Totoka River Reflection

It had taken awhile for his paws to venture off his beloved new island home, but Driftwood did at last pick them up and move them over the sandy landbridge and back onto the main landmass once more. It was strange, to stand there with his back to the isle and gaze out across the landscape and not see the ocean around some nearby corner. Driftwood turned back around and took a last good look and sniff, and then ventured a little further out to explore. Just off to the side was a creeklet trickling its way into the ocean. With no particular goal in mind he moved to follow it. Perhaps he could wash the accumulated grit from his paws and get himself a quick drink of what looked to be delightfully clear and cool freshwater—and at the very least, this less-salty accumulation of water was narrow and shallow enough to be quite sure it was clear of any of those sneaksome crabs, he noted to himself as he ventured toward it.

Driftwood hadn't moved more than a few increasingly bold paces toward it, however, when he was again stopped in his tracks. No crustaceans here, it was true, but there was an unfamiliar and unexpected sight before him. For just a moment, before the light breeze tickled his nostrils with her scent, he thought that perhaps it was young Maegi who'd already arrived here before him. But no, not only was the smell all wrong, but (although it was difficult to tell in the early-morning light that dyed most everything with warm sunset colors) this female seemed to have a rather un-Maegi-ish dusting of sawdust across much of her less-pristinely-white coat. Like Maegi, however, she seemed young, still working on filling out her frame, and yet capable of carrying herself with confidence. ...He didn't recognize her smell at all, though: or was that just his memory deserting him again? Shoot. ...Wait, but she didn't seem to smell of Undersea, either...so Drift thought he was probably okay, here, in thinking she was indeed a stranger. Probably. Yeah.

Driftwood stared for a lengthening moment in silent uncertainty. Then with a blink and a quick shake of his head, he recalled himself to his manners. He folded his ears gently back and swept his tail wide just below the level of his topline. Hello? he said, and then stopped again as he racked his brain and tried to make reallytruly positively absolutely certain that he hadn't met this young woman before. He thought he would have remembered, if he had, but... well, that was exactly the sort of thing his head would lie to him about, now, wasn't it? You haven't seen any crabs about, have you? That wasn't really the question he wanted to ask her, but in his nervousness it came blurting thoughtlessly out anyway. Driftwood suppressed a wince.