Big Salmon Lake Preface

Open to anyone willing to mingle! <3

Aliki's return to the Teekon Wilds came in spring, with summer only a month away. She came alone, just as she had the times before. It did not bother her, because she did not care. She was independent and had made it through the past season without a pack just fine on her own.

So what was it that drew her back here?

Perhaps there were yet more prospects for her to discover, still hidden.

True to form, her re-appearance was marked at a water source. A massive lake that dwarfed the one she once called home prior. Sparkling clear water stretched before her eyes endlessly. Signs of game were everywhere. No signs of other wolves who might want to take this land for themselves.

She considered the lake to the east. And the river she was fond of in the west, beyond the mountains. Undecided if she would make camp here or stake out other areas. 

Whichever the case may be, the statement she made now was a bold one. An awkward lift of a rear leg, a pungent stream of urine. Marking this place with her calling card. Others would find her. Or not. Her business done, she turned to the lake front to polish her fishing skills for lunch.

“Oh, come ON!”

Cassian’s one and sole encounter with the Big Salmon Lake could’ve been written about as a Greek tragedy. Time and time again the wolf dove into the water in an attempt at garnering a meal and, time and time again, the fish continued to evade him. Every time the wolf got within snapping distance, they propelled away in the blink of an eye! It’d become a bit of a repetitive cycle born out of sheer defiance by this point. Cassian learned, over time, that fish truly did not really deviate from their original positions even after a disturbance. Over time, they congregate back to where they once were. So, every half hour or so, the wolf got wet again and came back up fruitless once more.

This cycle was no different. Yet, the tenacity in the man’s brown eyes shone like none other. There was annoyance that coated his voice, yes, but it was more so the type of annoyance that came with enjoying and perfecting a craft over any other. This was going to be the sixth plunge of the day and, this time, Cassian was certain victory would be his.

“Okay. Big breath on one….two….three!”

A sharp inhale was taken and this time instead of the rich, crisp air a pungent odor wafted its merciless path into the poor bystander’s nostrils. Awful, awful, awful! Bleck! After a brief coughing fit, Cassian’s eyes sharpy turned to the left, then to the right, and finally laid right down the center and found….

Someone.

She wasn’t here the last time he’d dunked himself into the lake. So, she must’ve passed through between his current failed attempt and the making of the new one! A tiny thing which made all the more sense on how she’d gotten the jump on him. Albeit, really, anything could get the jump on Cassian if it wasn’t shouting. The man’s attention tended to be a bitter scatter-brained on the best of days.

“You would not BELIEVE how slippery the fish are today! I’ve been here all day and haven’t been able to catch one. I was taking some nice, calming breaths to center myself and hype me up, but now it reeks! Sheesh, you need some more water in your diet. Less salty things! Luckily for you, there’s a giant bed of water here! Why don’t you hydrate and watch a REAL master catch his first ever salmon, hm?”

He spoke as if they were long lost acquaintances, vesting the benefit of the doubt in everyone and anyone. Duly unaware of how foolish such an approach could be.

Folly, at best, but yet he still proudly boasted. To impress her? No, never. Cassian was just hopeless as hopeless could be but in equal parts confident in that eventually the tides would turn in his favor.

Confidently, to reinforce her mark, she scraped at the dirt. Several raking strides of her back paws. A thorough shake of her coat, once she was finished. Huffing out a breath through her nose, Aliki was satisfied for the moment.

The peace did not last.

Perhaps her calling card had worked a little too well. A turn of her head saw to her a complete stranger, closer than she was comfortable with so early on. And, he was prattling on. Running his mouth a mile a minute like they were long lost buddies.

Violet eyes narrowed as she took a step back to put some space between her and the male. Her lip curled, flashing a warning. Tail raised, a signal of her own self-confidence.

Wordlessly, she stared him down. Taking in all he said about how he tried his luck in the lake. How she stank, scaring off the fish. How she should sit back and watch him, a supposed master!

Finally, she broke her silence in a short, dry laugh.

"That stench, is the signature of a true water wolf." Born and bred, she might add. She stepped towards him with a firm, assertive growl. But instead of a head on collision that seemed to be coming, the audacious female simply passed him by.

And smoothly into lake. Where water slipped and molded around her form. Seeming to pay him no mind (yet suspecting he was watching) she scanned with a practiced eye. Then, in one single, fluid motion, dove under the water like an otter. Slick coated, she re-surfaced with a massive four foot Chinook salmon. With no small amount of pride, she strode back to dry ground to enjoy her catch, as if to say; that is how it's done.

Lavender hues struck Cassian’s murky gaze and when they met it was not with a friendly disposition but one that was sure to draw ire and contempt if treaded the incorrect way. There were warning signs being displayed here, too. Curled lips, a raised, bushy tail, and then that stare. She was analyzing him, breaking him down, and surmising if he was a threat. Cassian didn’t believe himself to be a threat to much of…anybody, really.

Laughter broke out and when it occurred Cassian was keen on joining in. What were they laughing about? It didn’t matter! She seemed to have loosened up, if even for only a moment.

“Yikes! So, all water wolves smell like that? You know, maybe I don’t want to learn how to fish then. I’d be stinky all the time!” He jested, and seconds later garnered a growl. Fair enough! Some wolves didn’t enjoy being called stinky, it seemed. Even if it was in a playful manner! Cassian stood his ground, albeit innocently, and when she passed him by an exhale of air that’d been bundled up secretively winded its way out. Since when had that been piling up?

The surface of the water broke, but it did not explode into a splash as Cassian’s attempts oft did. Instead, the woman molded with the water. It hugged her frame, as if it were a blessing from sort of higher being, and then within the next moment or two she surfaced back up. Flawlessly, expertly, and quite like a master would. A water wolf! Maybe the stink was worth it if catching fish would be this easy.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP

Cassian was praising her! The wolf had since sat on his haunches and was slamming both paws together as she showed off the gargantuan spoils of her endeavors.

“Wow!!! How’d you do that? Every time I just…dump myself in the water it’s like a big….KABLOOEY, you know?! When you went in it was like…like….oh, I dunno! It’s like the water was giving you a hug, haha! Does that make sense? I don’t know if it makes sense, but that’s the best way I can explain what I just saw happen! I’ve never had that kind of fish before. What’s it taste like? Sweet? Salty? Gooey? Ooo, I hate gooey fish!”