Heartleaf Creek Anywhere You Looked

@Vanadis

Sharlee had taken the day to do a little more exploring. The vybblung of the creek reached her ears as she came closer to where they'd made their home. It reminds her how much the dry winter air had gotten to her. Changing course the tawny girl headed for the creek. When she reached it she didn't waste any time getting a drink. When she finished she ran her tongue across her lips and over her nose.

Though the creek was small and it was winter she wondered about finding some fish. It had been awhile a couple weeks since she'd had fish. Though the freshwater fish wasn't what she was used to it would suffice. She climbed up on a small cluster of rocks over looking the water. From there she felt she would be able to see the fish swimming. Her gaze moved along rhw water as she began to search.

The yearling had spent most of the day following the creek downstream, getting acquainted with the lay of the land, and taking note of anything useful. So far, Vana had been able to find a few decent fishing spots, and more than a few places she'd expect useful plants to grow. All in all, the girl felt satisfied with what she had accomplished, and was on her way back when she came across the tawny coated female.

Vanadis was quick to alert the girl to her presence, barking out a soft, "Hullo," in an attempt to not disturb her future packmate who looked rather intent on the water. "Are you looking for something? Fish would have been a likely answer, but the Archer did not want to assume.

The tawny female balanced her body on the rock overlooking the small creek. She didn't particularly want to enter the water if there wasn't anything there to catch. She was concentrating so hard looking through the glare over the water to see what was below she didn't hear another wolf approaching.

The soft greeting didn't startle but did bring her focus from the water. She didn't mind the interruption since she hadn't found anything worth noting. "Hello," she greeted in return as she jumped from the rock to more stable ground. "I was looking for some fish. It's been awhile," she replied as she came to face the other wolf. "What brings you out this way?"

Vanadis nodded her understanding. "Any luck?" Back home winter usually meant the end of fishing season as the Loch froze up and made it too difficult, or too annoying to get anything accomplished, but the running water here made it a much easier endeavor.

At the girl's question, the Archer could only shrug. "Not much. I was just on my way back. I went up the river in search of fishing spots, or places that might grow something useful come spring." Then, because it had been a while for her too, she had to ask, "Mind if I join you? I won't scare the fish away." It would be good practice for her too, since she'd only really had experience fishing in places where the water was still.

Sharlee shook her head when asked about her luck with fishing. "Not yet but I've only just started." She was hoping that the fish hadn't all migrated to somewhere warmer for the winter. She didn't want to have to wait until spring to have fish again.

As it turned out the other girl was doing the same. "Oh, did you find any good places? That information could certainly be helpful." Sharlee felt that if they knew of more than one place to fish they would hopefully always have food. "Places where useful things might grow might be something you talk to Clover about." Sharlee didn't know a lot about Clover yet but she knew she was a healer.

She shook her head again, "No, I don't mind at all. Actually I'd like the company. It's always more fun fishing with someone than by yourself."

Vanadis nodded her acknowledgement. At least the tawny yearling wasn't finishing up. It would give her some time to at least get to know her soon-to-be packmate a little better. "Yeah. It looks like the beavers have got the beginnings of a dam up stream. I'm not sure if it will still be around come spring, but the water gets caught there, so once it's warm enough to wade for long periods, I think we'll have an easy go of it."

Her tail flickered as Sharlee mentioned Clover's potential knowledge. Perhaps they could be useful to one another, though from the looks of her, the older female would have another year or so of experience to pull from. "Thanks, I'll definitely try to coax her into sharing some of the trade secrets with me." She offered an amused chuckle.

The Archer set herself up on the bank a few tail-lengths away from Sharlee so that they'd both have ample room to fish should there be any movement beneath the surface. "Agreed. It was always more fun fishing with my brothers, though I doubt either of us will be dropping frogs on each other." The memory elicited a wide smile to settle over her features. "I'm not too accustomed to the moving water aspect of fishing, since the Loch was pretty still compared to this, but I'll do my best."

It was an interesting bit of information that Vanadis supplied about the beavers. "We certainly might and the beavers themselves could provide a food source. We want to keep an eye on it though to make sure their dam isn't keeping the water from coming downstream too much." Those were her thoughts but it might not be a had thing having some beavers as neighbors. It was definitely a situation that could go either way.

Sharlee smiled, she hoped that all the wolves in the pack got along well. She also liked the idea that Vanadis might learn from Clover leading to them having a back up healer. "I think that is a good idea and I hope she welcomes your interest." Sharlee was genuine and happy that they had someone with them that was eager to learn.

They would fish together and hopefully bring some home for dinner for everyone. Sharlee laughed about the frogs, "Maybe not now but when it gets warmer…," she said mischievously. "It was a lot more fun with my brother and cousins too. We'd take turns trying to dunk each other under the waves." Back home the waves could get pretty big and it always turned fishing time into play time. "I suppose we both have something to learn then. The ocean didn't move like this either but even if we aren't successful today there's plenty of time to get better. What do you say we start practice now?"

Vanadis nodded her agreement to the tawny woman's thoughts. They wouldn't know how the presence of beavers might effect life around the creek until summer or spring, so it was definitely worth checking in on. "We can always send someone upstream to rip it down as needed." That way they wouldn't have to worry about the dam flooding the surrounding area, or the river changing course.

"I hope so too." Her tail waved behind her, stirred by the prospect of continuing her education. Knowing plants wasn't half as useful as knowing how to use them.

Sharlee's mischievous tone brought a smile to Vana's maw. She was happy to note that the tawny woman had a good sense of humor, further proved by the tale of her and her family members dunking each other below the waves. Too bad Vanadis' brothers preferred mud flinging to water dunking. Her companion then admitted that they were on the same page with fishing rivers, which was honestly a relief. "At least we're learning together." Perhaps once they'd trained up a bit, she'd be able to goad the Valle into making a contest out of it. "Let's do this."

Having lived on the ocean her whole life until she was brought to this place she didn't know much about beavers. Still she knew that a dam couldn't be good so she thought it best to keep an eye on things. Vanadis had a good idea which Sharlee nodded in agreement to. "That is true we could if it's necessary. It would be a simple.fix." However, part of Sharlee hoped they wouldn't have to take such measures.

Sharlee smiled at Vanadis' sentiment, "Its a little exciting the prospect of learning new things." She was excited for the other woman. The young Valle had always enjoyed learning about new things, especially those that would help the pack.

Speaking with Vanadis gave her a chance to share one of the stories from the Estuary. It was still hard to believe sometimes that they no longer lived there. Looking over at the creek did make her a little sad for a moment. It woukd now have to suffice for their ocean. Whether she showed it or not she did miss it, the sound of the waves and smell of salt on the air. She had resigned herself to the fact she wouldn't ever see it again. A smile was given to Vanadis, "Yes, there's no better way, right." Learning with a friend or sibling was much better than doing it alone. "Maybe we should make a pack thing of it later once the snow melts." It could be fun for everyone. With a nod she stepped up to the water, "I was trying to see if I could see some fish from here," she explained.

Vana offered her new companion a smile, enticed at the thought of bringing the entire pack out to learn. Perhaps there would be some bit of mischief they could stir up, as well as actually gaining some useful knowledge and skill for the future. "Practice makes perfect." She uttered the same words her mother had offered her when she'd first started learning how to fish, but found that she didn't actually like the way they felt on her tongue.

Peachy-hued eyes flickered over the water's surface, ready to strike at the first sign of movement, but luck was not immediately on her side. "I have a feeling we'll be waiting a while."