Zephyr Rill Run, Run Away with Me

Aytigin couldn't help but laugh with the smaller wolf at his own expense. He hated being so cold, but it was kind of stupidly funny, now that he thought about it. He wasn't quite positive as to why he'd just soaked himself in icewater, but he'd done it now, and he was certainly suffering the consequences. And yet... it didn't seem to matter, because the dark man was pretty sure the white one's laughter was the best sound ever. Period. Full stop.

"H-Hell, yes, we're going to f-freeze!" the chocolate man stuttered through his residual chuckles as the snowball touched his nose to his chin and brushed past him, sending a bit of phantom heat prickling across his side. It wasn't in a sexual way, or anything. It was almost an... infatuation. He felt smitten with the adorable wolf, but he'd felt this way before, about other wolves at varying stages in his life. It wasn't quite a crush, and it was a far cry from actual feelings, but it was an attraction - an admiration. It was different from the attraction he felt to most wolves, as well - he didn't even really want to flirt with this young man. It just didn't seem right, for some odd reason.

The massive wolf followed the smaller one onto the bank and shook his own pelt, feeling marginally better now that he was on land, but far from comfortable. He was still shaking, as well, and he'd just given a few licks to his dripping chest fur when the snowy wolf finally offered up his name.

Cottongrass.

Yeah, that fit pretty damn well. A small smile pulled at the mocha-colored man's lips as he looked down at his companion. "I love your name," he offered genuinely, his own tail wagging and his stuttering coming to a stop now that he wasn't completely drenched. "My name's Aytigin Delaney, but everybody just calls me Ayti, because it sounds much nicer." He smiled a bit, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"At any rate, it's really nice to meet you, Cotton," he continued, not giving a thought to the nickname as he spoke to the younger wolf. "Even if I did lose all feeling in my legs from the water."

A small part of Cottongrass couldn't help but feel like he was being dramatic when Aytigin complimented him. Because he was pretty sure it was official, that they were his new best friend and no matter what happened nothing would change that. Because nobody ever did anything he said without scoffing or outright saying no, and nobody ever complimented him either. And it was—it was nice. Like he could spend forever preening because he was named after a plant and guess what, Ayti loved it!

It was enough to have him practically glowing with joy as he listened to Aytigin speak. And when Cottongrass saw an opening in the conversation, he took it. He licked his lips, feeling bold and silly which just confused him because he never was shy. And smirking up at the other wolf—

"You should lie down, then." He chirped without a moment of hesitation. Like lying down was a very practical and irrefutable response to numb legs. It really wasn't. But Cottongrass was pretty sure it was hard to cuddle someone who was standing up, especially when there was a height difference. Behind him his tail swished and he gave an expectant step forward, towards this @Aytigin Delaney who Cottongrass felt a lot of things for yet found that he couldn't name a single emotion to explain it.

COTTONGRASS

Aytigin watched the way that the younger wolf illuminated with the compliment, and made a mental note to do that as often as possible - as long as he was rewarded with that joy. For a moment, he just stood there and watched, his tail giving a soft wag in response, and yup. He was entirely infatuated with the white fluffball before him. It was a weird, butterfly-stomach feeling that he hadn't experienced in quite some time, and he was more than happy to appreciate the fact that he was developing something of a crush.

The massive wolf let out a soft laugh of his own as he obeyed the younger complacently, flopping down onto his belly on the riverbank and laying his head on his forepaws. He understood that he should probably be up and running to get the blood flowing into his numb extremities, but he just couldn't not listen to the other male - not when he smiled like that.

"Maybe you should join me," he suggested, angling his ears forward. He was feeling a bit bold, himself. Nothing like what he usually felt with other wolves - but more than he had throughout most of this conversation. He still didn't want to charm or seduce the young wolf, but he found that he certainly wanted to cuddle. But first, he had to find out if Cottongrass wanted to cuddle, too, or if lying down really was his solution to numbed legs. If it was, then Aytigin would probably have to have a discussion with him about survival techniques. If not, then he did want to lay with Ayti, which was highly welcomed.

Sorry for the wait! Lemme know if you want me to change anything <3

Maybe you should join me.

Maybe you should join me.

Maybe you should join me.

And it was in that lone moment Cottongrass decided that @Aytigin Delaney was the best, whether it be having fun in freezing streams or giving compliments. There was nothing the older wolf wasn't good at and Cottongrass had never before been so sure. Because inviting him to cuddle before he could even make the first move? Perfect. Literally everything he ever dreamed of and he wasted no time in shuffling over, towards the older male.

Because who didn't like cuddling? Especially after splashing about in freezing streams on a cold winter day. Not Cottongrass, that's for sure! Behind him his tail wagged so hard it had the rest of his rear swaying about and he couldn't stop the obnoxious grin forming on his features. Aytigin was a godsend. One great big, cuddly godsend that he was absolutely smitten with. And a part of him wondered if he should be worried, if his brain was frozen or something as his paws came to a stop just before the older male. But he didn't care. Not one bit as he leaned over and with the utmost clumsy care—pressed his nose against Ayti's before pulling back.

"That's the, uh, plan." He said, the grin on his face only becoming brighter as he looked away from the messy gold of his new best friend's. Something light and bubbly grew in his chest and he licked his lips, wondering if he was being too weird or something. He forced himself to move before he could think too much about it. And so it was Cottongrass settled, plopping himself in slushy snow along Aytigin's flank.

He wasted no time in wriggling and squirming, not content until he was pressed flush against the dark wolf's side. It was warm and very cozy there. Infinitely better than the nights he spent hunkered down against Reyes' or Victoria's side. His tail continued to thump away in the snow behind him and he poorly bit down a yawn, letting his head rest against the shoulder of Aytigin.

Maybe he could just rest a little, get all warmed up before moving on...

COTTONGRASS

(This post was last modified: May 27, 2017, 04:56 AM by Cottongrass.)

You've killed me. I'm posting from the afterlife.

This had gone far better than he'd imagined it would. Cottongrass was wriggling in the most adorable way, padding over and stopping just before he reached Ayti. Then, the younger wolf did something unexpected, which would have set Aytigin to blushing bright cherry red if he'd been human. He leaned down and dropped a small kiss on the end of the dark wolf's nose. It had been quite some time since the mocha-colored man had experienced such an innocent, flirty encounter, and his stomach was crawling with butterflies that he'd not had since he was a yearling.

He smiled, relaxing fully as the white wolf settled down at his stomach and squirmed until he was practically melted into Ayti's side, snowy and chocolate fur mixing into an indecipherable mess. Even in the slushy snow, it was warm with the little arctic wolf pressed against him. He felt the ice-colored wolf drifting off, his own eyes drifting shut comfortably.

When he woke up, the two of them would need to part ways. Aytigin would have to go back to the River, which was an exciting prospect, and Cotton would return to wherever he belonged. The water made it difficult to decipher any scents that might linger on that white fur, so the man knew nothing of his new companion. Nothing but the fact that he was unbelievably adorable, and he stirred up long-forgotten feelings of a blossoming crush that Aytigin hadn't experienced in years.

He could get used to this feeling.

<I>{ fade }</I>