Willow Ridge no need to explain to anyone else

"A badger sniffed it out," Hagar answered modestly, with a smile and wagging of his tail. Still he was pleased, not just for the warm words but also for the simple fact that they had all been provided for. Even if not an infinite supply, it gave them days worth of a buffer at least to try and catch up the caches.

He watched the children closely as they investigated, prepared to move quickly in order to prevent any of them from accidentally falling in. Iseldir was startled by the cavefish, with Nineve quick to his defense. Her antics filled him with pride, and his eyes took on a glint of adoration. They were brave, compassionate, lively and intelligent. What more could he ask for them?

"They're food," he explained after Daegal piped up, motioning for them to step back and give him a little room while bidding them to "watch."

He crouched, watching the aquatic prey for a few seconds before striking out with a large paw. In one blurred motion he had slammed one of the larger fish against the pool's rocky walls, shocking it long enough for him to then dive his muzzle in and grab it with his teeth. He tossed the felled creature onto the burnt grass behind the children, and it gasped while flapping about.

"Fish."

It was a wonder that such a treasure had been found. Hagar offered that a badger had sniffed it out. "Its ours now," she commented before watching the reactions of her children. She was a little surprised that Izzy was the first to approach before becoming startled. It was usually her daughter that went first. She was however quick to come to her brothers defense.

She gave Eve a nudge when the girl came to lock her muzzle before returning her attention to the others. As Izzy calmed and approached the hole once more the ridge matriarch sat back on her haunches to watch the scene before her. Each of the children were now curious Daegal going so far as to ask what they were.

That was when the chocolate man offered them a demonstration. He showed them how to catch the fish and what to do with them once they had. "What do you think Hagar? Should we let them try?" She asked from where she sat.

Iseldir watched as Hagar explained, the fish were food, and inched back at the dark man's bidding. Still a gleeful squeal escaped him when Hagar slapped a fish from the water moments later, his small tail wagging exuberantly as the water was sent up in a splash and the fish was retrieved to flop and jump helplessly in the light of day. It all happened so quickly, the young boy could hardly take it in except to be impressed and excited.

With Nineve and Daegal close by his side, he had lost all caution of the thing and turned and approached the creature where its pale scales shone in the sun. A chocolate nose gently prodded it, sending it into a fresh fit of motion. It certainly smelled dank and wet and not exactly appetizing."Fi-ssshh," Izzy murmured, echoing Hagar.

His attention snapped back at the sound of his mother's words, and with her proposal the boy was quickly scampering back to the brim of the exposed cavern. His gaze went to Hagar, wonderingly. Could they really do that too?

Her mother offered an encouraging touch and her two brother's confidence seemed to boost now that she was at their side. Nineve beams a large grin, returning her focus then after Hagar gets into what seemed a position of focus on his own. What was he doing?? Snatching the fish in his jaws, Eve is both suddenly alarmed and excited to see the odd creature flopping around outside of the water hole. Up closer now to view, it sure was a really weird, ugly looking thing wasn't it?! And it smelt quite fowl to her too, she realized as she took a sniff and wrinkled up her nose. The water was a prize worth having during this drought but Nineve turned her nose up at the thought of having anything to do with the fish.

This day just kept getting better and better. Between their game that morning and now this, Daegal was growing ever more excited. His tail wagged hard behind him as he watched the glittering in the water, and as his dad snapped one of the floppy creatures onto the ground. While Izzy was focused on the cavern itself and trying it out himself, Daegal was closely examining the 'fish'. A flap of skin near the eye rose and fell as the mouth opened and closed. The flopping was starting to diminish. How strange.

Daegal looked up at his sister and caught the turning of her nose. A grin slowly spread across his maw, revenge for the morning's betrayal dancing in his mind's eye. Intending to be quick as Hagar had been, Daegal snatched up the fish and flung the slimy creature in Eve's direction.

Last round? Feel free to archive on your post Fly unless someone objects. <3

Avella's suggestion led Hagar to reexamine the opening in the earth, judging it's potential and drawbacks. He nodded, turned his head to speak, and was just in time to see Daegal's assault on his sister. The older wolf couldn't help but laugh, before using his muzzle to nudge the likely now-squabbling trio further away from the discovery and out onto open ground for their rough housing. It would keep them busy while he worked to ensure their safety.

"Just give me a few moments," he then asked of their mother with a smile, before turning to begin his excavation. He would further expose the pool, focused on leveling out the terrain at the front of the small cavern so that they could easily walk right up to the water. That way if they fell in for any reason, it would be easy and quick for them to either get themselves back out or be lifted out by an adult.

When he was sure no harm would come to them, Hagar would call the children back to him and their first lesson in fishing would begin.

Avella truly enjoyed the moments where she could watch her children learn more about their world. She couldn't help but laugh when Daegal threw the fish at his sister or how they ended up tusseling with each other. It seemed to be a common thing with them but she was happy that they were close. Like her and Scully. It became a little more comical as Hagar tried to usher them to more open ground.

Her gaze lingered on the chocolate man as he spoke and then went to work. For those moments it felt like they were a happy family spending time together. Avella felt content but also deep down like something might be missing.

She shook her head realizing when Hagar called for the children that she'd gotten lost in her thoughts. "Be careful," she called out to her children before returning to her observations.