The love that we need

Well, he was wet still. If nothing came out of this he could at least jot this all down as not worth the swim and never come back again.

He hadn't gone very far into the field, all things considered. It seemed like it just spread out for miles in front of him, the river at his back. He could see other animals -- some deer, some others -- moving about as silhouettes that peeked above the grasses. He watched them for a few minutes while he stood. They didn't seem to be reacting like anything was disturbing them. So probably a reasonably peaceful area, and Mal figured he'd leave it that way once he turned around to head back to the Bluffs. Just a bit of a day trip or whatever.

That thought done, he continued on, walking somewhat aimlessly, but periodically stopping to both check the breeze and stand tall to peer over the tallest grasses -- he wasn't the tallest wolf in the world, and the normal pose one took while walking half the time ended up at eye level with the thick patches. Even thought it sure seemed like things were quiet, he was far enough from home that he didn't want to get jumped by someone or something he wasn't expecting. This was just supposed to be a little exploratory jaunt then head back to report on his adventures.

He still hoped that somehow he'd find his sister wandering through here -- after all, it wasn't like she was at any of his normal places of exploration -- but Mal didn't exactly have high hopes. Finding his siblings was about as likely as it was the sky to turn polka-dot green and mauve or something equally unnatural and hideous.
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Once in a while, Lilith left the Blackwoods that she called home. Every time she did so, she expected — nay, demanded — to have an interesting, stimulating experience. It was the only reason to ever venture beyond her forest, or the pasture that sat adjacent. Everything she ever needed, and the only people she sought to impress, were inside.
 
This time when she absconded she went far; not because she forgot herself, but because she had gotten wind of something called an ‘ocean.’ It was apparently a huge lake, that extended beyond where the eyes could see. What dizzied her most about it, was that wolves of living memory could only guess at what lay on the other side. More ocean, forever? Another earth, like this one? Or did it simply drop off into nothingness?
 
Lilith knew that she wouldn’t find out in this life, but her mind went crazy with the options, and she knew it was a worthwhile investigation to take on. Even her young mind, dulled with the concerns of a normal yearling (what her fur looked like, if her brothers were talking shit about her, etc, etc…), noticed how the air became saltier, and the ground became looser as she traveled west — and that alone was enough to blow her little mind, which honestly figured all the world was a forest.
 
Still, there wasn’t any water here, and she was determined to find… what was it called? A ‘beach’?
 
The serpent spotted another in the distance. She easily resigned herself to the possibility of ‘asking for direction,’ more than willing to save herself the effort of finding it herself. She approached clearly and ushered a nonverbal chuff, to observe this stranger for a moment, and see what type of encounter this would be.

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Again he paused, peering around. This time, movement he hadn't spotted before caught his eye -- it was another wolf, dark colored. She called to him, and so Mal didn't continue his wandering path, turning a bit more towards her to close a bit of the distance with a wag of his tail (if she could even see it through the grass). But the closer she got the more he realized she was young. He hadn't scented any sign of packs out here, so why was she alone and possibly far from home? It did make him worry for her safety -- it hit a buried chord and memories that refused to come out of the darkness. Things he would probably be happy to not remember. He looked beyond her briefly, searching in case she had an escort, but at least at this instant didn't see anyone. For her sake, he hoped there was someone very short and very slow lingering back a ways.

He looked back to her as she came closer, and gave her a smile as he boxed up his concern and buried it deep, “Hello, miss. Can I help you?” Even if there was a fair chance she was taller than he was at this point, Mal knew the world had a tendency to be a nasty place, even to those that were young. She wasn't his responsibility, he attempted to remind himself.
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He welcomed her easily, and Lilith obliged with a smile. The eidolon came close, circling around to look upon his spotted pelage with interest. So beyond the Reach there were spotted wolves; who knew! She waved her tail like a flag, heartily accepting his offer to help “Yes, you can!” the yearling chimed, not entirely certain what yet to make of this interaction. It was still in its infancy, was it not? They had only been in one another’s presence for but a moment, and she hadn’t an iota of history with this man as she did with mama, or father, or any of her brothers, or any other Nightwalker who stalked amongst her woods. She couldn’t help but already be bored with the vagueness of it all.
 
Oh, how she was repelled by any possibility of banality! Not that it was this poor man’s fault, he had simply found himself on the receiving end of a lit stick of dynamite, ready to blow at a moment’s notice; always wanting for something more, something deeper, something more exciting. She reminded herself somewhat of the masked woman @Nymeria, who had killed a hare and strewn about its guts like art; not even hunting for nourishment, but for beauty! That was what Lilith aspired to be. Lilith’s eyelashes fluttered with the memory.

“Do you know what…. ‘a beach’ is?” she questioned finally, briefly remembering what her curious mind sought. The mysterious, ever-wide, salty expanse of endless water. Riiiiiiight.

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