Closest Thing to Rain (O)

[everest]

WHERE THE SAINTS AND ALL THE MARTYRS
LOOK DOWN ON DYING CONVERTS

She sat by the lake, willing her ear to find sound in the silence. There was only the soft pulse and the gentle echo of sound's memory as she watched the water, still and waiting. Autumnal debris littered the quiet surface with stray leaves that splintered the still perfection of the water in small waves. The retreated banks of the lake revealed a body starved by summer heat, and waiting, patiently, for the clouded skies to forgive. The distant rumble in the sky brought Everest back from her futile attempts to break a permanent silence, and left ear quivered at the largeness of the rolling sound. She fixed her lemon eyes on the end of the gently sloped valley that held the lake, and saw the rising grandeur of a storm devouring the midday blue of the sky. She shifted her dark paws, pressed her ears back, and sighed. With a furtive glance at the shadows of the forest poised behind her, she stood.

A wind toyed with the messy locks of her gray fur as Everest began to trot counter-clockwise around the edge of the lake with her left eye fixed on the forest. The soft scent of pine mingled with that of the lake. She moved with a fluid gait that hinted at her youth, and her posture was neutral with her head slumped to shoulder level, albeit for a slight raising of her trail that kept it even with the line of her rump. She would sometimes pause to inspect some previous flood line, or move a bit further from the lake to see where the trees began, where the soil had eroded, and where the new growth of a year passed had died or grown.

Could she live here? There was enough small game now for her to sustain herself, but the idea of being so far from the cities was a frightening liberation. She lifted her head to the storm as it blew closer and a violent gust rose. Her ear shifted from the treacherous shadows for a moment as she listened to another smooth growl sound from the sky.

WHAT MAKES THE WATER HOLY SHE SAYS
IS THAT IT'S THE CLOSEST THING TO RAIN

[blizzard]

Blizzard VI

• * •

A few feet from the lake a white dog had decided to take a nap near a fallen tree. Her white form stood out clearly against the tree's form and the grass around her wasn't doing much to help her blend in. In the middle of autumn it was a little bit dry... but that was the reason the dog had decided to nap here. It was an effective strategy... Find a spot to sleep during the day when the temperature was unbearable and be active by night when it was cooler. She usually saved it for the summer time but today was different.

A distant rumble brought the dogs ears up to attention... Being asleep she hadn't really focused on the sound consciously but some feral instinct deep within had brought it to her sleeping mind. The dog lifted her eyelids and peered blurrily around with her dark brown eyes. Everything seemed fine... yet... another instinct deep within was saying otherwise... Lifting her head, the dog raised her nose to the sky and sniffed. She could scent water in the air... rain? She started to lay her head back down to sleep again. Rain didn't faze this canine. It was nothing but water, and water didn't hurt you. Not unless you were being careless while swimming that is...

The female started to close her eyes when another rumble sounded. Fortunetly, this time the dog was awake and she heard the foreboding sound. Rain was one thing... but a full-blown storm, that was another... The white dog lifted her head and yawned. Exposing her ivory canines that normally would have glinted in the sun. At this moment however, the sun failed to show in the sky. The canine lifted her gaze and saw that clouds had covered the yellow orb that hung in the sky every day. It was time for her to leave this area and find shelter.

The dog stood and stretched her white paws in front of her. She paused for a bit to inspect them. The white fur had been almost turned brown by little specks of dirt... Normally, this would have been dealt with since Blizzard preferred her pelt free of any dirtying substances but at this moment that didn't matter. What did matter was getting into shelfter before the storm came. Which judging by how the wind had started tugging at her fur... wouldn't be long. So, the dog let out a final yawn and set off in the direction she knew a small cave should be. Blizzard knew the cave was here for she had passed it while traveling through the area a while back. It should provide adequate shelter for her while she waited for the storm to blow over. It was just a few minutes walk from here so she should make it in time...

While the dog had been walking she noticed something dark gray in the distance. She didn't know what it was... but it was certainly worth investigating. The white canine set her walk to a trot so she could catch up to the object. As she neared she noticed immediatley it was another dog... she didn't look like any specific breed to her. Just a jumbled up mixture, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that this dog was going to be out in the storm when it broke out. No dog would want to be soaking wet wilst a storm raged on. So why not be helpful and offer her shelter in the cave she knew of? Blizzard opened her mouth and let loose two barks. These were merely to get the dog's attention so she could speak. "Hello there. I don't mean to bother you but... you know there's a storm coming and you must want to get shelter. So, would you like to come with me to a cave I know of?" The dog's voice came out politely and inquisitively as she wondered if the other canine would be agressive at the help offered or happy at it.

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