Otter Creek burn the streets

paws push him back a pace at the hiss to slip fluidly from his newfound company, ears pinning back distrustfully. still leery in the presence of a foreign youth after his mistreatment from the fire-eyed boy. yet unlike that...creature, this wolf has icy eyes and once again his soft sage is batted away by a set of equally piercing orbs, sharp as the muddy wolf's yet completely different too. it leaves him on edge, especially when they roam from his own form only to land upon his beloved companion. stiffening, a creamy paw is stretched out to pull stick closer, running his pads along the familiar grooves; gaze retaining its reproachful glare despite its flightiness. as usual, he is unaware of his own inability to retain eye contact for more than a handful of seconds before they must focus on a different part of his lithe frame; from an ear to his chest, the relief once he's free from those piercing sapphire's is imminent. 

like a cat his skinny frame lowers into a defensive crouch as the boy moves languidly into the waters. a frown pushes through then, distracted by a confusion as to why he'd subject himself to such a level of pure cold but is pulled back before he could spiral into the topic by the smooth voice of the water wolf. ears lift slightly, the tone instantly attractive to him and quick to free him from some of his defensive mistrust. yet to come across one who would lie about their intentions, reif can only presume the lack of aggression meant this wolf held no ill will towards him or stick although he doesn't remove his paw from its reassuring surface. an approving nod is granted as he straightens back into a sitting position, idly rubbing the tree limb as his head leans slightly to the side. "it is" he agrees softly, finally allowing his eyes to flit down towards his pride. "i like its...designs" he supplies with a small shrug. the engravings were the only thing that kept him in touch with this world sometimes, he just wished he knew what they meant. the idea that they could be just designs didn't occur to him once, as far as he was concerned if it was there it had to be for a reason.

silently he tracks the other's movements with curious eyes, muscles relaxing as he becomes utterly encompassed with what was being carried out before him. slowly he detaches himself from stick and creeps closer to the brute, despite the clear signs of neglect ravaging his starved form, this collection of stones would prove to be more interesting to him than if the other presented him with a full deer. a distracted "okay" slips forth at the introduction..khepri. yet a heartbeat later he catches himself and throws back a quick "reif". he's surprised by how foreign it sounds on his tongue, a name he used to hear so often and yet never had to speak. 

reif had always been more focused on the textures of objects over any sorts of appearances and so a particularly smooth, shiny one is quick to catch his attention. "that one's nice" he offers somewhat proudly before adding with a slight frown "dno if it's worth getting wet for though" and proceeds to glance down towards the boy's damp coat as if he'd jumped through fire and was ignoring the resulting burns.