Sleeping Dragon Apatite

@Freyja <3

Though feminine to all extremes, Portia dealt little in the field of emotions. She had mostly good days, and was almost always perky and happy-- but rarely did her emotions rule the day, keeping her free from disappointment. An exception tended to be boredom and restlessness, and while she'd settled surprisingly well for a free-spirit, Portia did tend to get bored. Her feet ached to roam and, although by now she knew she'd come back, a fear always rested in the pit of her stomach that she would leave. Leaving meant failure and, even further, that she'd let someone down. Though she was thinking only of Thuringwethil and the promise of loyalty that she'd made, the thought of Dio and Gyda's pups would have made her feel guilty for years afterwards. 

She'd spent a lot of time on the border because of her wanderlust, doing more patrolling than she'd ever planned on doing. Occasionally she ran into Gavriel or Dio, though today had been somewhat quiet-- which made her even more bored. Itching to leave and explore, Portia turned from the borders and went deeper into the territory, trying to find something or someone to ease her restlessness. She'd been looking for Dio, who had a way of calming her without even really realizing it-- perhaps it was just his mellow personality-- though his scent trail was dull on this part of the territory and she struggled to follow it successfully. 

Instead, she found herself nearby Gyda's den, her ears perked and her eyes curious. The freckled Skayona stared at the den, her nose twitching to find out which child was home, before stepping a bit closer and giving a light chuff. She couldn't fully tell if anyone was there, but it was worth a shot. 

She was poised just outside of the family den, tucking happily into the spoils of her successful hunt. The sunlight of early Autumn still harbored the warmth from the Summer, but Freyja had been warned that this would not last forever. This would be her first experience with cold weather and the Goufa did not know what to make of it.

She spotted Portia when she had a mouthful of field mouse and at the sight of the Skayona Freyja smiled and pushed herself to her paws as she swallowed the pureed meat. “Hey,” she called out with a wag of her tail, happy to see the spotted wolf.

Soon after, the grey body of Freyja appeared, her mouth full of some sort of meat. She spoke when she finished chewing, and Portia smiled at that. Good manners, something all women should have, and it was common courtesy to those who didn't wish to see the remains of their meal floating on their tongue. "Hello, Goufa," she said, tail wagging in response to the child. "Did you hunt today?" she asked, head tilting slightly to the side. She remembered their first excursion fondly, still feeling her heart swell with pride at the thought of the child catching the groundhog-- and on her first try too!!

She nodded to Portia’s question, placing a paw upon her half-eaten kill. “Yeah, I caught this guy a few minutes ago,” she said, pride lacing through her tone as she shared news of her catch. Though she certainly did not catch every piece of prey that she came upon, the girl was getting better in her practice. Hopefully she would be good enough one day to show the next generation how to hunt.

“Do you want some?” she asked pushing the mouse away and in the direction of the nearby adult, a smile gracing her lips.

Portia lowered herself to the ground, settling neatly on the earth and crossing her paws. She smiled, but shook her head. "No, hun, I've already eaten. And it's your catch, you should enjoy every last bite of it," she replied, reaching to nose the girls cheek sweetly. "Have you hunted with Wildfire since? You seem to be getting very good at hunting-- I'm sure she'd be very proud of you," she added, tail sweeping against the ground a few times.

To Portia’s reply, Freyja smiled. Though it was out of Freyja’s character to offer food, the child had had her fill and did not want the meat to go to waste. “I’m full, but maybe I’ll give it to Nomi,” she thought allowed, her glance casting over her shoulder and towards the family den for a moment before returning her attention to Portia.

Her smile lingered at the other’s next question and she nodded in way of response. “Yeah, we’ve done a lot!” From talking of deer, to trade specialties, and more Wildfire had been a vital part in Freyja’s training. “Did you know there are things that live near the river that can be eaten?!” This fact was one that still surprised her and wasn’t sure if this was something that everybody was aware of.

"That's wonderful, you're doing an amazing job," she practically purred, tail tapping against the ground. Her next question caught her off guard, and she stared for a moment with interest. "Like fish?" she asked the child, head falling the other way. "Or like... frogs?" she added. God forbid Freyja knew more about hunting than she did, though to her a wide variety of things lived 'near' the river. Hell, she lived near the river. She prayed there wasn't some magical riverside creature her mother had forgotten to teach her about-- then again, Portia really never minded learning anything.

Being taught by a child just had an ironic edge on it, is all.

“Well, there are fish,” she offered, her mind wandering to all of the mysterious creatures that she had been introduced to. “But there are also beavers-- who build dens in the water-- and otters and…” she trailed then, knowing she was missing something. She frowned, hoping that the initial information had enticed Portia to ask more about beavers and otters.

Ah. These were all things she knew about. Somehow she'd blanked on them, but as the child began more and more creatures popped into her own mind. That made more sense than some magical water rabbit or deer-- though that thought tickled her to no end. "Dams," she said, nodding, "Their dens are called dams. Do you know what they're made of?" she asked, genuinely curious if the child knew. She had observed them in close contact many times before-- but wanted to see if Freyja could answer her. 

"Do otters live in dens?" she then asked-- though this time was genuinely curious.

Dams. That was right! It had been the word that she had questioned when learning from Wildfire and that is how she had learned of these creatures and their mysterious ways. Shaking her head to Portia’s question, she looked onto the adult with curiosity. “Do you?” She felt like this was something that she had been taught but the information escaped her in that moment.

The next question also brought confusion upon Goufa and to this she frowned. “I don’t think so?” she said, though she didn’t know how that made any sense. She felt like all animals that she had learned about had dens of some sort. What would make otters so special?

Portia nodded, paws crossing and uncrossing once to find a more comfortable position. "Beavers work together to build giant dams that block waterways. They're made out of logs and sticks and mud-- they usually chop down entire trees with their front teeth! It's insane, I'll never understand it," she told her, shaking her head. Portia then let out a quick 'hmpf' in thought, uncertain what to tell the child. She didn't know what otters lived in, she couldn't offer any other information. Suddenly, her features lit up in a sly smile. 

"Would you like to find out?"

The practice of beavers coming together and building a den upon the water was something that intrigued the young child and was something she wished to see one day. Along with with, they also, somehow, had teeth that could bring trees down. “They sound crazy,” she agreed with a chuckle.

When the question of the offers posed the opportunity of an adventure, Freyja nodded quickly. “Yeah! Can I just give this to Nomi before we go?” she asked, beckoning to the prey at her paws.

Portia nodded, though she wasn't sure who Nomi was... she didn't ask. "Of course hun, I'll wait right here," she told her, and then urged her forward with her nose, standing and shaking off her white pelt, watching as the child placed the piece of prey in the den-- her green eyes glinting in the sun.

With Portia’s permission granted Freyja picked up the remains of her meal and took them to the den. Her mother was sleeping and instead of waking her she simply placed the snack next to her. Leaving a light kiss upon her mother’s cheek, Freyja turned and exited the den so that she could return to Portia.

Once she pulled up before the white wolf, Freyja smiled as she paused. “All set!” Came her confirmation eagerly, excited for their adventure.

could you use this for hunting/scouting? :o /is pretty sure that's what Freyja's trades will be/

Portia waited patiently, her tail waving. When Freyja returned, her smile broadened. "Great! Do you know where the nearest water source is?" she asked the pup, assuming that she did indeed. Portia did as well, but the Skayona believed heavily in two teaching methods: talk their ears off, and let them do it themselves. Today was a do it themselves type day, Freyja always seemed more headstrong that Hvitserk-- and the methods would appear to correspond to that... she'd see how it'd go. 

She's going for the tracker specialty (keeping note of the cache, migration patters, and know about other animal's living situations-- so this works perfect!

When she was asked of the closest water source, Freyja took a moment to think about it as she looked around. “The river, I think,” she offered as she looked up to the pale wolf. “Maybe they live there?” she added on as an afterthought.

"Indeed," Portia replied, tail wagging. "Can you lead the way?" she then said, and followed when the child went. They would need to travel upstream a good bit, and she assumed the child would have to sniff out some otters-- it was doubtful they'd just run across them. "Do you smell anything you don't recognize?" she asked.

When she was given the command to do so, Freyja took charge in leading them towards the river. Quickly as their adventure kicked off, Portia asked Freyja about the scents and whether or not she smelled something out of the normal. Taking a deep breath, Freyja took everything in as they continued along, hoping that she would find anything out of the normal.

The most prominent of the smells was that of the mountain-dwelling wolves. Since they were in such close proximity of the rendezvous site, it seemed as if that was the most that she could get out. “Not yet,” she replied. “But, once we get to the river that will hopefully change!” There was excitement and determination in her voice as she spoke and such emotions would fuel her during this expedition.

As they traveled, the child remained quiet, only speaking up when curiosity got the better of her. “Do you know anything about otters?” she asked, shifting her attention up towards the adult.

"That's good," Portia replied with a smile. She too smelled nothing right now, but she had seen the creatures in the territory before, so she knew they'd be around. Freyja's next question caused the woman to shrug. "Not a lot," she answered honestly. "They're cute little creatures though, very family oriented," she paused, sniffing the air as they walked. She was no expert tracker, but every wolf knew to pay attention to their surrounding when they hunted-- much better to check for scents every few steps than every hundred steps, you'd miss more. 

"Taste fishy," she added. 

Just as Portia did, Freyja took care in surveying the scents spectrum every few steps or so. Taking her time as she smelled, Freyja attempted to pinpoint to see if anything odd had been added to the catalogue of scents.

Upon learning a little more about otters, Freyja raised her brows in response and smiled. “Kinda like us,” she commented, finding the similarity between the family-oriented natures of wolves and otters. It was only after that Portia added on a thought that Freyja couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, that’s not like us… at least I don’t think…” she pondered on this point.

The goufa made a comment, bringing a smile to Portia's face. She let a sweet giggle out before leaning down to nudge her cheek softly. "I don't think so either, hun," she offered in reassurance, her gaze falling back in front of her.  The freckled Skayona continues forward, her ears angling forward. Scents rolled around her, the most prominent being a rabbit-- she assumed one was nearby. Though she loved a nice hare, they were finding otters, and although not strong, she picked up the slightest hint of a fishy creature. Her gaze remained forward, as to not hint to the child that there was something she should've caught on to, instead she waited to see if Freyja would pick up on it on her own.

As reassurance came to the rescue Freyja smiled and leaned into the adult’s touch, her tongue snaking out quickly to place a quick peck on Portia’s nose. Pulling back, the pair made their way closer to the river as they attempted to hunt down the otter.

An odd smell came across her nose moments after Portia had caught wind of it and as Freyja caught one she paused and sniffed heavily at the air. “I think I got it,” she announced. It surely smelled fishy and yet had on original flair to it. Shifting her position to accommodate the direction in which the smell came from, Freyja lifted and waved her tail.

Without any other warning, the child suddenly pushed down hard on the ground and barked an excited, “Come on, Portia!” She knew she would slow once they drew closer to the river, but she wanted to get them up to pave in hopes that the otter was lurking nearby.

She was almost able to respond to the child about what she wanted to do, but Freyja took off. "Oh dear," the Skayona muttered under her breathe, beginning to sprint forward after the child. Luckily the goufa's legs were still short enough to not make such long strides, but Portia's endurance was less than acceptable in any race-- ever. She huffed loudly as she ran as fast as she could, trailing just behind the aspiring hunter.

She lead the way without another word, her instinct kicking in as they drew closer to the river. Her gallop was one that was lightly-stepped; she hoped to make little noise in fear of chasing off the otter. Thankfully the pair was not far from the river when huffs and puffs started to come from Portia. Slowing, and throwing a quickly glance over her shoulder in warning, Freyja gradually brought herself to a crawl.
She lead them blindly without another word. Though she had a good handle on the smell that they were tracking, she still had no idea to just what laid at the end of the scent trail.

Pulling up onto the bank carefully, Frejya surveyed the area quickly, her eyes falling upon a standing creature across the river. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It stood oddly, favoring two paws over four, and held a rock in it’s hands. The otter was preoccupied in the stone, giving an unfair advantage to the wolves.

Taking a second to break her gaze away from the strange creature, Freyja looked to Portia with a tilt of her head and whispered an inquisitive, “Is that it?”

The child finally slowed and Portia let out a final gasp of air as she halted to a stop. The skayona sucked in a few heavy breathes before she looked at Freyja and nodded, quieting her breathing. "Do you want to watch it or attack now?" she asked the child, her green eyes studying Freyja as she watched the otter. They could watch it and get some information on them, or attack and get some food right now-- Portia left the decision to the child.