Duck Lake ; i guess i'm not like you

wheezes, welcome to the mayhem

Oath chuffed at her best friend when the pale made her approach, lithe body haloed by the morning sun. The other femme was moving at her typical pace, that familiar languid lilt to her strides. The corner of her mouth twitched. The taller moved so comfortably, with such ease, and Oath's heart swelled with pride and some emotion she wouldn't bother naming. It was truly unfortunate that nobody else saw this side of her - to peer behind the veil at what Goose could have been had she been given the proper start in life, had the world not twisted upon them and soured the pair beyond repair. Oath had always been wild waves crashing against Goose's stable shoreline. But what would they have been if things hadn't gone so horribly wrong for them? If they'd both been born first and not last? The thought made her scars twinge uncomfortably and she fought down the urge to run a hind paw across her shoulders, instead distracting herself with the larger females attentions. The pair never got to relax anymore, so this was a rare moment indeed.

"A mountain lion?" She asked, delicate brow arched in amusement. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'rat'. Drowned, obviously." Oath tried not to lean into the others touch and instead began twitching her ears each time Goose's tongue made to swipe at them. Difficult to the last. Figuring Goose might box her ears instead of grooming them, the russet grinned and ducked her head towards the bird, that had been momentarily forgotten, and finished plucking at the breast. As she spat out a few more feathers she realized that her companion had gone very, very still beside her. But it was when her name was spoken that her nape prickled with concern - concern that transformed into a familiar primal, protective instinct. It roared within her, pounding in her chest, as it always did when they came face to face with any percieved threat.

However, the smaller female remained seated and willed the tension from her body. Getting worked up would only make things worse and she didn't want to give Goose any further reason for alarm. Her molten eyes shot up and fixated on the shape looming before them. She had to squint into the sunlight to make out that the form was male, but didn't seem to be outwardly hostile. His body language appeared relaxed and if he'd wanted to hurt them, he would have done it by now. Unless he was some weird sadist that got off on weirdass behavior like that. Because, you know, that shit happens. Oath cursed her own unobservance as she stared him down, mind churning. How on earth had she missed him earlier? She'd gotten too comfortable and let her guard down, that's how, and because of her lapse they were now faced with a possibly hostile encounter. Well shit.

Oath stretched her front legs out, placing a paw on the ducks mangled body, studying the stranger through half-lidded eyes. "Hey," Came the casual drawl.