Swiftcurrent Creek Peanut butter and jealous

The pack's little Rho didn't even realize he was nearing the creek until he splashed right into it. Startled and sputtering, he flailed his limbs in a spastic fashion for a moment when instincts took over. Like most young animals, he possessed a built-in knowledge about how to swim. Keeping his head above the waterline, he kicked. Fortunately, the water was not deep here. Unfortunately, he could only see the far bank and not the much nearer one behind him. The puppy paddled the only direction he knew to go: forward.

He made it to the other side no worse for wear, though he looked a lot like a drowned rat. He trembled, the water's chill already sinking into his tiny bones. Once again paying mind to instinct, Relonikiv shook himself, ridding his pelt of moisture. He was still very cold, however, and continued to shiver and shake even as he took a few absent steps away from the water and, as it were, his pack's territory.

A flicker of movement caught his attention then. Thinking it the chickadees, he momentarily forgot his wet fur and smiled. The expression became quizzical when he saw it was a wolf, not a pair of birds, some distance away. The whelp froze, watching curiously. Not knowing that some wolves did not belong to his family and with no clue that he might be in danger, the overly trusting pup began to bound toward the stranger with the plaything.

"Ayuh!" he chirped even as he ground to a halt and peered up at the unfamiliar adult. A shiver shook his little frame but he grinned up at the wolf, his wiggling tail held submissively low and his blue eyes fixing on the scruffy squirrel's tail in his mouth. "P... pay?" he asked, trying to say: Play?