Ankyra Sound The Wanderer and the Water [Joining]

It had been a long year. Life on the road had taken it's toll on Reek, both mentally and physically. His fur, unkempt and caked with months worth of mud, stood on end because of his excitement, for his calloused paws had finally touched sand. The River That Circumvents the World stood before him, and Reek stood speechless in it's might. To his great surprise, the legends of his pack were true. He had always believed the stories that the River Pack told about the great expanse before him were only to entertain the children, to give them something to imagine, to distract them from Cato. Never once had Reek entertained the possibility of the stories being true, but there he was, experiencing first hand what few will ever see.

"Holy shit," he muttered to himself, absorbing the beauty of the water, like a sponge.

Nightfall was approaching soon, and the sun hung low over the watery expanse, casting bands of orange, red, and pink, streaking across the sky in a beautiful cascade. The water, smooth as glass, reflected the light like a black mirror, taking on the colors of the sky. It was beautiful. The most beautiful sight Reek had ever seen. The corners of his mouth had twisted into a sheepish grin, like one of a child given a new toy to play with. How foreign the feeling felt. Was this happiness? Certainly it was satisfaction, but there was something more. Like a child's sense of wonder that had laid dormant in the young wolf, waiting for this particular moment to arrive and leap forth. Reek howled in ecstasy as loud as he could, breaking the constant sound of water gently lapping on the shore. The welling of his excitement could not be contained.

As soon as the initial awe wore off, Reek sprinted toward the water, making as big of a splash as possible. He looked like a damn fool, but no one would see. The water was freezing, but the cold could not stop him. The icy water soothed his aching joints. After so long on his own, Reek had forgotten what it was like to be clean. The matted dirt fell off in chunks into the water. He scrubbed and scrubbed, and the dirt that had become such a part of him had all but gone. He swam in circles like a pup, laughing and laughing, and laughing some more.