Broken Antler Fen mapledrop

she fished idly in the farthest side of the water. already she had caught a small collection of tiny fish, but her energy for more had not gone away. this was a time of plenty, and teya was unwilling to let it pass.
but eventually she tired, and dragged her catches up along the bank where they would not make it back despite desperate churnings and leaps. pausing to devour one, she looked with interest at the various markings upon the different fish, committing them to memory.

Happy 2nd birthday to her!

When he first glimpsed her in the distance, Tambourine paused his leisurely jog. She reminded him of Larkspur, though her coloration was bolder, richer. She was much younger too. He let out a breath and shook his limbs as if trying to rid them of the momentary tension, then picked up the pace again.

Angling toward the young stranger, Tambourine woofed a greeting. His pale eyes dropped to the belt of fish laid out on the grass. "Fwhoa," he blurted, genuinely impressed, "quite the day's catch there!"

thank you! <3

a man, suddenly, windspun and friendly. teya looked up with a sharp suspicion that softened as she saw him to be one of theirs. "good fishing in the water," she remarked, gesturing toward where she had drawn the creatures. she lapped the scales of one thoughtfully, peering again toward the clear surface. "i not finished," the raven added, then thumped her tail, waving him closer. "maybe you fish with me?" she did not know him, but he belonged to brecheliant, and for that reason she would seek to know him. "i teya."

His attention drifted from the fish to her face as she spoke. She looked to be about Harps's age, though there was something very childlike about the way she spoke. She said her name was Teya and Tambourine tried to remember if Wraen or anyone else had mentioned her by name. If they had, he couldn't presently remember.

"Lovely to meet you, Teya. I'm Tambourine. You can call me Tam. I'd love to help, though I'd probably be more of a hindrance than anything. I've never really fished before," he admitted. "How about I watch you while you work?" he suggested with a smile.

tambourine. somehow the jubilant sound of it fit the friendly man in front of her. with a nod the girl moved away from her string of kills and into the shallows. fish marked by darting dark shadows jerked away from the set of her paws, but as she held still, the water too became calm.
its occupants returned, and teya slowed her breathing, sharp eyes watching through the surface. smaller fish would be faster, and their larger counterparts would give the small raven a harsher fight.
the girl waited for some time until a ponderous trout with scarring upon its scales lazily brushed beyond her ankle. teeth flashed; an arc of water and teya set her paws against the silt, struggling as the fish lunged and leapt in her jaws.
bit by bit the girl worked them both backward, energy flagging as she pulled the trout just past its gills onto the wet bank.

He watched, fascinated, as Teya fished the waters. And when she managed to grasp one and begin dragging it ashore, Tambourine realized there was something he could do to help. He darted to her side and clubbed the fish on the head, stunning and possibly even killing it. He hoped it would make her task a little easier, now there was less resistance.

teya did not expect tambourine to sweep into her space, much less aid in dispatching the fish. her jaws clenched a little with surprise, but his efforts silenced the large creature until she was able to drag it further up the shoreline.
"thank you," she told the new man in brecheliant, sparing a glance to truly look him over. "perhaps i make you fisher also."

He grinned as she gave him an appraising look. "Perhaps," he echoed before quipping, "is there a specialty for wolves who punch fishes in their faces?" He waved his tail, laughing lightly at his own joke.

He looked down at the sleek trout, its scales glistening in the April sunshine. He'd never eaten much fish. It required too much patience and stillness, and Larkspur had never let them sit still for very long. With that thought in mind, Tambourine decided today was the day he embarked on the journey to become a boring old fisherman.

"If you have the patience to teach," he said a bit more earnestly, "I'm willing to learn. More than."

she snorted a laugh. "fishkiller," the girl hooted, swinging her greydust ears toward tambourine. he was pleasant company. "i patient," she told him, reaching out to nudge her packmate if allowed before setting off deeper into the fen.
as usual, the violet squelched into the mud at the edges, leaving a murky trail that broke behind her under the lapping edges. eventually the waterway would stretch into the beautiful crystalline, but here, sedge blended with earth. she spotted small clawed tracks.
"otter," she told him. "follow otter, find good fish." a grin.

He laughed too, then grimaced. What a brutal title. It didn't really suit him. "What about fish... dispatcher?" Tambourine countered even as he gladly followed along where the younger she-wolf led.

When she spoke again, he looked around curiously. He didn't see any otters. But then he thought to follow her gaze and spotted the tracks in the mud. Tambourine stepped forward to give them a sniff and a study.

She might speak as though a child, though she was undeniably intelligent and talented. "Good thinkin'," he said, tapping at his temple, then falling quiet as he waited to see what she might show him next.

fish dispatcher followed her, and teya slipped through the sedges, following the trail until the pair came upon the water's edge.
here it was deeper than shallows; here a half-dozen otters chirruped and splashed, and farther off she saw two of them cannily circling a school of fish.
the raven gave a low chuff, meaning to scare the fishers but not their shared prey. fear cries rose sharply, and the romp of them cut off into another channel and were gone.
the surface would grow peaceful once more, and that was when teya lifted her head, and strode forward to inspect what these waters had to offer.

When she led him to a gang of otters, Tambourine licked his lips. They were really damn adorable, yet they looked pretty tasty too. He momentarily forgot they weren't here for them, at least until Teya frightened them away. He glanced at her in perplexity before realizing she meant to resume their fishing trip.

When she strode toward the water, he followed right at her heels. He wanted to be right beside her and at the ready in case she caught another fish he needed to punch in the face.

tambourine, directly behind her. teya watched a shoal of bluegill swim toward where she had plunged her forelegs into the water. the girl quieted her breathing. they drew closer with wary flicks of their fins, and for a long moment, perhaps longer than was necessary, the little raven was still.
in order to catch more than one, she and he would need to herd them closer to shore without scaring the school of fish into fragmented groups. this was more difficult than teya had expected, but she moved slightly, sacrificing a few feet to back carefully in the water and circle around.
the bluegill continued on, now trapped between the two wolves and the small muddied beach.
teya grinned at tambourine and then lunged for the nearest one, cutting the surface into foaming chaos as the fish discovered too late their plight.

While he observed Teya in silence, her words floated back to him from only a few moments prior: "Follow otter, find good fish." He was tempted to smack himself upside the head for his momentary bewilderment but settled with rolling his eyes. Otherwise, he remained still, unwilling to disrupt her endeavor. It seemed to require a lot of patience and silent stillness.

But while he waited for the action, Tambourine's attention drifted despite himself. Suddenly, he realized they'd left her other catches unattended on the shore. Without thinking, he arched his neck back in that direction. He then whipped it back round at the sound of a splash, though he remained on the bank, staring stupidly at Teya's deliberate movements in such an otherwise chaotic medium.

tambourine had agreed to be taught but did not help teya, and in some seconds the school cut swiftly into three parts and sailed back beyond their legs. teya clenched her toes into the silt and shot her would-be pupil a look that managed to be both understanding and aggrieved. "maybe we try another time," the girl said, unable to keep the tightness from her voice, and flounced to the shoreline.
a swift shake of her pelt, and teya had softened again. "i catch many fish today. maybe too much," she said with a quick quirk to her mouth. she had become greedy. the ones who had escaped could wait another time. 
plodding back to her catch, she found that the chafed otters had made off with at least two, but only shook her head in resolution. grabbing one up, she glanced to tambourine. she could return for the rest, but the prey should be cached before more damage was done.
if in agreement, teya would set a firm pace back to the larder nearest ibis' den.

By the time he recovered and made a move to assist her, Teya was bounding back onto the shoreline. In fact, their shoulders brushed as they collided, Tambourine turning at the pivotal moment to avoid direct impact, for her sake. He caught the look she gave him and he let out a breath, prepared to apologize for his inattentiveness. But she was already moving on, figuratively and literally.

"Is there such a thing as too much fish?" he queried sheepishly as he tried to keep pace with her. It was ironic, in a way, that it was her bountiful catch which had distracted him. Tambourine didn't mention that, saying, "I'll keep practicing on my own, work on staying focused," in way of apology. It went without saying that he would be of service for as long as she needed him otherwise today.

"this is good," teya said, forgetting her earlier irritation. "i come bring you for another fishing." not so much an invitation as a statement of fact. teya saw the worth of him and thought he would do well alongside her in the water. after all, eljay had settled here, and the medic seemed softer than this joyous man had ever been.
keeping herself affable, teya tossed her head toward the borders. "should mark. babies on way, i think." a grin; brecheliant was due to become larger, and she offered a playful nip as she set off in that direction.

She informed him she would be taking him along on another fishing venture sometime, to which he could only nod and grin sheepishly. In the next moment, Teya invited him to mark the borders, mentioning babies on the way as she gave him a nip. He wondered if she meant Eljay's and Maia's expected brood, scurrying to keep pace with her as she led him to the outskirts. He had never in his life marked a borderline, though surely he could manage to raise his leg and take a leak every now and again while he picked the Raven's brain about matters of babies, fish and any other errant thought that occurred to him while they worked.

I'll archive here. Thank you for the thread!