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+--- Thread: Big Salmon Lake A thousand years (/showthread.php?tid=66259)
A thousand years - Raindrop - September 02, 2025
@Valiant
Something in Raindrop made her grow restless. Perhaps it was the nearly empty nest that had inevitably come. Three of her children were out on their own, living life just as she had when she was a yearling.
Feeling the need to satisfy her restlessness, she got up with the sun. She kissed Rosa and Ludo, telling them that she was going to go fishing at Big Salmon Lake, just southeast of the Spine. Rosa chose to stick with Ludo, and putter around. It made Raindrop proud to see her daughter growing fond of Ludo.
Her legs carried her swiftly across the territory and over the borders. She carried a pelt with her to aid in carrying the fish back. The air was cool as autumn drew nearer. The leaves had already started to turn to shades of gold and red. To run free ignited something within her that she hadn’t felt for quite some time.
Once she reached the lake, she settled by the water’s edge, peering into the depths of the cool water.
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 02, 2025
It was a hell of a thing, the way that the years kept tumbling on and on. He missed Vaïre like he'd never missed anything, an ache deep in his chest that made it hard to breathe a night. But it was getting into the dying days of summer and the weather was hot and the weeks were languid. There was enough to eat. The rivers were slow and lazy. The stars shone brightly, night after night.
He wandered in Raindrop's path, intent on seeing her for no reason in particular. He'd begun a habit of this, quite without either of their permission. When he got back from his scouting trips, he went and he found the last true point of familiarity within the pack.
Raindrop.
He found her outside the territory, today, gazing out at the water. She was like her daughter in this way, or her daughter was like her — always so thoughtful, so contemplative.
This was where the ritual ended. He'd seen her, and now he could go back to hunting or patrolling or perhaps head off to take a much-needed nap. But, instead, he found himself padding closer. In the quiet of the morning, he came to stand beside her, following her gaze as he'd often done with Angel during their trip. Just as with her, he could not find whatever it was that held Raindrop's attention. It must be something in her mind's eye, then.
He placed a paw in the cool water. It soothed his aching paws.
"It's going to be a beautiful day," he said quietly, his voice just a little sad, just a little wistful.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 02, 2025
She could hear his steps, smell his scent on the breeze. He stood like a sentry beside her, quiet, like still waters. But beneath the stillness, there was a turmoil that Raindrop didn’t know about. She turned to greet him. “Yes it will. I hope the fish think so too.” She said with a chuckle. “How are you, Val?” Her smile was soft, her eyes clear and bright.
She felt calm in his presence. Peaceful. The feeling of familiarity.
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 02, 2025
Ah — that explained the skin she'd brought along. He felt a flare of firece gratitude and admiration for the woman, always so stalwart and dutiful. The beginnings of something fluttered in his chest. Perhaps it would be nice to go fishing for the day.
"Better," he said, pleased but embarrassed to report on his mental health. His tail gave a gentle wag, and he flashed her a little smile. "You remember when we met?" he asked her. "Not too far from here. We were both bad fishermen, then. I guess you've gotten better?"
His tone was just a little mischievous. He was surprised at his good mood.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 02, 2025
“That’s good.” She was happy to hear that he was better. Change could be so hard on the mind and body. Especially when it involved your loved ones.
Now, When he brought up the first time they met, she couldn’t help but giggle. Goodness, how long ago was that now? Two years at least. “I do.” “A lot of time on the coast helped me to hone my skills.” “Do you remember when you got tangled up with that turkey?” Her voice had an air of amusement. She almost felt giddy, sitting here making small talk with him. Was there possibly something there? Ever so slight?
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 02, 2025
That made sense. Valiant had visited her only once at the seaside pack, but he'd been there often enough to see to other things. There had been many good fishermen, and plenty of time for Raindrop to learn. Valiant had more experience with inland waterways, though usually rivers instead of lakes.
He waded deeper, looking for moving shadows, and then huffed out a laugh that had the fish scattering.
"I do," he replied, his voice dry. He looked over his shoulder at her, attempting to look unimpressed at the reminder. Instead, he found himself with a warm smile on his face. "I stuck a feather in your fur," he recalled, seeing it clearly in his mind. He hadn't thought of such distant times in quite a while, and he was surprised to look back on those lonely days with some degree of wistfulness. Perhaps just that day in particular.
"We oughta laugh like that again," he told her.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 02, 2025
She followed him into the water, and the coolness sent a shiver through her body. Only for a moment though, just until her body acclimated. This summer had been hot, much hotter than what she was used to. The water felt delightfully cool; invigorating.
Val tried his best to put on an unimpressed expression, but a smile bloomed on his face regardless.
“Good times.” She replied, “If only it was that easy.” She had a wistful tone to her voice. “Ya know, just being here with you takes a some of the weight off my mind.”
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 02, 2025
Valiant felt that he did know; he felt the same thing, lately. It was why he always looked for her, despite having had little to say for so many months. He felt himself on the verge of saying something dangerous — confessing how much he thought of her, for example — and instead made himself say,
"Me too."
The quiet, though brief, was then unbearable.
Valiant gave into a different urge and slapped a paw through the water — splashing Raindrop with cold droplets across her face and side. He regretted it immediately, shocked by his own childish actions, but could not hide the tiny grin growing on his face.
"Maybe it's not as hard as we think," he suggested, bowing playfully in the water.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 02, 2025
The quiet between them was brief, chased away by a splash of water!
She couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He bowed before her playfully, and she responded. She instinctively reared back and came down with a splash. “I think you’re right!” She told him slyly. She pranced around him, her tail held high.
After circling Valiant, she stopped and stood beside him, leaning into him as she laughed. “Oh, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.” — “Ya know, we should probably get to fishing.”
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 04, 2025
He ducked too slowly away from the splash, ending up with water dripping down his face. Raindrop was pleased with herself, of course — and, truthfully, Valiant couldn't complain. He made a few half-hearted snaps at her as she pranced, but his tail flicked through the water in quiet mirth.
"We might've scared 'em all off," he pointed out, looking speculatively through the muck they'd stirred up. "Let's move down the shore a ways. I'll be good this time."
He winked at her before turning and sloshing toward shore, heaving himself up a slight embankment with the added weight of his absorbent pelt.
"Y'know, your girl reminds me a lot of you," he told her, pausing to pull the fishing hide over his shoulders for transportation. "She stares out at the water just like that. 'Cept when she's done she's always got somethin' smart to say. 'Do you think fish get cold in the winter?' or, 'How do the birds know which way to fly for winter?'"
Valiant had been able to answer some of her questions, but the majority had been thought experiments that carried them through days and days of travel. The girl sure had a lot on her mind — and, though Valiant admired her for it, he was glad for a bit of a break.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 04, 2025
"Yeah, we probably did." Raindrop admitted, looking at the now murky water. When he moved for the lake shore, she followed suit, trailing behind him. "Ha, sure you will." she quipped, returning a playful wink. Once out of the lake, she gave a good shake.
She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Valiant now. And if eyes could speak words, then they would give away the growing affection she had for him. He grabbed the fur pelt and slung it over his should, across his withers. Before they continued on, he paused to speak about Angel. The words he spoke nearly melted her heart. She could feel a mother's pride burning in her chest.
"Oh Val." Raindrop blushed under her fur, "She sure is an inquisitive one. But she will one day hold so much knowledge that she can share with others." She then looked to him endearingly, her eyes meeting his. "Thank you for teaching her so much, and for being there for her."
"Now c'mon! Let's go!" she exclaimed, looking back at him before trotting along the lake's edge.
Feel free to PP her for visibility as they both find a fishing spot. That way we can keep it moving along. :D
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 04, 2025
Valiant huffed out a laugh, just a little uncomfortable. Being winked at flustered him — even though he'd started it — and being thanked was even worse.
"'Course," he said gruffly. And then, as if to refute the words: "It was just a little scouting trip."
But it had been a long one, and Valiant had tried his best to keep the girl safe and to impart all his knowledge. And he'd done it for Raindrop, partially, though he did not like to admit it to himself. Anyway — he was the oldest member of their little pack, now, unless he was much mistaken. It was his job to pass this knowledge on.
The moved around the lake, finding another spot in the sunlight where the bugs were beginning to buzz low over the water. He could see little shadows flitting, and bigger, lazier dark spots lingering in the shallows.
"Here," he suggested, retreating to lay the hide down where he wouldn't get it muddy. "Show me whatcha got." She was the one who'd been living out on the water, after all.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 04, 2025
There was a brief gruffness to his voice; perhaps she overstepped somehow? Anyway, she didn't dwell on it for long, as before she could give it much more thought, they had already found a place where they can attempt to fish.
She watched him as he set the pelt down; in a place where it wouldn't get muddy. Then, he'd challenged her. She wore a smirk on her maw, and huffed playfully. "If you insist." She neared the water's edge, keeping her body positioned against the sunlight, so that she wouldn't cast an obvious shadow on the water. She moved one paw at a time, slowly moving forward, to where the fish would be.
She stood still, and waited; waited for the fish to become curious and nibble at her paws. When a medium sized shadow finally drifted her way, she lower her head, preparing to lunge. Almost... almost... and BAM! She grabbed at the shadow underneath the water's surface! Clamping her jaws tight, she did her best to keep the fish from wiggling out of her grasp. And she managed to hold on just long enough to bring it ashore.
She let it bleed out and stop its thrashing before she dropped it a couple of feet from Valiant. She wore a proud grin on her face, her tail swaying.
"Dinner for two tonight?" she jested, but still putting an offer out there.
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 05, 2025
She cut a fine figure against the lake, with the morning light coming from above and being reflect from below. Valiant had watched her daughter do this many times over during their trip, and he could see that she'd been taught very well by her mother — but it was different, when it was Raindrop. She was more graceful, more refined. Careful and steady and fast when she struck at the water, and then not too graceful at all.
Valiant tried and failed to suppress a grin as she carried the flopping thing to shore. He was able to wrestle it into a tiny smirk by the time she finally dropped the slimy, lifeless carcass.
"Expertly done," he said — and he meant it, but it had still been very funny. As for the offer? He let out another huffy little laugh.
"We'll need more," he said, wading into the lake himself.
Performance anxiety gripped him all at once, in a way that he'd rarely ever felt throughout his life. He stared hard at the water, waiting for a fish to —
He dove. Got a mouthful of muck with his fish, and a nose full of water. And, to add insult to injury, his was smaller than hers.
Valiant brought it to shore and dropped it near hers, still flopping weakly on the hide.
He sneezed.
"You might be better at this than me," he admitted, though it was likely pointing out the obvious by that point.
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 05, 2025
Pride filled her chest at his comment. She walked past him, shaking the excess water from her coat, and found a seat to sit and watch him. "Alright. Show me how it's done." She said slyly, a look of amusement in her eyes.
She continued to watch him keenly as Valiant waded into the water. His gaze was hard on the water, his focus strong. There was quiet; then there was a big splash as Valiant drove his head into the water. She stood up, as if to be on the edge of her seat. There was so much going on! He brought his head up swiftly, a fish grasped in his jaws, as well as lake muck. He couldn't hide a giggle as she stepped out of the lake with his prize. This time, he dropped his catch before her, "Bless you!" she commented on his sneeze "Very good." She only meant well, not wanting to injure his pride. "Not exactly. Just different styles." Even though she could be quite playful, deep down she was a modest wolf. Considerate.
"Well, it won't be long before it gets hotter, and the fish will begin to hide from the heat. Should we wrap up our prizes?" Very few beings liked the summer heat, unless you were born or created for that kind of environment. And she wasn't one of them. She much preferred a cool, temperate climate.
RE: A thousand years - Valiant - September 08, 2025
She was as unerringly kind as always — it made Valiant feel silly for joking around at all, and yet, he did not know if he could suppress the urge. Pretty girls had often put him in a funny mood — that is, in a mood to try and be funny even thought he knew, patently, that he was not. Even Vaïre had not enjoyed his sense of humor, he thought, so much as she tolerated in the face of his other good qualities.
Whatever those might be.
(This was why he usually watched Raindrop from a distance.)
"'Course," he agreed, his head ducking contritely despite the weak smile that lingered on his face. But he turned back to rinse and rub the muck from his muzzle before actually moving to help.
And he was a gentleman. Unlike he had with Angel, he would not be allowing Raindrop to carry the fish back. He took the burden up himself — and, if it had the added benefit of keeping him from running his smart mouth, that was just a coincidence.
Fade here?
RE: A thousand years - Raindrop - September 08, 2025
Raindrop hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Ever since becoming a mother, she had put her children’s lives and needs before her own. Sumac’s absence too, had left an empty place in her heart. A felling that something was missing.
After their day of fun, they both agreed to head back home. But, before they headed out, Valiant stopped washed his face, so that he wouldn’t carry any extra muck home with him.
He picked up the fur pelt which carried their fish, and all the way home they walked side by side.
Yep! Thank you Mixed, this was so much fun! I love threading with you and your characters.