Big Salmon Lake i played soldier, you played king

the incessant fit of sneezes had subsided as the day went on, his nose now more of a steady dip than a flood. he looked a mess, snot spread like forbidden green jelly along the length of his forelegs. he could hear his mother now, cursing up a storm about his poor manners and oh yes, about needing a bath. ugh, a bath. needed, not wanted.

but alas, how was he to charm the ladies while looking like he'd climbed inside someone's nose and slept there all day? no, no, a bath it would be.

he found himself to the water's edge and without a moment to waste, plunged himself into the depths. SPLASH! he spent little time in the lake's embrace, and soon found himself back upon the shore just as the last light began to fade behind the nearby mountains. he'd gone from looking like a partial booger to a full on dirty mop. to top it all off he got the new and improved cologne scent; wet dog, complete free of charge. what a steal!

The sun was sinking below the horizon when a loud splash woke Esme from her lakeside nap. As she blinked sleep from her eyes, it occurred to her that the volume and force of the splash indicated not a duck or a beaver, and not the leap of a fish. The sound must have been made by a far larger animal.
 
Esme jumped to her feet and loped along the shore, ears upright. Soon, she drew up to the sight of a wolf, his agouti fur drenched and dripping as he waded through the water and up upon the shore. 

“Are you all right?” Esme questioned, ears flicking backward and then quickly forward, her tail waving steadily. Looking him over, he seemed unscathed: he was moving, and breathing just fine. 

Perhaps she was overly concerned about the stranger - but water was something that frightened her.

"are you alright?"

he glanced in the direction the words fled from, honeyed eyes dancing across the feminine form of a pretty wisp. he wondered for a moment how long she'd been there before speaking, but did not fret much on the thought.

"i am wet," he let out as his response to her question, a puddle of water beginning to form beneath him. "you may want to take cover," he let out with a wink before taking a few steps backwards and shaking his fur loose of the droplets that clung to him.

Narrow jaws parted in soft laughter when the stranger gave his cheeky response. This along with the thoughtful warning he gave removed some of the awkwardness that inevitably came with new faces, and she felt much more comfortable. 

Esme heeded his advice and stepped back a few paces, and though she was now quite far enough away to avoid being hit, still she winced as the water began to spew from the wolf’s agouti fur.  

“Were you going for a swim? Or fishing? Both maybe?” The pale girl asked with a cant of her head.

she thought he might be a fisherman or swimmer, but he was not nearly skilled enough to be either. "was washing away my bad luck," he responded with a friendly click of his tongue. or perhaps it was not misfortune at all and he'd been cursed, damned to sneeze until the end of time.

"what about you? come for an evening dip in the lake?" he asked as he raised a paw to tap against the side of his head and release the water trapped in his ear.

Esme chuckled when the man gave yet another cheeky response, spouting something clever and unexpected. 

“I’m sorry for laughing,” she spoke, bringing her paw to her muzzle to stifle the laughter and hide the grin that remained. “And I hope it works. I hope your luck improves.” Her pale purple eyes were shining , as she again felt some concern for the wolf. She wanted to ask what constituted his bad luck, but they had just met and she didn’t feel the question was at this point polite. 

“Oh, no. Not me,” was Esme’s emphatic response regarding the water, shaking her head, eyes drifting to the lake and back to his face. Her grin was gone. 

“To be honest with you… water terrifies me.”

a few drops of water escaped as he tapped the side of his head, his ear thankful for the relief of pressure. he switched to the other ear as she spoke, yet remained focused on the stranger and her words. she apologized and he gave a shrug, unbothered by her laughter. if anything, it gave him a small sense of satisfaction.

she went on to share a fear, one which he thought realistic enough, but troublesome to have. "afraid of it like ya can't drink it, or don't like swimming in it?" his tone was curious yet genuine. the latter of the two made more sense, but who was he to assume.

She absently watched the rivulets of water stream from his ear, uncomfortable thinking about her fear of the water. She took a second to think before she answered, a few seconds of silence passing between them. 

"It's the swimming," she explained. "I used to live by the sea, and once, not too long ago actually... I saw a very young wolf drown." The topic was heavy, but the memory was growing distant and less painful. She felt the usual pangs of sadness and guilt, but they dissipated quickly, leaving only phobia. 

"so I just choose  to keep my distance now." she gave a hesitant half-grin.

"I'm Esme, by the way."

he listened, and did not do much besides that.

there was silent judgement, not for her fear of the water, but for her inability to seemingly face it. to have fear was instinctual, without it everyone would be jumping off cliffs like they could fly. but fear was also a burden. it left you vulnerable, especially when you refused to face it.

he could have offered some pep talk to encourage her in the conquering of her phobia or comfort her in the distress she felt over the loss of a youth, but he did no such thing. he would not play therapist today. but perhaps another time...

"call for me the next time it rains, we can splash in puddles together. no threat of drowning involved." they could act like children on a stormy day, it'd be fun.

"alphus," he introduced with a dip of his maw.

they spoke for a few more minutes before parting ways. he shook the last drops of loose water from his pelt before heading off to lounge away the rest of the night.