Tuktu Hinterlands umzingeli

still using a number generator because i don't understand dice.

arguing with a school of fish because they were too close.

fishing did not come naturally to the wolves of the east. their hunters were skilled in the dispatching of big game, tracking and attacking with ease. fishermen were rare and went without recognition. thus, learning the trade had never been one of anathi's priorities.

however, the western lands lacked the bounty of prey that he had become used to. in their recovery, they had been forced to survive on the sparse population of small game that had survived. he wondered if his home suffered in the same way.

the tepid water pooled around anathi's ankles. there was a large school of small fish that seemed to swarm around a collection of weeds. he licked the run of his maw as he silently began to devise a plan. 

ndiye kuwe, he rumbled, carefully taking a step forward, sukoyika. the school was only a lunge away. anathi snapped forward but managed to grab only a mouthful of foliage. the fish scattered but collected once more on the other side of the pond. 

the hunter sucked his teeth in frustration. nje enye? he continued to prowl with his eyes focused on their reflective scales. another lunge, though this was even less successful than the last. anathi groaned and threw his head back in frustration. kutheni usenza lento? 

the fish, having found themselves the victors, swam far enough to be out of the hunter's reach. annoyed and even hungrier than before, he plopped down in the water and hung his head.

Fishing was easy, but, of course, she wouldn't tell the dejected man that. Instead, Preeti watched from a short distance away, ebony pelt blending into the shadows. Her ears cupped forward in interest as he spoke in a tongue she did not understand. Not the common, nor anything similar to her family's language.

He was intriguing, despite his failures. It was her natural curiosity, her ever-willingness to make friends, that drew her nearer.

Arrey, she called out, grinning in sympathetic fashion. She entered the water, plopped down alongside the ruddy man and cast her gaze in his direction, brows raised. Bad luck today? I can empathize.

She totally couldn't, since she was a pretty damn good hunter—but, again, he didn't need to know that.

the pride of a hunter was easily broken. the pride of a man practically came pre-shattered. it was embarassing enough to know that his failed endeavors had been seen, but to know that the witness was a woman was devastating. 

water, anathi said with a shake of his head. frustrated, the hunter slapped the surface of the pond before standing and sulking back to land. honger, he whined with a discreet grin. it would be difficult to recover from the loss but showing the extent of his hurt was unacceptable.

She would be tickled to know that he was even more ashamed given that she was a woman. Preeti had always marveled at that facet of insecure men. Nevertheless, she exited the water with him, not letting the amusement show (much) over her face. 

He had quite a strong accent, but the words came through fine. She cast her muddled hazel gaze toward him, brows arched. Hungry? she asked rhetorically, her own light accent lilting playfully over the word. I could catch you something. But the water needs to calm, first.

Preeti looked down into the rippling surface, stare fixed on the water and the gleaming figures below. It takes practice. . .and patience, the wolfess murmured, losing focus on the man beside her in the fevered focus of the hunt.

context clues, anathi.

the huntress spoke with an accent that made it more difficult to interpret her words. he listened intently, managing to pick out pieces of each sentence. water, calm, she'd said, so he stood perfectly still. silently, while they waited, anathi practiced sounding the words in his head.

practice, he repeated, prakytyk. if one word a day was all that he could manage, living here would suck.

rolled in discord!

She took no notice of the man's continued speech, focused as she was on the water. There, a plump, juicy one. . . It writhed close, flanked by slimmer counterparts. Would make quite the snack if she were successful—

Preeti thrust her head beneath the surface with jaws open and clamped down, finding fishy flesh beneath her jaws. She wrenched herself back above water and clenched her teeth further against the floundering of her quarry. A bright snap! and its life was hers, extinguished forever. 

The huntress tossed the fish upon the bank in triumph and shot a toothy grin at the man. See? Just takes patience, she reasoned, aglow with pride. When the water settles again, you try.

the instruction to wait was lost in translation. die water, anathi whispered as he crept from shore to shallow.

from what he'd gathered, the key was to strike and strike hard. he snapped furiously at the water's surface, likely sending the school into a frenzy. several times did fin meet tooth, but never for long enough.

frustration grew and boiled over. anathi stormed back to the shore and huffed his annoyance.

It seemed as if nothing she said had sank in. Preeti watched in dismay as he clumsily lunged, again and again, for fish, before finally giving it up and returning to the shore. Nahin, she breathed, summoning patience for this interaction as well. Turns out that water creatures weren't the only ones that needed to be handled with care.

You have to strike once, and once only, she explained, looking at the man with a steady gaze. You either catch a fish or you don't. Either way, you have to wait before you try again. Be still. Or else you scare them. She dipped her muzzle toward the water, in which the writhing school was clearly visible beneath the surface.

Preeti stared at him, willing him to understand despite their language barrier. Try again when they are calm, she insisted gently. Wait for them to come close to you. Then, you strike. Samjhe?

as ek still, calm, fish work? if i stand perfectly still, can i catch a fish, too?

anathi knew just enough english to piece together the sentence. it was communicated poorly, between the accent and touch of afrikaans, but he hoped (and prayed) that she would understand. this time, before bounding into the water again, he would wait for her response.

It was a sentiment in broken common tongue, but one she understood nonetheless, and she gave him a brusque nod. Yes, she said solemnly. Calm. Still. Patient. Let the fish come to you. Preeti really couldn't make it more clear than that, and she'd even given him a visual demonstration.

Silent as a shadow, she stepped back further from the edge of the water, letting the man have control. Her eyes flickered to the dead fish on the ground; her stomach rumbled, audible even over the ambient sounds around them. She was magnanimous enough to let the man eat it if he was unable to catch his own. . .

But—she really, really hoped they could both dine this day.

anathi tilted his head in confusion. pasiënt? it didn't make much sense, so he figured it was a simple mistranslation. the rest of the words were similar enough for basic comprehension, though.

he heard the girl's stomach rumble and realized that she'd been waiting. rather than embarassment, he took it as encouragement to try again. each step into the pond was taken with care as he eased into the water.

oh, how the hunter wanted to snap and bite! those weren't her instruction, though, so anathi calmed himself.

eventually, a particularly brave fish swam across his path. he lunged but missed, rising back out of the water with only a fragment of a fin. his prize still in maw, anathi turned to the girl with a smile.

okay, he thought, calm. 

more time passed. the same fish swam some inches from where anathi stood. he attacked again, but rearose completely empty-handed. it simply wasn't on the menu, he thought, before walking back to shore.

okay, he laughed, jy eet. mock drama writ on his face, anathi used a paw to "shoo" the girl and her fish away. the act lasted only a minute, for he couldn't help but laugh at his own humor.

She nodded, misunderstanding his confusion. Quietly, she watched him go for another try, cheering him on with all the good energy she could summon. Only for her face to fall, however, when he came up short once more. Although he laughed, she could only muster a sad smile, feeling incredibly guilty.

Here. . .let me try again, Preeti said. She dipped her muzzle at the fish on the bank. You can eat that if you want. I'll see if I can catch myself a snack. The man wasn't an immediate threat to her or anything she held dear; she had no qualms sharing food with him. She felt bad enough to do so.

She waited until the water settled, and then crouched close to the surface, looking down. Rippling shapes, elusive silver. . .one of them strayed too close to her jaws. Preeti thrust her head underwater and returned to open air in triumph, another fish in her jaws.

Her luck had been good today. His had not. Still, she cracked the spine and set her prize down, looking shyly at the man. I'm Preeti, she introduced herself. Do you live around here?

rolled in tabletop

anathi watched in awe as the sylph retrieved another fish. despite the tempation, he did not touch the first. instead, he picked it up and placed beside the other, then repeating, jy eet. it was her catch, after all.

he took a few steps back to give her some space. there was a question asked, some of which anathi could understand. round here? she'd asked. he shook his head. eh, weste. nie hier nie. after a moment of concentration, anathi asked, rond hier? 

from the accent, he doubted that her answer would be a yes. they were both foreigners in this land. wat is i'm?

She frowned, but did not openly quarrel. It seemed they would reach a stalemate in magnanimity this day. Instead, she concentrated on his words, shaking her head when he repeated something akin to 'round here.'

No, I came from somewhere else, Preeti explained, and then caught onto his confusion. Oh. . .name. What's your name?

She glanced longingly at the two fish, not wanting to be rude and end the conversation by eating. But god. . .it was hard to resist a snack when laid out right in front of you.

wrapping this because inspiration has left the building

name, like naam. anathi tilted his head back to release a long, oh!, actually using a paw to cover his forehead. learning this language would be difficult, and realizing how much he didn't know made him regret not paying attention at home. rhode, he replied, then standing to take his leave. 

eet! he exclaimed with a smile. anathi nodded to the girl and turned to leave, deciding to head deeper into these flatlands.

It's nice to meet you, Rhode, Preeti said. His insistence made her grin, even though she desperately wanted him to feed himself as well. Okay, okay, she called after him, watching his retreat. I wish you luck in your next hunt!

Her words were sincere; she wondered if they would cross paths again. Hopefully, she thought, tucking into the fish at her paws. If he didn't learn how to feed himself on his own, she'd have to intervene once more—hopefully with better results than today.