Frogspawn Swamp Islands under eyelids

Scouting trip with @Grayday

The noise. The god damn, loud noise. Everywhere she looked, there were frogs, singing their hearts out. She wished suddenly she could swap these frogs for birds, or maybe a creature that would shut up. She screwed her eyes shut, attempting to block out the noise and think, just for a second, if she had gotten completely lost. No, she could faintly remember Grayday's description. Did he say something about a swamp? If so, Anita couldn't have gotten too off track.

She opened her eyes again, as if closing them had blocked off all the noise. The bog stretched for what seemed to be forever, and she could already feel the mud squelching between her toes. With each step she took, tadpoles rushed away by the dozen to avoid being trampled. She sighed, deciding that navigating through the swamp would not only be difficult, but also very unpleasant. 

Anita stood, ankle-deep in mud as she waited for Grayday to catch up. Maybe he would know a bit more about it than she.

Day chuckled heartily at the expression of displeasure that'd graced the red shewolf's face. Clearly, this area had made an impression on her, and she did not seem to be impressed.

"There weren't as many frogs when we were here before," he told her, giving a little hop and pinning a fat toad under his paws in the process. It was partly skill but mostly luck, as the entire place was crawling with frogs, toads, and other slithery, slimey things. Much different from the desolate wasteland that he and the little shewolf had met in. He knew which version of the swamp he prefered. "Pity," he sighed, though the bitterness he'd exprected to feel was absent from his tone.

A sly grin splitting his face, he nipped down and snatched the still-squirming toad from under his paws, tossing it quickly - and gently - in Anita's direction. If his aim was true, it would hit her square on the nose.

She perked up at hearing his voice, glad that her misery could have some company. According to Gray, he had been to this swamp before with someone, present in his usage of "we". She was about to ask who he was accompanied by, but decided to keep it to herself. Maybe it was a touchy subject, but it most likely didn't matter. Or so she thought.

"The more I look at this place, the more I can't imagine it with any less frogs," she joked, raising a brow as Gray pinned a frog with unpredicted expertise. She herself was not a fan of them and certainly was not about to go chasing them around for fun. "Pity indeed." The swamp was probably much more pleasant without the frogs, as pleasant as a swamp could get. 

Anita saw the grin that slipped to Gray's face, and having done that same exact expression many times herself, she knew exactly what was coming for her. In the few seconds before the impact, she saw him pick up the creature, wriggling in an attempt to get away. A quick Oh shit graced her thoughts before it all happened. Though it was only a light throw, she jumped what seemed to be a few feet in the air, glad that her to-be screams were muffled by the amphibian glued to her face.

With a few violents shakes of her head, Anita managed to send the creature flying off to some unknown place in the swamp. "That's right buddy, go to hell," she muttered, turning to face Grayday. "Try something like that again, and they'll dig up your bones years later in this very swamp," she teased, replicating the sly grin he had just done moments before.

It was even more satisfying than he'd thought to see the slimy creature meet its mark. A loud chortle escaped him as she struggled to free herself of the unwanted addornment, growing louder still at her growled words toward the hapless amphibian.

A smart reply was on the tip of his tongue when she turned her flashing eyes toward him, and Day snapped his jaw shut at once, though her words teased a sheepish grin out of him.

Turning, he darted away, tail swishing playfully as he went. Looking over his shoulder, he gave a come chase me yip, only to fall flat on his face as his legs tangled in a clump of tall swamp grass.

"Ow," he complained, picking himself up out of the mud. He shot a sullen look Anita's way, though hte sparkle in his eyes might've given away his true humor. "Look what you've gone and done now," he sassed, picking up a paw to swipe at the smelly black goop on her face. Peering out of one eye, he flicked a bit of it in her direction, careful to aim at the ground this time, instead of her vivid pelt.

Her ears pressed forward at the sound of his challenging call, ready to give in to a chase. However, she didn't need to move much, seeing how the male had fallen flat on his face. The girl ventured towards him, carrying herself with a few confindent strides as if to mock his mud-covered, tangled form.

"Look what I've done? I'd say my work is admirable," she grinned, bending down to nip at the swamp grass. She managed to work her way through the worst of it, jumping back instictively as a blob of mud was thrown in her direction. "Not funny," she muttered, though her humorous tone conveyed otherwise.

Day's tail wagged fractionally in response to her quip - he was too busy trying to get the mud out of his eyes. It wasn't much help to scrub at it with his paw, as all four of them were also rather muddy.

Giving it up as a bad job, he gave himself a brisk shake - careful not to send anything far enough to disturb Anita's delicate sensebilities - and waded into the murky water to work the worst of it off of his face. He came out looking far worse than before, but at least he could see again.

"I stink," he said bluntly, pulling a face. "You're right about this place - let's find somewhere with less frogs and mud. Maybe a bit of clear water, too. I think I need a bath."

Anita instictively held her breath as Gray bluntly stated that he stunk. In reality, it probably wasn't that bad, giving her an excuse to exhale -- though she did so cautiously, preparing for the worst. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, seeing that his scent now blended in with the rest of the swamp. 

Anita herself had accumulated quite a bit of mud, making Day's suggestion of a bath seem all the more pleasing. "That sounds great. Well, the getting out of here part and the bath," she grinned, lifting a muck-covered paw up from the ground before dropping it back down to the swampy grime.

"If you have a certain place in mind, I'll follow you," she added, curious to see where he would go.

Day closed his eyes, mapping out their route. "I know that there's a river to the west," he said after a moment, remembering the fishing shewolf from months past. "There should be fresh water there - and maybe she'll still be around. Maybe she's seen... Well, let's just head that way."

He forged on ahead, pointing his nose in the right direction and allowing his memory to lead him through the same steps he'd taken before. He did not know that there was a much closer river to the east, or that a new pack had settled where he planned to take his packmate. All he knew was that the swamp stirred up guilt he was trying to put to rest, and that Anita didn't like it any better.

Hopefully, they'd be better off heading toward the river.

are we archiving?

"Fresh water sounds amazing," she said, half daydreaming while she followed Day along. She had always loved the water, never passing up time spent in the rivers. 

She raised an eyebrow at Day's mention of a she-wolf. Did he have a friend to meet there? If so, it only added to Anita's excitement. She shook her head, clearing her mind before trotting after the male on their trek to the river. She was thankful to finally get out of the swamp, happily leaving the chorus of frogs behind.