The Silver Male only realized what the darkly furred she-wolf was doing at the moment her bodyweight slammed into him, not forceful like it would be in a fight, but playful, and he felt himself trip over his paws as he attempted to move out of the way and let her carry on towards the water. But instead, he himself splashed into the freezing water, and with a gasp he flailed around to get back to his feet. Laughing, Ace clambered to his feet and shook out his waterlogged coat, spraying it all around him. Silver eyes met Neoma’s pale yellow eyes, and he hopped out of the creek once again, wet fur dripping water down his legs and creating small puddles at his feet. He hoped he didn’t look like a drowned rat, but with such a thick coat that was now drenched, it was possible.

Grinning at her, he shook his head again to clear the water from his face. “Well I wasn’t expecting that,” he said with a chuckle. It wasn’t often that a wolf surprised him, and even more so a female. It was different than what he was used to, as he grew up mostly around males; his sisters had always stayed out of his way, and to this day he still didn’t know why. But the female before him didn’t seem to mind roughing it up a bit, and so he hesitantly lowered his front end, tail waving up in the air, but not dominantly, playfully. A playful growl emitted from his jaws and he seemed to ask her silently with his eyes if she wanted to rough it up playfully with him.

At his bow, the darkly furred she-wolf grinned at him, and he watched as she dashed up to him, tapping him playfully on the nose with a paw before darting away with a flourish that seemed to invite him to chase after her. Grinning as she dared him to catch her, Ace sprang from his playful bow and chased after her, a joyful look on his face. It had been a long time since he had had any fun similar to what he was doing at that moment, and they had only been with his brothers, which was more fight than play, but at least they hadn’t been out to really hurt each other. But with Neoma he was just wanting to have fun and forget his sadness for a while.

In his bout of happiness at finding a new friend to play with, the scent of a deer nearby did not arouse his senses, and as they came upon a boulder, Ace leaped up and scrabbled with his paws to pull himself up before he slipped back down again. Shaking his head again, he stared down at the darkly furred she-wolf below him, grinning. His fur was still wet, and drops of water dripped down onto the boulder where it ran down the side. Silver eyes glancing at Neoma, he stood proudly upon the boulder. “I’ll get you, don’t worry…” he said softly, his voice trailing off. Suddenly jumping off the boulder, he landed on his paws and quickly sprung forwards towards the female, aiming to gently knock her over with his heavy weight.

The darkly furred she-wolf attempted to move backwards, out of his range, and she would have completed her maneuver successfully had it not been for the slippery creek pebbles on the bank of the river, and along with the slight push he managed to get her with, she stumbled backwards into the creek with a splash. He himself, tripped on the loose pebbles as well, but managed to only partially submerge himself in the cool water, and quickly back out, shaking out his creamy fur again. With a large smile on his face, he turned to face Neoma, and burst out laughing. Her fur was all slick and smooth, sticking to the slimness and curves over her body, and he had to say she looked quite hilarious, but as the ever-respectful gentleman he was, he did not voice his thoughts.

Clearing his throat, the Silver Male nosed her dripping wet side gently, a smile still on his face. He hadn’t intentionally wanted to push her into the creek, but every time he looked at her wet figure he couldn’t help but want to laugh. He had opened his jaws to say something when a delicious taint on the wind caught his attention. Turning around and lifting his muzzle into the air, Ace breathed in deeply the scent of deer, before glancing back at Neoma, grinning. “I smell deer nearby, let’s go investigate.” Waiting just a second, he padded towards the scent. Maybe if there was enough of it left they could steal a few bites before hauling it back to the den site for the rest of the pack. They needed their strength anyways, and he was feeling a little on the breaking-the-rules side at that moment.

It was not long before they came upon a carcass; the remains of a deer, sprawled upon the ground. Glancing at Neoma, the Silver nudged her shoulder gently with his own, before padding towards the deer, sniffing around to make sure there were no other animals around, or the predator that had killed the deer, who might come back for more. The deer had been half eaten already, but there was enough for everyone to not be completely hungry afterwards.

Looking back at the darkly furred she-wolf, Ace gestured with his creamy head. “We should take this back to the pack before the creature that took it down comes back for more.” He grinned slyly, knowing that with the both of them, they could take on almost anything and come out the victor, but it would be safer and easier to quickly grab it and leave before anything did come their way and fight for the right of the meal.

Grabbing firmly at the base of the deer’s neck, he waited until Neoma had seized it near the other end before walking backwards, partially dragging it on the ground, partially lifting it up into the air, all the way back to the cache in Magnolia Glen. It would take quite a lot of effort, but it would be worth it.