Hyperaware whenever Karpos was near the den (which wasn’t all that often), the young man's scent on the wind had just set Karina’s excellent nose twitching. She followed the River yearling's scent—he always smelled just a little different, as if he had just come back from some excellent adventure—stalking slowly, carefully.. The idea was to find him and watch without him knowing she was there. She didn’t know what she would do if she had to actually speak words to the swarthy youth. She would probably puke, to be honest—his presence alone was enough to make her tummy do flip flops. As she neared the River she smelled him nearby, freezing when she caught sight of his dark pelt against the river rocks. She stepped cautiously closer, eyes trained on the young man as he peered into a pool at his feet. Karina had been taught to stalk prey by her parents.. but this was entirely different.

Karina stopped again when she saw him look up—had he heard her?—but no, he only lifted his head to howl for their family. The pup’s ears flicked to attention, and after a moment she heard a distant reply from Naia, answering that she was outside the territory and unable to join Karpos. That was a shame… Karpos was so often alone, Karina had assumed he preferred it that way. This was the first time she could recall him ever actually asking for company. Without being entirely in control of her feet, the Baranski princess moved forward, silently drawing up beside the young man. ”Hi,” she finally squeaked out, training her soft blue eyes on the circling fish. Her face was hot—thank the gods wolves couldn’t blush—and she flicked a paw into the water in order to seem nonchalant. Water splashed onto her and Karpos as the fish darted away. She hadn’t even been close to catching one, which was likely because she had never been taught to do this.

@Karpos did not return her greeting verbally, but instead graced her with a small, mysterious smile that made her heart beat faster. He was so cool. Why hadn’t Karina thought of using the silent smile? That would have been way cooler than ”hi”. Her maw dropped open in shock and embarrassment when her sad attempt at fishing splashed them both, but Karpos remained nonchalant—he even chuckled a little bit, to which Karina responded with a timid smile. Yes, it was funny wasn’t it? Look at them laughing together like friends! She giggled as she shook the water off her face. She should have known the older wolf wouldn’t be mad about a little water... he was too cool for that. Besides, River wolves were made for water!

His voice sounded somewhat stiff when he finally spoke—probably because he used his voice so infrequently. Or perhaps he was nervous too? Karina didn’t know anything about love or crushes.. but she figured the fluttery feeling in her tummy was something the other person should feel too, if he reciprocated her feelings. The pup’s ears turned down for an instant when he used the word “young,” a definite sign that he saw her as a pup and not a really a girl. ”I’m five moons..” she protested, her words trailing off as she made eye contact with the swarthy male and forgot how to speak once more. Five moons was probably nothing to him.. he was nearly grown! The princess sat up a little straighter, straining to make herself seem as tall as Karpos. His words registered, and she leapt to her feet in excitement. ”Yes!” she shouted, and the several bolder fish that had returned to the pond darted away in response to her volume. ”Yes, please.” Karina whispered, looking sheepish.

Karina’s eyes widened as Karpos talked; she was hanging on his every word. He was twelve moons older than her? Twelve moons weren’t so many! They were closer in age than she thought... why, she had passed five moons without even hardly realizing it. She would pass five more in a heartbeat, and then them two of them could… they could... do what exactly? Karina wasn’t sure what wolves in love did, she just knew that the being in love—like mama and daddy—was important for grown-ups and she wanted it desperately for herself. She blinked her large blue eyes in confusion when Karpos mentioned his own puppyhood. He hadn’t always been with Cut Rock River? Karina had never thought about it, but now she was realizing that all of her extended family in Cut Rock River must have come from other places. They were children in other places before they were here! Imagine that! Karina couldn’t fathom ever wanting to leave her family in Cut Rock River, and she was curious what had led Karpos to leave his own birthpack.. but he dismissed that story quickly, saying it was for another time. Disappointment crossed Karina’s face briefly but vanished as he teased her about being old. She wasn’t sure what Karpos was getting at, but she giggled anyway. She liked the way he said her name.

The pup yipped with surprise and delight as Karpos flipped a flopping fish onto the ground in front of her. She ran up close to smell it but then backed away just as quickly when it gave a violent lurch toward her. She barked at she retreated, tail tucked but face still alight with excitement and delight. Karpos gave it a swift death, and Karina approached to investigate it once more when it was laying still. He gave her instructions, but to be honest it was hard to pay attention when all Karina could think about was what an impressive killing machine Karpos was. She hadn’t ever seen anything killed before, and it was a little unsettling to be sitting here next to a dead still fish that moments ago had been an alive flopping one. He encouraged her to try her paw at it, and the pup approached the pool with a dubious expression. She stared into the pool for a moment, watching the fish return and swim in delightful little circles. ”I.. I don’t think I can kill one.” She admitted, ears flattening in shame as she turned to her teacher. What good was a wolf who couldn’t kill? ”If I catch one, can we just throw it back?” Death was still a mysterious concept for Karina, who imagined it was sort of like sitting motionless for a long time in the dark. She would hate to bring such torture on a creature that clearly loved swimming in circles.

Karina lowered her gaze in shame at Karpos’s lecture. She was glad she wouldn’t have to kill a poor fish of course, but his words implied that her pacifism would be challenged again in a later lesson.. and again and again for the rest of her life. Did everyone start out like her, reluctant to steal a life? Karina didn’t think so... Orren was so greedy he would steal anything, and she couldn’t see Aleksei shrinking from his duty. Karpos talked about pack hunts, and Karina thought of the massive carcasses her family always brought home, with racks of horns seemingly too heavy for their bodies and giant, glassy eyes clouded over with death. The girl had never seen one alive, but she imagined they were magnificent, giant eyes rolling in their heads and antlers held high to catch the sunlight. Could anything be more beautiful? Was it worth robbing the world of a creature bursting with such vitality? The young pup had never experienced starvation, or a hunger level that was worse than simply being a nuisance, so she was having trouble imagining it was worth killing over.

Karpos gave her some final instruction as she edged up to the pool, and when he fell silent her anxiety really started to boil. She was expected to do something now. What would he think of her if she failed? It was already bad enough that he had to lecture her about killing things, and now he was going to see her embarrass herself. Why had she thought this was a good idea? She looked back at the dark male with an uneasy gaze. He was so tall and strong.. he had probably never failed at anything in his life. Karina breathed in deeply as she trained her eyes back on the pool, her head moving in slow circles as she tracked the fish. She leaned out over the pool, worried at first that the fish would see her shadow but then realizing that she was so hopelessly short that her shadow would hardly be an issue. The pup leaned out further, emboldened by how tiny a shadow she cast over the water. They would never see her coming! She put a paw out, but her limb was so short that she had to lean further. The fish were still a too far. She inched a little farther, and then gasped as she felt her paws slip on the bank. A short yelp was all she was able to emit before she disappeared into the pool with a splash.