Heron Lake Plateau shadow, my sweet shadow

PPing Qui with permission!

One thing she was starting to learn about Quixote was that, when faced with emotionally overwhelming situations, the best way to help him was to give him something to do. When she requested help getting to the lake, he seemed to draw a measure of strength from that and it helped him pull himself together a little. When he asked if she needed him to help her stand, she nodded. Leaning heavily on the leg he offered, she fumbled her legs beneath her and attempted to stand. So shaky and weak was she that, at a pleading glance from her, he ever so gently tugged her scruff to take some of the strain off of her. Once on her feet, she swayed drunkenly and nearly pitched back over again -- stars, she was so dizzy -- and had to lean on him for stability.

They walked then, their slow pace hitched and somewhat staggering, but nevertheless they made their way toward the lake. Along the way, the alpha female stopped to take a much-needed potty break and she sighed with relief as she did so. Hey, that many hours unconscious was rough on a small bladder, especially with one of her kids using it as a pillow for their watermelon head. She was so light-headed and shaky that she accidentally tipped a bit backward and sat in her own puddle. With a muffled dammit, she regained her balance and they resumed their zombie walk down to the bank of the lake.

The water was glassy and still in the pre-dawn gloom, the soft, pastel light on the eastern horizon reflecting ghostlike on its mirrored surface. Fine ripples radiated outward in a nearly perfect concentric circle as she drank, with Quixote holding her scruff to keep her from tumbling forward into the water. What a way to go -- drowning unceremoniously in shallow water with a piss-soaked ass. She lapped for what felt like forever, the enormous loss of blood having left her feeling as parched as a desiccated, sun-dried corpse. When she was finally finished, she had Quixote help her get turned around and then she lay on the bank with her sullied rear in the water. She blew out a sigh, completely and totally exhausted again, and looked up at her sweet mate. "Thank you," she murmured to him, grateful beyond words for his help and devotion.