The Heartwood things lost to the flames

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his flowery language. Smart-ass. But she agreed. This had once been a paradise, somewhere of great beauty. Beauty snuffed out in a few days' work.

Varick dipped a large paw into the water and scooped out a fish, placing it near her own feet, and she looked up at him and smiled, taken aback. "You can fish," Miyako said, impressed. She looked down at the small silvery body, recalling many lazy afternoons spent fishing.

"My brother and I used to go fishing all the time.  There was this lagoon. . .so beautiful," Miyako remembered, closing her eyes and seeing the azure expanse once again before her. "There were so many fish there. Spring, summer, winter, fall. It was so great."

Looking intently back to the water, she saw a sleek shape slowly meandering through the water. She had learned long ago that her paws, unlike her legs, weren't fast or deft enough to snare the creatures. Instead, Miyako's head dipped rapidly under the water, snatching the fish in her long jaws and setting it down at Varick's feet. Turning away for a moment, she shook the water from her face and ruff.

"You had said you come from the north," Miyako said. "Inland, or the coast?"