Otatso Wetlands in my rotten right hand

lilia was often traveling; it seemed he could find her scent strongly in the taiga. she was a strong hunter, his mate, a powerful warrior. and ancelin found that he still did not think himself worthy of her choice.
once he had though the way was blood. but as the rise settled, and as he too settled into his role at her side, ancelin found he wanted another way.
wetland terraces studded with bright ivory birds suddenly gave way through the foliage, and he realized he had gone farther from redtail than he intended.
shaking out his variegated ruff, ancelin continued, stalking with the easy grace bestowed by his father, the observant caution of his mother; the cunning flicker of bearclaw in his eyes. avicus' eyes.
he wore the bearclaw in a knot over his chest, tangled securely in a tight matting that only teeth could pull free. an emblem. a symbol.
cordgrass and tall reeds parted for his muscular shoulders as he waded into the oozing shallows, comforted by the pull of cool mud at his paws, the immediate soothe of the day's heart. he cut through the surface like a caiman, lowering himself into the inviting depths.

Nox's wife was traveling, too. He found Elphie's excursions to be dangerous, though not out of concern for her wellbeing — rather, that he might stray too far into the territory of his own mind and find it impossible to return.

He had to return to the physical to bring himself down again. He followed the sound and smell of standing water and found it inhabited.

The first thing he saw was the medallion at his throat, then the fire behind those eyes. Nox was smaller and he knew how some could be about resources (though in his opinion, this could scarcely be called one). So he broke the silence quickly. Good afternoon.

slim, ashen. ancelin might have called the other pretty had not the wetted nostrils brought him evidence otherwise. since his interludes with lilia, ancelin had grown into himself, sleek and hungry.
now the probing indigo eyes settled on the stranger. "hot as fuck today," ancelin noted, licking idly at the water's surface before his attention returned to the other. "you can come in. if you want."

Although Equinox considered himself to be a decent and mannered man, the stranger's response came as a relief. Some men played the game so hard that any misstep or cultural ignorance was considered an intentional slight. He liked working with those who were rough around the edges; it allowed him room to speak freely without fear of losing face. He unraveled at the man's invitation and joined him in the pool (though truthfully, he would need a bath in something cleaner before the day was through).

The air is almost as thick as the mud we're standing in, he said. Heat was one thing, but the humidity was another. Thank you for the invitation. My name is Equinox.

"it's fucked," ancelin said cheerfully, realigning his limbs in the sucking mud. "i'm ancelin bearclaw."
the surname that he now only shared with lilia was pleasing to think about, and the young wolf smiled a bit to himself, a more regular occurrence these days. "just passing through?"