Lost Lake Challenges of Life

Bumping into Kajika once playfully, the timber wolf carefully considered confessing to her friend. He'd been nothing but honest and helpful so far – and perhaps she'd feel a bit better, with this solid weight lifted from her narrow shoulders. Before they could wade into the water, the younger wolf was already set to catch fish. With a hum, Desideria spoke up, unable to shake the truth from her thoughts. She trusted him, and that was that. "I've had fresher ones. I just, I didn't catch them. I stole them. When I was young – Mum and I, we couldn't feed my brothers fast enough. She didn't teach me to hunt, just to steal…and I did. When I got older, I knew better, but that's what I was good at. The pack I used to be a part of, Crow's Crossing, that's actually why they took me in. To steal from their rival's pack, I just got caught once and suddenly they wanted nothing to do with me." The woman rolled her eyes at that. She knew why, of course – blame the thief, avoid the war. She couldn't blame them, not entirely, but it never did help her trust issues. "I haven't, since I've been in Relic Lore, by the way. Stolen, I mean." Ultimately, Dezzy hadn't been hungry enough to risk it. Food had been easier to come by, now that the winter was over. She'd scavenged a few carcasses, shared a hunt with Kajika, and Namid had fed her fish. Tipping her head, she glanced by the lake. "I'd like to learn how to fish on my own, though. So I don't have to-- Well, you know. Just tell me what to do, boss."

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Kajika nipped playfully at Des when she bumped into him before returning to the lake but he was soon brought back from that by a sound from Des which caused him to look from the water at her.  Then she began to speak telling him about her family and what her mother had taught her before going on to tell him about the pack that she had been a part of.  All of this had him very disappointed, not in her of course, but in the way that she had to grow up and what was taught to her.  He didn’t say anything for a moment after she had finished speaking in order to consider the best way to say what he thought was important for her to know, at least in his opinion.  “I don’t think that you can be blamed for doing what you have been taught to do.  Yes stealing is wrong but can it really be wrong if it’s all you know how to do to survive?”   Kajika didn’t agree with stealing when there were other options, that was one of the reasons that he had left his pack.  On the other hand though he believed that doing what was necessary to survive and if her mother had not taught her to hunt and only to steal then what else could she do? “You’re trying to lead your life in a more honest way now.  Doing what is right and not taking the easy way out, that’s what’s important.” Once he had told her what he thought about what she had said he stepped forward and pressed his forehead against hers, “By the end of tonight you won’t have to worry about having to steal fish again,” he told her before turning back to the lake where there was a large school of rainbow trout just waiting for them. “Would you like me to go first so you can see how it’s done?”  He asked remembering her saying something similar to him the first time they had hunted together.

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2015, 08:54 PM by Kajika.)

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Relief. As welcome as a cool drink on the hottest summer day, the balmy sensation of allayment swept over the slender female. She pressed her forehead back into his, tail wagging slowly behind her at the acceptance the younger wolf offered her. How strange, she reflected, to find such welcoming individual now, once she had finally stopped looking. Her tongue flicked out, lapping at his lower jaw as she demonstrated her overwhelming sense of gratification before taking a step back, and giving the larger wolf some room. With that out in the open, there was nothing between them, and they could get to fishing without anything to hinder Desideria's ability to focus. "I am trying," she rumbled, glancing at her friend. It would be difficult, she thought, to join a pack in which she knew no one, especially if Kajika were to become a part of a different group. But that was a thought for later, when they both had full bellies and time to longue around. Edging towards the water, she nodded to the younger wolf. "Yeah. You should go first, I think. I usually just end up scaring the fish, and they get away before I can catch them. Birds, I can catch birds. Can't swim like a fish, though," the tawny wolf chuckled, glancing over her shoulder once. "Should I stay on shore, while you go? I don't want to chase away the whole school." It was unlikely they'd be catching any birds, if she did. The shoreline didn't offer enough cover to do so, and she didn't want to encroach on the nearby pack territories, either.

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He felt her return the pressure that he had placed on her forehead right before he felt her lick his bottom jaw in response to what he had said.  It was clear that she appreciated what he had said, his acceptance of what she had done when she was younger and before she had come to Relic Lore.  What she had done was something he could most certainly accept, he had done things in his past that he wasn’t particularly proud of, he supposed everyone had. Those things were in her past and she was trying to change in a good way which was more than he could say for others that he had known in his life.  It was something that she seemed to want to make clear with what she said next. “That’s all that matters,” he responded. It was all that mattered, to know that you’re doing something wrong and to not only want to change it but try to change it. More importantly he was glad that she felt comfortable enough with him to be able to share her past with him. And she thought that he should go first so that she wouldn’t scare the fish, he nodded.  Kajika approached the water, “Perhaps. Then you can see the whole picture,” he told her when she asked if she should stay on the shore.  He took a careful step into the water, “The most important thing to remember is catching fish is no different than anything else.  You have to be patient and move slowly and gently through the water,” he explained glancing back to the shore where she was.  “As long as you are careful with your steps you shouldn’t scare them too much and then you can pick one out that you can just grab from the water.  Easy enough right?”

(This post was last modified: May 09, 2015, 12:57 AM by Kajika.)

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"Alright," Desideria agreed, taking a step away from the gently lapping water. She didn't wish to make ripples and make the hunt harder than it had to be. Wrapping her tail around her haunches, she settled in to observe. It would not be unlike watching her old friend, Valor, when he taught her how to catch birds. He was practically a raptor himself, lunging at birds and snatching them right out of the air. It took her months of practice to learn proper timing – in truth, some of this was probably due to the fact that she'd never been taught to hunt as a pup, only to steal and scavenge. She'd never been more proud than in that moment, wrapping her dainty jaws around a thick crow and pulling it away from its murder. It was hardly anything frabjous, but she'd been so pleased with herself that she'd gobbled it down regardless. Tipping her ears forward, she regarded the larger wolf curiously as he slowly waded into the lake. He did so with great care. She noticed Kajika did not stir up the sand or sediments on the bottom, each footfall carefully placed as he began to stalk his prey. Once in, the large wolf stood – perhaps this required more patience than she originally imagined. "Sounds easy enough," she agreed, "but I know it's not. Never caught one. There has to be more to it than just…picking one and going for it. Aren't they scared of your shadow, or something? They always know before I catch it." Always managed to swim out of the way, leaving the timber wolf with nothing but a mouthful of murky water and an empty belly.

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Des had agreed to stay on the shore of the lake while he showed her how he hunted fish since he was sure that each wolf had their own way of doing it.  Carefully he waded out into the water amongst the fish that had schooled there.  He placed each paw carefully so as to not scare them and to not stir up the dirt and sediment on the bottom of the lake. He would need a clear view of the fish so that he could pick the one that he wanted and be able to grasp it in his jaws quickly before it could escape. Though he was concentrating on the fish swimming around his feet he also had heard what Des has said.  Particularly the part about the fish being scared of his shadow. “I’m sure they are but if you move very slowly I don’t think that they really notice and if you step carefully so that you don’t disturb the water too much they don’t become overly alert about your presence.  Though I suppose that it helps they are feeding right now,” he said from the shallows without taking his eyes off the fish that he had chosen and was watching it’s movements before he struck. “It’s a sort of the same as catching birds,” he told her, “As soon as you have the one that you want picked out you have to strike and grasp in one swift motion, like so.”  That said he went for the fish with mouth opening before it went under the water so that the fish would not know that it was soon going to be someone’s meal.  As soon as he felt the fish between his teeth he clamped down and pulled it out of the water before moving back to the shore.  Once there he dropped the fish which was now dead.  “Give it a moment to calm back down,” he told her glancing first at the lake then back at her.  “You mentioned something about there being more to it.  I think it’s that you have to have you mouth open ready for the fish before it goes into the water so that the fish doesn’t feel the motion of your mouth opening and that doesn’t scare them.  It also saves time because then if you have good aim you can basically enclose the fish in your jaws and then all you have to do is clamp them shut around the fish,” he explained in case she hadn’t seen exactly what he had done. Then he glanced back at the lake and it had seemed to have cleared up and the fish had returned to their feeding, “It’s your turn,” he told her giving her muzzle a small nudge, “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

(This post was last modified: May 11, 2015, 04:12 PM by Kajika.)

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The loner sat in silence, tail sweeping across the ground as she studied Kajika carefully. He never brought his paws above the surface of the water, limiting the ripples as he waded gently toward the school of feeding fish. It was a clever time to feed, she realized, never having thought of that herself. It made sense, though – she had the best luck with pheasants once the males had made their leks and were focused only on impressing as many hens as they possibly could. Now, the fish were hungry, more concerned with their new food source than the shifting of water. With a sudden explosion of movement, the male struck with an open jaw, surfacing a moment later with a wriggling fish in his grasp. His prey only gave one or two final jerks as the wolf waded back to shore, dead before he dropped it upon the sand. Desideria eyed him with awe, tail wagging furiously behind her as she crowed her enthusiasm. "Very nice," she informed him, leaning down to inspect his catch. It was no small fish, she was pleased to note. Ears perked forward as she got to her feet, waiting for the surface to became calm again before wading in herself. "Here goes nothing…" she murmured quietly, much more careful with her steps then she'd been in previous attempts. Each footfall was planned, the female actually looking before she moved, and she waded into the water near the shoal. It had moved some, but the group of fish were still feeding voraciously. Tail held straight out for balance, Des lunged into the water with her jaw gaping. Teeth snapped shut around nothing but murky water, and the wolf surged further in, trying to chase the fish as they scattered. Unfortunately, her attempts were for not, and she surfaced soggy and without success. Ears rolled back as she glanced towards her friend on shore. "This is much harder than you make it look, you know. What kind of lake wolf am I going to be if I can't catch fish? What am I doing wrong?"

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As Kajika made his way back to shore he was glad that had caught himself a nice size fish so would not have to worry about going to sleep on an empty stomach but he was also glad that his first time teaching had gone so well and that he hadn’t made any mistakes while showing Des what to do.  That would have been rather embarrassing in so many ways.  Though with it going as well as it did he chose not to think about it and concentrate on the fish he had just caught, which was dead before he reached the shore, and giving Des the right instructions on how to catch a fish of her very own. By the movement of her tail he could tell she was very happy for him, “Thank you,” he told her after dropping the fish from his mouth.  Then it was her turn, Kajika watched her closely as she made her way into the water.  He wanted to be able to give her god feedback in case something went wrong.  “I’m sure you’ll do great,” he told her confidently.  He hoped that would give her enough encouragement that she wouldn’t even think about being unsuccessful.  She needed positive thoughts in order to catch a fish.   Kajika felt as disappointed as she sounded when she spoke after she hadn’t managed to catch her fish.  He took a deep breath, “It is hard but don’t worry, I wasn’t perfect on my first try and I am not always as lucky as I was today,” he told her hoping that would lift her spirits, “You will be a good lake wolf in due time.  Maybe try waiting a little longer and concentrate on one fish.  Follow its movements so that you can hopefully anticipate it then when you think that you know what it will do next strike,” he explained hoping that would help her to get the fish next time.  “Now that you are out there wait for the water to clear and the fish to calm down then begin again.”

(This post was last modified: May 12, 2015, 12:11 AM by Kajika.)

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Kajika's instructions were not exactly what the female wanted to hear. Her ears swiveled backwards before flattening, the female huffing a short sigh as she peered into the murky water. The fish had scattered during her clumsy attempts, fleeing in all directions to the safety of rocks or plush duckweed. Sighing heavily, she glanced back out at her friend while standing still, waiting for the water to settle and become clear again. "It's cold out here, you know. And now I'm dripping. Isn't that going to scare them?" she asked, turning amber eyes back to the surface of the water. Despite her complaints, she did not remove herself from the lake. If she was planning to join the Fallen Tree Cove pack, the woman knew this was something she was going to have to learn. It was much easier like this, in the company of a friend, than it would be under the judgmental stares of wolves she hardly knew. Namid had said it was a small pack, and the last thing the timber wolf wanted was for all her comrades to think of her as incapable. Word spread quick when there were fewer conduits to pass through. Flicking one ear towards her friend, Desderia glanced over when a shimmer caught her eye. "They're coming back," she murmured, voice low as if the fish could hear her. It was a silly notion, she realized – did fish even have ears? But she kept a harsh whisper all the same. "They're coming back, Kajika. What should I do?"

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Her first attempt had not went well at all so Kajika had given her a few more instructions in hopes that this time she would hit her mark.  After that he sat back on his haunches watching her from the shore as she stood in the shallows dripping wet from her last attempt. “I know,” he told her when she pointed out that it was could out in the water, “I don’t think that fish are smart enough to realize that the dripping is coming from a hungry wolf that wants to eat them and if you’re lucky they might think its food hitting the water which might make them a little easier to catch.”  He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his features at the way she sounded and looked out there in the water. He was glad that she hadn’t given up though, that would be no way to get anything done and it only went to prove just how strong and determined she really was.  He had a feeling that she wasn’t coming out of the water till she had caught her fish, and he would wait for her to do just that before he enjoyed the fish that he had caught.  With the future of their friendship uncertain he wanted this time spent with his friend to be good and enjoying a meal with her like they had when they’d first met was as good a way as any he could think of. She was suddenly excited which drew him out of his thoughts back to the water where he could see the water had cleared and the fish were returning to feeding.  “Of course they are, the second time will be the charm.”  He was certain that she would catch her fish and he stubbornly pressed any thoughts to the contrary away.  And she wanted to know what to do which he knew just what to tell her. “Pick one out and follow its movements, patience is the key when it comes to catching fish.  Then when you are sure and you should be able to feel it, that’s when you strike,” he told her, “You can do this Des, I know you can.”

(This post was last modified: May 13, 2015, 03:21 AM by Kajika.)

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