Velo en Cascada Friendship = Stupid nicknames

OOC! @Kuru 

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Word Count: 234

Anaia wasn’t sure what had happened or when they had decided to travel together, but when they had woken up the morning after they’d met, they had finished eating the prey he’d caught and then moved on.  She felt better than she had in as long as she could remember, and she actually felt comfortable with this kid.

They’d continued moving south.  He seemed just as determined as she was to delay getting snowed on, if not more. He was also very insistent that she eat something at least once a day.  She found this both very endearing and somewhat annoying.  She wasn’t a child, yet she couldn’t very well say that she could take care of herself.  She did almost starve.

But that future looked to be gone now.  With this new friend, she was beginning to recover.  She found that she was getting tired less easily, and was even starting to gain a little weight. They weren’t moving as fast as she would have liked though; despite his desire to avoid winter, the ashy boy still didn’t want her to overexert herself.  He was quite the little healer.

The faint sound of water made Anaia perk up her ears.  She knew that sound well; there was a lake nearby. A lake meant fish and deer. “Hey Ash,” She called to her companion, who was walking a short distance away. “Wanna go fishing?”

"Speech"  Thought

Word count: 109

Kuru had heard the water sounds too, and his ears flicked up. "I could fish," he replied. "And any chance to see you flail around is a bonus," the young wolf teased.

He looked around for a point that would let him see the lake. He found a rise that overlooked the lake, and followed a path that would take them to the water.

Back beside his pale friend, he described the path he'd mapped in his head. "It's pretty clear, and seems dry. It would be perfect for a race," he panted, and gave the smaller wolf a nudge. "What do you say, Snow?"

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 125

Ash was good for a fishing trip.  Anaia wagged her tail, then playfully snapped at him when he taunted her.  “You wish, Ashy-boy!” She snarled in jest.  “I lived on a lake for a few months. I bet I can swim better than you!”< /p>

But he quickly took off scouting, leaving the girl to wait. When he returned he told her about a path he found and challenged her to a race. “What do you say, Snow?”

She grinned, and without another word took off for the pathway. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she ran, just enjoying being able to run and feel like this again. She had energy, she had a friend, she felt safe. “Last one there is squirrel droppings!”

"Speech"  Thought

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Word count: 117

“Not fair!” protested Kuru. He scrambled to catch up to his cheating opponent. “I didn’t say go!”

He raced over the sandy earth, relishing the wind that streamed through his dusty fur. Kuru let out a howl of delight. Any other day he would be embarrassed to show such emotion, but he was in high spirits. Nothing could stop this wolf!

Kuru almost caught up to his friend. But, despite his momentum and greater familiarity with the path down, the other racer reached the pebbled edge of the lake first. Kuru came in skidding just behind her, stopping with a huff.

“I totally would have won if you’d given me a fair start,” he pouted.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 125

Anaia skidded as she reached the lake’s edge, pebbles flying out from under her feet.  She almost slid right into the frigid water, but fortunately was able to stop.  Ash came in behind her, pouting about her leaving without him.  “You never said it was going to be a timed race,” She pointed out, grinning. A certain smell hit her nose, and she paused, sniffing. “Do you smell that?”

She followed the scent around the edge of the lake, finding a fallen moose behind a few boulders at the water’s edge.  It was only a few days old and looked to have been scavenged by coyotes, but there was still enough to feed both of them.  “Hey! Ash!” Anaia barked.  “Come see what I found!”

"Speech"  Thought

Word count: 116

Kuru shook dust out of his pelt and half-watched his companion chase a scent. He took a moment to drink from the cool lake; the other wolf had a handle on the trail.

"Hey! Ash! Come see what I found!"

Something exciting, then. Kuru rolled his eyes, hoping to the stars the white one wasn't trying to catch something.

He caught up with her, with a super clever reply prepared. "You know hunting goes better when you're q-- Oh." Lying before them was the biggest animal Kuru had ever seen!

"That's...amazing!" the gray wolf breathed. "It's a, um, a moose, yes?" He sniffed the beast up and down, his mouth watering.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 135

Ash didn’t wait long to join her, a smart-ass retort on his lips until he saw what she was after. She gave him an irritated look before returning her gaze to her discovery and nodding.  “Have you never seen one before?” She asked, mouth watering as she eyed their prize.

She nudged it with her nose, seeking some sort of flesh that wasn’t ruined.  Fortunately the nights had been cold enough lately to help the carcass last longer. Anaia found a bit and ripped into it, flinging the chunk at Ash. “Give it a try.” She licked the blood off her nose, only to shove it right back into the carcass and rip a chunk of flesh out for herself. “We can still fish if you want to.” She promised around her mouthful of meat.

"Speech"  Thought

Word count: 124

"I think I ate moose once, when I was really young," said Kuru when his ghostly friend asked. "I'd forgotten how big an animal can be," he admitted.

He nodded thankfully for the scrap of still-fresh meat and licked it. The flavor was rich and fatty. Fascinating.

For the second time, Kuru caught the tail end of what the snow wolf said. "...if you want to."

Just say yes! Something to show you're listening! his mind yelped. "Yeah,
sure, that sounds great," the gray wolf called vaguely. "Hey Warm Ghost, how long do you think this moose'll keep?" He padded back to her side, loose with the perfect casual picture that only comes with great focus.

"Speech" Thought

OOC! 

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Word Count: 151

Anaia had not yet asked her new friend about his background, as she wasn’t ready to answer such questions herself.  Don’t ask if you’re not willing to answer; that’s what her mother had always taught her.  She smiled at him as he mumbled a vague agreement.  He seemed pretty spacey sometimes.

He followed up with another question about time. Warm ghost? What is with this kid? “Maybe another day or two, Ash-brain.” She told him, using the nickname she preferred whenever he called her something weird. “Why?”

She went back to eating, savoring the cool meat that slid down her throat.  She didn’t like to be a free-loader, but it was nice that she didn’t have to make the effort to kill this one.  She had only ever watched a moose hunt, and it seemed like quite a bit of trouble.  She was recovering, but she wasn’t quite that good yet.

"Speech"  Thought