500+
“Oh!” she said delightedly, bounding over to the stream to share the drink with Kaena. Oh, that tasted so good… nice and clear. “Mmmmm!” The yummy sound emphasized her pleasure at the cold water. The blue eyes smiled as the pink tongue came out to lap and draw the water into her throat. She was being quite noisy about it, and the water was flying about in response to the crazy movements of her tongue. The russet coyote jumped up and started to run and make more circles around the older femme, realizing that Kaena had already finished drinking and had started on.
“The Ravine!” Merilin exclaimed as if she knew all about it and that was the source of her excitement. “Ooooo! Where is the ravine? Is that over there?” she asked, gesturing toward the darker area that they were approaching with a flick of her maw. Her blue eyes continued to stare at it. What a weird word, ravine. It sounded like raven, but different. Maybe it was like the girl version of raven. It sounded much girlier to the young coyote. She giggled to herself. Yes, that was it. It was a girl. Girl, girl, girl. The coyote’s russet fur moved and danced about as she ran. Her fur always seemed to be moving, never still, even when sleeping.
She thought for a moment on Kaena’s response about the leg with the ouch. “A mean wolf? I’ve never actually met one, but I used to hear them talking. Sometimes they are very loud, especially when they are yelling at each other from afar. But we can be loud too,” she said happily. She slowed her pace a bit so that she was next to the injured leg. Merilin’s pink tongue came out to lick it. “There. All better now,” she said, trying to be helpful. She smiled up at the old female. “You know everything about the Inferni?” the russet coyote asked, completely awestruck. “You must be a good story teller then! How long have the Inferni been here?” the young coyote wondered aloud.
“Wow! You have a lot of family here! You’re so lucky,” she said with mock envy. She laughed a little. “Maybe soon I will meet some of them,” the russet coy added hopefully. “I wonder what they are all like… Are they much like you? Do they look like you?”
As Merilin continued to play on the rocks, she moved over with Kaena. She didn’t play much anymore, but instead looked down at the steep drop. “Whoa…” she said with awe. “The water moves underground? That’s weird. Do you ever go down there?” She kept close to the older female, somewhat afraid to fall down. She was not afraid of heights, but considering this ravine an what could happen if you weren’t careful, it was definitely worth being extra cautious. “Pretty!” It was still very beautiful. Those russet ears perked. What was that sound. “Ooo, more water! ” They swiveled about some more, trying to catch more details of the sound. Crunchy. Watery. Big. “Waterfall!” she shouted with glee.