Heron Lake Plateau fantastic beasts and where to find them

!!!

The deer that Ragna had brought down with Giana would last them a long time. She had no great need to hunt for any but herself, for their caches were overflowing with food. Still, Ragna would not grow complacent, for their stores would run low before winter fell upon them in full force. Though she need not hunt as she had been, she wanted to keep her skills sharp.

And so she stalked the lush plateau, keen eyes darting in search of prey. She was hunting only to feed herself, and so she sought small prey. In the thick grass along the lake's shores, Ragna found a stoat drinking from the cool water. She was after it in a moment, though the stoat had heard her approach and fled before her. The chase did not last long, as the ermine disappeared into some hole or thick grass before Ragna could catch it. Dissappointed, she huffed and continued her search.

wasn't sure if this was AW or not, but i thought i'd take my chances ;3

Though it had taken him enough time to come to the decision, Flaris exited Donnelaith the second time without hesitating. He was loathe to leave the pack for any stretch of time, but knowing himself and his innate desire for travel, he thought he might busy himself by searching for the red woman who smelled of birth and lunar sands. Dark feet took him far, much farther than he had ever intended to go, but once the journey had begun he could not stop his scouting paws from covering as much ground as they pleased over the course of time it took him to travel on the tail of a wayward west wind.

A plateau bloomed ahead— marking a decent landmark to make as his last stop before returning to the Sentinels, he thought— and he pressed on towards it, his spirits lifted towards a now determined goal. A scent crossed the adventurer then, reminding him very abruptly of Eshamun, though he could tell the source did not belong explicitly to her. Red eyes scanned, and he set his nose low to the ground— intent on hunting the hunter.

it was!!!

Even the best hunters went home empty-handed (pawed?) sometimes, but the day was still young and Ragna was not yet ready to accept defeat. She paused, looking out to the lake and the ducks that bobbed carelessly in the reeds. One dove underwater and came up looking satisfied. There must have been fish hiding among the reeds. She was a skilled fisher and took to water gamely, for she had been raised by the sea.

Unaware that she was being tracked or that she might have an audience, Ragna slipped into the shallows. Slowly, carefully, she waded into the thick reeds. The water was early-autumn cold, but Ragna was more than up to a little discomfort. Soon it became too deep for her to walk, and so she swam. The grasses tangled in her paws and broke beneath her strokes. Finally she came to where the ducks (who fled before her with reprimanding honks) had bobbed minutes earlier and dove underwater as Szymon had once showed her. Eyes open, she saw the dark shadows of the fish. Ragna surged forward, snapping her jaws, and felt a thrill as her jaws closed around one.

Snorting and spraying, Ragna fought her way to shore with the still flailing fish clasped in her jaws.

Flaris watched serenely at a distance, the crest of a hill serving him a prime view of the small and robust backside of an unfamiliar she-wolf as she fished. He reclined on his haunches, watching in amusement as her first strike proved successful against an unsuspecting paraphyletic. She emerged triumphant with the fat fish, and the gentleman did not see it wise of him to start heading towards her now; the wolf with a fresh kill. He remained perched neatly on the distant hilltop— hoping she might notice him, but not exactly expecting it.

Pleased with herself and with the size of her catch, Ragna settled on the grass in the warmth of the sun. Water streamed from her coat and onto the grass. The warm autumn sun warmed her after her swim. Ragna tore into her meal with abandon, unaware that she was being watched. And even if she were, she would not change her eating habits. And so she ate, blind to the male at the crest of the hill. When she was finished she licked her chops with pleasure, and stood, shaking more water from her coat. Ragna took several steps away from the leftovers of her catch and sat, waiting.

His attention fluttered elsewhere after a while, confident that she would pay him no mind while she ate. Flaris watched the birds and the clouds, and when he looked down the hill, he searched the trees and watched how everything green danced along with the available breeze. His red eyes were drawn to the she-wolf on occasion, though they only lingered on her again when he noticed that she had finished her meal. Ever seeking attention, the Donnelaith constituent began a slow descent down to the water, feeling safe now that she hadn't a catch to defend against the threat he supposed he represented as a simple carrier of competing teeth and claws. Fortunately, he wasn't the competitive type.

He emerged from the treeline half a football field away from him, coming riverside before heading towards her in deliberately  cool procession. "You are a lovely fisher," he called to the pale wolf pleasantly when he was near enough to be heard without straining; hanging back in case she still wished to be alone while digesting.

So focused was she on watching the mostly-eaten fish that she did not notice she had company until he was right there. Inwardly, she berated herself. She shouldn't have been so easy to sneak up on. Worse still, his presence would ruin any chance of her trap working. Though she had eaten much of the fish, she had left some meat to its bones in the hopes of attracting some carrion bird. Once she had caught a large turkey vulture in this way, and it was an excellent use of a kill. She would have been fed and had something to bring back for the caches.

Alas, today her scheme would fail. I'd have made a better bird-catcher had you stayed away, she said waspishly, then softened. Sorry. She took the chance to look him over, and found him to be neither a threat nor a friend. Thank you for the compliment.