Firefly Ravine Black, white, and brown.

Thankfully, Leto agreed to take a day off from travelling. They'd decided to follow the river north when they resumed, but not for a day or two. There were plenty of fish, and Pepper decided they weren't as bad as he'd thought initially. The smell was awful, but the meat itself was fine. 

Knowing their new plans, he wanted to find Phobos and give him an update. He figured if he kept him close enough, he could offer help with hunting, maybe even find a place for him. It wasn't like him to ever be selfless, but between Leto and Phobos, he might be turning a new leaf. 

It didn't take him long to catch the familiar scent, which meant the wolf was moving west, where Pepper had told him they were headed. Pepper could only assume that meant Phobos had been interested. He carefully scaled down the side of the ravine, finding it much easier than it appeared. The scent was thick, seemed to be coming from downstream, so he walked.

Staring down into the water Phobos was expertly crouched at the edge of the ravine. Despite the usual busy work he kept for himself he wasn't doing anything but watching the water bugs as of now.

He planned on checking what sorts of plants were in the area later, but for now he was taking the time to relax - or to do what he considered to be relaxing at least. With how intently he was watching he had more than enough thoughts running through his mind.

The scrawny wolf's form was recognizable, even at dusk, where he couldn't make out the colors of his coat. 

He seemed unaware of Pepper, who decided to make his presence known with an exaggerated throat clear rather than startle the wolf. 

"Evenin'."

Just as before his ears seemed to find Pepper first. They turned towards the sound, his head following a moment later.

"Ah - I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

He offered a smile, standing from where he was crouched to meet Pepper's eyes.

"How have the berries been working?"

"Far as I can tell, they've helped. Still wake up sore, but it ain't like it's been."

He offered a smile. 

"Wanted to let you know we'll be goin' north tomorrow. Followin' this river." 

Which, isn't the only reason he wanted to come back, but Phobos didn't need to know that. It was almost startling to see the small form without light a moment ago. Aside from the color, he was very similar to Jackson.

He nodded, leaving his previous activity to approach Pepper.

"Have you and your friend not had any luck then? With whatever it was that you were looking for."

He asked, glancing behind Pepper as though he expected this 'friend' to have followed.

”Not that,” he started. ”Just put a pause on things for a couple o’ days.” 

Pepper looked behind him after noticing the smaller wolf doing the same. He half expected to see someone behind him, but didn’t. He turned back to the black and white wolf. 

”So you decided to follow, then? Or is it just a coincidence yer out here?”

"Well, I had no other plans so I thought that I may as well follow the same route."

He responded, refocusing his attention on Pepper when he didn't spot anybody behind him.

"I assumed I would catch up to you eventually of course."

”Yer close. We’re only a few miles up the river from here.” 

He wasn’t really sure how to progress the conversation. He hadn’t thought that far and rarely ever spoke without a purpose. 

”You had anything to eat?” 

Food worked. And he was genuinely curious if the small wolf had been taking care of himself.

"Small things along the way, but I have."

He had nothing to offer Pepper this time around, so he knew better than to ask him for food again.

"I feel like a coyote, the way I've been scavenging." He snickered.

He certainly possessed coyote-like qualities. Mostly just the size. But it didn’t sound like any sort of eating a wolf should be surviving on. 

”You given fishin’ a try? It’s less work than huntin’. I could teach ya.”

"I know very well how to, I just can't stand it. My fur is too long to be getting wet."

He wrinkled his nose at the thought. His fur had a tendency to curl and get tangled, a process which the water only sped up. It was never pleasant.

"But I've been eating fine, really. I can't hold weight well is all."

Phobos preferred to avoid discussing his own health, however he felt it would be much more bothersome if he let Pepper worry.

He’d never heard of a wolf too worried about his fur to eat properly. He didn’t believe the weight thing, either. The wolf has said himself he’d been scavenging. 

Wordless, Pepper padded into the water. The current was much stronger here than downstream. The water was shallow, the riverbed rocky. He assumed any sand probably wouldn’t hold here. 

There were fish, too, which seemed stagnant as they swam against the current. He studied one with an intense stare, licking his lips.

He sighed, watching as Pepper entered the water. If he wanted to be responsible for dinner yet again he wouldn't stop him.

He used to eat fish quite often. His previous pack lived right next to a river and one of his brother's would bring back fish for him whenever he was bedridden, promising that it would make him stronger.

He hated fish.

With a quick movement, he flung his face toward the water, mouth open. He emerged with a bright red fish, which caused Pepper’s head to move as it flopped frantically between his teeth. 

Fishing was so much easier than hunting. He should do this more. 

He turned, carefully placing his paws on the slippery rocks, then waded out of the water. His fur dripped furiously. He set the salmon down in front of Phobos, then shook out his fur and sat. The fish writhed, seeming to gasp as its gills flared and retracted. 

”Mushrooms and berries ain’t gone cut it. You need food.”

"Of course - by scavenging I mean I've been eating others leftovers. It's ridiculous how wasteful some are."

He placed his paw over the gills of the fish, laying down as he did and tearing in a moment later.

"You shouldn't have to feel responsible for me."

Pepper was taken back by the comment, then began to wonder if he was being overbearing. It just felt like the natural thing to do. He didn’t expect anything for it. He wasn’t doing it to be nice, either. Did he feel responsible for him? No, it wasn’t that. But it wasn’t not that, either. 

”I don’t.”

"Well you aren't feeding me for no reason, so what is it then?"

He eyed Pepper with a calm expression, however his eyes suggested a strange level of disdain for the situation at hand.

"You can tell me, Pepper."

”You looked hungry.” 

He didn’t know any other reason. He also felt as if that was a good enough reason. There really wasn’t anything else to tell, especially not to a wolf who he’d only encountered one time before. 

”Consider it an apology for intrudin’  like this.”

Phobos appeared to accept that answer as he returned to his meal afterwards.

"How generous. You should feed yourself too, though."

And in an instant his mood seem to completely return to normal. He had taken a liking to Pepper over the past couple times they had met now.

Pepper’s body released a tension he hadn’t known it held. 

”Already ate.” 

He had, too. Fish, but not the same kind, just before he’d left to find Phobos. Not that he wasn’t hungry—he always was, but he didn’t need any more. 

”What were ya lookin’ at earlier?” 

Not fish, he assumed, given the wolf’s response to his fishing inquiry.

"Insects." He responded, tail flicking.

"They aren't exactly pleasant, but they're interesting to look at. Did you know that some of them walk on top of the water?"

He wasn't particularly interested in bugs, but there wasn't much else for him to do here.

He wasn’t fond of bugs. Not scared of them, but a lot of them were annoying. Some bit, some smelled bad, and some were just gross. Not a lot of redeeming qualities for them. 

He’d seen bugs do it before. The swamp was full of little spidery looking fellas that walked on water, and admittedly, he was curious. 

”How do ya s’pose they manage that?”

"Maybe God felt bad for making them weak, so he let them have something the rest of us couldn't."

He shook his head, snickering at his own words. He didn't believe in such things of course - in his mind, if there was a higher being looking down on them they wouldn't be concerned with such little things. Then again, maybe they were just cruel.

"Or it could just be that they're much lighter than us. Who knows."

Pepper almost visibly winced at the mention of God. It was a bit of a sore topic for him. 

"Seems like a curse in my opinion. Cursed to be fish food."