Reyes wasn’t entirely sure what kept him moving these days. His mate was recovering – even if he wasn’t back to his old self, he was no longer at any serious risk, nor did he seem to be taking part in the extreme self-punishment he’d been exhibiting a few weeks past. The pups were still in Jessie’s den, though he was certain it wouldn’t be long until they were out and about and all peace would be a thing of the past. And maybe that was it, he thought, maybe it was the impending loss of freedom – even if that freedom was only an illusion. He’d already given that up. Willingly, even!

And he was happy!

And maybe that was what Reyes was running from, the growing notion that he was changing as a person, and not in a way he’d ever imagined. To stop that train from rattling any further, he plunged his face into the water, exhaling several bubbles from his scarred nose before resurfacing with a loud gasp. It worked – the thoughts settled, and the gamma was able to take a drink in peace, planning his run back to Wild Rye Fields when he realized he wasn’t alone. Shaking himself out, the large male chuffed, his tail held at half-mast as he studied the wolf. What was she doing?

“…what’re you lookin’ at?”

“Oh.”

That was dull. Reyes licked the excess water from his lips as he bowed down in a slow stretch. His breathing had almost returned to normal, and if nothing interesting was going on, he might has well turn tail and start the return trip home. But before he could, the loner spoke back up, and the swarthy wolf found himself intrigued if nothing else. “Fishing, huh?”

That was a form of hunting he’d never tried. It was so dry where he’d grown up, there was no point in considering it. The few fish that lived in the pathetic streams were tiny, not worth eating. Wild Rye Fields wasn’t exactly flush with water sources either, and it really hadn’t crossed his mind until the loner had brought it up. Reyes gave the shoreline a considering look, watching the small flashes of silver a little further into the lake. Before he could ask, the other wolf went splashing in, presumably after one of her fish. When all she got was a mouthful of lake, the Rye wolf couldn’t help his snort as he waded in, keen on trying his own luck. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. They were like…fast, swimmy squirrels, or something like that. Instead of lunging, he waited, allowing the fish to nibble at the rocks around his toes as he watched. “You ever do this before?” he asked, not looking up from his prize.

“Huh.”

Reyes wasn’t exactly sure he bought the girl’s confident retort, but he was in no place to argue. Seeing has how he hadn’t fished, nor had he ever watched any other wolf hunt for fish, he couldn’t actually say that the stranger was doing it wrong. So he continued to stand as the water lapped at his upper legs, watching the small fish nibble at the stones and his toes, only tilting his head when the yearling finally came clean. His mouth kicked up at the corners. He liked bravado.

Couldn’t argue with her logic, either. “Like the way you think, chica,” he rumbled softly, eyes never leaving the rather large rock bass as it too began to swim over to where the smaller fish gathered. He had no idea if it would try to eat his small school of friends – he wasn’t terribly concerned, though. The shiners were too small to make a good meal. The bass, however, looked like something he could wrap his teeth around, but he’d only have one chance. Taking in a full breath, Reyes lunged forward. The first bite closed around the fish’s tail – but he’d injured it enough (even if he hadn’t meant to) that it could not swim quickly, and the second bite found the fish’s body. Reyes reared up with the bass in his mouth, stumbling backwards before depositing the body on the shoreline.

His tail began to wag. “So, chica – what’s your name? Where you from?”

“Oh.”

Reyes looked up from his fresh kill, tipping his head as the girl blurted her entire circumstance. All he’d asked for was a name – had assumed that ‘where are you from’ would come with an equally simple answer like ‘from the south’ or ‘two days north of here, by the lake’ if she was feeling particularly talkative. That other wolves were so much more trusting than he was (than they should be) always came as a surprise for the gamma, and he wasn’t totally able to hide the confused frown before shaking it off.

“You’re lucky y’missed the winter. S’fuckin’ cold. And snowy.” The wolf snorted. “I was from far south. Farther than the grass.” Where were was lots of sand unless you went up the hillsides, then you could find the trees and shrubs. He’d passed through vast seas of grasses on his way north – and not for the first time in recent days, he found himself wondering how his sisters were. How his mother was, if she was still alive. But that wasn’t here nor there. “So – you were a hunter in the old pack?” Clearly not a fisher. But they didn’t really need hunters, did they? They could all hunt. And this kid was young.

“‘m Reyes, by the way.”

She didn’t like hot, but he did. Reyes might have argued the benefits of the warmth and sun, but the building contention was quickly sidelined when the young loner announced that she was a healer. Or a healer in training. But shit, it was more healer than they had right now! His tail wagging behind him, the dark wolf sat on the shoreline, the fish beside him temporarily forgotten as he rolled the ideas around in his mind. Was this how Askan did it? Maybe it wasn’t so hard, after all. Drestig would probably be happy if he could bring a healer back to Wild Rye Fields – and it would mean they actually had someone nearby if tragedy struck the pack again.

“You lookin’ for a new pack?” he asked casually – except it didn’t feel the least bit conversational. To him, it felt like jumping from Point C to Point 14, in no uncertain terms – but maybe normal wolves expected that. Or wanted it? Heck, he only had to hope she didn’t want to be alone anymore. Or something like that. “‘cos we got somethin’ back in the lowlands. No healer – so the post would be all yours. Recently became apparent just how important healers are…”