Chinook Coulee white gold

Anyone welcome, otherwise I'll just be awkwardly threading with myself (@Marina left it vague if you wanted her here, too :))

Water flowed in a languid current over Spieden's paws, toes splayed wide to keep her balance on the slick pebbly streambed. It wasn't deep, the water not even reaching her hocks. "No no, Mako. Here." She cleared her throat, staring at him with her lips fixed in a firm line.

Marina seemed to listen fine, but half the time it was like the boy had cottonwood fluff in his ears. Perhaps that was just the nature of boys? Drift had had a similar inclination to going his own way. But Spieden would be damned if any of her spawn didn't know their way about the water, or the things in it. A seawolf who couldn't swim was just asking for trouble, in addition to disappointing their ancestors in the process. After all, Gonakadeit didn't give them to her just so she could stuff them full of squirrel meat and venison.

"Get your head out of the bushes and come here, I'm trying to show you something," She said, a slight sigh the only sign that he was testing her patience. Finally, that seemed to click, sharp amber eyes that had since lost their blue tinge turning towards her. Spieden smiled a little, her tail flicking a few beats behind her. She waited for Mako to finally make his way over, moving slightly to make room along the shallows. She nudged her son's silver-ticked mane, pointing into the slightly deeper channel a couple tail-lengths ahead with her snout. "See that?" She asked him.

He'd only been here little over a day, but already the rest and plentiful food had done him good. He'd awoken with renewed vigor, and nearly considered returning to his quest once more then and there. Knowing better, both of the restoration his body needed and the pitfalls of abandoning a pack so swiftly, he chose to familiarize himself with this new 'home' instead. Thus far he knew nothing of the territory and its inhabitants, having met only the alpha Spieden briefly as she had accepted his proposition. From there, it had been a quick trek to a cache and then the communal den before exhaustion had gotten the better of him, and by the time he'd awoken, the others had started their day.

And still, the first he was to come upon was that same woman, after following the water's side. His ears picked up as he saw she had her youth with her, eyes trained on the little boy but it wasn't Mako that he was seeing. It was @Taslima, a few months old and too timid to touch the water despite her mother's gentle urgings. His heart hurt to experience the memory, but he concealed this well as he trotted forward to approach the tiny family.

A chameleon by nature, he did not yet know the personality of this wolf and thus chose silence over commentary. His pristine paws found the bank and his neck craned forward, teal eyes searching the waters. Fishing, was it? It had never been his strongest suit, but he wasn't bad at it either, jack of all trades as he'd forever been. Once more, he glanced to the boy to see if he was catching on to all that his mother wanted to show him, and stood ready to serve as a second example once the basics had been laid that was truly what she intended.

Mako had been initially quite excited when his mom mentioned showing him something outside of the territory. Everything was quite exciting at first, new smells and sights and sounds. The ground here was rougher, hillier, and while he had to stop to catch his breath a few times, his enthusiasm hadn't quite diminished. They'd rounded down a rocky slope towards a river that looked much like the one at home, but a bit bigger. Mako immediately set to sticking his head into a bush and investigating a ratty old chipmunk nest, ignoring the implorations of his mother to actually pay attention. In one ear, right out the other.

Finally, Mako's head whipped towards his mom at the mention of showing him something. He stared in a moments hesitation as he debated whether or not what she had would be more interesting that his current pursuit of the chipmunk nest. There was a pull towards the temptation of defiance, just to refuse because he could, but something in her tone told him he had better listen. "Fiiiine," He snuffed, slowly meandering towards her as if he had all the time in the world. Finally making it to her side, he glanced towards the water where she had indicated, feeling a little annoyed now that he was paying attention. It was just a river, just like the one back home, what was the big deal? He sighed, "What. It's just water," he said. Had his mom lost a few marbles? He really didn't get it. He hadn't yet noticed the figure that had padded up behind them, silent as a ghost.

@Jace

Spieden snorted, reaching down and ruffling the silvery hair's of Mako's nape and nipping at his ear. "You sure?" She rebuked, anticipating the retort she might recieve in return and quickly continuing. "Look closer. Go ahead, that's not all there is here." A slight smirk pulled at her silvered whiskers as she watched her son edge forward, an amused snort as she could tell by the expression on his face he'd finally caught sight of what she'd brought him here to see. 

"Hmm?" Spieden's uneven ears twitched as she sensed someone approach behind them. She turned her head to look over her bulky shoulders to see a white wolf with eyes bright like glacier-fed waters. She'd remembered accepting the male just days before, it was hard to forget his uncanny appearance. White wolves had become not uncommon in the Bend, but eyes like that were still a rarity. "Err," She stammered awkwardly, if only because she was fishing for the newcomer's name. "Jace," She recalled at last, "Come for the buffet, huh?" She joked with a smirk and a swish of her tail.

"Salmon," She elaborated, mostly for Mako's benefit as she jerked her attention back towards the water. "Sockeye, usually the first of the season, and the easiest to see." That much was plainly evident as one came closer, their blood-red bodies and leaf-green heads standing out like beacons from beneath the shimmering water. Beacons that screamed 'eat me', as far as Spieden was concerned. Her tongue flicked out as she hungrily licked her lips.

The longer Jace hung around and witnessed the interaction between mother and child, the more he (blessedly) saw the differences between the boy and his own precious daughter. Where he was antsy and disinterested, @Taslima had always been obedient and enthralled in anything and everything her parents put before her. Was the gender what made the difference, the environment, the 'soul'? Mahalia had believed that last one to exist, but Jace still wasn't convinced. It was one of the few things she hadn't been able to sway him on.

His eyes trailed to the waters to watch the creatures living within, until his alpha's voice pulled his gaze to the duo once more. She grasped for his name, and a smile spoke of his forgiveness for her lacking memory. Admittedly, he'd made little impact on the pack other than performing what was necessary to ensure his acceptance wasn't a debt. It was better that way, given his ultimate intentions.

She went on to explain to her progeny, and he returned to the currents.

"Fish a normal meal around here?" he asked conversationally. The packs he'd lived in before had mainly only had, and seized, the opportunity for terrestrial prey. Hunting in the water had been learned out of survival during the times he and Vitani had lived on their own. In all honesty, he'd never learned to be overly fond of the taste.