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It was hot and Yaroslav was absolutely sick of it. Summer was, by far, his least favorite season- he much preferred the cool of winter, the crisp air of fall or the lovely tableau of spring. Summer felt like it stretched out forever, the long days just added to the effect. The heat was probably the worst part and this newest heat wave felt like just too much. He was, in short, feeling quite miserable.

It also didn’t help that the heat made him feel sluggish and tired- there were likely things he needed to be doing, but how was he supposed to motivate himself to get on with it? It was frustrating. Doing more than just laying down felt like such a drain of energy. Perhaps he should take a long soak in a river and call it a day? But really…

Even if it didn’t feel like it, fall was approaching and work would need to be done before the harvest. While he greatly preferred the cool of winter to this sweltering heat, he knew how harsh it could get and the problems that came when you faced it unprepared. You only needed to experience that once to know just how terrible that could be. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, and now that he had a mate to look over... Perhaps a short swim to cool down followed by some work in the garden would be the best compromise.

With a long sigh of resignation, he pulled himself back up to standing and headed out towards the nearby river. It wasn’t the longest of walks, and at least the majority of the path was shaded. The trees and grass showed signs of the weeks without rain. The leaves drooped slightly and hinted at their future color change. The red and yellows that was bound to be lovely in a few weeks. Golden and dry, the grass was not as tasty as the fresh green grass of spring. A few twists and turns down the well trodden path took him to his favorite part of the river with a nice, deep little swimming hole.

Even with his dislike of summer, there was one delight that could only be found at this time of year. Very few things were as delightful as a dip in a cold river on a blazing hot day and Yarrik was an amazing swimmer. With a big grin, he leaped into the river, sending giant sprays of water in all directions. He put his head in the water, to submerge himself as much as possible, and soaking his mane. The relief from the heat was almost immediate. He pulled his head back out of the water and gave it a shake, his wet hair sending droplets of water in every direction.

He spent time paddling some circles up and down the swimming hole a bit more time just floating, allowing himself some time to relax. The reprieve was much needed and he made a note that he’d have to take another dip like this more often as long as the summer continued to stick around.

It was hard to pull himself out of the water, but his plan had been made. He gave himself a shake as he stepped back out onto the riverbank. He made his way back up the path and towards the little plot his garden sat. Watering the plants made the area feel a tiny bit cooler, which was nice and helped him ignore the heat as he went to work, pulling out the weeds and trimming away the dead leaves. He made sure to spend plenty of time tending to the pumpkins. They were his favorite and seemed to be coming along nicely. The carrots and green beans looked lovely as well. Just a few more weeks! Autumn was going to be bountiful this year, he could feel it deep in his bones!

While the heat wasn’t comfortable, working with the plants was comforting. He knew he wasn’t the smartest Cerynei in the world, but the plants never cared about that. He chattered to the plants, telling them about his swim, complaining about the heat wave, and telling them stories in an unfiltered stream words.

The sun set as he finished his work. At least this late in the summer, the night chill set in earlier. He breathed another sigh of relief as the sky grew darker. With his gardening done, he decided the best way to close out the day would be to do a little bit of star gazing. The clear skies gave a nice view of the cosmos. The moon shone brightly, illuminating the tops of the nearby treetops. He smiled up as the stars twinkled up above. The sight was almost enough for him to forget his dislike of the season. Almost.