Black Thorn Downs Fishing

Fly was happy to see Kova come deeper into the water, happy to see him becoming more comfortable in the water. He seemed to take in all of the information she shared with him and once again, Fly found herself impressed with the young wolf's intellect. She watched as his eyes followed the shiny pelt of a Coho salmon and with no hesitation he dove, face first for it. Kova managed to catch the fish by the tail, but Fly had to stifle a giggle as the boy lost control of his prey and ended up with fish slime on his face. He pouted at the water and for a brief moment Fly was worried that the boy had gotten discouraged, but he simply looked at her and asked if he should try to catch this fish differently than the other. Fly smiled warmly, proud of the younger wolf for not giving up.

"Well, there are actually a few other techniques we can try. For instance, something similar to what you did earlier might be more useful here because the water is deeper." To demonstrate, Fly kept her body very still, but lowered herself so that the water reached up to her sides. Then she let her jaw open slightly as she waited for another chum to swim by. Because of how still she was, several chum swam right by here, some even brushing her fur, but Fly waited for the perfect opportunity. When one swam right up to her mouth, she made quick work of snapping her powerful jaw around the fish's body. She then quickly brought her prey back to land, killed it, and returned to Kova's side.

"This time, you may need to be more patient, Kova. Remember, fish are not as smart as wolves, but they scare easy. If you stay still, they will swim right up to you and make themselves easy prey." Fly explained and nodded to indicate that he should try. "After this, we can try working together to catch one of the chum." Fly smiled reassuringly, confident that the young wolf would quickly master this technique as he had the last. Still feeling like she wanted to say more, Fly spoke up before the boy could begin attempting his next try: "You know Kova, I think it is really great that you try so hard to learn new things. Only the most respectable wolves have that quality." Fly's praise was sincere and she hoped that Kova could sense that and took her comment seriously.

Never growing tired of learning something new despite the fact that the day was advancing quickly along, Kova soaked up all the information he received from Firefly like a sponge. He saw pride and a smile flash onto her face before she started answering him. He nodded enthusiastically then watched as Firefly settled herself in the water and lowered her bottom jaw dipping it into the water. His eyes targeted the fish as they swam closer to her, but she didn't go after them until one was practically a hair's length away form her waiting jaws. She pushed herself forward like he had then rose from the water with a fish around her jaws. As she brought her prize to shore Kova jumped as a fish swam up against his rear; then watched the fish around him rush away. Firefly returned and Kova's attention snapped back to the adult wolf as she spoke. He felt warmth and a smile creep up his face as she complimented him. He couldn't but let his tail wag as Kova basked in the approval she gave of his actions. Although the fish swam away as he allowed his tail to sweep over and through the water. Stopping his tail and then moving a little farther away from Firefly to the right, Kova positioned himself like she had before. Lowering his bottom jaw into the water and submerging most of his young body, the young Lagina wolf then waited for the fish tocome to him. Ten minutes later... Kova's eyes dance around the water as he starts to bore. Fish had come close enough for him to try and step on them, though he hadn't moved an inch. Some had even bumped his body and swam under his tail. However none till this moment had come closer to his jaws. His blue gaze settled on a salmon as it approached slowly as if thinking about dipping under his chest to hide there or investigate. He waited till it swam just an inch away from his chin before jutting forward and catching its head in his wide jaws. Scooting backwards towards dry land rather awkwardly, Kova tightens his grip and keeps his neck rigid as the fish wiggles and thrashes trying to get away. It was until he was just at the shore when the fish popped out of his jaws and flopped towards water. Kova dove after it catching the fish with his claws and teeth before gnawing and biting at its boney head. Stop moving! He growled in his mind as he struggled to end the fish's life. He was too proud to ask for Firefly to help him out. Instead Kova scratched and bit at the fish until its flesh was in ribbons and blood coated his paws and muzzle. He had begun to get a taste for the red stuff that came from these kinds of foods. It wasn't milk, but it had a unique taste that satisfied him. "Speech"

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Fly waited patiently as Kova tried to catch his second fish of the day. He took a little longer this time, but Fly was happy to see that he was more successful. He had a bit of trouble at the end, but still managed to deliver a killing blow...or many killing blows. Fly shook her head, amused at the sight of the shredded fish and Kova's bloody paws and muzzle. "Aren't you just a little killer." Fly said with a giggle. Then she looked up at the sky which was slowly becoming darker. The sun was sinking behind the trees and Fly knew that they would need to head back to camp soon.

"So, I know I said we could practice hunting fish together, but I think it might be more fun to practice swimming." Fly called to Kova. "We will have to head back to the Downs soon and I want you to have a little swimming experience before I take you to the springs." Fly smiled, hoping the boy would be excited at the idea of going to the springs. She certainly was and Fly was almost sure that Minka and Tokino would let her take him there. Especially, once she told them how well he had done on their fishing expedition. Before Kova could reject her idea (she wasn't sure if the boy was more interested in swimming or fishing) Fly wadded deeper into the water until her paws no longer reached the ground. She kicked her legs the way she had learned when she was a pup, left front leg and right back leg and then right front leg and right back leg. She easily swam to the other end of the small puddle and climbed out onto the shallower end. She shook her fur, sending water droplets flying and looked back at Kova, a huge grin revealing all of her sharp teeth as her tongue lolled out to the side. Swimming always made her feel so alive! Invigorated, Fly traversed the shallow end in two large bounds and jumped back into the deep end, causing a huge splash. She swam back to the end where Kova was and climbed onto the shallow edge of the puddle to see how he would react to her show. She hoped he could see how fun it was to swim and would be excited to try it for himself. "What do you think?" She asked, her voice reaching a higher pitch than usual as her tail furiously wagged behind her.

Kova looked up at the fiery woman as she giggled then let his tail wag a bit at her laughter. He tried licking the blood off of his muzzle so that he looked nice. The child did this because his mother sometimes reminded him that it was good to keep yourself clean while being around others. Looking good made others think more highly of you. The comment that came from Firefly's lips was one that Kova took as a compliment. He grinned before cocking his head as she looked upwards at the sky. His gaze followed hers and Kova was surprised by the colors changing in the sky. Night time was coming; how long had he been out here? Looking back to Firefly to listen as she started speaking up, the young gray wolf's tail stopped wagging. "Swimming..." Kova sad in a hushed voice while watching the she wolf slip into the deeper water and travel across it without sinking. He looked intriguingly on as she made it to the other side and stepped back out of the water. Then she turned around grinning and jumped back in before swimming back to his side. Kova could see that she was having fun with it, but he didn't see just how she was doing it. He still felt like he wanted to try though. "B-but how do you do that? Why don't you sink like a rock?" Kova asked hoping to get a better explanation out of her. He padded back into the deeper water letting it slide up to his chest until he had to hold his head up out of the cold liquid. Then he glanced to Fly hoping to get her answer before he set off to reach the other side.

SalsolaStock @DA, Eirian-stock & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

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Fly could tell that Kova was a little nervous about swimming, but hopefully her demonstration would convince him that swimming was a lot of fun. Then the grey prince asked,"B-but how do you do that? Why don't you sink like a rock?". Fly felt embarrassed that she had left that part out. She had gotten so excited about swimming and teaching Kova how to swim that she completely forgot to actually teach him. She watched as the pup bravely padded deeper into the water, until his head was the only thing afloat. Quickly Fly trotted up close to him, just in case he needed help. Then she tried to keep her voice calm and steady as she explained the movement: "So you need to kick with your front right leg at the same time as you kick with your back left leg. Then your front left leg at the same time as your right back leg." Fly frowned as she realized how confusing that must sound to a pup.

"Think of it this way: its almost the same as walking, Instead of your foot hitting solid ground, its going to keep going through the water. So it will be like you are making circles with your legs." Fly felt like she was stumbling over her words; why was fishing so easy to explain, but swimming so hard? Maybe, because it had always felt natural to her. Fly knew that Kova was very smart for his age and hoped that he would understand her explanation or maybe it would come naturally to him as it had for her. Fly anxiously watched as the pup prepared to practice swimming for the first time. Her muscles were tense and she was ready to drag him back to shallow ground if need be. Though she had to remind herself not to be too quick to help; of course he would struggle a little in the beginning and if she was too quick to pull him out of deep water it would just undermine his confidence.

Kova's face met Firefly's eyes with a frown as she described exactly how to swim. He wasn't sure if he could do that correctly. but if she said its just like walking but through water then I should be fine right? He gulped before bravely facing the other end of the pool. The bank really wasn't that far away, but from his perspective it was farther away than the den right now. Sucking in his breath tightly into his chest, Kova took the plunge. He fell forward into the water before remembering to "walk" in the water. He quickly realized as his head submerged that he wasn't "walking" fast enough then began to churn his paws through the water as if he were trotting very quickly. His heart jumped into his throat as Kova's head broke the surface and his body began to slowly make its way across the divide. Coughing up a mouthful of water quickly before gulping air again, Kova began to laugh. His laughing was broken up between gurgles of water as waves lapped into his open jaws and Kova was forced to close his mouth. Another learning curve, don't talk, laugh, or otherwise have your mouth open while swimming. Sooner than he expected it his paws scraped against the bottom of the bank. Kova walked up onto land and shook himself before look back down to the water with a giddy feeling in his chest as well as a slight wheeze. Coughing up the last bit of water bugging his throat, Kova grinned widely having defeated the deep water. Though he hadn't taken a straight path across the pool. Instead he had taken a curved angle to the right because he had not really looking where he'd been going at the time. "I'm coming back now!" Kova yipped before walking back into the deep until the water reached his chest. Once there he paused before fully slipping into the deep water. This time he successfully traversed the pool without getting water up his nose and into his throat. The boy kept his mouth closed and quickened his paws through the water before reaching land once more and coming out of the water with his head held high. That worm-like soaked wet tail of his flopped back and forth as Kova wriggled his way to Firefly's chest and licked her chin in thanks. He was so happy she had brought him out here today! Though now the gray pups legs were tired and his body smelled like fishy water. With a loud yawn Kova slipped alongside Firefly while looking up at her wondering where they were going next. (fade for Kova)- @Firefly has permission to PP him leaving with her -

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Fly watched as the grey took his first plunge into deep water. Her heart seemed to go form beating very quickly to not beating at all ash she held her breath, waiting for the young wolf to reemerge form under the water. Thankfully, he did not keep Fly nervous for very long; within only a few seconds his head broke the surface and Fly watched, tail wagging enthusiastically, as her student slowly and crookedly made his way to the other end. As he pulled himself up onto the shallow end, he turned to look at her and Fly saw excitement shining in his bright blue eyes. He yipped that he was coming back and Fly barked, not words but just a sign of encouragement. This time, he slipped more gracefully into the water and seemed more confident as he made his way towards her.

Fly blushed as the pup reached her and excitedly gave her chin a few quick licks. His tail was wagging his blue eyes were bright, and Fly could tell that he was happy she had taken him out today and taught him how to fish and hunt. Surprisingly, that made her more happy than swimming usually did. He was her first student and he had done very well today. She had done very well today. Proud of herself and of the pup, Fly dipped her head to lick the top of his head, giggling when she picked up the taste of fish on his fur. As she pulled back to see the mess she had made of the pup: his fur was all wet and covered in fish slime and small hints of blood. Thinking of how much cleaning he was going to have to do tonight and of how late it was getting, Fly sadly mused that it was probably best to head home now. Kova's adorable yawn confirmed it.

"Well, little prince, you did very well today and I am sure your parents will be happy to hear about it. Why don't we head home for tonight and tell them. Maybe, if they allow it, I can take you to the Springs sometime soon." The higher pitch that her voice reached by the end of her sentence probably gave away that she was just as excited for that as he would be. Still, she could tell he was tired and she didn't have much energy left herself. Proud of their work today and excited to start again another day, Fly brushed along Kova's side, letting her wet fur brush against his, to signal to him that it was time to follow her home. Always a good pup, Kova quickly trotted along next to her and the two made their way back to the Downs.

--Exit Firefly and Kova--