Coconut Grove a bitter payment for many bloody deeds

When blinding sands gave way to lush tropics, the Harbinger thought himself to be in the wrong region of the earth. The glittering sea green of his gaze searched the coconut trees with a hint of amusement that curled his dark lip in a sardonic smirk. Two small birds had clutched themselves to the sides of the fruit and were feverishly pecking against the tough outer shell. Their twittering did not to unnoticed, and though the Nord did not know why they fought so vigorously to break open the fruit, he was still intrigued by their perseverance.
 
Breathing a sigh, the warrior turned his attention from them and cast a watchful eye on the rolling sea. It had been some time since he had tested his fishing skills, but the ache in his gut was a reminder that he needed to feed. The Nord lumbered toward the waves and tested the chill of the water with his dusty limbs. The scars that littered his legs were relieved at the touch of the chilling splash. Kodlak’s skin rose in a series of bumps, but he pressed further until he stood to his shoulders in the swell.
 
Peering into the murky depths, the Nord drew his tongue across the hairs of his muzzle and waited – ears rigid – for a sign of a passerby, or the chance at a lucky catch.

It was clear to Rosalyn her usual haunt had been ruined... the fields near the witch's claim were no longer open to her, and she was fair miffed by that.  Who did Drageda think they were, policing an area that didn't even belong to them? Ridiculous.

Riled by the events of the last few weeks; a string of fights, pack changes, deep conversations- Rosalyn had struck south.  It was a direction that felt like home to her, and sometimes just stepping off that way soothed her mood.  It was never in her future to be a homebody; roving was in her blood as much as the ocean.  But having a home like Ironsea to return to was a hell of a nice feeling.

She stopped rigid when she saw a figure on the beach; she was not about to deal with another fuckin scuffle.  So she skirted him, traveling about at a distance that she hoped he would find amenable.

The dusty warrior watched patiently, waiting for his moment to strike at a passing fish. The moment never arrived. What did, was a red-brown female with a wary stare and a wide berth. Kodlak watched her from the corner of his eye until she had disappeared from his sights. Feeling as though he did not wish to be caught unaware, the Nord turned his head around to follow her.
 
It was there that he could note the stream of her body and the jagged cuts that gave way to proof of fight and honor within her blood. The Companion felt his heart thrum in the hopes of having found a true shield-maiden in such unfamiliar territory. It had been more than a year since he had last seen the likes of his people. The Nord missed them in the same way that he missed the battles of Jorrvaskr. While he had maintained an ideal physique, Kodlak had lost some of his brute force in the long months as a wayfarer.
 
A chuff was released from the back of his throat. The Nord waded a few feet closer to shore before he was able to draw his tail upward in a sweeping motion. “Are you a fisher, shield-maiden?” he inquired, and the gruff baritone of his voice cracked with disuse. It did not phase him; he was a quiet sort when he was on his own.

She didn't realize that he had followed until he called to her, and she whirled around, her fangs showing defensively.  Shield-maiden?  It wasn't a moniker she had heard before, but it did not sound like a negative thing, and he did not seem troubled by her.  Rather the opposite.

Calm down, Roz, she thought silently, trying to relax the edge from her muscles.  She didn't drop her guard completely, though she did sheath her fangs for a more neutral expression.

"Somewhat," she answered, eyeing him dubiously as she kept her distance.  He was a fine specimen, that much she could easily tell, but she wasn't the type to desperately jump on meeting one like him.  She'd known too many for that.  "Why?"  She wasn't about to fish for him, if that was what he was after.

Kodlak was met with a defensive show of her fangs. He watched impassively as she curled her lip over glistening incisors in a show of warning. The motion did nothing to deter him from his question. With hunger gnawing at the inside of his gut, the Nord was in need. The wary glint that shone in the yellow of her gaze was enough to hold him to his place. The waves lapped lazily at his hocks and flowed up to the elbows of his front limbs.
 
Somewhat.
 
At least she was candid. Then, she turned back to ask him why he might need to know the answer to such a question. Kodlak offered a small smile and swung his head to stare into the murky ocean water. “I have been traveling for some time now,” he elaborated in a steady tone, hoping to offer her enough of an answer that she might have been persuaded to join him. “Hailing from the north, I have very little skill in such an environment. Perhaps you could show me? I will indebt myself to you for a single favor, if you do.”
 
That was the way of the world, was it not? An eye for an eye.  

Not to do; simply to show.  She considered telling him to shove it and moving on; this was as usual.  But also as usual, she did not.  Your growing soft, a voice in her said.  But she'd always been soft when she wanted to be.  When it didn't put her out to be, that is.

And one never knew when a favor could come in handy.  She stared a minute, then glanced in the direction she'd been going.  She had no real aim in mind anyway; just to scout a new hunting spot, and who knew? Perhaps this place was crawling with fish and whatnot.

"Alright," she finally finished, a tad reluctant but willing.  "Where are ye practice-wise?  Ok level or how-the-fuck-even level?"  If he had never done it before she'd start with the basics, otherwise maybe by watching he could gain a better insight.  Her manner of speaking at least warmed a bit once she'd made the decision to stick around - always be a cold bitch so you can walk away, but she wasn't gonna earn herself a good favor if she kept it up.

The chestnut female accepted; Kodlak’s ears swiveled to meet her words. It was an agreement followed by a question to determine his skill in the matter. A ghost of a smile lingered on the edges of his lips. “Somewhere in the middle,” he answered with as much honesty as he could muster.
 
Kodlak had learned to catch only a few fish beneath a frozen river or lake, but that had been two years ago, and he had not been forced to use the skill since. The Nord looked to the water where he stood, then to the female who was kind enough to assist him in a lesson. He wasn’t certain if it would deter her, but the warrior was keen to show that he was willing.
 
“The ocean is foreign to me,” he admitted in a low baritone of a voice. “I’ve watched the bears of the north hunt in cold rivers and lakes. That is all I’ve known for myself.” There was something breathtaking about the vast stretch of sea. Kodlak did not believe that he could ever reside so close to something like it, but he had a great deal of admiration for the dangers that likely swam beneath the surface.

If he wasn't completely hopeless, that was good; it would make things easier.

"The ocean's a fickle mistress, alright," she said with a small smile, "she'll pull ye in if ye aren't careful." The tides and flows were not something to test yourself.  "Keep to the shallows and often, if any are gonna come, they'll come to you."

It was fairly similar to fishing anywhere else, she found; boring.  Fish were a sort of last resort food for Rosalyn mostly because she did not have the patience nor the attention span to stand so long.  She began to wade out, slowly, so as to not disturb too much aside from the movement of the waves. Her eyes were alert for any sign of movement beneath.

"The bears of the north, eh?  They teach you anything useful?" She asked, and while the question was teasing, it was genuine.  She hadn't often watched the creatures of other species outside of prey.

The dark rusted woman offered him word of warning about the nature of the sea. Kodlak turned to study it from where he stood in the shallows. He was not surprised that she would possess the strength to drag a body underneath and silence it forever. It was inspiring to witness such a power, and while the Nord felt a sense of humbleness creep into his traveled bones, he also felt a push to be greater.
 
As though her word had called for them, a slick creature brushed against the joint of his hind leg. The Nord did not stir, but he did feel a rise of his flesh at the touch of the water-dweller. Once the fisher woman had waded far enough in, they had moved away from him. Kodlak was grateful that she would join him in the ocean instead of issuing orders from a perch on the sands. He preferred the grit of a hands-on teacher to that of a judging watcher.
 
“Yes, the bears were quite intelligent. Massive brutes, but they moved so quickly against the rush of river water, they could flip the fish onto the shore with a single swipe of their claw, or even latch them out of the air,” he answered, and the reverence that was latched to his voice suggested that he had an astounding respect for the larger predators. While the Nord had not mastered the art of fetching a flying fish, he had gotten quite well at latching onto those who ventured into shallow waters.
 
With a quick glance toward her, Kodlak offered a thankful smile. “Fishing is a game of patience, then,” he mused.

"Aye.  Fish are quick, but they're dumb too."  She said with a grin, glancing over before turning her attention back to the water.  His words did give her a notion, though; he'd watched the bears that closely?  Maybe there was something to be gained.  She was a tad dubious.  "We don't really have the paws for that, do we? Teeth work pretty well in a pinch."

Her eyes followed the fish as they flitted, moved by the same waves that  lapped against her legs.  Then, like a snake, she struck out, plunging her head into the water and successfully snagging a fish by the tail.

With a somewhat practiced jerk she flipped the creature to shore, then bounded after it to dispatch it.  For all her lack of patience, she was a fair hand when so inclined.  She'd been doing so since she was young.  "Did you catch that?" She asked, wondering if he'd noted the strategy or not.

The northern bears had not caused issue for the Nord. He had been able to follow their movements and inspect how they hunted without so much as a scratch of harm falling on him. Kodlak had found that they were patient creatures, hefty, and smarter than they looked. He had once watched a mother cross the difficult and rocky river with her cubs. While her children had been foolish and clumsy, he could not help but admire the strength within their mother. When one cub had been washed underneath the churning river, she had bent her head and snatched him free from the hold within moments. There was a lot to learn from the predators that shared their hunting grounds.
 
Following her movements with the same calculated stare. She positioned herself so that she could peer into the water without much issue. He followed with his posture but did not pull his attention from her. The Nord began to sway with the push and pull of the sea water. When the russet-hued woman did strike, it was swiftly and without warning. She pulled a wriggling creature from the ocean by its tail and tossed the writhing meal into the sandy shore.
 
“Outstanding…”
 
Kodlak’s tone was reverent enough for the word to be taken genuinely. He smiled at the fisher with a glittering seafoam gaze. Then, he fixed his attention to the water that bobbed against the lower region of his chest, and he waited. Once, the touch of a swimmer had grazed against his back leg, but he held himself stiffly and allowed only for the pool in front of him to pull his attention. There was a glimmer beneath the wave and Kodlak lunged, plunging his head into the ocean and snapping for the fish. His fangs met their mark and he reeled back, aiming to toss the slippery meal toward the shoreline as she had. The fish bounced once before landing back in the water and Kodlak chuckled as it slipped away, not likely to return.

She ran ashore to secure her catch beneath a single paw, then watched him as he worked, holding it fast.  She was impressed when his first strike turned up successful, and a fish came flying towards the bank.  She was ready to hold it as well, but it was too short.  Before she could even lunge it was gone.  She also chuckled, still glowing a bit under his praise.  It was good to preen every now and then.

"First try and well over halfway there! I dare say you're a natural." She replied, a tad teasingly, but impressed.  He cut a figure, one that Roz would have to be blind to not appreciate.  Too bad he was likely a 'man of honor'.... she got a feeling, at least.

The fisher had moved to secure his catch, but the slippery water-dweller had found its way back into the sea before she’d had a chance. Kodlak was grateful that she had even expended the effort and looked to her with a grateful expression that had bowed his head some and pulled his ears back. The glimmering gold of her gaze struck him, and she remarked that he had done well for his first try, in spite of having lost his catch. The Nord was stricken with a bashfulness that he had not felt before, and he turned his muzzle away from her for only a moment to ground himself in the ocean waters. It was kind of her to offer such encouragement, even though he had failed his mimicry of her actions. It was like all things, he was certain – practice would ensure perfection.
 
Fixing his sea swell gaze back on the burnished huntress of the sea, Kodlak bowed his head respectfully and offered a smile that broke through the grit of his warrior-esque features. “Your words are bolstering,” he admitted to her in a soft baritone. “I should think that more practice will lead to further success.” Most things worth learning could not have been done in a single try; it was the trial and error that made the resounding victory a better one.
 
“I would like to repay you for the lesson. Please, seek me if you should need my fangs or my strength.”

Wouldn't mind seeing what you can do with both, she thought suggestively, but outwardly only nodded.

"My crew is north of here.  Likely you would learn much, if you decided to come by again."  He could find her around here, if he wished, but she did not know where he would go now.  "Where would I look, if I wanted to make good on that offer?"  

There was an offer presented to him – to learn from her wolves north of where they were – and Kodlak regarded her with a thoughtful expression before he bowed his head in a form of gratitude toward the russet-hued woman. She had been kind to teach him, and kinder still to invite him to her crew where he might learn more about the oceanside and how to dwell there. While it was an offer that was difficult to pass on, the Nord knew that his soul and his body belonged to the jagged slopes of the rising mountains.
 
The final question that she had left him with was answered with a pointed muzzle in the direction of the great jagged rock. “The mountains are where I belong. I should seek a pack there and will return to see your wolves on the northern shore,” Kodlak offered as a verbal response. With a dismissive bow, the great Companion turned himself away from her and set back on his trek inland so that he could be closer to where he would always intend to live.

She watched him go with some regret, but eh, the ocean wasn't for everyone.  He hadn't exactly answered her question directly, but mountain was enough to at least narrow the field should she want to find him.  Likely, that wouldn't be the case.... she had her own crew to look to.

With one last glance, she picked up her prize and trotted north, back towards Ironsea.