Felltree Marsh Don't Be a Stick in The Mud!

”So,” he started, carefully placing a paw around a particularly slimy looking piece of log, ”Means he shoulda had an even easier time chasin’ it” 

He knew snow did make it harder to run, especially to wolves, who were lower to the ground. But he wanted to see if he could antagonize her a bit. 

”Wouldn'ta happened if it were me’s all,” he added, then flashed her a smirk.

"Oh I'm sure, your bloodline is simply superior, how could I have forgotten?"

She kicked up a small amount of mud at him, sighing. To be fair, he likely would have done much better than her littermate. He was practically the size of a bull yet he'd never been much for hunting when she had seen him.

"Now it's your turn though; tell me a story."

His bloodline? Bullshit. Pepper was cream of the crop. The best of his bloodline by a mile. 

The mud caught his shoulder, slipping off to the ground with a wet thud. He would’ve been phased had he not currently been a walking mud monster himself. 

”Don’t know how you forgot,” he said. ”You been starin’ at a peak wolf’s form all day. But sure. Lemme think of somethin’.” 

And so he thought. 

”Wanna know how I lost half of my tooth?”

"Oh yeah - I've been meaning to ask." She responded with an eager nod.

"I wasn't sure if it would be rude though - is it?"

Despite the fact that Leto knew these stories were only being told to pass time, she found herself genuinely interested in this one.

”Rude? Naw. I mean, maybe for some, but it don’t bother me.” 

He walked more for a second, recounting the event. 

”Was maybe a few months older ‘n you. Me and my brother were fightin’. Or, started fightin’ after an argument got heated. It’d just rained, so the big boulders overlooking the river by our den were slippery. I was kick in’ his ass, had him bleedin’ from his nostrils. Crippled one of his paws pretty bad, but I didn’t realize I’d moved so close to the edge. I went to lunge at him and my back paw slipped. The other three followed, and I landed on my chest, which knocked the wind outta me. I tried to scramble back up, but it was too slippery. Ended up fallin’ bout eight feet onto the riverbed, which was covered with rocks. I fell on my side, and my poor muzzle took the brunt of it. Never did find the rest of my tooth.” 

He didn’t mention how bad it hurt, how hard adjusting to life without it was. How many times he cut his tongue on the sharp stub before it wore down. He’d also broken a rib or two—or, it felt that way.

She blinked at him, ears perked. "That had to have hurt, didn't it?" She tried to imagine the fall herself, and just picturing it made her uncomfortable.

"Did you break anything else? I have to imagine you did damage to more than just your tooth."

With the confirmation from Pepper the questions were practically spewing out of her. If he said it didn't bother him then she had no issue asking whatever was on her mind.

”Didn’t feel great, no,” he answered. ”Drinking’s what hurt the most after. Cold water and broken teeth don’t mix.” 

That was still an issue he had, especially during winter. Only sometimes though, and not nearly as bad as it had been initially. 

”Got away mostly in tact. Just the tooth, and I think a rib or two. Not sure if they were actually broken, but it sure as hell felt like it.” 

Those also hurt during the winter. Or, his whole body, really. And unlike the tooth, that’s only gotten worse over time.

"But you healed up over time, right?" Leto asked, tilting her head. Surely he had to be alright by now.

She hadn't had too much damage to her teeth in her lifetime, just the natural wear and tear they face over the course of time. She never thought about how it might feel to break one.

"Bout as best as I could," he replied. "Don't bother me most of the time, but winter can be tough. Lotta pain in my shoulders, but it ain't constant." 

He'd always been pretty tough, but waking up stiff and feeling stabbing pain in his back every time he took a step was grating. 

Their walk continued, and thankfully the muddy ground started being replaced with solid dirt. Dead leaves slowly turned into grass, and the smell was fading. 

"Think we're almost outta here?"

"I suppose that would have come with age anyways.." She said, flicking her tail. It must be annoying to feel so sore.

"It seems like it - my paws are starting to dry up." Leto responded, looking down at her muddy paws. "Should we rest for a bit once we're far enough?"

She hated to admit it, but the short trip through the mud had tired her out.

”Missy, if yer callin’ me old, we’re gonna have a problem.” 

Pepper wasn’t old. He was seasoned. Old wolves didn’t have a coat as luscious as his own, or a sense of smell as acute as his. 

”But sure. I could use a rest. To dry off if anything. Mud’s rubbin’ my pads raw.”

If not sharp thorns, it was something else. His legs were throbbing, too. Having to exert the extra effort to pull them out of the sludge with each step was much more exhausting than he’d anticipated. 

”Let’s find a place with clean water, yeah?”

"Of course not - you're not old, just older." She responded, unable to hold back a snicker.

"Clean water sounds nice to me.. if not to get clean then to have something to drink at the very least."

The roof of Leto's mouth was going dry - after all she couldn't exactly drink the muddy water. In this unfamiliar warm weather staying hydrated felt more important than anything else.

He’d shoot her a glare at her comment. 

”Yeah. My mouth feels like a desert.” 

He’d thought he’d heard it at first, but dismissed it as imagination. After it only grew louder, he reassessed. It was definitely running water. And it was getting louder. 

”Do ya hear it?” he asked, assuming that she had and that he wouldn’t need to expand on what it was.

She certainly did, however she was lost as to where the sound was coming from. "Your ancient bladder isn't failing you, is it?" Leto feigned a look of disgust, clearly finding herself to be somewhat of a comedian today - maybe not a very good one though.

Snickering to herself under her breath she attempted to focus herself on listening for the real source of the sound - if it was this clear then it certainly couldn't be far.

Imagining the feeling of the liquid cleansing her muddy coat was torture - she was ready to start looking.

The wolf flashed his teeth at her. He could hold his bladder. 

He debated on giving some sort of comeback, but decided he had something else that would work better. 

”Your paws are covered in leeches.” 

They were mostly out now, so he figured it would be an alright time to bring that little tidbit up to her. Assuming the leeches too the same liking to her that they did to him.

Leto froze momentarily, head whipping down to look at her paws. Sure enough, the slimy little creatures had nestled themselves between her toes and up her muddy legs.

"Dammit - they're such a pain to get off.." She groaned, irritated by this discovery. "They aren't toxic, right? I won't get sick?"

She asked, furrowing her brow. She couldn't risk falling ill right now.

”If yer lucky you can keep the leg,” he started. ”If ya start feeling feverish, it’s too late. Dry mouth, exhaustion.. those are telltale signs it’s too late.” 

He, of course, was listing off what he was feeling now, assuming she’d felt the same way. 

”Had an old pack buddy ended up sick from ‘em. Said he felt fine one day, then the next he couldn’t walk. By day three his leg had all but fallen off his body. Can still remember hearin’ him yowl when he woke up to find his leg hangin’ off his body by nothin’ but some rotten skin.” 

If she was going to insult his bladder, he could at least repay her by grossing her out a bit.

"Go find something to get them off then!" She whined, clearly upset by the thought of losing a leg - but then again who wouldn't be? Legs are pretty useful.

"We can't just leave them there! Who else will help you hunt otters?" Sure, she was acting a bit childish, but it had been a long day. It should be at least somewhat expected.

”Gotta use yer teeth. It’ll be easier to get ‘em after you’ve washed off.” 

His tail would be wagging, but the dried up mud weighed it down. 

”You look well enough, anyway. I distinctly remember his eyes swellin’ up before it happened. Like they was gonna pop outta their socket. You don’t look like that yet.”

"Now you're just being a dick - there was a patch we crossed through on the way here with a bunch of herb-looking plants. One of them should stop an infection, right?" While neither of them knew much about herbs she assumed that there might be someone around there who did.

"I'll go find the water. After all, we both know that you're much better at digging in the dirt and that if there's fish to be caught, I'm much better at catching them."

Maybe she wasn't actually the best hunter, but she really didn't want to walk all the way back. At least he would save time going around the swamp.

"You've gotta be kidding me." 

The wolf was not excited about the request. 

"I was just messin' with ya. They're harmless. Now come on, let's go find water."

Like HELL was he about to forfeit his resting privilege to find a cure for something that didn't need curing.

--- Timeskip Context: https://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=62221&pid=628808#pid628808 ---

Having gotten her way Leto was laying in a shallow pond with a satisfied smile on her face.

The mud had been washed off and she had removed the leeches she found. With the promised fish set aside she was waiting for Pepper.

By now the sun was beginning to go down and he had been gone for some time. With the realization her smile quickly faded.

Leto had grown to be used Pepper's company - him being gone just felt wrong.

He was exhausted, but the quick rest with the black and white wolf let him have enough energy to keep going. By this point, he could feel, or, rather, couldn’t feel the berries working. His forepaw tingled like it normally did, but the accompanying pain was much duller than it should’ve been after a day like this one. 

His stomach had settled, too, and he figured he’d eventually get used to them. If he could find more. 

Unlike the pain, which was fading, his guilt only grew more the longer he walked. He regretted being so vulnerable in front of Phobos. He had to tell himself it was because he was tired, because he needed to lay like that for the black and white wolf to work, but that wasn’t all true. 

Leto’s scent and the smell of fish grew strong as the sun had finished setting. It was dark now, but he was close. And then he was there. 

”Hey, kid,” he said through a mouthful of twigs, which he set down soon after. 

”I got some bad news.”

Despite his words, her ears perked and her tail began to wag when she heard Pepper - she had begun to worry just moments before.

"What's with the berries? Do they have something to do with it?"

She asked, looking up at him from where she was laid in the water.

”What? No,” he said, not really wanting to tell her what those were actually for. 

”Turns out we’re both gonna be dead by mornin’.” 

He let his tail sway, very obviously contrary to what he’d said. 

”Just messin’. We’ll be fine. Did ya get ‘em off ya?”