[ COMPLETED ]

He slumped down next to the lake.  He was sore, they had been traveling far to much.  For a moment, he wondered if they would find a pack that was suitable for the both of them.  Where he wouldn't feel so... useless.  

He heard her pawsteps and felt himself smiling, her scent wafting over to him.  "Qara, want to rest here for a while?"  He stood up again, trotting over closer to her.  Making sure that he didn't walk to far.

The wind whispered through the trees around them, and it was a shame that Ty could not see where they had ended up.  The branches hung low, a few touching the surface of the lake.  The wind that shook the trees sent ripples slowly out through the water, and the lake lapped at the dirt that surrounded the water.  The sun shone defiantly above them, its rays broken by the ripples in the water and casting reflections all around them - making the trees sparkle.  It seemed like even the grass was trying to create its own beauty as it waved back and forth.  It would have been a plausible thought to believe that this area was doing it all just for them - if one were foolish enough to think such things that is.

Ty pricked his ears up, waiting for a response from Qara.  He really needed to rest at least a little bit, but she always seemed to be so much more energetic than he was.

Qara, being more suited to physical activities than Ty, was absolutely fine, but she recognised that he was tired, and so she bumped into him on purpose, a nice light touch against his fur. She giggled slightly after that. "Yeah, sure." she said, and flopped onto the floor, curling her short tail around one of his back legs.

He felt her touch and stepped back slightly, wondering if he was the one that had gotten to close. Until, of course, he felt her tail wrap around his hind leg. He smirked faintly, and realized that perhaps he really was just in the way. For the first time in a while he found himself wishing he wasn't blind, so he could at least tell more about her body language. It would make things easier, that was for sure. He laid down near her, trying not to move his leg from under her tail. The warmth of even that little part of her was enough to make him feel safe.

He shook his head, brushing the notion out of his mind. He should be the one to make her feel safe, not the other way around. He signed, his breath blowing up a little bit of dust from the ground. He caught the scent of the lake then, realizing that there was water he jumped up almost to quickly and padded over to the shore line, the water soaking into his paws as he had stepped a bit to far into the lake. He took a few deep gulps of the water before letting out a low yip and looking in Qaras direction, "You should drink some... it's great."

The fact that Ty did not move away from her made her smile. "This guy is so cute..." she thought to herself and giggled out loud as Ty jumped up. "Found the water, Ty?" she asked, still giggling. She got up to follow him as he invited her, padding loudly on purpose so he'd notice her. She leaned in close and lapped up some water from the very spot he was drinking from. "Strange. Tastes like Di'shei..." she barked in the most serious voice she could muster, then she burst into a chuckle.

Ty almost choked on the water he was drinking at her last comment. The warmth of her form was very obvious to him and he felt himself shake. "Why.. would.." He realized how wet him paws felt, and muttered a slight curse under his breath. "Well, at least it's not ice cold anymore..." He smiled, slightly, taking a few more steps toward the center of the lake. It got deep fairly quickly, but not so much that it was an issue for him.

He felt the water run over his back, finally soaking fully into his thick fur. He let out a bark, catching her outline closer to the shore and looking toward it. "Qara, still want to learn how to swim?" His paws were still firmly down on the floor of the lake, and he was positive that she would probably be able to walk even further than where he was without even being coated.

"What? You've never eaten a Di'shei before?" she teased, giving him a little nudge. Her grin faded as the other got into the water, though. "Hey... you remember I can't swim, right? I can't follow you into there!" she whined, obviously sad that he'd left her. She didn't need to be bathed either, so she needn't step in. She sat down, waiting for Ty to come out.

Ty pulled his ears back, hearing her whine as it illuminated her form sitting down. "Qara..." He walked closer to her. "You can walk, it's not deep. It'd be perfect for learning." He stood close to her, and nudged her slightly on her shoulder, as if trying to encourage her to go forward. He rapidly realized what he was doing though, and stopped. Taking a step back he felt his tail wagging a bit to much. "I wanna be able to help you do something.." His voice faded off, and he cut himself short before continue onward. It was a foolish comment, but he couldn't take it back now.

Qara sat still, her massive body not easily moved by such a smaller wolf, though it didn't seem like he was trying hard. Nothing traumatising had occurred to her in the past, it just didn't seem right to bound into the water like that. It was a natural fear, almost like falling, but not as intense. "I'unno...." she said with an uneasy shrug, but as the next words slipped out of Ty's maw, she grit her black teeth. "How good are you at swimming?" she asked, and stood up taking a few steps into the water, submerging her legs half way.

Ty shrugged his shoulders, "Good enough I guess. I can see in the water, or under it rather. It's nice to be able to do that. I can see further than on land, and for me to be able to when everyone else is blind is nice. I used to have competitions with my family..." His tail dropped a bit, his chipper attitude dying down a little bit. "If you really don't want to Qara, we don't have to. I can understand being afraid, hun." He bit his tongue, letting out a little bit of a yip in pain. Did he just say that? Really? He shook his head. Unbelievable. He lowered his head, and his tail curled. Now who was the one with the fear?

She paused her movement as he explained, lifting up her paw, trying to decide if she should, but as he called her hun, her facial expression changed to a pleased smile, and she looked away, hoping he didn't see that. In vocal silence, she waltzed in so she was up to her chest, and went no further. She looked to Ty for instruction.