Whitefish River if the heavens ever did speak

He was contented by his surroundings and did not notice the passage of time in any real way. Obviously time passed; the fresh fish was warm when he'd gripped it during the catch, but by now it had stopped twitching and had gone cold. The smell of it was clean, like river stones. The warm day would spoil it soon enough if it wasn't eaten or stored; but that wasn't a concern either. Raimo watched the tree line. His attention drifted up to the brilliant blue sky with its gathering clouds—white and fat, and moving swiftly eastward.

A small cabbage moth caught the sunlight on its little pale wings, and he watched it fight so hard to stay airbourne. The bug investigated some greenery, landing among a small cluster of dandelions, and then away again. Raimo watched until he was bored — which did not take long — and as he looked around for something else to focus on, he saw an approaching figure.

They looked different from what he was used to. Wiry but tall, and androgynous to some degree, if the wind had not shifted to bring him the stranger's scents he would have thought it was a man. No — it was a woman with a stoic bearing, smelling vaguely like pine and sweetness, and for someone from a large family that translated quickly to mean, motherhood.

Her eyes dipped to the fish at his feet, and while she spoke, Raimo followed her gaze and became more animated when he realized he still had the fish. He grabbed it and hoisted it up at the same time as he rose to his paws, then began striding towards her; he was mindful of the strongly marked border, pressing his luck just a little bit by drawing closer. He placed the fish down nearer the woman, and then slunk back a step.

M'name is Raimo, Raimo Ivarstead. I've been travelin' a while ah, and I was wonderin' if.. There was any room here for one more? You have a mighty fine lookin' claim here. He grinned as he said the last bit, his teeth flashing yellow in the sunlight, and then added: I brought a — well, notta bribe, but a tribute. Figured it might break the ice. And was totally planned, yep, absolutely, mhm.