Totoka River big mouth, applause

gonna set this a day or two before stormrift fully forms if that’s ok with you? @Wyatt <3

Saucy made her way up the coast enjoying the sand and the snow and all that a beach entails, until suddenly her path was broken. An estuary, leading out into the ocean had blocked her path and she would have to cross it to continue on. That was quite irritating, she moved to its rocky edge and kicked at the water with a snort. At first this obstacle was annoyance, she’d have to get in the water to get to the other side and that would mean she would be cold and wet. But then an idea came to her; the water was slower here, perhaps this was an ideal place to attempt swimming.

She slowly lowered herself into the brine, wincing at the cool ripples as they licked her snowy pelt. She melted into the shallows, where the water wasn’t deep, and then began to tread water. She either looked like a normal wolf swimming in circles or a dumbass, it was up to passersby to decide.

Sounds good! Thanks for starting.

The battle at Dragoncrest Cliffs had left Wyatt damaged and restless; he wandered slowly down the shoreline. Pain—which radiated sharply from his ribcage— slowed him considerably, and he trod with care. Wyatt's pace gave him the opportunity to investigate. The Sequoia Coast was much different than Bearclaw Valley and Lost Creek Hollow; Wyatt still wasn't sure about what he made of his new surroundings.

In his investigation, Wyatt spotted a figure treading water not too far in the distance. Suddenly curious about the unidentified wolf, he stopped and stared—why was she swimming in circles?

Saucy kicked her way through the shallows, getting accustomed to how it felt. She thought she might be getting the hang of it, so she planned to go out deeper. This could end poorly for her, but she wasn’t one to caution. It looked fun and it was a challenge, she wasn’t known for turning those down. But as she dragged herself close to shore she noticed a dark figure watching her. She icy eyes narrowed as she watched him, watching her. A boy. she’d grown a little more wary of wild boys since the Dalia ordeal, well far more specifically, boys who watched her from a distance.

You enjoying the view? she barked, her tail swishing slowly. She wasn’t aggressive or anything but she held a strong base.

Wyatt was quick to shake his head. "No," he replied as his face scrunched. Wyatt's confusion was obvious—his expression and tone betrayed his perplexed state. 

"Why would I enjoy watching you swim around in circles?" Wyatt wondered out loud after a brief pause; it didn't make sense to him.

Saucy’s somewhat coy comment was met with nothing but confusion, the boy looked utterly lost. Upon further inspection he was younger than originally thought, and her doubts about him slipped away into a comfortable smile. I don’t know, cause I’m a great swimmer I guess, she said as she moved to the river’s edge and gave her thick white coat a good shake down. She watched the younger male as she did so, he wasn’t short but he was very lanky and thin, and he looked like he wouldn’t be doing that much more growing.

I’m Saucy, who’re you? she asked, her low powerful voice carrying over the rippling current of the river dividing them.

"I don’t know, cause I’m a great swimmer I guess," Saucy replied. Wyatt hesitated; she didn't seem like a good swimmer to him. "I guess?" he decided, his voice uncertain. Hopefully, Saucy would just leave it at that. 

"I'm Wyatt," he replied.

LMAO poor wyatt

Saucy almost laughed at his response, but instead shrugged. He didn’t seem to get her sarcasm that well, which was somehow funny in itself. Maybe she’d lay off it, maybe.  Well damn, I’d like to see you do this good, she said with a playful smirk.

He introduced himself as Wyatt, then said nothing more. Where are you from? she asked, curious about this Wyatt dude. She could faintly smell his scent, but all she could tell was that he was a pack wolf. It was vaguely familiar but she wasn’t sure why.

"Another time," Wyatt replied quickly to Saucy's quip. When it came to swimming, he was mediocre at best. "When it's not so cold outside—don't want to get all wet and freeze to death," he added with a forced chuckle; Wyatt thought it was a good excuse. 

"I'm from Ru...," he began, realizing that he had forgotten how to pronounce his pack's name. Wyatt internally panicked as he struggled with his recollection. "Ru...ska. Ruska, yeah." That was totally right. 

"Uh, you?" he returned hastily.

Saucy smiled as he replied quickly, she was fully amused by the younger male and his excuses. Mhm, she hummed matter-of-factly, her head tilted slightly. He went about with the pack name, but stumbled over it. This was a classic Saucy move, forgetting where the heck your from. Ruska, he decided it was, and Saucy made a scrunched up face in response. What’s a Ruska? she asked, moving slightly closer back to the edge of the river. 

I’m from Stormrift, we live in the bay all up over there, she said, jerking her head behind her to the south, where Stavanger Bay hid beyond where the sand met the clouds.

Wyatt blanked—he had no idea how Caiaphas had settled on the name Rusalka for her pack. "It's a big, bad ocean-dweller," he decided after a pause, feigning confidence. "It means that we shouldn't be messed with." That much was true; they were not to be reckoned with. 

The name Stormrift caught Wyatt's interest, and he nodded in reply to the information he was provided. "What's it like?" he asked. "Stormrift, that is."

A big bad ocean dweller, called a ruska. She had never heard of that but it sounded badass. She smiled at his explanation, and addition of what it meant about his pack. Sounds cool, she said.

Wyatt asked about Stormrift next, as she expected he would. What was Stormrift like, honestly? It was a big mix of wolves, all of them similar but also entirely different. She loved it. We’re a newer pack, we’re all about trying to improve, be better and stuff. And the ocean, a lot of stuff we do is based around that big blue dude, she said, glancing towards the sea.

Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as though the subject of their conversation had switched to Stormrift, and he was appeased with the change. For now, he'd gather all the intel that he could, so he could report back to Caiaphas with his findings.

"Seems interesting," he remarked, and stole a glance of the nearby shoreline. "What ocean-based things do you ?" Wyatt couldn't help but wonder out loud. With the information he was told thus far, he had already assumed that their activities were unusual.

Crap, Wyatt wanted to know more. This was usually where she’d say, ‘ask Ford idk’ but Ford wasn’t here right now so she had to answer. She was pretty sure they had a challenge though, to get into the upper ranks- something about swimming (another reason why Saucy desperately needed to improve). The glove challenge maybe? It seemed both young wolves were bad with names.

We have this one thing, it’s like a rank test kind of thing. You have to swim and find this rock in the ocean. You know stuff like that, she said, pretending as though she totally knew what the stuff like that was.

Saucy's information seemed shady at best, and Wyatt didn't know what he made of it. "You guys have to swim and find a rock?" he asked, lifting a brow. "Like... a big rock? Or a small rock?" Wyatt had so many questions for her. 

The more that he reflected on the information, the more his face scrunched. "I don't understand," he decided eventually.

No! Not details! Saucy was trying her best to play it off as if she totally knew  what she was talking about but she didn’t. Quickly she tried to think of an explanation to his next question. I think it’s a black rock, she said in response to whether it was big or small. She had no clue what size it was, but she recalled it being named that. Maybes

Finally Wyatt seemed to come to the conclusion that he didn’t get it, which was totally ok with her. That’s ok, it’s confusing, she reassured with a smile.

"Oh," Wyatt replied, realizing that Saucy's answer had nothing to do with what he had asked. "Does the stone have powers or something?" he questioned. "Is that why it's so important?" 

When Stormrift was verified to be confusing, he felt relief. "Oh, good," he breathed in reply. "I thought I was just stupid, or something," he added with a nervous chuckle. But even with Saucy's confirmation, Wyatt couldn't help but wonder something else: "Why do you live there if it's so confusing?"

LOL

He continued to ask questions, Saucy continued to bluff her way through. Nah I don’t think it’s a magic rock. Maybe somebody thinks it is. I don’t know, she said with a shrug, dipping a paw into the river.

He seemed relieved when she confirmed the peculiarity of her pack. She chuckled a little when he said that he thought he was just stupid or something, Nah it’s just some tradition my friends brought from their family to this new pack, she further explained/confirmed the strangeness. When asked why she lived there, Saucy finally had a definite answer, Cause they’re my family. My best friend lives there so I might as well too. Plus it’s all a work in progress so it’ll probably be less confusing... later on maybe.

Saucy's explanation brought about a sour feeling within the pit of Wyatt's stomach. Eventually, he'd learn that this feeling was called jealousy. He didn't know what it was like to be surrounded by loved ones, nor did he know what it was like to have a "best friend". All that he knew, was that she had everything that he had always wanted—love and stability. The basis of his existence had stemmed from drama, and he had known nothing else since his birth. 

"Oh, yeah," he replied awkwardly, "I totally get that." He didn't.

The way Wyatt responded was a little contradictory to his words. He spoke awkwardly, as if he was only saying he understood because he didn't want to say he didn't. That was a little sad wasn't it? But if he wanted to talk about it he would, Saucy didn't want to push him or anything. Plus I was of little interest to her, whether or not they were on the same page about why they joined the packs they did.

Yep, that's that, she said with a string of nods, unsure of how to respond to him. Perhaps it was a good time to skeddaddle, she didn't know what to say, and she wasn't a big fan of shouting over the groaning of the river. But she didn't say her goodbyes just yet, she would wait to see if the lanky Ruska boy had anything more to add.

"Uh, yeah," their conversation had gone from 0 to uncomfortably awkward, "I'm gonna... go." With an overt expression of embarrassment, Wyatt turned tail without another word. He was far too upset (and perhaps, a bit jealous?) to salvage their exchange. 

Nope, nope, nope.—was all he could think as he raced home.

LOL I love that boy I really do

Saucy had been planning on leaving too, their conversation having turned stale and a little moldy, but Wyatt seemed drastically more uncomfortable and he scooted out real fast. She barely had time to acknowledge his goodbye, he was just gone. She watched him go for a minute, trying to figure out if she’d made a friend or almost given somebody a heart attack. Then she shrugged and started walking back towards Stormrift.