some say the world will end in fire

@Tatsuya

Tarritut Lake was not so far from the would-be whelping den that it would be a struggle to get there. Even the night was hot, and Tonravik wished to dip in the cool waters of the lake. Knowing she would be in seclusion soon did not bother her; but she stretched her legs some, because of it. Moving toward the crystalline waters, the leader saw none nearby. The alpha female was frequently visited by all pack members, given meals large and small when they were retrieved. Her latest craving would come to be bison, a favorite of the mountaineer. But on the Spine, the animals truly did not linger. She had seen them in higher climes, but not these. It was... disappointing.

The alpha female did not think of this craving as she slid into the tepid water. Instead, she thought of nothing. She was alert to all around her, but her mind was empty of all things. It was a nice, brief moment of quiet. As her abdomen entered the water, the beings inside kicked. Perhaps it was the shock of the cold. Well, it was better they get used to these things now. Still, she slowed in her entrance... until she was at last, five minutes later, shoulder-deep.

Can I use this thread for Counselor or nah? Also this post is weird. Tatsuya is being weird. Why.

There was a tranquil cover over home this evening. Humid zephyrs meandered through stone and tree, through hollow and yonder. The Moon was in its Waning Crescent phase, floating in space baleful and resplendent. A New Moon would soon orient them at night as it always has. Illuminated clouds were scattered across the atmosphere. Far flung stars glittered above, shimmering cryptically from time to time. The Spine was painted in pale moon glow, enthralling those who tore their gaze from their earthen plane to the skies above. The night was eerily quiet save for jarring cricketsong.
INDENTHow diminutive they all were; how insignificant their worries, their troubles. The cosmos does not care for them yet how often do they look up and ponder how tiny they all were? Their toils meant nothing, their survival served no greater purpose...or so it appeared. Death came for all of them. This was fact. Beyond that, who could say. Some believed in an afterlife, building religions around something they have never experienced, only conjectured. Others did not. Down that road lingered gloom.
INDENTDeep, dark crevasses lulled him into their embrace. Promises of sleep and further contemplation brought him to the Spine's Crescent Basin. The little light that shown through the entrance detailed pebbles and gravel, mossy walls and rippled water...Someone – or something – resided within Tarritut's waters. Dismay made him backpedal, rocks grating noisily beneath each step. Tatsuya did not fear darkness. Only those who dwell within it. Whoever (or whatever) lurked deeper inside was invisible to him and thus cause for worry. He considered calling for his pack mates but did not for lack of solid proof of what exactly was there. The cause of the ripples could have been a fish for all he knew.
INDENTHow pissed would everyone be if they were rudely awoken because he was a little spooked? Tatsuya shook his head with a sigh. This fear is infantile. Stop being so afraid. He reprimanded himself.
INDENTHe did not venture back inside. Not until he knew what was in there.

ya gurl sure

The alpha female turned in a small-semi circle upon hearing a noise at the lakes shore. Perhaps hers were the ripples Kapvik had seen; perhaps not. Still, in these depths she lingered, watching him and sensing his trepidation. A fish swam against her leg, and fled promptly. Tonravik did not so much as move, herself. She was used to these underwater creatures from the ocean. They, here, in the water were less used to her than she was of them.

For some time more Tonravik kept to the cold waters, wishing for them to be colder. But soon she emerged from them, approaching the wolf after his moment of introspection and wonder. Tonravik did not know the point of life, but neither did she ask about it. It made no difference to her so long as she simply thrived in the present. And thrive she did. Her tail lifted over her hinds as the large bear of a wolf moved to bump lightly into her subordinate, waving slowly.

Something moved, unbidden. He felt it's eyes on him, causing his fur to rise. Tense, he stared into the abyss, visage cloaked in black. It drew close, undetectable until the last second. The first thing visible was a uniquely marred snout and he knew that it was, in fact, not a grotesque monster. Tatsuya let out a relieved sigh, posture going slack. Well, as slack as it could get while in Tonravik's presence. She waddled – literally waddled – up to him, tail rising as she bumped into him. The sight of her was enough to make him subservient. Any defiance he may have felt a week past was temporarily subdued. Besides, he was coming to terms with wanting to serve her more than defy her. Such emotionalism might not be permanent so he wanted to enjoy this peace of mind while he could.
INDENTTatsuya's plush tail mimicked Tonravik's own, lazily swishing against hocks. Moving to her left side, he sheepishly tried to nuzzle his face against her cheek and neck, ribs flush to her rotund stomach. She was wet and yet she was warm to the touch. Inevitable in her condition. Tatsuya would not blame her for pushing him away, but he felt avaricious tonight, hungry for her touch. And her's alone.
INDENTHe grew taut at that discernment, unsure of the connotations. Not wanting to loiter, he withdrew as if he'd been burned, opting to stare at the ground. The wolverine disliked these gray emotions that bubbled inside him. They made him uncertain in a way that made him feel and think weak, and that was the last he wanted to appear before the she-bear. Were it possible, he would tear them from whatever dark corner they clung to and be rid of them for good. Ahh, there's a nice thought...When did he prefer violence over mulling things over?
INDENTHis time here was changing him in ways he thought inconceivable before joining. This metamorphosis...could end poorly. That much was apparent. He wondered if Tonravik knew this truth as well what with welcoming him into their home and all. When did this place become 'home'? Ah, what a weird night...

your writing fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffman

To Tonravik, his gesture was one of submission and affection to ones leader, nothing else. She did not rebuke the touch, and would only reprimand him should he draw too near to her stomach. Only Iqniq did she trust so near to the area, but even that was tentative at best. The area was sensitive; and to any man or woman that came near to it, no God that was could help them. She returned his gesture with a nip, as much an expression of fondness as any. The leader was coming to appreciate him more, but he had plenty, still, to prove.

When he withdrew, Tonravik did not move toward him but instead back into the water, now craving the fish she had felt against her leg. It was a sudden change, but when she was in the waters she waited for them to still. None came near her, yet; but it was dark, and she blended perfectly now.

His emotions she did not know. Emotions in general, she did not know. Tonravik lived in black, white, and red; the blood she spilled from her enemies was as much a part of her life as anything else was. It was a simple one... but one she would not change for any thing.

Such simple existence...He craved that immensely. More than he craved power, or food, or dominance. To content with just being; living happily in the moment and nothing more. Spending more time with her might do the trick but alienating himself from his fellow pack mates did not sit well with him. Tonight he wanted some modicum of inner peace and contentedness. Even Tonravik, plentiful of skill, could not grant him this.
INDENTAs if sensing the alien turbulence within him, she turned away and went back into the basin. How she could see in that darkness, he had no clue, but he followed her without hesitation. Standing off to her right, he observed her. Only the faintest of light depicted her from this infernal abyss, her crown lowered to the water, waiting.
INDENTOh. Oh! She was fishing! He was positively horrible at it. Always floundering about, looking like a drowned rat. Maybe he could pick something up by watching her? Hooded eyes beheld her, a sable blimp statue posed to strike. Her likeness was that of a snake. A very large snake. An ample, moody snake that had a hankering for fish. Jokes aside, he wished to imitate her, joining her in the water. He was far enough away to give both of them room.

Fishing in lakes and rivers was different than fishing in the ocean.

The fish in these waters were more trusting, but incredibly slippery, and smaller in size. Their diet here she was not so sure of... but she also had no idea what ocean fish dined upon.

Her impatience did her no favors in the water when she fished, but there was another side to her here. A side where as she looked into the water, she saw her own mothers face staring coolly back at her. Tonravik was reminded of the days she had spent with her brothers, poised in the water, slamming her face repeatedly into the water with nothing to show for it in the end. Her brothers were more patient, and each had gained a fish, the eldest earning two. Tonravik herself as a cub relentlessly dove into the ocean water, scaring away the water-dwellers and earning her mothers easily-earned disapproval.

Tonravik made up for it in spades. Her father had been a constant figure in her life, also, and he was a more frequent fishing companion for her than her mother, who could not tolerate her failures. In the end, it was both her mother and her father both, who would snap at her for every move she made that was too early... or when she shook with her impatience.

That instilled trepidation, that conditioning, to this day gave her all the pause in the world. Their fangs were nowhere near her, but they may as well have been inches from her throat. The woman looked calm and collected as she watched the creatures swim around... and when one lingered, she struck, thrusting her face into the waters. No water entered her mouth as she made a grab for it, fetching it... and when her head rose, there was a fish that flapped violently in her grip. Its death was swift and its twitching was shortlived.

The leader turned to Kapvik, looking to him to see his progress.

Tatsuya watched as she struck with lightning reflexes, retreating with a blaring snort and flapping quarry. The fish was pitiful in size; not large enough to feed the likes of Tonravik. He imagined the fish's size to be more of a deterrent to him than anything else. It was tiny. Therefore he had less area to sink his teeth into. Nimble, slippery things. His ultimate weakness.
INDENTOnce Tonravik turned her eyes upon him, he looked down. Through his reflection he could see a fish very similar to the one the she-bear caught. It gracefully floated in the crystalline liquid, lightly touching his right forearm. Tatsuya never let the fish stray out of sight even though it made his neck ache. Once it was done (obliviously) teasing him, it swam back up to where he could easily grab it. Without hesitation, Tatsuya's head broke the surface with vicious waves. Just as quickly as he went in, he withdrew with a snort and clenched teeth.
INDENTNothing. He had failed. Shaking his head, he glared at the disturbed waters before looking up his Alpha with softer eyes. It was clear he was disappointed in himself yet it was equally evident that he would not give up. For us. For you. Let the waters settle back into a mirror like state. Then he will try again. And try again he did. The results were the same.
INDENT“Blighted things,” he uttered, cranium and neck soaked. Was he striking too soon, too late? Was he not quick enough? What was he doing wrong?

Tonravik would have gobbled down the creature whole... but she preferred its insides to its scales. She moved toward the shore when Kapvik failed twice over, deposited the fish there—and quickly perused the land for smaller predators—before turning back into the lake. The leader moved toward him, disrupting the stillness of the water and disturbing the life beneath them. She did not respond to him verbally, yet; her mental processes grew all the more sluggish with four beings taking up the space left behind for that in her mind.

So instead she gestured to the water in a near indistinguishable movement, her ears pricking toward it and her eyes falling upon the water. The woman stood at attention herself, and were Kapvik to move too soon, she would attempt to reprimand him with a pinching nip and a firm shake of her head. Wrong. But other than that, she was utterly still, content to teach him this thing. The act of fishing helped her in more than just this; it kept her patient on the battlefield, it helped her know when it was right to strike, and when it was best to wait, let it come to you.

As water trickled down his jaw, he stared incessantly into his prey's domain. It was tricky to ascertain the exact moment to strike and bite. There was not a bunch of water between teeth and fish but it always managed to slow him down. Tatsuya ruminated on his approach even as the she-bear left to deposit her kill on land. Not wanting to give up, he woofed lowly as Tonravik entered the water again. She hovered closer now, fangs readied.
INDENTTatsuya knew what awaited him if he messed up: pain. A sensation he was not thrilled to suffer. Tonravik must know what she was doing if she made use of such reprimands. Who knows? Maybe pain will actually help him learn as opposed to this self-serving bitter pill otherwise known as failure.
INDENTWith a sigh, he went back to the task at hand. Stare, wait, sna – ah, ow! Okay. Too soon, she says. Too soon. Miss. Too late. Too late. Miss. Miss. Tatsuya observed his incognizant prey, frowning deeply. The area where Tonravik's teeth kept pinching him was starting to hurt. It was difficult to say if the pain was actually helping him or hindering him at this point. But Tatsuya would not give up so long as the she-bear remained.
INDENTThe vermin came back into view, incandescent despite being in an obscure place. It did the usual: stopped, glub, swim, glub, investigate furry pillar, glub glub. As it started to turn away, Tatsuya acted with a quickness he did not know he possessed. Rearing back, he blew the excess water from his nose. Blood leaked into his cavernous mouth, signifying his glorious capture. It squirmed uselessly in his grip, growing still as he vengefully ground his teeth together, killing it. Jubilantly, he showed his catch to Tonravik, eyes glittering childishly. The moment wore off quickly, however, as he was unsure of what to do with it. Was he supposed to just swallow it whole? Tatsuya has never dined on fish before and Tonravik threw her fish back onto solid land...

Tonravik watched. As he failed, Tonravik could predict what would go on. Too hasty. When this was the case, Tonravik's teeth lingered as though to say: do not rush this, wait. When he was too slow, Tonravik nipped quickly at him: do not think too much. Fishing was an odd art of bait and wait; bait the fish into thinking you were no danger at all, and they would come closer, linger beneath you, and be easier to catch. Kapvik seemed to catch on to this, and it was worth the wait.

He moved in for the kill, swifter than he had been some short time ago. He was a bullet out of the gun that was sure to hit its mark. And so it was. As his face came into view, water falling in rivulets down his sleek muzzle, there was his prize. The alpha female growled proudly, and her tail waved behind her, disturbing the water. But he looked puzzled...

Tonravik cocked her own head. She was not clairvoyant, and so she was not sure what the problem was. Her ears perked, she assessed him quickly... no, no damage was done to him. Unsure of what it was that confused him, she felt some measure of distress and loosed a low pitched whine that defined: what?

Seeing her pride really hit the spot. Kapvik wanted more of those delicious tidbits of emotion directed at him. However still, Kapvik was clueless on how to eat fish. What if...what if they had little bones in them you weren't supposed to eat? Or a flyspeck organ that was malicious to wolves? Kapvik avoided facing her fully, mortified at his ignorance. He could erase a wolf's memory, rip a foe to pieces, tend to the bloody and broken...and he did not know how to eat a damned fish properly. Amazing.
INDENT“I've...never had fish before,” elaborated he, ears flattening. “Am I...am I supposed to eat it whole?” Ugh. His face grew hotter just asking that. I'm going to pass out from embarrassment.

Tonravik listened to his question, though did not note his embarrassment. The alpha female moved back to the shore, toward her fish, and looked over her shoulder to check that he was joining her with his own fish in tow. The alpha female placed one broad paw upon the fat body of the small salmon she had plucked from the water to hold it in place. She watched to see that Kapvik was observing, and when she was sure that he was, she bent to take the head, and that alone, from the fish.

This, Tonravik ate entirely.

The rest she left behind, removing her bear-like paw from the critter. She darted back to the lake to catch another... but was reminded of Kapvik. She looked to him again; the alpha female wondered if he had set to the task of eating his own catch. The best part of it was its head, and the rest of it was wasteful and potentially dangerous, some toxic property in it that caused her nose to wrinkle and her mind to insist she leave the rest of the meat alone. Whatever it was, it was something she could not digest; and so she left it for the scavengers.

The Alpha paid no mind to his embarrassment as she brushed past him. Inwardly mitigated, Kapvik followed. Her focus turned to enlightening him and the wolverine assumed the role of pupil. Placing one mitt on her catch, she took the fish's head clean off, swallowing it. She left the rest behind, hastily returning to the Basin's watery depths. Seems like such a waste, he thought staring at what was left. For reasons unknown to him, Tonravik had not eaten the rest of it so neither would he. The soon-to-be mother rested her meaningful gaze upon him as he let his own catch slip out of his mouth. He did everything she did, decapitating the fish in one clean cut. It tasted exotic; not unpalatable. It was a gustation he could get used to. Now however, he wanted more. Joining Tonravik, he licked her chin and cheek, chuffed to not only spend time with her but learn from her as well.
INDENTShe will be an excellent mother in Kapvik's opinion. True, there may be a black sheep or two in her brood but they would learn her ways and love her because of it. The she-bear could interpret emotion, no? Maybe even tolerate moments herself. She never capitalized on it. Only instinct. For this she was sentient; fit for leadership. Kapvik has only just begun to understand this so he had to remind himself that hey, Tonravik would not do this, so why should you? It was a question he asked asked himself every day. It was infeasible to become her or mimic her idiosyncrasies entirely. He found himself picking up on some of her quirks but this perpetual need to resist...Was that Kapvik or Tatsuya? And when would his intractability be tolerated no more? Surely there were limitations. And yet...when, where, and how will he settle among them? If there was one thing Tatsuya had, it was too much ambition. And pride. And desire. And a shitload of other vices.

FADE DIS ??????? i wa n t new thread / need / come stop home in my aw thread be4 going to explore again :')

As he followed her back into the waters and acknowledged her leadership, Tonravik chuffed in turn. She leaned heavily against him; they were both heavyweight creatures, and he could take it. But the alpha was quick to remove that weight and to concentrate again on their task. Together the duo hunted fish. She herself was able to catch many, and threw them to the shore to eat afterward. The Tartok woman paused every now and again to check on his progress.

Yes, yes, and yes. :D

Earlier considerations were pushed aside as Tonravik leaned against him. He handled her added weight admirably enough. She went back to fishing and Kapvik did much the same. He missed his mark twice before getting another fish. After those mishaps the rest was smooth sailing. They hunted and feasted well on into the night, the Basin littered with tissue and silvern flakes, stinking of aquatic vertebrate and rot. Their bodies would form a pile; an appetizing banquet for lesser creatures and, in time, their bones would be deposited: a skeletal necropolis.