Swiftcurrent Creek dried bloom

hopefully dovev could meet someone new. set before any bear wounds :P

Dovev awoke, at dusk, to the chilly winds that stirred the trees above him. The aspen grove was sparse and open to the cold front that roamed over the yellowing grass with a fierce intensity, one that the tundra hunter hadn't experienced this year. Uncurling from his flattened mat of grass, the wolf turned his face towards it and sucked in the freezing chill, opening himself to let the air comb it's way through his pelt.

He wasn't surprised when the water at his tongue was cool and crisp. Although the creek would freeze, the autumn water was extremely transparent and sluggish. The summer monsoon and rains had long since left, and any dirt and debris normally washed into the stream had been washed out. Dovev could see to the creek's shallow bottom and the large, flat stones that covered it.

Dawn yawned and stood up from her temporary den she had made with a small cluster of leaves and moss. It was morning already, and it was also quite cold. The trees had little to no leaves, clusters of gold and red clinging onto trees. She scanned the area around her. A bit of a distance away, there was a white figure near the lake. Who was that? She decided to go say hello, because it would be nice to meet new wolves. Dawn padded over to the wolf, crunching some leaves and jumping in small piles of crisp leaves. She couldn't resist. It was fun to play around with the fallen leaves. Soon she had forgotten about the white wolf and instead, jumping into other piles of leaves nearby as the cold wind blew around, shaping Dawn's tan pelt.

Another young member of Swiftcurrent. Not quite a pup, but an adolescent born this year. Dovev rose his muzzle from the water's skin, quietly glancing over Dawn-Mist as she approached the creek's shore. With a beige and tan coat, her colors were not as flecked and varied as a common wolf pelt. But, such earthy tones would give her some sort of advantage into camouflaging into her landscape.

Her drawing had come to halt as the leaves underfoot ceased to rustle. But with a puppyish sort of action, he noticed Dawn couldn't ignore the dried, colorful leaves and began to prance around again.

Evening, he spoke, voice rather flat and measured as he studied the smaller female. Obviously she hadn't approached to speak to him, and although Dovev was amused by the youth's gregarious nature towards the leaves, he didn't have time to join in her play. The night was chilly and would only get colder, spurring Dovev's energy as he would leave for a night patrol.

Dawn halted her actions immediately after hearing the white wolf speak. "Good evening!" She greeted him in return with a small grin. She slowly stepped away from the pile of leaves as her tail swayed a little. A small breeze brushed past them, as some of the leaves swirled up into the air and flew towards them. A few leaves landed on Dawn and she managed to brush them off as a second wave started to follow. "Leaves incoming!" She braced herself for another flurry of golden and red leaves. The other wolf had some leaves stuck onto him, with one especially stuck on his head. Dawn tried to suppress her laughter, but the golden leaf just made her laugh.

A small, acorn shaped golden leaf was stirred up into the air by the youth's raucous play. It swirled, dipped and dived, before landing stoically on Dovev's crown. He went cross-eyed for a moment, trying to follow the movement before it drifted out of sight and landed like a feather on the base of his forehead. With a chuff, the wolf gave his pelt a stern shaking, glaring at the mess Dawn had made. He could've swore those leaves were stacked neatly in windblown piles before the tan female had arrived. Now they were strewn about, with many having landed in the creek and were swept into some unknown journey.

Look at this mess, Dovev chided with a flattening of his ears. His voice wasn't harsh, more so stern as he watched the young female. Although he had never been as boisterous, the ivory beast understood where all that puppyish energy came from... or maybe he didn't. They just always seemed to have it.

Dawn's lips twisted into a shameful pout at the male's words. She looked around the grassy land, now strewn with colorful leaves. Dawn flicked her tail at the leaves, sweeping them up into the air. They landed in a somewhat neater pile than before. Dawn swept up a few more piles, revealing the grass under the leaves. However, during her sweeping, a leaf had attached itself onto her tail. Dawn flickered her tail vigorously up and down, trying to shake it off. She reached her paw out to swipe it off, but found that her paw was too short. Dawn began to twist around in a circle, flicking her tail.

Although the tan female remained silent, she gave a little twisted pout and made an effort to organize the smattering of leaves. Forming neat little banks with her tail, Dawn had cleared a good space to reveal the dried yellow grass beneath. But again, her puppyish qualities shown through as she became distracted with a dim gold leaf stuck to her banner.

He wasn't sure of what to do now. With a sweep of his light blue eyes, Dovev lowered his muzzle and scooted several leaves into a pile with a huff. But he hadn't been the one to make the mess- this puppy had, and she had found him first.
Did you need something? he spoke a little bluntly, glancing at her. The tundra wolf had business to take care of, and it did not involve the supervision of a young canine raking leaves with her tail.