Big Salmon Lake Friendly Encounters

Soaring high in the sky as she flew over the almost frozen lake. The hawk lands on the ice covered water near an opening in the thick ice. She peers in, seeing if fish still swam in the freezing water. To her disappointment she flies up and perches on a limb of a tree nearby.

She'd never before seen a raptor quite this close, glancing up from her sheltered area by the shore to glance at it as it landed on the ice. Abandoning her own attempts to drink through the small hole she'd made in it, she instead flopped down onto her stomach, content to observe the bird as it flutters to a nearby tree, gaze tracing briefly the outline of its sharp beak and wondering if she could make it a meal. She seems to wonder that a lot, now.

The fowl looks down at the animal who was staring at her, an uneasiness began to ruffle her feathers and made her feel uncomfortable. She knew not whether she should stay where she was or fly away just in case the canine tried to eat her. She contemplated for a while.

The bird fluffed up its feathers, but made no move to fly or hop down from the tree. Like a child who wants to see an animal move at the zoo, Poppy rose to her paws and danced closer to the bird, wondering just how close she could get before the bird took flight.

The raptor looks at the dog who was still staring at her. "May I help you with something?" The young fowl decided to break the silence between the two. She knew not if talking was the best idea but it was already too late.

When she got close enough, the bird spoke; a reaction unexpected. Maw opening in a small "o", saying a moment later, "you can speak!" Of course, she'd spoken to a jay before, but its language was garbled and messy, not as neat as the raptor's. Peering up at it, she wondered if it would speak again, and questions already began to brim at the forefront of her mind.

The young falcon nodded her head. "Of course I can speak." She watched the young dog as awe filled her facial expression quite clearly. "You seem shocked." The fowl noted as it was clearly obvious by her outburst.

The bird confirmed that it could, in fact, speak, and the dog canted her head.  "the last bird I spoke to was very different than you," She said, wondering if it would be rude to label birds as "garbled" and "twitchy", and deciding to keep silent. She watched the bird carefully, wondering if it might be dangerous and dismissing the notion quickly. This bird seemed much more intelligent, and eloquent, she wondered if it had something to do with its species.

"Yes depending on the birds you speak to, they sound very different." She contemplated on if she should fly away or continue to talk to the dog. "What brings you here?" She was curious, because normally she saw dogs with two legged creatures, they normally never settled in the wilderness due to the harsh conditions for which they were not built for.

The bird proceeded to ask what she was doing here, and Poppy answered with a quick shrug. "I was thirsty." Silence lay between them for only a moment, however, before the sheepdog spoke again. "You were hunting, yeah? Looking for fish? Can dogs hunt fish, do you think?" As the jay had taught her of migration, perhaps the raptor could teach her to hunt as they did; she'd seen them hunt fish before, distantly. And while she did not have wings, she was small, and perhaps could learn to hunt another food source.

A dog hunting fish....she had never heard of it but she knew that if determined enough she knew that it was possible. She was drug out of her thoughts and looked at the dog. "Well perhaps, with practice of course." The fowl waited for her to speak once more.

"can you teach me?" If not, the sheepdog would find it of no consequence, she'd simply learn on her own. It might take her more than a while, and might be a dangerous thing to pursue learning in the sub-zero temperatures, she'd become rather thrilled by the idea of fishing.

After a few more words were exchanged, and the woman had had enough of splashing around in the freezing water, she continued on her way, gate choppy as she tried and failed to warm up.