Great Bear Wilderness Just hanging around

@Heph, if ya wanna throw her in here.

Shey was padding around in the areas around his home. He didn't always stay up in the sunspires, though he often roamed there. He did like to travel though and find new wolves and scenery. So today, down in the wilderness, Shey trotted around, in search of anything really, whether that was prey or another wolf, or just a cool part of the surroundings

Heph's trek north was slower than she was used to, but she had no need to travel quickly, instead taking her time to map her surroundings, understand the basic layout and directions of the territories she traveled through. While she had promised Dreven information she had not come upon much of use yet though if she did not she supposed she could always simply not return. Her paws carried her around at an easy trot, quickly enough to not to get her caught up in minute details and slowly enough for her to note the landscape. On her path she scented a wolf and cast about her gaze until it managed to pinpoint the location of the smell. Tilting her head it looked like this loner was also looking for nothing in particular, "Hello there good looking." Her voice curled around the rough edges of the words making it almost like a purr but the slight huff of laughter that trailed off the end of the sentence somewhat undercut the seriousness of the advance. As she approached the other wolf, but she stopped short of him enough to try and get out of the way if he decided to be less than friendly and attempted to lunge at her.

As the wolf got closer Shey caught her scent. He turned around to look at her. She seemed to be walking with no intention to hurt him, and then her words didn't seem aggressive. Though they made him blush. "Uh, hi." He said awkwardly. He wasn't very comfortable with being called 'good looking', though he was fond of his appearance.

Heph laughed her tail swaying a bit with the movement. She had certainly met less eloquent wolves but this one seemed a bit taken aback at the compliment. Rather than tease him about it she asked instead "What're you doing around these parts handsome?" Her eyes tracked over his shoulders and sides and legs, as if that would give her an indication of where he had been, not that she really expected him to answer though she was curious. Tilting her gaze back closer to his face she spoke again, a wide open tone that held an easy manner. "I'm Heph by the way." She supposed she had better introduce herself. Heph had no qualms about letting other wolves know who she was, while it made it easier to track her down she tried not to make enemies where she could and was often in want of company and wanted to be easier rather than harder to find.

"I like to wander a lot. I'm from the mountains though." Shey said, still getting extremely awkward by her calling him handsome. "My names Shey by the way." He said, shifting his feet.

Heph let out a short laugh, breathing the life into her next sentence. "Shey, a pretty name to go with a pretty face." While she had no desire to make the wolf in front of her too uncomfortable or even offended she found his reaction to her compliments rather amusing. Far better than bared teeth or fear which occasionally permeated the meeting of loners on neutral ground. The she-wolf had grown used to company with Atka, but now that she was without she found herself wondering if this stranger would be willing to accompany her the short distance around the territory if he was indeed a wanderer as he claimed. "Well if you're a wanderer care to scope out the area with me? Four eyes and ears are often better than two." She spoke the invitation easily though she did not really expect him to assent, most wolves were loners because they were either looking for a pack, fleeing pack life, or cared little for other wolves. If the first they had no reason to associate with a wolf who could not help them in that quest, if the latter two they had no particular reason to associate with wolves in general. Though she supposed perhaps there were loners who were just as lonely yet friendly as her and just as disinclined to settle - the place not the people that diquieted them.

Shey just breathed out at her compliment trying to ignore it. "Hey, i dont really like you that way." He said, tense, finally having the nerve to say something. "Dont take it personally though." He added. Then to her next question, he perked his ears. "Yeah, of course I would! I like company." He said with a smile.

Heph laughed gently, but answered him honestly. "I didn't think you did." While he was indeed handsome enough nothing about the wolf quite screamed conquest and he was uncomfortable enough with a mere compliment that pursuing him would hardly be enjoyable. Besides if she had truly been interested she would probably have invited him to do something other than adventure. It was rather sweet that he thought she might be stung by the rejection and though it was misplaced she was glad of the gesture.

Humming lightly she cast her eyes around and then the rest of her senses. "Let's see what's around then, any direction pique your fancy?" She shook out her coat a bit ready to head wherever seemed best. If they ended up heading opposite to her final destination she could always double back. Charming as the company was she doubted either of them would stick around to go too far a distance.

"I don't really care which direction, just not the one I came from." Shey said, gesturing to where he came from. He started to walk in the direction he would've continued on, if he hadn't stumbled upon Heph. He hoped she'd follow.

Heph followed Shey's path easily, orienting her shoulders and bulk to move in time and direction with him. Her lips twitched at his assertion and then his actions but she stifled the laugh and teasing remark that was ready on her tongue instead swishing her tail in a friendly gesture as she lengthened her stride a few paces to catch up before once again matching. Her ears and head occasionally moved around to mark the landscape. "It's quite scenic." She mused out loud, mostly to fill the silence but curious about what kind of conversation awaited them. Inhaling deeply she added "Not without prey either." Though she did not hunger for a hunt at that moment she took it as a sign of a rich land when the stale trails of prey and the movement and fluttering and sounds of birds could be heard. There were other live things that called this place home, perhaps other predators as well but she did not immediately detect a bear though they would be particularly dangerous this time of year as well.

Shey nodded. The trees were more sparse here, but there was undergrowth around, making the area very green, though he knew it wouldn't last long due to the upcoming cold weather. The trees were already changing their color.

He heard the rumble of a stream in a lower area around them and turned towards where he thought he was coming from. He was quite a fan of water. He didn't like swimming but he liked the feeling of the current on his pelt. He wasn't sure how Heph felt about it though so he asked, "How do you feel about water?", as they reached the stream.

He lowered himself into the water, letting his belly touch the bottom and letting the water run over his shoulders. He kept his head up though.

She took in the vegetation and heard the stream and followed the other wolf, also curious about the source of the water. "Looks like fun!" Heph shouted with a laugh. She watched the other wolf lower himself carefully into the stream and darted forward, pushing off the slippery surface of the rocks nearby and launching herself into the deeper parts of the water. It rushed by her, buffetting her landing and forcing her to stumble against the bite of the riverbed stones but she only laughed louder, a smile on her face as the chill of the water combined with the incoming chill of the autumn air.

Wagging her tail above the water and shaking water droplets across the surface she turned and asked, eyes bright "Ever swum in a lake?" She had a few times and found it enjoyable, but the tug of the current held its own allure. It was just fast enough to be threatening, but not so quick as to present too much danger, not that that would have necessarily stopped her from jumping in either.

"I don't swim really, but I have. I'm uh, not the best at it, and kinda only do it to not drown when I need too." Shey said, remembering the couple times he'd gotten into too-deep water. "Are you good at swimming? perhaps you could help me?" Shey asked.

She was a bit surprised but supposed she oughtn't have been. Heph had grown up among lakes and rivers alongside forests and had first learned to swim out of necessity and then for pleasure. "I'm okay at it, but I'd be happy to help if you'd like." Heph answered with a wide smile. Tilting her head slightly she took a moment to orient herself to the flow of water and remember the landscape. The entire process took a few seconds but she added on as soon as she had the place in her mind "Let's see if we can find a pond, it'll be easier there." Even gentle rivers could be dangerous and the stones at the bottom sometimes made them unforgiving. A pond would be a better place, especially if this wolf was looking to learn to have fun in the water. She nodded her head in the direction and began heading thataway, letting the water run over her legs guiding her to the mouth of the larger waterway.

Shey too followed, along in the water, allowing it to run over his paws, but not his belly since it slowed him down too much to trudge through the water that deep in.

Heph grinned as the water opened up into a small pond, while it was small enough that there was still a bit of a current flowing through the edges were pleasantly sluggish and as she cast her gaze towards the deeper portions she was pleased to note that they did not look overly deep. A pleased hum filled her throat, she wondered if she should return again, it was a pleasant scene. "Look inviting?" There was a vague teasing quality to the lightness of her voice but the warmth suffused the overall tone softening the edges of laughter.

Shey nodded. "It looks quite nice, fairly calm." He too noticed the ripples, but in comparison to the stream, they were nothing more than the motion of the water in his mind. "So, are we ready?" He asked, not really sure what to say or do. He assumed Heph wanted him to get in the water so he started to make his way in.

Heph nodded, glad that he seemed at least somewhat optimistic about the entire matter. She looked the other wolf up and down trying to gauge his height in comparison with her own before wading out to find a place where her paws hit the bottom and the water began to flow gently over her shoulders. It meant she was still able to touch the bottom but it was more comfortable to swim. "This is a good place, if you wade over here and then lift your paws off, and start swimming as you remember it. If you start to feel yourself sinking you can set your paws down and you'll be able to stand." He had said he knew the basics and it sounded like his lack of experience was the main detractor in his confidence so she planned on making sure the situation meant that he had no reason to panic. Although she supposed life, like the water, could be unpredictable at times. She was fairly sure she was strong enough to drag him to shore though if worst came to worst.

The next two weeks are going to be kind of hectic for me so I might be slow to reply

Shey nodded. He was a bit shorter than her, having a stockier build, so he waded in till his shoulders hit the water, a bit behind her. As she had told him to do, he let his legs buckle and started to swim around in a circle around the area he could stand. He wasn't very graceful, head bobbing above and under water quite a few times, but he could keep himself from drowning. After a minute he looked at Heph. "You see what I mean? I can swim but it's not great. Like I won't drown." He said.

Heph watched the other wolf carefully, water splashing towards her face as she blinked it away and as he completed his circle she hummed thoughtfully. While the splashes made it somewhat difficult to fully judge from the way he bobbed up and down, head sometimes going underwater she thought she might be able to guess some of the struggle. "I see, it's not bad." She said, a friendly but firm cadence to her voice as she tried to encourage him. At the very least he seemed to have the movements down. "This time try continually moving your back and front legs, if either end of you starts sinking the other will be quick to follow." Swimming was unlike jumping although the up and down motion might be reminiscent. Honestly, to Heph at least, it was more like running, it required continuous motion. Longer strides might help but if he stopped it would only be more difficult to recover.

Shey nodded, and repeated his previous actions, but this time he moved his legs together rather than pushing with his back and pulling with his front. It felt slightly unnatural, but that was probably because he was used to his way. He kept his head above water almost the whole time though, which was improvement.

Heph gave a short bark of encouragement as she saw his staying afloat. It appeared as if the other wolf had changed his approach with his back and front legs almost entirely but it clearly worked to keep him above water an in a steady rhythm of movement. "Looking good!" She responded to his success, a slight laugh and a quick wink thrown his way. The water around her muzzle flew slightly as she talked, shaking drops from the ruff around her cheeks.

Her eyes flicked briefly over to his form as he finished his movements and she added, simply to make him aware not that he had the time to fully improve or lock in the memory of the movements in the moment. "If you decide to swim more you can experiment with how far you stretch your legs out to grab water and how quickly you move, but it looks like you've got a solid start beneath you now." Her tone was slightly more even and prone to being understood in that, but there was a warm openness to it as she ended her little speech and the water around her splashed slightly as she hopped and paddled the short distance to be more easily heard.

Shey nodded gratefully. He then let his feet hit the ground as paddling had made him tired. "Want to maybe hang in the shallows and play around a bit? We could have a splashing fight." He suggested playfully. He was aware Heph was about a year older than him, but he hoped the young liveliness he still experienced and loved was still within her as well.

Her eyes glowed equal parts delighted and mischievous as a grin worked its way into the corners of her maw, teeth flashing for only a moment in the sunlight. "You might just regret that!" Heph called out, already bounding splashing water in front of her in haphazard arcs as she reached the shallows. Her tongue lolled out and her voice turned breathless as her tail fanned out behind her trailing water droplets. As soon as she had reached she whirled in a spray of water before using her paw to bat a choppy wave towards Shey.

Shey smiled playfully as she accepted his challenge. As the reached shallower water, Shey turned his head to protect his face from the splash, but he still got soaked around his chest. Shey turned his back to Heph and slapped his tail down against the water to send a splash towards her.