Muddy River — The Shape of Dreams

She teased him and he felt his heart lift from under the invisible burden he had placed on it, worrying about everything. His nerves calmed and he was finally able to let a smile come to his face and let a small chuckle escape at her comment. She had accepted his invitation to the river and seemed equally light-hearted, bumping her shoulder into him and continuing to tease him. His smile widened a bit further as he grew more at ease. "You've sealed your fate, Caed." She teased, brushed against him before leaping away once more. Caedwyn grinned, pausing for a moment to watch her disappear into the darkening forest and shook his head with a laugh. "Here we go again..." he thought to himself before starting off after her. He could hear the pit-pat of her paws hitting the ground somewhere ahead of him but the darkness did a good job of hiding her exact movements. The cool night air whipped against his fur and the sweet scent of dew filled his nose. As they ran farther, he could hear the gentle sounds of water ahead as they came nearer to the river. "This way," he called out, leaping off to the side toward the riverbed. He came to where the bank dipped down and paused, looking down on the water. The current here was slow and gentle, the banks were filled with thick plants of reeds and grass. Thick moss covered the smooth rocks the lined the shore and lily-pads floated in the water. Here and there blooms poked through the surface but many of them had closed for the night - leaving only a few straggling flowers still blooming. Overhead a large moon had appeared, its light shining through drifting clouds to reflect onto the water below. As the current moved, the light danced off the water into dancing specks of light that shone all around. Caedwyn paused for a moment, waiting to make sure Enya had followed before starting down the bank. "This is the place," he said, using his paw to part the grass as he neared the waters edge. He looked down at the water, his reflection looking back up at him. It was surprisingly light out with the moonlight flickering around. As he looked into his own reflection, his mind wandered over everything that had happened this night. Only earlier he'd been bathing in the mud, alone, intending to seek out Enya to update her on the progress of forming their pack. Now they were carefully exploring their newfound relationship. Relationship. The idea was so new to him. Even before when he'd been with Rosita that hadn't been like this. He'd enjoyed Rosita's company but never once had he considered himself in a relationship with her. He'd never had someone at his side like this before. He was hopeful but apprehensive for what came next. Pulling his eyes away from the water he took a step forward. The water was cool, but not too cold, thankfully. His body dipped farther down into the water, wading out from the shore before he turned back once again. Where did they go from here? He'd never had a problem talking with Enya before but now suddenly he was quiet. His mind kept wandering, comparing himself to what he thought relationships were supposed to be. Enya had shared some of her history but Caedwyn had been so caught up thinking about Rin earlier he hadn't really addressed what she'd said. He hesitated, wondering if he should say anything. He didn't want to hurt her again bringing up things but his curiosity tugged at his mind. "You don't ruin things." He said quietly, before looking over to her. Well now he'd done it. He wanted to comfort her but what if he'd only brought up a sore topic again (and he definitely didn't want to bring up Rin again). Why did he say that! He backed further into the river sinking down farther until the water had come up to his head, dipping his muzzle down into the water so his mouth was covered and the water came up just below his eyes. His eyes remained on her though and from his mouth, he gently blew some bubbles, making a loud gurgling noise. Maybe if the water was over his mouth he'd stop saying idiotic things. Hoping to change the topic, he pulled his head up from the water. "Do you need me to help get the dirt off?" He said, inviting her down to the water. --- Speech.