Jasper Rocks housing all this doubt and insecurity

“Blech!”

Kjell sneezed against, mind buzzing. It felt like tiny droplets of water had gotten stuck inside his nasal passages and crawled all the way up into his brain. No matter how hard he shook his head, those stubborn drops would never come out. Eying the surface of the pool as if it had betrayed him personally, the wolf turned to find that his companion had been watching his complete failure. Instead of silent laughter, he was met with a smile and a wave of her tail.

The male furrowed his brows, still displeased. It was not that he wanted her fish, or for her to fish for him, but opposition was never met eagerly. Kjell liked to win.

“Come back here,” he urged Signy, nodding back towards the pool. The fish swam nearby, though none had quite recovered from the splash he’d made moments ago. He eyed the sunfish; it eyed him right back before darting to the side. Ears fell flat out to the side as he sighed in defeat. “Show me how you did it.” The wolf glanced over at his friend. He knew she couldn’t explain to him, or even tell him what he was doing wrong, but something in Kjell liked that fact. He’d succeed or fail because he could watch, and learn. “Please-- Ah, sorry doll. I meant to say please.”

Pip licked her lips and stood as soon as he called for her the first time. Well used to following orders, she had no qualms about listening right away. She set her own mostly eaten fish to the side where it would be less likely to slip back into the water, though her eyes tracked into a nearby tree where a crow began to caw. If it wanted to make a meal of her leftovers, she wouldn't stop it.

As the yearling stepped back into the water, @Kjell added 'please.' While it wasn't necessary for such a meek wolf to hear, it sure was nice. Pip smiled sweetly at him and even licked his chin once while she sidled beside him shoulder to shoulder. Back in place now, she slowly lowered her head towards the water and waited. The fish couldn't help but explore the new addition to their world once it was determined nothing dangerous had come of it. The yearling was certain they had short memories to forget so quickly the flash of teeth that had attempted to scoop them up not long before. She could feel one nibbling near the healed wound above her hock and closed one eye in annoyance. It moved on soon enough and she opened the eye again to watch for any fish that drew close enough.

It was instinct to stiffen when a fish was drawing close, and Pip had worked long and hard to not do such a thing as it tended to ripple the water and alarm the fish. Instead, she waited and waited, for all the world looking as if she were merely enjoying the reflection of the clouds on the water's surface. Only when she could see the details of the sunfish's eyes did she strike like a coiled adder. Pip blew air from her nostrils as she pulled up her catch. Rather than retreating to dry land again, Pip remained standing beside Kjell. She would watch more closely this time. Maybe if he waited too long, she could nudge him in the shoulder to strike.

By now, the crow she'd seen before had grown brave enough to fly down long enough to grab the small carcass and fly awkwardly off with it. It hadn't escaped her notice how the bird didn't caw out now. Don't want your friends knowing about your meal, huh? she mused. The little wolf returned her attention to her partner's fishing, orange eyes soft in adoration of the moment. It really was a lovely day.

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I am so sorry I made you wait so long!!  Have some comedy for your patience.

Oh, that smile.  What a pretty girl, Kjell thought to himself, tail twitching as he watched her bright eyes.  Signy didn’t even need her words, whether she had any or not – she could express herself beautifully without a single syllable.  But he was not paying attention, and he’d never catch a fish if he didn’t watch the female carefully.  To fail again would not be attractive in the least.

With that, he drew his gaze away from such a lovely face, eyes instead falling to the surface of the water.  What was she looking for?  Hard to tell, without her to tell him – but some part of the wolf enjoyed the challenge as he narrowed his eyes, and followed her gaze directly into the water.  There, he finally saw the outline of curious fish, made more evident by their eyes, colorful where water was not.

Ah! he thought, and his tail wagged a moment.  So pleased with his victory, he almost missed Pip’s motion altogether.  This time, he realized her mouth was closer, muzzle like a knife – and she must have held her breath, for she exhaled once she’d gotten the fish in her mouth and surfaced.  Ears pricked forward.  Tail stiffened, acting as a balance.  He waited for the fish to grow bold again, investigate the ripples and his toes, and then, once he saw the bass’ green eye, he plunged in.  This time, teeth scrapped against the fish, but it squirmed away before he closed his jaws. “Shit!”  Kjell surfaced and lunged after the injured animal.  “Shit!  It’s getting away!”

No worries! <3 Kjip is worth any wait.

While she fished, Pip felt his gaze on her face and found herself feeling shy and self-conscious all at once. Was she being too forward? Or was he struggling to understand? ...Was there something on her face? But the moment passed and he turned to pay attention to her technique. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him watching his own fish. The tip of her tail twitched happily, but she dared not move during such a vital time. Only once her prey was in her mouth - she'd have an extra to bring back for the pack if @Kjell was able to catch his own! - did she allow the full length of her tail to wag.

Rather than returning to shore, she waited patiently and still beside him as he readjusted himself and waited for the fish to calm once more. He looked so stern! Proud and fierce like a warrior. Had he turned such a gaze on her, she would have felt a bit intimidated, but thus far, she'd not seen a hint of it towards herself. As she watched him, Pip found herself embarrassed to realize that she liked him. A girlish infatution, she defended inwardly. Because he'd saved her. Surely that was all it was. And yet, she found excuses to look at him, study his face, and delight in the minute changes she could see in his expressions.

As he made his lunge, Pip's orange eyes danced happily. He would get it! Or...sort of get it. Had she a voice, Kjell would have heard laughter bubbling from her chest, the sound light and carefree. As it was, she snorted with amusement while her chest shook with her unheard joy. In a single moment, he could go from stern, fierce warrior to silly, boyish pup! She was content to stand and watch; better to let him have his success without help!

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No help came from the younger wolf, and if Kjell wasn’t currently occupied by his escaping prey, he might have pestered his friend for it.  As it were, he was scrambling over rocks and wet stones as he scrambled after his wily sunfish.  Its scales glimmered in several shades of green both dark and light, and though the water column disguised the animal well, the thrashing gave the injured creature’s position away.

Everything else had scattered with all the commotion, wise enough now to realize there were predators afoot (even if one was clearly a novice).  The wolf said nothing else as he chased his dish, and while his pride might have told him it took forever to catch the damn thing, it only took a minute or two before he had the sunfish in his mouth, finally secure between his teeth.  It wriggled once or twice there before finally giving out, and Kjell was able to make his way to shore, dropping his catch near the pile Pip had been amassing.

He stared down at the thing, brows furrowing as one eldritch eye stared back at him, wordlessly accusing him of his complete lack of skill.  Kjell sighed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “You’re just a fish,” under his breath before he turned, looking for his companion.  “That’s gonna take some practice.  But maybe not today?  Feelin’ awful hungry now, jewel.  What do you say to some eats?”

With delight, she watched @Kjell scamper across the shallow pool, herding his fish around until finally he was able to capture it. As the dark male waded back to shore, Pip followed suit and came to sit nearby, setting her catch down at her paws. His odd comment to himself - or rather the fish - matched his perplexed expression, leaving Pip to lower her head again as laughter shook her small frame.

When he turned to her, Pip's tail swished along the ground behind her as she beamed. It does take lots and lots of practice! She only made it look easy because she'd been doing it all her life. Her eyes fell to his fish as he mentioned his hunger and her brow furrowed minutely. That alone wouldn't be nearly enough for him; he was so big! Males stomachs always seemed bottomless to her anyway.

Scooping her recent catch up, she stepped forward to set it on top of his before backing away and laying down with her head on her paws. Her tail continued to wag behind her, the wet fur gathering leaves and dirt. Though her fish wasn't all that much more, hopefully it would stave off the worst of his hunger. And maybe...they could hunt together for other prey. It must be hard being on his own. Though she was far from being a skilled hunter, she imagined even having a second body to herd prey would be helpful for him. How to suggest that was another story. Either way, she was content to wait patiently while he ate.

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Before the lone wolf could start to eat, Signy placed her prize on top of his hard won bluegill.  Glancing up, the male blinked owlishly.  Golden eyes dropped back down to the pair of fish once more, and then his eyes found his companion.  Her thin tail wriggled as she glanced back at him, and for a moment, Kjell only found himself smiling stupidly, so unused to such selfless kindness.

“Thanks,” he mumbled quietly, that same dumb smile still plastered to his muzzle.  It wasn’t sufficient, but the swarthy male had little idea of what else to say.

Eventually, he shook the idiotic look from his face, finally staring back down at the two fresh kills.  The sweet, tender flesh of the gift was even sweeter than the prize he’d won for himself.  He smiled softly as he shook himself again, pink tongue flashing out to remove some of the scales from his dark nose.  Finally, he wandered over to Pip, settled himself next to her.  First pressing his nose to her cheek, the older wolf shifted slightly, and began to groom his fishing partner.  He had nothing to give, no other wat to express his thanks – but it needed to be expressed, all the same.

Fade.

I'm so sorry this took so long.  x __ x  I couldn't think of anything to say, ack.

(This post was last modified: Jun 27, 2016, 10:34 AM by Kjell.)