Nightingale Palisade You and me go fishing in the dark

Backdated to 11 Apr 16. @Sylva

While Merys had initially been incredibly put out by the idea of having the yearling on his heels for the rest of the day, once they had stepped out of the den the pleasant weather, and opportunity to do what calmed him best, lifted his spirits. Hunting was familiar and comforting. He knew his place when it came to food, unlike this new pack he sat in despite the alpha's best efforts. Oh well, if a role was to be asked of him, he could at least do this much confidently. The four year old's curiosity had pulled him north, since he had yet to fully explore this way yet. He knew there was a river there that would be full of opportunity for the yearling to have some fun, and for him to grab something other than rabbit meat for once. He wondered if Sylva had ever fished before, and he inwardly chuckled at the hope that she hadn't ... for his entertainment's sake. 

He gave a side glance to his company, the young black wolf, and decided there was hardly anything you could conclude when it came to Sylva. She was her own wolf, and it was difficult to anticipate anything at all. He hardly knew the female, which made it interesting, he was sure, but today he had banked on the evening being as laidback as possible. The 'plan to go find a meal' had simply been a ploy to leave the den and Sylva's presence, yet somehow he had tongue-tied himself, and the two had ended up here, anyway -- miles north, heading for the bank of the Palisades river. He supposed he would have to make the most of it regardless, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had accidentally signed up for the babysitter's role by mistake. 

A gentle hum escaped the small, chocolate furred wolf as she stepped out behind Merys. Her tail swayed freely behind the Yearling as her motions constantly changed from a slow walk, to a bouncing trot and back again. Sylva was excited, she was able to spend time in the company of a pack mate and hopefully soon to be a friend. Thoug, Sylva really considered her pack to be more like a family than friends, considering what they had all been through in order to gain the new territory they lived in.

Soft brown eyes widened and ears perked as Sylva caught the faint but familiar sound of a rushing river. A small squeal of excitement actually escaped her as she rushed forward and past her larger companion. She looked over her shoulder quickly and called out “Come on slug legs!” as she ran.

Soon, the river came into sight and the dark girl skidded to a stop before plopping down onto her side for a moment, her flanks heaving a little as she panted, the run had been fun but a little tiring, though for Sylva, that wouldn’t bother her for long, given a few moments rest and soon the young energetic wolf would be at it again, but for now she was happy with just laying there, listening to the water’s soft whispers as she waited.

Cute table! And sorry for the wait, and the poor quality. Beginning post of 'active hunting'.

Merys considered the yearling, and thought that he might be starting to appreciate her positive outlook ever since they had stepped foot outside the pack den. He had made a point to keep his mouth shut on their travels, trying to keep his ears forward as he decided where they might best start. The fish idea had been made on the whim, but the closer they got, the more he was convinced that this was a great idea on his part. His gaze fell to Sylva again. It was true what they said about youth keeping you young. Her positive demeanor was rubbing off on him. Not that Merys normally made a point to be frumpy, but a number of things had given him way to not be his usual goofy self recently. His snarky personality had been suppressed for a number of months now, and he felt it nudging at the door. A kind reminder that perhaps these wolves weren't all bad.

The gentle sound and scent of the water entered his senses gradually, and he almost got a fright when Sylva let out a squeal and darted forward. His ears and head tilted back in alarm, and recovered again when he heard her voice calling back to him. The words were faint but the message was crystal clear. SLUG legs?! ExCUSE me? It was a strange and difficult thing when someone started the race before you. It was already unfair, but could you be a chicken gut and not race anyway? That kind of made you seem like a sore loser... Merys sprinted after her, ears pricked forward.

He was convinced he would have caught her if he'd had more space to catch up on the ground he lost. But the river came to them quickly and he had to begin slowing down in fear of heading tail up down the bank. His large frame came to a halt a few seconds after the yearling and he tried to save his pride by trying to control his heaving breath so as not to show how tiring the sprint had been. His tongue lolled out of his mouth until he caught his breath and his attention pulled him forward to the shore. The evening retreating sun was giving the river and trees beautiful pink and orange glimmering. He was happy to see that the ice had begun disappearing, making their job a little easier, for the male had intended on finding some catfish in the river. They were lucky they had left when they did, as the creatures were nocturnal and would be only starting to come out. Hopefully sluggish to make for an easy catch, as winter was not the best time of year for most other fishes.

He started creeping forward to the shore, moving toward an area that had already melted open for them. He motioned for the yearling to come closer to the water with a movement of his nose. "Try and hop up there on that large rock there. Tell me what you see," he told her. Watching the water, his body low to the ground so not to startle anything swimming in the shallow waters. The light glimmering on the water was gimcrack, as it caught his eye, making it difficult to track everything underneath, but he lay still and waited - calculated, tracking the aquatic creatures with his eyes, watching them come to life. It was amazing what all you could see in the water once you stayed still. A thing he frequently looked past when he first began hunting.

founding member | 2016

Sylva raised her head slowly as Merys FINALLY caught up to her, her own breath was coming in small gasps though she was recovering fairly quickly as it hadn’t been that much of an exercise or even strenuous. Her hazel gaze watched the male intently as he approached the water’s edge slowly. She stood up and gave her chocolate coat a shake before following, creeping along the edge as she had seen her packmate do before nodding to his words and eying the rock in question. As she came close, a mischief grin formed on Sylva’s maw as she whispered “Slug Legs.” As she crept away.

The Yearling had a fairly firm grasp on the need for stealth in a situation like this. She hadn’t hunted fish before, but she was positive they they spoke just as easily as any other prey. She stepped lightly toward the rock, keeping back from the water’s edge as she made her way up top to peer down into the pool “I see...fish..” She said after a few moments of careful observation, she turned toward Merys “How do we get them then? Hop in? Scare them out?” She wanted to know now, her curiosity sparked by the idea of hunting from the river side.

ThoughtDialogue

The yearling was not wrong: there were fish. His gaze was focused on the water in front of him, watching the winter fish braving the shores. This river was surprisingly deep near the shores, allowing for more food-traffic, but more resistance for the pair's plan. Some fish were very fast, and the deeper the water, the slower the lunge to get them would be. No, they would have to try something else. He was happy to see that there were the odd catfish under the thin ice, occasionally making it into view. They would likely have more chances with them as they were bigger, and therefore a little slower. Satisfied with his plan, he looked up at Sylva. His eyes lit up then, flaring with something between excitement and seriousness. It was business time. He paused after her myriad of questions for a moment, listening to the woodnote of a nearby forest bird. He abruptly backed away from the water's edge and moved to join Sylva where she stood. It would be easier to explain things if he could see what she was seeing.

He lowered himself next to Sylva, peering over the rock he had placed her on. She was higher up from the shore, likely unable to catch anything from up here without a bucket of luck, but it was an excellent vantage point for watching the fish. He shook his head slightly, his tone light but certain. "Jumping at them won't likely work here; the water is deep at this shore. We are slow, and the fish will be fast once they are surprised. The same goes for scaring them out. There will be too much water for them to escape into," he said, eying the water. The light glared and flickered against the ripples, but if you watched long enough you would notice the appearance of catfish. He moved quickly, pointing with his nose over his paws, "There, see that dark one? The large one? Catfish. Those are the ones we want," he said assuredly.

founding member | 2016

Sylva’s head bobbed slightly as she listened to the larger brown male explain techniques for hunting fish. If she had any experience in it, she might to offer her own input, but this was far outside of her very minimal range of experiences. “Hopping in won’t work because you're slow.” She parroted back as she listened, it was a good way for the yearling to remember stuff, as she had learned. “And their fast in the water…”

As he gestured toward a few dark shape that darted by, just under the water’s edge, Sylva peered closely before nodding “Alright, since you said your soo slow, want me to try?” the words were drawn out dramatically to emphasise the point that he had, indeed called himself slow. The Yearling’s tail wagged playfully as she cocked her head slightly to the side with a small, mischievous grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she whispered “Slug Legs.”

Having gotten the playfulness out of herself for the time being, Sylva began to focus as she nodded, she did understand what he was saying, but the chance to tease him just a little on how he had phrased it had been too much to pass up on. Sure, there were many thing that she was fairly naive to and didn;t understand, or she had a….we’re go with unique perspective on some things, but when she really did try, Sylva could be fairly quick witted as she settled down by the shore to await further instruction,

ThoughtDialogue

The yearling's humour was beginning to grow on Merys, igniting the playful nature that he had been suppressing since he arrived in Relic Lore. She parroted his words with a sprinkle of her own interpretation, and he turned his nose to look at her with a serious face. If he was going to be so slow, perhaps the black female should try. A mischievous thought entered into his mind, and he was convinced that it couldn’t hurt. Hell, she might even appreciate the gesture. This could be both a fun and educational experience, couldn't it?

“Good idea. You’re smaller and faster, perhaps you could surprise one,” he assured her, sitting back on his haunches nonchalantly so that he was positioned near her rear. He could barely see over the rock into the water. She whispered ‘slug legs’ again before settling back into her serious nature, ebony nose tipped over the edge of the rock. That had decided it. “There! There’s one! Try and grab it!” he exclaimed suddenly. Had there been one, he wouldn’t have known, but he moved quickly to use his nose and chest to shove Sylva’s haunches forward in an attempt to send her tail over nose into the water. If she thought she could splash about with the fish better than him, then she best prove it. If not, the cool surprise would give them time for the fish to return back to the shore while she dried off.

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2016, 11:37 AM by Merys.)

founding member | 2016

Sylva’s brown gaze was intent upon the river below the rocks as she searched for the catfish that Merys had pointed out. Though he gave such great details when he had gestured toward the dark shapes so Sylva wasn’t really sure what she was looking for. Her soft brown gaze shone brightly as she eyed the river. Determined to be the first to find the elusives shadows. She had full trust in her packmate and was unaware of Mery’s schemes until it was too late. She felt something nudge her hindquarters, her head turned as she was about to ask what was wrong when the rock betrayed her!

A small squeak of surprise escaped the ebony wolf as she found herself tumbling head over tail into the river with a loud splash. Her limbs flailing wildly for a moment as panic took over. Though after a few moments Sylva realized just how shallow the water was and she stood. Her breath fast and heavy as she glared in Merys’s direction, though it may not have been blindingly obvious that her cocca gaze was focused on the rocks ‘What did you do that for!” She squeaked toward….the rocks.

ThoughtDialogue

Sylva had definitely provided him with the appropriate response, gaining the desired effect he had aimed for. He did not move to watch her topple over the rock, but could not hold back his chortling laughter when they locked eyes right before she disappeared. That look of surprise and betrayal had been simple perfection. He kept giggling as the reactive water splashed up into view past the rock height, and he listened for the grumbling thrashing below. He laid down against the cool, smooth edge of the rock and ever so slowly shimmied his way down, the occasional botryoidal rocks scraping his underbelly. Wrapping the tips of his paws over the edge of the rock, he wiggled until only his snout was able to peer over and down at his pack mate. This event had just made his day. Her sopping pelt hung heavy on her body, making her look smaller and more feeble than his humour could stand, and little schoolgirl giggles continued to escape periodically as he admired his work.

Her glare and squeak helped him back into character. "Oh, what? Didn't you get it? Perhaps they are faster than you afterall, Sylva," he offered solemnly, as if breaking bad news to her. Had she been able to see his features, his smug smile was slipping in and out between his attempts at sincerity. A shadow under the water quieted his laughter.. Wait.. "Sylva, don't move.." The inquisitive nature of the fish was getting the best of it, and so long as it stayed interested in the new legs in the water, he might just have a chance. He pulled himself up onto all fours. No, he would not get a chance, he was sure, with the newly angered yearling -- he could not wait to show her. His eyes and ears focused intently forward, Merys did his best to memorize the fish's pattern before he threw his body forward into the water next to her, maw open and paws outreached. He had hoped the shallowness of the water would give him a stunning advantage. He felt a figure beneath them as his face plunged into the cool water and moved to end the water fight. When he pulled his face out of the water, the catfish was wriggling like all hell, throwing its body weight around for its dear life.

founding member | 2016

Sylva stood there in the water as the gentle current tugged at her soaked body. Her umber colored eyes formed little slits as Merys pointed out that the fish were quicker than her, at least someone was getting a laugh out of this. She thought as he suddenly spoke and she froze in place at his orders. She may have been pissed off, but this was indeed a hunting trip and she wasn’t going to let the rocks attempts to forestall their trip succeed as the larger brown male lept into the water. A small squeak escaping as more water splashed against her pelt for the second time in less than five minutes.

As the brown male broke through the surface with a large fish clamped firmly inside of his jaws. Sylva couldn’t help but giggle a little herself as the fish flailed and twitched wildly. She moved closer to the fish in an attempt to help kill it, unaware that it would die shortly due to a lack of water and she was quickly rewarded with the catfish’s widely moving tail smacking her on the nose, causing her to stumble backwards a little. “How do we kill it?” she asked as she eyed the fish, from a few feet away this time.

ThoughtDialogue