The rain had caught him unawares as he returned from running the borders, the tell-tale rumble of thunder only just preceding the torrential downpour of the grey rain. The route he had taken for his patrol left him on the opposite side of the packlands from his house and he was already soaked through. Ciaran fared no better, the bedraggled cat looking more and more like the kitten that he still was, all his long fur now plastered to his skinny body, his whiskers drooping and his tail twitching madly. He knew that the sooner he found shelter the better as the cat would only get angrier and angrier until he was dry and warm. So when the stable loomed through the rain he crowed quietly in triumph, aware that Darcy would probably enjoy some company in this type of weather, while also fulfilling his and Ciarans need to get warm.
He found the stable door already slightly ajar and ducked inside, the tight opening squeezing a little of the moisture that weighed down his canvas shorts. As soon as they were in the wooden building Ciaran dismounted Niernans shoulder with a soggy thud and dashed straight to Darcy's stall where he began the long process of washing himself. Nier dropped to all fours, an odd thing to do in his two legged form, and shook his body violently, just as he would do in either of his four legged forms to rid himself of excess water. It was only when he straightened up that he noticed he had company. His cyan eyes fell on the bedraggled form before him and he cocked his head to the side, confused to see the horse wary Colibri here. He was about to ask why she was in the stable when a short legged but long eared and faced animal caught his attention as it moved around the main stable area.
Niernans main priority was his packmate and he set about getting her comfortable, dry and warm first. he offered his paw to her seated form, clearly seeing the exhaustion and cold that wracked her frail body. Coli, why don't you go and curl up with Darcy and Ciaran? I promise Darce will be good, he's only little and he'd probably appreciate the cuddles what with this thunder and all. He'll be nice and warm too. He paused for a moment, a small smile flitting onto his muzzle, I'll deal with your friend here, get him settled in a stall. He offered. He would find out why she had been out in this weather afterward, maybe he'd get the chance to have a nice conversation with her, teach her a little about horses, or she could tell him about her plants, he always enjoyed hearing her talk about her plants. That was one of the only times she brightened enough to lose her shyness and show what an intelligent and kind wolf she was. He hoped she'd take up his offer of a warm stall, he didn't want to see her suffer and he didn't know the other horses as well as he knew Darcy.
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