For a moment, he could feel Drift put up some resistance as he pushed on the boy's shoulder. His lips pulled back and he was about to growl and reinforce his point when he felt the younger man begin to give. One by one, the pair began to take steps towards the creek. Serach allowed Drift to lead, although he stayed close behind his cousin, walking next to his flank just in case the boy attempted to change his mind and flee. It was bizarre, honestly, and something that Serach had yet to understand about Triell's youngest son - what had occurred so early on in his life to make Drift so afraid of water? He avoided it like the plague, and more often than not, the pale furred coat - similar to Serach's own - was coated in mud, dirt, and other grime.

That'll change soon...at least temporarily, Serach thought with a grim smile as the creek came into view. He pulled away from Drift and gave him his space, although he couldn't help but chuckle as Drift tentatively allowed the water to brush against his toes, warning him not to share this event with @Sahalie. "I won't, I promise," Serach said, giving a swish of his tail as he grinned before approaching the water himself. Having no such inhibitions about getting wet, the subordinate wasted no time in stepping into the coolness. As he waded further out, letting the water flow over his back and pull on the fur on his underbelly, he happily swam around in a circle to face Drift. "Come on then," he barked, a wag of his tail sending a splash into the air behind him. "It feels fine, and the sooner you get in, the sooner you can get out."

Lowering his muzzle to the water, Serach lapped it up greedily as he listened for the telltale sounds of splashing that indicated that @Drift had finally entered the water. He knew the younger man didn't particularly like water, although for what reason, Serach had never actually known, but surely a quick bath to rid himself of the fleas was worth it? He grinned as he heard Drift enter the water, offering him a bark of encouragement. But Serach's joviality was detrimental to the task at hand, and as the man's tail hit the water, his smile turned to a frown as he watched Drift's reaction.

With a sneeze and a strong shake of his head, Drift backed out of the water. Not all the way, but he was no longer deep enough that any critters lurking in the fur along his back would be dealt with. "You okay?" Serach asked, paddling over to where Drift was. "You're going to need to go all the way in for a couple of minutes if you want them to get washed out. Your legs are probably fine now, but you don't want to have any lurking on your back or your ears." Kicking his legs out, Serach paddled in a slow lazy circle, hoping he was making it look at least somewhat appealing. "Just a few more minutes and then we can go dig up something to eat, if you want," he called, trying to be as enthusiastic as possible.

Serach chuckled as Drift's face grew petulant, but he was grateful that his cousin did no more protesting. As the younger man began to paddle around, he almost wondered if Drift was actually enjoying himself. The mud covered boy Serach had grown so fond of would certainly never dip his head under the water like Drift was doing now, and certainly not on his own free will. It was tempting to want to roughhouse a bit, but Serach didn't want to upset any progress they had made and so he let it be.

"Let's do it!" he called, pushing himself to the banks. Sparing just a moment to shake himself in a feeble attempt to dry his waterlogged fur, he took off after Drift to find the closest cache to feed their starving bellies - free of any ticks and fleas, at least for the moment.