Arrow Lake i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens;

She wasn't wrong. The shade wasn't cooler by any great measure, but he liked to think of it as a place of solace all the same. A heavy wind would have made more of a difference, or rain - but he had not sighted it anywhere while travelling; he liked to think of himself as prepared in that regard, being something of a naturalist (even if by accident). Lately Revui had been so focused on finding his own path that he hadn't really taken stock of the signs in the air - the oppressive heat was actually a good indication of future rain, as all the residual moisture was being collected and drawn away from the earth. It would return and they would all suffer for it.

He stood there ruminating over the virtues of shadows, when the girl pranced to the water's edge and began to drink. He watched her but was distracted by his thoughts - a glazed expression settling on his face. When she plunged her nose in to the water his eyes narrowed; when her cheeks dipped below the surface, one of his eyes twitched and he became suddenly quite focused on her. He watched the slight curve of her shoulders as she bowed face-first in the water in mimicry of his earlier display and his mouth hinged slightly open, aghast, and somewhat awed.

When she lifted free and raised her head, Revui could not take his eyes off of her. The slope of her throat, the deep warmth of her fur where it was soaked through, the way the water pooled between her shoulders and lined the earth at her paws where it found the course of least resistance.

It wasn't exactly rare for Revui to be wordless, being an idiot, but this was perhaps the first time he was properly speechless.