Whitefish River serendipity

Seal understood the appeal of traveling now. Limitless opportunities! New adventures! Sights to see! People to meet!

She wasn’t quite ready to circle back to Moonspear just yet, but she did send a howl to @Sialuk and @Alaric to let them know she’d be away a while longer.

Just exploring, her message intoned, I’ll keep an eye out for Maggak and Acrux!

From the Bay, Seal followed the shoreline until she saw Silvertip Mountain’s peak. From there, she cut inland until she reached a wide, fast-moving river.

How do I cross it? Seal pondered.

Frolic scrubbed herself in the cold waters of the river. The stink of blood lingered, though it had been days—maybe even weeks—and this was hardly her first bath. More like your forty-third, her inner voice admonished, earning a grunt as she waded out of the water, her movements rife with agitation.

There was nothing to do but keep moving. She was nearly home now, though Frolic worried whether she should return there. She’d told the ridge wolves she was looking for Raveon’s attacker. What if they’d figured out the truth? What if they came looking for her? She’d done it for them, though Frolic was still guilty of a terrible crime. Would they make her answer for it?

She needed to wash herself again. Frolic came to a halt on the riverbank, splashing into the shallows without paying much attention to the current until it tried to sweep her legs out from underneath her. She braced them, though she pictured herself being carried away, dragged down by the undertow. Drowning.

Frolic blinked that image from her mind’s eye and shifted her gaze, her actual eyes suddenly fixing on a familiar face on the far shore.

Seal watched the rushing water reluctantly. Despite her name, she was only an average swimmer at best, and the girl doubted her agility to forge the wide river.

Perhaps she could find a slow section… or a place with rocks to cross…

She began to pick her way up the shore until the movement of another four-legged animal caught her eye.

At first, Seal mistook the distant figure for a doe or antelope. Its golden fur and dark points stood out against the water as it slipped into its wake. It was then that Seal recognized that face!

“Frolic?!” she shouted, astounded and full of glee.

Seal, Frolic whispered, her voice lost to the roar of the river.

But Seal’s cry reached her ears. Mindless as a sailor hearkening to a siren’s song, Frolic began wading across the river. When the water became too deep to touch the bottom, she began kicking her legs. Fortunately, she was a strong swimmer. The current swept her downstream, though her blackened snout remained always pointed at her friend.

She clambered ashore a little ways downriver, not even bothering to shake herself before she began running toward Seal on slightly quivery legs. Water poured off her skinny frame as she raced to close the distance, so unbelievably happy to see her friend after all this time.

Frolic wanted to fling herself at Seal, pull her into a hug. It wasn’t her soaking wet pelt that stopped her but an overwhelming sense of guilt. And she didn’t want to touch her friend with her filthy paws. There was blood on them. Maybe it wasn’t visible. But it was there.

Told you I’d be back, she said a little breathlessly, managing a smile as she hovered a foot away.

Seal gasped when Frolic, without an ounce of inhibition, began to forge the river. Though it was perfectly on-brand for her daring friend, it didn’t stop the girl’s heart from leaping when the fast-moving waters pulled Frolic downstream.

Seal cantered and followed the bank, eyes locked with Frolic’s.

When the Brecheliant girl emerged sopping wet, Seal skidded to a halt.

Told you I’d be back, her cavalier friend said in an effortlessly cool way.

“Tch,” Seal scoffed with a burst of air through her teeth. “What’re you doing, ye doo-lally!” she nervous-laughed in a faux, scolding tone. Then, she threw herself at Frolic wanting nothing but to wrap her arms around her best friend. “I missed you!” Seal cried as happy tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

She didn’t deserve the affection in Seal’s eyes, nor the hug she supposed had been inevitable. Frolic hesitated only briefly before wrapping her swarthy forelegs around her friend’s slim shoulder blades and squeezing her tightly. The scolding actually made her laugh, if a little thickly.

With a trace of alarm, her inner voice reminded her to, Act normal. Frolic supposed some change was normal after her travels, though she knew she couldn’t behave suspiciously—that is, guiltily—lest Seal cotton on to her true nature. She bit at her lip at the thought, slowly pulling out of the embrace.

It was hard to look her friend in the eye, though Frolic made herself do it. And though there was guilt, there was also relief in the fondness she saw on Seal’s face. Of course, her friend didn’t know what she’d done—and she hopefully never would—but, well, the feeling was absolutely, painfully mutual.

Me too, she said, huffing a little laugh before clarifying, I missed you too. What have I missed? Tell me everything.

If she had her way, she would keep the spotlight on Seal. She knew her friend would surely inquire about her travels at some point. And there were stories that were safe to tell. But Frolic didn’t just want to avoid talking about her recent past. She was also truly invested in the goings-on in her dear friend’s life these past six months.