Greatwater Lake misdirection

zharille was always hungry now. she ate whatever she could find: pilfering caches as soon as the need sparked in her to eat, and finding odd things satisfying. she found the desire for rabbit to be strongest yet the taste offensive, which led to confusion as she gorged herself (and then felt ill). more recently, she had become fixated with watching the lake for fish, and crooned over the water as if she could demand the fish to leap free of the water and sacrifice themselves to her gut.

She'd been watching the stranger for a time now. Nestled neatly in between two low hanging trees crouched Selena. She was mindfully gnawing on a thick tree root that partially surfaced from the earth. It was sour but kind of good. 

That is one big woman. She thought to herself, feeling the winds ruffle the fur on her haunches forward. The last time she followed the will of the spirits, she was led to danger. Would she take a chance on fate once more? 

"If you want, I can dangle my tail in to lure a fish for you." The shadow materialized next to the huntress, a small smile offered as a gesture of good will.

so focused was she upon her hunger, her frustration, and the water, that zharille wasn't paying attention to the surroundings of her home.

the stranger emerged alongside her so suddenly! and speaking! the words she did not know, but the posture of the stranger was friendly. zharille was caught off guard.

she bristled and snapped her teeth, side-stepping in haste along the bank of the lake. her lake! what was this stranger doing here?

a low warning sprouted from her throat; but she didn't act on the desire to defend, as there wasn't time. she had blundered sideways in to the shallows and was thus shocked again by the feeling of being wet, spurring her to kicking her heel and scrambling again.

There was likely one of two reasons that this wolf reacted in such a huff, but either way Selena retreated quickly. Either she had scared the snot out of the woman, which was likely as she watched her stumble into the lake and then promptly scramble from there. Or she was just plain mean. Bad vibes, that sort of thing. 

"I-I'm sorry, I just thought I could help!" The shadow of a girl nearly fumbled over every word as she scrunched together like an accordion, tucking her tail close and back up even father. She didn't want problems. This wolf looked like she could eat her by the hungry look in her eye.

her heart was thundering!

she staggered in the water and withdrew from it, shifting her gaze between the stranger and the wetness of her toes, flicking them high with each step.

the stranger didn't come any closer and took on the tone of remorse, and the sculpted silhouette of submission which eased zharille.

she chuffed with an exasperated sound, and licked her own lips, briefly apologetic; but she wondered where her men were! why was this one able to get so close to her lake?

The woman wasn't speaking, and this threw Selena off greatly. She felt both scared and uncomfortable and on top of it all, compelled to fill the silence. She wondered if the wolf could even really understand her as her words seemed to have offered little comfort. 

"I'm Selena. I didn't mean to scare you, love. I just thought maybe I could help with your hunt by sticking my tail in. My mom taught me that when I was a pup." The dark furred woman took a moment to side step to the edge of the lake, turn tail to it, and stick the appendage to float on the surface. It was a sort of, 'see, look this is what I mean' moment. Luckily it wasn't long until curious fish had gathered to see what was floating above. 

"Not to say you needed my help or anything like that." As her heartbeat began to go slow, Selena began to fully take in just how large large this wolf was. It was then she started to debate if she should start running now in case things turned even more sour.

this one was loud! not in the way of volume, but in capacity. she chattered like a songbird; and she gave a name, which zharille took with a grunt and a glance, but the woman did not offer one in return. the air was full of the girl's voice and in zharille's mind, earned her the title not only of selena as she'd granted herself, but songbird; it seemed fitting.

zharille watched as songbird moved to the water again, scrutinizing every inch of her. she saw how their tail dipped in the water and the way it was so telegraphed, as if at any moment zharille might lunge if she saw even the slightest odd movement. it was all odd, to be sure. there was a lot of tension between them which settled upon the dark girl, and zharille did not know what to make of her at this point.

not a threat, at any rate.

the woman opened her mouth and let a wide-toothed yawn mime its way out of her, and shook her shoulders, both actions meant to dispel the tension she felt; and she looked away, to stare briefly at the water, and watched as fish drifted closer and closer to the girl's waiting tail. ah, it was bait! a strange tactic, but zharille was intrigued.

she moved towards the water's edge and wedged herself near songbird, then. her head was low, and she sniffed the cool air settling atop the lake's surface. her shadow scared the fish away again, earning a huff that frothed the water and made rings of motion spawn across it, and zharille pulled away again, annoyed. but she looked upon songbird with new eyes, now. she licked her lips, and reached close to sniff the girl's cheek, even touch the fur there as if to smooth it.

when she withdrew, she seemed much calmer.

The stranger let loose a yawn which relaxed Selena a bit both mentally and physically. She felt that maybe she was getting through to her and that the larger woman wasn't as upset with her anymore. In fact, she was rather large in the midsection specifically. Could she be carrying pups? It was the sort of thought you kept to yourself, so the loner bit her tongue and watched as the woman came to nestle next to her.

Selena felt her lips pull taught as the wolf scared away what few fish had dared to come near them. It was a bummer, but she knew if the two just waited for a moment longer the fish would be back. "They'll be-" but the charcoal girl was cut off abruptly as shock took her breath. She was now face to face with the woman. "Oh, hello hun." She looked down to her paws for a moment bashfully before standing up and pulling her tail from the lake for a quick shake off. 

"Do you... want me to catch you one? I'm pretty good. I could show you!" If this potential mother was hungry, the small woman wasn't about to let her go without a meal. After all, she was the one that interrupted the hunt in the first place. Perhaps the spirits were willing her to be of service again.

the girl prattled on, and gradually zharille became accustomed to the sound of her voice. she did understand some of the words spoken, but she had never found a reason to use them herself; beyond that, songbird spoke rapidly and often, and so the flow of conversation was more like a racing river, while zharille was more of a frozen lake.

she understood that the girl offered to fish. zharille gave the girl a glance, and then motioned to the water, and made a curious trilling sound - lilting at the end, as if asking a question; it was an invitation, as zharille was always hungry now and would happily take food as tribute.

besides, zharille was lonely without her men. this girl was a chatterbox, but at least she was company.

Cool. Okay. Don't look stupid.

Selena was starting to understand the unspoken language and figured maybe she could save her breath and do the same. She smiled, a flash of white exploding quickly over dark features, and then settled her booty back to the edge of the lake. 

This time, she did not completely face away from it. No, the fisherman sat parallel alongside the lake, angling her butt toward it only slightly. This way, her bait was able to just reach into the lake, but Selena could easily turn her head to peer over her shoulder and keep watch.

It wasn't long before the fish were back. Idiots. They hovered there as she twitched her tail. They moved with her tail, they were entranced. So long as she could be quick, it was a done deal. The girl kept her tail still while making slight adjustments to her body that would allow for a clean dive into the school of fish she had drawn in. Two steady breaths and- dive!

It seemed as if there was no time between the wolf's tail being whipped from the water and her face being introduced to it. Meaty wriggles held tight in her clamped jaws, and when she emerged from the body of water the loner had two fish and a cut on her nose. Selena dropped the score in front of the other wolf. While snorting away any remaining water from her nose, the girl dropped to her haunches and took a moment to rub her paw over her wound.

perhaps this was a task meant for the thin, wiry girl alone. zharille watched, and sank to her haunches, wondering how exactly this might work. the songbird was able to use her tail as bait somehow and then she dove for the water, plunging in to it! the splash made zharille recoil; she did not enjoy the sensation of being wet, and besides that she could not swim too well.

when the girl returned to the bank she carried two fish, and there was a blood scent in the air which zharille attributed to them. both fish were dropped unceremoniously before zharille and, hungry as she was, she sought the fatter of the pair and dragged it tail-first away.

her interest in the fish continued, as she tore in to it and devoured what she found; songbird's injury wasn't noticed until after, and even then, zharille was distracted by the full belly and the strong odor of fish blood across her own face; she gave the girl a cursory look and then snorted, licking her lips. as suddenly as she was sitting, she was lunging for songbird and planted a swipe or two of her tongue - still dripping with fishbits - across the girl's cut nose.

this was thanks, as best she could manage.

She was glad to be of service both to this wolf and to the spirits who had guided her here. A surge of warm energy enveloped Selena, sending additional shivers down her spine as her new friend tended to her wound. "Thanks."She smiled a bit before taking a few steps back to collect herself. The black wolf gave her entire body a good shake, yearning to rid herself of whatever water droplets were still clinging to her. 

The loner felt her job was done, and so she would say so... although she really had no where to be. Selena was never one to overstay her welcome. "I guess I should be going now. Do you have a name I could call you?"

the girl moved away from her, and shook the water from her coat. zharille was content to watch for a moment, then turned her eye towards the water again - except, the moment songbird mentioned going, there was a tone to her voice which zharille did not like.

she did understand enough of the spoken language, even if she did not use it herself, to understand that selena would be leaving the lakeside. zharille made a curious note - like a hum, lilting upwards like a question - and tilted her head ever so slightly. she had no way of conveying her name, yet.

then, she approached the girl and greedily snapped her teeth across her snout; not touching it, but above it. she dragged her chin across the wound there, and as soon as the songbird recoiled (as one might, given the fresh nature of the cut), zharille pressed her shoulder against the girl's dark fur - to mark her with scent.

stay, her actions said. be one of mine.

the lake could use a few less fish, anyway.

Selena nearly toppled over like a stunned opossum when the woman snapped near her, scrunching together like an accordion. Still, no words were shared between the two, but the girl was submissive by nature and when a large and in charge woman is on top of you... you don't move. 

"Okay, okay!" She whined softly, looking up with wide eyes as she was being marked. Selena searched desperately to understand what this woman wanted from her. Obviously, she wasn't permitted to leave. Perhaps Selena had unwittingly applied for a full-time fishing position that this stranger had been looking to fill?

The winds lay still and Selena knew that the spirits were in no hurry to move. She had no where to be and she could only feel the warmth leftover from the praise of the spirits for completing her task. Perhaps, she was meant to be here. With this wolf who could not talk. "You want me to stay?" The witch would still speak to her as if she would get a reply though...

The girl regained some confidence and began to unfold her quivering frame to stand normally again. The sense of fear slowly fading away.

fade here?

having someone capable enough to fish the waters was a blessing; zharille could not do it, and she was not sure if her menfolk were around any longer either. if she had to start from scratch, she would. why not include a submissive girl in this dream? zharille could control someone like that.

she rumbled a grim-sounding, but somehow affectionate, note towards her songbird and finally pulled away, figuring that she was marked well enough to be one of zharille's collection.

if she were to wander off, that would no doubt stymie zharille's efforts; but she wasn't about to stop her from roaming, as wolves were wont to do. the bigger woman had learned much about selena so far: that she was capable, and that she could be trained quickly to obey the natural laws.

without any reason to linger now (as she had been fed, and now grew tired of this portion of the lakeside) - zharille began to stalk off among the trees. she looked once over her shoulder to selena, expectant, as if to lead her somewhere else. there were various paths to scout, trails to follow, and things to see; and they would see them together.

perhaps by the time zharille was done showing off her home, her men would have returned to her.

sounds good!

Well, this is where she would belong for now. She wasn't mad about it and the winds still did not stir, so the spirits seemed to be in agreement as well. This large woman was now her new leader it seemed, and that was fine with Selena. She had grown tired of being alone and admittedly felt fear when the sun went down. 

The loner was never taught how to best hunker down for a night... at least not when it came to security. Sleeping alone in makeshift beds in unknown territories had Selena tossing and turning with anxiety most nights. The scuttling about of prey would consistently wake her. 

The more she thought on it, the more tired she grew. This sudden feeling of security allowed Selena to drop her guard for a moment and really begin to feel the heaviness that her body was carrying. As soon as her new friend turned to leave, so did Selena. She followed the woman closely, fearing if she was left behind she would feel lost again.