Otter Creek Lonely Rivers

Open to anyone! Dated April 15th

Chai felt she had been staying close to home for long enough. It had been a while since she had struck out on her own, and she missed that. She promised herself she would only be gone for a short while. She would return to her pack, as always. Spring seemed to be upon the wilds all around her, wherever she looked. The snow was slowly beginning to melt, giving way to new growth from the soil. Hints of new life filled her ears, flashed in her vision. Still in her battle of mild depression, the female could not help but feel somewhat wishful. As if she herself, were not fully integrated into this joyous season.

She tried not to think about it. Keeping busy, or in this case, enjoying her surroundings, seemed to work best. The sound of trickling water reminded her of home, back at Whitebark Stream. Though this creek seemed more lively. The telltale prints of otters littered the banks, though none were to be found. She glimpsed a flash of silver. The shimmering scales of fish, swimming upstream. Chai smiled faintly, tail gently wagging. She was reminded of the days when she began to take an interest in fishing, back in Kaistleoki. Stepping forward to immerse her front paws in the cool water, she contemplated giving it another go.

Speaking of lonely, the solo male walks, and walks, and walks always by himself. Or.. ever since he left his pack to search for paradise. Somewhere his family will finally be able to be safe and live peaceful lives. It’s a constant thought within him, among others of course. So he finds himself following a stream north, nowhere in particular in mind, merely just lets the running water lead him.

The day is fair and he finds himself absentmindedly smiling as the sunlight–a touch warmer than usual–soaks into his coat. Striding only a foot away from the twinkling water he looks down into it. What does he see? The amazing picture of a potential full belly, if he can catch it that is. Oh, how horrible he still somehow is at catching fish out of water. He’s never been able to understand why he can’t do it, but the task seems impossible.

He shrugs at is apparent lack of skill at fishing and trots into the shallow of the water. His golden eyes watch the enthralling movement of the liquid, seeing the scales of fish glimmering along with the sparkling water of the stream.

How beautiful. He fleetingly thinks. Then he pounces, mouth only succeeding in snapping together in failure. The fish isn’t lost to his eyes and he chases it. It swims for its life through the shallows and deeps and Dakota almost found himself swimming at a brief point.

So distracted he doesn’t notice the other wolf he’s approaching at deadly speeds. Paws flying out, teeth snapping, hardly able to breath, water in his eyes havin’ self and he doesn’t even see the poor girl.

The peaceful silence surrounding her was soon shattered. She heard not the gentle flow of the water, but rather the loud crashing and splashing of something careening through it. It was coming from behind and approaching fast. She turned to peer over a shoulder, only to be startled. Barreling blindly towards her was a rather large blur of a wolf, intent not on her but on some other target.

Icy eyes popping out of their sockets in surprise, the fire and honey painted girl reeled back like a spooked mare, desperate to avoid a collision. "H-hey...watch out!" She cried out to him in her soft, nearly panicky voice. In a bid to save herself from potentially being bowled over, Chai had no choice but to retreat to a conveniently located little ledge of a rock by the banks, pebbles strewn in the wake of her paws.

He didn’t even see the other standing in his way until a distinctly feminine voice sounds out to him. It causes him to freeze in his tracks like a deer in headlights. He’s dripping and almost completely soaked as he shoots his eyes around him looking for what spoke. Hoping to god it wasn’t the fish and that he was going crazy. Then finally he sees another wolf on the pebbled bank. He raises his brows, mild surprise gracing his features. He hadn’t even seen her, or smelt her. Though he can’t really smell so he couldn’t really do much about that.

A wide, winning smile spreads across his maw as he looks upon her. It’s a friendly smile, for he’s genuinely happy to stumble along another wolf. He was starting to think he’d be wondering around alone for the remainder of his life, he hasn’t seen another wolf in quite some time.

His golden eyes light up and he begins a languid walk to the bank she stands upon. “Evening.” He greets, his face soft and welcoming, trying to hide his mild excitement even though his nub of a tail dares to wag a little. “Haven’t seen anyone around in a while, how refreshing.” He comments at the end idly.

Chai stood still, rooted to her spot, waiting for the stranger to take notice of her. It didn't take long until he did, likely thanks to the ring of her voice. She was poised to step back and high tail it out of here, in case he proved to be hostile. One could never be too careful, especially a girl like her out on her own. The smile that soon flashed across his maw slowly eased any initial suspicions she might have had.

Soft brows shot up, ears still turned back. "You...nearly tumbled right over me." Her voice was anything but accusing. She was just gently stating the facts. "But...good evening to you, sir." She returned in her unusually soft voice, barely a notch above a whisper. Glacial eyes swept over his form, taking in more detail now. He had only a stub of a tail. His ears looked a tad too big, his muzzle a touch too broad. He didn't quite fit the standard of a pure wolf. "I haven't either, outside my home that is. I thought it was time for a bit of fresh air..." She gestured to the tranquil surroundings of the creekside.

He laughs easily at her first replies. “I almost did, huh.” He chuckles agreeing with how he almost ran her over. Then he gazes around them, the nice weather and the bright blue sky. “Isn’t it?” He says to her before setting his eyes back on her form. 

He watches her eye him down, he’s sure she’s looking at his dog like features. He has many after all. His smile remains as he allows her to gaze at him. He tilts his head slightly at her. “I’m fifty percent dog if you’re wondering.” He says to cure her curiosity. “So, you come from a pack then?” 

It was like he read her mind. Though Chai honestly didn't mean to stare, but she supposed she hadn't done a very good job of being subtle about it. "Oh I um..." She turned her head away to one side, chancing a tiny peek out of the corner of her eye. "I can't say I know what that is." Chai had only ever known pure, wild wolves and the lesser coyotes. The concept of a domesticated dog was foreign to her.

Thankfully there was another topic on which to touch upon. The pack she hailed from. Speaking of which, when she got his scent, she noticed no traces of other wolves or a pack present. She was yet unaware that his sense of smell was non-existent. Letting her body posture relax some, she lowered herself down onto the rock, in a sphinx like resting position, one leg crossed over the other. "I am. To the east of here, just over those mountains." She gestured in the direction of the Sunspire range.

To him it’s odd meeting wolves that don’t even know that dogs exist. He was in a pack of eleven–not including himself. The rest o this pack mates were huskies. These were just the ones that he sled with. The remainder of his family lived at his humans house. He was rarely ever there because of the constant running/sledding to new places. He rarely got time to talk with them, to talk with his mother. Especially in the recent weeks before he left his pack to seek out paradise. 

He finds it easier to explain exactly what dogs are on a later date to the female. He watches her lie down and mention her home over the mountains and his brows rise in astonishment.

“You are a long way from home.” He voices out to her. “Those are some brutal mountains.” He laughs lightly. “As I’m sure you can tell, I’m not in a pack. Or...” he furrows his brows. “my pack isn’t around here at least.”

The plume of his hind legs rest on the peddled bank as he goes into a sitting position beside the female. “I apologize for almost running you over back there.” He laughs easily. “I obviously can’t fish.” He says golden eyes looking into her own icy blue ones.

She noted the surprise that landed on his features. She could only give that soft, if not slightly timid smile of hers. "I suppose I am, yes. But I found a shortcut and avoided the majority of the mountainous terrain altogether." He affirmed that he was not from a pack. Or rather, that his pack was far, far away from this place. Her head cocked to the side slightly in a show of interest. "So...I take it you are not native to the Teekon then?"

As he settled down to sit nearby, Chai made no move to put any distance between herself and this man. He seemed friendly enough, and she was enjoying the cool touch of the stone against her belly a little too much to move. With a slight laugh, she shook her head, waving off his apology. "No harm done. It happens." Glacial eyes fell back to the gently flowing waters, where surely an abundance of fish lie. "Not a great fisher huh? I'm no expert, but I do have some skills. Hunting and tracking are more of my passion."

“No, I’m not from here.” He says a ghost of a smile still gracing his features. He watches the fish swim through the stream listening to her next words. 

His smile grows to show white teeth as she gloats about her fishing skills. Golden eyes land on her own once more. “Then show me, cause you couldn’t be any worse than I am, that’s for sure.” He chuckles back to her standing and trotting to the water nice and tall. “Go ahead. Put me to shame.” He laughs.

Her gentle smile remained. "That's okay. I'm not originally from the region myself, although it has been my home for the past year." Gosh had it really been that long? It was hard to imagine. It seemed like so much had happened in her life during such a short period of time. She tried not to think about it too much, focusing back on the present. 

She hadn't really meant to gloat, but still she was flattered by his light hearted persuasion. Her brows shot up in mock surprise as she rose smoothly off her little perch. "Oh I'd never show you up, sir!" Her wagging tail gave away her playful attitude. "That's just not me..." With just a smidge more confidence in her step now, she trotted back to the water, immersing her paws. "But I would be happy to show you my techniques..." She stepped in further, quietly so as not to disturb the current. Not a ripple...not a sound. 

He laughs brilliantly. “Call me Dakota!” He doesn’t like being called sir, it’s just feels unnatural for how friendly he is. “You are...?” He questions, Star like hues side eyeing her playfully but watches intently as she’s about to show him how fishing is really done.