf, his father had kicked him and his brother into the world. Then the peppered male had encountered a small family-based group of wolves that accepted him temporarily. It had been then that he had met the love of her life, that would later end up also kicking him out.

Now that he thought about it, if it hadn't been for Bazi he would probably still be out there, living the lonely life of an explorer. "Do you know any packs aside from the Creek?", he asked suddenly. If he was a good explorer then he'd know. Galileo didn't know any, not aside from the Sunspire of course, and oh! there had been a couple of wolves from another mountain pack whose name he could not recall at the moment..

Galileo waited for him to begin listing the numerous packs he had come across during his scouting trips. To his surprise the young male didn't tell him anything new. The Sunspire, despite all the problems and rivalry, was a pack that just like every other was filled with nice and not-so nice individuals.

He stared blankly at shadow before raising again his raspy voice,"Which others?", he insisted. He wanted to know if maybe he could help him remeber the name of that other mountain pack that had ceased to exist in Silvertip.

The reason the salt & pepper male kept urging the young male to give him an answer was because his curiosity was kindling inside his heart like a gasoline fueled fire. He wanted to know what other wolves laid out there, what other families had built their home on the Teekon Wilds.

Little did he know, however, that one of his own blood also walked through these paths.

The names that were called by the young silver boy did not ring a bell in the man's mind. The mountain pack he had been thinking of was not mentioned. He pondered on the name for a bit without knowing that Silvertip had changed not only their location but also their alias.

"I just think it's good to be aware of what lives beyond the creek", he barked simply, topping his soft voice with a smile.

The life of an explorer.
Oh what a coincidence! Galileo was an explorer too, though not by choice. Still he had enjoyed his days as a traveller and though he would not earn a trade for his days as a wanderer he was proud to say he was an explorer too. Even if he didn't have a fancy title to prove it he had invaluable memories to corroborate it.

The young man kept talking about how he had spent many days away, and though he mentioned a pontential doubt about his loyalty building up Galileo showed his disagreement to the statement with a blunt shake of his head."Who doubts your loyalty? Wanderlust must not be mistaken with treachery" he barked while staring into the icy pits of his eyes.

He was a little surprise when he was asked what he thought, despite being promoted from the lowest rank he felt like he had no authority over the other members of the creek. "I think you should do what you please; if you want to stay do it because you want to not to avoid having your loyalties questioned.. He spoke with all honesty, he did not want the boy to deprive himself from the wonders of adventure just because he felt he would be judged.

For once the fact that he was an old dawned on him. When he had acquiered that much wisdom was unknown to him. Still he felt glad his heartfelt advice was appreciated by the young explorer. He offered him a smile as he recieved the kind words he gave him in turn for his piece of advice.

"Thank you, Shadow. Though remember explorers are also a pack's blessing" he barked to make him know that his contribution to the pack was as important as any of the other creek wolves.

Maybe he was right. Maybe counseling was for him --not only because he was old but because he made decisions with a cool head and unlike others he thought his words before they were said. Perhaps Bazi had seen that in him and thus decided to make him a Council Member. The old male smiled and wagged his tail underneath the water.

When Shadow proposed to go back, Galileo nodded energically he knew that as the sun fell over the mountains the breeze would grow stronger and if they didn't get out of the water and dry up, hypothermia would be certain.

"Right behind you", he barked while getting up and walking slowly to the edge of the creek.