R galoshes

[Dionysus]

Dionysus rumbled with fury he was barely keeping a lid on as the cold muck seeped further into his fur. It wasn't just soaking wet in this fucking bog, it was cold and wet. He could barely feel his toes. Rib had brown-grey snow-slush and mud caked to the skull's normally pristine, smoothed curves and edges. Dionysus' beautiful pelt stuck out in spiky, wet, half-frozen clumps and spikes and cowlicks from his various slips, pitfalls, and general slogging through the muck. It'd been too gradual an entrance, and by the time he realized he was in a mess, he couldn't turn back to get around it.

Huffing through his nose sharply, Dionysus pulled a dark paw free of the grassy mud and flung it forward to try to take another step. His paw sunk into the slush and wet soil, then kept sinking, a hidden sudden dip in the terrain tilting him forward. The cold muck touched his chin and Dionysus jerked his head up, ears slicked to his skull as he scanned the terrain before him, searching half-desperately for dry-ish land. He'd swum in more welcoming stormy seas before, saltwater burning his nose and lungs.

[Pipin]

Oh now this was more favorable terrain. Where one struggled, the other survived. Pipin moved through the mire like a creature of habit, having learned from his time with his prior pack. He was nearly a shadow as he slipped through the landscape with his eyes set ahead. There was the faintest humming coming from him, as he was in good spirits today. The fogginess wasn't there. A clear mind led to clear thoughts which led to soft cornflower eyes alighting on the auburn boy before him, only just now garnering his attention in the distance. A yearling, malleable and fresh... and as attention-seeking as a beacon on the horizon.

Pipin's pace slowed, his ears perking up. A red coat like this was more unique than the richer ginger tones of his usual fascination. Each step slowed the closer he got. His eyes flicking to the skull the boy carried with him, to the disheveled fur, to the fact that the near-child was alone in the world by himself. The sandy man's tongue flicked across his nose as the intensity of his expression deepened.

And so began the game of cat and mouse.

[Dionysus]

Stomp. Schlup! Stomp. Schlup! Stomp.

Pause. Dionysus lifted his head, feeling like an elk chased into deep snow. The kind that knew it was doomed by its mistake but who couldn't stop thrashing against nature's trap, flurries swirling around the razor-sharp hooves as the creature tried to fling itself free from the heavy snow and ice's cold cling like the icy fingers of death.

That wasn't Dionysus' fate. No way. Dion wasn't an elk he was...a sea serpent. Graceful, undulating in the depthless blue-black ocean's loving grasp. Nothing could fuck with him in his element-He just wasn't in his element right now. Not to worry, though, because he was nothing if not adaptable. His mother would have accepted nothing less.

A frustrated grunt, and he gave a mighty and flailing attempt to launch himself through the mire, a jump weighed down by the cold mud clinging to his limbs. But, he was partly free, for his front paws' clumsy attempt to get the fuck out of this mess had found somewhat solid, somewhat dry land. Shock, Dionysus dropped his jaw open to give a triumphant laugh, the slight success bolstering his spirits almost instantly. Though, he immediately has to scramble to snatch Rib back up, a whined apology dying in his throat as he collected himself, the familiar weight of the bone in his mouth as grounding as the sigh of the waves on the shore and the scent of brine.

Dion dug his claws in, entirely zeroed in on his bid for freedom from the muck, blissfully unaware he was under observation-If he had been, his behavior would have been much different.

[Pipin]

At first, Pipin thought he'd mis-stepped and made noise. The movements of the wolf were erratic. Jumping away, coming back to grab some sort of skull, and then leaping away again to run. It was enough to spring his own body into action. He moved through the mire not out of familiarity to the ground itself, but of the nature of the habitat. Unfortunately, it was the former that was his downfall as his paws erupted through the crunchy surface of frozen mire and plunged him into mud up to his elbows.

He swore lightly, under his breath, and hauled himself free. And then he was surging forward to catch up to the red beast. His paws also kicking up mud. His right foreleg and his chest were now slathered in cold and quickly stiffening mud that formed cracks revealing his creamy toned leg beneath.

The frigid air that filled his lungs was invigorating. He sought to close the distance between them before anything else. If he failed, or tripped up, he'd just call it a game. No big deal. Nothing to see here. Probably.

he's just trying to close the distance

Agility roll[roll=1d20+2]

[Dionysus]

Dionysus mostly only heard his own heart pounding in his ears as he hauled himself free fully of the muck, Rib firmly cradled in his teeth. Once perched on the little patch of dry land, Dionysus gave a pleased huff, shaking any loose mud or cold water off his coat as best he could. He was still a messed, but he was a little less weighed down. He eyed the mire surrounding his little island warily, unsure how to navigate his next move.