Though feminine to all extremes, Portia dealt little in the field of emotions. She had mostly good days, and was almost always perky and happy-- but rarely did her emotions rule the day, keeping her free from disappointment. An exception tended to be boredom and restlessness, and while she'd settled surprisingly well for a free-spirit, Portia did tend to get bored. Her feet ached to roam and, although by now she knew she'd come back, a fear always rested in the pit of her stomach that she would leave. Leaving meant failure and, even further, that she'd let someone down. Though she was thinking only of Thuringwethil and the promise of loyalty that she'd made, the thought of Dio and Gyda's pups would have made her feel guilty for years afterwards. 

She'd spent a lot of time on the border because of her wanderlust, doing more patrolling than she'd ever planned on doing. Occasionally she ran into Gavriel or Dio, though today had been somewhat quiet-- which made her even more bored. Itching to leave and explore, Portia turned from the borders and went deeper into the territory, trying to find something or someone to ease her restlessness. She'd been looking for Dio, who had a way of calming her without even really realizing it-- perhaps it was just his mellow personality-- though his scent trail was dull on this part of the territory and she struggled to follow it successfully. 

Instead, she found herself nearby Gyda's den, her ears perked and her eyes curious. The freckled Skayona stared at the den, her nose twitching to find out which child was home, before stepping a bit closer and giving a light chuff. She couldn't fully tell if anyone was there, but it was worth a shot. 

Soon after, the grey body of Freyja appeared, her mouth full of some sort of meat. She spoke when she finished chewing, and Portia smiled at that. Good manners, something all women should have, and it was common courtesy to those who didn't wish to see the remains of their meal floating on their tongue. "Hello, Goufa," she said, tail wagging in response to the child. "Did you hunt today?" she asked, head tilting slightly to the side. She remembered their first excursion fondly, still feeling her heart swell with pride at the thought of the child catching the groundhog-- and on her first try too!!

Portia lowered herself to the ground, settling neatly on the earth and crossing her paws. She smiled, but shook her head. "No, hun, I've already eaten. And it's your catch, you should enjoy every last bite of it," she replied, reaching to nose the girls cheek sweetly. "Have you hunted with Wildfire since? You seem to be getting very good at hunting-- I'm sure she'd be very proud of you," she added, tail sweeping against the ground a few times.

"That's wonderful, you're doing an amazing job," she practically purred, tail tapping against the ground. Her next question caught her off guard, and she stared for a moment with interest. "Like fish?" she asked the child, head falling the other way. "Or like... frogs?" she added. God forbid Freyja knew more about hunting than she did, though to her a wide variety of things lived 'near' the river. Hell, she lived near the river. She prayed there wasn't some magical riverside creature her mother had forgotten to teach her about-- then again, Portia really never minded learning anything.

Being taught by a child just had an ironic edge on it, is all.

Ah. These were all things she knew about. Somehow she'd blanked on them, but as the child began more and more creatures popped into her own mind. That made more sense than some magical water rabbit or deer-- though that thought tickled her to no end. "Dams," she said, nodding, "Their dens are called dams. Do you know what they're made of?" she asked, genuinely curious if the child knew. She had observed them in close contact many times before-- but wanted to see if Freyja could answer her. 

"Do otters live in dens?" she then asked-- though this time was genuinely curious.

Portia nodded, paws crossing and uncrossing once to find a more comfortable position. "Beavers work together to build giant dams that block waterways. They're made out of logs and sticks and mud-- they usually chop down entire trees with their front teeth! It's insane, I'll never understand it," she told her, shaking her head. Portia then let out a quick 'hmpf' in thought, uncertain what to tell the child. She didn't know what otters lived in, she couldn't offer any other information. Suddenly, her features lit up in a sly smile. 

Portia nodded, though she wasn't sure who Nomi was... she didn't ask. "Of course hun, I'll wait right here," she told her, and then urged her forward with her nose, standing and shaking off her white pelt, watching as the child placed the piece of prey in the den-- her green eyes glinting in the sun.

Portia waited patiently, her tail waving. When Freyja returned, her smile broadened. "Great! Do you know where the nearest water source is?" she asked the pup, assuming that she did indeed. Portia did as well, but the Skayona believed heavily in two teaching methods: talk their ears off, and let them do it themselves. Today was a do it themselves type day, Freyja always seemed more headstrong that Hvitserk-- and the methods would appear to correspond to that... she'd see how it'd go. 

"Indeed," Portia replied, tail wagging. "Can you lead the way?" she then said, and followed when the child went. They would need to travel upstream a good bit, and she assumed the child would have to sniff out some otters-- it was doubtful they'd just run across them. "Do you smell anything you don't recognize?" she asked.

"That's good," Portia replied with a smile. She too smelled nothing right now, but she had seen the creatures in the territory before, so she knew they'd be around. Freyja's next question caused the woman to shrug. "Not a lot," she answered honestly. "They're cute little creatures though, very family oriented," she paused, sniffing the air as they walked. She was no expert tracker, but every wolf knew to pay attention to their surrounding when they hunted-- much better to check for scents every few steps than every hundred steps, you'd miss more. 

"Taste fishy," she added. 

The goufa made a comment, bringing a smile to Portia's face. She let a sweet giggle out before leaning down to nudge her cheek softly. "I don't think so either, hun," she offered in reassurance, her gaze falling back in front of her.  The freckled Skayona continues forward, her ears angling forward. Scents rolled around her, the most prominent being a rabbit-- she assumed one was nearby. Though she loved a nice hare, they were finding otters, and although not strong, she picked up the slightest hint of a fishy creature. Her gaze remained forward, as to not hint to the child that there was something she should've caught on to, instead she waited to see if Freyja would pick up on it on her own.

She was almost able to respond to the child about what she wanted to do, but Freyja took off. "Oh dear," the Skayona muttered under her breathe, beginning to sprint forward after the child. Luckily the goufa's legs were still short enough to not make such long strides, but Portia's endurance was less than acceptable in any race-- ever. She huffed loudly as she ran as fast as she could, trailing just behind the aspiring hunter.

The child finally slowed and Portia let out a final gasp of air as she halted to a stop. The skayona sucked in a few heavy breathes before she looked at Freyja and nodded, quieting her breathing. "Do you want to watch it or attack now?" she asked the child, her green eyes studying Freyja as she watched the otter. They could watch it and get some information on them, or attack and get some food right now-- Portia left the decision to the child.