Silver Creek sail with me into the dark

Tagging @Grayson @Harrison @Addison @Emerson bc I actually have no idea who can give Dash permission to hang around. Just need someone with authority I guess? 

 Dash is currently with @Lilah aaand they're both wet.

The cold really set into Dash's bones as the sun sank behind the clouds, and the boy had no control over his shivering at this point. He locked eyes with Lilah when a particularly vicious gust of wind tore through his damp pelt. Of course he would pick the fucking coldest, windiest damn day to get them both dumped into the creek, wouldn't he? Such a Dash thing to do. 

" L-l- let's call for someone, c-can we? Who's in ch-ch-charge?" he asked, and edge of desperation in his voice. Lilah had to be colder than him, with that dainty little body. Surely she would agree. Dash would have just called himself, but this Row-Zings group seemed to have funny rules that Dash didn't really understand. Lilah seemed really, really scared of breaking the rules, so Dash figured he better let her take the lead here. When he was in charge, he tended to be bad about breaking rules.. even when he knew the rules...

Normally not even her thoughts had profanity, but holy crap was it cold! Her whole body convulsed from the cold and she found herself unable to respond verbally at the moment, nodding and lifting her muzzle to call for Emerson and Grayson. She left Addison out because she feared what the alpha bitch top woman would say if she saw her soaking wet next to a strange man. Grayson might assume things but she prayed he would listen to her, after all...he was probably the only one who knew she had never been touched by a man at all because he had protected her from it.

poor lilah was so quick to assume that addison would think these things, but she should have been aware that it was a hive-mind. the odolf clan all felt this way-- save for emerson, perhaps, who was softer than the other four. her call had been pitiful, and grayson suspected something was up immediately, but when he arrived he wasn't sure who to put the blame on.

this man?? this equally pitiful man? he was wet and shaking, looked like he'd been pulled from water. ah, but maybe he had. grayson looked between them both. maybe they both had... his brow furrowed and his ears pressed forwards expectantly. "what is going on?" he asked, looking to the man on instinct though his gaze flitted to lilah a moment later.

Thank the gods, Lilah listened to him and finally called for her superior. She didn't offer any explanation as to who she was summoning, and she still hadn't even explained what had her so worked up about this upcoming interaction. Maybe she was just kind of a nervous wolf in general? She hadn't seemed that way at first-- actually she had been really fun for a minute-- but it seemed like as soon as these Row-Zings people were brought up, she turned into a terrified puddle of un-fun mush. So, long story short, Dash was going in completely blind here. Not that he had ever been much of a planner, but it would have been nice to have just an inkling of what to expect. 

Luck was on the boy’s side for once, because they did not have to wait long for their audience. A man swathed in chocolates and creams approached. Dash couldn’t put his paw on what it was about the man, but something about the way he carried himself made him seem important. Dash drew himself up a little taller, not in a dominant way, just in a way that would help in make the best possible first impression under the circumstances. Not only did this guy seem important, he seemed cool. How did he pull that off? Dash would have to pay attention and learn, if he was allowed to stick around.

”Uh, j-just f-freezing our t-tails off,” Dash answered cheerfully, upbeat despite the chill in his bones. Meeting new friends always energized him. "Th-this lady here, m-m-Miss Liliah, sure is a clumsy one! F-f-fell right in that creek, l-lucky I was there to s-s-save her.” Dash seemed to swell as he finished his story, immensely proud of his heroics. Maybe the story would make the chocolate-pelted man think Dash was important too—even just a little bit.

I j-just wanted t-to make sure s-s-she got returned t-to you s-safely,” he finished, apple-green eyes cutting over to Lilah. She had told him to say that part, about wanting to see that she got home safely. Hey, it wasn’t a lie exactly—Dash definitely didn’t want anything bad to happen to Lilah or anything—but what he really wanted was a warm place to recover for himself. It seemed like beating around the bush to say it any other way… why couldn’t he just ask for what he wanted?

Grayson didn't look very pleased when he arrived and she shrank down, tail pressed against her bottom and wiggling nervously. She was grateful that Dashiell took the lead like she had said to and told the story convincingly enough that she figured there'd be no problem believing it. Her gaze slowly turned upward to catch Grayson looking at her and she felt shame, embarrassed that once again she probably looked so stupid in his eyes. She could have cried, in fact she felt a lump rising in her throat before she looked away and caught Dash Staring as if seeking approval. She withheld a wince and nodded "I w-was trying to cross the creek using a b-boulder but it was slippery and I f-fell in. Dashiell came along just in time to y-yank me out" the cold was starting to get to her as she began to stammer, her whole body shaking violently. "H-He was asking for a place to s-stay?" she looked from Dash to Grayson, asking the question for the male. She prayed he would seem worthy enough to Grayson just because he jumped into freezing water and saved her butt. She doubted it though. Only perfection ever really satisfied the Odolfs and they only saw themselves as such.

a misunderstanding. grayson's ears pricked as he went from entirely untrusting to grateful for the man who stood before him. "dashiell," he repeated the name as lilah said it, giving the man a deep bow of his hefty crown, "i must thank you, then, lilah is a dear friend of mine, rosings would be lost without her." such posh words, of course, grayson was only keeping his options open. if lilah left there was one less opportunity for someone in the pack to reproduce-- himself included. 

"we have room among our ranks for you, of course, dashiell. come, please, we need to get you both dried off and warmed up," he motioned for the two to follow, but moved around lilah to press himself against her to keep her warm. it was, after all, the chivalrous thing to do! dashiell, of course, was welcome to press against either of them for warmth. a man should be capable enough to handle his own issues.

Dash winced as he heard his full surname fall from Lilah's trembling maw. It's just Dash, he almost corrected, but the boss-man was already repeating the moniker. Dash's father had often weilded the surname like a weapon, and the boy had been hoping for some separation from it and all the supposed responsiblity that came along with being a Dashiell. Behave like a Dashiell, Reszo. Gods, if he heard that one more time he might scream. 

Dash blinked at the high praise Lilah was receiving. She was clearly resepcted here... why was she so worried about what everyone thought of her? 

Grayson spoke of "room among our ranks," Dash opened his mouth again to offer some sort of correction. He hadn't really been asking for a place in the ranks, just a place to maybe hang out for a bit and warm up. Maybe get to know these wolves a little and find out what they were all about. 

Dash closed his mouth without speaking again, mostly because "getting dried off and warmed up" was an offer he couldn't refuse. He wouldn't want to be too hasty with a correction and say something that might cause the boss-man to rescind the offer, right? He'd go along for now then... what was the worst that could happen?

Dash pressed himself against Lilah's other side as they departed for Rosings. You know, to keep her warm. Of course.

Lilah's jaw dropped open a bit, stricken by Grayson's kind words about her. She tried not to look to blatantly confused but it was quite clear by the widening of her eyes and the confusion that was all over her face. It wasn't that Grayson was rude to her or mean, it was more that he really just didn't pay her much mind in general so the fact he said she was a close friend well....it had Lilah flustered. Her gaze moved slowly from Grayson's handsome face to Dash who she was concerned to see had a weird expression on his face, like he was trapped somewhere he didn't really want to be. It reminded her of the time back in Golden Ranch where a new woman was being herded into a gossip party and she looked mighty uncomfortable but stayed so the gossip didn't turn to her. She frowned slightly as she studied him silently, hoping she didn't say something wrong. Her concerns dissapated when Grayson was suddenly pressed against her and she swore she could feel his muscles pressing into her hips. She tensed and also simultaenously pressed herself closer, praying that he would take it as the need for warmth instead of the truth that she simply wanted to take advantage of this moment and feel him. When Dash pressed against her other side she gave a low. inaudible sigh of bliss before starting to walk forward "Thank you both, I swear i'd be helpless without Rosings" she said softly.

grayson gave a snort of amusement, his tail waving. "that's what we're here for, doll," he purled to lilah, giving her a gentle nudge as they moved along. the man said nothing else, and so grayson fell silent. he would get the pair something to eat and some cover from the winter wind. there was nothing more he could do as a man, but perhaps another woman would drop by later with medicine. or something. that was not his responsibility, such was below him.

Going to close this one out, thanks you two! For current reference, Dash has left Rosings/ the general area. But this might not be the last you see of him. ;)

Dash was not a thinker, so he did not think much of the surface-level exchange that took place between Grayson and Lilah. Some wolves were more dominant and others were not; far be it from Dash to judge Lilah for living her life in luxury, even if it meant she had to behave so osequiously toward this Grayson fellow. She sighed happily, which indicated to Dash that maybe she liked things this way. Maybe they both liked things this way. Dash would go along for now, and he would figure out if he liked things this way too.