So you want to start a war with a loaded gun?

She had made her way down from the mountain, her tail swaying behind her. The rushing of the falls had drawn her attention, leading the woman to dip her paws into it and find some relief for the seemingly constant overheating that she seemed to be feeling. Despite the heat, she reckoned it was worse than usual… she did not understand how it had overcome her so quickly or what it was meant to mean. It did not seem fair either to be cursed with such things when others had seemed fine… a thought that caused annoyance but nothing more.

Her body was rigid, her green eyes focused on the water and the way it distorted the appearance of her paws underneath. It was so clear, so untouched… she wondered briefly if she had found her own secret paradise… and yet, she knew even then that she would not stay. To stop moving was to settle, and to settle without a purpose was to die… at least, she was fairly certain that was what her mother’s words to her had meant.

Her hips swayed lightly with her tail, mostly due to it’s vigor forcing their movement slightly, a few drops of water spraying and skipping along the water as she let her eyes close, and she simply breathed in, holding it for a second, and then letting it all out.

So you want to start a war with a loaded gun?

There was a bark, and her head snapped up to focus on it’s owner. It was a woman, around her age… her gaze was focused and intent as she gently tipped her head to one side. There was not one word, not even an attempt though she would begin to rise from the water, giving her pelt a shake. Her tail would hold a cautious but otherwise friendly wag to it as she pressed her shoulders down, tension fading from her torso to show a generalized lack of aggression.

She would give the air a gentle sniff, as if curious and approaching, as if asking for something… a name, information… anything the woman might be willing to offer with the silence that the woman let hang over the air. She would refrain from any more attempts at communication until she received some kind of response, and if there was none then she would simply walk away from her, another habit she had picked up from her father, besides the lack of words.

So you want to start a war with a loaded gun?

Soph was oblivious. She’d never been around another while pregnant. While the pungent scent had existed secondhand on old trails, Soph did not know what it meant. She had not been properly prepared for the world that her parents had allowed her to wander off on her own into. She was figuring it out on her own, as she went.

There was a low chuff, another step close as her new acquaintance relaxed her posture into something neutral. The fact the other had not uttered a word was refreshing. Most of the time, wolves attempted to make conversation and were quick to feel anger when she did not speak.

After a moment of thought, she took a cautious step forward, her eyes roaming over the Valle as she took in her features, committing them to her elephant’s memory, remanding to be remembered. She stunk of a pack, and she wondered if the pack was nearby, or if she had wandered away. She would take another sniff, committing the smell while trying to separate it with the strange tones underneath.

There would not even be a chuff. She would dip her head cautiously in a formal greeting, but nothing more.

So you want to start a war with a loaded gun?

There was a silent motion towards the water, and a look that spoke her question for her. Soph simply glanced at the water, a gentle smile on her features as she tried to best place how to communicate. Her tongue would loll, a soft pant but nothing more and nothing near a typical sound. She had been overheated, hot… and the water had been cooling. It was a little more nuanced than that, but it was often to describe the depths of her internal thoughts with motion, even if she had been trying her entire life.

She glanced at the water, her shadow lingering over it as the sun began to set on the horizon. Perhaps had she not climbed in, there might have been fish that she could have hunted… yet another source… but no. No, she had ruined that, if only for a piece of time.

SO YOU WANT TO START A WAR WITH A LOADED GUN?

She dipped her way into the water and Soph simply watched as it happen, mesmerized. She’d always been a fan of the water herself. She found a certain solace in it that was hard to quantify with words. She would sniff gently before lapping at some of it with her tongue, moving to take a full seat, the water coming up to the middle of her legs and up half of her back.

She continued to say nothing, instead watching the water, the way it rippled as soon as either of them moved even a strand of fur. It was something that had always fascinated her. Her emerald eyes would seek out the pale baby blue nature of her newfound friend’s in a silent but mutual understanding of what this interaction was.