Lake Rodney Life was so much better with you there

Shemesh drank with audible zeal, the cold water soothing her sore throat. Her voice was hoarse from howling, and a proper recovery demanded quiet — and warm honey water, but she didn’t have a dish to put it in. At least “quiet” was easy to come by; she hadn’t seen a canine larger than a fox in days! And Shemesh had eaten a fox before, so she knew they weren’t very good conversation partners.

The coydog stepped back and let the ripples still. Her fur stuck out in all directions, smudged with dirt and dried blood without anyone to scrub it off of her. Shemesh could try to wash herself, but for who? It had been morning dark when she fell asleep in the backseat of her master’s truck, and afternoon light when they reached their campsite. Shemesh didn’t know how far they’d driven, and her nose never touched the roads they took; she just knew trucks could travel further than dogs.

Noam wouldn’t care if she was covered head to toe in rotting skunk — again; her master would just be happy they’d found each other. He’d be happy she was home.

Shemesh huffed and turned away from the water’s edge. Her tall ears flicked to and fro, catching the splash of a fish here, the call of a songbird there. There was so much sound when her master wasn’t around; it was almost overwhelming.

Hope it's okay to add him in.

Alaric found himself leaving Moonspear more and more. There was a cageyness to his spirit that he didn't like. There was something wrong and it chafed. Perhaps it was him, he was defective. He couldn't settle. Perhaps there had been some truth in his father's words, careless, silly, foolish, vagabond, wastrel.

So many in so many different times. He missed his father and his mother and sweet Asteria the sister that was as simple as could be, but he didn't miss the constant ache that followed him. For not being good enough. And he definitely didn't miss the touch of another.  But he was lonely sometimes, and he did feel a little left out on the spear. But that was neither here nor there and it was his own fault anyway, he didn't let his guard down. Acted the fool, the bard, the  joker. 

So deep in his own thoughts, it was with surprise that he came across the she creature that bathed in the water. He chuffed to get her attention and then studied her with silent trepidation. She wasn't wolf, nor coyote, nor dog, but something inbetween. Her fur a cross between light and shadows. Thin and medium, he towered, but he stayed back. He didn't wish to scare her, only sate his curiosity.

Totally okay! c:

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The greeting chuff pulled Shemesh’s attention to the treeline, ears perked and head lowered. A wolf. He was tall and dark-furred with eyes the color of conifers, and he kept his distance; Shemesh appreciated that. When he didn’t growl, or posture all big and scary, her curled tail gave a curious wag. Was he friendly? Or would he run like the coyote had?

Shemesh barked back, her forepaws tapping the ground in excitement. She didn’t expect the wolf to know where her master was, but maybe he could point her in the direction of a back road, or even a highway! ”I’m Shemesh,” she said, taking a tentative step in his direction, ”and I’m a little lost. Do you know what this place is called?” The dog gestured widely with her muzzle to all of this, and not just the lake behind her.

Even if he didn’t know the human name of the park they were in — or near? Shemesh wasn’t sure how humans marked borders when there wasn’t a fence — it might be similar enough for her to get her bearings.

Alaric didn't know this she beast. She could be mean or scared or anything really. And the fact that she wasn't quite what he was expecting was not so much alarming. As just different. So he kept his distance for a time until he felt the inches of wariness leaving. He gave a wag of his tail in return.

Well Met, Shemesh. I'm Alaric. He wrinkled his nose and looked around. Well the wilds are called the Teekon, and that lake there is Rodney. I often wonder who Rodney is? Did he find it? Or what? Cause obviously it's named after someone right?

Alaric had seen humans from a distance. He stayed far far away. They smelled funny, they looked funny, they probably tasted funny. They made weird noises.

Alaric. Teekon. Rodney. Shemesh tucked her head to her chest and nodded, more to herself than the wolf. She wracked her brain for a brief moment but didn’t recognize either of those place names — and certainly wouldn’t have known his before he told her. Her master was prone to rattling off the entire itinerary of their trips at once, often interwoven with stories of his past, and sometimes the details got lost along the way.

Shemesh shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, ears flopping audibly before sticking back up. ”Well met,” she repeated. It was no use to be rude just because she was distracted. ”And yes, I’m… I’m sure it is. My home is called Marion, and that must be named after someone too.”

Noam said it used to be called something else, just like everything was, but she couldn’t remember that name either.

”Do you know where the nearest road is?” Shemesh asked. It had to be south or southeast, because that was where she’d come from, but all she could find was more wilderness and not enough food.

She heard him and then it seemed that she was thinking deep. Alaric looked around. Was she alone? How had she gotten lost? And would she be okay if he left her to her own devices. He wasn't sure. She looked to well fed to be out and about too much. Unless she had a cache somewhere. So if she was lost it hadn't been for long or she had learned quickly how to fend for herself.

Marion. What a name. He shook his head. I don't think i'd like that name if I was a girl. I think i'd like Rayanne or Rochelle or maybe Dahlia. Something....not that. There was a plethora of other's he could think of that he'd rather have. And no offense to the Marion's of the world. Their names were pretty, just not what he would want. Though if his parents named him that. He'd have to deal with it. But why on earth was he worrying about it anyway. He already had a name. 

He blinked at her. Uh road?

Shemesh nodded, her tail giving another small wag. She loved being named after the sun just as much as she loved resting in its light. To be called anything else, even names as pretty as the ones Alaric mentioned, wouldn’t feel right. Except maybe Esther; she liked the name Esther. But that wasn’t really the point, was it?

Shemesh blinked at Alaric, briefly convinced he was joking. Her ears folded in dismay. ”You know, a road. Like… Like a long, stone-covered trail? Big machines travel on them, like cars and trucks.” She explained the best she could, realizing the gap in their life experiences for the first time. Did he not know the word, or had he never even crossed one? Getting directions from the wolf might be more difficult than she first thought.

Shemesh urged her ears to perk back up, hoping to hide her disappointment. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know what a road was; he didn’t need to!

Alaric thought about it. Would he like any other name. No his name suited him. Maybe Barnaby or Elias. Those he kinda sorta liked.

Alaric shook his head. I'm sorry the only way i know the things you speak of is in stories. I've never seen them. Didn't think they existed.

He felt bad that he couldn't help her. Did you come from one of these things?

Alaric motioned with his nose.Woods and meadows and rivers. Beyond that wetlands and mountain.

Shemesh pressed her lips into a thin, dark line and swallowed a sigh. Woods, meadows, and rivers, then wetlands and mountains? She guessed she could work with that. ”It’s okay,” she reassured Alaric. ”They’re everywhere out there, just… Not in the wilderness.” Human roads cut through wild places, marking lines of travel meant for machines and not animals; they weren’t like hiking trails that meandered through the forest without really interrupting it.

Shemesh nodded. ”Sort of. I came here with my master by road. A long, windy one to the south… East?” She glanced up at the sunlit sky to get her bearings, trying to figure out which way the rays were pointed. ”And if you follow a road far enough, you’ll eventually find humans. That’s why I need to find one — if I can find humans, they can help me find my master,” she explained. At least, Shemesh hoped that was how it worked; that was what happened when she got out and lost in the woods around Marion.

Alaric listened with surprise. These things didn't sound like something he would like. And if they were everywhere? Why hadn't he seen them at somw point in his life.

Alaric titled an ear forward. A master?

What was a master it didn't sound well. Was she a slave. Had she been forced into servitude? That wasnt cool and it bugged him a lot.

Humans Alaric did know. His ears went to his skull and he almost shuddered. They were what nightmares were made of. With fire sticks and big clompy feet. They looked so breakable, but the things they carried. It was enough to freeze marrow.

He shook his head. You'd be traveling long time to find a road. I traveled for almost 2 years and have seen nothing of the kind.

Shemesh whined at the thought of traveling two years to find her master, forced to wander alone almost as long as she’d been alive. She’d been on a highway less than a week ago! Had she really gotten that lost, and wandered so far into the wilderness that wolves like Alaric had never seen a road? He had to be mistaken, or lying, or… Or something! It didn’t make any sense to Shemesh. 

Her paws tapped the ground nervously; it didn’t make any sense.

Shemesh forced herself to take a deep breath. Alaric seemed confused, even discomforted by her description of her master; she felt compelled to address that before anything else. ”A human who takes care of you,” she clarified softly, unsure of what she’d said wrong, ”and makes sure you always have food and shelter.” She guessed wolves had packs for that instead.

”Do you know of anyone who has seen a road?” Shemesh asked, desperation creeping into her voice. Alaric was young like her; if she’d never seen a wilderness as vast as the Teekon before, maybe he’d never been in the right place to follow a road. The thought was less comforting the second time around.

Alaric felt bad. She was clearly distressed and he wasn't helping, but what was he supposed to do. He didn't know what she was talking about. A road. Never heard of it. No idea what it was. Perhaps there was something she knew further somewhere that he hadn't seen, but he had no idea.

Alaric wrinkled his muzzle. But why wouldn't you want to take care of yourself? Get your own food, make your own shelter? 

This she dog made no sense to him. When you could do all that yourself. Why let someone take care of you. Especially someone like well the things with two legs that hurt and yelled. 

He shook his head, then he hesitated. One may know at least of what it is. Wise woman in the mountain. Moonwoman of Moonglow. She may have heard tell of one. She is from far away. I can take you.

Distress gave way to prickly-furred frustration. Shemesh could take care of herself! She’d been doing it ever since she got separated from her master, and with barely the practice a wild wolf had. So what if she was hungry and tired? Had Alaric never been hungry, never been tired, never been… Ugh! Shemesh grumbled and willed her hackles to smooth. She was getting angry at him for things he hadn’t said, when really she was angry at herself.

Her ears perked at Alaric’s story of a wise woman in the mountains. ”Which way is Moonglow?” She asked, glancing toward the blue-tinted mountains in the distance. ”Are there any landmarks I should look for?” Shemesh wanted to trust Alaric, but she was reluctant to follow him further into the wilderness. She felt like she had too much to prove — like if she could follow her own four paws to the Moonwoman, she could follow them to her master.

Shemesh sighed; he’d taught the coydog her stubbornness. ”If you can point me in the right direction, I can make it the rest of the way,” she insisted. She wasn’t ready to move on yet anyway.

Alaric had been all of those things and more. It was why he did what he did. He had learned to survive and she would need too as well. He was a wild animal. He didn't trust humans. He thought they were terrible things. His own fur rose as her's did and he took a step back. He wasn't about to get attacked, because some she beast was pissed off that she couldn't find her way home. Perhaps if she hadn't left her master She'd be fine. But a small part of him understood. This was all probably new to her and she was scared and alone.

He dipped his head and shifted turning around. He hated bearing his back to Princess Prickly, but he needed to to show. He motioned with a paw. 

This side is the spear. That's my home Moonglow is about right there. He pointed with his muzzle towards the way Moonglow was. 

Her title is moonwoman, her name is Kukutux, but it is respectful to call her Moonwoman. And if she offers you a place to eat and rest. Take it. It's a respect thing.

Thank you for the thread! I'm sure she'll be less prickly next time they meet.

---

Shemesh’s gaze followed Alaric’s paw, and then his muzzle; Moonglow was further north than his home but in the same mountain range. If she could hunt along the way, catch small prey to keep her body strong and her stomach quiet, the trek wouldn’t be that bad. Her hackles settled, no longer twitching as he spoke.

That didn’t stop her from rolling her eyes behind Alaric’s back. ”Of course,” Smemesh said, though she was silently relieved by the information. The coydog appreciated his guidance, in spite of his criticism,

Shemesh tipped her muzzle at Alaric. ”I’ll… Be going now. Thank you for your help,” she said, before turning tail and trotting off into the gently swaying trees. Maybe now she could get some quiet. Then, she would head north.

It wouldn’t occur to Shemesh that maybe most packs weren’t known for inviting strangers in for food and rest, if Alaric was so intent on her knowing this one could.