Larksong Grotto the tommyknockers

seff slept and terich was near, so vuk, wanting to carry her weight in at least some form, ventured from the grotto again. this time she moved toward the center of their land, perhaps to fish the water there. she was not accosted along the way -- while the girl was well-aware she could be spoken to at any time, she did not wish for conversation.

vuk moved quietly along the bank, belly rippled with milk and apprehensive of those who might see her before she could flee back to the comfort of her nest.

Hope you don't mind me joining. This should be interesting! ^-^

The lanky brute strode along the shallows of the water, creating small splashing noises as he went. He was as skinny as ever -- hips and ribs jutting out along his frame, his bony legs even bonier. Even his once attractive eyes seemed to be duller, but they still twinkled with his usual humorous look. He glanced around, his eyes landing upon a white wolf with black markings. He straightened his posture as he made his way over, figuring it was a newer wolf; he couldnt be sure. His auburn eyes sweeped around the area before resting on the stranger again.  "Howdy." He said, uttering the first exchange between the two. 

He could smell milk upon her, and the unmistakable scent of a pup. He had no idea there was a pup in the grotto, but may he'd just never knew. Once he was close enough for a decent conversation, he stopped walking and sat down, reclining back into his rump. He tail thumped upon the ground in a show of friendliness, but his bold posture remained firm.

thanks for joining!

she had not even begun to drink when an skinny but affable man approached her. vuk recoiled, hackles prickled -- she did not know him and did not want to know him. but in the next moment she chided herself for her ignorance. reek had been kind enough to grant a home for those in need, and she would repay him by fishing and being kind to his wolves.

"h-hello," vuk responded in a voice scarcely above a whisper. she tucked her plume around her flank and stared hard into the water. maybe the man would take her cue and leave her be.

Zaavier recoiled himself when he noticed her reaction to his presence. Did he do something wrong? He never did something wrong! He tilted his head to the side and presented her with a friendly grin and an unthreatening posture. Her stuttered response amused him a little bit, but he took her feelings seriously. The female diverted her gaze and stared into the water. Zaavier's eyes followed her's to her reflection so their eyes met in the mirror-like liquid. 

"I'm Zaavier," He muttered as his eyes flicked around the area once more before landing on her reflection again. She seemed like a decent wolf.. at least once he got past this nervous barrier. He felt like he needed to add something too be nice, but this wolf seemed to not want to talk much so he remained quiet, his mouth locked shut.

"vuk," she offered in response. she knew she must comport herself more openly to the larksong wolves; inside her heart, vuk relented and cast a glance at zaavier. "i-i am ... n-new," the girl added, pulling her gaze away to peer at the water. her belly clenched with hunger; hopefully she would be able to catch a fish for herself today.

"are ... y-you ... d-do ... you?" she stammered, ears wilting to either side as she tried to ask the male if he was any good at fishing. vuk shut her mouth then, wishing that speaking came as easily to her as it did every other wolf.

Zaavier smiled as she began to speak more. His tail wagged as he tried to show as much friendliness as he possibly could towards her. His normal handsome grin spread across his features as she mentioned she was new. "Then I'm very glad to meet you! I hope you'll begin to find a nice home within the Grotto, and it would be my pleasure to help you whenever you need it." He spoke with confidence. Usually he had a careless attitude that sometimes pissed off others, but he kept most of that hidden. She didn't need any of his shit anyways. 

She attempted to ask him something and continued to glance at the water. His gaze followed hers as he tried to interperate her stuttering question. Finally, he was able to gain some idea of what she was asking of him. "You want me to teach you how to fish? I can do that." He replied thoughtfully, hoping he got it right. If he did, he would love to help her.

his jaws split into a wide and charming smile, but vuk was too fearful to take much notice. zaavier's offer, however, caused her ears to swivel forward; she watched the man searchingly, wondering what he wanted in return. it didn't matter, however -- she had terich and reek to protect her, though vuk wondered if she even truly cared if this man wanted repayment for his lesson.

"y-yes," she answered with a nod, shifting over so that he could come closer to the water. her fear was abating, but she still curled herself into a tight coil, hunched over the transparent surface.

He watched as Vuk scooted over to give him room and he settled in beside her. He gazed into the tranquil surface for a moment, wondering where to start. He had taught himself many years ago... Could he teach her now? Well, he had to at least try. 

"First of all, you're gonna want to wade in like so," he instructed, slipping into the water to give her an example. Now, the liquid lapped at his ankles. "Then you need to stand as still as possible. Fish can feel movements more than anything so you'll want to be pretty still." He stood there and waited for the girl to follow. He glanced back into the water, peering into the depths. There was maybe one or two fish way into the lake that he could hardly see that were yet to come nearer.

zaavier was a wise teacher; vuk found herself warming to his company, and following his tutelage. she broke the surface of the water quietly to stand alongside the male, her eyes piercing the shallow transparency to look upon the fish that flitted just out of their reach.

was this all there was to fishing? if so, she could become good at it, with practice. seff would have her milk and she would be fed in order to feed him.

"Good," Zaavier muttered. "You're doing great." The lanky male continued to stand there for a few more silent moments before the fish began to wander closer. His ears pricked and he briefly glanced to Vuk before his gaze flickered back to the slippery creature. "You can go ahead and get this one of you want. Just jump to where you know the fish will head when it notices you. Not too far away, but not too close. The fish will almost always notice you so don't be discouraged once it starts darting away." 

He nodded towards the fish and gave her an encouraging smile. His tail gave a single, subtle wag as to tell her silently that she could do it, but not extravagent enough to startle their prey.

vuk rolled a 1, failure D:

a shy flush lit her cheeks beneath the white fur when zaavier praised her, but the girl did not say a thing, merely listened and watched the writhe of fins in the water. the wolf spoke of anticipating where the fish would be -- vuk felt she could do this. 

she leapt at the nearest silvered body but it darted away, and she was left with a splashed chest and a confused expression as she glanced back at zaavier.

Zaavier watched her movements carefully, noting everything she did well, and things she could work on. He guessed he was a natural at teaching? It just came so easily to him, even though he never expected it! 

A slight frown danced upon his features when the fish shot away, but a smile quickly returned when she glanced back at him. "That was super awesome! I think the one thing that held you back was where you aimed. You jumped beautifully but you aimed too close to the fish and it was able to get away. Don't worry I didn't get it right the first few times either. Its hard!" He explained. His tail wagged in a celebratory fashion as he praised her, his dashing smile returning.

he was full of warmth for her; vuk found herself laughing softly in spite of the failure. "t-thank y-you," the girl murmured, glancing for the first time with a lingering look at zaavier, to fully inspect his features. he was a ribald, pleasant sort -- vuk was thankful that he had come to teach her, and not another.

she waded out into the water again, glancing at zaavier. "a-gain?" the girl suggested.

With a wag of his tail, the lanky boy gave a nod of his head complimented with a smile. "Of course. Practice makes perfect right?" He said. Zaavier waded out into the water again, pleased with himself. He'd done a great job teaching, maybe he could spread the word across the pack and teach those who needed it. That way, he'd be contributing to the pack, just as he'd promised to Reek.

"Okay, so I think you know the steps. Just repeat them exactly as you did last time, and try a different angle when you jump." He informed, glancing into the water to look for more fish.

vuk nodded, her turquoise eyes scanning the waters for her opening. body poised, the girl's muscles tensed. there! she leapt, an arc of paleness over the transparent surface. her paws struck through; her strike was true, and vuk surfaced from the lunging splash with a fish clutched in her jaws.

she carried it to the bank and deposited it at zaavier's feet with a gentle sway of her tail. it was for him, payment for his lesson -- she would not accept it back.

Zaavier smiled, proud of his "student" as she resurfaced with a fish in her jaws. She was a pale blur as she caught it and quite graceful too. She had much potential in her, she just had to get through her barrier of shyness. To his surprise, she padded over and dropped the fish at his paws. He looked up at her, his expression confused. Was this her payment? He didn't need payment. She was skinny enough as it is. "You need to eat too Vuk!" He protested, although her could already tell that it was going to be challenging to convince the girl otherwise. "Lets share it." He then suggested. Maybe with a compromise, she would agree.

vuk hesitated, for she did not wish to share -- it belonged to zaavier, as far as the girl was concerned. but the hopefulness of his tone delighted her; a small smile alighted on her lips, and hesitantly she agreed. upon the ridge, illea had been her only friend, and she had enjoyed such. here, there was jhala, and now zaavier. 

perhaps they could be companions, or at least affable with one another, for vuk remained painfully shy. but still she drew closer, and settled; she would allow zaavier to divvy up the small aquatic body.

The pale woman finally agreed, and a smirk formed on his lips. He divvied of the aquatic animal and nudged her share over to her paws, then he turned his portion. He was hungrier than he would admit, and he wolfed down the small amount of meat within seconds, marvelling in the feeling of food in his empty pit of a belly. His tail thumped against the ground and he watched Vuk eat beside him. 

"Is it any good?" He questioned, wanting to get her talking more. Maybe if he was abe to chat with her more, she'd become less reserved and more.. well, talkative. It didn't bother the lanky man that she was a rather quiet person, he just wanted to see if she would talk just a little bit more?

vuk attempted to eat slowly, to savour the tiny morsel of flesh, but all too soon was the fish gone, and she licked her jaws regretfully, though zaavier's smiling face brightened her spirits somewhat. the girl gave a soft thump of her plume against the ground and a nod. "h-hunger is ... a g-good s-spice," she joked softly, proud of herself for the few missteps she had made in her speech.

it would never come easily to her, not the way that it seemed to be so effortless for the others, but vuk had ceased her bitterness over such. there were other ways to communicate.

His handsome smile lit up his face as she spoke. That might have been the most she'd spoken all day! He chuckled at that and nodded to her statement. "You're damn right." He said in between light chuckles. He watched her as she nimbly finished her food. He knew it was barely anything, but he hoped it helped in some way. 

"Soo.. do you think you will remember what I taught you?" He asked, laughing while he did so and tail swishing against the ground.

vuk laughed aloud; at last the lingering bit of tension she had been feeling lifted and she was free to regard zaavier with an openness, look into his gentle, beaming face for peace she did not think she would find. but he had taken pride in her accomplishment, and so the girl's confidence was raised some few notches. perhaps she would earn her place in larksong after all.

"y-yes!" she exclaimed, grinning at the man, her own tail moving against the bank. presently the twinge of milk-fullness was felt, and she grimaced slightly; she must feed seff before too long. "i ...h-have t-to go h-home n-now," vuk murmured regretfully, "bu...t ... w-we will d-do it ag...ain, y-yes?"

Zaavier grinned as she exclaimed her answer. At least he did a good job teaching her. He nodded as she spoke of leaving. He guessed she probably had to feed her child. He hoped he could meet the puppy some day, and his tail wagged at the thought of it. Zaavier gave her a bow and a smirk. "Yes, we will definitely have do this again. Have a good rest of your day, Vuk." 

Then, the lanky boy turned and meandered away, glancing at the water a couple times, wondering what he should do next. The lesson had taken up most of the day, but he still had a few hours until dusk. Maybe he'll go find Reek. He hasn't talked to him in a while, and it should be good for the two of them to get to know each other a little bit better.

Fade with your post? ^.^

ty for the thread! <3

she smiled at him, on a whim reaching out to nudge zaavier's shoulder before she too moved away, in the direction of the den and seff.