Paradise [deni]

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Dusk made the lake look beautiful. The palette of oranges, reds and yellows in the sky blurred together as the sun lowered towards the horizon. Already, the moon at taken its rightful place in the sky, illuminating the lake where Oslo stood. The reflection of the moon in the centre of the lake twinkled along with its surrounding stars. Whilst spring had sprung, the night time air was still fairly cool. It was a comfortable temperature for Oslo as he dipped his head and lapped up the water, quenching is thirst. Oslo had had a run-in with an extremely hostile wolf mother, who had nipped at his ankles before he'd realised his mistake. "Note to self," He muttered dryly as he lay down in the sandy dirt, "Don't invade a wolf den by accident." It had almost been comedic, the way Oslo had jumped a mile, and took off running, in a bid to lose the wolf. Luckily, she was more focused on making sure her cubs were okay than ripping Oslo to shreds.

Oslo shook his head and examined the wounds on his leg. They were shallow cuts, but blood was already starting to dry and congeal to his fur. He let his tongue graze over the cuts, cleaning the wound from any dirt that may have got caught. Infection was not an option right now. The cuts stung, but Oslo gritted his teeth and continued, until all the bite-marks were properly cleaned out. The cool water had cooled his tongue substantially, making the process slightly less painful. "Cael, I bet you're laughing at me from up there," Oslo muttered, briefly staring at the slowly-darkening sky. The sun had since disappeared below the horizon, leaving the moon to illuminate him. Deciding it was probably best not to put weight on his legs yet, Oslo lay down and let the water of the lake lap at his paws. He would give himself a few hours to heal, then he'd be back to disappear into the shadows.

tag: DENI.

[DENI.]

She was starting to feel nervous. She didn't really like to be out at night, not at all. The little white she-dog hated the dark more than she hated anything. She hated feeling vulnerable and like she didn't know what was about to sneak up on her. She felt that her fear of the dark was well-placed. She was not a wolf or a nocturnal animal, she had no business being out at night. She could see a bit because of the moon, but she knew that she couldn't see as well as any of the predators of the night could. She walked up to the lake, looking around before lowering her head and lapping at the cool water.

Where would she sleep? Perhaps she could back-track and find a good place in the forest. Before she could make up her mind on the matter, though, the scent of blood stopped up her senses. She brought her head up quickly, locating the source of the smell. She relaxed a bit when she realized that it was a dog. Dogs could be just as dangerous as wolves, but she felt more comfortable around her own kind anyway.

Her eyes swept over the dog. He was large, larger than her by far. He had a thick pelt of mostly black. He looked similar to other dogs she had seen before - herding dogs. She never really understood the point of it, but apparently her origins laid in herding as well. Why else would her father's breed have been referred to as a German Shepherd? It was the only thing that made sense.

Swallowing her sense of caution, she padded a little closer to the dog. She couldn't see where he was hurt because he was laying down. She came to a stop a few feet from him, the distance comfortable and casual. "Hey, I smell blood. Are you okay?" She couldn't help but think of the last time she'd asked a strange male that. She hoped he was doing okay now.

---

"I'm talking."

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The crunch of leaves and sticks made Oslo's head snap up in a heartbeat. His heart raced and his whole body froze as he looked for the source of the sound. When he saw that it was not the wolf who had attacked him, Oslo felt himself relax a little. A white bitch stood before him, eyeing him up and down. His heart rate slowed down from the sudden shock, but he still lay there on edge. Who was she? Why was she taking an interest in him? Oslo glanced at his bloody wounds and sighed. He would not be able to run far without starting to infect the gashes and limp. He just hoped the stranger meant no harm. As Oslo gazed back over at her, he examined her thick, ivory fur and calming eyes. She didn't appear aggressive. If anything, she looked concerned.

Her lips parted, and she spoke softly, wary. The concern laced in her voice surprised Oslo. Why would a stranger be so interested in his well being? The shepherd wasn't used to this amount of care, and he was immediately feeling uneasy. Was this a coy plan? A voice in his head told him to stop being so paranoid. Taking a heavy breath, Oslo replied, "It's nothing to be alarmed about. I was attacked by a wolf not far from here. She assumed I was invading her territory." Oslo bent down to lick his wound again, revealing the nasty cuts on his ankles.

Once he lifted his head again, he glanced back at the female, wondering what she was doing out here. Darkness had completely shrouded the forest. An owl hooted mysteriously in the distance. The stars glittered down on the lake and the moon was the only thing that illuminated the two canines. "Are- er, are you okay? What are you doing out here?" He finally asked, biting his lip.

tags: DENI.

[DENI.]

She breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself a bit. He was fine, and he was definitely not aggressive. She would know by now, after all. Still, his words did make her rather nervous. She lowered her ears a bit and looked around, sniffing. She could smell the wolf, but only faintly, and that smell was coming from the other dog. The wolf was nowhere around here. Kyra knew that not all wolves were bad, but she still didn't want to be around one that was feeling territorial. If the she-wolf had injured the other dog this badly, Kyra shuddered to think what would happen to her. She was much smaller than the black and white male, after all.

Her eyes widened a bit when he lifted his leg and began to lick his wounds. "Those look kind of bad," she said, feeling uncertain about his earlier assurances, "Can you even walk properly?" She asked softly, hoping that his answer would be yes.

She jumped a bit when he asked her what she was doing out here. "I was actually considering where to bunker down for the night. I thought maybe there would be a good place in the forest." She jerked her head back toward the thickly placed trees. "But then I saw you and I had to make sure you were okay. I mean, it would be awful to just leave someone who was hurt." She swallowed her next question, now wasn't the time for it. "Oh, and my name is Kyra." She said.

---

"I'm talking."

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Oslo wasn't used to the amount of concern pouring from the ivory bitch. He felt a little uneasy, not sure how to respond to her. She seemed nice enough, however, so Oslo wasn't too anxious about her company. As Oslo licked at his sore wounds, the female spoke again. He didn't particularly want to look at the cuts, but he peeked at them to make sure they weren't to serious. "It looks worse than it actually is," Oslo placated, "I bled a lot more than I anticipated." There was a dried puddle of blood where his legs had been resting, and Oslo had to look away. He was not squeamish, but it didn't feel right. Could he walk? The question posed to him made Oslo gulp. He hoped so! Although Oslo was trying to rest his legs, he decided it would probably be best to attempt to stand up.

The large canine shakily lifted himself from the ground. His hind legs stung, and Oslo gritted his teeth to stop himself from crying out. It wasn't too bad, but he knew he wouldn't be able to walk far until he'd healed a little more. Oslo nodded to the female, letting out a low groan, "I can't walk far. Perhaps we should find shelter together, for the night?" He offered, feeling a little awkward. Oslo was surprised by his confidence with Kyra, but he could see the similarities between the two of them. They were both hesitant around each other, and Oslo decided to start walking towards the large expanse of trees. Perhaps there'll be an abandoned den or burrow to sleep in for the night. A cave would be good too.

Kyra introduced herself, and Oslo sent her a weak smile, "I'm Oslo. Unfortunately you haven't met me at the best of times." He chuckled lowly, before starting to limp. The darkness was making it hard to see, and Oslo just hoped he wouldn't trip over any rocks or branches and hurt himself further.

DENI.

[DENI.]

The other dog's words of comfort fell on slightly deaf ears. It was hard for her to believe that his wounds looked worse than they actually were, but then... She was no vet. Maybe he was right. Her pink tongue snaked out of her mouth and moistened her a nose a bit. She felt nervous for the other dog, which was ridiculous of course... She barely knew him. But it had always been like that for her, after all.

She nodded quickly at his suggestion, jumping a bit as she forced herself into sudden movement. She could tell that walking was extremely painful for him, but they both knew that sleeping out in the open wasn't the best idea. When she came up to his side, their height differences were more pronounced. "Hopefully we can find somewhere in there. Sometimes I sleep under tree roots, so maybe we can find some that we both fit under." She walked close by his side, though she didn't touch him. She did want to be able to help if he started to fall, though.

"Oslo." She repeated, committing the name to memory. "Well, its nice to meet you anyway. I'm glad I could help." She smiled, though she was unsure of whether or not he could see it in the gloom.

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Oslo was thankful he wasn't feeling panicked when in such close proximity to a stranger. Kyra seemed nice enough, and even appeared concerned about his wellbeing, which was, to be frank, rather baffling. He decided to accept the odd kindness as he stood and limped with her. They did not touch, but Oslo was close enough to hear her shallow breathing as they navigated through the maze of trees, rocks and roots. Every once in a while, Oslo's fur would gently brush against hers, and the comforting body heat bounced back. Oslo stumbled a little, but he managed to regain his balance before he took a hard tumble. It made him feel better to know there was someone there to help him if did fall. Oslo wasn't sure whether he should feel embarrassed to be needing help finding a shelter for the night, or whether he should be grateful that Kyra was taking precious time out of her day to help him along. Oslo decided to swallow the little pride he had; Kyra was doing him a huge favour, and he wasn't sure how to thank her enough.

The silence stretched on, although it was a comfortable silence. Oslo was concentrating on not falling over too much to make a decent conversation. Once they found a decent place to lay down for the night, he would be more than willing to get to know Kyra more. It felt as though they had been walking miles before Oslo stumbled across a fallen tree. The light made it hard to see, but he examined the crevices the tree had made into the ground. There seemed to be enough space for the two of them to squeeze underneath a gap where the tree had fallen. He sniffed it experimentally, ensuring he wasn't invading another animal's den, before shuffling in. It was cosy, although not very spacious. He barked out to Kyra, "There's enough space for you in here, too. It may be a bit cramped, but I guess it'll do for tonight." He backed his way into the corner of the hole to allow Kyra to squeeze in next to him.

With their bodies being so close together, it would generate a decent amount of body heat to keep them warm over the night. He stretched out his legs, sighing in relief. His paws ached and his wounds stung from the walking. It had been far too strenuous for a wounded dog, but necessary if they hadn't wanted to sleep in the open. "Thank you for helping me. I can't imagine why you would want to help a guy like me. I am no one special." He laughed, although there was an element of truth in his words. He couldn't fathom why Kyra would go through the effort of walking miles with him to find shelter. She could have ignored him and found a cave or den for herself. He had slowed her down with his leg wounds.

DENI.