She moved slowly, her white fur rippling in the wind, water seeping between the pads of her paws as she took another step further into the lake.

"Yuka, if you go in to far, you won't ever come back," the gentle voice warned her from the shore. The she-wolf in the water smiled softly.

"I'll be alright," she responded, taking yet another step. "I'm not going in too deep, I just want to clean off my fur. Trust me," she was up to her chest, the cold liquid pulling at her fur, the mud beneath her feet wrapping around her ankles.

"I've got everything under control..."

The white wolf slipped beneath the surface, a sudden and unexpected movement. Her paws flailed as she desperately kicked at the water dragging her down, vainly attempting to reach the surface.

It was no use.
She was in too deep.
In over her head.

And now the lake was laughing at her, pulling her deeper, flooding her lungs and pressing against her chest. Panic lit up like flames and her heart beat violently in desperation, but it was not to be. Yuka never reached the surface.