Whitefish River i take my whiskey neat

she'd followed the river's line during midday, the sun a warm embrace to the touch of her back. the water stretched through canopy and uncloaked terrain, eventually spitting her out at an open stretch of winding rapids. the vapor rising from the hot springs could be seen in the distance, with the glacier just teasing the far edges of her vision.

she wondered if those who she'd left behind there still remained, or if they'd moved on.

breeze swept in the pungent aroma of an unfamiliar pack, and she noted down the direction in which it came in order to seek them out at a later time. for now she set her sights to the river and to the shadows of lingering fish waiting for a calm in the cascade.

with any luck, she might score some sushi for an early dinner.

Coming from the opposite direction, Stelmaria walked the same riverline. She had been forced to cross the waters at some point before, to bypass the claimed ridge, but had crossed back again once she had passed it. She was still quite damp when the pale figure of a wolf materialized ahead – fishing by their slender poise.

Stelmaria remained well back, unwilling to disturb the fisher or her very delicate hunt; content to observe coolly for a moment.

unaware of her distant audience, the viper slithered bank-side, eyes flickering from shadow to ripple. there she sat for a time, patient in her pursuit of a meal. paws gradually slipped amongst the current, the stream brushing alongside her like a silken sheet. step by step she positioned herself to the deepened waters, until eventually the current kissed her neck.

there she waited again, nibbles to her toes as the fish teased like a forbidden lover. her sight never strayed from the water, her focus never stolen from the task at hand.

there! a shadow that had found the calm ahead her paw. she fought the tensing of her muscles, cautiously lowering her snout to skim the water's surface. a breath, and then a plunge beneath the rapids.