Armor, clothes, bow, and arrows lay at the base of a nearby tree where the Calidus girl had left them. Her sheathed sword lay on a rock just at the water's edge, near in case she should need it. Meanwhile she was out in the cold water, up to her chest, washing the impurities from her cinnamon, mocha ticked coat. She lacked the cleaning implements she had used in her old home, the scrub brushes and special, scented concoctions that had been used to make her fur glisten, but even in this more rustic place she could enjoy a good bath.
Sea green eyes closed as she dipped her head below the surface to wet her long, mahogany mane. It had been months she had taken a bath of any kind, for it had only been required of her when she was to attend high class social events, but today she had felt the need to distract herself. Her new home, the place she had already so attached to after only a few weeks, had disbanded. Crimson Dreams was no more. The wolfess did not question her Praetor's judgment, in fact she agreed with it, but that could not ease the pain of being homeless once more. So she had chosen to divert her attention to self cleansing.
The frigid temperature of the lake pushed her out after only a few minutes, but that had been long enough to wash the dirt and grime from her fur. She emerged, water cascading from her feminine form as her hands busied themselves ringing the excess from her mane. Reaching the shore she bent to collect her sword and headed towards a nearby boulder, bathed in sunlight, the perfect spot to lie out and dry off. The girl had debated shifting to her quadruped form and shaking herself dry, but had decided against it for some reason.
The relatively flat surface of the boulder darkened with both her incoming shadow and the droplets of water her fur continued to shed as she gently lied down on her underside, arms folded beneath her head. She would let the sun warm her while both it and the breeze dried her pelt. Her mind began to drift to the look on Anu's face when she had announced the pack's dissolvement, but she forced it to divert to happier things. The cinnamon luperci's thoughts settled for a moment on the image of the russet male who had been her first acquaintance in these lands. The memory of his bright blue eyes brought a small smile to her face before she forced herself to move on. Oak had his family to worry about. She doubted he was even concerned with her, for he and his brother likely were focused on finding a new place to live with their mother. Their family bond was strong, something she admired...and missed.[/html]