Sly Fox Sand Dunes [m]e and you and awkward silence

he'd wandered far. too far.

when he set out to cross the barren landscape, alphus had not imagined that it'd take him so long to do so. it was hot, it was tiresome, and it was lonely. it was just him and his thoughts, and he could only talk to himself for so long before going mad.

he'd not seen a speck of life for miles now. no cactus, no birds flying overhead, no tracks in the sand. a glance in any direction resulted in the same scenery. sand, sun, and the vast openness was all that was there to greet him. the midsummer heat was relentless in it's pursuit to destroy him, and he was beginning to fear he'd never see greenery again.

he was lost.

his tongue had long since slipped between leathery lips to pant away the brutal warmth. he craved nothing but shade and refreshment, and that was the driving force that kept his legs moving amongst the rolling dunes. surely there would be an oasis waiting for him just over the next dune.

surely...

S'ari wandered, as she often did. It was particularly hot today, even for her, and she thanked her short fur. Oh, to be a wolf with a thick shaggy coat in the middle of a desert. She would not be happy about that.

She stopped short at the top of a dune, staring down at the wolf below her. She shook her head; it was as if she summoned them with her mind. Thinking immediately of Candle, and her fear and hatred of wolves, S'ari knew she had to steer this one away from the Ravine. But would be friendly, or try to kill her? That was the gamble she had to take with every wolf she met.

Hello, down there! she called, her tail wagging. And what is this one doing in the heat of the desert when wolves are not built for such places?

sand slipped between sugar tipped paws, and it felt like no amount of struggling gained him any ground on the towering dune. he temporarily gave up on his struggle, not wanting to waste any more energy on a lost cause, and collapsed where he stood. cursed be whatever god or great maker created such sandy devilry.

he lay there for a moment, uncertain what his next attempt at escaping the dunes would be, when he heard a voice among the wind. ah, so he had gone mad after all.

no. no, there it was again.

he squinted upwards, sun beaming down and enveloping the stranger in an aura of warm light.

was this...god? oh shit, was he dead already???

he stood and took a step forward as the sun cleared from around the creature and revealed the sight of a coyote. he had thought god would be a bit taller.

"oh, ya know, just came to sunbathe. got to soak in those rays so i can look extra dazzling to the ladies," he spouted out with a dash of sarcasm and a flirtatious wink.

S'ari threw her head back a little in surprise at the wolf's words, then a grin split her face, and her tail wagged harder. S'ari thinks this one looks fairly dazzling already, she flirted back, and then began to pick her way carefully down the side of the dune. Now was not the time to loose her footing and come tumbling down. Even a flirtatious wolf could be dangerous and she needed to keep her wits about her.

Now the question was to tell the truth or not... To let him know he was close to a feisty pack of coyotes who mistrusted wolves, or to simply lead him away... She knew there was an oasis a few miles away, but that would only bring him closer to the ravine. This one is a long way into the desert, she said, deciding. The way out is far to the west, S'ari is afraid to say. There is a mountain pass there, leading to much greener land. She eyed the wolf to see if he even wanted to leave this place.

a coy and amused smile slithered it's way across his lips as she announced she already found him dazzling. cute. he assumed s'ari was her name given the context, and he tucked it away in a mental filing cabinet for later. she made her way closer, skillfully descending the dune with expertise he lacked. he remained where he lie for now. she was of no threat towards him nor he to her, so he had no reason to act as such.

he assumed then that she was of this forsaken land, both through her apparent knowledge of the area and her capability in navigating the terrain.

she should know then where the closest refreshment would be, yes?

"the green land is where this one came from," he started while adopting to her particular way of speaking. "this one wants water and shade." he did not fancy trekking back through the scorching heat and desolate wasteland without first quenching the thirst that scratched at his throat.

S'ari was amused to hear a wolf adopt her speech patterns, although it was also fairly flattering. Or perhaps he was mocking her? Well, if he was, he was doing a good job of pretending otherwise. She saw no wickedness in his face. He wanted water and shade. Hmm. She had never been, but she had heard of the many lakes to the south-west of the sand dunes, and this would bring him farther from the ravine.

S'ari will take you to water, then, she said, with a smile. Come along. She trotted off, turning to look over her shoulder to see if he followed. For conversation, she asked, Does this one have a name?

he sprung to life at her words, a newfound fire lit beneath his paws, and not due to the scorching sand. in some alternate universe he might have started singing god is a woman by ariana grande, but since that was not an option here, he settled for a cheeky smile instead.

"my savior," he purred with delight as he strolled after her.

she asked his name, and he thought it only fair to share since she was saving him from his poor life choices. "alphus," he introduced with a gentlemanly dip of his crown. he let a few moments pass before spouting out his burning curiosity. "ya live here then, don't ya?" he asked with a raised brow, eager to find out if his suspicions were true.

S'ari liked this one. At his words, calling her his savior, she gave him a flirtatious look out of the corner of her eye, one corner of her maw lifting in a coyote-grin. Just call S'ari the angel of the desert, yes?

Alphus, she repeated, thinking. It sounds... northerly. Is this one from somewhere cold? Ice? Snow? Mountains, perhaps? Or tundra? When he asked if she lived here, she gazed around at the her surroundings and smiled. The Desert is S'ari's home. She wanders from place to place, but she will never go past the mountains to the west. Among S'ari's Tribe, Coyotes believe that the Desert sand flows through our veins. We die when we leave for too long, wither away to nothing, until our bones turn to sand and are carried on the wind back to the Desert.

a low, amused laugh escaped him at her request, but who was he to deny. "my desert angel," he crooned through a teasing smile. he would sing her praises for however long they'd be in each other's company if she wished it.

their walk continued, and she questioned him on his homeland. "well, i am certainly not of the desert," he jested with a playful grin. "i grew up among riverbanks and fields to the far west." raised amidst a green sea of summer and a porcelain pasture of winter. his youth was simplistic, and terribly lackluster.

she went on to explain her way of life, and how she was bound to the sand and sun. "if you can not leave the desert without dying, why not just bring a piece of the desert with you?" a sound logic that made sense in his mind.

me rn: yo, are they gonna Do The Thing, or what? LMAO

This wolf was too easy, too kind, too flirtatious with her. She wondered if he was only using her for his own purposes, or if he did this with every woman he met. Or perhaps he really did like her enough to flirt a little.

He spoke a little of his homeland, and it sounded just as green and boring as everywhere else she'd ever heard about, though she did not say this aloud. No doubt, most wolves thought the desert a horrible, treacherous place--though only because they did not know how to survive in it. But what was life without a little challenge?

'If you can not leave the desert without dying, why not just bring a piece of the desert with you?'

The question made her smile. It is not so simple as that. Bringing a piece of the desert with us does help. It sustains us further than we would otherwise be able to go, but there is no permanent cure for our withering disease. Many of S'ari's Tribe, S'ari included, are overcome by wanderlust, yes? We must travel, see the world, see all that we are missing by living our whole lives in the dunes and canyons. We go, we see, and months or years later, we all return to the Desert. Our wanderlust leaves us, we feel the call of the sun and heat and sand. That is all.

waggles eyebrows

he pitied her.

he thought her a captive, chained to the scorched and sterile land of gritty sand. she did not seem bothered by her limitations, like a horse with blinders, she could not desire what was not seen. what was not tasted. and oh how sweet the taste of freedom was.

but was she a prisoner of body or mind?

"does it not grow repetitive? seeing the same sights, waking up to the same view every morning?" her world existed in shades of beige and fallow. he could not imagine such a colorless existence.

he thought then of a remedy for her faded palette. "i will bring you a gift next time i am here, one from the green land." a gift of color, of what she could not obtain herself.

S'ari traveled, as she said, the coyote answered his first question. She walked, she saw. Many sights were interesting. She enjoyed her time away. Now, S'ari has returned home, and she is happy here. She glanced at Alphus out of the corner of her eye. And if this one thinks the desert is all the same, he is sorely mistaken. The desert changes constantly, dunes appear where they were not before. And if one stays out in the heat for too long, one will see many things that are not there.

She smiled at his offer of some gift from his green land. Well. S'ari looks forward to that. What will it be, she wonders. A pretty feather from a bird? A rock with some strange pattern?

As she spoke, they crested a small shrub-covered hill and came upon... Ah, there. Water.

They had arrived at Lake Bismuth.

she spoke, and he listened.

she was content in her life here, and he could not fault her for that. he still thought her akin to a bird with clipped wings, but it sounded as if she had been the one to cut herself from flying free. and so he spoke no more on the matter of her way of life, and instead turned his focus elsewhere.

"you will have to wait and see", he teased with brow raised. what the gift would be would remain unknown to even him up until the point of acquiring it.

a playful smile turned to that of relief. water, finally. "truly my desert angel," he sang for a moment before starting towards one of the many pools that lay sprawled before them.

S'ari hummed at Alphus contentedly when he called her his desert angel once more, and she followed him toward the water, dipping her head down for a drink. Even angels of the desert needed water to survive. When she'd had her fill she sat back on her haunches, licking the excess liquid from her jaws. There, now. S'ari has taken this one to water, she said, studying Alphus. And now what will he do? Does he a pack waiting somewhere? A mate? Children? Her brown eyes gleamed as she waited for an answer.

she joined him at the poolside and they drank together. the flavorless liquid had never tasted so divine before, even with the subtle grainy texture that lingered in his mouth. at least he knew now he would not die of thirst.

it was her turn to ask the questions, and so when his thirst was quenched he pulled himself from the water's edge and sat to mirror her own position. "no pack, no wife, no kids." responsibilities. they were not desired, not when he still had the vigor to see the world and what it had to offer. settling down was for the lovesick and oldies, neither of which he was apart of.

"don't know what i'll do next. maybe i'll climb a mountain, swim in the ocean, explore a cave, find a lover." the last of his options was aided by suggestive, playful eyes. "that's the beauty of traveling alone i suppose," he paused for a moment, as if to reminisce on past events, "there's nothing holding me back from my next adventure."

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: flirting! nothing happens (yet???)! this is just some harmless flirting (maybe! idk! s'ari what r u doin). I'm... p sure this all is still considered a "1" on the ratings??? plz don't ban me LOL.

S'ari listened with obvious interest, mouth curling up at his mention of no wife or kids. So, he was a drifter, like her. Of course... she wasn't exactly a drifter. She had the Tribe to return to. But the call of the Desert was too strong to keep her trapped in the Ravine for long. She had to wander, to stretch her legs, to meet new people and flirt with them. Well, only the pretty ones who flirted back. And Alphus was very pretty. Those honey-gold eyes...

She blinked, realizing she'd missed part of what he'd said.

'... swim in the ocean, explore a cave, find a lover.'

She tilted her head down and looked up at him with hooded eyes.

He spoke of traveling alone, and how doing so didn't hold him back. But does it not get... lonely? she asked, standing up and slowly circling the pool of water, attempting to reach him. Her voice was low and sultry now. S'ari wanders alone, as well, but even she needs company sometimes. She reached up and attempted to press her nose into the fur of his cheek.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: heavy suggestion, probably boinking

their game of flirtatious glances and teasing words was beginning to flow into a river of tender desire. she stepped closer, he remained. her question was one he heard often. "it is not lonely now," he answered with a gentle hum. she was close enough now for him to feel the warmth of her touch.

the soft press against his cheek was met with a low rumble, a purr of muffled desire.

he turned to preen through the fur along her neck, his movement steady, disciplined. he continued to trail down the length of her nape, to shoulders, to hips. a gentle kiss left here, a nip there. she would have him now, if she so wished it.

fade out here for them to do the dirty dancing?

Afterwards, S'ari lay in the damp sand beside one of the pools, staring idly down at her reflection in the water. She glanced at Alphus with a secret smile, then flopped back and sprawled out. So. Where will you go now, eh? Back beyond the mountains? She dropped her voice in a sad puppy-dog tone. Will you leave S'ari all alone? Then she winked and laughed, and gazed toward the mountains.

She did feel some vague curiosity about the greener lands, but she had already seen them, on her way here, to the Naaghai Lowlands. And all green lands seemed the same to her, whose eyes could only pick out the differences in sand and canyon and dune. She remembered the feeling of walking through deep forests, the way the trees seemed to close in all around her, choking her off from the sun. It was not a pleasant memory.

he lay there next to her as they bask in the warmth of sun and each other, the cool sand offering enough comfort to make the heat bearable. she asked of his next destination, and he answered with a lazy shrug and a glance off towards the north. "i suppose i will go that way." he'd not yet crossed the barrier mountains and desired to see what was hidden behind them.

she teased, and he offered a smile in return. "i will visit again," he reassured. "i owe you a gift, remember?" when his ventures would lead him back to the dunes and tumbleweeds remained unknown to even him. he thought sari's presence a comfort though, and hoped once they parted that he might see her soon.

S'ari sat up reluctantly, shaking the sand from her short fur. Well, when Alphus comes back to the desert, he only need call, and S'ari will appear, yes? Like a... desert phantom. A Djinn, perhaps. She will simply pop out of the sand and scare this one to death. S'ari threw her head back and laughed. Regardless, she will not keep you any longer. She must return to-- Here she cut herself off, realizing she'd been about to reveal where she was going, where the others were. There is somewhere she must be, she said, instead, and prayed to the gods that he asked no questions of her, for she would give no answers. And she did not want to leave such a pleasant day on a sour note. If only he were a coyote, she would take him home and make him hers, for a time. Ah, luck.

he remained where he was, relaxed yet concentrated on the words she spoke. she talked of impossible feats of magic and other sorcery as to how she would appear when he called for her. he chuckled, not at her words but at her own laughter, as if it was contagious and catching. "i look forward to seeing that," he replied with a wink, curious to see how she would surprise him.

and then came the part of every conversation, of every unplanned fling. the goodbye. he caught on that she intentionally covered her first set of words, though it mattered little to him. he had no intention of following her even if she had revealed where she was going.

he rose to stretch out limbs and give a yawn before shaking his fur clean of any sand that clung to him. "until we meet again," he let out with a toothy grin. he gave her a moment to say any last goodbyes before giving a final nod farewell and turning to begin his journey towards the north.