Ronan ^^ note to self this is present day, 10/24/25
North was as good a direction as any, though the dog of Rensley did not know how it felt about the cold biting into its skin. Physical bodies were a hindrance and an annoyance, it had decided, growing discomfort in all areas of its form causing it to walk slower.
One was an easy fix. If it got too tired, it would sit. Rest quivering limbs until it could walk again. The stinging in its paws was an easy thing to ignore, even when cracked pads left pink blood prints in the snow.
The others were not so simple. There was a burning sensation in its throat and its tongue stuck to the roof of its mouth, and somewhere around its stomach felt hollow. The dog did not know what this meant until it spotted the river.
Instinct led it to the bank, where it dipped its head and took a drink. Only, it was not used to the motion, and inhaled while it swallowed, sucking water down the wrong way and eliciting a furious coughing fit that burned and scratched up its throat and made awful noises over the sound of running water.
It was very bad at being a creature, it decided. There was a deep, aching homesickness somewhere behind its ribs, even past the choking.