Drowned Wood you've always played for keeps

For @Clover~

February 13th; Early Afternoon; Clear Sky; -18.4 ° F, -28 ° C.

Spring was on the rise. Sawyer could feel it in his bones. Though, this year, he felt was going to be different. Not only was he mentally maturing, he could feel his limbs start to itch and his senses hone further. He was getting better at tracking and, while he had a thought to venture further into the forests in the east, he traced after a week-old trail Levi had left instead.

Out along the sun-beaten grasses, broken and dried from the cold winter winds, his eyes scoured the iced-over marsh. His stomach had been content with raven-picked leftovers and whatever scraps he and Levi could muster up, but he wondered if today might gift him something a little extra. Mice had been a favorite snack back at home.

He prowled on uneven but steady feet amidst the broken trees with submerged roots. Ears forward, nose twitching, tail level with his spine. Even a pair of slimy frog legs would do at this point. Maybe it would make a decent prize to bring back to Levi.

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Clover had decided to travel further westward while still heading vaguely south, wanting to explore more of the surrounding lands so that she knew the terrain once the group was officially banded together. It would do her no good to only know the immediate area, and maybe she would come across places where different herbs could grow too. Her paws took her past the creek and through the woods until she came upon what seemed to be a frozen marsh with just a few trees scattered about.

Her gaze fell upon a large tawny figure in the distance, seemingly searching for something within the marsh. Judging from the frozenness she doubted it was food, but maybe they knew of something she did not, and so with careful steps she began to make her way over to the other wolf. Food was not the highest priority on her mind at that moment, but if they sought out assistance she would be happy to give it to them, or even just strike up a friendly conversation while they walked. There was still much time left in the day for her to return home and find something of her own to eat, and curiosity of what lay beyond the trees she was living in pulled her ever forward.

Over a small patch of ice, his forepaws skated forward and his hind limbs scampered over the glossy surface after them. This skill had taken some practice but he wasn't too keen on testing the marsh further. Among the weathered trunks and shards of failed saplings, he was sure stepping in the wrong spot at the wrong time would send him plunging into the shallows. An easy hop and skip over to the right sent him back at the water's edge where the semi-opaque frost met the hard-packed snowbanks. His squinted eyes were focused on a dark patch beneath the ice when another had come into his midst. In fact, he hadn't even heard her footsteps approaching until she was encroaching on his personal space (which had a rough diameter of an average wolf's reach via a pounce or lunge).

Under his paw, the dark spot slowly stretched out a webbed leg. There. The frog's frozen body, still in hibernation mode, must've just happened to perk up from the winter sun warming the shoal and silt after several mostly-sunny days. As if frustrated, he slammed his right forepaw against the glazed surface. He managed a small crack but the crunching didn't stop?

The hair at the back of his neck bristled and he immediately lifted his head to lock eyes with a bit of winter-white he had not expected. He stood still as the smaller female casually walked towards him; nothing in his stance relaying that he was a threat. Frankly, Sawyer might have looked to be some grand and intimidating specimen like all the others in his family, but the moment his quirks kicked into gear, his devilish smirk set him apart.

His tone was cordial and the small tilt of his head invited her in, "I suspect you know a bit about ice-fishing?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Her ears perked up at the sound of crunching ice, gaze moving to where he had struck the ground with his paw. It was an interesting choice of tactic from her point of view, as she could not discern anything below the ice where he stood from her position, but maybe the much larger wolf could see something she could not. He seemed friendly enough, judging from the way he invited her towards him, and so she stepped forward until she was close enough to touch him with her nose if she decided to reach out.

She shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Not so much I'm afraid. My family did not hunt the creatures in the rivers or lakes as frequently as the ones on land." Sure, some would occasionally bring back a fish, or some other type of animal that lived beneath the water, but she had never actually attempted it herself, favouring the hunt of rabbit or deer much more. "But I am willing to learn." That is, if he offered to teach her, or even just show her how he fished in the ice. Either way, it would be an enlightening experience.

The cracking of the ice quieted, but Sawyer kept the awareness of it at the back of his mind. The goal, after all, was to strike a hole into the shallows beneath; the trick was to not get soaked as a result of it. He would have to see. Maybe his friend, here, had a knack for it.

"Not so much I'm afraid," she readily replied. Sawyer's muzzle crinkled in dismay but smoothed out as she offered him a willingness to learn.

"Makes two of us then," he wanted to play coy. The Lagoon that his parents had called home had been the perfect playground for him. One did not grow up next to a body of water - be it a lake, a river, or a pond - and not hone a skill set in trawling or fishing. He gave his tail a wag before directing his eyes to the glassy surface at his forepaws.

"There's a frog here," he jabbed his nose downwards. "Look."

He settled into a play bow and the slimy thing's webbed foot gave a jerk. It was bound to come to any moment now. If they weren't quick to break the ice, his prize was bound to be lost.

Sawyer smiled up at her, much like a pup would in the spirit of play, "Maybe it's still sleeping. I can't tell, but... Pounce on it on the count of three?" Hopefully, the ice would give way beneath the both of them and that it was thin enough to ripple away. If not, the chance for a chase was just going to be a mere display of punching holes into the thawing marsh.

(This post was last modified: May 14, 2021, 11:03 PM by Sawyer.)

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Her mouth opened in a brief wolfy grin, a soft huff of a laugh escaping from her lips. Things would surely not go very smoothly if neither of them knew exactly what they were doing, but regardless it would be an entertaining and educational experience. Her gaze shifted to the ice, brows raising curiously as she moved a couple steps forward, finally able to see the frog just below the surface. Had he not pointed it out she would have most definitely missed the creature where it lay underneath the ice.

The jerk of its leg did not go unnoticed by her, and she spared a brief glance at the tawny boy as he gave a possible explanation for why it was there in the first place. Having no other information to base any conclusions on Clover nodded in agreement, settling into a bow of her own, her dark amber gaze fixed firmly on the frog. "You do the honours," she said, readying herself to pounce as soon as he finished the count, aiming to strike both paws at the ice above the frog.

Goal accomplished: she smiled. A little bit of laughter confirmed further that he had charmed her. Sawyer watched as she peered down into the little window of the shallow water and the little frog leg within it.

"You do the honours."

He saw her brace herself, the muscles that made up her haunches and shoulders tensing and bunching up. Mirroring her, he lifted up a bit off his elbows, his tail swaying from one side to the other. He had seen a few foxes execute this technique in the snowbanks. Surely, in practice, this had to work for breaking up ice sheets.

"Ready," he drew the word from his throat low and slow. "Three..." Sawyer's gaze focused downward, "Two..." His tail curled upward.

"One!"

As high as his hindlegs could launch him, he bounded up into the air. His body eclipsed the sun as his shadow fell over his target in the ice. When he came back down again, his forelimbs pointed down, pads parallel to the ground, ready for the impact. Then--

CRACK!!

The icy waters stung at his toes and wrists, the droplets clinging to the fur at his cheeks and throat. In haste his gaze darted to the areas circling the little window they had made, wondering if the half-frozen frog would appear...

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

She exhaled slowly as he began counting down, gaze focused on the ice below them. As soon as he reached one she raised her front half into the air before crashing her paws into the ice as hard as she could. Together with their combined weight, though surely more from his doing than hers given their extreme size difference, the ice cracked beneath them with a splitting rumble.

Clover gasped softly as the icy water rushed over her toes and sprayed up into her face, feeling her skin tingle from the cold. It was refreshing, in a way, but still so very cold. She took a step back to stand upon the more solid ice, gaze still locked onto where the frog had just been, wondering if maybe they had woken it up and scared it off. When the creature suddenly jumped out of the water she barely held back a cry of surprise, initially sliding backwards away from the frog before realising that the whole point was to actually catch it. Digging in her claws for purchase on the ice, she pushed forward, front paws reaching out to trap it beneath her before it was able to hop away, but also hoping that her new companion would be able to catch it if she failed.

The impact on the ice landed both Sawyer and his companion in the icy shallows. As she backed up and away from the hole in the ice, the Archer stood still. His eyes were darting from every subtle movement to the next. It wasn't until her gasp reached her ears did he actually spot the half-frozen creature. Stiff web-toed legs struggled to gain height and it landed close to the white-furred woman. She backed away and it took several seconds for Sawyer's muscles and joints to unlock.

She made an attempt to trap it beneath her, it scrambled clumsily over her paws. Sawyer's own endeavors sent the frog on an adrenaline-fueled sprint, half-scurrying and half-leaping. A second effort sent the frog vaulting into the open and then straight back into the hole from whence it came. He shouldn't have clambered forward as he did, lanky legs and dull claws becoming the bane of him. So much for showing off... to her or to Levi...

"Ughhhhh," crestfallen and frustrated, he let out an exasperated groan. The frog was gone. A snort concluded his tiny tantrum and he looked to the woman almost apologetically. His ears, which had pinned back in frustration, came forward again. The fur at his shoulders relaxed and flattened.

"Well," he huffed, "so much for that." He gave his head and neck a light shake as he stepped out of the water and back onto the shore. "Thanks for helping and trying, anyway."

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡