Quaking Vale it could have been worse

Unsure if you'd like to do one more round or fade here, your call! c:

In truth, Niles wasn't quite sure what the big deal was about mud. He was already a dark black-brown color to begin with; and, when he was younger, his mother cared little about his appearance, so long as he was all in one piece - two eyes, two ears, a nose, four paws, a tail and everything else. Besides, he was going to go back to his little sleeping spot at the end of the day and the dirt and muck was just going to build up again. There was no use in trying to get clean when he was just going to get dirty again. Anything to please his Cassie, though...

He cast a glance back to his flower then back to Castel as she led him through the trees. He'd get her another little gift soon; it wasn't like he had expected her to keep it (and, with it being pulled from the ground and all, he didn't anticipate it staying lively and fresh for long... He had seen his mother's and Ravenna's little herb stash and what happened to all those leaves and flowers in time).

Like an obedient cub, he followed her 'til they reached the creek. Here, he smiled at her, the realization dawning over him that if they could get past a coyote attack and its aftermath, they could get through anything... blood, mud, and all.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Short post to fade it off

Cas, with her short attention span and general disregard for material things, had forgotten the flower. It wasn't at all an insult to Niles - as she actually really appreciated the gift and the gesture. It was more that she would have been perfectly fine without the flower, and she couldn't have been expected to even remember it existed in the first place, considering she had Niles back.

Now, there was just the tricky part of cleaning him up. And keeping him clean. It was going to be a long learning process - she could tell. But she would work with it - they would work together. Because that was just what the two of them did.

{ F a d e }