Totoka River wading through the fog

one or more others welcome to join! :-) daytime, fog / misty

The temperature was mild today, and Charon had set off from Stavanger Bay to explore other bits of the lands. At the age of 4,5 months, Charon looked more like a slightly smaller version of an adult and less like a pup. He'd seen quite a bit of Ravensblood Forest and Horizon Ridge, as well as trailed around the shores close to the Bay, but today he ventured a little further. Unfortunately, a mist soon envelop Charon and everything around him. Since he was out exploring, the youth wasn't sure where to go or what was in front of him, and he felt a little scared to go on; but going back wasn't really an option either now that he had no idea what was behind him... Or if 'behind him' was 'going back' at all, to begin with.

Charon carefully walked on until he dipped his toes into the water. He lowered his nose to sniff the water, but to his surprise the water was sweet rather than salt, so he wasn't at the coast like he had expected. The sand he stood on felt firmer, too, not like the soft sand of the coast. Charon squinted his eyes and looked ahead. "Wow, this is a pretty big stream, Drake!" he told his imaginary troll friend, since all he could see was water because of the mist. Charon carefully took a few more steps deeper into the river, and he felt the stream tug at his ankles. From what he could see, the stream seemed shallow for a good while. Charon looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Hey, maybe I could practise swimming here sometime, 'cause it looks pretty uhm, not-so-deep."

Well, well, well, the world again was once wrapped inside a thick curtain of mist. Her vision became blurred and Spectra, now living up to the definition of her name, could not see beyond the thick shroud. Cursing underneath her breath -- because she really liked to see where she was going -- the lithe yearling trudged onwards while tempting the unknown to challenge her with any devious twists or unusual surprises.
Underneath her paws the shorelines soon turned out to be sandy and soft.

Tiny speckles of sand clumped together between her paws and if Spectra would listen carefully she could hear the soothing rush of the river. Instead of adjusting to the peace and quietness, the yearling was more inclined and drawn towards a smaller silhouette in the distance. He -- or she -- wasn't alone by the sound of it.

Confident, without a speck of fear, the yearling trudged onwards while knowing that everything could be a mind game of the mist. Was this real? Was he real? No matter the consequences, Spectra approached and spoke loudly -- while at the same time -- the water touched her toes."What's stopping you from trying it right now?

Because of the fog, the surroundings had a mysterious feel. Charon looked around in awe, though he was also a little scared because he wasn't sure which way was home, or where he was. When he heard the voice behind him, Charon startled and nearly jumped into the air. He sharply turned his head and saw it was only a young stranger wolf who didn't look very hostile. And anyway, she also suggested he try dipping his toes in the water, rather than telling him 'he should know how to swim already' and so she was pretty kind. Hey, maybe she could teach him to swim!

"Hello," Charon greeted and he tilted his head. "Who are you? What's your pack? Do you like water? I bet you like water, 'cause 'cause, you're here and all. I like water but it's also kinda scary sometimes 'cause I dunno how to swim yet." After his usual bombardment of questions and random comments, Charon looked curiously up at the stranger, hoping she would elaborate on all of her private live; the sooner the better.

Spectra wasn't about to play a jeeper creeper on a kid when the surroundings were spooky and eerie, thus she kept a respectable distance and did not move any closer. Her ears flickered when she heard all his questions being fired at her with a pea shooter, either talk now or forever hold your breath. Her interest was mostly piqued by what he said last, apparently he hadn't learned how to swim just yet.

"We could hold a tea party -- sans the cookies -- and I could answer all your questions. Or.. --" Spectra said while holding her breath for a moment as she tried to build up a momentum of suspense. "I could help you teach how to swim." But do both, talk a lot and swim; definitely not an option.

Sadly, the stranger did not answer any of his questions at all. Charon was visibly disappointed, if she could note such detail through the fog, when she suggested that they would not hold a tea party (Charon nearly asked 'what's tea?' and 'What's cookies?' but he decided against it, since she would probably not answer, anyway, just like with his other questions). He guessed that tea was something conversations were made out of, considering she didn't want to have one of those.

Instead, she suggested teaching him how to swim, which was possibly even better than answers to his many questions. "Okay!" Charon agreed, and he nodded eagerly. He then looked up at the stranger expectantly, waiting for her to lead the way and explain, considering she was going to teach him.

He guessed that tea was something conversations were made out of, considering she didn't want to have one of those.

LOL! :P [mate]

---
Spectra wasn't the best of teachers, sadly; and neither the greatest with those younger than her since she had a young mind of her own and hated still borns. Charon was the opposite of her in a way, he wanted to appear older than he looked (or not!) but he was hungry to understand the world around him, which was an important aspect of growing up. So decided to skip any theoretic lesson that a teacher could think up with when it came down to the fine-turning of swimming.

Instead, her own paradigm to learn was to practice. "Come to me!" Spectra said coyly while stepping backwards just a little, barely two steps. She could feel the waterline edging deeper and deeper, thus surrounding her knees. She expected Charon had the ability to stand here but even still, it was easier to piddle paddle and try. Maybe it seemed like a lame lesson for now; but eventually she expected the more he tried, the more fun it would be.

There was a moment of silence as Charon watched the other wolf wade into the shallows of the misty river, going deeper and deeper. He still didn't know her name and Charon was a little hesitant to go after a lady whose name he didn't even know, but he supposed that she was okay, since she hadn't harmed him so far, and all. He waited as he watched her, not sure if she wanted him to follow her or if she was just going to demonstrate first.

When she said 'Come to me', Charon had been eagerly waiting to figure out what her plan was, so he immediately came into motion and splashed further into the shallows of the water. His legs had grown rapidly lately, so he was still able to stand when he reached her position, his shoulders and back still rising above the water, as did his lifted tail and head. "Now what?" he asked as he looked up at her, awaiting instructions from his newly so dubbed swimming instructor. Finally he'd found a pro!

There was no fear in his eyes, no doubt in his heart; there was only the yearning to learn a new skill and move onwards. Spectra was surprised by his courage and dedication as he peddled towards her. This was the first step of her plan, see how keen and able he was. However, since he already took the first step, it appeared as though he was already for the next step. Not only the next step but also the one thereafter; he deserved a bit of a challenge.

"I'm impressed." The swarthy yearling complimented. She then created a room in between them once more, although this time it was at a place the Xi probably wouldn't be able to stand. Her own paws could barely grab the soil underneath. On the surface there was only her neck sticking out; she could be like a wolf version of Loch Ness.

"Dare to come to me again?" She challenged with a devious smile. With the foggy surroundings, this swimming lesson was definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Charon's tail splashed in the shallows as the stranger said that she was impressed. She soon went deeper into the water, and before she suggested he should come to her again, Charon was already in motion. He wasn't scared of swimming, or anything; he just didn't really know how to do it. As he stepped forward, Charon almost asked the stranger for tips on what to actually do when he would hit the water, but he didn't want to sound like he didn't know what he was doing... even though it was already established that he didn't.

When he was at a place where his toes barely touched the ground, Charon got a little scared, but when he lost grip of the ground, he started to paddle, sending water flying everywhere. He didn't even need to think of what to do; he just automagically knew. "Look, I'm doing it!" Charon excitedly shouted. He turned around and paddled back to the part where he could stand and he looked at the stranger with excitement lighting up his face. "I guess I was born a pro at swimming!"

Spectra couldn't help but to melt a little when Charon proclaimed fiercely proud that he was swimming. Just minutes ago he couldn't do it, and eager eyes had been staring in her direction. But it wasn't so much a couldn't but more so a hadn't tried. Her leathery lips turned into a genuine smile. That said, he certainly wasn't a very gracious swimmer since water droplets moved around everywhere, but who cared? He did it.

"Yeah, you're a champ!" The youthful yearling said as golden eyes sparkled. "My name is Spectra." The swarthy female said while trying to dive below the surface a couple of seconds afterwards. What really happened was a hope splitter splatter, small waves and a break of the calmth. "So, what did you say again about the water being scary and all?" Because Spectra didn't believe it anymore; he swam like he was born into a pool.

The stranger confirmed that he was awesome for swimming, and Charon's tail wagged briefly. After she introduced herself as Spectra, Charon said, "I'm Charon, from Stavanger Bay. Where are you from?" She didn't have a particular smell about her, not that he could distinguish, but it didn't really occur to Charon that she might be a lone wolf at all. In his mind, everybody had a place to live, since he had only ever met wolves that were a part of a pack.

Spectra then went on to suggest he had found the water scary. Gasping, Charon quickly exclaimed, "I never said that! I didn't think it was scary, I just didn't know how to swim." Well, he did think it was pretty scary since he'd been told that he shouldn't just run into the ocean because the current could take him away and he could drown... but he wasn't about to admit that to anyone. Muttering, he added, " 'm not scared of anything."

"The Wilds" -- Spectra explained confidently, although she remained without detail as to where that was or what it actually meant. In reality it meant everywhere and nowhere -- but in the name of the Stavanger Bay juvenile it could also have been the name of any pack. Truth to be told, Spectra didn't like to be reminded of the past and whenever someone questioned her she looked for a quick motive or way to get -- out. Like a jail break. She wasn't sure if she could escape the curiosity of Charon, however.

Luckily she could take him back on his word when he was denying about being scared of anything. "Oh really?" Spectra said in awe and with a voice dipped in disbelief and light jester. It was the same reaction she would have given, a fierce pride never to show anyone a light of weakness. "Are you double-dog-sure not scared of anything?" Spectra wondered out loud.

Charon didn't know where 'the wilds' was, and he was instantly curious whether she meant the general great outdoors or if she meant a pack that was called 'the wilds'. However, before he had a chance to question her upon it, Spectra made a sceptical 'oh really' about his courage, which, of course, he then needed to defend.

Spectra went on to dare him to admit that he wasn't afraid of anything in the whole wide world. "Yeah-huh I'm not scared of anything!" Charon quickly confirmed, and he nodded. He wondered if a proper challenge was going to be next, even though he liked it more when others just accepted his bravery for what it was.

Like a small squire wanting to be a knight in shining amour, the young suave boy explained he wasn't scared of anything; no dragons, no monsters no ..nothing. Surprised, in awe and a little lost for the right words, the lone wolf didn't say anything. She could challenge him to climb a mountain or two, defeat fire-eating dragons or do something that's entirely illegal; or she could just life an eyebrow and say; "Well, I believe you!" Disbelief had slowly transcended into believing, she wasn't always tempted to dare him otherwise.

"I'm totally not scared of anything!" Spectra proclaimed fiercely as her eyes started to glimmer and she raised her head just a little, as if wanting to strengthen her words. "But I do, do stupid things." Spectra honestly explained very randomly, somehow she felt that Charon would understand her teen troubles more than any adults would.

my last post, thanks for the thread! :D

There was a silence between the two while Charon waited for the answer or challenge, and Spectra seemed to consider what the answer would be. Eventually, she said that she believed him, which caused Charon to look even prouder than before. Then, Spectra went on to say that she was also scared of nothing, but that she did do stupid things sometimes.

Charon probably did stupid things, but without even thinking about the truth of his words, he said, "I never do stupid things." Charon then squinted his eyes as he looked through the fog, in the direction of the Sea Lion Shores and the Bay, and he said, "Anyway, I — I should get back home now. It was nice meeting you, Spectra. You should drop by the Bay sometime!" Charon smiled at her as he extended his invitation. He wasn't sure if she was going to say anything — about him never doing stupid things, or about his invitation to visit the bay — but, afraid it might be something negative about his arrogance, Charon didn't stick around to hear it. With a hasty "Bye!" in passing, Charon dashed out of the shallow waters and in the direction of the Bay. It was hard to see where he was going with all the fog, but he followed the general direction he'd come from back, hoping that he would be able to find his way home.

The yearling thought about her bucket list of stupid things that were still on her wish list. A few wishes on her list included taking over the world and ridding the world of ducks; that last option was due to the experience she had with Sen. But while her mind wandered astray, sorting through the endless amount of thoughts that floated in her mind, the youth couldn't wait to return back home. At the same time he said something about friendly visits though she hardly expected that any pack was waiting on a friendly visit, the way of the wolf simply didn't move that way. Regardless, she dipped her head in fond farewell but furthermore remained speechless. Then, after seeing the silhouette of the other fading within the curtain of the fog, Spectra turned around the other way.