Porcupine Island the good, the bad and the dirty

fun idea: they name the island. (Because I'm a subterritory whore and I wanna name them). This would be the southern most island. Short cause phone post and it's almost time for me to go on lunch break :P

Her laugh was like a clear, happy bell as the wave crashed over her and soaked her chest and face as she half-heartedly tried to look away and duck. Barking, she leaped forward and smacked a forepaw down on the water very near him, sending up a shower of droplets. "There's no need to wonder, dummy," to Sahalie there was not much wondering, just trying. "Let's do it. I mean, I swam a lot as a kid. It's far and I may not look very fit," her muzzle indicated her pouchy belly, "But I'd surprise you. It's probably not too far."

Without waiting for him or even entreating him to "come on!" or "hurry up!" the girl splashed through the rest of the shadows until the ground was too far from her paws. Clumsily, the girl began to dog paddle in the direction of the closest island. Blowing hard, the girl tried to keep her chin up to prevent from taking on too much water. It was hard to see from the way her head was positioned, but there were so many trees crammed the island floating before her that it looked almost silly. She wondered how big it really was.

i suck at names but i am good w/ supplying photos !!!!!!
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w642/arlettamarie/IMG_7147_zpsqrzrjk4z.jpg
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w642/arlettamarie/IMG_9469_zpsj1dxs63v.jpg
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w642/arlettamarie/IMG_1503_zpsxs0apboo.jpg

Distractions were good. It meant he wasn’t sulking. It meant that, for the first time in too long, he didn’t feel as though he was suffocating. Sahalie was truly the perfect distraction and he was grateful for her positive, radiant demeanour, even if he could not effectively mimic it. Instead of poking and prodding she was encouraging him, whether it was intentional or not.

Her words, paired with the sudden shower of water, snapped him out of his thoughts. She wanted to swim to the island? His brows tightened as he glanced over at the island in question. Like Sahalie said, it wasn’t too far—but would they make it?

Without waiting for an answer the girl splashed forward, leaving the safety of the shallows behind. He frowned. It was time to stop thinking and start doing. The smudge threw himself at the water, half-running half-swimming as he struggled to catch up to his friend. “Race ya!” He shouted as his legs kicked furiously beneath the surface in order to catch up to the golden-eyed girl, determination fuelling his movements. From afar, the island didn’t look like much, but the closer he got the bigger it became, and the more he excited he got.

pp sort of determined by the fact that arion would most definitely reach the shore before this fatty LOL

R declared that they would race and Sahalie could only gurgle in response, taking on a little water as she opened her mouth in her attempt to say anything. Despite her smack-talk about her weight not slowing her down, it was hard to deny that Arion was both taller and thinner, and as a result he cut through the water a lot easier than she did. Sahalie was a little more than a bouy in comparison, bobbing up and down but with enough force in her legs to propel her forward. But the boy was already catching up to her, and pretty soon his extended nose was well beyond hers. The girl wanted to shout something distracting at him but didn't want to swallow any more water. Her legs could not lift high enough to splash him, either, without taking movement away from her swimming strokes and the girl would surely sink to the bottom. All sabotage was out, apparently. With a hearty snort the girl continued to paddle furiously.

By the time she felt her blunt claws scrape against loose sand and pebbled again she was gasping for breath. Her dark legs kicked a few more times before she imagined it was safe enough to stand. The force it took to pry her body from the water was immense, and the girl almost could not lift herself. Her coat was soaked and heavy, a torrential waterfall cascading from her slicked belly-fur and tail as she stumbled to the brief beach of rock. The stone had soaked so much summer sun up that it was almost too hot to stand on. "Ow ow, owwwww," the girl said, her paws dancing underneath her as she chose to jump back into the water.

"Well..." she breathed, still gasping, "You...you won. Sorry I don't have a reward for you or anything"

@Sahalie i am worst :c pp is ok -- poor lil tubby halie <3

The smudge pushed as hard as he could against the water, his gangly legs working overtime. It did not take him long to catch up. His icy stare was fixated on the island before him, brows narrowed in determination as he propelled himself through the cool liquid. Truthfully he did not care if he won or lost. It had been too long since Arion had suppressed the memories that haunted him—consumed him—and he wanted to enjoy every moment of freedom. It would not last long, no matter how hard R tried, the thoughts would return. Like a ravenous plague.

Despite the exhaustion that threatened to pull him below the surface Arion pulled himself through his water, too focused on the growing island before them to disrupt Sahalie’s path. Perhaps on the way back, when there wasn’t a race to win…

A sigh of relief rolled off his tongue as his toes finally connected with the pebbles below. He dragged his water-logged body to the shore before collapsing into the shallow water, his sides heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. He heard the espresso girl clamber onto the shore behind him before quickly returning to the comfort of the water once her toes grazed the hot stone. He glanced at her, his blue orbs widening in concern as they landed on her soggy frame. She spoke, suddenly, announcing her defeat and that she did not have a prize for him. The boy shrugged, a soft grin tugging at his lips. “S’ok,” he started, his head tipped to the side, “I don’ need a reward or anythin’.” He just couldn’t believe that they had actually made it. “Wha’cha wanna call it?” He asked, eyes wide as he studied the sharp trees that protruded from the centre of the island. 

maybe we could try to wrap this up? just cause it's old. don't worry they can meet again soon<3

She turned and smiled back at him, admiring the easy, unboastful grace that became him and the characteristic way with which he tipped head head. But after a moment she noticed that she was staring particularly long at him and, flopping her ears in a headshake, she looked back up at the island and sighed. "Guhhhh," was all that came out of her as she continued to pant, "I'm so tiredddddddd" and while she thought for a moment of laying back down in the shallow waters, something urged her to go on.

"Idunno!" she barked happily, looking over at R and then back at the island. If she moved quickly, she could avoid the hot rocks at the shore. Throwing one last goofy grin over her shoulder at her dark friend, the girl charged up the steep, rock and moss covered slope of the island. She couldn't name it if she knew nothing about it, after all. Reaching a point at which the roots finally sprouted from the ground, she leaned back down and shouted, "Let's look around a bit! C'mon!"

It seemed so peculiar to Sahalie how naked the trees were for the first feet. They were exclusively evergreens, and rather scraggly ones at that. So many of them jammed onto the small rock. All sorts of birdsong echoed from the tree tops. She smiled, turning around slowly to take in every inch of the overgrown island bustling with summertime and greenery. It was, surprisingly, a lot bigger on the inside, or how it at looked from the shore.

maybe 1 more post from each of us, or you can fade w/ yours? <3 whatever works for you works for meeeee @Sahalie

He could not help but smile as his friend complained. However, in typical Sahalie fashion, it was short-lived. Almost immediately her energy returned as she chirped back a response and launched herself up the steep rock. His grin only widened as she shouted down at him, encouraging him to explore the island with her. He nodded enthusiastically and launched himself forward, treading quickly over the hot rock. The island had appeared much smaller from the water… how much would they be able to cover during their visit? All of it, he thought eagerly to himself as he scampered up to Sahalie’s side, his shoulder pressed to hers.

He could not stop his pale gaze from widening as he drank in the sight before them, his tail waving excitedly behind him as he took a cautious step forward. “Le’s go!” He chirped as he bumped his nose against her cheek before prancing forward, his gangly legs maneuvering over the roots that littered the floating rock. “An’ we’re not namin’ it after you,” he added with a playful wink over his shoulder. The smudge wanted to see as much of the island as they could before he would have to return to the Pines and Sahalie to the Bend. He did not get to see the chocolate wolf that often, so he wanted to make the most out of their time together. 

"What?" she gasped in mock horror, throwing the boy a nasty look over her shoulder as she trotted forward, "An' here I was thinking that Sahalie Island had a good ring to it." Like she would ever be able to sleep at night knowing she had the gall to name a whole island after herself. What if someone swam to Sahalie Island and then died and it became bad luck? What if wolves began to curse the name and hate it and her by extension. This was just not something she could live with, though she had to wonder if this had ever crossed the mind of whoever had named Heiress Loch. It was a story that no one had answers to. Sahalie wanted to make a mark on the land, that was for sure, but just naming the island was enough.

It was hard not to trip on the roots as she walked, for the rock was just as crowded with them as it was trees. The island was positively overgrown, bulging with life and it did not let up for an instant. Her head tipped up to stare at the straight-shooting trunks, half naked as they all crowded and jostled one another for sunlight. "Bit dense, isn't it?" she commented, twisting around and trying to get a feel for it. "We should probably spend the night, I think." The thought of swimming all the way back exhausted her more than the act of swimming did. 

"On Porcupine Island" she declared proudly, her mind finally settling on the name. "The trees are like the quills, see?" She thought this was very clever.

@Sahalie feel free to archive or post/then archive! <3

A chuckle rolled effortlessly off his tongue at her response, causing his eyes to roll. “Maybe we should call it Arion island instead,” he retorted quickly with a gracious wag of his tail. Like Sahalie, he had no intentions on naming the island after himself. The shadow had grown comfortable in the shadows since his mother’s death—he did not need any unnecessary attention on him, and having an island named after him would surely bring that.

As he maneuvered over the roots he, too, tripped more than he would have liked to. His cheeks flushed warm beneath his obsidian pelt, brows narrowing as he slowed his pace down, hoping that would help with the frequent tripping. He nodded in agreement to Sahalie’s words as he paused, his pale gaze studying their new surroundings. Dense was an understatement. It appeared that the island wanted to remain undiscovered and had grown with such ferocity Arion wondered if anyone else had dared make the climb. “Spending the night sounds like a good idea,” he agreed as he sauntered up to Sahalie’s side. The boy was also exhausted from the swim over and wasn’t ready to leave just yet, There was still much of the island that needed to be explored, which could wait until the soft glow of morning was on their side.

He beamed at her suggestion and nodded once more, this time more frantically than before. “That’s a perfect name!” He certainly would not have been able to think up a name for a whole island and was more than happy with his friend’s suggestion. Quills, why hadn’t he noticed it before? His grin widened, this time cheekily, as he bumped his friend’s shoulders. “No snorin', alright? I need my beauty sleep,” he cooed, playfully, offering the girl a sharp wink. “Y’know any spooky stories?” He asked as he flopped against the base of a tree, finding the perfect hole between snake-like roots to fit his lanky body. A sleepover away from the Pines with one of his good friends was precisely what the yearling needed.