Redhawk Caldera See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me

Lagan bobbed his head and followed along in Elwood's steps, all the while fighting back the unbidden tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes. He didn't even know why he was so upset. No doubt he would, the very next day, be right back to licking icicles and thinking they were cool as all hell. But today he was not a fan of icicles, and desperately wanted it removed from his tongue.

They reached the stream without further incident, minus Lagan tripping once or twice, and he heeded his father with all the trust a young boy could muster. After all, Elwood was one of the coolest adults he knew, and his dad always knew what to do. The levelheaded Beta was as much a role model for Lagan as his soft-spoken (and depressed) elder brother. So Lagan stepped up to the edge of the creek and did as he was told, dipping his entire muzzle down into the water. There were just two problems:

Lagan could not breathe underwater.
And the water was freezing cold.

He arced his head out of it in a striking rendition of a mermaid's hair toss and immediately sneezed loudly to eject the cold water from his nostrils. The water itself had done nothing to the icicle, but the force of his sneeze tore it free of his tongue, which immediately began to slowly ooze blood where the skin had been ripped off. The coppery taste filled Lagan's mouth as the tears finally fell from the shock of how quickly that all happened.