Fishblight Mire Blot Out the Moon, Pull Down the Stars

from mid leg down the boy was still positively soaked. The longer hair of his underside and tail dripping in crystals. the crisp of the morning air brought a gentle chill through his body and he shook free of the lingering waters. from his mouth he would drop his prize in with his earlier catch. it was a two for one kind of morning and that was the preferred. fish were harder to catch, typically smaller, but he found he had a preference for them. two down meant he could relax to a refreshing breakfast. 

 the past few days had been entirely too tiring. he had travelled a very long way and found that he was certainly in a world where plenty of his kind thrived. he had danced around pack borders, avoided odd figures that dances only in the pallor of the moonlight, and decided he would find companionship when the moment was right, his strength was up, and the sun were shining. after all, often one only found themself hiding in the blanket of night when they had something to hide. soleon wanted to refrain from trouble. so he would do exactly so and keep to himself on the banks of the water.

While Soleon fished, a lone, dark figure appeared in the horizon, her small frame popping up from the reeds in an almost comical fashion. Two large ears swivelled atop her head, tracking the sound of a cricket, a toad, and the babble of a nearby brook — all of it seemed interesting, but in the end, it was her eyes that found the most appealing stimuli: another wolf!

As soon as she'd spotted him, Journey was bouncing along the waterways, searching out the quickest way to reach her quarry through the mire. Navigating the various streams and creeks then took up most of her focus, so that she was not even watching the larger creature she was approaching with such single-minded determination.

Eventually, she was close enough that there was naught but a hop, skip, and another creek between them. Distance easily closed, but not quite yet. Journey took a breath,

"Hey!" she piped up, regardless of whether or not she'd already attracted the other's attention. She gave a friendly wag of her tail, managing to exude a patient, hopeful, and expectant air as she gazed upon this perfect stranger.

he felt better as his coat began to dry and his stomach became full. His mind, however, spun with curiosity and a modicum of worry as a strange figure noisily began to clamber towards him in the distance. He would be drawn by the sound, alarmed by the urgency, and cautious given previous encounters. 

  his ears would lay against his head in obvious concern, but as he made further observation his body would begin to mimic her own. His tail beginning the same motion as hers, albeit slower, and though he could not muster the hopefulness that she seemed to have he did try to speak, "Well you're exciteable," He moved forward a bit. She seemed friendly enough and so he hoped they could be at a friendly distance. 

 "Who're you?" His head atwixt in curiosity and his eyes bearing into the abyss that she appeared to be. How decieving. She was positively illuminating.

"I'm Journey," said the shewolf, both in answer and correction. This seemed like a very good joke to her, so she waited a moment to see if the other would be impressed by the sharpness of her wit. Get it? Journey, instead of excitable? she thought but did not say, instead carrying on to observe the usual niceties. "And also pleased to make your acquaintance. How do you do?" she recited, sounding very polite and adult as she did so.

Thank goodness that was out of the way. Journey had already decided that the other wolf was a friendly sort, and so, all proper caution had been thrown to the wind. She was trotting quickly forward with a spring in her step, apparently intent on viewing the male from all angles.

"Are you fishing?" she asked him, despite obvious evidence suggesting he'd just finished. "What's your name?"

Journeying where? Or? Oh, her name was, in fact, Journey. Soleon  did not hide his emotions or expressions to well so it was likely the realization slowly unfurled on his face quite obviously. A smile pressed across his inky lips as she seemed to bubble up and hop to it...and around it...and everywhere. 

 "I'm alright. Pleased to have some good company," It was his best attempt at a compliment given the infancy of their acquaintanceship. 

 "I was," He confirms. Of course, it were bones and mess leftover now from the two he had caught. His hunger was sated. Had she come looking for food? Perhaps she was hungry.... "My name is Soleon," Her name was much more fun than his own. He tried to keep up and turned when she turned. Move as she moved. He wanted to face her, but perhaps it was looking like a strange dance.

It was a very silly dance; the male's attempts to face her head-on led to even more frantic circling as Journey did her best to take the male's measure. She slowed when she realized what she was doing, tail waving in an apology that failed absolutely in conveying any amount of contrition; her personality was such that she had never had to work very hard for forgiveness — perhaps this would soon change now that she was outside of her homeland.

Regardless, she did not seem to find her new friend lacking. His words flattered her, and his patience appealed to her wily spirit.

"You have a pretty mask, Soleon," she replied without missing a beat. Finally, she stopped in front of him, admiring it a little wistfully before she was tippy-tapping in place, apparently unable to keep still for the length of a conversation. "Will you teach me how to fish?" she asked in her next breath. "I'm a good hunter! Only, we don't have a lotta fish in the valley, and the tiddlers aren't worth splashing over, and my aunt tried to teach me in the ocean but it was way too cold. 'Cause it was wintertime."

She was still once more as she awaited his answer, seeming to expend more energy immitating a statue than she did when she was in motion.

she was positively hyperactive. Soleon found he was quite relieved when she quit circling him. how long could he have kept it up until he got dizzy? the smile he wore turned into a chuckle and Soleon let it fall freely. 

 "Oh, well thank-you," Soleon was not a looks based person and always thought it was uncommon, but he had never really stared at his reflection long enough to wonder if he was in fact pretty? A little validation felt quite nice, to be honest. 

 "Like right now?" His expression contorting in obvious confusion. If she wanted and was hungry then there was no reason he shouldn't right? she seemed eager to be doing something. Watching her attempt to be still was actually a tid bit painful. 

 "I like fish. Not so messy," That seemed a good enough reason. Though he wondered if she was worried about being a proper lady in that sense. He turned his body and neared the bank, "You needn't worry about that here though. This water ain't too bad," at least...he didn't think so.

Journey was finding more and more to admire about her new friend; his voice, especially, was very warm and soothing, but not too boring, either. He sounded very yellow, she thought suddenly, but like a sunflower instead of sunlight itself. This made sense to the shewolf.

"Oh! Well, we don't have to," she said, realizing a little too late that this had been a rather sudden suggestion. The thought had occured to her, and she'd spoken it; of course Soleon didn't want to fish right after he'd gotten done! "Next time you fish, though, I can practice with you," she went on, and this was now a concrete plan to her. They would fish together at some point in the near future.

Now that she thought about it, it seemed as though fishing wouldn't be too difficult under the right circumstances. She was quick and sharp of eye; it had always been her fear of rushing water that'd stopped her from excelling.

"What are you gonna do now?" she asked him, showing no signs of moving along any time soon. Nope, she was stuck like an urchin to this fellow, at least until her brother came along and pitied the man enough to pry her away.

truthfully, soleon did not mind the companionship. his time in this place was only just beginning, but it had been quite stagnant thus far. if the wolves were as joyous as she then perhaps there were hope yet. of course, he knew that to already be untrue. for all wolves to be like her would denote a lack of variety and amonst their kind--there were many personalities. 

 she seemed to be quite the observationalist despite the fact she appeared attention deficit at moments. she had picked up on the wonderment he had previously assumed and retracted her desire, "i mean i don't mind. are you hungry?" honestly, he was burning energy just watching her. 

 She asked what his plans were for the time coming and to be honest he didn't know. being alone out her meant he didn't have to think about what he needed to do, but it also meant that there wasn't much of a...goal. 

 "get to know you," he declared it quite matter-of-factly, "where are you from?" 

A noncommittal shrug was the girl's answer; she was nearly always ready for a meal, but hunger was not currently her most pressing concern. She and Brave could hunt tonight or in the morning. And now that she thought of it, fishing lessons might be a little less nerve-wracking with her brother watching as well.

Journey's ears pricked in interest when Soleon declared his next pursuit: her. "Oh!" she said again, and immediately forgot everything about herself. There was a beat of bemused silence before she found the answer to his question. ". . . Round Valley," she replied, her tail beginning to wag once more. "I lived there with my mother and my father and my brother and a whole lot of cousins, and aunts and uncles, too. But we've got family here in this area, so my brother and I are looking around for them. Last we heard, everyone was real scattered. It made aunt Spot sad, so I thought I'd see what I could do about it."

It was a lofty response coming from such a small girl — but despite her somewhat unimpressive size, she was confident in her ability to help bring the family back together.

"Where are you from?" she asked. "Do you have a big family? What's your mom's name? Mine's name is Lavender."

she might come off as pushy but to be honest upon a quick observation that was so very far from the truth. the girl came to strike him as very down to earth and very hopeful. he appreciated that she did take a moment to consider her actions--though, only after she had spoken her mind. 

 he had no idea where this place she mentioned was, though, it sounded as closely nit as his own family unit. soleon had his own little baggage, but he didn't want to take away from the happy store that seemed to become her own life. a girl that just wanted to draw her family together. 
 
 "i come from a place called vindictus. it was a really big kingdom. knights and queens and betrothals," he reminisced for a moment and honestly felt it nice, "my mom's name is soleil. she is a beauty. a wonderful healer with a kind heart. and my dad was Cairo--a strong Knight and eventual lord," he would have assumed the title if he had shown any worth as a warrior. but he always preferred the study of medicine. he felt it his duty to build and not tear apart. 

 "i'm not much like my father. much more like my mother,"

Oof. Vindictus did not sound like the name of a place that Journey wanted to visit — even if, once Soleon went on to describe it, it sounded rather fancy. Kingdoms and queens and knights all sounded like something from a story, but, "We have betrothals where I'm from, too," she shared, glad to find they had something in common. (She was surprised, actually, that betrothals might be uncommon enough that he'd had to list them as a quality of his kingdom.)

Her eyes went big and dove-like when he talked about his mother. She sounded like one of those story-book maidens, too — like the shieldmaidens Sunspot would tell them about, or even like her mysterious aunt Dawn. "She sounds wonderful," said Journey. "Your mother. I would want to be like her, too. I mean — my dream is to be a great healer. Aunt Spot says it's a noble pursuit, and it would make me much more useful."

Even if she wasn't living under her aunt's reign anymore, Journey still wanted to be useful. She had an idea that she might find a teacher in these parts, since few of her own family were adept in the art. There was Skraeling, of course, but she'd always been a bit... well, Journey was worried about taking her advice where possibly poisonous plants were concerned, was all.

"Do you know a lot about healing and herbs?" she asked, her interest quite plain.

soleon had actually never been one that was interested in the ways of his people as far as a pre-arranged wedding went. his nose wrinkled in obvious distate when she mentioned she also hailed from those practices, "i do not like betrothals," he shooks his head and furthered his explanation, "my mom and dad met when my mom was nothing more than a vagabond. i've heard falling in love is quite fun on it's own without outside influence," he hadn't really been entranced by a girl albeit boyish crushes. 

 when he talked of his mother she mimicked how he felt. soleil was a wonderful woman. kind to all she met and she didn't just rely on herbs and remedies to heal one. she had a way of making you feel the love and he had always believed that level of care and sincerity aided in bettering one. 

 she asked him a rather loaded question and he looked borerline uneasy about what to tell her, "yes and no....I'm aware of the usefulness of plants. i understand the need for an array of things. i have a lot to learn. maybe...err nevermind," this was an acquaintance. let's get that right. he was going to suggest they learn together. study together. become great. but he wasn't sure how lasting this adventure with one another would actually be.

Journey was somewhat taken aback at this statement. Betrothals had always seemed just as romantic to her as more organic pairings. "My parents met and fell in love without anyone telling them to," she shared, with a tiny, hesitant whisk of her tail, "But the falling part is only a small part of the equation. I've always been taught that love means much, much more. So I'm not worried about it. I would be happy if I met someone myself or if someone was found for me. But — " She gave an embarrassed little shrug. "I can't have babies," she said, looking a little downcast for the first time in the conversation, "so I don't know if I'll ever have a mate."

Journey sensed that Soleon was not quite comfortable with her questions, but she couldn't imagine why. After a moment, however, she decided he was just too shy to ask for her help. "We should learn together," she said brightly. "I've been hoping to find someone who might be able to teach me. I'm a good enough hunter, so I could pay them in game — and you could pay with fish!"

soleon listened intently to the words that came from her. he would have to agree to disagree with her own observation, but that could only go so far. when she said the last little bit he wrinkled his nose and absolutely stuck it where it did not belong. after all...how did she know? had she tried? "if a man equates you to what you can give him and not what he can give you then he has no business being your mate to begin with," it was a bold statement...but a woman deserved just as much as a man could attain himself. 

 she recuperated from her obvious moment of embarassment (it was nice to know she was capable of it honestly) and she suggested what he had let loom only as a thought, "i think that's a great idea. we can travel and study and learn. maybe we can amass a number of tutors and we'll be great," but never the best. someone somewhere could always outdo you. that was to be remembered.

This, too, was a strange concept to Journey. "There's nothing wrong with a man who wants a family," she said, but it sounded more like a suggestion than a definitive statement. "Perhaps there's a man who would be happy with me, but there's nothing wrong with a man who has other goals and values. Everyone's different, and everyone deserves to be fulfilled." But, she thought, progeny was important to most men. This was what she'd been led to believe, in any case, and even if she didn't — Aunt Spot had underlined the importance of good genes to her. She didn't want to pass on her dirty blood.

By then, she was quite eager to get off the topic. Thinking about love and romance was all well and good, but it didn't normally hit quite so close to home! "That's the spirit!" she cried when he expanded on her idea, clearly quite impassioned. (This was a mixture of actual passion and grateful relief for the change of subject.) "A pack seems like the best place to go for that sort of thing, but I'm a little nervous about trying to approach one. I've never visited another pack before, except my auntie's."

she spoke a bit more seriously than she had before. she did also make a good point. everyone was allowed to feel and desire whatever it was they held important to themself. of course, his intention had only been to make her realize it was her who had worth beyond where it seemed she was placing it. way to mess that one up!

 he nodded in simple understanding and allowed the topic to dissipate. it seemed she was down trodden about it. 

 "maybe we should find your family first? you said you came looking for them. so maybe we shouldn't approach anyone until we know where your family is. i'm not so good with the formalities," he didn't actually know how he would even go about trying to join another pack. also why was she nervous? maybe the numbers made her anxious.

Journey seemed quite relieved at this plan of action. Clearly, something about meeting a whole new pack was making her a bit nervous. "We can make that a loose plan, then," she agreed with a wag of her tail. "I only really know where to find one of them, and only loosely. My mother's sister, Dawn, is the leader of a pack called Whitebark Stream. Or she was, the last I heard," Journey explained. "I'd really like to meet her, because I've heard a lot of stories about her. Her and my granddad, but he's dead."

This did not seem to bother her.

"My brother, Brave, is somewhere around here as well. He'll track us down once he's done following whatever trail he found," she shared, seeming to regain her energy after briefly deflating during the whole love and babies conversation. "From what I hear, there's a lot of cousins running around in this area, and possibly a few uncles. But I wouldn't even know where to start, with them. Hopefully Brave runs into some of them while he's off chasing the wind. It'd save us a whole lot of trouble, right?"

Movement she spotted out of the corner of her eye quickly distracted her. It was a frog, and Journey was compelled to try and catch it.

"i'm not sure where that is," he didn't know where anything was in this place so it wasn't particularly shocking that he didn't know what she was talking about. he was going to help her find her family, however, because it was important to her. suddenly it seemed to mean something to him as well. it was likely due to him needing something to do. some kind of fulfillment. 

 she was quite passive about the oddest of things. of course, as he observed death it was natural. he celebrated life. death was a part of that. perhaps she viewed it in the same light and that was why she was dismissive of her late granddad. 

 "is he like you?" soleon wasn't particularly interested in meeting the big brother if another male presence was going to cause an issue. 

 his gaze followed her own that danced over for a moment and a warm chuckle fell from his lips. she was quite amusing in an enchanting kind of way.

"Me neither," said Journey, sounding perfectly unconcerned. She was sure they would figure it out — even if it took talking to one of the established packs around here.

"Brave?" she asked, the distinct air of dottiness she carried with her seeming to ramp up to eleven. "Oh, no — he's taller, and he's brown, and he's got green eyes. Not at all like me," she replied, seeming perfectly serious for a moment. But then her gold eyes flashed in mischief and self-satisfaction. See what I did there? "He is like me, except I think he's a little smarter, and more confident. And he doesn't talk so much. I guess maybe he isn't like me, but I think he'd like you."

Why wouldn't he?

Her butt wiggled in the air a moment before she pounced on the frog, catching it between her paws. A moment later, she'd snapped it up and given it a hard shake, tail whisking in idle pleasure.

Journey was such a playful girl and Soleon couldn't help but offer a small laugh as she captured her spotted victim. She seemed quite excited to have the frog between her teeth and Soleon gave her a firm nod of approval. Playful approval at the absolute best of his ability. 

 "Perhaps we ought to set out to find 'em all then," He gestured towards the expanse of land beyond them and his tail moved happily behind him. He was quite excited to be able to embark on this adventure with someone like her. She would likely never allow a moment to dull, "Lead the way. I've got your back," It was a blossoming and excitable new friendship.