Redhawk Caldera Make me a bicycle, clown

She found comfort in Finley's licks, though they only exacerbated the mild but still uncomfortable anaphylactic reaction as the Beta's saliva was contaminated with traces of pine sap. When the discomfort continued to grow worse, Wildfire eventually withdrew, shaking her swollen head and making awful mewling noises. She was lucky the allergy wasn't more severe and that her throat wasn't closing. It was less like suffocating and more like being maced, not that the puppy could draw comparisons.

Without being aware of what she was doing, the puppy found her feet and walked over to a puddle about four feet to the right of the den's entrance. Instead of dipping her face or her paws in the cloudy water, she simply splashed right into it, then buckled her legs and began to roll. Before long, she was soaking wet and slathered in mud. It would have been fun, if she were being playful. Wildfire was merely acting on instinct; some part of her understood that a good mud bath would provide relief.

And it did. The stinging, itching and swelling began to subside. The child remained in the puddle, sprawled like a little sphinx, her golden eyes finding Finley's face. Despite associating the Beta female with the pine cone, which had wrought so much distress, she still very much loved her aunt. It showed in her face as her lips peeled back in a smile, her pearly white milk teeth bright against her ruddy, muddy face.