Broken Antler Fen Cup of coffee on rainy mornings

One day Lele woke to realize that the past no longer haunted her. She had rid herself of guilt, fear and unanswered questions, laid them to rest, keeping only the best moments, while letting the others to fade and wither away over time. It was an odd feeling, really - looking back and not caring. There was no pain, no emotion, a newfound ability to see facts and accept them for what they were. 

She stared down at her reflection in the lakewater - not for the first time trying to imagine, what if it was possible to have her face without scars. She moved so that the damaged part was hidden from view, only the whole side was visible. Except it did not feel that way. While her vanity mourned the loss of beauty, her mature self came to a conclusion that her scars were just as much of her now as unharmed self before. 

Too many epiphanies for one day. Lele sighed and broke the almost perfect mirror surface of the water, when she leaned down to have a drink.

teya had just finished stuffing fish into a cache when she came across ukelele. the woman seemed to be admiring herself in the fenwater, and so teya settled not too far away. she washed fish-gills from her mouth and smiled at the family member in brecheliant.
"you settled?" she inquired, stopping her bathing for a moment. "brecheliant is peaceful."

Teya joined Lele not too long after the great moment of epiphany and she turned to greet the leader with a nick of her head and wagging tail. She even managed a little smile, which felt genuine, not the stiff and formal twist of expression that she usually managed. 

"I think so," she nodded, glad that her packmate enjoyed short exchanges and did not (had not yet) asked questions that delved too much in personal matters she did not wish to discuss. "Can you catch any fish at this time of the year?" she asked, noticing the particular smell.

teya returned the pretty smile. "yes! but the ice is here. you dig," and she mimicked breaking just through the thin crust of frost beginning to form in the early mornings. "when winter comes, water freeze. then you sit on ice and wait for fish."
she let out her breath in a cheery plume. "i show?"

"Sure," Lele agreed, happy there was something practical to do and learn. The prospect of getting her feet wet did not make her too happy (even the most weathered nomads have their antics), but that was something easy to deal with afterwards. For now the joy of learning something levelled out any inconveniences. 

"What do you do?" she encouraged the girl to start the lesson.

she led lele along the way until she found where sedges were not so thick. there she began to scrape with her claws, leaning close once and a while to breathe warmly upon the frost collected there.
"you are ready for winter?" the raven asked conversationally, keeping aware that the next season brought its own challenges.

Lele observed Teya's actions and then mirrored them, when she had found a suitable spot of her own. At first the progress was not as quick as she would have wanted it to be, therefore she sought out another place, where the ice was thinner. She scratched with her claws and breathed warmth upon the chosen area, but it did not seem to make any difference. 

With a furrowed brow she cast a glance at her packmate just in time to hear her inquiry. "Is anyone ever ready for winter?" she asked rhethorically. Seasons weren't too predictable in details. Apart from them being cyclic, none of the summers, winters and autumns she had witnessed in her life had ever been the same.

she supposed it was a right enough question. "no," she chuckled. "i ask: are you ready for changing times?" the hunting. the scarcity of meat. the elation of the first snow. she wondered if lele enjoyed these things or only accepted them.
she saw the thrash of a fish in the cold water.
teya pointed with her muzzle, seeking the other's attention.

Lele did not see the point of clarification - the answer was the same. No one could ever be ready enough. Frankly speaking, she was not looking forward to winter at all. It was her least favourite season. Yes, there were some fun aspects and beauty about it, but the practicality of dealing with it all far outweighed any aesthetic and entertaining it could bring to one's mind and soul. 

"For all I care winter could not exist at all," she replied. Teya beckoned to her then, she came nearer to the site, where the Raven had worked on earlier, and peered down in curiousity. When she caught sight of a shadow of a fish swim by, her tail wagged in excitement. Lele looked up at her mentor, as if asking, what were they going to do now?

lele was not very talkative.
teya pocketed this information and stayed silent. she allowed the fish to pass, inching along the bank after its trailing tail.
they could not see so well from this angle.
the little raven struck, her muzzle breaking through the light ice of the water's surface. she caught one side of the fin.
it was a fine trout, and in danger of being lost if she could not get lele's help in the moment.

Lele had not expected that Teya would be lucky on the first go and, while her mentor held on the fin of the trout, her student shifted from one foot to the other, trying to understand, what was she supposed to do and how to help. Eventually she dove for the tail fin, which turned out not that easy to get a grasp on. It broke easily and slid through her jaws. Then she attempted to get hold of it higher up. 

Up to you, if they take it down.

teya found quickly that she had not communicated well.
lele's grasp slipped and then her own. the fin tore, and the fish dove back into the water, battered and slashed but alive. it quickly disappeared from view.
teya let out her breath in exasperation but her expression was light when she looked at her companion. "not even good fishers win every time." it was shameful to lose during a teaching session. but it lent a realism she could not otherwise convey. "next time," teya said, with an apologetic look, "grab fish high on back. skin is thin there. bite hard, break spine."

Lele had not expected a win and therefore did not feel disappointed. Therefore she brushed away Teya's apology with a kind smile: "Well, you showed be that it was possible." And that was much, because before that she had not considered fishing as a serious occupation. Now she was hooked and in the weeks to come she would try again.

"Do you want to hunt something less complicated?" she asked, thinking about hares or mice, or anything that was warm-blooded and did not swim.

"yes, please," teya breathed.
fishing occupied her quite well, but she was ready for another to take the lead. 
pushing away from the water, shaking out her ruff, the raven chuffed affably to lele, signaling she would fall into step.
and as they traveled, teya found herself silently appreciating the beauty of the fen.