Peace seemed to buzz just around every bend.

Though his plans initially entailed only a short stay at an old home, the charcoal-pelted man had yet to turn his back on the mysterious lake and the curious hole in the hillside. It was refreshing to escape the dramatic dynamic unfolding in Grizzly Hollow, and he'd wasted no time in reacquainting himself with the rolling hills, winding waterways, and quiet shadows. This was how he'd remembered the landscape that had been so kind - teeming with life, shades of blue and green that mirrored the most unlikely colors of his murky soul. Returning was nearly like a dream, one he could hardly bare to wake from, but his duties had chained him to Cedarwood Forest and, like it or not, staying here was no option.

The pebbles of the gently sloping, submerged shore of a small cove felt strangely as they became wedged within the webbed skin of his paws, the silver strands of fur on his toes in contrast with the silty hues of the lakebed as he peered down at them. A woodland symphony was underway, and the winged creatures of the south had lent their tiny voices to the collective song that echoed softly from all directions in the back of his quiet mind. Easy currents grazed against his body, sweeping through the male's fur as he leisurely paddled outward, toward the water's depths.

The shiny, pitch black folds of his nostrils would flare as wind was sucked it to fuel his laboring lungs before being released in rhythm. Having been raised on the coast, far from Relic Lore where the waves were murky, the beaches rocky and cold, and the saltwater was quick to sting one's eyes, he'd become an experienced swimmer and it was enjoyable. Soon enough (but not before having made a worthy lap around the quaint cove) the man's muscles would tighten and he'd make his way back to shore, soaking up the sunlight after successfully shaking the volume of dripping water from his drenched coat.

Nonchalantly he began to make his way inland, but in an instant his dark, angled ears would flip backward at the sound of a plunk and a splahing. A brow raised curiously, his head snapped back, eyes peeled in search of the strange sound's origin. And then there were more plunks, and scattered splashes, and eventually a small rumbling from the jagged cliffside...

The male's pale gaze immediately shifted upward, and he would inadvertently step into the shade to avoid the bright sunlight that managed to penetrate the forest's canopy overhead. To his surprise came a flash of black, wheeling down the cliff straight toward the water that was just across the way. Though he tended to be very wary of those with whom he was unfamiliar, the going of winter had taken with it much of his past burden, many of his regrets, and even some of his social indignities. He was genuinely curious as to what would unfold before him, and so it was with open, near-innocent eyes that he observed the blur of a female, absolutely ignoring the presence of the glistening beads of water that slid down the dark mask of his face.

The black figure seemed to glide down the slope before effortlessly - or not, he couldn't be sure - launching into the dark, deep water with a most impressive splash. Not only was he in company, but swimming company to boot. The male's tail wagged delightfully for a moment before assuming a still, level position. After all, one couldn't be too careful anymore.

Before she would come up for air he took a stance at the shore's edge, observing the bubbling and rippling that surely gave away her submerged position. A grin played waveringly on his lips and his nose twitched as a gentle breeze carried her scent to him. It was unfamiliar, and accompanied by another canine scent, one with which he was unfamiliar. It would seem as though there was much more to Relic Lore than Grizzly Hollow.

Patiently waiting, Kade rolled to his haunches just before the stranger's head broke the surface. Should he call to her, this female? Perhaps a friendly surprise was in order.

After paddling around for a bit, apparently enjoying her swim as much as he'd enjoyed his, the dark being abruptly ceased her activity upon laying gaze to him as he sat. Slowly but surely she made her way to the shore, and for a moment he was confused. Why, by the grin on her face, one could think that they'd met somewhere before. Upon drawing closer, the black woman's demeanor seemed to change, her eager pace slowing, and the man inferred that perhaps she'd though him someone else.

His reaction was simply to rise to his feet, as any gentleman would do in the presence of a lady, his ears flattening against his skull briefly in reponse to the shift in her behavior before swiveling forward to listen to the thudding of her wet paws on the clay-streaked pebble beach.

That's not you, is it?

As unsure as he was about the girl, he was certain he was not the person she thought she was speaking to. Nevertheless, the cool silver of his eyes would rove curiously over her figure, and he would note that she was underweight and had no doubt weathered the winter months outside the protection of a pack. There was a strange, youthful energy to her honey-colored gaze that he fully appreciated without having known a damn thing about the woman. Where he'd once been a dutifully quiet man, slow to formulate any kind of socially acceptable reply in such an instance, he found that the words just rolled off of his tongue.

"Well, that would depend on just who you were looking for," his tone was as smooth as velvet as he left her to whatever realization she was to come to, a coy grin welcoming the coming explanation.

"He was looking for me, actually." The spirited shewolf's quip was unexpected, and briefly he wondered who he was. Some lucky guy, he concluded, as his full attention was offered to the female as she motioned to the lake at her back. A thick musculature twitched at places beneath his dripping static-shaded coat, and his shoulders and ears perked up at her nonchalant invitation.

"You know, I did relish my swim, but I didn't make it look quite as good as you did," he replied evenly, briefly attempting to mask his interest in the curiosity of a woman who'd thrown herself from the small cliff. There was something about her that he just couldn't manage to pinpoint, some innate...charm - fresh out the water, dripping wet...The man watched as drops of water were shook from her tail by her wagging, and in turn his own would sway, level, behind him in perfect rhythm.

In the blink of the eye, the Attaya male bolted for the lake, whizzing past his counterpart before launching himself into the air. Forepaws stretched out before him, hindlegs pulled closely to his underbelly, and with the biggest shit-eating smile plastered across his face, Kade hit the water with reckless grace.

His weight was enough to sink him for a second or two. The aquatic scene was quiet and dark beneath him, and here where the water was still relatively shallow one could clearly see the algae-lined plantlife. Many of the plants swayed back and forth synchronously, like a dance, or magic, he mused to himself. A score of tiny, fizzing bubbles tickled upward all around him, streaming through his fur on their way. Immediately his legs began to kick downward, seemingly one at a time in strong, steady thrusts.

When his muzzle broke the surface the shewolf's body plunged in right beside him, and he was not met by the warm air and sunshine like before. This time he was slapped repeatedly by the waves of her wake, simply moved sideways by the force of the water as it seemed to rain down upon his head. A rumble of laughter ensued, or, at least, until he began to sink and had to swim again.

The shewolf emerged from her own dive, a beautifully savage look on her face. "I doubt it will be the last," he returned, regarding the witty expression on the beach as he swam a half circle around her.