Dragoncrest Cliffs This place is all he's ever known

First, she was apologizing for nearly murdering him, next she was ready to compose a song with her mother about the entire event. It took so little time to make, in fact, that she was singing it off to him in a matter of seconds. For the second time that day, his mouth hung open.

Swordfish thought to ask if she wanted to be a singer or bard. He could see her telling stories through song with ease, captivating anyone with her tale. It would be nice, if there were more pups to be born in the coming spring. This thought was fresh to him. He hadn’t considered whether he might have younger brothers and sisters. Suzu could, too.

We gon’ make it all the way, this time.

A single nod of his snout before he gripped the log in his teeth and heaved with all his might.

While Suzu was a whirlwind of energy, she was easily directed once reminded of the task at hand. She braced herself, and when she heard him exhale, she too grabbed onto the branch she'd been gripping before, and lifted the log up. Her muscles felt a bit better, having had a chance to catch her breath and let them relax, but the log grew heavier and heavier. Fortunately, though, they inched toward the rocks, and she could see the other log. With an affirmative growl, she gripped the branch even tighter, determined to make it and once they were there, she angled herself so that her end could go up against the rocks- completing one layer of their trap. 

"Hooo!" She said, once she felt sure enough that Swordfish had managed his end as well. "Well look at dat!" She exclaimed. Between the two logs, a small barrier had been formed. "I t'ink you be right, it needs one more to go across where dese two meet, an' den maybe some smaller, tanglier, lighter ones on top to stop de fish from swimming back over but...Dis be pretty good!" She said.

The duo managed to lug their prize all the way to the first piece. With some effort, they worked it into place where it would hold well. As soon as he was able to release the driftwood from his mouth, the young wolf sighed with relief.

Swordfish was impressed with Suzu’s strength. She had done well, carrying that log across the beach. Even though he’d nearly gagged on the thing, they made it in one piece. She was already preparing for what they would need next. One more to go across where their first two met. Then she suggested some more complicated ones for the top, to keep the fish from swimming back out into the sea.

The redtail panted softly. His snout bobbed in agreement, thinking that they only had a few more steps until they were done.

Smaller one fer the middle, ya think? Not like the last… he said with a squint toward the log that had nearly gouged the back of his throat out.

Suzu was no architect, but she considered his suggestion with pursed lips as though she had the experience to figure out what was needed. She nodded. "Yah, to go across dere," She said, gesturing with her paw. She smiled, pleased that he seemed willing to put in a bit more work. She'd assumed that after that log, he might want to call it quits- it turned out she was wrong. She was relieved that they wouldn't have to find anything else that was as heavy as that last one. "After dat last one, anyt'ing else will be easy peasy," She said, and veered around Swordfish as she trotted back up the shore, keen to find just the right size piece of driftwood to complete the base of their structure.

Easy… he repeated breathlessly back to her.

Swordfish was tired and ready to find a place for napping. Suzu was already on her way across the beach in search for their next target. He couldn’t give up on it, now. There wasn’t much more, he bargained with himself internally. If they could find the next few pieces, they’d have a trap.

The young seafarer squeezed his eyes shut until they burned. When he opened them, he saw Suzu just ahead. Anythin’ good? He would trust her judgment and her eye to find the next piece they might need.

Swordfish never really sounded terribly excited about anything, she decided, so she didn't read into his tone. His voice was even and steady, which she liked. The fact that he was still hanging around and making suggestions had to mean that he was still interested and having fun. Of course, she thought he was having fun and enjoying her company, and preferred to think that that was his motivation for helping out, even though she did also suspect he was simply keen on finding a new way to get easy meals. 

"I t'ink...." She said, looking around quickly. Too small, too big, too big, still waterlogged....Finally, she found one- a bit smaller than the first one that they'd pulled over, but lighter and a bit thinner. Long, but quite slim. It would definitely bridge the two logs. "Dis one! Come 'elp me grab it," She said, pondering over where it would be best for her to grab hold for the last haul.

All her assumptions about the boy were correct. He may never admit to them, but he would have vanished from her company a long time ago if he had sensed that she wouldn’t be enjoyable to be around. Though he was fond of disappearing when the work got hard, Suzu had sparked something special in the rangy redtail. She had given him the proper motivation to keep going.

Suzu found their next target swiftly. Swordfish moved after her, head hung low. He eyed the log she’d set her sights on with an ounce of skepticism. The young wolf wasn’t sure where he might grab onto the thing. He figured he could bite in and see how it went. It didn’t look nearly as heavy as the others they’d carried. Better to try than to look like an idiot.

Swordfish found a small grip and wrapped his teeth around it. His jaw was stretched wide, but he thought he might be able to carry it.

Suzu's end was a bit slimmer- so she was able to grab it without having to stretch her mouth too far open. When she gave Swordfish a glance, though, she noticed that he tried to grab the thing with his mouth stretched practically as wide as it could go, where the wood was thicker. She smiled to herself, but didn't waste time. They just had this one more, long and lean stick to go, and they would have completed the base for their structure. A couple other branches here and there to stick straight up and fence the fish in and they would have themselves a pretty neat little trap. 

Once they got to the other logs, she carefully lifted her end, watching out of the corner of her eye to make sure they moved together in placing the last one. Timed well, they'd be able to balance it on top of the other two, creating a barricade that came up close to her shoulder, especially in the middle where the third piece of driftwood now was. 

Licking her lips she stepped back to appreciate their work. "Well lookit dat. Looks pretty good to me so far!" She said. "I t'ink mebbe we can stick some smaller, branchy ones pointin' up in de sand. Dey might catch de kelp an' make it look a bit more...Natural? So de fish not be afraid of it." She felt a tugging in the muscles of her neck, and stretched her head from side to side, rolling her shoulders. "I t'ink mebbe dat be all I can do today, though. I don' want to pull a muscle. We also should see 'ow even just dis handles de tide when it comes in." She said.

We could fade and close this beautiful thread out here. <3 ^^

Swordfish was grateful to her when she suggested they stop working. She explained that they would need to test their efforts. If the tides washed away their logs, the trap would be no more. It left a peculiar feeling in his stomach to imagine all their efforts gone to waste. He hoped that they’d wedged the pieces tightly. The tides were strong enough to pull his legs out from beneath him, at times. Surely some driftwood would be no issue.

Could use a break anyhow… gettin’ tired, the boy huffed to her with a small smile.

Wanna find a place to relax?

Swordfish thought that he wouldn’t mind the company.

sure :)

She was glad that they were in agreement- rest was needed. Those logs had been heavy, and while the strain was easy to shake off now, she did feel her legs had become heavier, and indication that it was about time for her to call it a day and take a nap. 

The invitation caught her by surprise. Generally, she'd go back to the family home, in the shelter of the trees that lined Bluepeace Meadow, but the offer of having someone warm to snuggle alongside was much more tempting. "Sure. As long as you do not mind me using you as a pillow," She giggled, before they went off in search of a nice place to lay out and relax after a hard day's work.