Muddy River — The Shape of Dreams

Throughout their run, Enya frolicked where she could. With the night time air, descending sun and rising moon came lightning bugs springing up from the tall grasses and forest that covered the bank of the dried river. She kept in step with Caedwyn, occasionally deviating to snap at a bug in the air, until he slowed her, leapt down the bank, and paused at the water's edge. She followed suite, sliding down the dry bank with careful tractions, and came up beside him panting lightly. The run had felt good. It had invigorated her and helped shake away the heaviness of the situation. Catching her breath, she took in and admired the scene set before her. The moon had rotated far into the sky and caused the surface of the water to shimmer with reflected beauty. She watched as Caedwyn parted the grass and stared down at himself for a moment. She watched and stared at his silhouette, the dark blacks, reds and browns a stark contrast to the backsplash of glinting moonlight and green foliage decorating the lake. His golden eyes shined brightly in his reflection, she noticed as she slowly stepped forward to the edge of the bank. The scars on his face - void of fur - were clear in the water.  Enya turned her gaze to stare at herself in the water. Her torn ear twitched as she glanced at the picture in the water. Her own scales seemed to glow from the reflection of the water and moonlight dancing off of her neck and belly. She turned her gaze back towards Caedwyn as he turned to step into the water, slowly wading further out into the depths of the river. He turned to look at her, and she thought he was going to beckon her in to join him. Except, that wasn't what came out of his mouth. "You don't ruin things." he had said instead. She blinked at him, wondering where that had suddenly come from. She had hoped with her teasing, playing, and their run that he would have left it behind. It had been a moment of vulnerability, and mentally, she was exhausted from the conversation. She had been hoping that this dip in the river had been to relax together with one another. Why that particular phrase out of everything he could have said? And why on earth did he decide to blow bubbles in the water after saying it? When she spoke, her voice was soft and quiet, ignoring the comedy of the bubble situation. "I nearly ruined you." she countered, referring to his entire life and well-being that she had jeopardized. He dipped his body down further into the water, and Enya took a step forward. Where her paw touched the surface of the water, bits of ice formed beneath, steam escaping from the contact of ice and paw pads. She took another step, and another, and each one followed suite after the first. The moment her paw left the water, the ice caught in the current and floated downstream. When his muzzle came back up from beneath the water, she was about halfway to him. Did she need his help to get the dirt off? Well, no. But she would quickly snap up the opportunity for someone else to groom her. Letting go of her magic, Enya tipped herself forward to do a half-attempted dive into the water, coming up beside Caedwyn. She shook her head intentionally to splash Caedwyn as she surfaced and smirked. "I appreciate the offer, since you were the one who got me dirty." She turned her back towards Caedwyn so he might be able to start grooming her there, but took the effort to tilt her eye and head so she could still see and speak to him past her shoulders. "Why do you think you can claim that I don't ruin things?" He had opened the can of worms, so she figured she mind as well go fishing to hear his side of his reasoning.   "Speech."