The large thicket that Weldering had to almost fight his way through was not what he had been expecting to find outside of the large Cedarwood Forest. He missed being able to find large expanses of grasslands no matter how boring they seemed, perhaps for this reason he was silently overjoyed to see the canopy breaking into sunlight and a glade opening up within the thicket. It took him by surprise that he randomly stumbled across this little meadow but it was of course a welcomed one. His icy blue eyes darting around madly taking in all the sights while ears effortless cupped around the constant sound of birds from the surrounding trees. It was a field filled with life and energy which seemed to reflect back onto him immediately. The grass here within the heart of the glade was thick and lengthy, yet nestled between it was a colourful display of various wildflowers growing in all shape, size and colour. Taking his time he slowed his pace to an almost near halt. Dwindling around with light feathery steps where he then begun to loiter within the middle of the flower filled glade.

table by debain

ITS WARM AND SOFT AND ZZZZZ
Only a few feet away was a wolf.

The tall grasses and enthusiastic blooms covered his body quite effectively, in both visual and olfactive ways. Sound was hardly a problem; a sleeping beast doesn't tend to make much noise.

The camouflage was hardly perfect, though, and it had only been a lazy kind of desperation which had led Marsh to lay down in this glade to rest. His journey had been tireless, and it had been a pleasant surprise to find himself in a pretty, secluded little place such as this. It wasn't large, and some nosing about had told him that it was quite empty, save for the little beasts which chirped or provided potential meals. Hunger was always an issue, but it was far too hot to hunt, and if he thought about it, he was more thirsty than anything - but there was no lake here, it was all forest or this glade. The shade had been pleasant, but the sudden warm air was so, so, well, warm, and Marsh had realised just how tired he was.

It wasn't sensible, but you don't get this far in life by making no mistakes at all. Marsh wasn't a heavy sleeper, anyway, so he had laid down, content in the cover provided by the glade and its growths, and fallen asleep.

The sun was more calming than he had expected, and though by the time Weldering came by Marsh had not been there long, he was already quite relaxed, quite asleep.

He gave one deep, content sigh, remaining oblivious to the closeness of another.
ZZZZZZZZZZ

Sleeping during the daytime was not something that Weldering had dared to undertake just yet, it was far easier to find somewhere dark and more secluded after dark. Yet what Marsh had managed to do was quite genius actually, not only did the maze of tall grass wrap around his body comfortably turning it into a small, dry, warm and hidden nest. That was enough to spot anyone from physically being able to see him, with also his fur blending in nicely, as for scent in was the middle of the summer. The flowers were in full bloom and the smell of pine and blossom was strong making it hard in a place like this to even detect someone else. So good was Marsh's hiding spot that the first signs of his presence was when he felt the furry black tip of his right forepaw meeting with a heavy also furry object beneath the grass. Yet there was little time to reaction to this odd sensation and while he was wondering what he had clipped he was already falling chest first and eyes wide over the top of Marsh. Landing chest first also with his two forelimbs tucked under his his body, chest and face flat against the ground while his rump was still stuck up in the air. "Uh?" Yet he was still clueless as to what happened.

table by debain

ZZZZZZZZZZZ-WOAHWOAHWOAH
Okay, so a daytime nap hadn't been such a good idea. Damn the seductive sun.

Marsh's subconscious had already stirred, unhappy with its current situation, no longer secure in the idea that he was alone. Constant vigilance! But it hadn't been sharp enough - damn you warmth - and now there was something here and WAKE UP WAKE UP -

Marsh went from sleeping to snarling in lightning speed.

He whipped up, suddenly conscious, aware of nothing but that there was danger and he had been careless and stupid and WHAT -

His nose was full of another despite the heavy flora stench, and that meant it was so nearby, and despite the fact that Marsh's body was already hot from exposure to the sun, he could feel the body temperature of another, and it was so close, he could feel the pressure against him and where it had collided and it felt like fire -

Lips were back, teeth bared, and the only thought in Marsh's mind was to lash out before the enemy could do more damage. His brain was still suitably addled that he hadn't realised there was no damage done. In his bizarre state of grogginess and pseudo-clarity, he scrambled to his feet in a very inefficient manner, heart racing and eyes wide. He snarled with a vehemence that was entirely disproportionate to the severity of the situation and simultaneously tried to snap his jaws at the odd body in front of him and back away. He barely registered the weird position, airborne limbs - all he saw were targets for teeth. Fortunately for Weldering, he didn't want to get a serious grip, but his teeth may make some damage before the situation was brought under control.
WOAHWOAHWOAHWOAHWOAHWOAH

The laid back almost loitering aspect that he had adopted before he tripped continued on. His body was still sprawled out like a messy pile on the ground and while the sound of growls begun to fill the air he was still completely baffled. But the slowness was also due to the fact that the situation was finally dawning onto him, the sound and now the scent of the other male causing him to smirk, his brain focusing on trying to piece together what had happened rather then what was about to occur next. The other brute was just as startled though had turned to aggression rather then idleness. His wild snapping jowls catching the part of Weldering that was at that present time the most exposed area of his haughty body, the part of him that just happened to be facing Marsh after he had fallen over him. With the bite un-aimed so to speak and with the quick withdraw it felt more like a nip yet as it planted on the soft flesh of his rump it was only a brief sharp pain as ivories pinched his skin drawing only a few spots of blood. The immediate action of the young Weldering was one of sheer horror as he spun his hind quarters away from the stranger. His bright twilight blue eyes wide and long silver fur ruffled, but not a look of aggression but one of shock. "Uh! Ummmm a w-what?" He stuttered, still with his gaze fixed on Marsh yet looking him over in a rush. By now Weldering was crouched down in the grass, yet still very visible to Marsh, he was merely feeling rather confused an insecure right now as if he had been sexually assaulted or something. He could feel his cheeks burning under his blackened face. "...why did you touch me.. there?" His voice meek and no louder then a whisper.

table by debain

WOAHWOAHWOAH... WAIT WHAT
The other one suddenly shifted, obviously encouraged by Marsh's teeth. That was good. Any retreat allowed Marsh time to wake up and assess the situation, something which his scrambled brain still wasn't quite able to do. He wasn't even sure if there was only one attacker or many, and that was not good, but the attack wasn't continuing, and for a moment Marsh's energy sapped, and his lips drooped back over his teeth. What was going on?

Nothing, really. No, that was a lie - words were going on. Quiet words, but words nonetheless.

Words? What the fuck?

Marsh's aggression was almost completely quelled as he was forced to try and decipher what had been said at him, and why it had been said in the way it had, and why the poor bastard looked like he did. Again - what the fuck? There? Where? All Marsh knew was that there was the taste of blood in his mouth, which meant he had connected, and that was good, but now - no, there was nothing for it, he had no idea what was going on.

Marsh struggled with verbal language at the best of times. This was nowhere close to being one of those times. He didn't even bother. Instead, he tested the apparent meekness of the other by snarling again, raising himself up, ears up and tail curled over his rump. He didn't like being caught unaware - oh no no no - and was going to make sure that the situation became under control again. Now he was more clear, more awake, he knew that there was nobody else here. The boy was alone.

Marsh would cool down the display upon being submitted to, but up until that point, would show every intention of launching a more coherent, coordinated strike.
STUPID JUST GET IT DONE NEVER AGAIN

SILLY MISTAKES BUT WE'RE GETTING BACK ON TRACK
Funnily enough, when the other finally showed some backbone and common sense, Marsh calmed down. Now we were getting to familiar things, things which Marsh understood. No talk of touching or there or whatever the hell was going on.

So, if anything, Marsh's aggression cooled off a little. It was helped by the fact that the black and grey beast lowered himself. It wasn't submission, not really, but Weldering seemed to be playing defensive and Marsh offensive, which made Marsh feel more in control. The situation was underhand. It was getting to a more comfortable stage.

Of course, this moment of requiem allowed Marsh to reconsider what had just happened, and that didn't help his nerves.

It was stupid, so stupid to have fallen asleep in an unknown place like this, out in the open. He had been hidden but hardly protected - in fact, he had been so well hidden that this beast here seemed to have walked directly into him! Was that a compliment or insult to the degree of his camouflage? But then, what if it had been deliberate, and this boy was just a distraction? Marsh's attention became divided, and his ears flicked back, around, as he tried to sense whether there was anyone else, anyone more, without losing his focus on this snarling beast in front of him. His nose wasn't being useful, partly because of the flowers and partly because it was just full of this boy in front of him. He couldn't hear anything, though. That didn't stop him being alert, quite visibly alert, but he was slowly coming around to the idea that this was all just one big stupid accident.

Then he realised that there were more words.

Wasn't it obvious? Marsh had been stupid, and then he had been stupid again, and then Weldering had been stupid, and now they were baring teeth and on the verge of a fight - except Marsh didn't want to fight, not at all. He was hungry and thirsty and far too hot, and it would all be a waste of energy. Marsh allowed his tail to lower a little, and he took a wary step backwards, staring intently at the male in front. There was a gentle rumble in his throat, a warning rumble, and his teeth were always on show. "Youu," he said, extremely disorientated by the attempt to talk with words and keep alert with his eyes, his ears, his nose. "I wasss - hot - sleep. Stupid. Youuuu! Stupid."
BUT OH MY GOD WE WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE EVERYONE COMES OUT HAPPY
At least words were useful sometimes.

As the other spoke, Marsh realised that there was no conspiracy, no need for paranoia, that everything was as simple as it seemed. Marsh had been hidden, and this boy had tripped over him. It was... just that. As a result, Marsh's aggression cooled off even more, his hackles lowering and his teeth only slightly bared. Pointless fighting would hardly help the situation, especially not such a foolish situation as this. The boy's accusations made Marsh rumble in his throat again, but he knew they were right; the thing was largely his fault. Who knew that the perfect hiding place could have backfired so seriously?

"Yes," Marsh agreed, willing to take blame where it was due. Now he was confident he wasn't under attack, he could take his time over his thoughts, try and make sense of what had happened in that horrible verbal way. He glanced upwards, in the general direction of the blinding sun, and took a deep breath before returning his gaze to the boy. "Tired - trrr, travel. Warm. Alone... but no - was, seemed, seemed, seeeeemedgoodidea. Didn't... shouldn, nn, n't 'ave. But... tired." And he realised he was panting, his body was too warm, and damn he was thirsty. At least his physical fatigue was reduced thanks to the troublemaking nap. Marsh frowned, still staring, and snapped at the air once. "Youuuu should, should, look. Not just me."
OH WE WON'T BE MAKING THE SAME ONE TWICE