Totoka River Bumpy Start

@Luke :)

The sun had been up for hours, and most critters were awake and active. But curled up within a hollow log with his chin resting on his paws, Koda was still soundly asleep. He'd been making a habit of sleeping in now that he was a lone wolf with no responsibilities. 

Early morning condensation on the unfurling frond of a fern gathered into a droplet of water and slid off the leaf, landing squarely on Koda's nose with a splash. The sleeping wolf woke with a start, jerking his head up from his paws and bumping it on the roof of his shelter in the process. "Arg, dammit," he grumbled lowly, rubbing his sore noggin with his paw. It was a minor bump, but it didn't help that he already had a headache from oversleeping.

A thought came to him, and he smirked. "Hey Kesuk, wanna help me get rid of this headache?" It was then that he noticed he was alone. His mate had risen and slipped away while he slept. Koda frowned, disappointed, but reminded himself that Kesuk liked to have her independence from time to time.

"Guess I'll have to have fun by myself," Koda said as he rose and set out into the woods. He wandered aimlessly for some time, investigating all the interesting smells and giving chase to any squirrels or birds that crossed his path. Eventually, his steps led him to the muddy bank of a river coursing through the forest. Koda tracked along the bank for a while until he found a promising fishing hole.

The gray wolf set to digging in the dirt, searching for worms to bait his prey. How pleased would Kesuk be to come home to a nice fish dinner?

Glad I spotted this. I received the tag a while ago back when you must have saved it in the drafts (it just said the thread did not exist), but it did not re-tag me now that it was posted lol.

His respite from the caldera had taken him a bit further than he had intended, but perhaps he needed the time to wander. Perhaps he had no need to go back. Whatever had happened there was their business, and he had at least confirmed that Peregrine was unharmed. The more he let his mind drift there, the more sour it was becoming, and so, Luke was making a strong effort to shrug it off and go about his business. He would visit Lasher soon, and had a date on the horizon with the chocolate she-wolf from the rise. These were the things he needed to keep in the front of his mind.

To help him along, he threw back his head sang as he strolled. "And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day and it's all your state of mind. At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's all right." With each note, he felt his mood brighten, and he went on singing until his gaze caught sight of another wolf digging at the shore of the river. "Hey!" he called, tail wagging as started to bound over...

...but just then a wild bear appeared between them! With two cubs trailing behind it. Luke froze in his tracks. The other wolf made a quick exit, knowing all to well that mother bears were not to be trifled with. Luke too, turned and made his own exit. And so, the two wolves never met at all.

Oh well.