Heron Lake Plateau Troy, this is Midsomer

Theoretically this thread takes place after the thread with Colt & Qui going to talk to Elwood.  Unless something nuts happens, in which case this will be moved to be before it, so bewaaareee. Either way, vague as heckers.

Today, the remaining snow was sparse and dirty up by the edges of the water.  One of the few positives of this whole moving thing was that the water seemed to make spring come a little earlier here at the shore.  What had drawn him over to the water specifically was the birds.  It wasn't the most popular time of the year for them, but there were enough -- namesake herons, a few ducks and all that nonsense.

The marshy ground around the shore wasn't the greatest for sneaking -- or at least he wasn't used to it.  He'd always lived on solid ground (when it wasn't covered in snow), so the interspersed marshy bits probably had the birds laughing at him.  Removing his paws from the muck occasionally made gross sucking noises and the feeling of grit and grime between his toes wasn't exactly pleasant.

Quixote took one more go at chasing after a beached duck, which waddled very quickly into the water after his first step or two in its direction.  Not his day, not his prey.  With a huff, he came to a stop, glaring at the wake it left through the water.  It'd take a lot more practice or he'd just have to stick to the landlocked creatures farther away.  Whichever.

He went and took a drink, then continued his way around the shore, but now he was certainly not as enthusiastic about trying to take a meal from it.  He'd rather be back on a damn mountain.