The fading rays of sunlight that shone upon the water's surface offered what felt like more warmth than a summer's night. It was peaceful here, quiet - something worth cherishing. Along the shore stood ageless, botanic relics, their leaves splashed with shades of violet and crimson, and he wondered if it were the souls of the dead that lent their aura. The breeze was forgiving, deceptive of the season, and as a thoughtless gaze roved the lagoon he nearly wondered what it was that could have possibly brought him here in the first place.

Was it the remnants of a wanderer's spirit, now dormant somewhere in his being? Was it some search for life outside the chosen confines of the cedar forest?...Was it a search for the one who he'd spent every solitary night for some several months dreaming of? The image of fiery, auburn eyes watching through the dark and the rain was slowly becoming something of a blur, despite the inarguable fact that she was, and had been, the best side of him. The heaviness of his body at the thought fought the winds which sought to sweep his philosophical worries away.

And so it was with no abandon that the man submerged himself in the irridescent current, ears flickering backward at the gentle hum of his waves lapping along the shore. Unlike the mountain's lake - which, at this point, would be a sight for sore eyes - the pondbed was smooth, lacking the pebbles which had always kept his paws from sliding into the silt as they were doing now. For a moment he felt like a child again - innocent, naive to the world and its enchantments and horrors, with a hunger for the mystery he knew still existed at the ends of the earth.

It was a fleeting second of what he could only discern to be foolishness, however. The wolf's brows would pull together in a hard line as rounded ears flattened; he shouldn't be here. There were duties to be carried out, hungry stomachs that needed to be fed elsewhere. Stealing a final stare at yet another sunset's last stand, the Attaya withdrew from the comfort of the water and turned his back to lagoon, intent on making his way home.