Otter Creek To Float on Your Back

(OOC - I don't know how to do the ooc grey text so this will have to do lol, this is set days before this thread Click)

There was a part of Kai that always wondered what it would be like, to be anything but a wolf. His signature loping gait brought the adventurer alongside the heavily shaded creek. He took a moment to allow cool water to quench his thirst, eyes lifted to take in his surroundings fully as he did. No use letting his guard down, the man prepared for war for his pack and should not be caught with his head in the clouds before or after. He had never seen a full war before. Most of his spats were handled with the care of amicable words and pleasant lies, but he was no stranger to using force when necessary. It just never seemed necessary, in the grand scheme of things.

But speaking with Ramesses struck a chord within him. He had refused a war once before, for the pack he was born to, and regretted this more than any wolf he had cuckholded. 

He kept his merry way down the side of the creek, wondering exactly where it led to. Sakai didn't have to travel long before happening upon a few otters going about their day. Downwind and far enough away, his body shielded by brush, the bystander could watch. Some played, some just float on their back, others hunted. 

To be an otter floating on it's back, he mused to himself with a tired smile. Instead of living with regrets and chasing desires like a fool. It sounded... ideal.

The code for ooc text is to put [*ooc]before your text, without the star, and [*/ooc] after it, again without the star :)

The cold night had left Æsilfír in a sour mood, which grew when she felt her stomach clench and gurgle from hunger. Maybe that was shy she'd slept so poorly- she'd been chasing rabbits all night in her sleep. Maybe her luck would get better today, bit she doubted it. It felt more like a no bones kind of day. 

And she wasn't wrong. Her first hunt ended in failure and left her full of burrs after not quite clearing a burrdock plant. The small, round balls of hooks embedded themselves happily in her dark grey fur, causing her to stiffen in her rangy gait a bit. She scented her way toward a creek, figuring she could at least get a drink to quell the rumbling in her gut for a bit. 

She heard the playful, high-pitched squeaks of the otters before she even saw the stream, and slowed her gait to approach with a bit more caution. Like a panther, she began to slink forward, ears flattened and pale haze sharpened as she saw the glinting of water through the bush. 

What caused her to halt momentarily was the scent of another wolf. She paused to analyze it- a male, she thought, and the complexity within his scent that might've hinted he was a pack wolf. Downwind, so potentially, he was hunting the otters as well- selfishly, she was irked. It was her time to eat now. She approached the area cautiously and didn't bother watching the playful otters as she came closer- instead, she remained low, and cast her gaze around until she thought she could see a dark, greyscale figure well concealed on the opposite bank. 

She crouched, remaining silent for now. She gestured with a swift jerk of her muzzle, hoping to catch his attention without distracting the otters. Gazing at him with her sizzling, thistle glare, she jerked her muzzle toward the otters. Without speaking, she opened her mouth and exaggeratedly mouthed YOU HUNTING!? with an almost accusatory glint of her teeth. 

If he was hunting- too bad for him. She was starving and wasn't willing to back down on this one, even though she had never actually hunted otters before and had zero game plan in mind.

Slate had been busy with Crowfeather and tending to his wounds, she was nothing short of a mess lately has she hadn't left the mesa in quite some time now. Her fur was roughed, unkept and ungroomed, she smelled horrible and she felt herself growing tired. She watched over Crowfeather like a hawk, she kept his wounds bandaged up with spiderweb and a mixture of plants. She tended to him all the time, there was rarely a moment's break in her care. Germanicus was one of the few wolves who seemed to tend to Slate, for that she was grateful. He brought her food and medicine all the time.

The days kept passing and it was obvious that war was coming soon. It was drawing to a close. Slate kept herself prepared mentally, and she kept asking for supplies, but today she left the mesa, for a short time. Crowfeather had fresh bandages and Germanicus was by is side, she felt confident she could wash herself somewhere and get cleaned. She needed it badly.

Unlike Æsifír she did NOT smell the other wolves at first. She was so focused on getting herself cleaned up and looking more presentable again that she just headed straight for the waters. She did see the otters but the saw her too. They squeaked and swam away. She had no idea she had just ruined the hunt for someone (she wasn't even aware that one could hunt otters in the water), and rather than sniff out danger she glided into the water. She took a deep breathe and began relaxing. The dirt rinsed off and she relaxed.

Until she finally sniffed out other wolves. She froze in the water and looked up to see a male and the she sniffed again. Oh. He was from Akashingo. She relaxed. "I am from Ursus." she explained matter-of-factly. She dove her head into the water and then rose up from the water and shook her entire body to get rid of excess water. She then noticed the scent of a female. her head turned sharply toward her, not sure who she was. She sniffed the air and realized this one did not belong to Ursus or Akashingo. She felt worried. She looked at the male for some sort of reassurance or protection and hoped to find some help. Slate was too old to fight some youngling out on adventure. These were dangerous times after all.

Thank you lol love your no bones day reference!! We love Noodle

The introduction of another wolf was a bit sudden, or maybe it had just snapped the man out of lulled state that was dragging a bit too long. Head snapped from carefree otters to a worse for wear female opposite him. She was similar in cool tones, grey fur barely visible as she had too concealed herself well in the shadows of the overhang. Kai was a lot of things, but he was  absolutely not a gifted lip reader. 

Ears flitted forward as if this may help his eyes make out her words as she sharply pointed to the otters with her muzzle. What? He mouthed back, tilting his head in question of her accusation. He was aware he looked like a dope, but didn't really give much of a thought to it. He knew he was only half of a dope, not a full one, and that was fine enough for him.

Black lined eyes caught sight of the otters submerging in alarm, so he turned his head fully to better see the commotion. Another wolf, and being downwind he could smell the scent of medicine and Akashingo mixed with that of a land. This last and more faintly perfumed scent was unbeknownst to him. He had never seen her, but felt more at ease catching such a strong whiff of his pack on her. 

She spoke, and as he took in her words, he noted her to be one of Akashingo's allies. An ally he would soon see battle alongside. It was only for a split second the male acknowledge the woman before also turning attentions back to the first wolf with worry. He knew now what she had mouthed.

Without much thought, his body seamlessly eased into the river next to the dark featured woman. His large frame almost fully masked her own. He had no idea what he was doing or how the ladies would react, but he felt it to be right. "So you're hunting?" He called to the stranger in the dark, softly and with a tenderness as finally his smooth brain pieced together what was happening. She was tired, hungry and by the flash of her teeth earlier, irritated. The newest addition was also tired, though she looked a bit more lively at the introduction of the cold water and even more so, the cold stare of the huntress. "I wasn't... hunting, that is." Kai took a moment to allow his ghostly gaze to travel back to the pleading face of the Ursus wolf. He gave her his very best reassuring smile.

Back to the huntress, his voice carried a bit louder over the sound of moving water. "You know, I'm pretty good at the sport. Perhaps I could be of some assistance?" His move was to quell the hungry wolf before her irritation turned into full blown aggression.

She rolled her eyes in such an exaggerated fashion she thought she could feel something grinding in her skull. She was aware that wolves in these Western parts thought she had an accent, but she hadn't expected for her lips to be difficult to read as well. She huffed a sigh and opened her mouth so that she could try again but she was cut off by the sudden intrusion of a scruffy, unkempt stranger who chhose that moment to interrupt and frighten the otters away. 

She spoke something that sounded like nonsense to Æesilfír, before ducking her head under the water and emerging again, her shocked gaze finally locking with surprise onto Æsilfír's murderous glare. She tempered her gaze to a simmering sizzle when the other attempted to diffuse the tension. 

"Woz," She complained, compelled to point out that the opportunity to hunt the otters was now something that belonged in the past tense. She felt a bit offended that he felt compelled to move to the female's side. What did he think she was going to do, pick a fight when she was clearly outnumbered? Ridiculous. She sat up stiffly, now that she wasn't stalking prey anymore. 

His offer might have appeased a wiser wolf. "Sport?" She snorted. "Yer friend here's aready scared 'em off, denna what kinda sport y'think that is, but it's over naew so what odds." She accused, fishing for an apology she felt she deserved.

The large male from Akashingo entered the water and Slate tensed up. She didn't like the feeling, mostly because he was huge compared to her. "So you're hunting?" Slate eased up. Oh he was looking out for her, that was why he entered the water. She felt stupid realizing she had tensed up for no reason. She looks embarrassed into the water and then back up at the female he was addressing.

"I wasn't... hunting, that is. You know, I'm pretty good at the sport. Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"" Slate wanted to speak but chose not to. She looked around the male to see the female react and speak, her ears perking upward. "Sport? Yer friend here's aready scared 'em off, denna what kinda sport y'think that is, but it's over naew so what odds."

Slate couldn't help but laugh out loud. She laughed genuinely for the first time in a while, but also because she found it pretty funny and dumb. "I'm sorry, you wanted to hunt otters.. In the water?" She smiled then began laughing again. Suuuure, hunting otters in the water was like hunting mountain goats in the steep cliffs of the mountain. Pretty darn hard if not impossible. Water was their element. She couldn't exactly swim nearly as fast as they could and the way the could move in the water. She had as much chance catching otters in the water as Slate had to turn out to be a serial killer.

Not happening.

"Aah that was a good one." She was still chuckling, full on thinking the female must have been joking. She couldn't be serious, right?

The huntress was pissed and rightfully so he supposed. Sakai knew from experience, you aren't you when you're hungry. There was very little he could do to pacify the situation now, but at least it wasn't full blown anger. Part of him felt stupid to assume she would rip out the jugular of the dark fur maiden in the waters, but who was he to assume otherwise? Better to be safe than sorry. He knew all of the sayings.

Sakai only found a moment before a burst of laughter sounded from behind him. Oh dear Gods. The man dare not let his gaze leave the annoyed wolf before him but his ears swiveled back against his skull as the Ursus wolf enjoyed the show unfolding. She had a point, but the last thing to do in a tense situation was to laugh in the upset party. The waters that lapped just below his breast bone sent shivers down his spine... or maybe it was because confrontation made the people-pleaser wildly uncomfortable.

Staring blankly at the bank in front of him, with pressed lips and risen brows, it was apparent how awkward he felt by his face and how much he just wanted to be swept away with the otters. "I don't think she was joking." He spoke softly back to his protected while turning his head ever so slightly so he could note where exactly she stood behind him.

A moment passed again before Kai rolled his shoulders back to rid his muscles of any tension. "Impressive if you have caught an otter before. I'm not that good so you could probably teach me a thing or two." He admitted, giving the woman some credit to her plight. "I'm sorry if your hunt has been ruined. Neither of us caught onto the situation fast enough. My name is Sakai." He turned to look at the female behind him. "Hello also to you, miss." 

The large figure backed up only slightly so he held less of a protective stance but still remained close to the brunette. "Maybe we could all find a nice meal together. Team work makes the dream work?" God he was so good with these sayings.

So abruptly was her comment met with raucous layghter that Æsilfír thought surely she was being mocked. She squinted her lilac gaze at the female, noticing how the male leaned close to say something quiet to her. Perhaps he was the brains of the two. 

But when it became clear the woman thought Æsilfír had been joking about hunting otters, she became ruffled and a bit uncomfortable. No, she'd never caught an otter before. She'd never hunted them before, either. And now that she thought about it, her hunt would likely have been doomed to fail even if the otters hadn't been scared away; wolves were no match for them in the water. 

But she'd be damned if she let this bitch with her hyena laugh think she got the better of her. 

The male- Sakai, as he called himself- attempted to diffuse what otherwise might have spawned into a brawl and he managed  the fiery female's ire well by complimenting her. "Ah have" She bluffed confidently, her tone still very much an accusation. "But ye done ruint me chances naew. Too slow, the bot' of ye, anywey," She said. He'd already admitted as much anyway, so she figured one final itieration was enough. 

She recoiled at the offer made, grimacing in distaste at his phrasing. "Lame," She muttered to herself under her breath. "Nah," She barked, with a flick of her muzzle. "I'll nay join ye if that brayin' mule o'yeurs es a part of it. Better chances on me own we'ou t'eider of ye anywey. Bot...I'll make ye a wager, though. Sey we all three of us goes separate ways...Gev et an hour...I bet I'll come back wit something bigger'n anything t'either of ye would breng back." She challenged eagerly.