Whitefish River all I need is to be struck

I would love a wild @Evergreen is possible, or someone from Kaistleoki!

she's nimble as she splashes into the river, bounding leaps almost reminiscent of a dolphin. the river doesn't contain all the beauty of the sea, but it's deep enough for her to paddle without her limbs touching the bottom, the gasp and hold her breath tight in her chest and dip below the surface. back legs kick out, piston-like, and she kicks toward the bottom. when her snout comes into contact with the surface, she blinks her eyes open, gazing up above at the sparkling light and twisting current. she's being pulled downriver rapidly, but she doesn't seem to concern herself about this all too much. 

when she stills, it's only a matter of time before she breaks the surface, which she does with a kick and a gasp. she'd very much like to see through the eyes of the fish that scatter near the bottom of the river, for surely they must see with more clarity than she beneath the waves. 

Fern's found herself in a calmer area of the river, a sharp bend that does much to offset the current. the wolfdog swims until she can feel riverbed beneath her paws, lowering herself into the water so that only her eyes, crown, and dripping ears surface. she content to stay here a while, occasionally shifting and imagining herself a turtle. 

The pieces still had yet to fall into place, though if nothing else, this, she was sure of. Kaistleoki was coming together more quickly than she’d imagined. It seemed that between her time leaving and returning to the territory, their numbers had nearly doubled; Dulce was just as grateful as she was terrified. Most of her time not spent worrying about her inevitable failure was used at the border, patrolling, marking, and welcoming various newcomers. 

The river was eventually going to become a beacon for prey and predator alike; spring was leaving to make way for summer and everyone would be anxious to cool down. Midway through her route, Dulce spotted the head of a stranger bobbing in the water.  For a moment, she stood and watched, remembering what it felt like to be free. 

Stranger? she finally called out, tail curled midway above her back. Technically, Dulce didn’t have a rank yet, but that was neither here nor there. Can you swim? It seemed nonsensical to ask a question with such an obvious answer, but Dulce was otherwise at a loss for words.

she'd inched into shallow water, crawling awkwardly along the riverbank. she snorted, watching the bubbles dash to the surface and pop in a mad herd of sound and movement, and then she was not alone. she inhaled sharply, remembering too late her muzzle was still below water and simultaneously rushing to her paws. water streamed in rivets down her back and neck as she hacked and choked, finally coughing the water back where it belonged and taking a breath. 

blinking she turned to face the stranger, tail already wagging. "yeah!" she didn't consider that the previous performance might imply otherwise. it was apparent that she was an adolescent, just short of a year, but her diminutive size and half-folded ears made her appear younger than she was. she bound closer to the woman, pausing on the river bank. "can you?"

The.. child? came quickly bounding out of the water. Already on edge, Dulce took a swift leap back and bit anxiously at the inside of her cheek. Staring quietly at the strange little girl, she chose not to respond, preferring to finish her evaluation. This was a part of being a scout, right? It was hard to tell which parts of her job were real versus those that she’d made up to make her life all the more complicated. 

Used to, Dulce finally replied with a smile. She lowered her tail and allowed herself to begin a wag of her own. I have no time now. The sour truth of adulthood was that it came with responsibilities that no one could afford to neglect. For years, she’d managed to push them off and pretend that they would never apply; this avoidance just made it all the more difficult in the end. You don’t seem very good. (Of course, said with a maternalistic twang.)

her brow furrowed when the woman claimed she had no time to swim. it seemed to her swimming took very little time at all, and was rewarding, too - all manner of sea creatures and river-dwellers had made up the bulk of her diet for what seemed like a long time. "why?" she chirped, offered a tilt of her head. 

"oh," was all she offered to the woman's doubt, and then, with a twitch of her ears, "watch!" she backpedaled, squinting at the riverbed and the dozens of flickering shadows along the bottom. a moment, two, and she pushed forward, legs working to drive her downward. a moment, two, and she surfaced with some morsel betwixt her jaws, paddling determinedly back towards the stranger. when she once more reached the riverbank, she opened her maw to let the crayfish flop to the ground. it took the sudden release of pressure to snap a claw at her lip, and swung from her muzzle like a pendulum. she flinched, but was used to their snippy paws and batted at it with a forepaw until it either expired or simply gave up, and fell with a dull flop to the earth. tail began its wagging again, gaze set on the woman and eagerly awaiting some form of validation. 

It wasn’t a bad question. Why? She did have the same time each day as everyone else, yet while some swam freely, she isolated herself for the sole purpose of being pessimistic. Well, at least she’d been given a topic for tonight’s brooding session. Dulce tried to think of an answer, but found herself without anything but a shrug of her shoulders. 

Then, quicker than Dulce would have thought possible, the girl set off for the water once more, this time resurfacing with a prize. She watched, awe-stricken, as the crawfish was dropped and effortlessly dispatched. Maybe you are good, Dulce said, eyes lighting with curiousity, Where are your people? It didn’t make sense to her that someone so young should be out on their own, despite her own similar experience. On one hand, she hoped that the child had a home to return to, but on the other, she wished that she didn’t.

the woman's validation set her tail wagging, and the girl began to quickly dismember and swallow down the prize. it was apparent, now, with her thing fur slicked tight to her skin, just how thing she was - it was her natural state, exaggerated by her minimal food intake, genetics, and the fact that she had yet to grow fully into her frame. "people?" she echoed, confused. "I don't got 'em." she replied with seriousness, considering briefly before running her tongue along her fangs, dislodging a piece of crayfish and swallowing it down. 

It should be acknowledged that Dulce did not entirely want to say what she said next, but she did anyway. In fact, she wanted to stay as far from what was said as possible, but that wouldn’t have been appropriate. You’re a pack wolf now, she thought to herself, You have to act like one. 

Do you want some? Dulce asked, biting back her apprehension, There’s a pack here. We’re new, but we’re big. Winter is coming and wolves are, bigger? No, better with numbers. I think you would fit in. It didn’t matter what the girl was really like; as Evergreen had said, they were all misfits anyway. My name is Abeja, but you can call me Dulce.

perhaps a canid with more sense would have considered the offer a little more thoroughly. but as with most things, she was decide on the more exciting of two options - remain a wanderer and grow leaner, or join this woman and her people. she was a social being above all, and so she chirped out an excited "yeah!" she echoed the woman's names in her thoughts, attempting to solidify the idea of the woman's face being called that before it slipped from her mind. "I'm Fern." she offered in turn, and her ears stood straight atop her crown. "can I meet 'em? the people?" 

Wrap up?

First recruitment, check. 

I like your name, Dulce replied, finding a parallel between Fern’s given name and those of home. It was nice to meet someone with a simple title, as opposed to the complicated ones of the north. My name is Abeja, if you can say it. Dulce is okay, too.

Nodding, she moved forward and brushed against each of Fern’s shoulders to begin mixing their scents. You can, but we walk together so everyone knows you are okay. We will meet @Evergreen first; he’s the leader. Dulce puffed her cheeks into an inviting smile before swiftly entering the territory, expecting Fern to be close behind.

she puffed up her chest a little when Dulce drew near, attempting to seem every inch a girl that deserved to have people. when she pulled away, Fern was still for a moment before grin spread across her face. wheeling, she caught up swiftly to Dulce and followed close as they entered the territory.