Sleepy Fox Hollow New Beginnings

Koa Le carefully entered the hollow, pausing and glancing back to ensure that his littermate was still close behind him. The pair had been travelling for close to half a moon now with chances to rest becoming rare, making an area like this a huge sense of relief.

Zitari trailed after her sibling, dragging her feet as they continued on. They’d been traveling for what had felt like forever, and they were finally getting closer towards their destination. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”, She whined, suppressing a yawn.

Zitari trailed after her sibling, dragging her feet as they continued on. They’d been traveling for what had felt like forever, and they were finally getting closer towards their destination. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”, She whined, suppressing a yawn.

He sighed in annoyance at her complaints, practically feeling as though his legs were collapsing under him as he laid himself down in the grass.
"Your complaining is only making it take longer. I told you - we'll just keep going until we find somewhere worth staying."
He responded, giving his left paw a quick lick. "There's no point in sticking to a place if we don't know that we'll last there." He added.

“I guess you’re right.” She groaned, shrugging. “But I’m still hungry and tired just the same.” She blew her floppy ear out of the way, speeding up her pace a bit to match his better. Her stomach felt as hollow as the old tree back home - though it wasn’t really home anymore. She lapped the corners of her mouth, the blazing sun scorching her back only added on to her fatigue. “Can’t we at least stop for a sip of water?”, She croaked, straining her voice dramatically to sound as parched as possible.

“I guess you’re right.” She groaned, shrugging. “But I’m still hungry and tired just the same.” She blew her floppy ear out of the way, speeding up her pace a bit to match his better. Her stomach felt as hollow as the old tree back home - though it wasn’t really home anymore. She lapped the corners of her mouth, the blazing sun scorching her back only added on to her fatigue. “Can’t we at least stop for a sip of water?”, She croaked, straining her voice dramatically to sound as parched as possible.

"If you see water, let me know." He snorted, batting a large paw at her.
"Just lay down to rest and stop yapping about things we can't control - it's a waste of energy."
He laid his head down, ready for a moment of peace after having to hear Zitari's whining for days on end.

She shook her head, giving him an annoyed look. “Fine.” She grumbled, purposefully stepping on his head before curling up beside him.

She shook her head, giving him an annoyed look. “Fine.” She grumbled, purposefully stepping on his head before curling up beside him.

He was quick to snap at the lower half of her front leg in response, though he was quick to forgive her after that as he laid his head back down.
"How long do you plan on sticking around me?"
He asked. He had brought up this question many times and almost always appeared annoyed, however he wasn't exactly eager to be alone after the pair had been traveling together for so long.

“However long you plan on living.”, She replied without missing a beat.

"That's a bit much. Don't be so weird."
He responded, staring up at her. It was good to hear, but he did worry about their futures at times. They couldn't stay together forever - eventually they would need to have their own lives. For now that wasn't something either needed to think about.

“Sure, whatever you say Koa.”
She nodded, yawning once more and trying to think of fresh prey. If she couldn’t eat it in the real world, she should at least be able to eat it in her dreams.
“Now I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna try to take a nap before the sun reaches its highest. By then it’ll be far too hot to sleep.”
Zitari licked her chops, closing her eyes and resting her head against his fur.

Well, he couldn't argue with that. He closed his eyes, hoping that a good sleep would help to chase off the aches of hunger that had been bothering him for some time now.

Her ear twitched, the blazing sun shooting rays directly onto her now opened eyes. Blinking, Zitari lifted her head to glance down at her brother - who looked slightly bothered by the heat as well. She sat up and glanced around at their surroundings, spotting a small mouse shuffling around behind a rock nearby. 

She debated chasing after it, but eventually decided otherwise. It wouldn’t be enough to sustain her for even so much as an hour. What was the point anyways?

Bothered by the movement, he opened an eye to look at Zitari.
"What are you staring at?"
He asked with a small sigh, adjusting to his side so the sun would stop beating down on his back. The heat was only ever nice for a short amount of time.

“Nothing. Well — nothing of importance anyway.”
She replied. “Do you figure we should start moving when night falls? The sun has been much harsher these past few days.” Zitari had always preferred cold weather over heat, though she hadn’t really experienced much of either.

Her paw pads were cracking, and her nose — despite her efforts to lick it better, was dryer than ever. She tried not to be a complainer, but it seemed like all the odds were against her. On top of all of that, she was hungry. Very, very hungry.

“Maybe prey will think the same as us.”, She suggested.

He nodded in agreement with that. Even if they didn't manage to find any prey at least it would be cooler - even if it was just by a small amount.
"That sounds fine - I think I'd rather use the day time to rest anyways. Traveling in this heat is too tiring."
He said, the tip of his tail flicking upwards.
"We should look for somewhere with water too though - my mouth is starting to feel all dried up."

"No disagreements here. My tongue feels like a dead leaf!"
She huffed, pushing off her haunches to stand up. Her tail tapped against his side back and forth continually as she waited for him.

He lifted himself off the ground after a moment, shaking the dirt out of his fur.
"Question is where do we find it?" Koa sighed, "Did you see anything on the way here?"

"Nothing comes to mind .."
She furrowed a brow, pondering. Clearly she’d been way too focused on the wrong things, because she couldn’t remember passing any bodies of water at all.
"But it did smell a bit damp when we were passing by the tall rocks earlier. Maybe there was a pond in-between them that we missed.”

Koa took a moment to think back, nodding. It was worth checking.
"Let's get moving then - the sun is starting to fall."
He decided, moving towards where they had entered from. If they were lucky maybe they would find something they could eat in the water too.

She nodded, following after him quickly. Her ear twitched anxiously as she trailed behind hoping her nose was right.