Oak Tree Bend open expanse

Open to one other || Early morning, Cloudy, 24F (-4C)

Chamomile had decided very quickly that he liked this place. The scenery was much better than the heart of the forest and the scents were so rich in his coat. He had been eager to meet everyone and the small male was pretty positive that everyone at least knew his name by now. He tried to make himself useful where he could. It wasn't like he ever brought home big meals but he tried to keep the caches stocked with smaller game. On top of that, he made sure to mark the borders like everyone else did. Chamomile really wanted to prove himself to others. He had a goal now after all! He was going to be a teacher or maybe even an advisor. The male got giddy just thinking about it.

This morning he pondered that goal. His small form was stretched out beneath the Oaktree. How would he go about getting the role? "Suppose I'll have to actually find someone to teach..." He murmured to himself in thought. Aponi had told him there were soon-to-be yearlings about. Perhaps they would be a good place to start.

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I'll be taking Corsair back, so forgive me if he's a little off - need to get into his headspace. :D

Corsair was watching from the safety of the trees as the newest member to the Bend lounged beneath the oak tree from which the pack took its name. The young Donata had only gotten to know Chamomile by name, but the man had seemed friendly enough at their first introduction. Friendly or no, though, he was still an adult and that automatically meant he wasn't a suitable playmate. But @Mabel and @Ayla had gone off to play without him today and that left limited options.

Deciding it was time to bite the bullet, he broke from the cover of the trees. Striding forward with confidence he approached Chamomile with a grin and an easy wag of his tail. "You're bein' awfully lazy for a new member, ya know," he called out, laughter in his voice. "Wish I could laze around under the tree all day, but some of us got to work." Plopping down on his rump in front of the older man, he peered down his brown-furred nose at his companion.

No problem and thanks for joining!<3

His tail thumped at the ground at the appearance of someone. The boy was familiar in a very basic way. Chamomile had yet to truly get to know anyone within the Bend. This would be a perfect chance to change that, though!

A chuckle rolled out from the small male as he stared up at the tawny Donata. "Well what work are you doing? Or does the rule only apply to new members?" His voice held a playful tone, content to go along with the boy's words. Chamomile knew he was being a bit lazy. He should have, at the very least, been making himself look productive. But it had still been early enough in the day he had thought he would get away with a bit of lazing about.

"Corsair, right?" Chamomile asked as he propped himself in a sitting position. That way neither of them would have to strain their eyes looking up and down.

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Corsair was greeted with a thumping tail and a smile, which only made him feel better about his decision to initiate the conversation. The newcomer accepted the young Donata's joke in stride, which earned him positive points in Corsair's book. Furrowing his brow in mock concentration, he pretended to think about his assigned task. "I'm looking after you, of course," he explained, as though it was obvious. "That's what leaders do. They supervise." And while he might not be a leader himself, he was the son of two leaders, which was basically the same, right?

Bobbing his head up and down in confirmation to Chamomile's question, he lifted his left foreleg up and held it to his chest as though he was bowing. "Yessir. Corsair Donata...my dad is Serach and my mum is Aponi," he elaborated, filling in the blanks just in case the newcomer hadn't figured it out already. "So what is it you're supposed to be doing anyway? Ya know...so I can supervise." His toothy grin back on his face.

"That's what leaders do."

Chamomile liked this one with that kind of attitude. Sure, most would just see a kid but if Corsair wanted to be a leader (for a day or forever) then Chamomile was here to fuel those dreams. "You're making a really good leader so far then." The green-eyed male said honestly. Being all big and questioning, it was a good leader air to have.

He was more familiar with one parent over the other although both names sounded familiar enough. It had been Aponi who had met him at the borders and allowed him entrance. "Well I told your mom that I'd make a good teacher but between the two of us...I haven't found anyone to teach yet." He said as his features seemed to turn a bit gloomy. What kind of teacher didn't have anyone to teach? He could dwell on that later. "I also mentioned being an advisor but I think that'll take a bit more work."

Then it dawned on him. Corsair would be perfect to teach, right? "What if I teach you? Then you can supervise me and I'll get my job started." It was a brilliant idea.

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Apologies for the delay! Feel free to PP them moving to the creek if you want.

Chamomile took Corsair's antics in stride, and it made the boy feel good and even more committed to the act. It was nice to have a bit of attention that didn't come from his parents or sisters. And to be complimented? Well that was even better. "Thank you," he smiled proudly, his tail wagging happily behind him.

He listened attentively as Cham - it was okay to call him Cham, right? - told him about the promise he had made to mum. He looked sad at the prospect of being a teacher with no one to teach, and Corsair couldn't blame him. He wasn't really a teacher without a pupil, but that didn't make him not knowledgeable. But there was a clear solution to that problem, and Cham was quick to propose it. Nodding his head eagerly, Corsair was quick to accept the proposition. "Yeah! I'd love to learn, uh, something," he said, screwing his face up in thought while he tried to think about what he wanted to learn. Cham hadn't told him what he specialized in, so that was a bit trickier.

"What about...um," he said again, looking around him for inspiration. In the the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of blue and it dawned on him. It might still be a little frozen, but it was worth proposing, right? "What about fishing? I've heard wolves do that, but I've never been able to do it successfully and I don't think anybody else around here knows either. And maybe while we do that, you can tell me about some of the other things you know, so we can pick the next thing."

(This post was last modified: Apr 14, 2018, 04:29 PM by Serach.)

teacher demonstration 1/3

Chamomile let his tail thump against the ground briefly before he stood tail, letting it now sway behind him. Perhaps he should have told the boy what he could do but prior to Oak Tree Bend Chamomile had learned a bit of everything. He couldn't teach someone to be a master of anything but he could certainly pass along the basics.

His lips pulled up into a smile as Corsair picked an interesting lesson to learn. Fishing was by no means easy but it could be fun! "Well it can take some practice until you can do it successfully but that's what I'm here for! To teach and practice with and such." The small Bend wolf trailed off as he began to move towards the creek. He expected Corsair to follow after so he didn't bother looking back over his shoulder.

Once they approached he'd halt his movements and examine the surface. The creek seemed to still be fairly frozen. "I almost think it's better to fish in the colder seasons. Granted it's not really fishing then, more like scavenging. Sometimes you can find a few fish who didn't escape in time and got trapped under the icy surface." He explained as he tossed a look over to his new pupil to make sure he wasn't overloading information on the boy.

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Really sorry for the hold up. Note that this will be my last post until I get back on May 19th.

Corsair was thrilled that Chamomile had agreed so readily to his proposition that fishing be their first lesson. It was something Serach had seen his parents do on occasion, but generally speaking, the wolves of the Bend were red meat eaters and left the fish that swam through their creek alone. Eagerly, he followed along behind his teacher as they approached the creek. Realizing as they drew closer that the creek was, in fact, still largely frozen, Corsair's lips pulled down into a frown and his brows furrowed. He should have realized. But before he could open his mouth to suggest something else, Cham said something that startled him.

"Whoa, really?" he asked, his mouth agape in surprise. He had not expected that answer at all. Peering at the ice, his eyes narrowed in confusion and a bit of suspicion. He was doubtful about the validity of the claim, but he was ready to give it a try. He had always thought that the water kept moving under the surface, so fish would be able to continue to swim, but maybe he was missing something. "So what am I looking for? I know when we want to drink in the winter, we sometimes have to break the ice like this," he demonstrated by rearing up a bit on his hind legs and slamming his forepaws down into the snow. "Do we have to do that now, or something else?"

teaching demonstration 2/3

Chamomile wasn't exactly....positive about the statement either but from his experiences, there were usually a few fish too close to the surface or just too slow who got caught in the winter freeze. He figured that rule still applied here. His mother wouldn't lie to him after all, right?

His tail waved as Corsair demonstrated his skills. "That'll work!" The Bend wolf hadn't realized how nice it might be to have someone more beefy perhaps crack open the ice. As it was obvious to anyone with eyes, Chamomile didn't hold much ground in the weight department.

"You gotta be careful when looking for them under the surface of the ice. I know I've confused my own reflection for a fish once or twice." A grin tugged at his features as he glanced at the Donata. Chamomile wanted to make sure that the lesson was enjoyable which was why he was throwing in jokes. He strongly believed in having fun while learning. "You, uh, ever seen a fish before?" Perhaps Chamomile should have asked that first before trying to teach him how to fish.

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Thanks so much for your patience! Skill demonstration: hunting 1/3

Pleased with himself that he wasn't completely inept at this, Corsair's tail wagged proudly above his back. Eagerly, the younger wolf approached the frozen creek, keeping a watchful eye on Chamomile to see what the teacher did. He snorted at Chamomile's confession - surely Corsair would never make that mistake. But as he stepped out onto the ice and looked down, he could see the dark shadow reflected there that did, in fact, look vaguely like his own face. Maybe this wasn't going to be so easy after all...

Snapping his gaze away from his own reflection, he looked up as Chamomile asked him if he had even seen a fish before. "Duh," he responded sarcastically before he had a chance to stop himself. Immediately his ears flattened against his head and his tail curled a bit beneath his haunches. "Sorry," he hurried, clearly embarrassed by the snark. Corsair could definitely be a sarcastic git, but he didn't want to hurt Cham's feelings, not when he was just trying to help. "Sorry, yes, I've seen a fish before. Never eaten one, but when the water isn't frozen I've seen them swimming." He hoped his clarification would help, but he still felt bad.

Not wanting to miss his opportunity to demonstrate his sincerity, Corsair quickly began to walk atop the ice. Looking down, he tried to look through his own dark shadow to see if he could see any movement. When one flicker caught his eye, he stopped and looked back to see if Cham was following him. "I'm gonna give this a go..." he called out. "What do I do once the ice is broken?" Too eager for his own good, he didn't wait to hear the answer before rearing up on his hind legs before slamming his forelegs down into the ice. Yipping in mild pain, he was rewarded with his efforts by two wet, and very cold, front paws. Scrambling with his hind legs, he pulled his paws out of the water and peered in to see if he had been successful.