Redsand Canyon You follow the outs of an inside joke

The discomfort did not leave her. Marina left the meadow in the end, and traveled into the mountains. It was no warmer here, but somehow the warmth under her skin intensified. Small sounds began to startle and agitate her. Restlessness took on a new meaning, like an endless road trip; are we there yet?

But there was no destination. She found herself in a canyon teeming with fading wolf scents. A pack had been here, not all that long ago. Hopeful for any forgotten caches, Marina lowered her nose to the ground and started to search.

oh hi mark

They weren't in any hurry to get to the island. Fennec and Killdeer took their time instead—but it was with some wistfulness that he stopped by the canyon on their way, looking down into the winding, ruddy expanse.

Down, and then in, drawn by something beyond his comprehension.

A smell. . .or perhaps a feeling.

Or both?

He moved down the familiar paths to his old haunts and paused, met with a grayscale woman that reeked of. . .

Something. But something quite potent. He found himself inexorably drawn closer.

Yells

It was not long before another man found her. Handsome in his way, but so large that Marina found herself briefly hesitant to greet him. Only briefly. Hi, She called out smilingly, trotting to meet him without thinking too much about it. Honestly, she wasn't normally so sociable, but neither was she asocial enough to feel this was completely out of the ordinary.

Besides, everyone she'd met so far had been friendly. More than friendly. Marina studied this new face as she closed the distance between them, tail swaying in invitation. Something about him was different, she decided, in a way that she liked. She just didn't know what it was yet.

He shifted as he tried to put his brain back together and wire his lower jaw back to the rest of his face. He was sure it was dropped. (Among other things.)

Still, he gave her a smile. Hi, he repeated. You, uh—whatcha doin' here? This was my pack's place until recently and then they kinda broke up and. . .well. . .the canyon is vacant, I guess.

He stumbled over every word and he sounded totally dopey.

Killdeer moved closer, taking in her delicate, frosted form, the compelling aura of her blue gaze. 

And that smell. . .

He rambled most endearingly. Marina stepped nearer when he did, closing all of the distance between them until they were far too close for a first meeting. Just looking for some company, Her voice was low, inviting.

It looks like I've found it, She reached out to preen the fur at his cheek if he allowed it, and did not wonder at her own forwardness. It felt natural, and it seemed a given that her feelings would be reciprocated. If she'd stopped to think about it at all, it might have struck her as odd. But she didn't, so it didn't.

His lips at her cheek sent him into a state of reverie; he swayed slightly, then shook his head to clear it, grinning like a madman.

You have, he confirmed.

She preened, and so did he, working his lips into her ruff if she'd approve. He wanted to seize and hold her there. . .but it seemed forward. Natural, but forward.

Instead, he breathed deep the scent between her shoulderblades.

You smell great, he replied, and then laughed.

He didn't know heat-scent.