Heavy, black paws trudged through layers upon layers of snow, head dipped down and tail swinging lazily from side to side. The snow clung to my long, black fur, ears flicked back to keep from getting snowflakes in them. I wasn't sure why I had been up here, as I was definitely a desert dweller. The cold stung at my core, freezing my mind as well as my body. I enjoyed the heat so much more than the cold.. I know many would disagree with me, but I loved the heat. I liked the sun, even if my pelt was black. My neon blue eyes flicked upwards as my foot hit a patch of ice, sliding forward a little bit but not enough to knock me over. Black claws scratched the surface of the clear, frozen liquid, making small trenches in the surface. I bent down to look at it, my eyes following it out a few hundred meters. I had hit a lake.

I trekked along the side of the bank, not knowing whether or not it was safe to go out on the ice. I paced in front of it for a few minutes before noticing a pair of paw prints leading out into the center of the lake. Curious, I stepped about two feet out onto the ice, noticing that the ice was pretty sturdy here. I squinted my blue eyes out into the middle of the lake, trying to see where exactly the prints led to. Who had made them? Where had they gone? I saw a dark form in the middle of the lake, but I didn't know what it was. It was on the ice, almost as if...
Oh. Water. That's what it was, water. I could smell it now, the frigid briney scent of the lake. I stood pondering for a moment before my eyes widened, and my feet took off. It had taken a while to hit me, but I had added two and two together and had ended up with a wolf drowning in the middle of this lake.

I skidded across the surface of the lake, dodging cracks in the ice and avoiding soft spots that had appeared from the water bubbling up onto the top of the lake. If I wasn't careful, I could end up the same way as the possible wolf down in the middle of this hole. Now that I thought about it, the ice could've cracked and opened a long time ago and the wolf might've just been getting a drink, and now I was risking my life just sprinting across the lake like this. I slowed down, seeing a blob of brown floating beneath a sheet of ice. I gasped, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I heard a sharp cry of fear, and realized that the form had bubbled up into the middle of the hole. I froze, nails digging into the tough smoothness of the lake. "Are you alright?!" my baritone voice boomed, head lowering slightly to see if I could catch a part of her body with my teeth. Realizing that standing probably wasn't a good idea, I laid down on my stomach quickly, scooting over to the edge of the ice, reaching out with my neck in hope she could reach me. "I'm trying to help you, try to grab onto my neck!" I shouted, putting one of my paws in the water as well. The water stung at my foot, and I realized that might not've been a good idea.

Who would even think of crossing this lake? I had been wary about even heading out to save this wolf, in fear of cracking the ice myself and slipping under. My claws gripped on the edge of the ice, teeth clamping together tightly. It was absolutely freezing out here, even with my long, shaggy black fur. I had originally been from the north, but this was cold. Maybe because I was getting wet, and I was starting to lose hope for this wolf. Even if I got her out alive, would she make it? Water always made you colder when in the air. She probably already had frostbite, or hypothermia.. As she grasped onto my neck scruff and clamped down with her jaws, I realized that she didn't have one speck of a chance if I didn't even try.

As she began scrambling onto the ice, I reached down and grabbed the scruff of her neck. I hoisted her up, grunting a little bit, sliding backwards on my stomach. I was a strong wolf and she was a smaller female, so it wasn't too much of a strain. The water from her fur began dripping on me, and I felt instant chills shooting up my spine, creeping into my bones. Working on instinct, as soon as she was sprawled out on the ice, I wrapped her body in mine, licking the excess water off her face and neck. I tried to work quickly, my tongue flicking in and out. My mouth was freezing from the cold temperature of the water, but I knew a cold tongue wasn't as bad as hypothermia. I shivered as I tucked her smaller frame under my stomach, the two of us lying there shivering. My long fur blanketed her form, while I worked on drying her off. I didn't think she was in any state to move much, such as off the lake. I hoped the ice didn't crack any more, we were on our stomachs and the weight was more evenly distributed, but who knew.

Realizing it was probably a little awkward having a big, black, burly male on top of her, I tried to make a little conversation. Still drying her off, I said a little breathlessly, "So, what happened? How'd you fall in the lake? I'm Senef, by the way."