Noctisardor Bypass He's the one give his life to protect you

Her mismatched eyes immediately brightened when he asked her about crustaceans. Crabs were few and far between this far inland, though she often found crawdads by overturning stones in Rivenwood’s various creeks. It was such a satisfying venture, never knowing just what you might find beneath any given rock.

Yes! I’m a bona fide fisher, actually. I love hunting for crayfish. And we happen, she added, gesturing enthusiastically at the nearby creek bed, to already be in the perfect spot for it.

She moved closer to the water, the current swifter than usual from the recent rains. It would make it trickier—anything they unearthed might get swept away—but Druid enjoyed a challenge. Besides, she was experienced enough to know how to angle herself for success.

After we catch a few, want to take them back to the den to show the kids? I bet they’d have a ball with them, Druid said as she waded into the water, chuckling at the mental image.

Etienne had not expected to feel better so quickly. Frankly it was all a bit much. To go from angry to heart rendering to now slightly happy. It made his head spin. And he would take quite some time to ruminate on it all after.

He chuckled. Me too. Being dat i grew up by de ocean. You know my sister Suzu an' 'er friend Swordfishl' made a fish trap one time. Didn't 'ave to be dere to catc' dem.

He nodded. Dough' as muc' as I will feel bad. I may break dey claws. No little noses need sniped.

He said something about removing the claws before taking them back to the puppies, which made Druid realize—certainly not for the first time—she probably wasn’t the best mother. She quickly stopped laughing at the thought of crayfish pinching tiny noses.

Do you know anything about this trap, like what materials it was made of? Or how they made it? Druid wondered. When I was traveling on my own, I once met a guy who told me that catfish like small, enclosed spaces. If you could just find something—say, a hollow log—and drop it in the water, a bunch would huddle up inside it. All you had to do was pull it out after a day or so. But I never had the chance to try it.

As she talked, she felt around the river bottom. The water was cloudy but she didn’t really need to see what she was doing. Druid’s toes squelched through slimy mud before touching against something solider. It was a rock, though it wasn’t very large. She turned it over anyway, rapidly inserting her paw into the space. There was nothing there but some smaller pebbles.

Perhaps Etienne was a little more sensitive to sniped noses. Being that he had been on the receiving end once upon a time. It hurt.

He shook his head. Mmm drift wood, an' seaweed i be tinkin' but I am sure dere be more to it.


He thought about it. Probably want to block one end so w'en you be liftin' it dey don't be swimin out otter side.

Etienne joined her in lifting ricks. A soft hiss od delight left him as a big fat one swam fast towards Druid. Dere 'e go Druid! he pointed wit' a paw.

Driftwood and seaweed… Druid pondered, wondering how to fashion a trap out of these objects. She liked to think she was pretty handy, though maybe she should consult with the innovators themselves. She and Etienne planned to make a trip to the coast sometime; perhaps they could roll it into that.

Did you just mansplain to me? Druid teased when Etienne urged her to modify her method, the loll of her tongue letting him know she was just joshing him.

A few moments later, she looked up from her own trawling at the sound of a hiss. Etienne yelled and she tried to follow where he was pointing, though it was hard to see through the silt clouding the water. Had she not spent most of her life subsisting on prey procured from aquatic environments, Druid wouldn’t have been able to swiftly calculate the crayfish’s location.

She pounced, both forepaws scrambling along the river bottom and making the water even cloudier. Within seconds, something bumped into her and she immediately flicked a paw to pin it. In another deft movement, she closed her toes around it and flung the crawdad in Etienne’s general direction.

Suzu was haunting their door step. Maybe he'd ask his beautiful sister to stop and talk to Druid. She'd be easier to give advice on this.

He blinked. A soft surprised chuckle. I wasn't trying too.

Etienne scrambled to chase. A smile on his face. A loud laugh as Druid chased it. He was hoping she was going to get it. If he had been human hia hands would have been fisted while he would go druid go under his breath.

The crayfish came flying at him. Slapping him on the muzzle. He clapped a paw to his face trying to grab it. Slippy and slidey he finally got it. A triumphant smile.

Teamwork makes the dream work! Druid shouted when Etienne caught the crawdad.

That was just the first of many. Between the two of them, they managed to gather quite a few more: a neat half dozen. Druid knew they could keep going, though six was plenty, particularly for them to carry back to Dawnleaf.

Hopping out of the water, Druid shook out her coat and recounted their catch. She was pretty sure she could fit three of them in her mouth, though she was suddenly glad Etienne had proposed removing their pincers. She was already missing teeth, she didn’t need her tongue clipped too.

I have a random question for you, she said, looking up from taking stock. And I don’t want you to feel any kind of obligation. Heck, I don’t even want you to answer me right now. I want you to think about it before you get back to me. Would you ever want to be a pack leader?

trè vre

He smiled at her words. Replied in his familys language before he thought about it. Honestly preferring that to english.

Her question drew him up short in surprise. He blinked. Suddenly very glad she didn't want an answer yet. A small smile.

I will tink about it.

Last from me!

He said he’d think about it. Druid nodded once as if to say, Good. She then returned her attention to the crayfish, assessing them one last time before divvying them up into sets of three: one for her, the other for Etienne.

One for each pup, she mused, motioning for him to take his share before scooping up her own cargo.

Exchanging a look with Etienne, Druid began trotting back to Dawnleaf. She’d told Heda she would come back with a big fish supper. This wasn’t that, so after they dropped off these snacks for the pups, she would need to hit a cache to pick up something for the two of them.

She looked forward to consulting with Heda about the Oak’s eligibility to join them in leadership. And Druid supposed she should eventually raise the topic of Anselm, though she wanted to think about that for a while first.