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[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina squinted and squeezed her amber eyes shut as her vision adjusted to the new light. She grumbled at the minor headache the bright morning sun brought on. The intensity of the smell made her sneeze. She shook her head vigorously as if she was trying to shake the stench out of her nose. As she did so, she also lost her footing. Her paw slipped on the mucky slime. She struggled a moment to regain her footing, but she finally managed to stay on all fours in the end. One step in, an’ I’m already slippin'. She groaned, knowing that this was going to be a long day for her.

When she had adjusted to the new hardships of their area of exploration, Caprina opened her eyes and looked out onto the land. She wanted to collapse right there and then. All Carpina could think about was the massive potential for disaster this place had. As far as she could see, there was nothing but mud, water, and some shrubs. They had gone from a dry disaster, to a damp one. She sighed. She would really have to watch her footing here. Her large paws wouldn’t save her now.

Caprina looked at Abbas. “Well, I don’t like the looks o’ this place, but I’m sure we can find ‘least a water bird. ‘Ow does a bit o’ ‘untin’ sound?” Caprina asked him. She really didn’t want to hunt in this territory however. Hunting required precision and stealth. A flopping clumsy wolf yearling would not achieve that. She had also lived near lands such as this back at her old pack. She heard of patrols having to cross it to negotiate war terms. Of course, many of the patrols were careful, but she had heard of some that didn’t make it, and were sucked into the disgusting gunk. Deorad had also warned her to be careful of such places. The marshes were treacherous to the clumsy and reckless. And of course, she was both.

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

Abbas stopped tentatively at the edge of a grass patch. He figured they were possibly the only thing they could trust. The rest of it looked like unsteady mud and bog. The large wolf took an uncertain sniff at the water. It was fresh water, but not exactly the kind of water Abbas wanted to drink. Still, if he became desperate again... He flinched as a water strider decided to make a dash for it.

"At least there's life here, other than snakes." He sighed.

Eyeing the landscape, he tried to discern which direction they should go. The cave came up somewhere in the middle of the marsh, instead of on the edge, like he had hoped. So they would basically have to pick a direction. At the moment, that direction was dictated by where the firm footing was. It would be a miracle if they could find a deer here. Perhaps the marsh would kill it for them.

"This way." He called to Caprina as he plodded along the path he had chosen. "This place might be better than the desert. There's a lot more life. We might find large rodents, or, if we're lucky, a deer. Chances are we're going to have to sneak up on an egret instead, though."

Well, at least the stories from his childhood were a help. He had been near a marsh before, as a pup, but the family had deemed it too dangerous for Abbas and his sister to walk in, even with the family. Leave marshes to the red wolves, Father had said. Abbas believed him. But he and Caprina were hungry, so they would have to move through it.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/ma...reshwater.shtml
Take a look to get an idea of what might be in a marshland.

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina nodded. Carefully she followed him, she tried to place her paws on the driest bits of earth she could find. She slipped quite a few times, but she had always managed to right herself before she fell. She grumbled each time, cursing herself for not being more graceful like her sister. She was an awkward wolf with the sex and size of her mother but the build of her father. She was the clumsy stocky medium pup. Of course she could blend in with her surroundings and wait for prey quietly. In her own element, the forest or lake, she could hunt with ease and only a few trips. But here in the marshes, she was probably as useful as a sinking rock.

The idea of a sinking rock made her swallow nervously. She had heard horros stories of the lives the marshes claimed. Her cousin had been sucked into the marshes by quicksand. They tried to pull him out, but they couldn't save him in time. The idea of it made her shiver. For weeks after they told her the story she dreamed of choking on dirt and muck while the earth just swallowed her up. She was not too keen on experiencing that feeling in real life.

Caprina carefully followed Abbas. She scanned their surroundings, taking in as much detail as she could. She caught every ripple in the water, and every dragonfly that landed on a leaf. She flitted over every object that jutted out of the water. She saw shrubs, rocks, logs all poking out of the water's surface. She even spotted the log in front of Abbas. Or was it a log..

"Abbas! Wait!" she hissed, urging to wolf to stop. The alligator in front of Abbas looked like a log all right. Any other wolf wouldn't have seen the difference. It was caked in so much mud that is smelled like the marshes, but Caprina caught the details like Deorad had taught her to do. She noted the slight patterns of the scaly skin and the ridge on the log. "It's an alligator. Don't step on it!" As far as Caprina could tell, the reptile was still asleep, so if they could just step away from it, they would be fine.

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

Abbas could sense Caprina's nervousness, and he felt as if a part of it was rubbing off on him, which was annoying. Now was not the time to worry. It was the time to pay attention, and focus on the situation at paw. He chose his steps carefully, placing them on the mounds of grass. Up ahead was a small area of water, which shouldn't be too hard to jump. It was just a little hop, after all. He was about to step on a log to help him across when Caprina called out to him.

Upon closer inspection, she was right. That thing was not a log, it was an alligator, which was slightly disturbing. He hadn't noticed it before, and he was not happy about it. Carefully, he stepped back. His back right paw slurped in mud loudly, and the large wolf saw the 'log' stir. Hurriedly, he pulled his foot out of the mud with another loud noise and turned, carefully picking his way further from the alligator.

"Well, your feet aren't the most graceful here, but your eyes are worth something." He joked. "Thanks."

The scent of more animals made his stomach become painful, and Abbas instinctually lowered his head, sniffing curiously while maneuvering over the grass patches. It didn't take too long, and likely a couple of accidents from Caprina, before Abbas crouched near possibly the smallest bush he had ever seen. Ahead were a few long-legged birds, standing where there was a bit of current. Could this be their next meal?

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina let out her breath as Abbas stepped around the alligator. She was happy that her eyes were of some use even though her body's natural inclination was for disaster. "No problem," she said to Abbas, as they got farther from the alligator. "Me mentor taught me to pay attent'n to detail." She looked up and saw the two egrets. She tried to keep her body low to the ground, while making as little noise as possible. But she just kept slipping and sloshing. One of the egrets poked its head up.

Caprina stilled herself completely, not daring move in case she made more noise. The egret kept looking around nervously. Caprina peered through the tall grass and saw it flit it's head from side to side. This seemed to puzzle Caprina, why hadn't the egret fled yet? Bird had a tendency to flee at the first notice of danger. The other one seemed too involved with fishing to notice Caprina's sounds. But the one that lifted it's head seemed to hobble a bit as it walked. Ahhhhh, I see Caprina thought with realization.

She whispered to Abbas as softly as she could. "See that one, 'obblin'. 'E's injured, Ye can't really tell 'cause their in tall grass, 'E's not flyin' away, an' I'm sure 'e 'eard me. As for the other one, it looks like 'e's fishin'. I can take out 'obblin' one, while ye go in for the one that's fishin'. Ye'll prob'bly 'ave more success with that one than I would."

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

Abbas turned his hear to Caprina and listened. Then he looked at the egrets. They were a nice pair, but Caprina was right. One was hobbling, and this terrain, as dangerous as it was, didn't offer much cover. They were definitely noticed. Ah, what luck!

No, he scolded himself. They shouldn't get too excited too early. The terrain could still kill them if they took a wrong turn or made a wrong move. Two paws in a quicksand hole was all it took. Quietly, but quickly, Abbas looked around the area, picking out what he thought were sturdy spots to run on. Patches of grass were the obvious choice, as their roots had to stay on steady soil. With as little mud involved as possible, he chose his route while advising Caprina to do the same.

"Alright. I'll go after that one. Be careful."

There wasn't much time to waste, unfortunately. He couldn't detail out a plan or worry about Caprina messing herself up and getting swallowed into a hole too much. Once that egret raised its head, it would all be over. So he got up, double-checked his path in a moment, and launched off.

The ground under his paws was still wet, and if he had a moment to dislike it, he would have. The large wolf jumped powerfully across a gap and streaked toward the egret with its head down, trying not to forsake too much speed for caution. It was just raising its head out of the water when he struck- his mouth closed around its thin neck as he soared to the other side of the embankment, and crunched down powerfully.

There was a moment of relief. Then he realized his hind paws were very difficult to move, and when he tried to raise one, the other became harder to wiggle. Sharply, Abbas looked behind him. Blast it! His hind feet were stuck in the mud the egrets were able to stand on without a problem. He tried pulling himself out with his front paws, but he felt the edge of the bank beginning to slip away under his weight.

"Caprina!" He called out, giving up on saving himself.

(This is literally Abbas' only active thread at the moment. He's exited from all his other ones, except the hunting one, and I'm waiting on Bangles to comment with Joker... Cutting back on Abbas a little to get Terramorn more involved. :) )

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina waited a few moments for Abbas to get a head start before she bolted after him. She used her eyes to avoid any potential obstacles. She slipped up a few times in her attack, but the hobbling egret was still unable to evade her. She lept up and clamped her jaws around its skinny neck. The egret cawed and thrashed as the large northern wolf chew on its throat. Finally it hung limp in her jaws. Caprina smiled with the kill safely between her teeth. She was happy that she had been able to catch something even though she was clumsier here in the marsh.

Then she heard Abbas call out. She turned to find the huge wolf sinking in the marshes. Her eyes widened in horror. She dropped the egret and looked around him to see the vague edges of the sink hole. The dirt definitely seemed softer there. And by the looks of Abbas, he was sinking fast. His large form was dragging him under. She tried not to panic, but this was the thing she feared most about the marsh. "Alright! Alright, give me a moment!" She squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate. Deorad had told her about this hadn't he? What did she have to do.

She thought back to when she told Deorad about how her cousin died. He had looked genuinely remorseful about the wolf's death. She had confessed her fears to him, and he had responded by telling her how to react to a situation like that. One thing he had told her was to travel in a group or at least a pair so that if one started sinking the others could...

"I got it! I'll be right back!" she paused for a moment as she remembered another piece of advice. "Don't go thrashin'. Ye'll sink faster." She scoured the area for something anything sturdy enough and long enough for her to use. Finally she found a long sturdy branch. That should be long enough. She took it in her jaws and rushed back to Abbas. She was slower on the way back with the heavy branch in her mouth and her feet slipping. When she reached Abbas she stretched her neck so the stick could reach Abbas' muzzle so he could bite it.

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

He called out for help, and what was the first thing she did? Close her eyes! This didn't exactly fill him with confidence, and he pulled with his forelegs again, but most of the bank fell away, and he almost lost his grip. Still, his weight reclaimed what he had gained with his desperateness.

"I got it! I'll be right back!"

Oh yes, he was going to wait. He had nothing else he could do, but the worst part of it all was that Caprina told him to stop thrashing. Stop thrashing? That was the only thing that made him feel better about the situation, although it did add to his panic, if he admitted it to himself. So he did his best to stay still. Surprisingly, Abbas noticed his sinking slowed, but his muscles ached to squirm about.

The large wolf wasn't sure if he was relieved Caprina was back. She was carrying a large stick in her jowls and extending one side to him. He understood the idea, of course, but Abbas weighed more than his form would indicate, and he wasn't certain the branch would hold. Still, there was no other option, and he reached out his muzzle to carefully hold onto the other end. Abbas kept his grip sturdy, but not so heavy that he would snap it. Some part of him prayed this would carry him out of the stinking muck. Another side of his brain, however, was highly concerned about the blind 'Lady Luck', who had a tendency to turn bad when she could. His hammering heart was distracting.

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina felt Abbas' jaws close around the stick. She prayed to her own Creator and begged Him to give her the strength to get Abbas out and the traction to keep her from slipping into the sink hole. She tried to back-pedal as much as she could without slipping. She tried to dig her paws deep into the much before she put her full weight on that paw. She felt her neck strain against the weight of the larger wolf. He clearly weighed significantly much more than she did. She hoped that didn't count for much in this situation. Deorad had told her about times when even the smallest wolves carried comrades twice as large as they were on their back. Caprina hoped the same physics would aid her in this situation.

She growled with the great amount of extra strength she exerted. She felt like a wolf trying to pull a tree out of the ground by tugged on a small branch. Just when she thought this was impossible, she felt Abbas' weight give. She took a step back with the new space she was given to move. She tugged again and she felt him come out more from the sink hole. They almost made it. Then she turned to the side and saw the alligator from earlier creep across the marsh. It hadn't noticed them, but she was definitely worried now. She kept looking from Abbas and back to the alligator, hoping he would get the message.

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

It took a lot of exertion on Caprina's part, and a lot of worrying on Abbas' part before he finally budged. He tried to pull as much as he could with what ground his front paws had gained, although the slippery ground had apparently only been helpful if his back legs had taken half the weight. Right now was not such a case.

It was a relief to feel his hind end moving out of the mud, even if it was just little by little. His back legs moved, automatically trying to find some kind of purchase. Caprina was making strange movements, though, with her eyes. Abbas, curious, looked, and saw a familiar log- or should he say alligator. Wonderful! He stopped moving his hind legs, hoping to cause less disturbance in the water, but pulled as hard as he dared with his front paws, hanging on to that branch.

Slowly, slowly, slowly. It was too slow in Abbas' mind, though he had to deal with it. And if that alligator came too close, he would have to let go of the stick and defend himself, or allow the alligator to bite him, in favor of Caprina pulling him out. The large wolf was in no mood to just let something with jaws that large bite him- he was going to bite back, if he could! Anyways, if the thing got a hold of him, it was all over. At least he might be able to take it with him into the sink hole.

Little by little, he got out. Finally, most of his haunches weren't sucked into that everlasting mud. Though his butt was caked in the stuff (so much for rubbing off the mud from the caves), he didn't mind too much, so long as his feet could find purchase. He walked forward with his front paws to firmer ground and continued helping to pull himself out- until he finally was! But the alligator was so close, and its jaws came up out of the water- and snapped onto one of the egrets that was right next to the two wolves. With a strange, reptillian hiss, the large thing took the once-white egret into the water and disappeared. Abbas was a little shocked, and stayed still for a few moments, registering the situation.

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina froze with Abbas as the watched the alligator take on of their kill and swim away. They stayed frozen for a few seconds more just in case the alligator decided to come back and come for a larger meal. She waited until the alligator was completely out of sight before she finally spit out the stick. "That was a close'un," she said. Her heart was racing so fast she felt it bang against her ribs. The adrenalin from her fear and the energy she exerted was wearing off. She released a shaky sigh to release more of her anxiety. "I dunno what kinda luck we 'ave. Is it bad luck that the alligator came while ye were sinkin' in the marshes? Or did we 'ave good luck to survive it?"

She looked at Abbas' pelt and saw that it was completely covered in much again. It reminded her of the cakes muck on her own fur. She had nearly forgotten about it with the events of the marsh. She looked in the disgusting muck and realized that there was a good chance she wasn't going to get this off for a long time. She sighed and looked over at the egret left behind. She noted that Abbas' was probably a lot hungrier than she was. Caprina ate one of the bats at least. Abbas' hadn't had anything to eat. She made one final assessment of their surrounding before she continued toward the last egret. She didn't detect anymore danger as she retrieved the egret with her jaws. She made note of where the sink hole started and ended and made sure to stay far away from that as she trotted back to Abbas. She dropped the egret at his feet, "Eat it. Ye 'aven't 'ad anythin'. I've at least 'ad a bat."

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

"You could say that again." Abbas admitted as he did his best to gain control of his limbs and breathing.

He turned to look at himself. His hind end was a shiny mud cake, which did not amuse him now as much as it would have if he were a pup. No, those days of open curiosity was far gone, and now Abbas was going to have to walk around smelling like the rear end of the world. This mud, at least, was not the most fragrant. Wasn't it oh-so-lovely he had plant decay stuck on his rear?

The worst part was that he couldn't even clean himself off until he found some proper water that wasn't connected by a sink hole. Caprina was good enough to go fetch the egret, however, so he did try rolling in the more sturdy area covered by grass, in an attempt to gain some semblance of what he had been before. He was only partially successful. He was no longer shiny by the time Caprina came back, and one could see his fur again, but he still stank.

As Caprina dropped the egret at his feet, she told him to eat it. Well, obviously he was hungry. But a wolf was used to feasting maybe once a week. Abbas, though his large for was full of powerful muscles that needed energy, that weight didn't seem to be his friend today, so he wasn't too concerned. Besides, he had cornered a small deer before he had wandered into the desert, so he could last for a while. Regardless, there was food here, and they both needed to eat. Abbas lay down and began plucking the feathers, pulling out the annoying things as best he could with his teeth.

"We'll both eat." He mumbled before trying to get some persistent feathers off his lip. They seemed to like him a little too much.

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina laughed as Abbas spoke though the many feathers that decorated his maw. "If ye insist," Caprina said. Her stomach was growling to the point where it demanded food. Caprina had resisted the bird to let Abbas have the option of eating it, but with his insistence on her having some as well, she couldn't resist any longer. She tore off the feather in a vicious manner. Her wolf instincts took over as she plunged into the bare flesh of her prey. She didn't care about the feathers on her face, she just wanted food. Her stomach seemed to want to jump up and take the food as she swallowed it she was so hungry.

She forced herself to step back and allow Abbas the other half. Her instincts pushed her to take more, but her conscience said no. Hadn't Abbas saved her in the desert when he allowed her to drink from the small stream there? He had probably really wanted to drink just as much as she really wanted to eat right then. But now it was her turn to wait. She looked up as she saw the clouds mover over the sun. Her mind was just beginning to register what was happening when she felt the first few drops of water hit her nose. She smiled at the feel of the rain hitting her pelt. She could feel the clean water push away all the muck that had clung to Caprina's autumn fur. She didn't just like the rain because it was cleaning her up, but she liked it because it was water falling from the sky. Deorad had told her that rain was actually the gravity pulling water down when the clouds were too heavy. Since then Caprina could only think of rain as one thing: Bits of cloud coming to greet. Her She sat down and basked in the rain as its wet fingers stroked her fur.

[Abbas Fenrir]

A Wolf Only Has As Much Honor As He Has Comrades.    

Abbas did his best to control himself, but it was somewhat troublesome. He was hungry, after all. He ripped out what feathers were left in his way, and then dug in with Caprina. The big wolf laughed a little at Caprina while she was eating- well, more like inhaling her food. Still, no efforts of his would allow him to keep his dignity while taking the other half of the bird. In the end, half an egret to each of them wouldn't be enough to fill them, but at least Abbas' stomach wasn't glued to his spine anymore.

Then he felt something on his nose. It didn't hurt, it was small, and it was wet. Slowly at first, and then with a great downpour, it began to rain. Abbas looked up at the darkened clouds for a bit, and then stood once he had finished the egret. The poor thing had already been reduced to bones, and was being soaked with the rest of them.

The large wolf, turned his head to look at Caprina, who seemed to be enjoying the rain. She certainly looked pleased, sitting there and getting soaked. At first, all the rain did was make the dirt on her pelt mud again. Then it slowly washed away that mud. Abbas looked at himself with a little realization, and found that he, too, was slowly being washed clean.

"You're good with water, right?" Abbas said, turning to Caprina again and rising to his feet. "Let's go find a pond or something. The rain will bring the fish to the top, and you could teach me the finer points of catching them."

[Caprina Shayla Lunari]

Fill yer well with truth.    

Caprina listened to Abbas' request to learn how to fish. Her tail wagged at the thought of fishing. She loved fish. It was the best thing about her old pack. She loved how she could use her eye for detail to read the water and search for even the slighted ripple on the surface. It became all the more satisfying when she plunged her face into the cool depths and clamped her jaws over that unsuspecting bass. She always got a thrill when her teeth broke through the fish's scaly skin releasing the delicious juices that tickled the taste buds in her mouth.

The thought of fishing made her stomach become more demanding. She looked around and saw the marsh filling up. There would certainly be more fish around. She began to scout a place nearby when she remembered the alligator that had just swam away. The memory of its jaws clamping over the other egret chilled her. There was a good chance it had seen them. It could return, hoping to get a bigger meal. She looked over at Abbas, "That sounds like a plan, but let's not fish 'ere. That alligator might be 'untin' too. We should prob'bly move in the opp'site direct'n. Just to be safe."

She began walking in the opposite direction of the alligator. She didn't know the nature of such reptiles, but she had a slight feeling that they would also make use of the fishing conditions. She also worried about the ripples the rain made on the water. It would be harder to read it with the rain and the muck making to water so murky, but Caprina knew that if she wanted to feed herself, she'd just have to deal.