Secret Falls Gonna Think He's Your Teacher?

For @Eirian <3 - location! (Though with more water xD) Possible subterritory? We'll see

RE: Quickly melting snow has turned rivers into rapids.
- Around noon, Cloudy - 47 ° F/8 ° C

Her river, she'd begun thinking of it like that a while back, seemed to only grow wilder with every day. Temperatures continued to spike higher with every few days, the plummets in-between often bringing snow that then melted again shortly after; The water only adding to what was presumably coming from higher areas, forming wild rapids where the river curved. One of these bends in particular had become a favored spot of the young wolfess. Here, the water rushed over a large collection of rocks, from boulders bigger than herself and down to tiny pebbles, all smoothly rounded by the constant stream. It was an excellent spot for treasure hunters of all kinds, all manner of things being washed up in the river and caught between the stones. Many things had been found here over the spring, though the favorite find for Nalda Zamora was always food. Everything from stranded fish to drowned critters or parts of larger carcasses had become a quick meal for the young scavenger here, and sometimes she'd even find enough to bring something home, such convincing everyone that she wasn't completely useless.

Today the river was a true fury. White foam and churning rapids rising high above even some of the larger stones, the crashing waves having even eaten off some of the dirt from the opposite bank. The almost-yearling watched the mayhem with her face twisted in a displeased grimace, golden eyes dark. She was very unlikely to find anything in this mess, let alone the meal she'd been hoping for. Her river had become a favored escape over the past months, one place she was sure not to be disturbed by any of her pack-mates, yet still be close to home. It was a lively biome, always with something interesting to watch, animals of all kinds, hunters, prey, birds, insects, a true wonderland for a studious soul like Nalda's. And usually with an easy snack too. Though not today it would seem; Such a waste of time!

Word count: 335

"Speech" Thoughts

Would have gotten to this sooner, but the alert got deleted. I'm game for a sub discovery if it pans out right. :)

Eirian had come to notice; as he was sure everyone else had as well according to the fall in the body count come nightfall, the temperature had gradually began to climb higher the further winter was put behind them since the coming of spring, its last true hold on the land coming like thieves in the night to deposit a layer of snow upon the ground during the midnight hours only to be melted away by the first stray rays of afternoon sunlight. The process repeating itself over the course of a few days at a time, but never holding permanency. To this development Eirian's toes couldn't be more gleeful; if they had their own emotions, having grown tiresome long ago of the colorless powder wedging itself undesirably into the partially webbed crevices between each toe. A sensation that was rather annoying and the process of cleaning out such a nuisance an even more annoying ordeal. There were better things for a regal creature such as himself to be attending to than picking out snow from between his toes.

Today snow trapped between his toes was not his enemy, but instead the ever growing presence of mud left in the wake of the roaring rapids that snarled just off to his side their spewing sprays drenching the grass free dirt until its sediments couldn't contain the liquid anymore, eventually eroding the banks that contained the wild river. And don't get him started on the rocky inhabitants; more so the tiny pebbles than managed to lodge themselves between his toes worse than the snow ever did. Getting those out were a real pain in ones tush. Normally the Timber male wouldn't be found traveling out this way, but upon catching a whiff of Nalda's scent after executing a border sweep curiosity and a desire to ensure the young Zamora hadn't gotten herself into another bout of trouble after her icicle incident began to lead his paws along her river. An incident that was just as embarrassing for him as it was for her. Basically having to stick one's ass to a child's face to thaw the damn thing didn't exactly come off as the most heroic story to spread on to others. Simply he stuck to a code of 'if you won't tell anyone, I wont' no questions asked.

Gradually the strength of her scent increased and just up ahead he could finally make out the faint silhouette of @Nalda and as it did so, so did the amount of pebbles that jabbed the lead male in the pads leading to many pit stops just to pry the pieces of rock out once the irritation of consistent prodding became too much to bare. "Stupid rocks. I really do hate you sometimes, Mother Nature." He grumbled while undergoing another procedure to remove a particularly stubborn rock that just would not come out, wedged far up enough to barely allude the points of his teeth serving as temporary pliers.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Dark eyes kept sweeping the bank, looking for any catch they might have missed the last time over. The tween was nothing if not determined, but it seemed today, her diligence would not pay off. A sigh feel from her lips, just as the sound of steps in the gravel reached her, making her oversized ears flick back alertly. Her attention turned from the water to cast a quick glance over her shoulder as she considered a quick exit, though when she saw who was approaching, she relaxed s bit, eyes returning to the rocky shore. One russet audit remained poised, turned towards the Asurn as he continued his advance, but she didn't bother looking – unlike with most others, the youth felt comfortable in her male leaders presence.

Even when he made his agitated proclamation, Nalda hardly twitched, a tiny smile gracing her face; Which she quickly turned to make sure he didn't see. Instead she continued her search, taking a few short steps along the raging water, large paws balancing surprisingly well on the round stones. "A' like th'rocks," She mused flatly, eyes still turned to the water's edge; "They make th'water break, catch stuff sm'times." And just as she said it, her hunt finally became a success, golden eyes widening in glee as they fell on a worthy prize, wedged between to medium-sized stones.

Teeth bared and tail wagging high in triumph, the almost-yearling bowed to free the carcass from its spot among the rocks. With well-practiced motions, she bit into the clump of brown fur, wiggling until it came loose and raised her head with the creature locked tightly between her jaws. It was a muskrat – likely from one of the year's first litters – which had apparently been caught by the wild streams and smacked against a hard surface, breaking its back. Nalda turned to face Eirian, brandishing her find with a toothy grin; "See?" Her voice was muffled by the wet fur, but that did not spoil her pride, and she joyously wiggled the limp, water-soaked body. Though it did occur to her, since he was here, she might end up having to share her catch, which did darken her eyes a bit; There's barely enough for one…

Word count: 372

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

After what felt like an eternity of nipping and prying, relief finally came on the tail end of a satisfied growl that vibrated the confines of Eirian's chest once the stubborn pebble was removed from its unwelcome home between his toes. Spitting out the pebble so it may join its fellow sun bleached brethren scattered along the bloated banks of the river, tangerine eyes lifted from the smaller rounded rocks at his feet to settle it on the dark russet girl as her form balanced gracefully among the slight larger specimens that lined the water's edged. Show off the copper hued man mused mentally while rounded ears pivoted forward to catch the words Nalda spilled, insisting that she actually quite liked the rocks and their ability to not only thwart the path flowing water wished to take, but also its ability to catch stuff.

Yet what stuff that was exactly the patriarch was clueless, but he wouldn't have to wait long to be shown an example. Not long after the girl had spoken of finding treasures among the rocks did such a thing appear before them, the russet brute watching closely as Nalda wagged her tail in a display of triumph before bending cautiously to clamp her teeth into something brown, soggy and very much dead Eirian came to realize once the young wolf wiggled her prize free of the rocky grasp. "Well i'll be a coyote's uncle." He laughed in response, knowing that form to belong to muskrats once he padded closer for a better inspection. His coal black nose twitched as he prodded it into the drenched fur, double checking that it was indeed dead and gone before stepping back just a hair. "You're quite the treasure hunter aren't you, Nalda?" A toothy grin of his own manifesting upon his dark painted lips. He wouldn't fathom admitting it to anyone, but if there was anyone who had a chance at bringing out the softer side in Eirian it was @Nalda despite it going against the grain of the lessons his mentors taught him growing up.

Consumed by her catch, and the task of freeing it from the rocks, Nalda did not notice Eirian's confusion, only looking back to him when he exclaimed in surprise. The phrase made her snort slightly, quirking a brow at the advancing male. The closeness might have irked her with any other adult, but once you'd spend a length of time with someone's tail practically in your mouth, boundaries sort of dissolved. So she straightened up, dutifully presenting the rat for her leader's inspection, while secretly praying he wouldn't take it. For now it stayed firm in her grasp, and she continued to wag her tail, ears flattening sideways at the praise. While she'd never admit it, the pup relished any appreciations of her achievements, especially from Eirian. Her gaze turned down, intensely studying her paw as it scraped against a rock, mind for a moment blank on how to respond; Which only served to further her embarrassment, if there was one thing she hated it was being speechless.

Moving quickly to hide her dumbfounded state, the almost yearling used the muskrat as an excuse for not speaking, looking pointedly around for somewhere safe to set it down. After all, she couldn't risk the flood sweeping it away once more and rendering her entire day's work fruitless. When finally she found a flat-topped rock, far enough away from the river and gingerly set down her prize, she had recovered from the fit of jitters and could meet Eirian's eyes evenly. "'s'easier t'find stuff th'n 'ave t' hunt y'self," She admitted, shrugging her shoulders lightly. Keeping her scavenging hidden had served her well, awarding both food for herself and praise whenever she elected to bring a find home. But she could hardly keep lying with the evidence so obvious, so she might as well confess. It didn't feel so bad though, since it was him, and he had seemed quite impressed with her discovery.

A sudden, rare smile popped onto her creamy muzzle and she dared to leave the rat for a moment, to instead move back towards the water. Long, spindly legs moving with well trained skill, she balanced on one round stone after the other until she was just at the edge of the rushing river. Looking upstream, batish ears perked, Nalda allowed herself a few moments to revel in the power of the masses of water, foaming white as it splashed over the many round stones. Then she turned back to Eirian, light in her golden eyes as she called, voice raised to sound over the roaring river; "'is really cool! A' saw a whole deer once, must've fallen'n tryi'n t'drink." That had been one of her first days at the river bend, back when the spring floods where just starting. "Couldn't catch't though," She added, a slight pout to her lips at the memory. Such a shame too, it would have been quite the spectacle dragging that back home. It had inspired her to start searching among the rocks though and she'd found the leg of another unfortunate ungulate, nothing big enough to parade through the pack lands, but it had satisfied her own hunger. And since then she had been back to hunt countless times.

Word count: 538

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

His praise had seemed to leave the young Zamora girl speechless as batty ears splayed outward to either side accompanied by a drop of her golden gaze, yet the wag in her tail never failed to cease its pendulum like motion. Words to form a response to his praise lost to her tongue which warranted the softest of chuckles to leave his creamy muzzle. It didn't take the girl long, though, to recover from her moment of verbal paralyses as Eirian's citrus gaze watched the dark tawny wolf transport her catch of the day to a more secure location away from the greedy hands of the roaring water. A flat topped rock serving as its final resting place before those calculating eyes re-met his gaze evenly and her frame began to move back toward the foaming water.

Russet ears twitched once her voice began to reveal her grand secret with a shrug of her shoulder that only caused the lead male to chuckle once more. He nodded his head in understanding, a glint of humor within the depths of his tangerine eyes at her thinking that that was something to keep hidden from the rest. If only Nalda knew that scavenging was actually just as important in the art of hunting as tracking, chasing and so forth. Of course Eirian wasn't a wolf skilled in that category, but he had watched those who were within the original Asurn pack and quite a few specialized in purely scavenging to keep the quantity of meat for the large group at a reasonable high percentage as was needed for a pack of its size. "Who am I to complain how you go about doing your share of the work? The caches are still filled in the end." His voice boomed to accommodate the roar of the flowing water as creamy limbs began to bring his bulkier frame closer to the edge of the water where his gaze dropped to peer down into the swirling blue and white, an ear twitching once more when she informed him she had actually found an entire deer that had fallen victim to the harsh current.

Oh what a catch that would have been had she been able to free it from its watery grave. Perhaps if they were to push their luck today another type of prize could be added to the growing treasure pile. Dull nails gripping the edge of a large rock, Eirian's fiery frame hunkered down to crane his neck over the edge, citrus gaze watched bits of uninteresting debris float by. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find our lunch in here." A soft chuckle left his inky lips, head turning momentarily to see what @Nalda thought of sharing her special spot for the day.

@Eirian - sorry for letting this one slide <3

White foam sprayed against her chest, the river's roar filling her ears; Witness of the strength hiding in the dark torrents. The pup leaned out over the water, golden eyes gazing into the depths, filled with fascination. The mere forces at play were so overwhelming, plenty of evidence of the rapids raw power whirling by under her watch. Drowned creatures, uprooted trees, even rocks like the one she stood on right now, had once been swept up by the flow, carried away from their original resting place to land in this bend. Nalda hadn't even realized she was smiling until the low snicker made her head tilt up at her companion, smirk now directed at the Asurn. There seemed to be a compliment in that bright orange gaze, he certainly wasn't belittling her work, and it send an odd shiver of warmth through the young chest.

She quickly turned her eyes back down at the water, but dark-tipped tail wagged lightly at her hocks. Despite shouting, his words were muffled by the water, and an oversized, russet ear flicked, brows furrowing slightly; My share? Nalda had never thought of her escapades by the river as work, her brought-home prizes were a means of mitigating the adults, an excuse for where she'd been all day, why she hadn't been working. The fact that her treasure hunts could pass as actual support of the pack was mind blowing, and for some reason deflated her previous pride. Eirian didn't seem to notice the effect of his words though, bending down over the rushing water like she was, watching the swirling foam. The pup snorted at his words, stretching up into a stand and looking over at him with her head askew, eyes narrowed in thought.

After a few moments she turned her eyes down, looking through the cracks between the stones, hopping around for a while until she came across a fitting prop. Gripping the piece of wood between her teeth, she balance her way over to the adult's side, looking to catch his eye before she pointedly dropped the timber into the rapids. It was swept up instantly, rushing back and forth over the surface a few times as it was carried downstream, then disappeared below the surface, sucked down by the raging current. Nalda watched it go under, then glanced back at Eirian, shrugging a shoulder; "A' us'ly jus' look b'tween th' rocks for wha'stuck. Try'n t'grap something out'a'there doesn't seem… smart." Her voice was neutral, though it was more of a resigned statement than a defiant one, not meant to contradict the man but just state bleak fact. There was a small glint in her eye though, a light of excitement as she wondered if maybe, he was brave enough to try it.

Word count: 463

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

No worries <3

While the russet hued man had spoken out of rhetorical jesting knowing the power of a raging water source to be something taken seriously, it seemed the Zamora girl had taken his words far more seriously than he had himself. Citrus irises watched the child closely as she hopped about the various rocks in search of something after her initial gaze shifted away from the frothy water below her perched position, a creamy brow quirking as Eirian followed her every move until she came to stand at his side with a sizeable piece of timber lodged between her jaws. His brows rose higher as the piece of wood was dropped and immediately snatched by the power of the rushing current, bobbing this way and that and circling like a tornado from the raw aquatic force at work before disappearing right before them. Devoured by the invisible undertow in the blink of an eye.

An ear angled sideways to catch Nalda's broken accent as she conveyed her thoughts at last about his idea of securing lunch in these treacherous waters. It was the logical part of him that knew she was right about the idea not being a smart one; and who in their right mind would try dining in such fast paced rapids, but it was his Asurn pride and underlying desire to flaunt his strength that flared in the face of possibly being told no. "True, it probably isn't smart, but it's the wolves that put themselves muzzle first in danger's way that get to have all the fun. I wasn't trained so mercilessly to give up the moment I meet an obstacle." A wry smirk crept onto the inky lining of his lips as he cast a sideways glance toward his companion before extending a paw to search blindly beneath the foamy water for the rocky river bed below. Paw secured he waited a few moments to gain a feel for the way the water churned around his limb before placing his remaining forelimb ahead of the first, slowly and cautiously advancing further out into the danger zone. Of course Eirian was both brave and foolish enough to try.

Water splashed violently on either side of his bulky frame and threatened to suck him below to a watery grave with each slow stride that brought him further from shore, pausing once he had waded a quarter length of the way out and the water level brushed just below the hairs of his torso to adjust to the increased strength of the current now that the water had grown deeper under foot. On occasion the russet agouti patriarch could feel the loose debris brush against his legs and some things felt down right slimy and unsavory leaving him disinterested in finding out just what had touched him. A chill running up the length of his spine before Eirian cast his gaze over a charcoal dusted shoulder to search for the silhouette of @Nalda, a large grin plastered across his face as if to say I told you so. If only he knew what the water had in store for him..

(This post was last modified: Sep 25, 2016, 12:27 AM by Eirian.)

He followed her display with close interest, a detail that pleased the young wolf, and first when the wood was well and gone down the river did he turn back, giving his answer. The words surprised Nalda, her calculating mind so used to focusing only on the rational side of things. To her the deathly current was a fact, but to Eirian it was a challenge. Golden eyes widened as they watched the man step out into the raging water, equal parts awe and horror showing on the russet face. Now, the concept of showing off was not unfamiliar to the girl, she'd done a fair bit of it herself, but always calculated, with careful thought of the risk. This? This was madness! Yet a madness she found herself unable to look away from, and as she watched to Asurn cross further and further out into the stream, a tiny smirk lit her features.

Never removing her gaze from the auburn man, Nalda slid down the rocks towards the water, as careful as ever about where she placed her paws. The rush of the river roared in her ears, foam springing up to leave damp spots on her legs, calling her to join the stream. A careful, russet paw slipped into the churning masses, fumbling for a moment before finding purchase on the slippery gravel below. Up ahead, Eirian was in water up to his chest, looking back at the pup with a triumphant smile. She grinned back, the admiration clear on her face as she slipped another paw into the water. Pausing, to steady herself against the pressure of the current, the pup let her eyes drift up along the river, feeling her heart beat in exhilaration, feeling the strength of the stream as she watched it. Then the grin died on her face, as a dark shadow rounded the bend. Large and shapeless, it loomed towards them, easily spanning half the width of the river.

Whipping her head back around, the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, desperately trying to reach the man over the thunder of the river; "Eirian, watch out!" Instinctively she moved forwards without thinking, jumping out into the water to try and get to him. But as the full force of the current hit her, she realized the madness, there was nothing she could do. And suddenly she found herself caught in the current as well, torn between helping her pack mate and saving herself.

Word count: 413

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile