To Train, An Ounce of Sweat for a Gallon of Blood

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She boofed, he boofed back, only to get a bit too cocky with her words of encouragement and trip over his own paws. In his defence, they'd been marching for a hot minute now, not only that, but the cuts along his ankles were starting to make this a very itchy endeavor. Thus, the male caved, body trembling under the immense pressure, sending a now limp Flynn directly into the muddy terrain.

Embarrassed, ashamed, but not beaten. The boy pulled himself upward, slinking heavily from the dirty grasp, all without uttering a single noise. Certainly he'd made a ruckus toppling to his knees, but he wouldn't request assistance. His ego was much too large.

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 Meissa's paws shifted again and again she mourned not having the extra grip and surface of her forefathers. Though, even now she wondered if they would have been any good in the dampness that could hardly be called earth. By now, mud had smeared across her limbs and she was surprised when she glanced back that she did not see the white upon her hind limbs, instead mud caked on to make it dull as the earth they marched through.

 She saw Flynn fall and almost started to help him but her next step sent her elbow deep in the opposite direction, so that she could only watched helplessly as he pulled himself back up and continued on without a word. Ah, if he was well, she continued on.

 Reaching the log, Meissa looked at it and then at the wall ahead.

 She bit back every sour thought in her mind as she came around it from the top, trying to find traction on her hind paws so that she could begin to dig out the log from above. It would do no good to dig from beneath and have the log fall down the hill, furthering their work. Her teeth gripped a half-branch for support as she dug.

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Remus to slipped and panted, the terrain wasn't easy for anyone, even those hardened by constant training.  He caught a glimpse of Flynn falling into the mud. There was no shame in it, it was how one got back up that mattered. The boy did just that, hauling his ass up with pride.  Meissa didn't take long to show her determination to the log. Remus would not allow her to go unassisted, pressing his weight into the log attempting to generate force from his hind legs. Beginning to budge the log was just about to move, if Flynn joined, they could do it. 

Together, he and his comrades would do this.  The log would sit atop the hill as a symbol of their strength. 

For a new nation...
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And that's exactly what they did.

Last, but not least, the male emerged from the slop and grit; his brow slathered in mud, his ankles buckling from the lack of control. But still, he smiled. He smiled through the sweat, the exhaustion, the pain the was soaking into his bitter feet. For the first time in his life, he'd done something for himself, it didn't matter if it had been stowing away in a bat of fucking wet dirt, it didn't bloody matter that he hadn't even done it on his own. It was the sweet, innocent fact that he'd done it all that made him grin.

Pushing his flank into Remus, as a sign of his support in moving the log, but mostly in a plea for the appreciation he'd never given him. A battle-hardened brute the warrior stood, but a brother nevertheless. Oorah, if I do say so myself.

So onward they went, trudging up the mound, wood rolling sluggishly to the top of the summit. He could hear the crowd roaring for them; the glorious screaming as if they'd pulled off the feat of the century. And ya know what? Maybe they had. Who was going to tell them otherwise?

(for sake of time, this is my exit unless flynn is stopped. <3 I had a lot of fun with this, gonna miss remus.)

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 The two men were quick to assist, pushing while she pulled and soon, they had the log moving. It was not without strain, without struggle - but eventually, her hind paws hit more solid ground and the log was pulled up and over the hill, finally resting upon earth where it would not fall down and upend their work. She finally released the log, panting as she looked over what they had done, the mountain they had climbed as a group.

 As a jeesh.

 She felt her heart brimming and she let out a short howl of satisfaction, mud-slathered tails waving in the breeze. Perhaps there were crowds roaring, perhaps it was just Meissa's own voice that cheered the three on for their triumph.

 She looked upon Flynn, the resilient man of youth and beauty, whose steps could take him atop the clouds. Then upon Remus, the hard working war veteran who, like herself, had served and come out the other side not unscathed but unbroken. She was proud to call these two her pack, her new family.

 Alas.

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We'll miss you, Remus!! These interactions between them were so much fun <3

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