ooc: changing styles b/c you’ve inspired me to try it out for a thread

I am an artist, and she was clearly a model. The way she tilted her head to allow the fall light to make her sapphire eyes gleam like treasure and detail her bone structure were my clues that she had perfected her ability to appear celestial. If I could have captured the moment permanently, I would have. But that was foolish. The only tools I had to work with were primitive and not nearly refined enough to capture her presence. Next to her, covered in dirt, I felt rather like a scummy commoner.

Eagerly, I receive her advice, but I don’t think I’m glad to hear it either. My skin starts to itch with idea that bugs are now buried in my fur.. Spreading their feces and licking my skin in piggish delight. My fur fluffs outwards as my face wrinkles delicately in disgust at the notion, and I feel very eager to dash into the lake before me to drown the invasive opportunists. But she is unfinished, and I politely tilt my ears forwards to receive her advice. She is kind to give me such excellent information for free.

I feel I must teach her something in return. Maybe about perfume? The model wolf would surely enjoy that idea? But then she asks after my family. Well, I don’t have them available. They are all north. Many months away from me now. My ears flatten to the side as my eyes glazed over with depression. I missed them terrible, but this was the way life was for me. It was the culture of being nomadic. I told her, “My family is many months travel away. Here I don’t have relatives and I’m not sure I’ve made close enough friends to ask them to share grooming with me.”

I suppose Jackdaw or Fritto might be willing. They were outgoing sorts, but I guess I had imagined a female friend to share a spa day with and the only female wolf I’d met that I’d said more than hello to was Liquid Amber and she seemed… very distant. However, they weren’t necessary for me to begin grooming. I looked to her with shining eyes and invited, “But I will deal with that issue later. Thank you for your advice, M’am. Seeing as I’ve already soil my fur for the moment, I was going to swim out to the island - now to drown the bugs that are in my fur, bask in the sun, and groom. Would you like to join me?”

I waved my tail to show my friendly intent; I didn’t expect her to groom me, of course, but it would be excellent to have another to chat with in the process. Grooming was a fine activity, but better in crowds to catch up with about gossip during the day or about other things. And I was certain we had more in common than aspiring to look our best.