Stavanger Bay waterslide

Although she had convinced herself she was content without setting foot on the island, she still found herself drawn to it. It was a curious thing, this curiosity! But she had no mind to examine it. Instead, she was busy looking into the water.

There were many fish to look at, which she liked very much. She loved the way they grouped together, their many colors, their dazzling scales, their shiny little eyes. It must be so different, to be a fish. It was so different already just to be herself. Did every wolf feel this way?

Sunlight washed over the beach, hot and heavy against the young hunter’s thick coat. The waves that pushed against the shore were tempting. He knew that he could cool himself in the waters if he ventured out far enough. With a swim, he could gather enough fish to feed himself and the others he’d lost track of.

Squinting against the glint of the sun against the water, Swordfish caught sight of a stranger on the edge of the sea. She appeared to be staring intently into the blue depths. From a distance, he could only assume that she was attempting to catch something. As the boy drew closer, he wuffed a melancholy greeting to see if the fisher could be persuaded to catch him something too.

It was just like her to be so dialed-in on something that she did not realize another had approached. She caught wind of him maybe two beats before his greeting, and although his presence electrified her, the fish seemed to be unbothered.

She acknowledged him with an inviting wag of her tail, the wet edge of her nose quivering to take in his scent. Although her energy was unmatched, she would meet his gaze, unwavering. If he wanted something, she was unaware. He would have to be more direct in order to bag his meal.

The stranger was pleasant with her body language. She didn’t appear to be bothered that he’d intruded on… whatever it was she was doing. Swordfish followed the sway of her tail and took it as an invitation to draw nearer. His heavy-lidded stare shifted to the waters where he saw the glimmer of fish scales caught in sunlight.

Ya fishin? he asked her in a monotonous drawl.

Pulling his gaze from the prey, Swordfish looked over her shape with some small interest. She did not carry the scent of a pack on her. He wondered if she’d just washed in, carried by the waves and crashed against the shore.

No, she said with a gentle shake of her head. Looking.

An eternity passes, at least in her mind, where she looks at him the way he looks at her. She notices his lean frame and realizes, painfully belated, what he was after. She perked like an exclamation point. Want fish? Um — can be fishing, if you want. It was something she was good at, and she always liked to have a chance to be good at something.

Not fishing, just looking.

Swordfish deflated slightly, aware that he would not be able to schmooze a free meal from this pretty stranger. Her eyes were bright on him. Her expression unreadable. The young man stirred, thinking of Suzu and wondering if he had made a horrible mistake. While his mind crumbled, he stood awkwardly across from the stranger.

As soon as she brightened, offering to fish, Swordfish returned to the present and his eyes lifted to her features. She seemed so eager. He wondered if he had ever been so bright and bubbly as this. It didn’t feel like it.

How ‘bout we try together… his monotonous drawl came.

Together! In her mind, the offer to fish had become a game, and she liked to play games almost as much as she liked being good at things. She gave him a nod instead of a reply. Excitement rang through her body as her front paws pattered against the stone.

She turned towards the water and an instant she was still, as if all the canine neuroticism in her body had evaporated. All of her intensity was directed towards the fish. She motioned to him to do as she had done; the tapping of his toes would be sure to send them swimming her way.

The woman did not answer with her voice. She nodded her slender snout. Then her paws tiptoed eagerly to the edge of the water where she crouched and became still, watchful, determined. Swordfish only stared at her for several long breaths. She gestured for him to follow her lead.

The bear-hunter slunk toward her. His head was low and his shoulders moved with a sense of grace. Even before he’d reached the water, he was crouched and the noise from his paws was dampened. The heavy-lids of his eyes fluttered while he fixed his sights on the swirling fish below.

Even from the corner of her eye, she could tell by the way that he moved that he was a hunter. This endeared him to her, made him one of her people. It made her want to show off. With a grand leap, she brought her forepaws to her chest and dunked her head in the water. The rest of her followed, and when her head emerged, it was with a catch. The fish was not large enough for a meal, but it should suffice to whet his appetite. She tossed it on the rocks at his feet.

Want big one, come with me. They are deeper than this.

She did not wait, instead turning towards the water and wading in up to her shoulders.

Omg the doggy in that video. What a good boy.

 

Quick and sleek and without skipping a beat, the girl’s narrow snout dipped into the water and emerged with a fish. She plopped it at his paws before he had a chance to say anything. Then she told him to follow her for a bigger one. 

Swordfish had resigned to fishing for himself. He’d doubted her without even seeing what she was made of. Unwilling to give up on more food and another glimpse at her skill, the young wolf huffed out an, alright… before scooping the fish up in his mouth and darting after the dark-haired stranger.