Swiftcurrent Creek Have you tried today's special?

@Cygnet , I shall later tag Arric :3

Arlette ate the two fish she had caught on her way to her den. She knew she wouldn't be able to actually digest it though. This was a meal for Cygnet. Arlette made her way towards the den she had made for herself. She didn't always sleep in it, but she did spend her time around it. She let out a woof in greeting.

"I'm back! I got you food," she offered as she came by the den. Without much of a thought the half chewed fish came back up. Arlette licked her jaws to clean them, inviting Cygnet over to have her dinner.

Cygnet's dreams were a swirl of haze and shadow, and her lips and toes twitched intermittently in response to something that seemed to dash in and out of her vision within her mind's eye. She was startled awake by Arlette's voice, and emitted a slightly defensive Boof! as she sat up, one ear sticking straight up and the other still folded. She shook her head, sending a small cloud of soft debris scattering. She sneezed, licked her snout, and emerged from the den, squinting. 

The regurgitated food was snapped up with hungry laps of her tongue, and she growled softly as she ate the food as quickly as she could. The taste was different than what she'd had before- but was softer in texture than rabbit or deer, which was much appreciated. It was gone within a matter of seconds, and the pup sniffed around, as if looking for more, before she reached up to lick at the corners of Arlette's lips. 

She was like a baby bird- growing, and forever hungry.

Arlette watched with pleased expression when the pup was scarfing down the food. She was keen on her food, and that was good. The fish didn't seem to make a difference, so she was pleased. Cyg came towards her and licked her lips, wanting more. Arlette, always the doting mother, was instantly triggered to provide with more. She had a little more left and lowered her head to give the child some more of the fish. The pups need for food did seem to be endless, but it made sense since it had a lot of growing to do. Arlette licked her lips and looked up to make sure everything was safe. She hummed happily when she deemed it so.

Her little stub of a tail waved wildly from side to side as Arlette lowered her head and provided her with more food. Again, it was fish, and again it was well-received, scarfed down in a matter of seconds with sloppy chomping sounds. Again, she sniffed around to ensure she'd eaten every last bit of it up, before she looked up to Arlette, staring up her bloodstained muzzle toward the woman who had taken her under her wing. She blinked, and waved her stubby tail twice, uttering a satisfied whuff  before she sat, and began to clean the specks of blood from her fur, though it ended up simply smearing longer lines of red down her front. 

She looked at it for a moment, and decided that she liked it that way.

Arlette smiled when the pup seemed eager to eat the extra food. She was glad for it. Arlette also realized that she could start with giving medicine to the girl this way. She could eat herbs or roots that could help with the girl's condition and she if they had any effects. She would have to eat them followed by the food to perhaps mask it, but it could work. Arlette hoped that the girl wouldn't be too mad at her for it.

The female stepped forward when the pup started licking herself clean. Arlette didn't mind helping, especially around the pup's face. Perhaps the pup would sit still enough to make it towards her paws, although Arlette had the feeling she might not unless the after dinner dip kicked in. "Feeling good?," she asked between licks. Wanting to know if the girl had some issues while she was away.

She smeared the blood along her fur, while half-heartedly attempting to clean herself, but when Arlette came closer even the kindness in her eyes wasn't enough to save her the seething glare that she would receive from the child, and the baring of her tiny, emerging fangs should she try and bathe the girl herself. Any attempts would receive a snap of her little mouth to ward her off. 

She did not care to be touched, unless she invited it. 

She went back to cleaning, giving Arlette a side-eye every now and again to make sure she wasn't about to try again. Quietly, she continued to preen her fur, allowing the blood-stained fur of her chest to remain red while she tidied up the rest of herself.

Arlette stopped when the girl snapped at her. Sometimes she did go in mother mode and the girl clearly wasn't hers. Arlette respected the sign of the girl. She didn't want to be bathed or at least not by her then that was fine. Arlette was not offended. The pale woman went to lie down a little away from the pup. She didn't expect the pup to behave has her children had. Thought it was easy for her to get lost in her mothering. Plus Moss had a certain way of behaving and it wouldn't surprise her if Cygnet had a little of her ways too. It could be.

Arlette kept watch, though she didn't think that there would actually be any danger. She thought about the girl's condition and how she could help her. She would need to find the trigger. Was it excitement? Fear? Anger? Maybe it wasn't even an emotion based reaction. It was quite the puzzle. Arlette pushed herself to her feet. "Want to join me to river?," she asked.

Cygnet continued to smoothe out the short, dense fur of her forearms as she watched Arlette stand up. She hardly showed any reaction as words were spoken and understood, she simply continued to stare and clean her fur. For a moment, her gaze fell, as she set about tidying up one forepaw, as if it was of more importance than accepting or denying Arlette's invitation. All in good time- Cygnet liked things to be on her own schedule. 

Once she had worried a little thorn out of her pawpad, she stood up, and shook out her coat. Her little, stubbed tail waved and she woofed softly, gesturing with a blunt tilt of her nose for Arlette to lead the way. The creek intrigued her- dark and fast, the waters were cold and dangerous, mysterious.

Arlette waited for the pup to respond. She was different. That was for sure. Arlette reminded herself that different wasn't bad, not at all. It wasn't just anything she was used to. This pup also wasn't hers by blood, so it made sense that interactions were different. She shrugged it off, and almost went to the creek by herself when she noticed that the pup had decided to follow her. Arlette smiled softly and led the way to the creek. She wanted to check on the garden Eshe and she planted, plus there the river wasn't flowing as fast or as deep. Arlette could also use a drink as well.

The pale woman walked ahead, mindful of the pup she had in tow when there were some obstacles in the way. She knew better than to help though, she would patiently wait on the other side of a big log, or some thicker undergrowth. They made it to the river, the location she had been intending. Arlette went first for a drink in the shallower water.

Cygnet roamed a bit closer as they moved when she noticed the way Arlette's fur shifted, revealing gaps here and there where scar tissue gleamed pale grey. Most wolves had a few, but Arlette seemed to have a lot of them. Cygnet admired the way it made her pelt look as though it waved and rippled as the woman moved, not concerned at all with how those scars had come to happen. Arlette had survived- and Cygnet noticed only the beauty that those wounds had left in their wake. 

She approached the water's edge and looked down to see her own face reflected back at her. She liked the look of the faint, pinkish red hue of her chest. Arlette stepped in to drink, and Cygnet hovered her muzzle above the surface for a moment, before she abruptly dunked her muzzle in, past her nostriles, and began to exhale so that bubbles erupted from the waters all around her face.

Arlette watched the pup from the corner of her eye. She thought at first that she was drinking water too, but on closer inspection the girl didn't do that. She took another good look and then laughed. At least she did have some pup antics. Arlette hummed and then pressed her nose under the water too, to blow bubbles as well. The girl joined the bubble making in the shallow river. Arlette pulled back and laughed again. She never did this as a pup, but they didn't have loads of water around easthollow.

The pale female pulled her face back to draw a breath. She pressed her paw back down on the water so it created a little splash to see how the girl would react to that. Arlette's tail wagging, her whole demeanor playful.

She kept her eyes open as she exhaled myriad of bubbles underwater, and they grew and popped and rose to the surface along her cheeks, glistening like gemstones as they reached the surface above. She thought she saw a frog swim away in the distance, no doubt perturbed by having someone turn the jets on without asking him first. More bubbles appeared, from a short distance away, and surrounded a much longer, pale muzzle. 

Cygnet had run out of breath, so she lifted her head, panting heavily, to regard Arlette for a moment. She caused a small splash with her foot, but Cygnet had a one-track mind. Sucking in another huge breath, she plunged her muzzle back under the water again, but this time she let out a long, shrill scream!

It seemed the pup wanted to keep on blowing the bubbles. So Arlette left it at that. The female went back to drinking a bit more, before she tried to spy for some fish. She didn't see them right away and also didn't plan on really going to fish while watching the pups. The female stepped back and then went to lie down. Letting the pup blow her bubbles and play.

She repeated the process again, screaming bubbles into the water, feeling them push past her cheek fur as they fought their way to the surface and when she looked over to see if Arlette was doing the same, she was disappointed. She'd gone to lay down where it was warmer- which was fair, as by this point, Cygnet's nose was starting to get quite cold. She licked the water from her lips, though it continued to drip down from her forehead, and looked at Arlette expectantly as if ti say 

what next?

Arlette could feel the autumn rays of sun shine on her coat. She happily looked around and relaxed. She would let Cygnet play around the river as long as she wanted. But it seemed that the pup was done with blowing bubbles. She noticed the expected look of the pup. Arlette quirked up her lips into a smile. She motioned the girl to come closer. "Have you ever tried listening to how many other animals you hear?," she asked her. Arlette's ears had popped up and scanned around to listen. She definitely heard two types of birds at first scan.

She didn't interpret the cue to go closer, and remained where she was, though she watched Arlette carefully. The twitch of her ears and tilt of her muzzle indicated attention; Cygnet's broad, rounded ears lifted and she pursed her lips together as she sniffed, eager to see what she might catch for scents on the wind. She heard birds, but wasn't terribly interested in them. She looked up as a chickadee flew overhead, but given how difficult they were to catch, she returned her attention to the broader soundscape. 

The croaking rasp of a raven in the distance caught her attention. She stood and stiffened; ravens crowed almost every time she was fed. She associated the sound with the act of eating, and licked her lips.

The girl did not speak much. Which was okay. Arlette could tell that the pup was indeed listening, by the way her ears were going. She let her listen without her voice interrupting. She studied the pup and how she behaved, just to sense if she heard something interesting.

Arlette herself listened as well. She could hear the chickadee and the raven in the distance. She could hear a frog croak by the creek. Some splashing of water what might be fish. She noticed to girl licking her lips. "Can you tell me what you hear?," she asked curiously, wondering what caused such a reaction.

She chattered her pointy little teeth together, the way a cat will when it spots a bird but sits behind a window. Her gaze sharpened as she watched the bird, far too out of reach for her to catch, and it wasn’t likely that the bird would swoop down to make it easier for her.

She glanced at Arlette, and then back up at the bird. She uttered a little rumble, a hoarse and squeaky sound, before she opened her mouth wide and- 

”CAAAAAaaaaaw, Crrraaaaaaaw! caaaaaaaaw!” 

An eerily skillful imitation of the bird’s call. Every single crow in the tree fell silent.

Arlette beamed right away when she heard some form of sound coming from the female. Arlette's tail wagged. "Yes!," she grinned and followed her gaze. It was remarkable how much like a crow it sounded. But perhaps that was one of her talents. Arlette could only be supportive of it. "We call it a crow. You can recognize it by the dark feathers, they are always black," she explained.'

The bird sounds were quiet now. "Do you remember another bird call you remembered before?," she asked the young female. "Or do you want to know more about crows?"

She looked almost offended, for a moment, by Arlette's praise, before her widened eyes relaxed, and she lowered her chin. Enthusiasm made her uncomfortable, and praise made her feel oddly stiff and irritated. Still, she listened as the creature was described, though she didn't feel compelled to add any remarks. Dark feathers was a crow. Not a very likeable name for a bird, so she thought she might have to come up with something else- but she wouldn't tell Arlette that. It wasn't if she had been the one to come up with names, after all. 

She bristled when she was prompted again, feeling as if she was potentially being assessed. Still- it was just her and Arlette. She didn't mind performing just a bit for the one who fed her all the time. 

She rolled her shoulders, and worked her jaw for a moment as she thought, panning through the bird calls in her memory. She remembered the sound a large predatory bird had made- they often perched high in the limbs of the trees along the creek. Covered in dark brown plumage, save for their head which was white. She pulled in a breath, and then tightened her vocal chords as she threw her head back- emitting at first several high-pitched screeches that swooped up in even, glissando strokes, before she imitated the classic, trembling, descending call, not too different from a foal's whinny. 

Blinking, she lowered her muzzle and looked to Arlette, to see if she recognized that one, too.

Arlette wanted to be mindful of Cygnet but there always seemed to be a thing the child disliked. It was rather discouraging to her that it always was like that, or that it was giving her that feeling. Arlette had just wanted to engage with the child, but she never knew how to. She watched the pups posture. She was relieved to see that Cygnet wasn't too offended with her. Arlette had only wanted to show her happiness towards the child, but even that wasn't appreciated.

The pup did seem to do ask she asked though. She listened and tried to think of the animal she meant. "Some type of bird of prey," she commented slowly, thinking. She repeated the strange sounds the girl just made. She didn't want to disappoint her, but Arlette was a little slumped. "I don't know," she admitted. There were so many, and many screeched like the child just had.

Cygnet frowned when she wasn't given a name for the bird. In part, she wondered if her impression hadn't been good enough- but she preferred to think that Arlette simply wasn't much of an ornithologist, and turned her nose up, disappointed. 

No longer interested in the game of 'name the bird,' she turned her back on her caretaker and began to nose about, snuffling the ground as if searching. Feeling a rumbling in her stomach, she turned expectantly toward Arlette again and licked her lips. She might not be good at naming birds, but she was often good for providing a meal. The fishy meal she'd just eaten was already long forgotten- and she wanted more.

Arlette didn't seem to have pleased the girl. The pale woman felt something twist in her stomach. She only wanted to do things right but it seemed the only thing that made the pup happy was giving her food. She could tell by the way Cygnet asked her. Arlette sighed. They were close to the river, so with a sigh the female nodded quietly. "I will get you some more, stay put," she spoke and then made her way into the cold river for the pup.

The woman stood still as she watched for signs of fish. It took awhile. Arlette stood there like a pale statue before suddenly lunging forward. She had a big fish between her jaws, a catfish this time. She quickly rushed it to the river bank and started to eat it. Though she knew that it wouldn't be staying in there long as she would regurgitate it later for Cygnet.

to the bank of the water but did not step in. She did not fear the water, but she knew to respect its strength. While the creek was not terribly wide, its darkened heart indicated a depth that couldn't be seem from the banks, and in being funneled into those narrow points, the current had to be swift. Arlette knew which areas were safe, and likely had the strength to fight her way out. For that, Cygnet respected her, and her wish that the girl remain on the shore. 

While the fish she caught was quite ugly, she enjoyed watching it get torn to shreds and eaten, knowing that she would get to have it a bit later. She drew forward, her stubbed tail waving slightly and she made a soft, appeasing noise- wondering if she could try a bit for herself before it was all scarfed down.

Arlette was quickly warmed by the appeasing noise coming from the girl. She stepped away for her to gnaw at the left over meat and some of the fish that Arlette didn't eat. She nudged the fish closer to the girl. "Careful of the smaller bones, they can become stuck in your throat," she explained and pointed out some of them with her nose.

The female then heaved her stomach close to the fish, soon a scrambled pile of meat was on the ground for Cygnet to eat after she was done with the fish. Arlette licked her lips clean, and went to lie down, having a casual guard of the youngster.