She acts like summer and walks like rain

 When one is thrown into a new world, there sometimes is little to be done but march on.

 Northward she went, still within the fields of flowers that she had found herself in. They were pleasant and full of berries and flowers, but the fact that it was so wide open made her somewhat uncomfortable. Still, it was pretty. Today, the white wolf cloaked in blue found herself watching the sun drift closer to the horizon in the east. She had been traveling by day so far, to avoid finding herself lost.

 At least the direction the sun rose and fell in was consistent, even as the moon's own journey shifted throughout the nights and might have led her astray.

 The flowers around her, she sat amongst the grasses, keeping an ear out for noises but letting herself relax for a least a moment. For now, she could enjoy the sunset and find a burrow to sleep in, only to resume her travels come break of day.

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 Oh jeez, he had eaten too much. That was saying something for the large brown male. Today, he found himself in the most amazing of fields and spent all day snacking on berries of all different sorts while Crux carried on with important business. What a lovely guard he was being... far away from the one he was supposed to be guarding, and eating himself sick with no supervision. From sun-up to sundown, the wolf was gorging. So, when sundown finally came, he felt like he could barely walk he was so stuffed. His body was covered in copious amounts of berry stains of all different colors so that he resembled a walking rainbow more than a brown wolf.

 His head was down low as he trudged forward, his tiny tail clasped close to his rump, and every so often he would sniffle and let out a low moan of pain at his gurgling gut. Why didn't he have any self-control when it came to food? Ooohh, he'd never do this again... Okay, he would, but probably not until the day after next.

 After a while of walking he would fall onto the ground with a dramatic moan. He rolled over onto his back, gurgling and groaning. Oooh, was this the end? Good-bye cruel world!

 The poor man even started to tear up a little.

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 The ghost realized belatedly that there was another nearby. Her eyes fell on him - a brown male, moving through the evening and looking very, very bloated. She blinked, noting his evidently injured attitude. She pondered if the man had worms, as she had seen pups with the ailment who had bellies that bulged and similarly sick sounding moans of discontent.

 Then, she noticed the smears and stains on his coat.

 Immediately, she was concerned that the man was bleeding - but no stench of blood was caught on the wind. Still, something was wrong and she considered her options. She could approach and see if the man was truly hurt and if she could do anything. However, if the man was ill with something that was catching... she did not wish to contract whatever illness he might have, especially if they were of the mouth-foaming variety.

 When the man fell, she decided to act. She moved in, keeping a cautious distance, and called, “Sir? Are you alright?” From her approach, she could only smell wolf and berry, and understanding passed over her, leaving her feeling somewhat amused and somewhat perturbed but no longer in exceptional fear for her own life.

 After all, gluttony or poison, whichever of the two ailed the man, were not catching.

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 Uuuhh... he felt terrible, like if he could just do something to make his stomach feel less bloated. Maybe he could-- "Sir? Are you alright?" He shifted his head to the side so he could see where the voice was coming from. What he saw was a lovely white wolf with blue markings. Wooowww, she was like the ocean... but it was just her fur made like this. If only he didn't feel like he was dying...

 "I don't know. My stomach is hurtin' something awful, miss. I think I might have--" He stopped talking abruptly as he felt a fresh wave of nausea. His eyes widened and he clutched his paws to his stomach. "Ooohh, I think this is it. Tell my friends that--" But he was never able to get out what he wanted her to tell his friends --that he didn't name-- as after an audible rumbling he let out a very large belch. His paws flew up to his mouth as he said rather subdued, "Excuse me..." How embarrassing was that?! No wonder he never got any dates...

 "I'm really sorry, miss, I didn't meant to-- HEY!" He rolled over onto his stomach and realized something. "I'm cured!" There was still a little mild discomfort in his belly but other than that he felt great! His tail wagged as he looked up at her, quite excited by this turn of events.

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 If wolves could give awards to acting, she might have considered bestowing this man with the award of "Most Dramatic Gas Bellyache Ever".

 She watched him, concern shifting into amusement. The strange man belched, paws lifting to his lips in embarrassment so strong that had he been standing, she was sure he would have fallen back on his rump after. He was quite the character, she mused with a hint of a smile on her lips. Not exactly noble or careful of his appearance, it would seem. Though, who could tell - after all, if the pain was as bad as he made it out to be.

 “Did you eat something that disagreed with you?” she mused in the form of a question, nose twitching in humor. She was relieved that it was gas and not something serious like poison or rabies that ailed the man.

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 Oh, oh wow! He hadn't scared her off with his poor excuse for manners! She didn't look at him in disgust or anything! No, she laughed and he felt happy that he could bring her some amusement with his --unintentional-- antics. His tiny tail gave a few wags while he looked up at her lovely, albeit small, smile.

 His stomach was still giving a few painful twinges but it was something that he could easily deal with. He'd suffered worse at the paws of other wolves.

 Hmm... He scrunched up his brows and narrowed one eye in thought as he pondered over everything he ate before coming here. After a moment of trying to recover everything in that glorious food-induced haze, he shook his head. "No... I don't think so. All I ate were a couple of bushes of blueberries, some apples, some figgy-lookin'-things, a few worms, another blueberry bush, some tasty lookin' nuts, a dead bluebird, the leftovers of a deer carcass I found..." He trailed off, trying to think if he'd had anything else and-- "OH! And another bush of raspberries." He finished with a toothy smile. Not realizing the sheer volume of food he'd eaten was likely his problem.

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 The man wagged his tail and she considered him, thinking he seemed quite like a puppy. Easy to please and eager for positive attention.

 It seemed that her smile was positive reinforcement as he considered her question, a bewildering expression on his face. He narrowed one eye and squinted, brows scrunched up in a way that she had to make some effort not to laugh at. No, it was not mockery on her mind - the man seemed a clown made to laugh at or with. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose, trying to bring more of a smile onto her delicate - and newly scarless - lips.

 He rambled off a number of things, things both inedible and not, and Nevada tilted her head at him. Worms? Figs? Nuts? It was possible those had met his stomach wrong, though it was also possible the carcasses he'd found had been going off and had better have been left alone. The next words she spoke were with a hesitant kindness, “Perhaps instead it was the volume?” In other words, jeez louise you ate a lot.

 She realized with a start that it had been quite some time since she had stopped to find something to eat. As if on cue, her own stomach rumbled and her ears flicked back. Oops.

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 "The volume?" He pondered that, considering something that would only be thought about in myth. "You mean... you think I ate too much?" He was clearly astonished at such a revelation. Him? Eating too much? No, never, right? He sat up on his haunches and poked his very ample gut --much more ample now that it was overstuffed with his multiple meals-- as if he were accusing it of something. Like not being adequate enough to fulfill his dreams of eating and eating and eating until contentment.

 Of course, he didn't get to ponder these new amazing revelations for very long as the woman near him had her stomach let off a rumbling noise. It was then Mordecai's turn to laugh as he turned to her. "Maybe all this food talk is makin' you hungry too?" He said with a toothy grin as he rose all the way up on to his paws. "Maybe I can show you where I found the berry bushes? You know, since you were all nice'n'came over to check on me'n'junk." He was more than happy to go along with her to where he'd found the food. Oh wait... "Or... uh, maybe we should find another patch of berry bushes? I kinda demolished most of the bushes back where I came from..." There was a brief pause and then, "I might've ate more'n a few..." As if she couldn't read between the lines and realize that from his overzealous talk of food and his stomachache.

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 She gave a soft laugh and a shrug. “Whenever I would eat too much, I would experience similar discomfort.” From what she could tell, anyway. This was honestly only half true: she had seen it happen but had never had enough to eat before her to actually gorge herself into such a state.

 Still, she didn't want the man to feel embarrassed.

 When her own stomach grumbled and the man began offering berries, she smiled gently. “I've not eaten berries in a long time.” They weren't all that common within the Valley, except for those that clung to life in the dry grasses or odd cactus. “A fresh bush might work best, hm?” She was accepting the offer and giving him the out of not having to show her however he had consumed the bushes he had already found.

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 "Oh yeah? Must be a real easy thing to have happen then." He nodded sagely as if he understood the wisdoms of the world now. Of course it must happen to other wolves too! They just must not talk about it much. Eeyup! Made sense to him. Phew, for a second there he was actually thinking he might be a glutton but not if it happened to other fellows too!

 Yay! He'd get to her accompany her to a berry bush. That would be really nice. Especially since she was all pretty and nice! Oh... He remembered the conversation he'd had with Crux about a lady for him to woo and wondered if he could try some compliments here. However, he felt that anything he'd think up would be too forward right now. Besides, he couldn't remember anything that Crux had said! Oh bother...

 "Uh, what?" He'd been slightly distracted by his thoughts and had partially missed what the woman had said. Fresh bush? A fresh bush... Oh! Yes, he could find one. "Oh! Ah, yeah. I think I know where another patch should be. We'll just follow my nose! It never lies." With that, he was off, following his nose and being half-distracted about previous thoughts with Crux. "So, uh, my name's Mordecai. Mordi if you prefer! What's yours, miss?" He would ask as he tried to pay attention to what his nose was telling him and tried to work in how he would try some compliments.

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 Nevada laughed. Maybe she shouldn't have made it sound normal, for his sake, but if the man was happy, then why not? Eventually, winter would come and he would likely burn it off. The extra bulk just made him likely to last longer in a famine or rough winter, made him more able to protect his family when it mattered.

 She considered it, but pushed it aside. This was not the time and she was not the sort to have dreamy thoughts about the first man she met outside of the Valley.

 Even if that had happened once before.

 She followed him at his flank, though giving him a polite amount of space. After all, he was a stranger, even if he was an absurdly friendly one. It was pleasant, but she could not let herself get too comfortable. “My name is Nevada,” she answered with a smile, her own eyes trailing along the greenery to find these berries he claimed to have seen.

 Honestly, she would prefer a rabbit or even a mouse, but if berries were all that was nearby then she would happily join in the feast.

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 They walked along, she at his flank and he following his nose to where he'd find more bushes. Sniff, sniff. There we go. he turned eastward and through all of the lovely flowers he could see another patch of bushes with an assortment of different colored berries growing on them. "Ah ha! Told ya my nose never lies!" He said with a smile back at Nevada. "Nevada, that's a real pretty name. Does it mean somethin'?" Oh yeah, smooth! He wondered if that was nice and complimenting enough? Although, he wasn't just doing it for the sake of complimenting. He really did think the name was pretty. He certainly wouldn't forget it.

 He brought them closer to the bushes and then plopped down right in the midst of them. Part of him was tempted to indulge again but he was still recovering from the bellyaches... Maybe later he'd demolish this set of bushes too but for now, "Hey— ooh..." He trailed off as his eyes went past her towards a shaking bush nearby. Something was clearly having itself a nibble. He stared intently, starting to get up slowly so that he could investigate and maybe capture whatever it was. The only thing that was better than berries was berries and meat.

 He wasn't the most graceful creature out there but he was more than capable of catching whatever animal had decided to throw caution to the wind and not be cautious of predators.

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 The man complimented her name and asked its meaning and she laughed, giving a little shrug. “Honestly, I'm not sure! I think... snow-covered was the explanation someone gave me once?” Not her mother. Unfortunately, the woman had never had that close a relationship with her mother, as distant and self-absorbed as she had been. After years, she had unfortunately fallen into the same trap, her first litter falling from her as she focused on work and another expedition into the wilds... to start anew.

 Nothing was truly anew, though. She had returned to Darken and her House and had found it reclaimed by her mate. Her rank, taken from her.

 Her life, stolen.

 Yet she had somehow decided to remain, to raise another son with her wife and then their goddess, who saw her loss and took both she and Darken in as their own

 She realized with a start that they had made their way to some bushes. There was some sort of prey scent inside the bush and she stilled, noting that Mordecai did the same. She slowly looked at him, giving him a slight expectant blink. He had noticed the prey first, so she would allow him to take the hunt... though she was ready if it decided to come this way. In a way, she was interested to see just how this man hunted.

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 Snow-covered? He glanced back at her. Yeah, yeah, that seemed to fit. It was a really good name!

 While they were in the bushes and the prey scent came deliciously to his nostrils, he looked at Nevada and she looked back at him. It seemed as if they were of a singular mind about the prey. He wondered if she would take action or if he should? He wasn't really the chasing type but he couldn't really let the opportunity pass when he saw the swaying fronds that indicated some sort of small prey animal. His head moved silently as he tracked the swaying with his eyes. He took a step closer, moved by instinct alone. His upset stomach was forgotten as he ran a tongue across his lips and took another step.

 And another...

 And then he launched forward but it was clear that he was not very fast. The creature panicked as it ran away from him and straight towards Nevada. Mordecai would never catch such a fleet-footed beast on his own, a fleet-footed beast which seemed suspiciously like a rabbit from the glimpse of a scut he could see through the bushes and flowers below. He had always been the tackler or the distraction, running in front of thundering hooves and going toe-to-toe with large beasts after the chasers brought them before him. This time however the roles were reversed.

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 He charged for the rabbit and it changed course, as expected, right towards her. As it fled in desperation, she leaped, jaws snapping shut on its neck before she lifted and jerked her head from side to side, snapping its spine and causing it to go limp. There would be no waiting for the thing to suffocate in agony.

 So she dropped the thing, its legs twitching still from the sudden death.

 Her tongue curved up and over her delicate lips, washing away the smear of blood before peering over at the male, her tail wagging gently behind her. “Good teamwork!” She surveyed the rabbit before her and began to dine, leaving space for Mordecai to come in and join her over their small but sufficient meal.

---

RIP my muse for Nevada

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 His impromptu hunting companion wasted no time in taking up the finishing position. She reacted and snatched the rabbit up, killing it within moments. "Aw dude, that was awesome! Nice catch!" The man called out in a friendly bark as he walked closer and then flopped down in the grasses. His tail was wagging and his tongue lolling out in his good mood.

 "You can have that. I've got these berries here." He said as he began to pull as some of the bushes, relieving them of their branches full of berries. When he had a sizeable portion plopped in front of him, he began to snack.

 Of course, overindulging was how he'd ended up getting tummy ache in the first place... but learning from your mistakes? What was that nonsense?

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 Nevada chuckled merrily, nodding and setting the rabbit down as he approached and dropped to a resting position. She quite enjoyed this man's company - he was like a child, though. This showed even more as he decided to go eat more berries. “Ah, perhaps not the best idea right now, friend - you did just have a bit of tummy trouble, yes?” If he gorged himself again, he was certain to need to vomit.

 She felt a draw and smiled, shaking her head.

 “It was lovely meeting you, Mordecai, but I think I'm off. I implore you, let what's in your stomach settle before you add more,” this was said with a little laugh. Not mocking him, but she found it rather funny. With a wave of her tail, she picked up the rabbit and began to trot away to find a good place to settle in for the night. It had been quite an eventful day.

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