Wheeling Gull Isle the lonely sea and the sky

Fishing is not an easy skill to master, and Coelacanth is careful not to laugh at Cascada in the wake of her failure. A low, encouraging whuff slips from her lips, but just in case the cinnamon-and-honey female remains disheartened by her botched attempts, the little Groenendael circles around the pool again to nose lovingly at the tapered curve of the younger female’s delicate jaw. When Cascada feels ready, Seelie encourages her to try again — and on the fourth try, the green-eyed girl successfully scoops a fish from the water and lands it neatly on the shore. Coelacanth bounces and dances with excitement, and the pull and pop! of abused flesh causes her to come up short with her breath caught in her throat.

After submitting to Cascada’s ministrations and allowing her wounds to be cleaned and treated, Seelie finds that the attractiveness of food has palled significantly. The wounds, cleared of purulent material and packed with chewed herbs, certainly smell better — and she enjoys being fussed over! — but the renewed pain steals away her appetite.

Abruptly, Coelacanth pricks her tufted ears at the sound of little paws in the underbrush and whines calling for her apple-eyed companion, and leaves her fish at Cascada’s paws, disappearing furtively into the underbrush before the children can draw near.