[STM] Thunderous Tension

“‘S getting heavy out there,” He remarked, quiet and soft. In his small alcove in the far back of her den, Areca flicked his ears up, then back again. The sand cat huddled himself closer against the back of the wall, his eyes dilated in the dark. He saw far better than she did, but he wasn’t about to sit closer to the entrance like she did. She had a thicker coat than him; she was more than welcome to the rain.

“Aye, ain’t it nice?” The orange canine snickered, grinning at the little cat behind her. Dart and her mate Dash had been happy to house him, as well as let him try to build small tunnels into their homes… especially since they had no pups to rear, not for the moment. It wasn’t often, but they sometimes found pups wandering alone and simply took them in… and sometimes they just weren’t pups at all, and Areca could spot them from afar guiding small growing critters or birds to bushels of food or carcasses. 

“It’d be fun t’ frolic in!” Dart grinned more, her tail wagging a little. Areca huddled himself closer into his little hidey-hole. “Dash would pro’lly go with me, if you won’t.”

“No, thank you,” Areca quietly responded, repressing the urge to hiss in disgust. Out there, where he’d get cold and soggy? No, absolutely not. He’d been into the woods once and tumbled straight into the creek while trying to get a drink; he could still hear the laughter of the two foxes that lurked in the woods while he scampered back to the plains, his pelt burning hot with embarrassment. “I’m not a fan of water…”

“Nah, ‘spose most cats aren’t!” Dart grinned more. He saw her teeth flash as she opened her maw to say more, but he heard paws hitting mud and the ethiopian wolf perked. “Dash?!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” Came the response of her mate. One very sopping wet red wolf pulled herself inside, instantly being swarmed by Dart excitedly. The two wolves nipped at each other playfully, Dash shoving her way in with a grin. “I got sidetracked or a second! Actually – hey, you can come in!” 

Dash turned to greet the wolf crawling in behind her, pale blue eyes shakily looking through the den. It wasn’t terribly big; just wide enough to house a couple wolves, and Areca was suddenly feeling cramped as this stranger tugged herself in – only slowing her approach when she saw Dart bristling quietly, positioning herself in front of the sand cat’s alcove protectively. He was quietly grateful.

“Hey, relax!” Dash bumped her head into Dart’s, earning a grumble. “This is Kalianne! She was looking for food when the rain came through – she just needs a place for a second!”

“Lookin’ for food,” Dart leveled the brown wolf with a look. “Right before a storm. You knew here or somethin’? The weather here ain’t right always.”

“I-I suppose you could say that,” The wolf, Kalianne, laughed a little nervously. “Promise, I-I’ll be out of your fur soon as it stops… do you want me to sit by the… entrance…?”

Areca saw when her senses caught up to her… and he lowered himself more when she began to sniff the air. 

“... Is there a cat in here?” Kalianne’s tongue peeked out in quiet disgust. Areca bit back a hiss, his eyes dilating in quiet fear. He tried to shuffle so he was hidden a little more behind Dart’s paw, and making certain that his back was up against the cold stone.

“...” Dart didn’t look at Areca, but he could tell she was debating telling her. “... Yeah. There is. Got a problem with that?”

“H-He’s a friend,” Dash’s eyes were wide, as if she just realized who perhaps was waiting out the storm in her den too. “H-He’s a cat, yeah, but he’s –”

“I didn’t sign up to hide out with a cat,” Kalianne bared her fangs, her fur bristling as she sniffed the air more, looking for the culprit. 

“Well he didn’t ask to hide out with you either!” Dart bit back. Dash was quick to bump her mate with her forehead, but the other ethiopean wolf ignored her. “Look, you wanna stay here until th’ rain runs out? You’ll deal with it. Sit at the entrance like you asked about doin’ if it really bothers ya.” 

Kalianne bristled, but her tail tucked; she grumbled and growled to herself instead. With a sniff, the strange female wolf found a dry spot as close to the entrance as she could and settled herself down to rest. Areca deemed it safe to come out when Dart finally moved her paw. 

“Y’ alright, Areca?”

“Mm…” He hummed, but only to make sure his voice wasn’t shaking nervously. He didn’t show his nerves; it’s why he and Dart got along so well. Always clever, always sharp, always stoic. “Could be better… Thank you, though.” His voice was soft, not wanting the stranger to hear him, but he saw her ear flick and his eyes dilated more in quiet apprehension. 

“‘Course,” Dart settled onto the floor of the den as Dash went to check on the stranger, her ears flattened against her head. “Don’t worry about Dash… she cares about ya more than a stranger, I promise.”

“I believe that,” He murmured, allowing himself to crawl a little closer to press instead into Dart’s side. He heard her tail thump a little in quiet amusement, but it settled soon after. Dogs were odd; it had taken him some time to understand that a lashing tail meant they were excited more than it meant they were irritated. “Still… thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Any time,” Dart said, her voice warm. He settled himself close, only jolting when the sky rumbled overhead or the rain’s pace picked up. Dash and Dart seemed tense, but arguments happened in social species, or so he understood… They would work it out. They always did, or so it seemed.

Every so often, he could see the dusky brown wolf - Kalianne - staring suspiciously towards his direction. He scooted himself back, out of sight, letting Dart’s larger figure hide him. This… would be a long grueling storm to weather through…