Perhaps one day he would get used to the curiosity that his voice seemed to elicit in others. Maybe after years spent in this land, it would be less noticable. Until then, however, he would just have to deal with the peculiar interest that his very existence seemed to elicit. He watched the way her dural toned ears perked at the sound of his voice and figured he’d be in for a question about his origins at some point before too long. It wasn’t that he didn’t like to answer the questions but more that he didn’t care for the memories and feelings talking about his homeland dredged up. He was still trying to move past his recent history and constant reminders tended to make things a bit more difficult. Still, he wouldn’t be rude if she asked; he had been raised right.

”Aye, the water is nice. Sorry if I interrupted your solitude. Just dinnae want to startle you.” She was a wee thing and the last thing he needed was her sucking in half the lake because he’d spooked her while she was swimming. Still, despite her size she didn’t appear to be alarmed by him. All he could read from the bits of her that he could see was curiosity and friendliness. Her smile seemed warm enough that perhaps he hadn’t made a nuisance of himself. That, or she’d also been raised right and would never dream of telling off a polite stranger. Whatever the case, he still planned to err on the side of caution. Even after she’d been gone a full year, he could still hear the shrill accusations of his late mate before she’d claimed her own life. His ears flicked at the phantom assault. Yes, it was better that he was cautious.

Shifting in the water, Dirk hesitated before moving further into the shallows. The water dripped from his dark chest, pulling his fur into little spikes below him. Despite the urge to shake the weight of the water from his fur, he abstained, not wanting to shower the female with a miniature storm of water droplets. ”My name is Dirk.” He tried to make his voice less gruff but it was pointless. Anytime he tried to alter his voice he just sounded strange. Awkward even. He could only hope that the stranger found his voice more interesting than offensive.