Swiftcurrent Creek Baptism

Open to anyone he hasn't met yet, or anyone he has only met a few times! I've got time to kill, so a spree is preferred.

As much as he loathed being away from Tuwawi presently, Njal had duties to pursue. He had drawn himself out of their shared den and in to the overcast morning, carrying with him her warmth, and the musk of a night spent together in the most intimate of manner; thus the first thing Njal did was seek out the creek, where he dipped his body and strode in to the depths to wash. The water caressed him on every side, soothing his skin, numbing it, while the man peered at the area which had become his home. In the months to come Tuwawi's belly would swell. Their family would become truly whole, and Swiftcurrent would boast new lives amongst the ranks. Soon Njal would have a son, a daughter, maybe both - and his thoughts trailed from there, concocting mental images of children learning to fish and to fight. Such imagining warmed him from the inside out, eradicating the spring's cold grip upon him.

Jace strode with a purpose as always he had been up at dawn for a run. Now it was time for hunting to fill the caches for the soon to be pups and the other members of the pack. He took his duty seriously and was anxious to be started, but first he needed a drink.

As he neared the spring near the pack lands he came upon another wolf he strode to the edge and chuffed. He could smell the pack as well as the red furred female he had met once. This must be her mate and the soon to be father. "Well met sir I am Jace. he kept his eyes averted being the subordinate to the above. He then waited quietly for the other to speak to him.

The water rushed by and happily soaked in to Njal's pelt, which became slick and tight against his lower reaches. Eager as he was to be clean, the Delta did not wish to completely rid himself of Tuwawi's scent (although it posed a great opportunity before him to replenish that musk which he adored so much). As he slowly crawled through the quick current, he was caught by surprise when a shadow slipped in to the corner of his vision - bringing about the rising of Njal's furred spine, which remained untouched by the water.

The stranger greeted him vocally, but more importantly, Njal caught upon the stranger's scent over the water and his hostility was culled. This was no stranger, no interloper, but another of the pack. "Good morning," Njal called forth as warmly as he could, prior to sloshing towards the shore. As he reached the bank and lifted himself free of the water, it continued to drip and dribble off of his boxy figure; but Njal paid that no mind. "Have you been here long, Jace?"

Jace noticed the other's ruff rising and froze not going any further until his scent was caught. That was the second time in as many days that he had made someone's fur rise. He supposed he was just to quiet but he had been taught that way and as now it was a habit he had formed to walk quietly. Besides you noticed more things that way, animals and such did not run away as fast if you snuck up on them you could watch.

Jace shook he head "No sir no more than a week or two. I come from Chinook and the Pack Wintersun. he did not expect the other to know the pack or the area but he added it anyway, though it had been a pleasant surprise when the fiery female named Tuwawi had known his home and even had heard of his parents. He then tilted his head waiting to hear if the other would offer his name in exchange.

At first Njal simply stood and listened, feeling the air around him grow cold - or perhaps that was a side-effect of being so soggy himself. As the man began to nod, he paused. "Wintersun?" The name rang a bell. If he remembered correctly, the man had visited such a pack once when in the service of Kindred. His memory could have been faulty though - it was a long time ago. "I believe I may have visited such a place once." He sounded old, which was a shock for the beast; he was in the prime of his life now, not crippled by age and circumstance. Still, Njal chuffed and distracted himself by a shake of his body - ridding it of water by having it spray elsewhere - and let the topic die. "I am Njal, a warden of the creek." He stated with a new exuberance, finding that his nights with Tuwawi had really amped up his self-confidence.

"Have you been given a job yet?" he questioned the boy, who gathered Njal's attention in the next moment. The silver-streaked man studied the youth, who cut a strong silhouette against the overcast light around them. He was a large creature and would be a suitable warden, but Njal said nothing about this. While he enjoyed training pack members and strangers alike, his thoughts were with his wife - and at the present time, he wasn't interested in giving away his own time so swiftly.

Jace nodded "yes Wintersun My father was Wildheart Shadowsinger and my mother Zenzi. He was proud of his heritage and would often elude to it, he loved his parents deeply and wanted everyone to know who they were. "You are the second wolf to tell me they knew of Wintersun. I met a fire colored female Tuwawi who also knows it. I must say that it makes me happy that my former home is known by some. And it did he had thought that his home was too tiny for many to know of it or too far away.

He dipped his head swiftly "Yes I am to fill the caches, patrol the borders, teach Ferdie Von Pelt to fish. I am also to work on my better skills of hunting, knowledge gathering and the like. Those were the tasks Alpha fox had given him and he was doing his best to do them. "I was told to fill the caches as you were busy with your mate sir. he did not mean any disrespect that had been what Fox had said the other day so that the male and female did not have to do so much while they were trying to conceive.

Njal did not know the difference between his Wintersun and the pack which Jace spoke of, for he had no knowledge of their potential move to a new area; his memory of Wintersun was limited already, but he gave a brief nod - acquiescent to the information. The warden's ears gave a little flick as his subordinate reeled off the many tasks he had been granted, and for a moment he was concerned - forgetting that Jinx had led a great exodus from their lands, but only for a moment. The mention of Ferdie made him smirk as he shook off the rest of the water that dripped from his body, and the man slouched against the stones. About to make a comment about the odd man, Njal's tongue was caught within his mouth when Jace mentioned being busy with his mate.

"Ah, yes..." The man was suddenly sheepish, although he was proud of himself for finally uniting with his beloved. It was unnerving to think that everyone in the pack knew, though it was nothing to be ashamed of. There was a brief lull in the conversation as the awkwardness wrapped around the pair; but Njal tried to diffuse it, remarking on Ferdie with the reply he had already been considering: "And how much luck have you had with Ferdie?" They had met briefly, once. On a day where Njal had been too busy to be truly amiable; his own arrogance had clouded his teaching ability, and in the end Ferdie probably didn't improve.

Jace being as youthful as he was did not see any point in beating around the bush about mating it was a natural thing and it was important to a pack's survival for pups to be born. He was innately happy for the other male standing before him. He hoped that his seed took and he would have strong healthy pups. And that is what fox had deigned him to do for the warden to help him out so he did not need to travel the borders as much while he was copulating.

Jace frowned and his eyes lowered "Slim to none sir. He refused to get in the water, rather tell me and Bazi a story than get his fur and paws wet. Do not get me wrong I respect the man and am fond of him, but he could have tried. Especially since it was my job to teach him and i take my duties very seriously. He shrugged then realizing he said to much and it sounded like criticism though he really did not wish to be critical of anyone in the pack, but it was still a little irritating to him about that uneventful day.

Refused to get in the water? It was an odd thought indeed. Granted, Njal had tried to circumvent that by teaching Ferdie a method that only required a ledge. It seemed as if both their efforts were not enough. Njal's featured furrowed as he listened, absently walking towards the dark figure nearby until he was in line with him. "If he does not care for the water that much, perhaps it is pointless to teach him." It was an option, although not one that Njal wished to fully support. The creek pack relied heavily upon the animals in the water - perhaps more so than the land creatures that had grown scarce in these early days of spring. "Unless there is a way we can make him more comfortable." It was easier to teach a child to fight than to swim, apparently. This knowledge was squirrelled away in the man's mind as he began to slink along, slow enough for Jace to walk with him if he chose to. "He must know that fishing is an important duty, or else it would not be asked of him."

Jace shook his head "That is not an option I've been told to teach him so I shall continue to try. Though it may prove unfruitful, but no harm came from trying. Jace would continue to try maybe if he got to know the older male better he would be more suseptible to learning from him.

Jace nodded in agreement and then spoke quietly "Another problem maybe that I am much younger than him. Perhaps he does not like to learn from one such as me. Perhaps it is a matter of pride though pride goeth before a fall. He nodded truly thinking that it was his age that deterred the older male from wanting to learn from him. After all he was only 1 and Ferdie had to be at least 4. He liked the older male, respected him and they were becoming friends he supposed, but he still did not like to fish. Perhaps he had a bad experience with water who was t oknow unless they were told. "How can we make him more comfortable? He was open to any and all ideas.

He breathed a low sigh as he considered the different methods, eventually voicing only one: "We would have to introduce him to the water as if he had never seen it before. Slowly. Or," Njal grew thoughtful for another moment, his voice fading while he collected thoughts. "Maybe having someone to talk to would help. Could you do that?" The question rumbled from him dully. As the wolf looked upon the yearling he realized what Jace had said before - that maybe they wouldn't get along because of their age difference. Njal looked in to the distance where the flat horizon began to ascend towards the cloud cover, but turned his nose back towards the dark boy a moment later. "Perhaps I will go and find him. I have to fetch something for Tuwawi's breakfast... It is a good opportunity." It would be brief; perhaps only for the next few hours of the day. Njal did not want to be far from his wife - eager as they both were for children.

Jace nodded his head he could talk to him and he could try and teach him with words though it was a lot harder than teaching him by action, but maybe that is what he would have to do. "yes I can talk to him maybe teach him with words rather than actions though it will be harder of course. He listened to the male and then spoke softly "Oh I couldn't ask you to do that, it is my task after all and I am sure you do not want to be away from your mate for long. And if you need help hunting game for her and you please do not hesitate to ask I'll do so gladly. Jace tilted his head laying the offer down. He did not mind helping where he was needed and frankly if the other male did not wish to leave his den one of these lazy days he would gladly set food outside the den for them.

Jace resisted his comments, even going so far as to refuse him his simple considerations; however, Njal could not be angered by this. The boy was doing his duty. To have someone eager enough to deliver food to the couple was thrilling to some extent - and the thought of having Tuwawi all to himself for days on end brought a brief smile to his face. Another thought occurred to him then. It was somewhat irksome that the warden could be prevented from caring for his own wife, even if their own duty at this point was simply to enjoy each other's company and produce a girth of strong bodies for the creek's future. He felt weakened by the implications of this, and Njal's spine bristled in a thin wave as he pondered.

"Alright Jace," Njal's voice rumbled once more, keeping a level tone in order to avoid sharing his current thoughts, "I will be returning to the den. Perhaps you can find Ferdie and hunt with him for our breakfast," The older man turned in a steady arc and began to depart, following the rocks alongside the river. As the stones became true soil and then grass, his silver-streaked limbs were swallowed up by the fresh shoots of grass. "Or, fish, if you can convince him to try. What is the saying... Two birds with one stone?" He smirked as he turned away, taking a few more steps in the direction of the den, although he did not leave quite yet - twisting ears to catch any further comments from the dark boy.

Jace saw the slight lifting of the other's ruff and he sighed sadly yet again without meaning to he had offended someone. "I didn't mean any offense sir. was all he murmured a sad smile on his face. He was so incredibly awkward he wasn't sure if he would ever make friends here, he just kept offending others. He wished he had spent more time with other wolves at his former pack land than just his parents and his sister and his own company.

jace dipped his head though he felt bad he had not meant any offense he was just trying to be friendly and do a good deed by offering some food to the lovers. He had not thought on the question or implications maybe he should have. "We will see. I'll find something for you. I find that I do not want company at the present time. He dipped his head again and loped off his long lanky legs tearing up the ground as he berated himself for being so awkward and offensive.

The boy did speak again, but the words caught Njal off-guard. Yes, he had been a bit offended - but not by Jace specifically. It was a deeply rooted sensation that had fouled his mood, and it had been brief. But the boy caught upon it easily, and then with a few short words he turned to flee. Njal adjusted himself so that he could face the retreating silhouette, ready to speak and dissuade any negative thoughts, but the boy was already out of earshot; escaping to do his duty, albeit with a bit of a cold shoulder. It could not be helped. As the boy vanished in to the horizon, Njal once again shifted - and this time he did not stop his march until he was back at the den. Thoughts of the youth remained on his mind, peppered with tiny doubts. If Njal did this poorly with yearlings, how would he do with younger children? With the squishy bundles that would no doubt be filling his time in the quickly-coming future? These tiny seeds of apprehension had been planted, and now waited to take root within the northman.

[exit njal]