Shallows Edge 2 souls on fire

RE:A recent heat wave has left the forest drier than usual.
@Reyes

Askan was dying, he was certain of it.

His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth as he panted, his sides heaving. He knew he shouldn't have pushed himself so hard, that on a day as hot as this he should've taken it easy, but the Selwyn wasn't content to sit around in the shade and wait for the midday heat to pass. The borders weren't going to mark themselves and he'd be damned if he napped the afternoon away, like some. But fuck, maybe he should have swallowed his pride for once. He felt sick, woozy, as though the sun had drained all his strength. At this point there wasn't much Askan could do but try to find somewhere to cool down. The Shallows seemed like the obvious choice.

He moved slowly, shuffling from one shadow to the next till there was no more shade for him to lurk in. Gritting his teeth he glowered ahead at the scorched grass,  the wide open space drenched in sunlight. If the situation hadn't been so dire-if he wasn't such a heat-pansy- he could have let it go but he had no choice. If he wanted to cool down he was going to have to make a run-or rather walk-for it.

As soon as he left the safety of the shade he felt the sun baring down on his back. Askan had never really had an issue with his coat colour before, but he couldn't help but curse the fact that Selwyns were so dark. To his relief he made it to the Shallows. He was half tempted to fling himself into it's depths, but seeing as he felt a little off- well, he didn't want to drown today. Not if Reyes wasn't going to scoop him up.

Instead, he unceremoniously thunked to the floor, planting himself in the middle of one of the deeper puddles that surrounded the shallows. Immediately, he felt better. The overwhelming weight of heat and exhaustion began to dissipate as he laid there, elbow deep in cold, crisp water. He drank his fill and unable to stop himself, flopped onto his back to toss himself this way and that, anything to cool down his burning back.

(This post was last modified: Jul 04, 2018, 03:57 PM by Askan.)

Askan was dying, but Reyes was fuckin’ loving the heat. And it wasn’t just sunshine and heat, it was warm and it was dry. The best kind of heat – it was the kind that baked a wolf as he laid out in the sun, drinking in the rays as they energized him to get through the rest of his day. He loved it. It reminded him of home, all the good parts of home. The only thing he was missing was the sand, but given that the rain had finally gone and the sun was tickling his guard hairs, he was willing to overlook it.

After several hours, the wolf returned to the depths of his territory – his intention was to stop for a quick drink and then inspect the caches, letting the answer determine how the rest of his day went – instead he found his mate, rolling around in the water like a confused puppy. Except it wasn’t cute, it looked frantic. The wolf rumbled low in his throat, approaching Askan with a soft woof. “Hey? You okay?”

It could be a weird Askan-ism, he supposed. But he looked a lot stranger than usual.

As foolish as he no doubt looked, Askan had no room to bitch or complain. It was working, he no longer felt as though he was going to melt into a puddle of grumpy goop. It actually felt quite nice, why hadn't he returned to the Shallows sooner? His tongue still lolled out the side of his mouth as he panted, but it was slower now, steadier, as though he was unwinding after a long distance gallop. Askan continued to toss back and forth, completely unware that his mate was approaching, and then it was too late. Reyes had seen him.

In choosing to roll around like a frenzied racoon Askan had already thrown his sense of dignity and decorum to the wind, but still, he couldn't help but feel a rush of embarssment as Reyes' question reached his soggy ears. He rolled onto his stomach as he looked up at Reyes, his lips tenseing into a sheepish smile. How did Reyes do it? How did he manage to look so... good and put together when the sun was doing it's damnest to set the world afire? Askan had no idea, but he was very much interested in findng out.

"I guess." His tail slapped at the puddle, sending dropelts of water flying. "Too fucking hot. Felt kinda sick before, not so bad now." Needless to say he didn't explain why, Reyes had eyes.

Askan was tempted to get to his feet, to greet his mate as he should, but the idea of getting up out of the water was rather unappealing. Instead, he dug his back paws into the muddy earth and pushed himself to the side a little, making room for his bigger, bulkier mate, if he was so inclined to join him.

"You look fine. What's your secret?"Askan asked with a squint.

“Tcht.”

Too hot? There was no such thing. Well, maybe – maybe if someone picked him up and tossed him on top of the sun itself, he might decide it was too hot. Until that point, though, he wasn’t going to worry about it. He took a step backwards, narrowly missing the spray as the younger wolf righted himself, and offered a lazy smile. “I dunno. I was born to it. I just like it, I guess.” He didn’t have any technique, he just laid out in the sun and liked it.

But. It had its let down. “Remember how shitty I feel in winter? Just the flipside of that, I guess.”

Reyes ran cold and needed the heat – Askan ran hot, and more heat was too much. They evened out, but-- Well. Clearly this made Askan miserable. “You know, you could den behind the waterfall for the season. The rocks take the heat away.”

Oh yes, Askan remembered that all too well. His mate had shivered and stompped about all winter and spring with a permanent scowl on his face, nothing Askan said or did seemed to lighten his mood. Not for long anyway, it was almost as though he wanted to be miserable. At the very least things seemed to be getting better now, with the blistering heat and sun came a brighter eyed, less crabby Reyes. The sort that seened more tolerant of Askan's...well, Kana-isms

Askan puffed out a dramatic sigh as he reclined back into his puddle, only to fidgit and wriggle when he decided his position wasn't quite comfortable enough. This was his main problem with hot weather, he supposed, it was hard to find a happy medium. Nothing was to his tastes, nor could he spend the rest of the summer walking around like damp moss. In short, he had to aclimatise to it and Askan didn't like that thought one bit.

"I could," he begrugingly admitted."If you slept there too."

Even in this heat Askan had very little interest in sleeping alone. They didn't cuddle as they usually did,it was too hot for that, but Askan still liked to have him close. Even when they bitched and argued with one another that fact wouldn't change; Reyes was all Askan wanted and more.

The Shallows were a little too public for any real displays of affection, but the Edge Lords had ways around it. Askan had never been very subtle but there were times he could wing it.

"Tell me, are you free later?" He asked as he rose to his feet, all proper and poised. A clever smile tugged at his lips as his eyes shone brighter than the sun.

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2018, 01:07 AM by Askan.)

“I dunno, Askan. I was totally just gonna tell you to go sleep by yourself. Like I didn’t stay in our private den even when I was freezing my tail off.”

His smirk betrayed the monotone answer and he huffed, shaking his head. He loved the caves, the waterfall – it was the first place he’d found in the forests of Relic Lore, but it wasn’t just nostalgia. With three walls and a veil, it was safe, and he valued that. Highly.

But—

“You gotta go out sometimes though, you know,” he warned his mate, padding over to where Askan stood, all smug like he hadn’t been thrashing around like a swamp beasts only moments before. He clicked his teeth before leaning over to nibble on his chin, amused. It was easier to just be, just exist when it was the two of them like this. “If you only stay in the cold, the heat’s just gonna feel worse.” He hummed. “I am, though. Was thinking about a hunt, but I don’t gotta. What’s up?”

Askan should have seen it coming, should have recognised that fiendish gleam in his lover's eyes. Instead, the Selwyn pouted at the thought and opened his mouth to complain- only for the lightbulb to plink on in his mind. Had the sun-addled his mind, or was he just slow on the uptake? Askan liked to think it was the former, but even then he'd never been that good at this whole socialising thing... Whatever, he couldn't be bothered to sulk today, it sounded like too much effort.

"Sure." He scoffed, though there was no weight or venom to his words. Askan merely wanted to get in the last word, once he had he was content enough to move on, knowing that Reyes would be where he was supposed to be.

Reyes didn't always initiate displays of affection, but when he did it always seemed so natural, effortless. Like it wasn't even a big deal. Yet this brute of a man-Askan's man- somehow managed to be so tantalising it beggared belief. How did he do it? Askan would likely never know, it was a mystery for the ages.  Nonetheless, he couldn't help but rumble in appreciation as Reyes' teeth grazed his chin, he leaned into his touch and only when Reyes was done did he risk a quick kiss to Reyes' nose.

If a bit of sun was all it took to make Reyes so chipper then maybe...maybe summer wasn't so bad.

"Yeah right, like I'd ever spend all day sitting on my arse. Is that how yours got like that?" With a jab of his snout he motioned to his lovers rump, it was a rather shaply butt, one Askan happened to glance at every now and then...For science. "No, I wanted to spend time with you. Got a problem with that?"He rose his brow as he inched closer, silently goading his mate to contradict him.

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2018, 01:08 AM by Askan.)

Reyes barked a laugh as his mate tried to take a stab at his thick backside. “Hah! You wish! Runnin’ and climbin’ in the desert heat, that’s how I got an ass as fine as this.” Askan could poke fun as much as he wanted – Reyes knew the truth. He wasn’t a conventional beauty, but he was a goddamn prime specimen of wolf, and there wasn’t a thing to be ashamed of. It was perfect. He was perfect.

Well, kind of. But it felt good to think as much in the moment.

The goading only served one purpose. Reyes’ muzzle darted out and he reached up, grabbing one of Askan’s ears gently between his teeth and giving a little tug. No arguments to be found here – just a little mischief perhaps. “Seems like a good day to enjoy the pool,” he replied, glancing back at the place where he’d found his mate. “I mean, we did go to the trouble of finding a place with water.” He shrugged. “Might as well make good use, right?”

It was practically a beach date. Or something like that.

Askan grumbled as he felt his mate's teeth pinch his ear. He leaned away to pry his ear loose, only to surge forward to bump his head into his mate's shoulder. In comparison to how rough they used to be with one another this was actually quite gentle, nothing more than a bit of tomfoolerly. If they really wanted to they could do massive damage to the other, but why would they? Sunshine aside, everything was as it should be.

Following Gabe's line of sight, Askan looked out at the Shallows. It certainly looked very blue and inviting today, but he knew better than to jump in blindly. It was far far far deeper than it looked. The puddles to the sides were perfect for lounging though, Askan was surprised Reyes hadn't figured that out before him. Then again Gabe didn't really spend his days melting, now did he?

"I guuuess." He huffed, all melodramatic. In all honesty though, lounging the afternoon away with his favourite wolf in the world did sound like time well spent. He just wasn't going to admit that, not unless he was under duress. "Come." He flicked his tail sharply, beckoning his lover to follow.

Finding his soggy spot, Askan circled around and around till he folded himself down onto the ground in a neat little pile. There that was better. He looked out at the water as a slight smile tugged at his lips.

"Do you remember that lake we found, the one by the mountains? You said some really sappy shit."

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2018, 01:30 AM by Askan.)

“Yeah, you have that effect on me.”

A few other thoughts floated to mind, but he didn’t voice them. They were all one in the same, really. Askan just brought that side out of him, for better or for worse. It was his to deal with, either way.

Once the younger wolf was settled, Reyes followed suit (with considerably less circling, however), and settled down in the soft sand. The water was cool but not cold (a benefit of the shallow part) and he gave a pleased sigh before allowing himself a jaw-cracking yawn. Yeah, this was nice. Got the babe. Got the sun. Got the water.

A wolf could get used to a life like this.

Fade.