Otter Creek brass knife sinks into my shoulder

Being wet had never been a problem before, and so Dusty thought nothing of splashing into the water. It was not any worse on his paws than the burning sand had often been, and if anything, he found it much more pleasant.

When something landed on his back and forced his chin into the icy waters, however, he was singing a different tune. Shrieking, more accurately. A volley of aggressive yips and snarls escaped him in the seconds before the scent and sound and feel of the other creature caught up with him. And then, wet and shaking, he gave a half angry, half thrilled shout of,

“Meri! What are you doing out here?”

Of course, they could not see each other without starting a wrestling match. This was a show of the deep well of love that Dusty Rose had for his family. Sometimes, his cup runneth over, and it came out in the form of high-pitched yowls and gentle (but not too gentle!) chomping. Meridian’s ears were his current target, although they were not as incredibly large a target as they were on Dusty.

“Oh, but were you followed?” he fretted, jabbing his nose into the other boy’s fur to search for the scent of the flower eater, or else another of their siblings. He was absent of these scents, however, and Dusty breathed a sigh of relief even as his guilt increased.

“He’s been out here,” Dusty said in a low voice. “I think I lost him for now, but we oughta find somethin’ to roll around in, just to be sure.”

But he thought, just maybe, it was time to return home. He didn’t want to, but what would their fathers do with all of them gone? First Slow West had departed, and now him and Meridian both! Were the girls still at home? Any of the others?