Sun Mote Copse Don't be shy, mortal man.

Eventually Reyes finds a small pond. Its more like a puddle, barely large enough and deep enough to satisfy his needs. He does not take the plunge immediately and sort-of waffles about the edge, sinking his toes in to the cold water and retrieving them within moments. Shaking the water from his hind toes like a cat might. His lip begins to peel up in a scowl as he fights his dislike of the feeling and finally goes wrist-deep, sucks a breath, then flattens belly-first in it.

The sodden heap of leaves lining the bottom doesn't want to release him. He wriggles there a second or two as the mud loosens, breaking up and washing clean (ish). The water smells like steeped maple tea and it isn't horrible - better than the bog he'd trailed in to the copse, at any rate.

As he's rising to his feet and high-stepping out of the pond, water spins his fur in to pointy clumps and drizzles across the piles of dry litter around him. He looks absolutely distraught at the feeling of cold air on his wet underparts; but then he sees something that shocks away all of that. The glare on his face melts away when he spots the aureate woman.

She's chuffing to him. All he can think - and all he can say as he thinks it - is, What the hell @Nieve, when did you move here? Does mom know? The fuck -- It all comes tumbling out as he launches himself towards the figure and away from the pond's edge. Reyes realizes his error mid-stride, and the grin that had sprung to life upon his face was suddenly gone.

Wait -- who the hell are you? This wasn't his sister.