Iridescent Lagoon exploding pens? get. out.

July 27th; Dawn, hours before sunrise; Overcast; 64° F/18° C Today, there were two things Rook was certain about: first, he knew how to get back to Iridescent Lagoon, even in the dark; and, secondly, he was going to catch something, no matter how long it took him to snatch up a decent fish. He had considered and mentally timed just how long it had taken for him to go from the territory borders to his destination, and was confident to know that he could spend the whole day out on the water if he wished to. And, if he stayed out there for a majority of the day, he had more than enough time and chances to try fishing - before sunrise, and again just before sunset. He doubted he would stick around for long though, quite confident that after a few attempts, he could at least come up two decent-sized bass, catfish, or whatever lurked in the depths of the murky pool... His paws found the edges of the Lagoon easily enough with a still dark blue sky above him. The sun had yet to rise, by the looks of the light indigo and lavender that radiated from the east, which left him more than enough time to watch, wait, and listen for the sounds of feeding fish. He had slowly brought himself wrist- and ankle-deep into the shallows when a telltale plop caught his attention. The ripples on the surface grew in size before dissipating altogether before another bubbling sound made his head turn elsewhere. The yearling took a deep breath and started to wade around; he was careful to keep his tail well above the water and move in away that might have reminded one of a stork or heron. Just like Namid had shown and taught him to do. His left forepaw came up out of the water, his mismatched eyes focusing on what looked like a slow-moving shadow close to the velvety mud and silt underfoot. He stood still, but realized that as he turned his ears forward, his prey caught onto him and veered away back into a dense thicket of reeds.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

The gray hunter was visiting a place that held so many memories of important events throughout the she wolf's life. Good memories now mixed with the bad ones making the silver wolf both want to visit and run away all at the same time. However the womans paws still brought her forward towards the lagoon.

What used to be fond memories of her first love Sloane had slowly morphed into bitter angry ones. Only a few good memories were left, al being from when she had been a Willow Ridge wolf. Then there was the fact that Nari was dreading seeing anything that even remotely looked like a carcass anywhere near the lagoon. She hoped to whatever god or gods there were that nothing dead was by the water today, because it would only remind her of her daughters decaying form laying all bloated up upon the shore.

If something is dead up there I can't visit... I... Just turn around an run then.... Turn and run. the queens thoughts jumbled within her head as she scented the air. The scent of death did not greet her keen nose, but the smell of a recently accepted pack mate was there.

Rook... Nari brought the name to her head quickly. She had turned Rook away at first for petty reasons. Though the pack was growing and they truly didn't need many more members. In the end her heart won out when the boy had returned a second time, and Nari let him into the pack. She still remembered the anger she had felt that day and often asked herself if he had really warranted such anger from her? Or should she perhaps apologize for the way she had acted?

Right now the gray wolf wandered closer relaxing more and more as she continued scenting the area for the smell of death. Luckily for her no rotting carcasses or zombies were in the area today.

Rounding a bend slowly, Nari's bright blue orbs snagged on the sight of Rooks agouti coat. He was achingly familiar, and the name Lyall was not an unknown one to her. Perhaps she could spend some time with the boy and learna little more about him? It would certainly keep my mind off of...Malia.. Nari shook her head quickly then padded forward towards the young male.

"Rook, do you mind if I accompany you?" The she wolf asked as she slowed to a stop a few feet away from him. Her narrowed eyes took in what he was doing and a small smile appeared on her maw. My I haven't fished in a long time. she wondered quietly if he would mind a second fisher near his spot.

Well-executed patience had Rook standing in the elbow-deep water once he set his left forepaw back to the ground, still waiting for the dark underwater creature to emerge again. Maybe, if he stood motionless long enough it would come back, thinking it was safe to return. He exhaled slowly, watching with wide eyes as he meager catfish came back around, emerging from the reeds. The yearling's mouth parted open and as quietly as he could, he lowered his head and neck; his heartbeat picked up as the finned creature came over. As young and still naive as he was, he should have known better than to move even the slightest part of his body. His ears cupping forward was enough to startle the fish and in turn, Rook's head came up, his eyes closed tight as a big splash came up from the space in front of him. He scoffed and snorted the water droplets from his nose, watching the ripples disappear from where the fish's tail had once been. With a shake of his fur he shrugged. Well, he almost had it... Almost. The sky had barely lightened to a rich cobalt blue when someone had called out to him. "Rook," his gaze, which had been so focused on the stillness of the water's surface, came up from the reflections of the sky on the water and came to meet a familiar face. The look in his eyes suggested that she had taken him by surprise as she asked to accompany him, "Oh... Certainly... Please do, I'd appreciate some company out here." He bashfully smiled, giving her a small nod. It was a somewhat silly question to ask. Of course, she was welcome to join... In the background, well beyond the shallows some fish were now beginning to come out from their watery abodes, coming to the surface to feed. Gurgling, gulping, and all sorts of plops in various octaves sounded out. "Are you practiced in the art of fishing?" he asked, a sideways smile coming up onto his masked face as he wondered if she would leave the pebbled shore for the cool waters of the pool.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

She'll catch something after your post

With a happy tail wag Nari sidled up near to where Rook sat, though she was a few feet away to give him ample space. She hadn't sat down and fished for a long time and would certainly be a bit rusty when it came to scooping the fish from their watery home.

"I used to fish a long time ago, but back then even I was still learning." She wrinkled her nose while looking at the water then chuffed a short giggle. "I'm probably about to make a fool out of myself by doing this. It's been so long." Nari settled herself on the shore getting her back legs and rear comfortable in their positions before lowering herself closer to the reflections bouncing off the water. She closed her eyes trying to remember how Reed had looked when he had fished.

She could envision the old master fisher crouched over the bank leaning his front end over while keeping his lips and lower jaw just touching the waters surface. However as he stayed still for minutes even close to an hour, the fish would still come close even with his lower jaw dipping into the water.

Opening her blue eyes Nari copied the old Willow wolf's posture and dipped her head forward to stare into the water. Her chin became cold as water seeped into the fur around her lips and muzzle. Then she stay still as possible and waited. Only her lagoon blue eyes slowly taking in the movements of tiny bugs under the water.

Ah, the Lady Narimé, still as kind as she had been when Rook had met her for a second time. Perhaps now, though, was a good time to get to know her... to acquaint himself with his friend's - Titan's - mother and the pack's female leader. She shared with him that she used to fish once upon a time and when she giggled, he allowed his smile to come up a little more, evening out from the boyish smile he had just given her. "Not at all," he replied when she said that she was probably going to make a fool of herself. "You should have seen when my friend Namid tried to teach me a few techniques." "Had anyone else been there to witness me flopping about, it might have been a story that would follow me to the grave," he jested. "But I'm only just practicing; surely I can learn a thing or three from you." He watched as she crouched down over the shallows from her place on the shore and as quietly and slowly as he could, he brought himself onto the cold, pebbled bank, dripping wet and soaked to the undercoat. He came to stand not too far from her, watching now as the sounds and sights of gasping, hungry fish drew closer to the shallows where he had stood only moments ago. It made him quirk a brow, observing the ripples in the water draw nearer and nearer. In Rook's mind, she might as well have been a 'fish whisperer,' something his Aunt Aniu had told him about when he and Bishop were young and learning all about scavenging, tracking, and hunting. With an eager gaze he kept quiet, his eyes never leaving her as he mentally took note of Narimé's every move...

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

With the patience of a saint, Narime sat quietly arched over the water. Her back muscles were getting a workout just form the angle she stood over the water, but she kept at it as the fish began to swim closer again. Her curious eyes began to notice little things about the fish swimming just below the surface. They were long and smooth, with long whiskers twitching from the sides of their gaping mouths. Nari hadn't come across this kind of fish before, but with their whiskers they kind of reminded her of a bobcat. As she waited for the fish to come closer her thoughts turned to Rook. She was somewhat tempted to mention the to him of the Lyall's she had met in Relic Lore. The gray woman was willing to bet that he was closely related to some of them. In particular he reminded her of a white she wolf named Jaysyek whom also had those strange but beautiful eyes. If Nari could recall correctly, Elettra had mentioned a Borden Lyall leading beside Jaysyek once in their often one-sided conversations. Narime herself had found Grizzly Hollow on accident as a youth, though she had also found out pretty early on when the pack had moved out of their territory. Of course she also knew of Angier Lyall who now led beside Elettra. The gray wolf was fairly sure El's children from this spring would sport the Lyall name too. We're becoming flooded by them in this land now. She thought quietly as her blue eyes targeted a single sleek brown fish that was coming closer and closer to her jaws. Waiting for just the right moment before the fish began to turn away, Nari jut her jaws out forward flashing her teeth through the splashing water. As her head came up it shook with the force of the catfish's struggling. The fish was a smaller one, but it was caught nonetheless. Backing herself up further onto the bank, the gray she wolf made sure that even if it slipped out of her jaws the fish would land on the earth and not back into the water. Then she used her front claws to try and grip the fish as she maneuvered her mouth over its skull. With a "CRACK" her sharp canines pierce the bone and kill the catfish. Then she lifts her head to grin towards Rook. "I guess that went well!" Her tail began to wag as she looked back to the fish laying at her paws. "Why don't you try again?" She said softly noticing now that Rook had also taken up a position next to her while she had been concentrating on the water.

faestock @DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

His head tilted slightly to one side, his curiosity wholly trained on his Leader's posture and grace. Was she calling to them? Whispering to them as to come closer to her? Despite how silly the notion might have been, he was already straining his eardrums and had many a logical reason as to cast that idea out of the way. He lifted his left forepaw, a characteristic gesture of his still cub-like inquisitiveness. Just like that, a murky form came swimming up to Narimé, as if it had been lured by an invisible line. His dual-colored eyes widened as the catfish began to swim about to turn away, but before even he or the fish, itself, knew it, Narimé dove into the water. Her jaws must have been open, for as soon as she began to back up onto the bank, she was toting a fish in her jowls. It might have wriggled and squirmed a bit, but it was obvious that she had caught it for good. To say it was impressive would have been an understatement. According to Rook, whose experience had yet to be honed in such a craft as fishing, it was awesome, bordering along the lines of "stupefying" and "jaw-dropping." She made it look too easy, but Rook supposed that one thing he had been doing wrong to begin with was plunging head-first in to the water and then opening his mouth to snap at his target. That had probably been why he often got a tail to the nose or face... His spike-furred plume of a tail began to wag, even as she pinned her prey down and ended its life with a click of its spine in her jaws. She remarked that her demonstration had gone well and he immediately smiled, giving her a slightly toothy grin. He kept his gaze away from the catfish now, looking to Narimé as her own eyes went down to her catch. Like Jaysyek often did to him and Bishop, the Whisper Caverns matriarch gently encouraged him, "Why don't you try again?" Rook nodded quietly, drawing away a bit so that he could have some space to maneuver around (and if he ended up splashing about again, he wouldn't get his mentor sopping wet). He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he brought all four of his paws back into the water. To keep himself from scaring the fish away with his usually sweeping movements, he slowly sat down, submerging his tail and keeping it pressed against his left thigh. For about a minute or so, he simply sat there with his chin just inches from the water's surface, but it seemed like nothing was going to come of it. He turned his head to look at Narimé, his facial expression obviously calling for her help. His voice was just above a whisper, "Should I move deeper into the water? I don't.. I don't think they're going to swim on over."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Narime observed the young male intently as he positioned himself correctly and patiently waited for the fish to approach him. As he waited Nari spotted the fish coming closer but always turning away before coming into Rook's reach. She wondered if the commotion she had made before in the water with the other fish had scared the others away further into the water. While looking into the water Nari's ear flicked as Rook's voice spoke up. He asked about going deeper into the lagoon and trying to catch the slippery creatures that way. The thought of a wolf swimming in the lagoon should have brought fond memories back of swimming in the summertime with Sloane, but instead she could only think of Malia drowning. A shiver coursed over the she wolf as she passed a worried glance to Rook. "I do remember my teacher fishing chest deep in water sometimes. As long as you can swim I would say go for it if you really want to." Nari forced herself to shrug while answering the boy. She just hoped he wouldn't ask for a demonstration because she would have to turn him down at that. Nari had only once tried fishing in the water, and knowing that her daughters soul could be trapped in the iridescent waters of the lagoon made her never want to swim in it ever again. As Rook moved about or did whatever he was doing a small stretch of silence invaded the atmosphere. Nari thought about Rook and wondered why he had left his family at such a young age. She also wondered if he was related to Angier, Borden, or Jaysyek directly. Or maybe he was some half cousin of Borden and Angier? It wouldn't hurt to ask would it? The curiosity that drove Nari 70% of the time to do things made her lift her head to glance towards Rook before opening her maw. "I've been thinking... Or wondering really. I have been around Lore for a little while now, and I've come across a few Lyall's like yourself." She started to speak in a hushed voice so as not to scare off any fish from where Rook was at. "But I was just wondering, if you are at all related to Jaysyek, Borden, or Angier?" She asked the question while cocking her head a bit from her comfortable spot on the bank.

faestock @DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Chest-deep water, she had said. Immediately taking up her suggestion, Rook began to wade deeper into the Lagoon, taking care to keep his head well-above the water's surface and his toes dug deep into the silt beneath his feet. To him, it was worth a shot and he had the opportunity to try it out now with a bit of guidance from Narimé if he needed some direction. Moving now to have his superior directly behind him, he half-paddled, half-walked through the water, his eyes watching now as the ripples in the water, caused by feeding catfish, started to come closer to the shallows again. Excitement bubbled up in his throat and chest, an eager grin appearing on his waterlogged face. A pause in their conversation occupied the air now as he tried to concentrate, trying once to imitate Narimé's swift moves as she had done, lunging into the water and securing her jaws around the mid-section of a wriggling fish. He struggled with his first catch, his teeth barely clasping the tail fins of his catch. It wiggled free and another slap to the nose was sorely received. Rook snorted the water from his nostrils and, as his mentor started to muse, he turned around to face her with a small smile. His ears came up to show that he was attentively listening to her before he gazed down into the shallower parts of the Lagoon, trudging back to where the water only reached halfway up his forearms. "You have?" he questioned when she had mentioned about meeting a few other Lyall's. His eyes finally drew away from his reflection and he waded back over to where she sat on the shore. But, Rook didn't even have to ask who it was she had met. "But I was just wondering, if you are at all related to Jaysyek, Borden, or Angier?" His tail wagged just enough to send a few water droplets here and there behind him. "My parents," he said quietly, a twinge of longing striking his chest. "Angier is my uncle; but, I've never met him before. At least, not yet... My mom said he came back... here. How do you know of them?" A number of images materialized in his head, thinking of the variety of instances in which Narimé might have met his mother and father. "Were you apart of Grizzly Hollow?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

She watched the young male move out into the deeper water and attempt to fish. His head pushed into the water after a fish which seemed to slip right past his jaws. When the young Lyall brought his muzzle back up It was a tad bit slimy from fish goo while the rest of his head was smoothed out drenched by water. Then he moved back towards the shallows to try fishing there instead. Narime nodded as Rook questioned her with a "you have?". She could even remember meeting briefly with two pups from Grizzly Hollow while they were out exploring and playing. Although they were assumed Lyalls, Nari was 90% sure they had been Jaysyek and Borden's pups. Though the memory was rather fuzzy since the meeting had been rather short. Just as she thought of the lead pair of the Hollow wolves, Rook answered which brought a grin to her face. So they were his parents... she repeated to herself while a wag started up in her tail. Before she was able to answer his first lengthy question, Rook asked a second. Happy to see the youth so excited, Nari was happy to answer him. "A long time ago now, when I was a yearling, I lived in Willow Ridge pack which still lies just east of our own territory. Elettra, the leader of Willow Ridge, was very friendly with Jaysyek. Later I learned that she had lived in Grizzly Hollow herself under your mother and father, but I'm getting off topic." She paused to think of where to start her answer from again. "One day Jaysyek came to the borders to talk with Elettra, and I was curious so I went to meet with her before El got there. She seemed like a kind lady and I am glad to have at least met her. As for Borden, I've heard of him from Elettra but never met him." Nari scuffed at the dirt making a little indent in the ground as she explained herself. "I know Angier because he is currently leading beside Elettra in Willow Ridge. They are doing well together and I believe he has sired her pups this year." Narime had no reservations about giving away this information because Rook was technically family to a few of the willow wolves. She figured that he would find out all of this at some point anyhow.

faestock @DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief