Broken Antler Fen cherimoya

snow had come and had not disappeared. it continued to pile up and up across the flat silvery land of the fen, making teya's compromised gait harder. though she had little pain in the bone, her ankle remained stiff. it did not lend easily to running or jumping yet, and she fretted that she would not be able to contribute as much as was needed.
today she pressed her paw across the ice at the edge of a stream, pushing downward as it began to fracture beneath her heel and bubble with water: a small hole beneath which she might see if there were fish to be found.

It would have amused and wondered Lilitu to no end had she known that Teya had once lived in the vale, too. She had never met the woman there, after all. Right now, the cream-pelted wolf was a stranger, and the girl watched her from a short distance, eyeing the way she walked a little funny.

She didn't approach, however, until the woman began to press down upon the ice. Watched as water came up—oh, there it was! Lilitu had wondered where it had gone. It came when snow melted upon her nose or tongue, or in the faster moving streams. Otherwise, it had vanished, replaced by winter.

She loped up to stop a few paces from her packmate, giving a short bark to let her know she was coming (as if she wouldn't know; Lilitu more often than not was her own herd of elephants). 

What're you doing? she asked, staring at the hole in the ice. Oh, water; it reminded her of the plentiful rains of summer, and she wanted to bury her nose in it, cool and fresh as it looked.

a curious voice sounded nearby, and teya looked up sharply. expression softened when she saw that it was a child who had arrived, and one she knew, resembling the woman she assumed to be mother. "under, fish," teya murmured, opting for two words rather than a long struggle through a sentence.
she returned to pressing down, though glanced at the growing pup in the next moment. would you like to see? she flicked in an eartip gesture, a gentle incline of her head toward the water. a good skill to be known; teya suspected she had learnt it from her uncle, though he had taught her so few memorable things that she could not know.

Under. . .fish? It reminded her of the fragments of words she'd put together as a child; could this woman not talk right or something? But she offered valuable intel in actions if not in words, and so Lilitu came closer at the silent invitation, looking curious as could be.

Oh, wow! she whispered loudly, seeing a small streak of silver across the bottom of the stream. She knew about fish; there had been a lot in the river that bordered the plateau, and she'd often watched them when the weather was kinder. Hadn't ever taken the risk of catching one herself. That seemed like a recipe for disaster.

But she glanced at Teya, cocking her head. Can you catch them? she asked, as if the woman had been privy to her inner thoughts. She must be able to, or else, why go through the trouble? It sure was cold out here, anyway.

catch them. she supposed she could, teya knew, but it would be difficult. and she was not at all assured that she wanted to flub up in front of the watchful child. her, a teacher? she doubted she would ever be that.
but the girl had asked, and so teya ducked her head down and muzzle comically close to the water welling from the spiderwebbing of cracks already created. once a hole had been broken in the ice, she crouched nearer and stared down into the lapping dark, searching for the sluggish wriggle of fins.
teya struck momentarily, sloshing sounds the accompaniment to her efforts. only by sheer luck did she surface with a gasp and a small trout, skidding backward to the safety of the snowy bank while the creature writhed weakly in her numbed jaws.

Lilitu watched with wide yellow eyes as the woman bent over, poised intently over the hole in the ice. And then— Wow!! she couldn't help explaining as the hunt came to success, her companion stepping back with a wriggling silvery shape in her jaws. That's amazing! Who taught you to do that?

She wondered if she could give it a try, too. Slowly, while Teya was occupied with the fish, she approached the bank and let her muzzle hover just as the woman had. Her breath fogged, misting the ice. But even above the water, it was chilly, and she eventually stepped back, feeling as if her nose had frozen over completely.

Dat's freezin', Lilitu remarked, suddenly quite stuffy. She sniffled, feeling snot start to course down her upper lip. That's freezing, she corrected herself. I dunno if I could do that.

teya's mouth quirked in amusement. "uncle borva," she said softly, saying aloud a name that had remained unspoken a long time. he had not been kind to her. as a child she had not gone without food or shelter, but rather gentle touches, words of love. an explanation as to what had befallen her father and mother.
all kept from teya, warping her into a diligent and anxious person.
"can teach you," she said quietly, dragging her mind from the horrid clutch of psychic anguish.
teya moved farther down the bank, indicated blank ice. "is cold, but food," the girl joked, rolling her shoulder as she glanced up into the girl's inquisitive face.

Aunts and uncles were good things, she decided. Aunts Wraen and Maia had taught her a lot, and though she hadn't really come across an uncle (to her knowledge, at least) she assumed they were similarly helpful. Despite the chill, Lilitu beamed at the woman's offer to help, drawing a deep, wet inhale and summoning the courage to try again.

Okay, she replied. I'm Lilitu, by the way. So how do you do it? She had watched, sure, but everything had happened so quickly that it was hard to make sense of it. She glanced back at the hole in the ice and then at the woman again, her ears swiveling in mild uncertainty but her face set in a desire to learn.

"teya," she offered back, beaming a bit more widely at lilitu. "i show you," she continued, moving somewhat closer and reaching her paw out over the ice. "you feel for weak part," the woman went on. she pressed gently here and there in a small circle, stopping when her effort resulted in a light crack and spill of water.
pulling her paw back several times as it welled, she pushed downward until a jagged hole was created. "now you look inside," she added, demonstrating with a dip of her muzzle. teya would watch over the girl, ready to grab her ruff should the attempt result in any fall.

She drew alongside Teya, watching, learning. It was fascinating, the way she breached the ice. Beautiful, to see water well up like that. She longed suddenly for a spring she'd never seen, and yearned for the winds to turn warm again.

She nodded, and peered down. All she saw was water—until a shadow passed over the hole, quick and sinuous. Oh! Lilitu exclaimed softly, startled enough that she nearly lost her footing. But she didn't, and continued to stand on watery limbs, leaning further down. Her nose began to run again; snot dripped upon the surface of the water, disturbing it.

Another shadow, and she lurched forward, into the water, jaws snapping. She felt her teeth hit something, and emerged, eyes wild in triumph.

I dih ih, I dih ih, I— 

Something wasn't quite right. She dropped her kill and looked down, and felt immense embarrassment as she found herself staring at a slimy old chunk of wood, lifeless and not at all fishy.

teya tensed as the girl slipped, but there was little need for worry. the scent of the cold beneath the ice dazzled her nostrils, and when her fishing counterpart pulled back, she greeted the child with a grin. "i pull many sticks from under water before i get fish," she sought to assure lilitu.
"sometimes, leaves that are slimy." she sniffed at the thing that the girl had surfaced with, and then placed her soft coolstream gaze upon her companion. "it is all right."
hunting took much time. fishing, the violet had come to realize, took much more. but she would be happy to give another lesson, though she was silent now, waiting for lilitu to speak.

Her smile returned, albeit sheepishly, as Teya spoke. That's good, she replied. Um. I mean, not 'good,' just. . .I'm happy it's not just me being bad at fishing. Perhaps she was being too hard on herself. It had only been her first time, after all.

Teya was a good teacher, she decided, and she settled back on her haunches again, satisfied at least with the knowledge. Her muzzle was freezing, and she wasn't keen on another try today—but perhaps next time.

Where'd you come from, before this? Lilitu asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly to the right. Like, we were on the plateau, and before that in the valley. . . No one seemed to be from the fen, at least not on a permanent basis. It was amazing that they all found each other (yes, sweet girl, wolves have a way of doing that).

teya hummed to herself with a nod, agreeing with the sentiment. lilitu would become good at such in time, as teya meant to be. "we learn together," she suggested, for despite her own skill, the fen was a place of new waters and would provide them both with several lessons.
her breath shivered and at length she too pulled back from the brackish waters and sniffed at the still trout. eat? she indicated to the girl, pushing the fish forward if lilitu chose. "what do you do for play?" the raven inquired, wanting to know more about her fellow fen-dweller.
the water could wait for another time.
"i live in place called reneian empire first. then a place called seelie court. i stay with wolves who live by ravens. and then i come here," she grinned, memories chasing the light in her eye along.

She hadn't realized her own hunger until Teya offered her the fish—but as soon as it came nearer, and the smell wafted up her nostrils, she felt (and heard) her stomach growl. Are you sure? Lilitu asked, feeling shy. Thanks!

While she dug in, the woman began to explain her past whereabouts more closely. A couple words in particular caught her interest, and her head came up in surprise mid-chew, nearly choking on the brittle bone she'd been working on. Reneian Empire? she burst out, coughing explosively. Eyes streaming, she cleared her throat, swallowed better, then looked at Teya again.

That's where we came from! I. . .think, she added, mouth pursing, suddenly unsure. It definitely sounded like the place that had been described to her as a child, one that came up occasionally in conversations. To clarify, she continued: In a valley, in the mountains?

If so, why hadn't she ever run into Teya before? It wasn't as if Lilitu had made herself scarce. Her loud mouth and restless paws had made her no stranger in the vale.

teya watched in worry as lilitu choked, shifting closer. there she remained even when it became apparent that the child had overcome whatever had happened. "yes. full of mist." mentioning such reminded her of the fog rolling from the lake.
"i not know many there. i left quickly." she was unashamed to say so, for now she was here and had made something of herself. "i knew reiko name only. was it good home to you?" it did not seem that lilitu had may memories of the mountain-home. perhaps that was all right. the fen was a much more inviting place, and would only grow more precious in the months to come she suspected.

She shrugged. It was okay, she replied. I had more friends there. Well, sort of. My sister, Arielle, was still around, and there was this girl named Hotaru, too. Now they both were gone, and she was having to grow up perhaps quicker than normal because she was just surrounded by adults. No children to be seen around here.

Wait a minute, Lilitu burst out, abruptly shifting the topic. Did you say wolves that lived with ravens?! Like. . .the birds?

Because that seemed really cool. Birds were everywhere, but they didn't live with them. Can you talk to them? she added, ears cupping forward in fascination. Because Wraen says you can talk to other species if you know their language. Like, uh, the way they sound and all that. Or even body language.

arielle. hotaru. teya could remember neither of these names and was consumed somewhat by another pang of regret. perhaps it had been her fault, not ingratiating herself more fully into the empire.
lilitu's question offered a welcome diversion from a more somber topic; a beam broke across the violet's face. "the raven knew what wolf said. wolf knew what raven said. you have seen them. large shadows in the sky." of the birds, winging against twilight heavens. "when i live there, i saw a white raven." and he had spoken, though it had not been in a way teya had at first comprehended. "they talk."

She had seen them. Big black birds, loud and raucous. Beyond similarly squawking at them, Lilitu couldn't comprehend at all how on earth one would communicate with the creatures. 

But Teya could. It seemed Teya knew how to do a great deal. 

Cool, she said, fervently and sincerely. She was chilly, though, the wind cutting through her still-drying pelt. A cuddle with Mama, if she could be found, seemed in order. Thanks, Teya! Maybe next time I'll catch a fish. Bye!

With that slightly abrupt farewell, she scampered off, leaving Teya still at the water. The taste of fish was still in her mouth and she vowed she would not fail on subsequent attempts.

<3

"goodbye, lilitu," the woman murmured as the girl turned to leave. "i teach again, sometime." she watched the daughter of ibis disappear into the fen, and then, seeing no reason to quit her day, went about churning the waters again, a pleased glow to her face.