Qeya River to die for

Ridgeback- exhausted, but happy exhausted- spared Ice Diver a moment of solitude while he went to relieve himself and quench his thirst. His heart sung, even though heavy tiredness threatened to flatten him to the ground the moment he returned to his wife’s side. 

A sharp, shrill call made him jerk up his head. It came from upriver, Star Eater’s voice listed names so desperately that the Blood Hunter immediately forgot his thirst and tiredness and raced along the shore.

He saw Star Eater, followed her gaze- and sweeping toward him, bobbing in the water- pelt and limbs tossing end over end, a creature whose fight was against consciousness, not the current. The bank was slippery with ice, but it did not slow the wolfdog. 

His last bound from snowy ground to ice landed him square on the thin shelf, skidding several feet before he heard a crack- and pushed off, launching himself into the air just as the ice gave away. He plunged below the surface and the current toppled him end over end before he breached and gasped. 

Spluttering, jaw shaking, he fought against the swell to look for the wolf not swimming, but drowning. Dark, churning waters offered plenty of camouflage. To Star Eater, he shouted. Where? What way? Hoping for direction until he could spot the boy himself.