the fish in the river- oh, sorry, i mean creek...

gameskeeper thread please! Anyone welcome!

Star was sitting next to the Creek. She was attempting to hunt fish, however, she wasn't very good at it. Her mountain home hadn't had a lot of fish, and besides, the water was frozen during the cold seasons up there. Then again, it might freeze here too. She couldn't be sure; it would be her first Winter in the Wilds.
Her mind was blank and clear, or else thoughts would distract her. She worked purely off of instinct and logic and reflex for the hunt. Suddenly a silvery fish leaped a little out of the water as it flashed by. Star's claw slashed across the air just a few milliseconds too late. She'd been sitting here for almost fifteen minutes, and she only had one fish. Star didn't think she was cut out for this- but she had to be a Gameskeeper! Perhaps someone with more fishing skill could teach her, or at least help her to catch more.

Hey there have fun with my Engrish-speaking-scarred-former-samurai. :D

He had no leads on Yoichi. The trail had gone cold and winter was approaching. He needed a new lead, a new sign, but he would find nothing if he did not speak the common tongue of this land. He had knowledge of a few basic words and phrases, but he had yet to learn anything else, thanks to his unsociability.

The ronin walked up to a nearby creek, glaring at his reflection in the icy depths, contemplating the new wolf staring back at him. No longer was it the golden Tatsuya, the young samurai ready to be the best he could for his clan and his lady, but it was the exile, the ronin Kizuato, permanently scarred on his face for all to see.

Kizuato looked up at the sound of splashing, astonished to see a fluffy white wolf looking angered as she failed to catch another fish. The dark green eyed wolf watched for a few moments, before averting his gaze back to the waters, spotting a fish and catching it with practiced ease. The ronin walked over to the female and dropped the fish right by her. "Fisshu." he said, recalling the word for the aquatic creature and pronouncing it in his thick Japanese accent.

hello, thanks for joining!

Star was so concentrated she didn't even notice when a wolf was sitting by the river as well, until a new fish was dropped onto her pile. She looked up to a tall dark gold wolf with green eyes and an odd scar on his face. He didn't smell of the Creek. She was about to tell him to leave, but she paused. He had been kind enough to give her the fish. Why would she now turn around and tell him to go? She was not particularly kind, but she wasn't rude. He said something then. It was a little hard to understand, but soon she got it. "Fish you too?" She said. At least, she had thought she'd gotten it. "Thanks for the fish. Can you show me how to catch it like that? I suck at it." She admitted with an embarrassed grin. Star hadn't yet realized that he'd been speaking a different language.

The white cloud of a wolf responded gratefully, something he could only figure out by the tone of her voice. He only could translate a small handful of words, not enough to decipher the meaning at all. Fish, thank you, catch. He blinked, not sure how to respond, all the while cursing at himself for not knowing enough of this damnable language.

"Fisshu? Casho za fisshu?" He assumed that was what she was asking, a good guess at that, since she seemed to br having trouble before. "Hai." He responded to the best of his ability, hoping she would understand his meaning, for he did not know the word for 'yes'. Kizuato turned towards the river, watching the waters with interest, searching for any flicker of movement, but careful to keep his shadow away from the river. He exaggerated the fact, purposefully moving his shadow on the creek, then pulling it away for her sake.

The next time he spoke she thought maybe english wasn't his language. She wasn't sure if he was speaking english with a heavy accent or if he was speaking something else.
Did he say hi? I don't get it. She watched as he demonstrated, however, to move her shadow. She scooted back and turned a bit, copying him. Her shadow now sat on the land. She looked at him for the next instruction, and figured she should ask: "Do you speak english?" She said quietly, but loud enough to hear.

When he prepared to show her the next part of fishing, she asked him a question. You, English. Do you speak English? The ronin shook his head, saying "Iie Engrishu." to emphasize his point. He was learning though, slowly. But the firebrand wished to learn it soon enough so that he could find the Yoichi bastard.

He continued on with the lesson, wondering what in the name of the heavens convinced him to do so. Maybe it was how small she was that invoked the sense of protection that he had been born and trained with. He was certain she was a member of one of the packs that lived in this place, the multitude of wolf smells on her pelt was testament to that. But if she was part of a pack, then she obviously had food for the winter, correct?

Kizuato spotted a plump silver fish swimming gently at the bottom of the creek, within reach. He caught fish with his jaws; it was much easier than the method the cloud-wolf, and could produce more prey at the end of the day. The golden wolf peered intently at the fish, angling his head above the waters, waiting for it to be in the right position so he could strike out at it.

He male replied by shaking his head and saying something about english. Okay. Maybe he was difficult to understand, but he had answered her question. Perhaps it was best for her to just not talk too much, so he could understand, instead of confusing him with a lot of english. She watched as he looked down into the creek. There was a fish there that he had noticed before Star. She watched intently as he waited for it to move just right. Why isn't he clawing it? She wondered, not knowing that he was working by logic, and would catch the fish with his jaws. Star was a good hunter, but rather impatient. She feared that the fish might swim away.

His eyes flickered towards her for a moment, noting her impatience. The wolves here were not like those of Nihon. Back home, they were taught patience, to wait for the right moment to strike. It was not a trait the people here taught their children, it seemed. Kizuato focused back on the fish, noting that it was slowly moving closer...and closer....and closer... and then..

The samurai darted forward, aiming above the fish's position, since the water changed the appearance of the fish, making it look lower than it appeared. The ronin brought his head back up, a wriggling fish held tightly in his jaws. He bit down harder, killing the aquatic creature and dropping it by the white cloud. "Fisshu."

Oh. He's good at that. She thought as she watched him. The foreign wolf expertly got the fish out of the water, and had used his fangs.
Star waited till a fish swam up, and remembered what he'd done. Star waited till she was pretty sure it was in the right spot. Then her fangs flashed as she dunked her head under, grabbing a silvery fish and slapping it on the ground. She slapped it one more time to make sure it was dead, and then she looked up at him. She thought she might've gotten it, and it was because of this guy's teaching.
Fisshu? As good a hunter as he was, he couldn't stay here forever with no english. So far every wolf in the Wilds that Star had met spoke english, not whatever he spoke. It was time for Star to try to teach him something.
"English." she said. She tapped the fish with her paw. "Fish. Fish." She repeated twice, hoping he would understand. She pointed out the water with her paw, moving her paw along the expanse of the creek. "Swiftcurrent Creek. Creek. Creek." She said a few times. She wasn't a language teacher but hey, it didn't hurt to try.

The cloud of a wolf caught on quickly. Once he dropped the fish by her, she leaned over the edge of the creek and caught another. The samurai, who now completed his task in teaching the girl how to catch fish, wanted to turn in leave, but stopped when the woman said the word English. "Engrishu." He repeated firmly. "Fisshu."

She said another two...three words? Swiftcurrent Creek, she gestured towards the water. So that was the name of this particular creek, Swiftcurrent. Swiftcurrent Creek. "Su-ifto-curriien-to Cur-eeku." He said it slowly, sounding out the words. "Suifto curriiento Cureeku."

i think this will be my last post! Thanks for the thread!

"Uh, yes. Kind of." She said as he attempted to repeat it. She had to admit, it was pretty good for his first time. Hopefully he would pick up english quickly. "I hope you can learn english soon." She said, although she knew he couldn't understand her. "Thank you for teaching me to fish, Sir. Perhaps we'll meet again." She said with a polite smile. So perhaps he couldn't understand, but it wouldn't hurt. "Goodbye." She said. She had some things to get done and, without waiting for an answer, begun to trot away. She would be sure not to forget his fishing lesson. After all, hunting played an important role in her life.

He blinked at the female as she spoke in her native tongue, trying to decipher her tone. It sounded like a parting, from what he could gather. His thoughts were correct, as she said a parting word: goodbye, and then left. He murmured an "さようなら ...", then turned and followed the creek again, wondering where it may lead him now.