Duck Lake A whole new world

Delighted, small paw pads continued to be met with friction against the rocks & grainy sand ajacent to the water as she shuffled in her spot. A lone wolf for moon upon moon, the only living things that had really made her acquaintaince consistently were the trees, standing tall and solemn for her, day and night; that being said, the age difference was just a bit insurmountable -oh, you know, just a 2 year old wolf hanging out with 80,000 year old root systems, nothing unusual here- plus, a pine tree wasn't all that good for conversation. As a social animal by nature, her heart swelled with joy upon being in new - albeit, very different - company. Briefly absorbed in her own interests, she was clueless to any fear or apprehension displayed by the water mouse, though surely it was to be expected - if Ceara were in the position of the wee creature before her, being greeted by a dumbfounded beast, even with her own unjustifiably inflated ego she'd be shaking in her boots or crapping her pelt, if not both; so thusly, its bravery was to be admired.

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It spoke! Taking Ceara by surprise and wonderment, amber eyes widened upon hearing her response. Why, if she knew these little creatures could speak, she would have struck up a conversation with one of these little ground squirrels years ago - well, she was closer to the water than she was to the ground, so perhaps this was a water mouse's clever ruse.. - not to mention, Ceara probably would not have made so many of her kind a midnight snack in the past knowing what she'd just learned. Friend, not food. Barely suppressing her eagerness, Ceara's round head dipped a bit, tentatively sniffing the little creature as her moist shnauzer twitched left, right, and all about. "You don't smell like no wolf, either.. Or a water mouse, at that-" woofed the she-wolf, reaffirming what the creature had said "A ground squirrel, huh? The more you know!" she wondered aloud excitedly, though hearing a curiosity from the newly appointed Dharma prompted her to clumsily and quickly withdraw her head from the perhaps too up close & personal investigation: "Oh, where are my manners!" bowing her head in greeting, Ceara continued "My friends call me-" Um, she racked her brain, quickly discovering she lacked the quirky, chipper monikers that others possessed, damn! I have no friends! Or catchy nicknames! Of course, she wouldn't let Dharma know that - As far as she knew, Ceara was a cool cat - a cold fish. Or so Ceara's ego hoped. In reality, she was just a doofus, though that wouldn't sound right to say, either. So she just said "Ceara - I guess that's what they call me!" with a wiggle of the tail and a shake of the rump, she quickly descended her bust into a dog-like play bow, her lazy open-mouth smile standing strong all the while.

Pupils caressing the earth as it captured its final rays of light, she searched for Dharma's family or companions - surely she had a pack, right? She wasn't that much different than a wolf, just a lot smaller, so it would make sense. Yet, seemingly without a miniscule compadre in sight, Ceara thought aloud "Where's your pack? I don't see them anywhere," continuing, she also wondered in reference to her solitude "Why, I can't imagine hunting a deer all by your lonesome! How do you ever do it?" Perhaps, thought Ceara, this creature had an unfathomable, god-like strength if it could feed itself such glorious prey at that size..A deer, a bear, a WOLF? What would it kill next? Dharma, of course, seemed friendly and approachable at the moment, but you never know...