Thicket of Secrets And who are you?

Kova looked at Karina with an expectant but highly curious gaze. How could she say that? Especially when she was meeting with strangers and appeared to be right as rain? "That's not true Karina. If you were afraid of everything you wouldn't be out here in the first place. Maybe cooped up in a den by your mom maybe, but certainly not out here talking with us." He wasn't trying to suck up to her or even give the girl a compliment. Kova was simply stating the obvious. He didn't know how fearful Karina had been before this meeting. To him she seemed rather adventurous instead of fearful. Kova then followed Karina to the skull where she carefully picked it up by a horn. Without a word Kova steps forward to take a hold of the opposite side and help out the Baranski child. His head also leans to one direction as Kova grips the end of his antler. He watches Karina's movements to keep in step with her while occasionally looking around keeping tabs on their location. Soon Kova spotted the area that Karina had been calling a creek bed. His fur tingled at the sight of clear space where there should be land extending to the opposite bank. Dropping his side of antler soon after Karina moved to the edge of the drop, Kova slowly padded after her. He glanced to her eyes for just a short moment before turning to look at the steep slope. There was just a tiny stream below, but Kova was slightly worried about the climb down. He put on a brave face though, hiding that insecure part of himself in order to show Karina how strong he was. Tokino had taught Kova well in that regard. "Ready!" He yipped as if he were a subordinate ready to fight off an enemy alongside his leader.

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Skipping @Firefly I suppose..? Can we just assume she's watching and stuff?

Kova defended her supposed bravery with ardor, and Karina couldn’t help but smile even though she couldn’t quite find it in herself to truly believe his words. Maybe some wolves would think Karina talking to strangers was brave, but the only reason she stuck around to meet the Downs pair was because she was afraid to leave the skull behind. Afraid to come back empty-handed, with nothing to aid her ailing father. Afraid there was nothing she could do, nothing she would do… Karina had been living with fear since she was born, and she knew it well. She knew that below everything on the surface, there was fear. Perhaps her journey beyond the River border would look like adventurousness to some, but Karina would always know it was fear that pushed her out of her homeland—the fear that something terrible was about to happen, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She didn’t voice any of this to Kova. If he was like Leki, then she knew self-depreciating talk would quickly get on his nerves. It was no fun playing with someone you constantly had to reassure. So the pup accepted his compliment with a tail wag, and as he grabbed the other horn she growled playfully on instinct. It felt like kind of like they were initiating a tug war, which was one of her favorite games to play with her siblings. However, it was an entirely different sensation when they began moving in the same direction instead of pulling in opposites. She couldn’t remember ever doing this before, but it was fun! She tried increasing the pace every now and again, giggling through her grip on the horn as they fell out of step and stumbled around. She was so absorbed she forgot all about Firefly and whether she was even following.

”On three!” She instructed, the horn slightly muffling her words. Karina had never gotten to be the counter before. ”One.. two.. THREE!” As soon as the horn left her mouth she was barking excitedly. The skull fell a little ways, hit an outcropping on the side of the cliff, and then rocketed out over the stream. Karina thought she heard a crunch as it landed at the bottom, but it was hard to tell through her naturally mackled vision. ”Think it worked?” she questioned her partner in crime, laying on her belly to inch closer to the edge for a better look.

This is long overdue, sorry about that!

Kova took one look to Firefly to make sure it was okay to go on ahead then gripped the antler as hard as he could. His puppy jaws felt loose against the hard bone, even more so when they started moving forward. The antler would rattle against his teeth and fumble around as Karina quickened their pace. He struggled to keep up with her pace while fumbling over twigs and other debris in his way. However, not once did the boy ask her to stop or slow down.  Soon, after much fumbling around, Kova could see the area Karina must have been talking about. They were nearing a ridge of sorts, but at the angle he was at Kova couldn't see the drop yet.

The Baranski girl slows to a stop making Kova's teeth chatter against the bone. He squints his eyes in annoyance at the feeling of rattling antler against his teeth. Then the child looks towards the gray speckled girl to see her expression. Shelooked very excited to him,with a wagging tail and delighted facial features. Feeling happy himself, Kova let his tail wiggle back and forth in short quick wags. That happiness disappeared though when he looked down into the drop.

The childs stomach felt as though it had flipped upside down as he peered over the edge. His body began to shiver while his head became dizzy at the sight of it. It really wasn't a far drop, but it was certainly the highest place Kova had been to yet. He was beginning to find out what his own worst fear was.

Heights...

Kova gulped and felt his tail moving lower against his haunches. It wasn't yet between his legs, for he was trying not to look that scared in front of a girl, but it was getting there. He backed up to the bone and picked it up once more before hearing Karina give out directions. On three! she said as he readied himself near the edge with his half of antler. “R..ready..” He said quickly while adjusting his paws to hold the antler correctly.

Karina counted up to three and then Kova fumbled with his end of antler before tossing it over the edge. His ears flicked forward at the sound of the hard bone-like antler crashing against things on the way down. His belly flipped again as Kova watched. He couldn't quite tell from this vantage point whether the antler had cracked or broken at all. “I think it did, there almost looks like a little piece might have fallen off of one end..” He answered the river princess before looking at her quizzically. Why had she asked him if it had broken? Did she not see it fall?

He noticed her squinting downwards trying to look at the antler then shivered as she crawled on her belly closer to the edge. “Please don't go that close to the edge you might fall like the antler!” His words were rushed as Kova reached to tug at her tail a little. “You can see it from here can't you?” He asked quickly trying to get her away from the tall ridge.

Karina nodded at Kova’s description as she squinted, and her tongue flicked out over her nose as it usually did during moments of intense concentration. She was so used to her brothers verbally dictating their surroundings that she didn’t think twice about accepting Kova’s version of what happened to the skull. Karina’s brothers had always been quicker and sharper than her, and so it made sense that Kova would be too. “Yeah, that’s what happened,” she agreed, eyes still fixated on the bottom of the gorge. Now that Kova had said it, she was certain that’s what she saw too. She began inching forward to locate the skull down in the riverbed when she felt a tug at the end of her tail. She turned to her companion as words tumbled out of his mouth. If she hadn’t known better—if she hadn’t known that Black Thorn Downs wolves weren’t afraid of anything—she might have thought Kova was a little nervous. Fear was Karina’s specialty after all, as it seemed to be her near constant companion.

“The antler didn’t fall…” she reminded him slowly, “We threw it.” Karina backed away from the edge anyhow, her sensitive nerves picking up on Kova’s energy. Now that he mentioned it, this was sort of a frightening place to be standing. Kova  spoke again, redirecting the attention back to Karina and what she saw, or rather what she hadn’t seen. “I.. I had a bad angle,” she explained, and before he or Firefly could say anything more to the subject she said, ”Let’s go!”  She dashed from the outcropping and began running alongside the gorge, looking for a point at which the riverbank was sloped enough to allow the wolves entry to the creek. When she found her slope she began stumbling and sliding down to the creek, not stopping to wait for the others until she was splashing into the water. ”Come on!” she shouted to the slowpokes, ”It’s fun!” She splashed through the chest-deep water and snapped playfully at the creek’s surface. 

   

    
 

Kova looks towards Karina curiously as she explains to him that they had thrown the antler, and that it didn't fall. His ears licked to the sides of his head in uncertainty as she looks back over the ridge then begins to back away from the edge. Sighing in relief, Kova allows a smile to form on his maw once more before his tail begins to wag and beat at the air.  Seeing her trot along the ridge towards a shallower bank, Kova then starts forward to follow Karina. He lopes behind her until she starts going down the hill. Upon seeing Karina tumble and slide down the steep embankment, Kova decides to take things a little more slow than the river princess did. He took his time picking a clear route down the steep ravine towards the bottom. The creek looked inviting to the Downs prince as he skirted a fallen log and looked at the water. Instantly he thought of trying to fish in the creek, but Karina's movements distracted him. Glancing back to her, the silver wolf pup grinned madly. Ever since Firefly had shown him how to swim he had wanted to try it out again.

It also came to his attention that one of the pieces of antler had fallen into the water. It lay on the bottom of the creek shifting every once in a while because of the water currents. The other half had caught on a couple of sticks and bushes. “Where did the other piece go Karina?” Kova asked as he waded into the water. It wasn't quite deep enough for him to have to swim, but the youth was sure that there were fish living in the creek. Especially since when he first waded in to the water the boy thought he saw a fish swimming downstream away from his movements.

“Hey, Do you know how to fish?” Kova asked just before  he stumbled forward and a splash of water filled his mouth. The youth coughed a few times then snorted some water out of his nose. Then he closed his mouth and kept it that way so that he wouldn't drink or inhale water again.

Firefly watched as the pups climbed to the top of an embankment where they would be high enough to throw the skull down.  Fly decided it was best that she wait down at the bottom in case one of them stumbled and fell into the river.  Though it was dangerous, Fly was confident that she could keep both the pups safe.  She listened as the pups counted down from three and then launched the skull down.  Fly watched as it shattered into pieces.  She glanced back up to check on the pups, lips pulled apart and tongue lolling happily, but stiffened when she saw the girl pup crawling closer and closer to the edge.  Something must be wrong with the girl's vision for her to be that close to the edge and not feel endangered.   Luckily, Kova called the girl back and Fly's body slumped in relief.   Thank goodness for Kova.   The girl pup darted down the embankment to look for the skull pieces and fearlessly launched herself into the water to find them.  Again Fly tensed with worry as she watched the pup, whose vision she believed was impaired, crash recklessly into the water.  The girl seemed to have no boundaries despite her eyesight: she was certainly a brave little one.  Meanwhile, Fly was proud to see her little prince carefully meandering down into the water, not afraid but still cautious.   For a moment, Fly thought that the two pups would make a cute pair.  Their personalities certainly seemed suited for each other.  With a muffled bark, Fly excitedly joined the pups in the river.    The russet huntress relished in the way the water soaked her fur.  It was cool and crisp and felt wonderful. The smell of fish was also very refreshing and Fly wagged her tail happily when Kova asked the girl-pup if she knew how to fish.  Chiming in excitedly, Fly added"If you don't know how to fish, I can give you some pointers.  It's really fun and then we will all have something delicious to eat!"  Fly cocked her head sideways as she waited for the girl's answer, hoping that fish was on the menu.        "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Welcome back Missy! Now everyone's back in the action!

Karina splashed over to her friend as he joined her, his mentor in tow. He asked her about the antler piece, which she had almost forgotten in her delight playing in the creek. “Uhmm..it’s somewhere..” was her noncommittal answer, and she swung her head around in a cursory search for the antler. She had heard a splash after tossing the antlers, so she knew at least a part of it must be under the creek’s surface. As she scanned the creek she noticed the little silver creatures, sunlight reflecting off their scales as they darted through the water. The beauty was breathtaking, and Karina had trouble looking away from the schools of fish as they danced and wove between each other. @Kova must have noticed them too, as his next question was about fishing. The Downs prince started choking after his question, and Karina tore her gaze from the fish just as he was expelling water from his nose and looking very silly doing so. The princess looked away so he wouldn’t see her smiling with laughter at his misfortune.

“I love fish,” she said hesitantly, and it was true—a fish was the only creature she had found the ability to stomach without feeling guilty about eating another living being with a soul that felt fear and pain as it died. Now that she saw how beautiful they were alive, and how fascinating—the school changed direction so quickly, it was as if they all had one mind!—she was having second thoughts about fish as well. Firefly offered to teach the pair, and Karina found herself nodding along with Kova’s enthusiasm. “I had a lesson once, but I don’t remember very well,” she admitted, knowing that her lapse in retention was a result of far too much focus on her tall, dark, handsome teacher and too little attention to the actual lesson. She found her gaze drifting back to the swirling groups of fish, wishing she could go back to just splashing merrily through the water. Why did everything have to turn into a lesson when you brought an adult along?

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2015, 06:47 PM by Karina.)

   

    
 

(small post is small)

Kova stood there in ankle deep water with a grin on his face as Karina spoke about having one lesson. He had no problem with that.  The youth padded over to Karina splashing water as he went and stood next to her. Then he looked around for fish larger than minnow sized. There didn't seem to be many in this stretch of creek or river, but they would still try to catch something.

 “I guess you already know that we got to be quiet and still then?”

He asked Karina quickly while spotting a fish not too far upstream from them.

The problem with this situation was that Kova didn't know how to fish in a creek or river environment. He knew how to fish from say, a pool of water, a pond, or a lake. His style of fishing wouldn't work much here. Instead @Firefly 's approach by swimming would have worked better. It was the kind of fishing she had been supposed to teach him anyway.

Karina nodded at the instruction; it was the same for any hunting really. Be quiet, don’t make sudden movements.. Of course Karina could be quiet and still and observe and animal, it was one of her favorite things to do. When it came to actually catching and killing that animal it was an entirely different story, and the pup’s prey always slipped away from her because she lacked the motivation to actually harm the creature. Fish were different though. As long as she spent sitting by Cut Rock River and watching the fish circle, she had never seen one display anything that could be considered a feeling. A fish was like a bug, just a bundle of nerves and self-preserving reflexes. The child would likely never enjoy the violence associated with killing even a fish, but at least the process didn’t repulse her and break her heart. 

As Karina stood quiet and still, as Kova requested, she watched the school of fish dip and dive within the creek in fascination. There was a group of fish that had found something on the bottom of the creek to nibble, and after a moment of very hard, squinty staring Karina realized what it was. ”There!” she shouted, sending sprays of water in every direction as she charged forward. A quick dive, and she surfaced with the horn piece in her mouth and a triumphant look in her eye. She deposited her find on the shore and then turned back to Kova, who was standing in a very still, very fishless creek. ”Oops..” she said, realizing her antics had scared away their prey. Karina looked at her paws, wondering if @Kova was going to yell at her, because it was what Orren would have done.

Orren. Oh no.. Without realizing it, Karina had done exactly what Orren would have done! She started out on a mission but let herself get distracted by hunting of all things! And when her father was sick and in need of medicine, no less.  Karina’s disgust with herself deepened, and she was overcome with the pressing urge to be home. “I’m sorry guys..” Karina said, looking back up at her new friends. ”..I should really be getting home anyway though. They don’t exactly know I’m gone.” Ah there it was.. guilt.. Guilt added to disgust and embarrassment, her usual trifecta of emotions. The pup cocked her head, hoping Kova wasn’t too disappointed in how their fishing venture turned out. “Maybe next time..” Karina started to say, but then trailed off without finishing the sentence.

This thread is so old!! Want to wrap it up in the next round?

   

    
 

Kova paused in his fishing attempt with a face dripping in river water. He wasn't doing too well today and to look bad in front of someone else had the boy feeling very put down. Heat flamed into his cheeks as he spots Karina jumping into the water and then picking something up. He looks back at the water where the fish had been and sighs. However he couldn't be too unhappy because Karina had accomplished their original mission. The antler they had lost earlier lay awkwardly in her dripping jaws as Kova stumbled over a slimy loose rock towards her. He face planted into the water before coming back up and sputtering water. Totally embarrassed now, the young wolf  only gave Karina a wolfish grin before watching her scuffle away onto the bank. He followed more slowly as Karina muttered apologies. He cocked his head unsure as to why she sounded so sad... Or maybe that was her being angry? He couldn't quite tune in on the guilt she was exuding as they stood there only feet from each other now.

Firefly had been watchful the whole time just keeping an eye on the children. He was as Kova spotted the fiery yearlings tail wagging that he realized that they shouldn't have been there in the first place anyway. He had been the one who got lost and diverted Karina's attention from whatever she had been doing before she met him. He brightened up though when Karina said "maybe next time" then looked his way. The silver crowned youth nodded enthusiastically before answering.  “Definitely. Well... If momma lets me come to visit.” His bright smile faded as he wondered whether Minka would be okay with him coming to play with another pup from a different family. It suddenly occurred to him that she might not like him playing with other pups from other packs. He could only hope that it would be okay with Minka though.

“That's okay we got to go to the waterfalls now. It was really great to meet you though!” Kova slipped through the water out onto land where he then shook himself off thoroughly. He dipped his head to Karina once in a little silent farewell before glancing to Fly. Then he wandered up the slope towards Firefly who was waiting for him. He paused at the top of the slope to look back one more time and wave his tail in goodbye. “Have a good day Karina of the river!”

He shouted the farewell before looking to his sitter to see when she would escort him away.

(FADE OUT FOR KOVA)