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 Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 4:00 pm
 Peyton ambled out along the edge of a glistening stream, her ears erect and alert and her muzzle pointed down towards the gurgling waters. She watched the stream intently, glancing occasionally to the path she was on to ensure no obstacle lay in wait, and would have seemed immersed in her own reflection had the movement of her head not implied she was searching for something within the depths.
Suddenly, a flash of silver weaved through the water, slowing to a stop only a few feet away. Peyton crouched and wriggled closer to the fish, her face eager, her tail poised straight out behind her like a rod. She had just reached the edge when a paw brushed casually against a tuft of grass, which protruded from the water near the bank. On the land, her natural hunting grounds, it might not have meant much, but in the water, the ripples it sent were enough to send the fish flying away. Try as she might, she couldn’t catch up to it, especially in the stream where the water slowed her down to only a fraction of a usual speed.
And so, returning to land and shaking the water off her paws, she set off and tried again.
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:10 pm
 Nyx had been watching the wolf for some time, although hidden. Hiding in broad daylight when you’re darkly colored is no small feat, and yet even though Nyx was sure she wasn’t so well-hidden, the wolf hadn’t seemed to notice her. Whatever she was intent on took most of her attention, it seemed. Nyx didn’t understand what the she-wolf was doing, but she chalked that up to her own lack of understanding when it came to other creatures. If she had one flaw (that she admitted to), it was that she lacked empathy or any desire to find any. So even though to Nyx it seemed odd, and she wasn’t unsatisfied with this assumption, she was still curious enough to wonder. After all, the worst that could happen would be she’d have to run from an angry wolf, and the best might be learning something she didn’t know. Nyx stood then, slipping out of a thick clump of shrubs where she’d been concealed, and approached the wolf from behind. She was ready to run if the she-wolf didn’t take kindly to having a fox approach her. “What are you doing?” Nyx asked, and though she tried to sound neutral, she couldn’t help but let a little of her bewilderment show in her voice.
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 3:20 am
Peyton was so engrossed with her attempt at fishing that she didn’t even notice the fox come up behind her. It was only after she had craned her neck to check on a potential meal on the other side, when the fox spoke, that she became aware of another presence besides her own. At the voice, she had leapt back quickly, startled, but when she realized it was only an inquisitive fox, she lowered her ears in embarrassment.
“I’m trying to fish,” she replied, after an awkward, lengthy silence. She knew it sounded silly, coming from a wolf like her – not only because she was going after prey that would take much more effort than simply searching for a hare or a rodent, but because it looked like she didn’t even need to. Her coat shimmered with health, her belly was full, and she didn’t carry the scent of one diseased or insane. So why would she be wasting energy when, living the packless life that she did, she couldn't even be sure when her next meal would be?
Feeling as if she should clarify, she said “It’s for my brother.” Then, realizing it could be taken the wrong way, as if she were forced to do it or something of the sort, and the fox might assume badly of her older sibling, she quickly added, “I wanted to get some for him. We always wondered what they tasted like, you see…”
She faded off, wondering if she should continue or if the fox's curiosity had already been appeased, and wouldn't care for much else.
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:54 am
While the she-wolf talked, Nyx thought to herself and studied her. The first thing she noticed was that the wolf, though healthy and obviously strong, didn’t seem full-grown. At least, she was a young wolf or a slightly small wolf, but the embarrassment Nyx interpreted in her manner seemed to suggest youth. Nyx herself was mature now, even a little past her prime, but she knew little about wolves and rarely associated with them.
Then the she-wolf mentioned a brother, and despite herself Nyx glanced around the area quickly, wondering if she could have missed another wolf present. She didn’t see anyone, and so she relaxed. Etiquette called for a response, and so Nyx provided one even if she wasn’t sure yet if she minded or not if the young wolf thought badly of her.
“I’ve had fish,” Nyx offered, her eyes always on the young wolf, “Though I never fished it out of a river before. I’ve found it dead on the bank once or twice. Birds are better eating, in my opinion.” Nyx considered her words for a moment and realized she didn’t sounds very friendly. So she added, “What’s your name? And your brother? I’m Nyx.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:30 pm
“My brother’s sleeping,” Peyton said when she saw the fox look around at the mention of her older sibling. She knew it was a natural response, for wolves were known to kill and eat foxes, but it still bothered her, as if the action itself were a personal assault towards her brother. But she also knew she was being silly and taking it far too deeply than intended, and so she hid her discomfort and tried to shake it off her mind.
At the mention of dead fish, a confused frown formed from her lips. All she could recall was a horrible stench that could be smelled from long distances away and was hard to remove – honestly, it was a wonder she and her brother were still interested in trying fish after witnessing the effects a few days of rotting could do, but that was also what fueled their curiosity, she supposed – when it occurred to her that the fox was probably talking about one that had recently died, and was no different than her going off and killing one on her own and taking her time to show it to her brother before they ate.
When the fox gave her opinion on birds, Peyton was beginning to rethink her decision to try fishing. Not that she would try to bring back a bird instead – her brother had already brought back a few peasants and they hadn’t been has good as a hare or a foal – but if it would be worth it, if it wouldn’t even taste as good as some of the things they had tried. In the end, she decided to stay with her original plan, as she figured they wouldn’t truly know until they had tried it themselves. And, who knew? Maybe a fox tasted things differently than a wolf did.
“Oh…” she said, firm in her decision to stick with the fish but feeling as if she were performing some offense towards the fox if she said anything that would go against her words. Trying to go around it, she instead replied to the fox’s later question.
“It’s nice to meet you, Nyx. My name’s Peyton, and my brother’s Chinook.” A pause. Then, “Are they – the fish on the banks, I mean – common anywhere?” hoping that failing to mention the feathered creatures would prove satisfactory to both and that, should the fox reply with a “yes,” she would be able to return to her brother sooner than planned, hopefully before he woke up.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:41 pm
Nyx could tell that the young she-wolf was feeling uncomfortable, though the empathy-lacking fox couldn’t fathom why. She assumed Peyton didn’t speak to others much, and her curiosity didn’t go much further than that. She did make her best attempt at being friendly however, because good relations with others were necessary. Even Nyx knew their importance, and she was almost a hermit herself.
“I’m not sure…” She confessed, thinking hard about the last time she found a fish that wasn’t too smelly to eat. Being a predator that was lower on the food-chain than a wolf, however, she also assumed that she’d probably eaten things that Peyton would never have dreamed of. “Places where driftwood piles up, I suppose. But if you’re intent on it, I can try and help you fish a live one out. It’d be easier with two working together, I’d assume?”
Partly, Nyx hated getting wet, and dreaded the idea of trying to fish. But she also liked learning new things, and a new hunting skill never hurt anyone. If the wolf was willing to share she might even get a little meal out of it too, and that was something she’d never pass up.
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 4:30 pm
Peyton, at first relieved when it became apparent Nyx wouldn’t insist on birds, soon felt a touch of disappointment at her words. Most of the rivers she had seen were crisp and clear, with only the occasional leaf or two falling by when the seasons changed. If there had been any driftwood, she had either missed it or forgotten but, either way, she couldn’t recall seeing it anywhere save for a single stream from far away. This feeling of disappointment would have grown once she had thought of the events of the day leading up to this moment and how, hours later, with her inexperience and lack of skill, she still had yet to even come close to catching one of the creatures. But Nyx’s offer reached her ears, and she looked up at the fox, hopeful.
“Really?” she asked, as if Nyx would’ve changed her mind from the few seconds it had taken Peyton to reply. “Thank you!” She rushed up to the fox and licked her face gratefully before heading back to the river, in higher spirits than before.
This time, instead of immediately heading to the edge of the river and searching for fish from there, she kept a curious eye on the fox, wondering how Nyx – whom she assumed had more experience with hunting in rivers – would go about it. Perhaps there was a different way of hunting if one was no longer on land, which would explain her repeated failures, or would the chance of success remain the same for a wolf, no matter where she went? It wasn’t uncommon, after all, for her and her brother to hunt for days before finally catching a meal.
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:50 pm
Nyx was watching Peyton’s expression, and was aware that initially the she-wolf felt disappointed about Nyx’s news. The vixen hadn’t scouted out the river, but she assumed there were no dams or slow spots where the driftwood would wash up. That would make things more difficult, but not impossible, she figured. Nyx had a lot of confidence in herself, even when thinking of doing something she’d never tried before. Her ego was fairly big, after all.
But Nyx was not expecting the next thing - for the young wolf to dash up and lick her face. Though foxes were known to greet one another that way, they were smaller and more dainty about it - and beyond that, Nyx never hung around with other foxes. So she squeezed her eyes shut and looked highly perturbed until Peyton stopped.
“Umm…” Nyx began, clearly thrown off her guard by the gesture, “It’ll be easier if someone stands in the stream and herds the fish toward the bank, and then the other snatch them up.” Nyx paused, looking at Peyton expectantly. Clearly, her expression said, she didn’t want to be the one to get wet today.
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:00 am
Peyton nodded at the fox’s words and turned towards the river but paused quickly, before she had even taken a full step. If she had learned anything from the time she had been here, it was that, unfortunately, her skill lay in chasing the fish away from herself, not luring them in. And because of that, she had just been about to take on the role of herding when, realizing that Nyx might be as inclined towards it as she was, she should have her choice of preference, seeing as she was the one who had been kind enough to offer to help.
Abashed, she turned back to the fox, ears flattening when she mistook the fox’s expression for one of reproach. “Do you—” she started, then realized Nyx’s disapproving gaze was not meant for her but the river. Even more embarrassed than before, she looked away, said a quick, “I’ll go to the river,” and splashed her way into the waters, keeping her head low and pretending to be on the look-out for fish but in reality trying to hide her face, as if that alone would be enough to erase that moment out of both their minds.
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