Sunlight was the feeling Paislee woke up to. The warmth filtering through the entrance to the dome-shaped cave she called home spread across her back and made her eyelids flutter open. She sighed, still tired, despite having slept the best she has in days. She took a deep breath, and suddenly, a familiar scent washed into her nose, which twitched with a new found delight. Had Zephyr been nearby while she was asleep? Or was it just the faint scent from when he had walked her back to her den a few weeks before after they had met at Violet Sanctuary? She smiled at the memory of them returning from the field of beautiful flowers. Abruptly, she scrambled to her feet, as if an invisible force was pulling and pushing her to get out and find her best friend. Wonderful ideas spread through her mind, branching in many directions of how she would greet him, if she could find him at all.

She exited her den, heading out across the lush land that had finally been freed from winter’s cruel grasp. Snow no longer coated the ground, and spring was in full bloom. Flowers were bursting with color, trees were beginning to grow back their leaves to cover their bare branches, and the grass had risen back from it’s yellowed, matted-down state and was revived in full greenery. Life always came back in spring, one of the many reasons why Paislee loved the season. It was a time for second chances, for new life. She briefly wondered what the new season would bring. Hopefully, new members. Maybe another mandatory pack meeting? Another chance to get promoted?

Paislee shook her head solemnly. There was no need to be wondering about such a thing, as that topic was what had gotten her all depressed just weeks before. She banished said thoughts and continued on her merry way, maw turned up into a wide smile, eyes bright with happiness, and a little spring in her step that couldn’t be described as just “walking”.

She found herself at the pond a little while later. Halcyon Pond, was it? She couldn’t remember. Oh how silly, it was to imagine that she couldn’t memorize all the pack territories and their names. She scoffed at herself, rolling her eyes, but her delighted grin never left her face. It was when she heard the splash, loud enough that she knew it couldn’t have been on purpose. It sounded clumsy and unintentional. Her eyes quickly snapped up from the rocky bank, and she stepped out of the forest line that turned into the small clearing that surrounded the pond. Tilting her head, she looked to see what could’ve caused the splash. But she didn’t see anybody—or anything, for that matter—rise up to the surface. A flutter of panic unleashed in her chest. Should she dive in and attempt to save the apparently drowning creature? She saw a body through the clear water, and it appeared to be…

Oh no.

No, no, no, NO.

”Zephyr!” Paislee screamed. She clambered onto another rock, her claws scraping against the stone loudly. She climbed higher and higher until she was above where Zephyr’s body was lying under the water. She dove for the edge of the flat boulder, nearly jumping in, when she finally saw her friend surface. She jumped backwards, hiding from his line of sight, due to her higher ground. She watched as his lean body swam to the shore and then coughed up the water that had apparently ended up, unwelcome, in his lungs. She held her breath as he looked around, his chocolate eyes searching for others who had witnessed his less than graceful swim. Guilt flowered in her chest and took over the panic that had been there moments before. How long did the whole ordeal last? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? It felt like years.

She continued to silently wait, not even daring to breathe, and her icy orbs trailed after him until he was finally no longer in view. Her lungs ached, but she insisted she wait a few more seconds after he was gone, before she finally let out the breath that had been burning her lungs. Gulping in air, she collapsed from her half crouch and laid on the rock, basking in the sun’s warmth for a minute. Then she got to her paws and bounded around the edge of the pond and sniffed out Zephyr’s trail. Time to find her best friend.

She found him not far, in a grassy clearing. Her blue eyes took in the sight of him, lying in the soft vegetation, with his own eyes closed. His nose twitched, and his ears followed in suit, so she knew his other senses would be on high point, as he no longer relied on sight at the moment. Still in the tree line, she softly padded behind bushes and plotted a wicked plan. She knew it was bad, and he would probably be upset as he had just been through a terrifying experience of near drowning, but she couldn’t help herself. The mischievous side of her had come out to play, and this new version of her ever-changing personality wanted to cause some trouble. Zephyr was damn-well lucky that she wasn’t feeling anything more than just some light hearted fun, otherwise he would be regretting not being more careful and keeping an eye on his surroundings. With that, she quickly and quietly leapt up into a bounding stride, and pounced on her friend. She was by far smaller than him, so her weight shouldn’t have effected him much. She placed both her front paws on his shoulder and prodded him gently, while one of her back legs was bent without putting any weight on his hip, and the other was on the ground beside his stomach. She grinned wildly, her childish side bursting with glee.

”Gotcha. You better apologize for scaring the shit out of me back there when you just about drowned.”

[OOC: 1) So sorry for the wait! 2) Zephyr has granted the permission to powerplay ^.^]