Wolf RPG

They moved through the territory together, swiftly, and on the way Njal spotted the able-bodied girl he had met upon his own acceptance. Bringing her along would meet Scimitar's requirements, so with a grunt and a toss of his head, he bade Mazi follow. On the way he discussed with the two of them what the plan was: to head east, find the nearest water source, and then fish until their guts were filled to bursting. Anything larger would be carried back. Perhaps they could leave two wolves fishing and one to transport the fish to-and-from the riverside? But he wasn't sure. Their purpose now was to reach the gorge, which would take a number of hours, but once there they would indeed gorge themselves.

Mazi swiftly moved at Njal's side.  She had accepted the plan easily, it sounded like a fair one and it would really help out the pack... she could prove herself to them.  A bold and determined expression, worked it's way into Mazi.  She knew that she had to do this, to crush any doubts that she still held towards herself, from being kicked out of Redhawk Caldera.  She had to show to herself that she was worthy.  She had to show her strength.

The agouti licked her chops excitedly as the trio got closer and closer to the gorge.  Mazi really hoped that this all worked out nicely, with hopefully few mistakes, although Mazi was very sure that there would be many mistakes, due to the Teekon Wilds current state.

After greeting Mazi warmly and introducing himself, Faolán rushed after Njal, following him to the gorge. He watched the burly wolf's gray tail in front of him with interest. Njal seemed to have no love for him, but, then again, Njal might not have great love for anyone in particular. Faolán stifled a chuckle at the thought.

Mazi was a sleek gray and brown specimen, just a bit younger than himself. She carried herself with graceful ferocity, eyes fixed on the goal ahead.

Faolán had a bit of trepidation about the task ahead, mostly due to the fact that this was his first test with his new pack in Neverwinter Forest. As he had grown up on a lake, he was no stranger to fish, but they had never had a famine such as this one and had rarely resorted to hunting the scaly creatures. He just hoped he didn't screw this up.

He settled upon the bank, and cast a glance across the waters before turning to his companions. It had been a while since he had to feed a pack, longer still since he had been by fresh water. The absence of salt in the air was a boon to him; it had soured his spirit to live by the sea. This was much more natural. Hopefully they would collect enough to bring back to the pack. He would not let them fail.

Leaving the two of them on the bank of the waterway, Njal gradually made his way a few feet apart from them. There he settled upon the bank again, and this time he set to work. With a few steps he was situated in among the water; its chill wasn't so strong, not like the water of the north, and before long he was staring intently down at the flickering movements of fish. He dove forth with his snout and snapped, trying to grab something through the splashing, foaming water. When he returned to a stationary position his face was wet and dripping, but nothing was held between his teeth. He loosed a small rumble of dissatisfaction - and turned, looking up the bank to the others.

Mazi padded next to Faolán and Njal for a little while longer as the trio got closer to their destination, for a few more minutes... and then they were there.  It was actually a pretty decent fishing spot she had to admit, this nice body of fresh water.  She then watched as Njal got into position to fish and then dove forwards with his snout, starting to snap at the water.  For a moment Mazi's heart lifted in hopes that Njal had been success ful and had caught something, but was soon disapointed as she realized that he had caught nothing.

With a sigh Mazi walked to a different part on the bank, next to a deeper section of the water, her eyes zeroing in on any dark shapes that could very well end up being a fish, a small smile slide over her and she got ready to make her move.  At this moment in her life, Mazi was so very glad that her parents had taught her how to fish, even though of course there was still a high chance that she would not catch anything, due to the effects of the famine, but at least this way she had a high chance.

Before stricking, Mazi made sure that she was ready.  The agouti repositioned herself by lightly rocking her body to the left and double checking that her shadow didn't fall onto the water - it didn't - so that she could be sure that her presence was hopefully going unknown to the fish.  With that Mazi struck.  She jabbed her muzzle into the water, aiming at the dark body that swam in the water... and then she caught it.  Surprise and relief flashed through Mazi's eyes as blood gushed into her mouth.  Pride swarmed her for the catch and she turned to face Faolán and Njal, eyes smilling.  Then she padded a few feet away from the bank and laid the fish down at her feet, slamming a paw into it's head and instantly killing it in the process.

"That's one."

It was business at once when they reached the water. First Njal went, his jaws coming up empty. Faolán felt a pang of sympathy at the burly wolf's audible disappointment. Next, Mazi tried her hand at fishing, and emerged with a flopping creature fixed between her teeth. "Well done!" he praised her, grinning as she killed the fish with a blow to the head.

It was his turn now, and the thin black wolf stayed still and steady, his face overlooking the water, watching the creatures swimming below. They darted to and fro, sleek bodies rippling with movement. When he felt that they did not sense his presence, Faolán mentally steeled himself and thrust his head into the water, jaws searching for something to clamp down onto. He closed his mouth. . .and teeth connected with scales, digging into the body with a satisfying tang of blood to follow.

Faolán lurched his muzzle out of the water, terrified the fish would somehow manage to wriggle out of his mouth and back into the water below, but he quickly slammed the fish onto the ground, its head hitting the surface with a sharp smack. Success!

He looked up at the others with a smile of satisfaction, nose still dripping cool water. "There's number two."

Perhaps it was his age showing through. The two others managed to dive right in to work and come out of their attempts with plump fish, adding two to the empty pile. It was up to Njal now to make it a trifecta, but he was already dampened by his failure, disgruntled and chilled. He squared off against the water, waited as patiently as his grumpy old self could, and then took the plunge. This time, he felt something slip by his chin. He redirected his maw to a different angle and snapped furiously, catching one fish with his incisors and staining the water red; yet that fish escaped, trailing crimson through the water. A second later he was withdrawing his dripping face from the pool and a different fish, a more intact fish, hung limply from his clenched teeth. He tossed it beside himself, then licked his chops clean.

Mazi watched Faolán take his turn at fishing.  The agouti watched him intensely and soon found herself rooting this black furred male on to catch something.  Anxiety gnawed at her gut.  "Come on Faolán, you can do it."  She whispered, in the quietest of whispers, so quiet Mazi wasn't sure whether she had just been thinking it or had actually said it aloud.  Her tail gave a happy wag though when Faolán ended up triumphant over the fish, and killed one that was added to the stash.  Two.

Now it was Njal's turn.  Mazi found herself really hoping that this time Njal would end up with something.  She felt some pity for the male, having not caught something... yet it was the age of the famine, so all three of them had just as likely chances.  Then were all semi close in thinness.  Mazi was happy though when Njal finally caught a fish.  "Excellent.  That makes three then."  She remarked with a small warm smile, directed at no one in paticular.

Now it was her turn, so Mazi made her way to the bank, silent as a shadow.  She then crouched down and starred intently into the water below her, waiting for a fish to make it's appearance known.  It took about a minute, but then she saw one.  It was a thinner fish, but had a pretty silvery coloring and still contain an okay amount of meat.  Mazi made her move.  All in one swift motion, she punched her muzzle into the water and grabbed the fish in her snapping jaws.  Blood began to pool from the fish and into her mouth, and the taste made her feel triumphant.  She turned away from the bank and padded once more a few feet away, then she gently laid down the fish and killed the flipping creature with a swift blow to the head.  Then she dropped it next to the other one that she had caught previously.  "There's four."

Njal caught his first fish, then Mazi her second. They had put together a respectable pile of fish, here. While it was a pittance compared to the meat a larger animal provided, it did no good thinking about the what ifs, and it was food for the pups, and for pregnant Eshe. "Buíochas le Dia," Faolán whispered, smiling at their haul.

It was his turn again. After waiting for the ripples from Mazi's kill to clear, he approached the water, his black muzzle hovering just above the surface. When one of the silvery creatures got close, lured into inaction by some intrigue down there, he struck, pushing his head in jaws first. They snapped together in what he thought would be another successful grab, but he emerged empty-mouthed, with only a shred of tailfin dangling from one of his fangs.

Faolán spit the small silvery scrap of skin out in slight irritation, taking a step back to shake his fur clear of water so as not to spray his companions. The comedian in him racked his brain for some tail-related pun to throw out, but he soon gave up, frustration and hunger outweighing his good humor, for once. "Your turn," he said to Njal, waiting for the big gray to try for another fish.

The pile was growing. Njal figured they could keep the biggest for Eshe and Kaskara and eat the smaller ones until they were fit to burst themselves; anything left after consuming that, they'd take directly to Scimitar. That's what he'd outlined as they'd come upon the gorge, but now that they were ankle-deep in the water and struggling to find as much as Njal had hoped for, he doubted the plan. Would it be easier to eat everything and tend to the pups themselves? The mothers would keep producing milk for a while yet — famine or not — sigh. He just didn't know.

It was best to focus on fishing. Except the more he tried to catch the slick little things, the less he seemed able. Njal snapped at the water, dove at the shadows as they passed by his paws, and gradually became too frustrated by the whole event; he did not add anything else to the pile, and was left soggy and morose upon the embankment. He turned his harsh gaze upon the others as if to signify his defeat, and then settled to rest and watch them.

Mazi watched Faolán take his turn fishing in silence.  She hoped that the black furred male would come up with somethin so she watched his attempt but was disappointed when he ended up with nothing but a piece of a tailfin, which he soon spat out.  It really was too bad.  Then the agouti watched as Njal took his turn fishing who also missed.  She felt bad for both of them, but the famine had no room for misses, so she would give this fishing everything she had once more.

Mazi carefully made her way up to a new fishing spot and carefully laid down at the very edge.  She then carefully peered down into the water, all the while careful not to let her shadow fall over into the water source and give herself away.  She waited for a whole three minutes, still and quiet as a rock, but then she saw something.  A silvery glimmer.  Mazi held still for a little while longer, but then as the fish was right before her, Mazi thrust her muzzle into the water and pulled out the silvery fish.  Quick as that.  Then she padded a few paces away, laid it down gently and then smacked it in the head, ending it's life.  Mazi then picked it up and placed it next to her other fish.  "That's four."

Faolán bark-laughed in delight as Mazi flung her fourth fish out of the water. "Well done, Mazi! It appears that you are the Fisher Queen." He lowered his head and neck in a mock bow, grinning as he did so. Njal lay away from the water, face sullen, obviously beaten down by the fish that had escaped his grasp.

The fish on the shore brought to mind the story of Fionn and the salmon, one of his favorite tales as a child. His father told it with such fervor, orange eyes sparkling in the moonlight. The great hero Fionn, in his early years, caught a fish and ate it, not knowing that fish contained all the world's knowledge in its meat. Fionn became the wisest in the old lands and rose to be a king, simply because he had eaten a salmon.

"Gods, give me that sort of luck," Faolán murmured, and dove for a third time into the water, jaws snapping. He couldn't resist a chortle as he emerged with empty jaws; evidently, the gods' luck was not on his side today.

 

They were making progress, but Njal was too frustrated to try any further. He paced along the edge of the gorge on his way back towards the pair, and dipped his head towards the piles of fish as if to inspect them; then, returning to his distant (and meager) pile, he grabbed what he could and brought it over. As soon as the bodies were flopping down among the others, he licked his lips and said, I am heading back. I will take some of the fish with me now, and then return once it has been delivered. Maybe when I return I will try again. His voice was surly indeed, a sense of defeat pervading every inch, but he grabbed at a fish in the next instant and began to depart, not waiting for any sort of response.

Mazi watched intently as Faolán made his move for a fish once it was his turn.  Mazi hoped and prayed that the black furred wolf would catch a fish, but sadly he turned up empty, no fish.  Mazi sighed and watched Njal, waiting for him to take his turn, but instead of doing that, Njal told them that he was heading back.  Mazi frowned, dissapointed that Njal did not want to stay, yet made no argument, because at least he was going to take some of the fish with him, back to Neverwinter Forest, which would surely take off some of the load, then Mazi watched as Njal made his leave.

Mazi shifted uncomfortably, hoping that she hadn't made Njal jealous or anything that had ticked him off and made him leave, since she had been completely successful so far.  Njal was gone though... for now at least, so the agouti turned to Faolán since he was still there.  "Do you still want to fish and test our luck or start bringing the fish back?"  Mazi asked him, with a slight cock of her head.