Mudminnow River If only I could fish

With a splash of muddied water and the sound of a large mass breaking the surface of the water, a small coyote found himself barreling into the shallow stream and snapping his jaws wildly. He was trying to catch a fish, a minnow, to be more exact. There seemed to be many here, small forms slipping through the shadows of the water and collecting around strands of green, aquatic plant life. Despite the plethora of the little bastards, they were fast and small, which meant that catching them was difficult. Besides,  with all the energy spent trying to catch them, the energy they gave back while being eaten was pitiful. Even though he knew this, Pluto was much too stubborn to give up now. His grey pelt was soaked with cold water, slicking down his fur and highlighting his bony form as he panted and pulled himself from the frigid stream.

The coyote shook out his fur, spiking it outwards in all directions as he sat down along the bank, curling his tail around his hip as his dark gaze remained on the water. Ever so slowly, the minnows were returning to their original places to feed on algae, and Pluto wiggled his rump as he watched. This time instead of just leaping into the stream, he darted his muzzle forwards and snapped his fangs into the water before jerking his head back up into air. This proved to be much more successful, as minnows filled his maw as Pluto swiftly began to chew and swallow his catch. Swiftly the coyote continued this method, gaining several more mouthfuls of silver minnows before the group swam away for good and left Pluto by himself again.

With the salty, slimy taste of fish in his mouth, Pluto rose back to all four paws, shook out his pelt again, and began to pad along the stream banks lazily. He had no one to really return to and no one to take care of, and his traveling was on his time and his time only. This was his pattern: walk, eat, walk, sleep. Walk, eat, walk, sleep. He was always determined to be on the move and explore all the little nooks and crannies of this new land, and if he met new creatures along the way, so be it. Pluto's spiked, wet tail waved lazily behind him as his damp paws moved across the rocks and sands, gaze occasionally darting back down towards the stream to his left to check for more fish, partially because he was bored and partially because when you were constantly traveling, you could never have enough food.

Lumar yawned awaking from her sleep.  The coyote stood and stretched her skinny frame, meanwhile hearing the quiet flutters of birds above her and the squeak of a mouse... hmm mouse sounded good.  The cream colored girl stalked in the direction of the scent.  Normally she just scavenged scraps, but she was hungry, so she would hunt.  Even if she had no idea whatsoever of who to hunt.  She had just never been taught in her bad family home, that she had escaped from.  She would never go back there.  Never.  She approached the mouse, very quiet now, stealthily.  She could see it’s little tail flick out from a bush it was currently settled in.  The coyote then leapt and landed on the mouse savagely breaking it’s spine with her her jaws before it could utter a sound.  Lumar felt a surge of pride for catching her first piece of prey ever.  Then she enjoyed her satisfaction through eating the delicious morsel, enjoying every bit of the 10% of it’s energy it gave her.  Then she resumed her walk back into focus.

After about twenty minutes of walking, she noticed a grey coyote trying to... well what was he doing?  She then caught on that the coyote was catching fish, with a weird method of his own.  Although her heart quickened it’s pulse with excitement.  Another coyote!  She hadn’t seen one since she had come to the Teekon Wilds and now here was one now... fishing.  She scented the breeze, noticing that she was downwind, so the male probably had not noticed her yet.  She followed him curiously as the coyote started walking again, hiding in the shadows.  Finally curiosity took control of her and she padded out from her cover of the shadows, now in front of the male’s path.  Not approaching the other coyote just yet though.

“Halo.”  She said in her very accented English.  She had to stop herself from saying “salutations”.  Still very used to her homeland language of French.  So far though she was trying her best to catch on the English though.  “I Lumar.  Havoont sen another coyote n a while.”  (Translating to:  Hello, I’m Lumar.  Haven’t seen another coyote in a while) Lumar attempted an awkward smile, hoping she didn’t appear as a stalker to the other coyote.  Which he could rightfully claim truthfully.

Pluto's tail lazily waved out behind him as he padded along the foreign paths, nostrils flaring as he noticed the wind blowing past his fur and billowing his scent out behind him. If he had any followers, then he wouldn't be able to smell them. He paused for a moment, pricking his ears before allowing them to sink into their original positions, not hearing the female tailing him due to his ears searching for the signature, not-so-stealthy sound of possible wolf paws. Coyotes were much smaller and lighter, able to sneak and pad along quietly unlike larger canines. Pluto continued to tread the path, dark eyes lazily glazed over as he allowed his guard to slip downwards before immediately snapping itself back up, his paws digging into the earth to suddenly halt his approach as the shape of another coyote emerged from the surrounding foliage.

For a moment, the two coyotes seemed to stare off, and Pluto slowly began to sidestep the girl before she finally spoke. A single, very accented word which provoked a small head tilt from the bluish grey male. She couldn't have been from around this area, and had probably traveled here like himself not so long ago. The female coyote continued to speak, accented voice slightly warping her words as she did so, though Pluto could still easily understand her by focusing on her language body movements and picking up on the syllables in her barks. She finished off her introduction by offering a lopsided grin, to which Pluto did not return. He didn't return it out of spite or any other negative feelings, he just wasn't much of a smiley creature, and most of his smiles seemed more like mischievous grins whether he wanted them to be or not.

Lumar was obviously young, and due to her being a coyote Pluto decided that he would tone down his usual snarky, aggressive attitude. She obviously had no ill intent as well, and the male swallowed his usual bitter response of something along the lines of "What's it to ya?" and instead barked out, "Hey. I'm Pluto. 'mostly wolves around these parts."

Lumar cringed visibly at the word wolf.  She did not like them, to her they were ugly, cruel and evil creatures that deserved a horrible fate.  They had killed important beings in her life.  They didn’t deserve life.  Maybe one day Lumar’s perspectives would differ.  Not today though, today she still believed wolves to be horrible rigid creatures.  Deep down every single on of them had it’s killer personality.  She thought it was better to try to avoid them, they were like a disease.  She did not want to ever see one of them here, and if she did she would cause them so much trouble they would have wished they had never met her.  Still the young coyote listened as the other of her kind gave his name; Pluto.  Decent sounding name.

“Nice to meet you Pluto.”  Lumar replied to him, for a moment the young coyote’s heart raced.  She had finally pronounced a whole sentence right in English!  She was catching on.  Slowly, but surely.  “An yeast vair are too many volves around dese parts.  Air reeks of vem.”  (Translating to:  And yes there are too many wolves around these parts.  Air reeks of them.)  Lumar remarked, but spat of the title, wolf, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.  Showing her obvious distaste for the creatures.

Perhaps the male was pleased to be by himself, but speaking to another of his species in the first time in...well, months, was alright was well. Especially since the female seemed to share his own distaste for wolves, and while he could sometimes stand the foul creatures, he much rather preferred the company of a coyote or even no one at all. "Nice to meet you considering you're not a wolf, they're everywhere. You're the first coyote I've seen here." Pluto barked, gaze flicking distastefully into the surrounding territories as he imagined all of the wolf packs he had passed while traveling, their scents practically everywhere in what was once free territory. He wished that there were more coyotes around here instead of wolves, as they were wily and smart, while the larger canines depended on strength in numbers--like some herd animal. 

"I need to find a place without them, they'll drive me mad soon." Pluto huffed partially to himself, gaze still lingering on the forests before he turned back towards Lumar, flicking his tail boredly before slowly beginning to sidestep her again, wishing to continue being on the move but still at least slightly interested in talking. This might be the last chance he'd get to speak to a fellow coyote in a while, so he would like to make it last even if it meant walking while speaking, as he was naturally a nomad, always-wandering spirit. That didn't mean that he didn't want some social interaction, as everything was fine in moderation.

Hover the text for translation.

“Why don we walk ese we tolk.”  Lumar offered Pluto, noticing the sidestep.  “Vu seem to be in a roush.”  The girl pointed out.    “Vat dis von with me though, eef that ese what vu want.”  Lumar then stood frozen still as if waiting for Pluto to reach her side.  Then resumed back into the talk about how wolves were such a disgrace to the canine group.

 “Le volves will dreve me maude soon too if viy continue to thrive vere tithe vere ugly smell, such annoying disgraceful vents bon le wind.”  Lumar growled showing her distraught towards the many wolf Packs that inhabited the Teekon Wilds.  “Yet vis ese nice land.  To vad vere aren’t meny coyote’s here.  Vis place vould be mouche nicer eef there were lease volves... so mouche nicer.”  Lumar stated.  Then waited for Pluto to reach her side, so the coyote pair could begin their walk.

The other coyote audibly responded to the male's skirting, a small attempt to slide his way out of her path as he planned on continuing his walk. "Sounds alright." Pluto shrugged, flicking his scraggly, scarred tail before padding over besides the female and continued to tap his paws against the earth at his original pace, swiftly padding through the forest with his nostrils flared and ears pricked upwards. His lean muscles stretched as he paced, ribs poking from his thin grey pelt and paw pads cracked from walking for so long. However, his eyes remained bright and healthy, nose wet and fresh despite his unappealing, almost sickly appearance. It was merely a side-effect of constantly traveling and only eating perhaps once or (rarely) twice a day.

The two picked back up on their previous conversation on wolves, and Pluto nodded affirmatively at the female's heavily accented words, agreeing fully. "They're like sheep, or any other lazing herd animal. Just stinking up the place, eating up all the resources, and too afraid to be on their own and explore." Pluto spat, ignoring the stinging pain of a small, sharp sliver of rock piercing his pawpad and eliciting a small droplet of blood. The male swiftly hopped into thicker grasses, further away from the stream and its rocky, sandy bed to prevent such an incident from happening again. More words were shared from Lumar's perspective, and finally the male allowed a small grin to curl up the sides of his muzzles as he padded along the fresh, unexplored paths of the deep wilds. "It would be a joy to fall asleep without worrying about some mangy fleabag biting your rear while you sleep, smelling their stench on the wind, or being woken up by their dramatic howls."

How Lumar enjoyed eating about wolves.  It was an enjoyable subject to vent about... if only they would become extinct from these regions.  Yet, even she knew that would cause grave problems.  Day dreaming of it would be lovely.  Hmm... it would be nice if the wolf population her could dwindle.  She hoped it one day would could happen though.  The coyotes could take over wolf duties of running down the population of deer, etc.  Of course!  What a lovely idea.  All that had to happen was for all wolves to die!  Whoohoo... easy peasy.

"Yes.  Vat woold ve louvrey.  I wishe vat jay vud just become extinct sometimes.  Even thoegh vat could cause many problems vin thy ecosystem.  Maybe even just a day of that opportunity of no wolves woold ve lovely.  Beyond words.  Their howls are obnoxious anyways."  She informed Pluto.  She meant her word, true to them.  They were exactly her option, no doubt.  They needed to go and just get a life.