Silvertip Mountain Super shade throw down

@Anita ;)

Ezekiel walked along through the territory, scouting the borders and marking where he went. The guardian enjoyed doing his part, he wouldn't feel good about himself if he didn't know for sure that his pack was safe. He felt like it was his job to protect them, even the ones he wasn't close with. Like her. He pushed away the thoughts of his least favorite wolf and continued on, reminding himself that he was a guardian and even if she wasn't nice and he didn't like Anita, she was part of his family and he was to protect her.

He stopped for a break under the shade of a sickly sycamore, out of breath and drooling to cool down. Summer was a hard time for him, for he was accustomed to the cold winters.

Anita paced around the new territory, sniffing along the borders for anything out of the ordinary. She was new to the pack and wanted to help out as much as she could. The only scent she picked up made her cringe. Please don't tell me he's here. Anita followed the scent to find Zeke, cooling off under a tree. Despite him being in the shade, the male always looked like he was basking in his own private sunlight. 

Without hesitation, Anita strolled up to him. "Well, if it isn't the glorious Zeke," she muttered, voice dripping with distaste. "What does a fine wolf like yourself find himself doing on such a nice day?" The reddish she-wolf smirked, sitting down right in front of the shade. She carefully placed herself right at the edge of the shady area where Zeke sat, as if to say "I'm not getting near you if I dont have to". Anita noticed that he was panting, her eyes dropping to his long fur. "It is such a shame that your coat is "oh so luxurious", is it not? Luckily for me, my short coat and I get along quite well with this scorching summer," she grinned again, petty remarks were what she lived for, and this male deserved every one of them. Anita opened her mouth for another stinging remark.

"I suppose you could say that the hot-shot has finally lived up to his name, no?"

Oh god. It was talking. It was speaking to him. Ezekiel snorted, a smile of pure annoyance on his face. He found it funny almost, how much she got on his nerves. Oh nothing much milady. Glad to see you and your red pelt still match the color of the fire I visualize you burning in. He trailed off the end of his sentence, so that she could barely hear. To his chagrin, she sat down under his shade. Well it certainly was about to get a lot shadier under this tree.

 My pelt suits me just fine, I don't mind the heat. It helps me conquer perseverance, something wolves who know you must practice daily. He said, lips pursed sourly. He didn't mind being rude to some, and Anita deserved it. What had he honestly done to her to make her so salty towards him? Well my name is Ezekiel, which means god strengthens which is surely what what I need to deal with this. You're faring fine I hope. Enjoying the family?

"Oh I am enjoying the new family...not sure how a feel about the grumpy uncle, you know?" The she-wolf nodded to Ezekiel. It wasn't that the male had done anything particularly bad to her, she just didn't favor him and found the taunting to be quite enjoyable. When she met him, he had an aloof air, something that Anita did not like at all. Despite her wittness, she did not hold herself so high above everyone else. The fact that he didn't think anyone was "worth his time" was very annoying. 

"I think we should go find somewhere better to cool off, like a stream of some sort? Do you know any in the territory?" Anita wanted to explore as much as she could, and better yet, get something to drink. The thought of the cold, crisp mountain water was tantalizing amidst the hot summer air. Maybe some waterfalls, so I can push you off and watch your body hit the rocks below. Anita didn't feel bad for thinking it, she knew the male had thoughts like these about her as well.

Ezekiel's face remained blank, though his flattened ears and twitch on his lips portrayed his agitation. He look as if a bug were taunting him and flying around his head. That's what she reminded him of. A bug! A pesky bug who decided to ruin his perfectly good patrol. Then she called him the grumpy uncle. Grumpy uncle herself! She was hardly any younger than him. Three months separated them. Grumpy uncle his ass.

I'm glad. I'm not a fan of our new pet either. He snorted, head held high. Sure he was stooping to her level of sass, but it didn't matter. He wasn't trying to impress anyone here. And then Anita asked a question. A real question, no snark involved. And so he answered it. I do know of one place, but I don't want to go there with you. Brutally honest, but at least he was honest. He had a tongue like his brother Gabe, and the wit of his sister.

"No, wait, take me to this place you speak of. I'm interested." Anita was dying to get out of the heat. She had this mindset that the mountains were always cold, but she was obviously wrong. "Please? I'll be your best friend if you take me there, but if you don't I'll stop being friends with you," Anita joked, she was never friends with him in the first place.

"While we are there I can teach you about all the different poisonous mushrooms. They might come in handy when you're feeling really sad," she said, somewhat hoping he heard her. Anita dreaded that Zeke would tattle on her, and had a creeping suspicion that that was exactly what was happening. I have to suppress my urges to make him suffer, but he doesn't have to do the same? I wish I were a higher rank than him.

Anita pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind to bring the question back up. "Anyways, about that place you were talking about, I'd really appreciate it if we could go there."

And then she begged. And begged. And offered to be Ezekiel's best friend. That only made him not wanting take her more. She offered to teach him things, things he frankly didn't care about. Finally she stopped talking, her want took was sincere. Zeke wouldn't turn her down then, that would be too rude. With a groan he flailed his paws in the air and then rose to his feet. Without another word, hoping to not stir a conversation he began to walk in the direction of the stream, not turning around but instead flicking his tail to signal her follow.

The Manchester made his way through the forest, finally coming to the small stream. It went on for who knew how long, the water was clear and you could see pale, yet green all the same, moss clinging to the stones that were shaped in the river's wake. Moss probably still grew here because locusts couldn't swim to eat it away. It wasn't much but it still made him smile to see any of the color growing, wherever it may be. Here it is. He said simply, sitting down on a rock outside the stream. He definitely wouldn't be swimming with Anita around. She'd find something about him to make fun of. Then again she would whether or not he got wet.

"Thank you for taking me," she said, trying to sound genuinely thankful for once. She actually was glad that he had agreed to let her come along, since this "mystery place" he spoke of seemed interesting. Anita followed Ezekiel until she heard the bubbling of a stream nearby. Moss coated the rocks beneath, giving the area a very lush, whimsical appearance. Anita was glad she convinced Zeke to take her here, it was beautiful. 

Anita hopped into the water, splashing Zeke who sat on a rock just before the stream. "Oh come on, you're going to sit there like a lump? You're crazy. It's so hot out here, don't you want to get in?" She splashed around, hopping between the moss-covered rocks that dotted the water. 

The moss had caught her eye before she even got in. "Zeke, I know what kind of moss this is!" Anita completely disregarded how Zeke probably didn't care. "It's an aquatic moss, and it helps filter out the water by reducing nitrate levels...though I'm not sure what nitrates are." The she-wolf stuck her head under the water, coming back up with a mouthful of green. "This ish what keep your stream clean I think."

She swam over towards the male and spit a mouthful of moss at his feet. "Rub that in your fur to get it nice and green. You'll look way better than usual, trust me," Anita grinned, ducking her head back into the water to avoid any of his comebacks.

Ezekiel snorted at Anita's attempt to sound courteous. He was about to think maybe there was hope yet for her when she leaped into the stream, splashing him full on. Ears drooping, his stoic face remained, but he was seething inside. After a moment of angry bliss, he licked the water from his jowls. Nope, he still couldn't stand her much. She started to talk about some moss. He found himself listening to her, but only in the slightest. She ducked her head under, clearly excited about her stupid moss and came back up, spitting a green wad at his paws. 

He recoiled from the nasty, reeling onto his hind legs to avoid getting it on his coat. He flung it back into the stream with a lick of his paw, returning to his sitting position. Then came the insult. He couldn't take that. No one insults his appearance. He leaped into the water, splashing up a huge amount in her face. It came off as a playful gesture, because he of course wouldn't dare to actually hurt her, but it did feel good to get her back.

The last thing Anita expected Zeke to do was actually get in the river. So naturally it surprised her when he jumped in, soaking her from head to toe. "Oh, so you want to play it that way?" Anita jumped up onto a particularly large rock protruding from the water, the moss helping her hold on. Anita shimmied backwards, preparing for the biggest splash in the face Ezekiel had ever seen.

Anita waited for a few moments and then ran forwards, springing from the rock. She landed with a crash in the water, limbs flailing for dramatic effect. Coming up, she spat a good amount of moss onto Zeke's fur. "How was that for a splash?" Anita asked, washing the rest of the residue from her mouth.

Zeke seemed to have made a playful gesture, which was the only thing that witheld Anita from calling him a drowned rat. The water where Zeke was standing was a bit more shallow, so Anita swam towards the deeper area, doggy-paddling to stay afloat.

All you could see was her eyes and nose as she peered at the male from a distance, waiting to see if he would chase after her. It was nice to have a bit of fun, especially in the water.

Anita took Ezekiel's splash as an invitation to splash back, which was certainly not what he meant. How was that for a splash? She asked after spitting moss into his face. He quickly ducked his head back under the water to wash the nasty green from his generally clean pelt. Once satisfied he came back up to the surface, watching Anita swim away as if to chase him. He snarled angrily at her, he didn't want to play anymore, this was getting frustrating. He turned and climbed out of the water, tail held high and sat on the rock he previously sat on.

Don't ever spit miss in my face again. He growled forcefully, shaking out his pelt, water spraying everywhere. The fact that his fur puffed up like a cloud afterwards was not an invitation for her to make fun of him, but she surely would. Hurry up and finish swimming so I can get back to my patrol. He grumbled, beginning to lick the rest of the residue from his fur. It would've been fun if Anita wasn't so childish. They were both young adults, just out of teen hood yes but, she lacked the maturity Ezekiel had. That was bothersome.

Anita frowned as Ezekiel clambered out of the water and as usaul, proceeded to growl angrily at her. "Fine then, sir furs-a-lot," she growled back with a joking air. Of course she would mock his cloud-like pelt, looking more cuddly than intimidating. She was somewhat dissapointed that he didn't have fun in the water. Sure they were mature, but what was wrong with letting loose for a few seconds? 

"If you become any more uptight, you might pull a muscle," Anita muttered, climbing out of the water. She didn't bother to step out of the way before she shook, water droplets spraying onto Ezekiel. She glanced at Zeke, who seemed frustrated. He always seemed somewhat frazzled, honestly. 

"A little fun doesn't hurt, you know? There wasn't anyone there to witness you splashing around, so your pride wouldn't be damaged." Anita said this a little flatly, but her tone mostly remained light. After licking a patch of debris out of her coat, she looked back at Ezekiel. "Alright, let's get back so you can go on your super important patrol, park ranger."

And the taunting returned as he crawled from the water. A lot of squawk about how he was uptight. He winced as the water droplets from her pelt were flung all over him, and had to start cleaning all over again. Ears flat against his head as she spoke, he cut her off in a low voice. Yes I know! And I don't care about my pride, I'm just done splashing around. Just a teensy lie. If anyone did catch him swimming in a river and having fun by himself, he would definitely feel a little embarrassed. 

Park ranger. She finished her sentence with another new name, and Ezekiel sighed. Finally. Back to the border. Thank you. He said in a grumble, as he began back to the border.

Fade after your post?

Anita gave Zeke a look when he cut her off. Sure he was a higher rank and technically had the authority to do so, but Anita did not appreciate it. She laughed when he mentioned not caring about his pride. "Sure thing," Anita snorted in disbelief. The she wolf was ready to leave, and figured that Zeke was just about ready to run off without her. "Go ahead and get back to your precious border," the she wolf said, dimissing the male.

We can fade here!