Totoka River Fish In The Sky

@Bartholomew

The smell of the nearby ocean was in the air and Paeon had spent the past couple days heading northward. Her paws touched sand for the first time in this new region and she was eager to continue her list of new experiences and interactions. She was still curious. Trying to figure out what test would make her worthy of the champions back home and where she might be of greatest importance. But she also knew that she likey had much more to learn before she would be capable of such a feat.

Today the clouds above were shielding the sun. While it poked through from time to time the blue of the sky was hard to see. She came along a river and heard the splash of fish in the water. After a few failed attempts she managed to grab one in her jaws and bring it to shore. It flicked and flopped in her mouth smacking the side of her face a few time before she got a little agitated and bit down harder until it stopped moving.

Now, as her catch lay still, on the ground she took a morsel in her mouth, placed her paw on the tail of the fish, and pulled up to shred away a piece to eat. As she started her meal and looked to the ground she missed how the clouds opened slightly allowing for the blue sky and light to pierce through and reflect off the nearby pools.

a long, needle-nosed fish dragged along the sand as the man sought a good spot to eat. the tide pools could turn quite beautiful at this time of day, in these conditions, and would provide a good backdrop for his lunch.

to have a couple's dinner was not his plan, but the bard knew how to improvise.

"gooed dey!" slavuj barked from a good enough distance not to be an intruder. his tail swayed behind him, and his bark nearly made the fish slip out his mouth.

after securing his grip, the man grinned around his catch.

"lookingh foer comp'ny?"

Sorry for the late reply. Irl event.

A mumbled greeting made her take her attention off her meal and to a heavy mop. Two things were fighting for her attention, the super long fish in his mouth and the supermassive and strange fur coving his body. Paeon has never seen a creature with such an appearance. It wasn't large enough to be a bear, and it was too large to be a coyote, so it must be something... similar to a wolf. It spoke her language at least... or something similar.

"I wasn't looking for it but not opposed to it either" she stated in a neutral tone, leaving her fish being and closing the gap between her and this stranger. "How did you manage to catch something like that... or even see it?" she asked bluntly referring to the fur surrounding his eyes. As she got closer she noticed that he did not smell of wolf. In fact he smelled unpleasant. Not that far from the fish she had just caught, but stronger, like it had been lingering for a fare about of time. She took a quick step back but help in her comment.

his tail's sways accelerated the moment he was accepted, and that agreement was of value, yes! she was smaller than the leggy he, yet slavuj would bet a paw, that she could do him like a pretzel-baker folds a length of dough. while it would be the stuff of dreams, the man appreciated not being beaten and robbed by a beautiful woman this day.

"ah, yeau see-" and he, grinning in enamourment, again very nearly let the fish slip. "-dere iz ae part-ee-koolar teh-neek ai haev devized!"

with some flourish and flare - and completely ignoring the reaction to his musk - the wandering man tossed the fish onto a conveninetly near rock.

he sat himself on one side, then placed his paws on this impromptu table, grinning broad as a woman.

"bat, ai von't raeveal secrets jast liek dat! sou, saey, miz, vhy don't ve trade? ai tell yeau dat, if yeau first tell mi, hmmm... vhy don't yeau pick?"

A sway came through her tail as her mop companion began to speak. As he spoke the words that formed were scattered about. Sounding like bits of words rearranged just enough to be coherent... or most of it... enough of it. He was bold and seemingly unfiltered which put a smile on her face. A bit of comradery between the two.

She turned to pick up her own catch and plopped it on their makeshift dining table. His fish was larger than her's so her addition didn't take up much space. "Hmmm. A secret worth trading for the secret of how to catch such a fish... I'm not sure it would be a worthwhile trade on my end. But let's start simply. My names Paeon. And yours?" She stated taking a seat and a bit of her catch.

were it in the anatomy of a dog to arrange his limbs like so-

-slavuj would've been contorted into the shape of an infatuated man. what an image of feminine power, this one!

as things were, he slouched with his head tilted to better see, tail doing a broom's job on the coarse sand.

paeon. a sniper's shot!

paeon! like a heartfelt poem of worship. paeon! like the sweet pink flower. paeon! like the dutiful soldier upon the chess board. paeon! paeon! paeon!

it took some adult sense to quiet his mind and slow his tail. still, as she spoke, the name echoed behind the thoughts:

( paeon! paeon! )

"славуј." simply said.

"slah-vooy." enunciated, with a grin of understanding.

"bat!" and here, mock seriousness ( even thought the eyes, when seen, shone ). "ai aem nout sou easily bought, mis pae-on!" 

"saey more; vhat does voman sou made for strength-" and his paws gestured at the build of her. "come to dis jeentle coast for, hm?"

Love that.

He was like a fun riddle. She tried her best to piece together his words and it felt like a fun game of chasing a mouse. Not too difficult if you focused enough on it, but would easily slip away if you lost sight of it for just one moment.

His tail was a detector, a window into his true inner thoughts and she could tell that her words were sparking his interest. Yet he played hard to get.

Name alone was not enough, but at least he lead her with a question this time around. "Exploration. I must acquaint myself with all the nooks, crannies, and views before accepting the mightiest of quests" she stated profoundly. 

Maybe a pirate. Perhaps that's what he made her think of. Slurred words, a man of the sea, and bad hygiene.