Broken Antler Fen Gone fishin'!

Assuming this takes place after this thread.

Aviana halted beside a tree, looking out over the clear lake. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen before- she could see straight to the bottom! Finding fish was going to be easy, even if catching them wouldn't be. As much as she could see them, they could see her, too. She glanced around the shore, looking for signs of life or predators. Feeling alone, and therefore safe, she strolled to the edge of the water, hesitating only a moment before wading in up to her elbows. 

She had become a decent fisher, as it required less energy than chasing after rabbits and such. Plus, she thought they were pretty tasty, which made it worth all the near misses. Her eyes gazed into the water, still amazed she could see the bottom. She picked a spot with less rocks, as she tended to slip on those, and waited for the fish to come around. 

It was more than a few tries before she got a fish, finding the clear water to be as much a disadvantage as it was an advantage. But, each try was a learning curve, and Aviana had a sharp mind. The fish wriggled in her jaws, easy to carry as it wasn't that large. She went to shore, placing it in the sand before delving into it.

Kareja strolled along, humming softly under her breath as exuberantly as ever. The girl was almost annoyingly perky that way, rising early in the mornings and though she spent much of her days away from the pack members to search out signs of plant life -- which were growing more frequent by the day -- she was cheery to almost everyone she came across.

Spotting Aviana, whom she hadn't really had a chance to speak to one on one with since meeting her, Kareja made sure to stomp a bit as she approached in an attempt to alert the skittish woman of her arrival. Kareja smiled kindly as Aviana came into view. She had a goal to make a friend of the anxious she-wolf, hoping to reach out and make her feel welcome.

"Hello there. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Kareja. Nice catch." Kareja gestured to the fish the woman was munching on, voice soft so as not to startle Sebastian's sister. "I think I'll try my hand at it though I admit I'm not a very good fisher." Kareja chuckled lightly as she approached the water, careful not to move too close and startle Aviana off.

The water was crystal clear and as Kar peered over it, a small fish swam beneath her and she reached out. It was a lucky fumble, barely knocking the fish onto the sand and grabbing it clumsily before it could flop back into the water. Kareja grinned in triumph, glancing back at her companion to see if she had any thoughts or tips on improving her fishing skills.

The pawsteps of the wolf were easily heard, as it was obvious they made no move to conceal themselves. Aviana looked up from her fish and her gaze settled on a white female of average size. She stayed far enough away that Aviana didn't need to fight the urge to flee since it didn't really come. She licked her chops free of fish flesh as the female introduced herself as Kareja. Aviana felt an instant liking to her, as she kept her voice light and the conversation simple. 

Aviana was quiet as she watched the other go into the water, completely forgetting to be polite and introduce herself in return. It had been so long since Aviana was accustomed to socializing and it was often she got lost in her head and forgot to answer questions that others' had asked. It was never intentional.

She sat up, watching as Kareja fished. She seemed to simply swipe her paw at the water and a fish came flying out and landed on the shore. Her ears perked as her gaze went back to the female. How did you do that? she questioned, her voice clearly letting on that she needed to know how to do that. She stood, taking a few steps towards the water, her nose sniffing the air as she gauged how close she actually wanted to get to the other female. Maybe she could learn from a distance. 

Aviana didn't seem too worried about Kareja's presence which made the small girl happy. The last thing she wanted was to make the woman uncomfortable and she tried to be considerate of Aviana's anxious tendencies. Aviana stepped closer to the arctic wolf, questioning about her tactics.

"Oh, I just kinda slapped it up and out of the water." Kareja slipped her paw back into the water, demonstating with a small spray of water since the fish had swum away after catching her meal. "I think I just got lucky that time, the fish was pretty close." Kar shrugged, digging into her fish hungrily.

Kareja explained it simply, and Aviana tried to imagine doing it, but knew she would need to actually try before the image formed clearly in her head. The other female dipped her head to begin eating and Aviana felt this was a good time to go back into the water to try her paw at it. She kept the other female in her peripheral view, a habit formed from distrust, and stood in the shallow water, waiting for the fish to return.

It was a while before she thought one was in a good position, and she lifted her paw to swipe at it. The resistance of the water caught her off guard, however, and she didn't put nearly enough power behind it. The fish swam away, barely affected by her attempt at hitting it. She was accustomed to diving face first into the water, and knew how much force was needed there, but this attempt at fishing was tricky for her. Maybe Kareja was right- maybe she had just gotten lucky. 

She abandoned fishing, her stomach happy for the moment, and turned her full attention on the pale female. How long have you been with the pack? she asked. It was a standard question for her, used to gauge just how much Seb might trust a wolf on how long they had been here. The longer, the better. 

Kareja finished her fish as Aviana fished though she came back empty handed. It probably was just luck that the fish happened to be close enough to the surface for the white female to knock it out of the water. Fishing had never been her strong suit but she had managed to catch herself a small meal and was proud of that.

"Hmmm about two months if I'm not mistaken. Not many new members have joined besides Stitch and Embry I think. Everyone else was here before me." Kareja thought aloud, unaware to Aviana's inner monologue.

Kareja had only been here a matter of months, but she seemed comfortable in the pack lands. Aviana remembered Stitch from the meeting, but didn't recall the Embry that the other female mentioned. She was grateful for the information and stored it away in her brain, waiting for a use later. 

Aviana went down to her belly in the cool water of the shallows, still facing Kareja. They were far enough away that Aviana felt comfortable, but close enough that they wouldn't have to yell to converse. She eye the female intently, considering the questions she wanted to ask. If Aviana was going to stay here, she needed to put some logic behind it and stop fearing the wolves she didn't know. So, she asked. What do you know of Valtyr? He was the one male here she had instantly disliked, enough that she had almost snapped at his face before Seb had distracted her. He hadn't been unkind, but it was simply a vibe that Aviana hadn't liked. She was not generally an insubordinate wolf, but emotions had ruled her for quite some time, and that wasn't an easy thing to just let go of.

The question surprised her given that she hardly noticed Val. He was sort of like her forehead that way, she couldn't always see him but she knew he was there. He was quite like Horosk that way, both never came around much and the two functioned in different social circles. The only time Kareja ever saw him was whenever the whole pack was called or at night when they gathered together to sleep.

"To be honest I don't know much about him. He keeps to his own company but he's friendly enough when I do see him. Horosk and Val are kinda alike that way, pack members but you don't see them around much." Kareja shrugged. "Horosk is worse about it though, he's a good guy but he kinda hangs on the fringes of the pack." Kareja described their most reclusive comrade to Aviana.

She listened intently as Kareja told her about Val, and almost mentioned Horosk. Aviana remembered Horosk from the meeting, but like the others, he had been in the background. The other female said they both seemed nice, but were also a little absent from the other pack members. It gave Aviana a little peace of mind to know that Valtyr may not be around much. Out of sight, out of mind.

She gave a little hmm sound to express she had heard, and then silence. Her gaze looked around the immediately area, not really sure what to say now. She really was out of the loop when it came to instances like this and trying to get to know someone. So, uh, she began, trying to think of something quickly. Where were you before here? That seemed liked a safe-enough question.

It was odd to be around another female as socially awkward as herself, maybe more so. It also put Kareja at ease somewhat to know that she wasn't the only one who had issues with conversation. Kareja seemed to be holding her own rather well with Aviana though, the silence they lapsed into was more comfortable to the arctic wolf. 

Aviana's words brought her back to their converation, a bit surprised that the timid woman was initiating it. "I'm from farther north than this, the lands where it is always cold and almost always covered in snow. What about you?"

Kareja seemed willing to open up to Aviana, answering her question without pause before asking the same to Aviana. I'm originally from a pack a little north of here, but for a while now, I've just been roaming, she confided. Aviana couldn't tell where she had been, as she never paid attention to what direction she was going. As long as there was a food source, she ate, and moved on. Part of her feared her Uncle would come looking for her, but she wasn't really sure where that idea came from, other than she never wanted it to happen, and she made sure it didn't. Now that she was staying in one place, she wondered if her Uncle would find out.

Do you like the weather here opposed to your other home? she asked softly. She wasn't quite sure how polite it was to ask about one's feelings, but she was just inquiring on the weather. It seemed a vast difference from Kareja's old home, but maybe that's why she left. 

Kareja nodded, interested in the travels the other female had seen. Before leaving her home, Kar had never known that the land was so large or that it could hold so many biomes. "I did the same when I left. Did you see anything interesting?" 

"Oh yes, it was always so dangerous there. Blizzards, floods in the spring, avalanches. Here is much calmer." Kareja smiled, happy with her new home.

If she was honest, she would admit to herself that she had never paid attention to her surroundings, except to make sure there were no enemies around. Um, well, no, not really, she admitted to Kareja. She didn't really want to explain why she hadn't. You know, the usual. Maybe that would sound less weird. 

Aviana couldn't imagine living in place that had so many dangerous natural occurrences. Sure, everywhere had their own natural disasters, but the way Kareja made it seem, Aviana thought they happened all the time. That sounds so scary, she said. 

Tired of the water, Aviana slowly rose and made her way to shore, shaking the water from her fur. She sat back on her haunches, her gaze remaining on Kareja. As shy as she was, Aviana held no qualms about openly watching another wolf. It probably wasn't the most polite thing to do, but it how she was coping to being around other wolves. 

Kareja shrugged off the girl's awkwardness as just being shy. It was obvious something else lay beneath the surface of that shyness but Kar would never have guessed what, nor would she pry to figure out what it was. It was Aviana's business and if she wanted to tell anyone that would be her choice.

"It could be, sometimes." A small frown wrinkled her brow, remembering the recurring nightmare of her mother's death. Shaking her head, as if to get rid of the images, Kareja got to her feet.

"I'm gonna go patrol, wanna come?" Kareja made to leave, pausing to see if Aviana wanted to join her.

The other female said she was going to go patrol, and invited Aviana along. She considered for a moment, but then shook her head. No, thank you, she replied, remembering her manners. I'm going to stay here. She didn't think guarding the borders was anything she was confident enough to do, and didn't want to run the risk of running into stranger wolves. She was too scared to run them off, and would probably only run away herself. 

Besides, she needed to find a place to sleep tonight. She picked a new spot every night, and had yet to use the same one twice. Old habits die hard.

Kareja shrugged slightly, figuring the female had something else to do instead. "Suit yourself," Kar responded, turning to leave again. "See ya around," she called over her shoulder, not at all deterred in her efforts of befriending Aviana with the decline. 

Kareja padded away, once again humming though her steps fell quieter once she was far enough away from Seb's sister. 

you can post again if you want or just archive. Thanks for the thread!