Larkcall Lowlands with faith and understanding

@“Mako” - backdated to Jan. 26th.

Aunt Jessie had been kind enough to let them stay the night, but Ris knew she had been gone too long to loiter the next day. So the girl exited the den at the crack of dawn, attempting to be as quiet as possible, and made her way down the snow-covered slopes to try and find the edge of the territory again. It wasn’t so easy to get through the snow on her own, but if she bounced and hopped just so, she believed that she would be able to do it.

The sunlight filtering through the milky white clouds above cast a buttercup glow across the white snow, and Ris found that she rather liked the color. Yellow was the greatest color of all, and she missed those flowers that grew in the summer that carried that shade. And she missed those yellow eyes of a perceived friend before he left the Lowlands. And she missed unfiltered sunlight, where it would be warm and inviting and beautiful.

But the winter wasn’t all bad. It would just be easier to get from place to place when everything melted and the air wasn’t so cold that it hurt her nose and paws.

Mako felt a bit uncomfortable being around these wolves he didn't really know, unsettled enough that he was beginning to second-guess his decision to accompany Risaela into the territory proper rather than waiting outside the borders for her to finish with her visit. He didn't mind sleeping out under the open sky for another night, but couldn't deny that getting to sleep inside the den was a nice luxury. Luckily all the travel over the past few days made it easier for him to conk out as soon as he set his head down, falling into a deep slumber and not even waking when Risaela stirred. It wasn't until a good hour or so later that Mako finally woke, quickly shuffling out of the den once he realized he was surrounded by Wild Rye wolves with Rissy nowhere to be seen. 


Her trail was easy to find in the snow, and Mako chuffed as soon as he saw Risaela in the distance. He picked up his pace into an easygoing trot, smirk pulling unevenly at his lips. "You didn't think you could just get rid of me that easily, did you?" He ribbed as he came to stand beside her.

She got a little bit of time to find the border before her companion caught up with her. To be honest, she had almost expected him to want to stick around the Fields instead, but with the way he began the conversation... it became fairly clear that she really wasn’t going to get rid of him that easily. Which, of course, was more than alright by her.

Her tail wagged happily behind her when he approached, and she leaned forward to bump her forehead against his shoulder. ”G’morning!” she chirped, bouncing on her toes so that she could face him. ”I wa-wasn’t leaving yet.” That would be rude. ”I wanted ta ask if y-you wanted to go with m-me back home. You don’t have t-to stay if you don’t wa-wanna...” Even though that would be amazing because Ris wanted to keep Mako forever and a day. ”But you d-d-definitely could talk to Uncle Lach, I think. If you want t-to.”

That would be the best idea. She knew it.

Mako looked upwards, rolling his eyes and humming as if this were indeed a terribly difficult decision to make. As if his mind already hadn't been made up to accompany Rissy back home. After all, his mission in keeping the girl safe wasn't really complete until she was actually safe back at home. 


Finally he looked back down towards the girl, sighing deeply though there was a definite sparkle in his eye. "Well, I suppose if you insist." He said at last, turning his head the slightest bit to hide the smirk at the side of his mouth. "S'not like I have anything better to do," He added, recalling having said something similar when he first decided to accompany the pup.

Ris pouted when he pretended to think it over, flicking her ears back with a soft snort of indignance. How rude. She stamped her paws as she waited for him to make his decision, her tail still waving even through her little irritated facade.

”I... I do i-insist,” she proclaimed proudly, her chest coming down to rest playfully on the snow. Because she couldn’t help but be excited, and that bled through the playful demeanor in order to let her babble a little bit. ”You really w-wanna come with me? Do ya wanna st-stay? Because you can have a home, and f-food, and be with nice p-people.” Her ears perked as she remembered that Lachesis had told her about moving the pack. ”We’ve got a real big river, t-too! You’ll like it so much.”

Mako fought back a smile as Rissy really put in the effort to sell the idea of him staying with her. As if Mako hadn't already bought into it hook, line and sinker. He had to admit is was fun to watch her get so animated, and in a way it reminded him of his own sister, heart very clearly on her sleeve. 

Mako's pale eyebrows lifted as his smirk pulled into an open smile, tail swishing as he leaned his weight backward into a bow, the pale fur of his chest brushing the snowy ground as the plume of his tail waggled in the air behind him. "A river, huh? Sold." 

His grin took a toothy aspect. "I don't suppose you know you're lookin' at the best fisher this side of the Pacific?" He crowed, knowing full well his sister was nowhere near to refute his claim to the title. 

Ris’ eyes widened when he agreed, her own tail swishing like a banner over her back when he got just as excited as she was. Mako was just the best person ever - she was one hundred percent sure of that. ”A huge river,” she corrected teasingly, reaching out one forepaw out to bat at his shoulder when he play bowed in front of her.

Silver ears angled forward when he mentioned fishing. She was pretty sure Uncle Lach and Ayti could do that as well, but she doubted either of them were the best on this side of the... of the...

”What’s the S-Specific?” she asked, her muzzle wrinkling as she caught on the words. She would have to work harder to stop stuttering - Cancer had mentioned it, after all, and that probably meant it was important to fix. In all honesty, it was beginning to embarrass her.

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

***phone post pls forgive errors***


Mako leaned forward at her touch, springing up to gently bump her shoulder with his own. Makos eyes sparkled at her question, only indeared by her mispronunciation. He remembered seeing it for the first time, the endless expanse of water far larger than anything he had ever seen before. It was utterly incomprehensible in size, depth or breadth. "The pacific ocean. Its like a lake, but only in the way a mountain is like a hill. Its so big you can't even see across it." He began. "But the water is dark like the night sky, and it tastes unbelievably salty. Nobody who's tried to swim across it has ever made it back to tell the tale." He added. Who knows if they ever made it across and simply never returned, or sank to its depths to stay with his ancestors. 

A sly smile pulled at his lips as his nose twitched in the air, scenting pondweed and ice. His eyes cannily following his ears at a nearby splashing sound. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?" He asked his friend.

same lmfao

Ris smirked lopsidedly when Mako bumped her shoulder, nudging his flank in return. He said nothing of the mistake she had made and instead just explained things a little bit better. The Pacific Ocean, not the Specific Ocean. She had it now. Besides, it sounded awesome! Water was great in small quantities, so she couldn’t even imagine how great the Pacific Ocean must be.

”That’s so cool!” she enthused, her tail still whipping back and forth. ”Does it have st-stars inside it? Like the sky?” Probably not, but that would definitely be super duper neat if it did!

She watched him perk up and tipped her head to the side, one ear crumpling to her skull. ”Nope,” she confirmed, and her stomach growled on queue. Actually, she couldn’t remember when she had last eaten. It was probably soon, but food was kind of hard to come by in the winter like this. ”Are you h-hungry?” she queried, wondering if there was maybe something they could catch together. She didn’t realize he already had a plan.