A muffled bark in the distance heralded her arrival. His ears shot upright from their miserable droop and his emerald eyes lit up, tail stirring the blankets as it attempted to wag in the midst of the swathe. Pan shuffled her way up from Baird's lap to wrap herself around his neck, Gelar staying perched on Baird's arms, feathers puffed up enough to make him look like a fluffy ball. The dingo man couldn't stop the excited yips that came from his throat, advertising his presence to the collie woman, as if she didn't know where there den was. Now that he knew that she was on her way back home he brightened up considerably, almost forgetting the biting cold, but not quite, remaining in his toasty cocoon.
Her unceremonious entrance left him covered in the hellishly cold snow, a little pile of the delicate white flakes resting on his nose, while his whiskers and eyebrows were gently frosted. He felt the frown forming, not that he was angry with his mate, he never had been and he couldn't imagine a situation where she would raise his ire, he was just frustrated that he was now covered in the cursed powder. His frown disappeared as quickly as it had formed when he actually looked at Neela, her long furred Secui body sprawled on the floor of the den, her bag tied to her back. She looked up at him, embarrassment registering briefly on her face before she announced sheepishly that she had brought food back. He was glad that her sailing expedition had been fruitful. He eyed the sack as she jiggled the knot with her teeth, he was about to offer his assistance when the knot came apart and the sack hit the floor, he estimated by the size of it and the sound it made on impact, that she had been fairly successful. They would eat well for a while on her spoils.
Neela shook after she had released the bag from her back, scattering snow everywhere. He moaned audibly as more of the cold white stuff splattered against his face and ears. He wanted to shriek as he felt a chunk slither down into his left ear, but resorted to shuddering and reaching one handpaw out of his blanket mass to dig a claw into his ear. Her laughter, even when it was aimed at his unfortunate predicament, made him smile. He gave his head a shake, whipping the snow from his face and shifting the flakes that had settled on the 'shoulder' part of his blanket huddle. He didn't much care that the outside of his cocoon was covered in snow, as long as the inside was toasty warm.
He looked up from his shaking and noticed that Neela was shifting, her secui muscles rippling to form a more lithe, agile and upright position. Her red mane flopped over her face and he smiled affectionately as she pushed it back revealing her warm amber eyes. "Welcome home sweetheart." He opened the blanket swathe slightly, allowing her more leeway as she tried to dig into the pile with him, her plume of a tail wagging furiously. He unlocked his knees, allowing them to separate so she could slot her body into the gap, bringing her against his chest. He closed the blankets around her, entombing her with him. He grinned as he captured her, planting an affectionate kiss on her lips. He looped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. He didn't care that her fur was still wet, or that Gelar had nearly toppled off of his forearm as he had moved around, he just wanted to hold her close to him.
As it was, the Kookaburra shuffled off of Baird's arm, making his way to the female collie's shoulder. When Baird and Neela had started courting the bird had realised that the red furred woman had a knack with birds. He often defected from his 'brother' to sit on Neela's shoulder and Baird was way past being offended by it. Gelar snuggled into the long mane of hair as much as he could, trying to absorb all the heat he could take. The dingo shot his companion a curious look, but ignored the birds actions as he nestled against the muscled yet fluffy body of his mate. "How was your trip? See any other mad buggers out there, or was it just you?" His words were delivered with a cheeky grin, glad that he could be his normal jokey, sarcastic self with her. He doubted anyone would be out in this weather, but then he was judging that on his own personal preferences. the wolves of Nova Scotia could be hardier folk than he, were probably hardier than he. He felt a bit put out by that, but then reasoned that he would survive longer in a desert. That made him feel a bit better about himself. Yet following that logic he wouldn't be able to be with Neela as surely she would suffer severely in a desert, while he could adapt to survive in a snowstorm. He would never admit it though.
He flicked his verdant eyes up to her amber orbs, realising that he had just had an entire inner monologue about something he couldn't change. He hoped that by looking into her eyes he would distract her from the fact that he just zoned out for a moment. He didn't know how it would work, she was surprisingly perceptive.
Photo courtesy of pierre pouliquin
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