Serpent Lake Independent

@Valour

She was at the lake trying to practice her fishing skills; even though prey was scarce the fish seemed to be there, not that there were much but just enough. She eyed the fish intently and dipped her muzzle in, snapping at the water with no success and she gave a sigh and sat down with a grunt. "I can't do this." She said simply as she sniffed the ground hoping to find a rabbit or a mouse, not that she knew how to hunt anyway. In defeat she sat there staring at the water.

All he seemed to do was wander. It wasn't his way to sit around all day while the adults went out for food. He wanted to prove himself useful and as such, tried his best. Unfortunately the prey was lacking more than usual that day and his ventures took him somewhere new. A young voice a short distance off got his attention and he crept forward, instantly bristling as he noticed who it was. He studied her and remembered what had happened, how he had scared her off and he frowned. "Don't quit. It's stupid" he said firmly but lacking the venom he had held before.

It was the reflection of herself that startled her a bit. She was dirty, she was useless and she was starting to think that the other pup was right. Just as that though crossed her mind a voice came to her ears and she immediately turned around. "The fish are slippery." She stated back simply. Curious as to though why he was talking to her but she didn't question it verbally.

Valour snorted and moved closer choosing a spot by the water a safe distance away from her and staring at the fish that swam beneath the surface. "Excuses. You're hungry right?" he asked her turning to look at her. He didn't know how to fish but he was hungry and it was food so he stood crouched low and waited for one of the shimmering silver flashes to show and lunged, jaws closing around nothing but water. He snorted and reared back, shaking his muzzle and shivering at the cold of the water but he hunkered back down again willing to try again and again to get one of the fish.

She let out a growl of frustration at him but looked back down at the water and watched the fish. "I was only taking a break." She muttered softly even though in truth she knew he was right but she was too prideful to admit it. She dunked her head into the water and caught something but it turned out to be green stuff that grew at the bottom and she spit it out immediately and groaned.

He paused to watch her try, his ears flicking dismissively as he grunted at her claim to have been taking a break. When she brought up plants he almost laughed, ducking his head to focus on his own section as the fish swam his way to get away from her. He tensed and watched for a few moments, lunging and getting smacked by the fish as he almost caught it. "Tricky little things" he murmured and settled back onto his haunches. "If we stop, we go hungry" he said to her "Where I'm from you gotta show you deserve to survive"

She saw his reaction and rolled her eyes just slightly and she watched him try to grab the fish that she chased his way and she looked down only see water and she frown. "Maybe it was a good thing I left then..." she said simply.

Her words made him feel bad but she was right, it had been a good thing. If he had ever quit anything in front of Vengeance he was certain he would be looked at poorly for it. "Yeah...but I shouldn't have been so mean" he stated reluctantly, staring down at the water. "You were lucky it was Tzila who found you and not our Warlord" was all he said on the matter, his voice more gentle. "We can go try to track down something else. If we find it, we can split it. Or we can continue trying this" he suggested looking back up, ears perked and tail giving a tentative wag.

His attitude seemed to be a bit better and she offered him a small smile in return for it. "I was on your borders..I mean I get it. I wasn't raised in a closed border pack before." Everyone was all so nice and loving and she had no idea how other packs ran theirs. "I knew Tzila from when she was a part of Elysium...my birth pack." She swallowed harshly. "She protected me from a bear who attacked and...killed my mum..." she said trying to keep back her emotions. "I hate fish so I'd prefer trying to find something else if possible."

She knew what she had done it seemed but what she said about Nightwalkers being closed borders confused him. Didnt every pack control their borders? Even Shadewood had done so, Cry had seemed to want to keep those borders tightly locked down. His brows drew in confusion and he opened his mouth to ask about it when she spoke again and he closed his mouth once more, listening to her. It explained why Tzila had been so gentle toward the girl and had flat out knocked him down. It also spoke to what the girl had seen and been through. His gaze softened and frowned "I'm sorry about your mom. I don't have parents anymore" he said gently, looking to the side and sniffing at the air as he began to walk toward the treeline around the lake. "C'mon. It may be hard to find something" he said. 

There wwasn't much to smell, but there was hope. A fresh trail of a rabbit, fading fast. "We have to track fast. The trail will be hard to follow" he waited for her, not wanting to leave her behind and waiting for her opinion.

She looked down to the floor once more and gave a saddened sigh. "Guess I don't either." She guessed that's what they had in common at the moment. Even though she was sad she touched out a smile and a brief nod. "Yeah, smell of prey is almost gone..." she began to wonder about the future but drew herself out of it and followed him.

The pup was hard for him to get a grasp on. Unlike the Nightwalkers, most of whom he could tell right off the bat were all strong, powerful wolves. The girl was quiet and so far seemed the type to let life just do what it wanted, which to him equated into weakness but on the other hand she had admitted she had seen strife. If Vengeance had not come along and scooped him up, who would he have turned out to be? With these thoughts running through his mind he deemed her at the least, an average person. He hurried along the trail which to his surprise, got stronger as they went along until it grew so strong that he was certain the rabbit was nearby. He paused and looked around, ears straining until he caught the sound of nibbling. Inching slowly toward it he spotted the creature at the base of a tree, eating a pinecone with it's back turned. "I can try to sneak on it from behind and run it toward you? Pick a spot to the left or right and wait" he suggested the plan tentatively, not really sure how this worked but instinctually understanding what needed to be done to hunt.

She gave a quick nod and went into position and like he said it ran towards her and she charged at it with all her might and went for it with her jaws the blood spashing into her tongue she snapped its neck in her jaws and waited for the other pup to approach.

Minor pp can we have end with your post.

At her nod he got into position and ran at the rabbit's, snapping left to right to send some toward her. As they went toward her he went for one, watching as she snatched it and ended it's life before he could even get there. Part of him felt burned by the stolen kill but the other part felt a bit impressed like he was seeing potential he could live up to. "Nice! You're pretty good at hunting" he said almost shyly, a bit grumpily as if admitting to doing something wrong. "Half and half? I take the hind end?" he asked thinking it'd come out good either way and maybe even better. As she agreed they worked together, tearing through nomming and gnawing and tugging until the carcass separated in two uneven pieces. He took his piece and nodded a silent goodbye before taking off thinking about how weak he had considered her before that moment.