Bramble Falls cold and clear

And this is where he hopes she won't open her mouth and say, yeah it's this place on the other side of the mountains, in a forest full of red ferns because if that is the surprise the world has planned for him then fuck the world and.. yeah. Wouldn't that be something? He dips his head, gently pushing his nose into the cool waters and watching her from the corner of his eye.

In the end, she doesn't say that, but she doesn't offer much else about the what and the whys and the wheres - but that's alright. She paints the picture of heaven, and he has to shove his entire muzzle into the water to keep the stupid smirk off his face. That went exactly as he wanted, and he hadn't even been trying - but his heart and soul do that weird, tumbling lurch again. That's.. that's the only downside to this, if you can call it that. She's magnetic, and he's unbound.

"I'd like that a lot," he says honestly, getting his dripping muzzle out of the water and realizing his tail is wagging solemnly behind him, disturbing and rippling the waters. "Where is it?"

Her heart felt replaced by a butterfly or a rabbit's foot. She found herself hardly able to focus on him for too long! He was good company. Perhaps the best she had had in a very long time.

To the south. In willow trees. Maybe two days from here with a good pace. Her gaze turned to look that way as if they might somehow see the willows from here! But between the dark and the distance, they were practically the only visible sight here. We could head that way in the morning. Enjoy the falls for the night...

Her body turned in a crescent moon's arch, paddling a bit further.

And he is blessed: this place he has abruptly and impulsively signed himself away to is down south, among willows and not rusted ferns. He opens his jaws again, lets the water run along his teeth and tongue - cooling that fervent excitement budding inside of him.

He can't even name the feeling.

Just knows that in this moment, everything seems possible.

"I'd love to," he finds himself saying as his paws abandon the rock and gravel of the solid ground. Unbound. His legs extend, meeting only the resistance of the cold water soaking through his fur. Weightless, drawn in by her siren song - helpless, too, floating in the starlight in her wake. Words curl upon his tongue, but he swallows them, spits them into the water. Chooses others. "I'm Malien."

Malien!

And she realized all at once that they hadn't even exchanged names. Yet she had gone and found herself all aflutter. How funny. She dipped chin level into the water, for a moment, content to be bashful.

I'm Venus. She finally replied as she properly buoyed on the water. Her eyes conveyed the slight embarrassment of forgetting herself! What do you think you'll do? Be a hunter? Perhaps a scout to keep exploring? She found she wished to talk with him all night, into the early hours until they'd depart for the willows.

But they'd have two days of time to get to know one another after tonight. Then all the days after that too!

And like that, there's no turning back.

(She's charming, the way she dips a little lower into the water-)

"A beautiful name," his voice a hush across the water's surface; it feels like a wisp of smoke coming out of his mouth, breathed by someone else. An honest compliment, and how strange such a thing tastes these days. He's barely aware of it escaping him as he glides in the pallid light and dark, still waters.

Hmm. He floats in silence for a moment, trying to marshal his thoughts, for he's not quite sure where they have gone. "I would like to see more of where I've found myself, so perhaps scouting isn't a bad idea. For a time, at least." He glances across at her. "What about you?"

For a moment, she considered diving fully underwater. She could cool her face and briefly find solitude! Not that she truly wanted it. Only that she felt casually unraveled by the way he seemed to gently sprinkle in compliments. Did he do it intentionally? Did she care if he did or didn't?

As for herself?

I would like to be a teacher to any children. Maybe a healer, if they need one. She could also be both, she supposed. It would not hurt to teach others how to heal. She also imagined teaching children meant she might need to heal them too!

Slowly she paddled her way back towards the shore, yet she was not certain about this either! Perhaps she would stay in the cold waters as long as he did.

He - ah, hmm... He considers for a moment if he is disappointed, but finds: no. No, he is not. Perhaps he is the voracious beast ever pacing the world, insatiable and cruel, but picturing her guiding the young seems .. right, somehow. She seems so warm and soft and if how she has enraptured him is anything to go by, she will have no problems holding the attention of her pupils.

He pictures her in sunlight, where the night has not leeched her of her golden hues, surrounded by pups, flowers and butterflies, and other nice little things. It's a surprisingly nice thing to imagine.

"Are you a healer?" he asks as she, the moon, pulls him back to shore.

I am, She added, reluctantly pulling herself free of the water. Greeted by a chill nipping at her face and paws. I was taught young by my mother. I bet she'd be proud if I passed it along. She laughed, but now it was not as warm. A hollow kind that did not reach the warmth of her eyes.

Should we find somewhere to rest? Before you get bored... she thought in a rare moment of self deprecation. Quickly rebounding into her usual pep. She even danced a few steps away respectfully, prepared to shake and dry herself as much as she could.

Kind of stupid to ask, really - why else mention she might volunteer as one? But it's in the little things he's asking without putting words on, the path traveled to the knowledge, and as the bitter wind greets him he is, again, rewarded. His ears flick forward, showing that he's heard, he's understood, yet he is silent, does not press. Shivers slightly as the air saps his warmth (and perhaps at the thought of what could possibly turn someone so bright so sour).

He's more tired than he thought - waltzing up and then down an imposing mountain was not exactly a walk in the park, and a chilly swim on top of that? Had she suggested they set off immediately, trot through the night at a brisk pace, he would not have balked, would have managed, but he feels oddly grateful to the suggestion of rest.

"Yes," he agrees, following suit in shaking himself. "It's been a long day, with more travel to come. Though, the company has much improved." And he offers her a rare thing: a bit of a smile, a softening of the eyes and the corners of his mouth, such a different thing from his usual cold, sardonic grins.

Who are you, and why are you here? "We should search a little further into the forest. Get away from the worst of the moisture."

I think that's very smart for us to do, Malien. She returned his smile with a brighter one now. Warm once more, as if the moment had passed and meant nothing. Easily charmed into it by none other than him!

How wonderful, to return to the Ridge with the trinkets collected and very fine company.