Arrow Lake I know you're scared

@Kodokuna

A carpet of red fox furs rolled out from over a mountain top, tumbling down to the lake shore below, while a hundred doves took flight from somewhere below the horizon. Confetti in the form of small dead mice rained down inexplicably from the sky, and the sound of trumpeting swans filled the air. As if ushered in by the fanfare, Ptarmigan crested the hill and looked down at hundreds of adoring faces, her ears pricking eagerly to catch the calling of her name...

At least, that's what she imagined. The mountain was silent as she popped over the top of it, and the lake below was devoid of any sort of crowd. There were no swans, at least not within earshot. Nevertheless, Ptarmigan had a rather high opinion of herself for having made it this far in life without any drastic consequences for any of her actions, and thought she ought to be a celebrity for it.

Imaginary fans screaming for her attention or not, the dainty Endore began picking her way along the mountainside, eager to find a way down to the water without knowing that there were only two or three paths.

Kodokuna sat alone at the waters edge, it was peaceful here, relaxing. This lake wasn't the largest she had seen, nor the most stunning on its own, but paired with the mountains it was utterly breath taking. Kodo let the cool breeze sprinkle water onto her muzzle and chest.

She gave a huff, knowing she would soon need to get up and get to work digging out her new den closer to the rest of the pack, but for now all she wanted was to stay in this quiet place forever.

An unfamiliar scent, barely noticeable tickled her nose, another wolf. Only one, taveled along the side of the mountain, leading right to a drop off. She wondered if this wolf knew that following the paths here was dangerous, and that they very well could fall fifty plus feet at the end of many of them.

She might never have noticed the other canine at the bottom of the quarry, had she not caught a sliver of white breaking up the grey and blue of the landscape. She paused with one paw quivering in the air, staring down at the other as if trying to decipher how a wolf could exist with half of its body white and half of it black. That would could only turn one way in winter, or so she might have reasoned.

Immediately her quest to reach the lake became more important than ever. Ptarmigan had been without much company for a while, and the prospect of having company now was tempting to the Endore. Yet try as she might, she could find no safe way down the mountain, and soon was whining lightly in her throat and pacing back and forth. She wanted to ask for help, but of course, the distance seemed too great to call across.

Kodokuna watched the wolf begin to pace back an forth, realizing it was stuck, unable to navigate on its own. Kodo was tempted to leave it there for a while, try to find her alpha to ask if she should welcome the loner, but the last thing she wanted was for the other wolf to end up falling down a drop off, the blood would be on Kodokuna's paws. She did not wish to be the reason for an innocent to die ever again.

A long howl rang up the mountain to the stranger as Kodo asked Would you like help getting down the mountain? She knew it was hard to get down the mountain, she could see most of the paths that would lead the fellow canine down the mountain safely. But, if the unfamiliar didn't want her help, she wouldn't force it upon her.

Her troubled pacing attracted the attention of the wolf by the lake, who sent up a quiet howl to communicate with her. Of course, Ptarmigan berated herself. She'd been alone for so long that howling had become more of a danger to herself than a boon, so she'd foregone it, at least for the time being. Now, the necessity of it pushed her to respond, though hers was a shaky howl that seemed to tumble clumsily from her snout.

“That would be nice,” said her call for help, and as the note died off, she began to wag her tail sheepishly. Her ears snatched back and forth on her head, seemingly undecided on a way to hold themselves. No longer did Ptarmigan pace, but rather, waited patiently for an indication of how to reach the other wolf and that sweet, delicious, tantalizing water.

Kodokuna gave a few wags of her own tail and smiled softly, this wolf was as timid as she was. The howl she received back was shaky and unsure, but she sensed no harm in helping the stranger.

"Follow my instructions carefully, turn around and back track, there will be a path the looks like it takes you away from the lake, follow that half way then take the path on your left all the way down. Towards the bottom it gets muddy, so be careful or you'll slide all the way down." She instructed. She knew that little tidbit from experience. Not even an hour before, she had fallen down one of the smaller drops landing her in a large puddle of mud.

The instructions were simple enough, and Ptarmigan followed them almost to a tee. She was, however, impatient enough to disregard the warning about the mud. Shortly after disappearing from the mountain heights, her arrival at Upper Arrow Lake would be announced by a loud yelp as her feet came out from under her and she slid and tumbled all the way to the water's edge.

Ptarmigan was covered from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail in mud and debris, yet she stoodup and began seeking out the bi-colored female who had guided her down despite the mud. Unlike so many wolves she had met, Ptarmigan didn't care for cleanliness unless it suited her, and she hadn't come down here for a swim. When she spotted Kodokuna in the near distance, the Endore loped toward her, tongue lolling amiably and tail waving. She would address the other with a short, “thanks!” before detouring to the lakeside to drink deeply, trailing mud behind her all the while.

Kodokuna giggled softly, this wolf was a bit hasty in her actions, tumbling down the mud seeming to not care. She moved closer to the she-wolf with a tail wag and took a drink of water with her.

"I am Kodokuna of the Sunspire pack, who are you?" Her introduction was friendly and open, perhaps she would make a new friend here, at this beautiful watering hole.

A large fish jumped from the water further off shore and Kodo watched with greedy eyes. She was hungry, but she wasn't in the mood to catch enough fish to feed the stranger as well as herself. It would be rude to eat in front of her without offering to share though.

The other wolf didn't seem put off by her dismissive attitude, which was a thankful thing for Ptarmigan, who had prioritized her thirst over her need for interaction. Kodokuna stepped up alongside her, but the Endore continued to drink unabashed until she was finished, and then she drank some more. Her belly felt rounded with water when she finally stepped back, snaking her tongue over her jowls and glancing at the female who promptly introduced herself.

“Ptarmigan of the Nothing and Nowhere pack,” she replied openly, seeing no need to lie about her status. Currently, her need for socialization wasn't great enough to warrant begging at a pack's borders for a home for rent. She was uncertain what she wanted in a pack, but she knew it was more than being a straggler at the borders being put to tedious work to earn her keep. She never considered the possibility that that was the only way to get anywhere.

How do you pronounce your wolf's name? :p

Kodokuna smiled at Ptarmigan, she didn't mind spending time with a loner, having been one herself. She looked the canine up and down, noting the layers of dirt, not just the fresh mud upon her coat.

"Do you enjoy being a loner?" Kodo asked bluntly, hoping she didn't come off rude. Her two tone eyes stared at the ground for a time, waiting for the response of the still very unfamiliar stranger.

TAR-mi-gan, like the bird. :D

“It's a life of freedom,” Ptarmigan rejoined, seating herself at the water's edge and sniffing the air tentatively. Whatever pack Kodokuna was talking about must have been somewhere nearby. In her experience, pack wolves rarely went far from their territory. It was a philosophy that she would have followed to, if ever she could find what it was she was looking for in a pack.

“Is your Alpha easy-going?” she wondered, recalling her parents and other Alpha wolves she had met in the past. Most of them were uptight windbags, always talking about what was right for the pack and what was good for the whole. Ptarmigan had always fancied that if she was an Alpha, she would tell them all to figure shit out for themselves. She wasn't some guidance counselor after all.

"He is very kind, I've noticed he is especially welcoming to females." She gave a smile, he was very nice to her when she first arrived, allowing her into the pack with few questions.

"If you ever wanted a pack I'm sure he would allow you to join us." She let her tail move back and forth freely, she wasn't trying to pressure the loner into pack life, she simply wanted to offer a place of belonging. Being a loner could be hard on a wolf after all.

“Especially welcoming to females,” earned an eye roll from the lone wolf. That single statement was enough to make Ptarmigan assume all sorts of untrue things about Ferdie, particularly hasty things like, ”he just wants to impregnate everybody, dirty dog”. Even though it was untrue, the thought of a male wolf welcoming females into his presence more readily than males seemed like something a Casanova would do... Not that she knew what a Casanova was.

“We'll see,” she said noncommittally, standing once more and bowing into an exaggerated stretch. “Where is this pack?” she asked through a satisfied groan. It was clear that she was unfamiliar with the Wilds and the names of all the places, and eventually would probably come up with her own names for them. A location would be a good start, though. She would know where not to go whenever she was in heat.

Kodo smiled "He's not that bad, just very sweet." She told Ptarmigan as if she had read her mind. "We dwell in the Sunspire, not to far from where we are now." She pointed north, towards the mountains with her nose.

"What brought you to this place?" Kodo asked looking at the water in front of them. She herself had come here to think and to fish. She felt her stomach growl and gave a sheepish grin, knowing it was loud enough for Ptarmigan to hear. "Do you like to fish?"

“Oh, I don't know,” said the silver-streaked female as she bent her head down to preen at her chest. “Only if I'm hungry.” She was always hungry, of course. She was a lone wolf incapable of taking down prey of substantial value. But given the choice between fish and red meat, Ptarmigan almost always chose the latter. Her coat wasn't as shiny as a wolf's who dined frequently on fish, but during her best months, she wasn't as lean.

As she nibbled through her hairs, she looked up at Kodokuna through her eyelashes and twisted her ears forward. “I'm not interrupting your attempts at fishing, am I?” Part of her hoped for a yes so that she would have an excuse to lead Kodokuna to it and groom herself in silence, but another part of her hoped she wasn't intruding. Ptarmigan herself wouldn't have had the slightest idea how to fish in a lake, since she normally plucked salmon from rivers during spawning season if she fished at all, but she thought it might be interesting to observe even if she never tried it herself.

Well...you kind of did but that's alright." Kodokuna said with a smile "Would you like some fish? I'm getting very hungry." Her offer was kind, she didn't want to eat without sharing, or at least offering. She knew it would be easy to catch enough for the both of them, but she wouldn't put in the trouble if the she-wolf wasn't going to eat.

Her mind wandered to the lakes and rivers of her childhood, brimming with life and most importantly fish. The waters there held a variety of fish, bass, salmon, and catfish large enough to feed an entire family. The waters here did not hold as many species, but the fish were a decent size and they seemed to be available in ample amounts.

Kodokuna made Ptarmigan an offer that sounded very much like, have some food for free. Saliva began to pool in her mouth at the thought of being fed for doing absolutely nothing, and the opportunist in her seized it immediately. “Yes please!” she chimed, not bothering to hide an over-eager tone to her voice.

She did the other woman the favour of moving to the right a little as though to make way for her. The stones clattered underfoot, but she paid them no mind. Her ears and eyes snapped toward the water when a sudden splash betrayed the presence of fish in it, and the salivating became even heavier. What she'd thought about not being overly partial to fish was instantly forgotten when it became apparent she'd be getting a fish for doing nothing more than existing.

Kodo let out a small laugh and slowly stalked into the water, her movements were soft and steady. This was her favorite thing to do, watch the fish move, catch them. She stood in the deeper water today, unlike the typical shallows she normally went to when she fished solely for herself. The bigger fish preferred the deeper waters, it was safer from the birds.

With a sudden snap her jaws clenched shut around a fat bass. It was enough for them to share. She slowly stalked out of the water dropping the fish at the shore before turning back to catch a few more. She wanted to have enough to share, eat, and bring back to the caches.

Kodokuna repeated this process six more times, each time bringing back a large fish. She may not have been the bravest wolf, or the most social, but she had a gift when it came to fish.

As Kodokuna moved past her, Ptarmigan's interest piqued. She moved so she could see what the other female was doing, though she knew she would never fish in a lake. It was too tedious and time consuming, or at least that's what Ptarm decided after watching Kodokuna slowly enter the lake and even more slowly study its depths.

Suddenly, the bi-toned wolf lunged her head into the water and emerged with a fat fish wriggling in her jaws. Ptarmigan didn't know the name of the fish, but she was paying more attention to how Kodokuna looked like a totally normal wolf from the side rather than a freakish amalgamation of two wolves. She hadn't said anything about it yet, and wasn't about to, but she thought it silently to herself.

She was impressed by the first large fish, and the second. It would have taken her much longer, she concluded. But the third and fourth and fifth fish unnerved her, if only because Kodokuna was exceptionally good. Too good. Ptarmigan began to wonder if it was even natural to be able to fish that well. But, as she eyed the juicy fish that she would presumably be feasting on, she thought better of asking.

The sixth fish is a flathead catfish ;) biggest fish I ever caught was a flathead

"Choose the one you would like." Kodo offered having layed five of them out. The sixth was different than the rest. Slightly larger and heavier, it had smooth skin and long whiskers coming from its face. Its colors changes from a dingy yellow to a deep brown on its spine, its mouth wide and flat. Kodokuna was planning to bring the special fish, one she had never encountered before back to the pack as a gift for Ferdie as well as Jace. It would be able to feed them both and another wolf.

She waited to see which bass her friend would choose, perhaps the longest, or maybe the fattest which she herself had been eyeing up among the group.

Kodokuna beckoned her over after arranging the fish neatly on the ground, and bid her choose the one she wanted. It was obvious from the way her eyes fell on the mismatched one that she would have taken that one, but for once her moral compass pointed her in the right direction. She picked over the remaining bass with a critical eye, and found a reasonably small one.

“This one,” she said, plucking it hastily from the pile and accidentally displacing the other bass in the process. Some small part of her was grateful to be fed for free, and though she didn't outwardly say it, Ptarmigan quietly hoped that Kodokuna would see it in her choosing one of the smallest bass available.

She trotted a step or two away, then settled down to begin picking at her meal, glancing up every once in a while in the event Kodokuna wanted to speak some more.

Kodkuna noted Ptarmigan taking the smallest of the fish offered and smiled inwardly, so the wolf wasn't as rude as she was beginning to think. She looked upon the untidy fish and moved to arrange them in a pile, ready to be brought back. She smiled watching her acquaintance chow down on the catch.

Kodo decided she would wait to eat, perhaps when she was alone she would eat one of the fatter bass, she hadn't eaten yet that day and in the days prior she had taken to eating very little out of sheer politeness. She moved to put the largest fish on top, its odd appearance making it stand out above the other catches.

As Kodokuna bustled in the background, Ptarmigan ravenously finished off her fish. There was no etiquette to follow in her mind, especially when it came to eating. She ate and she ate messily, and the Endore simply expected others to deal with that reality. Kodokuna didn't comment on it, which was just as well to Ptarm, who had never really thought about politeness for any length of time.

“Thanks for the fish,” she said, raising to her paws and leaving the bloodied bones where she'd set them. “I should get going. See you 'round, Kodokuna Sunspire,” and then, with that, the muddy female was turned around and padding back toward the muddy towpath in hopes she would be able to ascend it again.