Two of A Kind [Cedar]

Cedar watched the pretty she-dog closely: the way the sun glinted off her golden pelt, the way she wagged her fluffy tail in a friendly manner but remained not cautious of the fact that he was a dog she had never met before but shy as if there was actually a part of her that wanted to get to know him better.  He felt a warmth spread through him when she tilted her head and when she smiled.  For a moment his ears perked when he heard her speak.  There was kindness in her voice that he was not used to hearing from other loners.  Maybe she wasn't a loner...

"Tilly is a nice name.  It's funny, I've never seen another of my kind before besides my mother and my brother and sister."  He looked out across the crystalline surface of the water, remembering the happiness that he had felt in the short time he knew them.  It was more than likely he would never see them again.  "That was a long time ago though.  I don't usually see other dogs hanging around Sizor Falls.  Where do you come from?"  Again he dipped his maw into the cold water, this time shaking his head to try and rid himself of the headache brought on from drinking too fast.  He wondered if the water really felt colder than usual or if it was this strange effect cloaking him, a feeling that made all his senses zing.  It was something all together new to him, this sensation that made his paws feel warm even though he knew the white sand between his toes was cool from being so close to the water.  This sensation that made him feel lighter than the breeze that toyed with Tilly's fur.  This feeling that somehow made him wonder once more what it would be like to find humans he trusted.

Cedar hoped he was not making Tilly so nervous.  He noticed her stutter and hoped it wasn't anything he was doing.  Slowly she sat back; he did the same in the hopes maybe it would help her remain at ease.  Curiously enough even though he had just met her, he knew he didn't want to scare her in anyway.  Her quiet manner was intriguing to him, very much so.  When she told him about her humans though, it made him turn away.  A pain stabbed at his heart, so intensely he had to control his breathing to keep from gasping.  But Tilly was watching him closely and as he didn't want her to think he found these words offensive in any way (he knew some dogs who would), he choked back the ache and responded.

"My man...  My human, Logan, used to bring me up here too.  We hunted together.  I used to actually bring back the ducks for him!  It really was the best time of my life.  But...  Then the Leak came and he got sick."  Cedar stopped and took a shaky breath and looked out over the water and then at the falls.  He listened to the pounding of the liquid and a small part of him, the part of him the replaced that which died when Logan did, wished he could be beneath those pounding waves never to surface again.  He noticed this emotion with surprise because it had been some time since he had allowed himself to fell this way.  "After he died, I ran away.  I don't even know what's happened to him, what the other humans have done with him.  I never went back to our home.  I haven't really been around another human since."  Cedar glanced at Tilly out of the corner of his eye who he thought was still watching him intently.  This surprised him too.  He shook his golden head and ducked his nose, pulling back his pink lips to give her a sheepish smile filled with a subtle sadness.  "I'm sorry.  I don't tell that many dogs about my human."  He sat up straighter and allowed himself to smile brighter, enjoying it.  "I guess I feel comfortable around you."  He looked around.  "Your humans aren't with you today?"