Her dreams were dark, but not empty. Slowly, as her exhaustion petered and energy returned to spent limbs, her nap became a losing battle. Even in her sleep she could not escape the unrelenting itch, paws beginning to twitch and muzzle curling as steam roiled around her in sluggish, heavy clouds. She needed to be moving--she needed to be hunting--but where? And what? Her subconscious told her nothing, only feeding the strange anxieties so that they would rear ready and ferocious by the time she woke again. A deep growl reverberated through her heavy chest, though it ended not with her waking, but instead with a loud, snotty snore.
It seemed even the supernatural was unable to rouse the great dog, but Tsillah was a wily one, and her messenger certainly could. Slowly, a low voice slipped through the haze of dreaming, and one pale eye cracked to see a face nearly pressed against her own. It took several seconds for the blurry image to strike the right part of Ida's brain, and once it did, she nearly flew out of her skin.
"HOUH FUCK!" Ida yelped, jerking backwards and scrabbling against the damp stone with uncoordinated, floppy limbs. A string of slobber still hung from her bared fangs as she reared her head back, nearly tumbling over herself as she snapped her mandibles and rapidly blinked the sleep from her eyes. The hazy shape of eyes and teeth found their place among a river of red and brown fur, and slowly Ida's vision cleared enough to fully take in sight of the strange wolf who'd woken her. She sat there, hind limbs still splayed across the stone and head raised in a clumsy half-propped crouch as her freshly woken brain struggled to catch up to her body.
"Goddamnit," she finally huffed, tattered ears heating as she pinned them back against her skull. "Gunna give me 'uh fuckin' heart attack, yuh dick!"
She gave a quick shake of her shaggy coat, smothering the embarrassment of her fright as she fixed the male with a indignant glower. She could feel a warm dampness clinging to her mane from the steam, and she gave a harsh puff from her nostrils to chase off a cloud of the vapors. She curled her blunted claws into the stone, relieved at least to feel that the sturdiness of her legs had returned with sleep. In fact, perhaps due to her sudden awakening, Ida felt surprisingly alert and energized. Alert, energized, and aware of the nagging, annoying anxiety still tickling at the back of her mind.
"You own this place 'er somethin'?" Ida finally asked, beady eyes angrily flicking between the strange male crouched above her and the bubbling geysers. The one plus she found was at least she was tall enough to nearly match his gaze, despite the height advantage he still currently had. He certainly looked a lot smaller than she'd initially thought, was he looking for a squabble? She gave another clack of her mandibles, but made no move to attack the stranger despite her clear annoyance.
It seemed even the supernatural was unable to rouse the great dog, but Tsillah was a wily one, and her messenger certainly could. Slowly, a low voice slipped through the haze of dreaming, and one pale eye cracked to see a face nearly pressed against her own. It took several seconds for the blurry image to strike the right part of Ida's brain, and once it did, she nearly flew out of her skin.
"HOUH FUCK!" Ida yelped, jerking backwards and scrabbling against the damp stone with uncoordinated, floppy limbs. A string of slobber still hung from her bared fangs as she reared her head back, nearly tumbling over herself as she snapped her mandibles and rapidly blinked the sleep from her eyes. The hazy shape of eyes and teeth found their place among a river of red and brown fur, and slowly Ida's vision cleared enough to fully take in sight of the strange wolf who'd woken her. She sat there, hind limbs still splayed across the stone and head raised in a clumsy half-propped crouch as her freshly woken brain struggled to catch up to her body.
"Goddamnit," she finally huffed, tattered ears heating as she pinned them back against her skull. "Gunna give me 'uh fuckin' heart attack, yuh dick!"
She gave a quick shake of her shaggy coat, smothering the embarrassment of her fright as she fixed the male with a indignant glower. She could feel a warm dampness clinging to her mane from the steam, and she gave a harsh puff from her nostrils to chase off a cloud of the vapors. She curled her blunted claws into the stone, relieved at least to feel that the sturdiness of her legs had returned with sleep. In fact, perhaps due to her sudden awakening, Ida felt surprisingly alert and energized. Alert, energized, and aware of the nagging, annoying anxiety still tickling at the back of her mind.
"You own this place 'er somethin'?" Ida finally asked, beady eyes angrily flicking between the strange male crouched above her and the bubbling geysers. The one plus she found was at least she was tall enough to nearly match his gaze, despite the height advantage he still currently had. He certainly looked a lot smaller than she'd initially thought, was he looking for a squabble? She gave another clack of her mandibles, but made no move to attack the stranger despite her clear annoyance.