[ameko]

@ROUGE

Days like these were when Dante really missed the warmth of his home, with that cozy bed that felt like the softest feathers ever, and the fire that always crackled at a safe distance from him. Ah, what he wouldn't give to have something like that out in the forest! Instead, he burrowed himself deeper into his makeshift nest of leaves and twigs. The soft gurgling of the river nearby relaxed him, sending him into a peaceful daze.

His ear twitched at the rhythmic sound of something on the forest floor. What was that racket? Didn't they realize he was trying to get some rest over here? Dante mumbled something incomprehensible about beauty sleep and nuzzled his face deeper into the undergrowth.

Splash! Dante's head shot up. His sleep-addled brain took a few moments to process before he realized—that was the unmistakable sound of something falling into the river! A small part of him lamented the loss of some valuable sleep time, but the larger, more protective part of him wanted to go and check on things. Just in case.

Dante paused a moment to stretch and shake his head to clear out all of the fuzziness, then bounded over to the source of the noise. Lo and beyond, a flailing mess of white greeted him. "Woah!" he exclaimed, trotting along the riverbank to keep up. "Hey, don't panic, I'll help you out!" Who knew his odd fondness for water would end up being helpful? Without waiting a second longer, Dante plunged into the river. The piercing cold shocked him into stillness, but he recovered and swam to where he could still hear the splashing. He brought his head up above the surface and gasped out, shivering, "T-try g-grabbing onto me!"