Cedarwood Forest Blessings

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He found himself staring at the ground with a worried expression upon his handsome features. Brows furrowed, an ivory paw protruded forward and pressed into the drying mud of the creek bed. The water had all but vanished, drying up into a shallow bed of skeletal fish, smooth stone and mud. He felt the mud soak between his toes. Though dried up, water had been here at some point not long ago. But where had it all gone to? Slowly his salmon tongue ran the length of his muzzle; parched taste buds felt like sand paper against his skin. He would follow along the river banks to see if there would be any water pooled in a hidden location away from prying eyes. If only he’d known that the precious source of water he’d encountered a few days previous was the only one he’d find in the coming days… The slender yearling may not have left it in the first place. A soft sigh escaped him as he turned to travel along the drying river bed. Tail hung limp behind his form, his head carried slightly lower than normal as his eyes surveyed what could have only been a lush area before the water vanished. An hour of traveling led him to the sounds of faint splashing. Ears swiveled forward with haste, his pace quickening as he neared the sound. A small fish was flopping in a sliver of water that still remained, gasping for air; for its life. He stood there; watching and unable to move. Thirst overruled his frozen stature, a gentle bite pulling the fish away from the water and setting it on the drying mud a few feet away before lapping up a few drinks of the little water that remained. Only a few laps remained when he satisfied his thirst. He drank no more than was necessary to continue, praying that someone else would be able to find the rest before it vanished beneath the earth. Moving away from the puddle he returned his attention to the fish which had fallen silent and still. Its gills no longer moved; its eyes glazed over as its soul retreated from this world. The creature was small, but would be enough to fill his belly slightly for the time being until something larger was found. Picking the fish up he headed for the grassy banks to lay down and enjoy his small meal.

table by Ryne, Image by Jolee

These days her mind was constantly preoccupied with the need to quench her thirst. This troubled her. For if there was one thing her mind loved to think about, it was herself. That is, in the context of leisure and games. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed the comforts and luxuries of her family life. Though she had helped out as she could, she had only been a child then and not much had been expected from her. To be thrown into the so-called wild then, without protection or guidance, was overwhelming to her inner child. She still half-expected to be fed by the pack hunters, to be taken care of by her mother and sisters. But no one was here to take care of her, and with this in mind, it was easy to understand why the female found the depleting water supply absolutely outrageous. This was the true problem. Life as a lone wolf was already difficult as it was. That nature would then throw her an anomaly of natural processes was just too much for her to bear. It made her feel almost as mad as a hatter, so desperate for just one cup of tea.

It was the sound of a fish splashing in her cup of tea that drew her in, and it was the sight of water that made her continue to approach, despite the fact there was an obstacle in her way. Her previous encounter with the male had been memorable, but not in a nostalgic sense. If anything, it was something she had sorely hoped to forget, but just the sight of the male brought back all sorts of feelings she found discomfiting. Licking her lips, she smacked them and was once more reminded of their dryness and of the unbearable thirst in her mouth. Knowing that a few laps of water would do wonders to her being, she decided it was worth the encounter. She kept a modest face as her eyes shifted from the shallow puddle of water and the feasting male, and she wondered if he would be so merciful as to one, allow her to drink, and two, allow her the privacy of experiencing her embarrassment alone.

<blockquote>Not two seconds after he had lied down to begin nibbling away at the fish, he spotted the fem coming from the woods towards the few small laps of water he’d left behind. Salmon tongue ran over the scales of the fish grasped carefully between his front paws; his golden dip stick tail curling around to his side. He shifted his position slightly a moment to investigate the situation for a moment. A few days previous he’d run in to her north of their current location. If memory served him correctly, it was not the best encounter either. Behavior had been rather rude despite his interest in being civil. Now she stood before him yet again interested in the water yet refusing to do so while he was staring. Fur along his shoulders ruffled; the muscles beneath his skin flexing before he rose to stand and stretch. A sigh was emitted before picking up his fish and moving away from the fem and lying down once more; this time facing away from her. The edge of his back pressed up against the bark of the tree he chose to feast under.

Piercing rays of sunlight beamed down in lines through the leaves of the canopy. How desperately he wanted to simply devour the small fish, bones and all. Yet subconsciously he held himself from doing so, instead choosing to lick at its scaly skin while listening to the fem’s movement. Ears had swiveled atop his head to hear her while his golden gaze stared out into nothing in the other direction. This would have been easier if she wasn’t so stubborn; he would have been happy to split his meager meal. For now, he kept him to himself though had yet to take a single bite. It was then he cursed the fact he was raised to be a gentlemen. Eyes clenched tightly before he spoke a word. <b>”Are you hungry as well?”</b> Came the simple phrase as much as he wished to with-hold the potential offer he was extending. </blockquote>

It seemed his civility remained intact, even after their previous encounter. Feeling no better knowing this, she inadvertently winced as he sighed. Blushing furiously, she could only take peeks at his form, and she noticed in that moment once more the beauty of his luxurious fur, which seemed to radiate each speck of light. It was his fur that had gotten her in trouble the last time around, sending into spasms of jealous rage, and she quickly decided it might not be beneficial to linger on his handsomeness. Instead, she focused on that which lay beneath the fur. He was a muscular being, and her mouth grew drier as she watched those muscles carry his strength away, but only to a nearby resting place. No matter, his face was turned the other direction, and for this she was grateful.

Scurrying up to the puddle of milk like a stray cat, she greedily lapped away what remained. Her eyes darted nervously from side to side, and her body remained tense like a spring, ready to bolt if the male changed his hospitable ways. When he spoke, she once more flinched and even choked a bit. It pained her to hear the hesitancy in his voice, and were it not for her shame and his kindness, she might have lashed out. Instead, she spoke in a watery voice. She felt like a ghost. <b>"Please, I already feel like a thief as it is. You do not need to pretend you care to feed me."</b> It was not meant to be mean, merely truthful. Her gaze lingered on the male, and she marveled at the sadness that overwhelmed her mood.

<blockquote>Ears folded behind his head to listen as he heard the laps of water where she drank feverishly. He had stopped cleaning his fish, savoring each salty scale on his hungering taste buds. Part of him wished to devour the small creature right then and there and be done with it, but his upbringing caused him to hesitate and wait as the sound of her drinking died down; the water gone. An ear twitched as a pesky fly began to bother him. Even now with the water evaporated the bugs still hovered around the once thriving water banks.

Her response was unexpected and it left him questioning his actions. Perhaps he should not have hesitated in his offer; to make her feel terrible for hoping to share a meal. Eyes closed as he sighed so softly only he could have heard the sudden breath that escaped his ebony nose. Fur ruffled along his shoulders and back as he rose once more from where he lay. Carefully, he ripped the small fish in half. Taking one side, he turned and began to walk to where she stood before the empty pool. Golden gaze softened as he stared at her; brows furrowing to show he meant nothing harmful in his actions. He placed the fish on the ground before her and gave a nod. <b>“I insist. And I never pretend, miss. My actions speak the truth.”</b> Honey coated words flowed like a melody from obsidian lips. Soothing to the ear, it was hard at times not to fall into the serenity in which his aura could radiate.

Orion moved backwards then a few steps from her, a bow given before turning and heading back to the tree where the other half lay waiting. Long legs carried him with elegant strides up the small bank and back to the grassy woods; his tail hanging limp behind him. </blockquote>

This sadness needed to be punctured. Otherwise she would suffocate in its airtight cocoon. She peered as if through a thin shroud as the male approached her, his radiance growing ever stronger, ever annoying. His fur seemed to billow, though there were little wind here, and she knew that his luxurious fur had managed to capture the solar winds of the sun. The sun above was merely an imitation of him. Holding her breath as he finally dropped the fish before her feet, she stared wide-eyed at her generous giver. He was pitying her. She blinked. He spoke words that seemed to her pretentious and manufactured. He ended his performance with a bow, and she watched as he exited not with any particular flourish, but a limp tail. She took this as her sign.

Peering at the halved fish below, already swarming with small black-bodied insects, she gazed upwards. Her nose twitched as she sniffed, and her ears perked. Her tail, a flag. Deciding it was now or never, she decided that she would take the wind, which blew her scent downwards and away, to make her move. Without another thought, she bolted, bolted for the male and quickly raced past him, where she snatched up the other half of the fish. It tasted like sin in her mouth, but she held onto it all the same. She dug her left forearm into the soft ground, pivoting her small, agile body without losing momentum, and ran in another direction. She had felt like a thief because she was a thief. She was a thief that no one cared whether she lived or died.