Something Lurking

"Ohhhhmigosh," Lacy yelped-- the freezing water wasn't exactly the most pleasant. But it did take her mind off...things. Against common sense, she dove under the water and kicked through the dark, murky waves to the bottom of the lake. The sand sifted under her toes, and seaweed caught at her legs and arms, disgustingly slimy.

"Ugh," she tried to say underwater, shaking it off and jetting back up to the surface. She rested an arm on the dock, and ran her dark, wet hair through her fingers, staring out at the surrounding trees. A low howl send shivers down her spine, chilling her to the bone. What was...?

"Shut up! Have you gone barking mad?" Riley whispered to Orion, who sternly prodded her leg. "Fine, I'm sorry. Have you gone stark-raving mad!?" She asked, dodging another accidental canine reference. Honestly, she wondered why she ever did this in the first place. She poked her head out of the trees and nodded, gasping as the wolf pushed past her, almost knocking her over.

"Dang it!" She muttered, rubbing dirt from her jacket. "You'll pay." Orion excitedly turned and held his snout behind her knee like he had a habit of doing. He was more like a pushy kid than a wolf. Maybe feeding him all those animal-shaped brownies made him too domesticated. Either way, it had to be done. She walked with the animal down to the lake, and pulled out her old faithful shampoo from her jacket. But none of that pet stuff, FREAKING HERBAL ESSENCE.

Careful not to be seen, she dunked the wolf in the water and started to wash his fur, even if she was thigh-deep in murky water.

She just hoped nobody was around..Wait, crap.

She gasped when she spotted a raven-haired girl wading around in the water.
Busted...

"What the..?" Lacy muttered, dipping back down underneath the water. She'd though she'd seen that girl at the Academy before. She easily maneuvered through the dark water, and resurfaced a few feet away from the red-haired girl with a cautious half-smile affixed on her face.

"You're going to tell me what you're doing, I hope?"

Lacy never had been one for formalities.

Riley shrieked and whirled around, sending shampoo flying over towards the shore. She bit her lip, "Washing....Orion..." she mumbled awkwardly, chuckling. The wolf prodded her ribs,, whining. "Shush." she whispered. "Should have never fed you those brownies.."

Lacy stared at the wolf for a few seconds, and then shrugged. "Well, guess it was none of my business, anyways." She pulled herself completely out of the water and pulled out her wand, murmering an incantation and drying herself off in a matter of seconds.

Lacy did wonder how she got a wolf, though. She gave the other girl a half-smile, a bit more like a smirk, actually. She wasn't sorted into Schlau for nothing. "My name's Lacy."

"Riley Carver, Second year in abgehenden." she said quietly, returning the smile. "This is Orion." She gestured to the wofl, who was eating shampoo out of the water. He looked like a crazy dog with rabies now.

"Never met a wolf who enjoyed drinking shampoo," Lacy pondered to herself, watching Orion. "Pleasure," she said, giving Riley a small grin. "It was Orion who made that noise I heard, right?"

...Or could it be something else?

Riley chuckled, "Yeah he's a weirdo. And yup, probably. Or his pack, I named them all. There's Jane, Darius, Ezekial, Humphrey, Machine, Gunner, Tobias, Tempest, Caeser, and last but not least the alpha, Taunt." She babbled, only stopped to dunk the slobbering canine underwater to rinse him.

"Wow. Extended family, much?" Lacy snorted, somewhat impressed. She glanced at the woods appraisingly. "Heard there's werewolves in there, too. Lots of creepy crawlies." Lacy shrugged, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Might be worth checking out."

Riley chuckled, "The worst I've seen is trip-happy roots." She could still feel her face planting itself on the ground.

But this Lacy girl seemed pretty adventurous, so maybe something would happen.

Lacey laughed. "Well, are you coming?"" she jerked her head at the woods.