Noctisardor Bypass i’m a soccer mom in the spring

tags for reference!

Life was rather lonely.
It shouldn’t have been. Abel had his mom. He had his sister. There were plenty others that called Rivenwood home just as he did. 
And yet
Whenever he sought out attention from @Laurel she’d address him with mild disinterest at best and flat out dismissal at worst. She’d often whisk @Indra III away when he tried to spend time with her. They’d spend the day together while Abel would discarded to the sidelines, wishing he could join them.
The wolves who he’d seen wander around here were practically unidentifiable. Faceless and nameless to him. Simply background props that made white noise. He made no effort to get to know any of them.
And so he’d spend most days by himself, this day being no different. He mindlessly walked along the riverbank, humming to himself as a form of entertainment.

mahler wandered as well.
laurel having seen him so weak had shaken the graf. leadership seemed untenable.
he fretted silently.
eventually the man spotted abel walking along the embankment, and came to walk with the boy in meandering, comfortable quiet.

Abel stopped to turn towards the sudden footfall. He spotted a large wolf quietly head his way. Admittedly intimidating, yet the boy didn’t flinch. He’d come around the den a few times before and Abel knew he wasn’t a threat by now.
Oh hi, he greeted casually as he continued to walk forward. I was jus’ walkin around. A particularly large pebble crossed his path, and Abel lazily kicked it without a thought. Doin… stuff. He shrugged.

mahler watched the boy kick the stone. he was reminded of marble and of calcifer, the former of whom had dispersed too early. he could only hope that they had found a safe place to grow.
"vhat sort of things do you like to do?" the gargoyle asked.
his own wide paw touched a rock. he paused to push it down into the water.

Uhhhh… I dunno… His voice trailed off as he watched the rock tumble into the water. The sound of the gentle splash brought him satisfaction.
Walkin’. Abel’s ears perked up as he pushed another rock into the water. This fun too. Then he pushed another.

mahler was contemplative.
having not yet been privy to how exactly the boy was treated, he nevertheless felt that a child of this age should have more hobbies.
"i could show you some things," the man commented. another stone. another splash.

Mahler could show him some things? Him? That was quite a shock to say the least. He was used to being the benchwarmer.
Abel looked up with mild interest. What kinda things?

"plants. leaves. fishing. slugs." mahler smiled and tipped another stone into the lagoon. "anything u vant." abel was quiet and introspective. he was quite a contrast to fiery little indra, whose voice could be heard loudly and quite often.

He hummed thoughtfully, going over a list of things. Trying to at least. There was nothing in particular that sparked his interest for more than two seconds. Still, the young whelp tried his best to think of something, mostly for the fact that he could potentially spend time with someone.
Umm I wanna learn about… His thoughtful expression finally unscrewed. …fishing

mahler grunted.
he stepped away and down toward the shallows of the lagoon. the waters had grown quiet and cold and dark. it would take more waiting, but mahler was patient.
"the first thing about fishing is that you must learn how to vait and vatch. the fish can see your shadow upon the surface. you must sit tall, like this, and keep your eyes upon the vater."

Abel followed close behind. He gripped onto the edge of the bank as best he could and leaned over. His reflection bobbed along the gentle water’s surface. It was kind of mesmerizing.
Mahler’s instructions were just barely processed. Abel shot up and away from the edge when he was told the fish could see his shadow.
Awww dangit. He huffed, convinced he’d already screwed it up. Still he did as he was told. He straightened up. Maybe a bit too much. His stiffness rivaled the trees around them.

mahler hid a chuckle. he reached out a massive paw to gently adjust abel's posture a bit, if allowed. "look down. keep your shoulders curved."
there was a cut of fins in the cold water. silently he pointed out, to where the swimming thing broached the surface for a brief second.

Abel eased into the much more comfortable position with the help of Mahler, and peered over the surface of the water. He gasped when a fin pierced through, and glanced at the man.
When are you supposed to get it? he whispered as he stared back at the fish.

"vait until it is close as it vill come."
the fish's head was now visible beneath the water. the man's ponderous paws broke the surface first and then his muzzle.
he rebounded in an arc of water, the hapless prey twisting in his jaws. mahler slammed it down upon the bank for abel to see.

When it’s close, he replied. And then, as though right on cue, the fish’s shadow appeared beneath the surface. In a blink of an eye it was gone, snatched up by Mahler and smacked down in front of a now awe-struck Abel.

Woah.. He stared at it with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. That was so cool. How was he gonna replicate that?

"it takes time. but you vill be cool too. practice on smaller fish."
mahler indicated the catch. "smell. look. vhat can you tell me about this vone?"
he sat, shaking water from his ruff.

He could be cool to… ha. He doubted that. Not like Mahler, surely.
But Abel shrugged it off. He stepped forward to take a whiff of the fish.
Stinky. He touched its scales with his paw, and it slipped from the surface. and slimy.
I think I’ve seen one of these before, he recalled, someone let me and Indra touch it.

stinky and slimy.
mahler leant forward and opened the belly of the fish with a few snips of his front teeth. 
"taste it," he suggested. "fish then and fish now. it is rather good to eat."

Mahler tore the belly of the fish open, unleashing a mouth watering aroma into the air. He told him to eat, and Abel did not hesitate digging into it. It was much easier to chew through now that his proper teeth had grown in.

let's have a new one :D

mahler watched fondly as abel tried the fish. "vhat do you think?" he asked with a chuckle. he would perhaps stay with the boy a while, listing the different merits of this particular food over others.