Fish 'n Bones (tagged and open)

[Deleted]

Fierfly

It was winter. It was cold. It was risky. It wasn't worth the risk. That's why Tiago was doing it.

Besides it was just fishing. Ice fishing to be precise. In a lonely curve of the Amoux creek, the waters became deeper, calmer, a great place for fish. Thus a great place for fishing. The water was covered in a crust of ice, in varying thickness. The grey-blue water was cold, just warmer than freezing point. Taigo was a water wolf himself, though he matched a colder, saltier sea. He was a deep, cold green color. A newer development. He was once black and grey, a normal wolf really. Back then he was young, naive, and scared. His family dispersed or dead. He had seen alot in his life, a life he was willing to risk throwing away. And all for a fish. Tiago, a rather large wolf spread his weight over a thicker patch of ice, his back paws still anchored on the earth. He gazed down through a particularly thin patch of ice, smoldering gold eyes narrow, searching for fish. Tiago would take any and all fish that had the misfortune of swimming beneath his paws. But he wanted more. There was one fish who had evaded him all summer. Tiago knew he must be grinning in his gills down there, unaware that his hunter would not halt for the winter. That fish would lie in his stomach yet.

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

In the still quiet of the mid-winter afternoon where the white and the quiet stretched on as one being as far as the eye could see and ear could hear, a stomach rumbled.

So much for the quiet.

A golden-eyed she-wolf rolled her eyes at herself and crouched lower in the snow, gaze remaining focused on the plump little rodent in front of her. Somehow through all the harshness of winter squirrels managed to remain fat and furry, a perfect meal for a lone wolf who just needed to refill her belly, get something in the old tank to keep her going. As it turned and began pawing at the snow to dig up some more of its winter store, she slowly rose off her belly and crawled forward a few paces, stopping and dropping again when it looked up and sniffed the air. Convinced that it was being watched the fat prey turned and began sniffing and searching earnestly, she lay as flat as she could with her ears clasping to her skull and her tail motionless and tried to innocently bury her blatantly brown form into the frothy white snow.

Her stomach chose that exact moment to growl again, and loudly. The squirrel checked the area again upon hearing the noise and suddenly recognized its hunter attempting to disguise herself. With a startled chitter it raced for the nearest tree, a young elm in which it was seeking refuge. With a growl and a lunge she started after it, never mind that it wasn't a good chance for a catch, she was going to try! Panting, reaching, lunging as far as her stiff foreleg would allow she chased after the rodent, teeth snapping at the busy tail that dodged well out of her grasp and in a few seconds she was sitting at the base of the elm and staring up.

She growled in disgust, whether at the squirrel or at herself she wasn't sure. "Gosh darn you," she hissed at the furry little beast.

The squirrel ventured out on a branch and gave her a piece of his mind in return.

Kailypso huffed, swished her tail and turned away: there'd be no squirrel today. Instead she raised her nose to the air and investigated the area around her. Water was nearby, likely frozen over at this time of year, but she knew stags would break the ice cover to give them access to the water. She didn't expect a stag, but other animals used the holes in the ice too, it might have been a good idea to use the spot as a lure for her next meal.

She headed for the river and stopped to find a hole like the one she was searching for, but closer to the middle of the river and already claimed by a huge dark green male. Her ears flicked back and she crouched down among the snow again - she stopped to wonder why she tried so hard when her coat did nothing to help her camouflage - and watched.

[Deleted]

Tiago waited, gazing grudgingly into the depths. It was a deep area of the river, and the frosty conditions seemed to lace the waters with a misty haze. Looking down into the waters he felt like a god, gazing down on his dominion from the veiled skies, deciding which mortals live, which ones die, and which suffer through the rest of their unfortunate existence in anguish. A cocky smirk leaked onto his muzzle as a flash of dark-silver scales glinted underneath his scoping eyes. His shoulders rippled as he tensed, ready to plunge his death-bringing muzzle into the icy waters. It was him! The fish he had been hunting for all summer long. Just one more flick of that spiny tail and he would be in range. The great trout arrogantly bobbed closer to the surface. The time was now. The occasion was here. With a mighty lunge he thrust his great head into the water, his vicious fangs closing on the fish's slippery flesh. The beast nearly slipped away from Tiago's grip, but his jaws were tight and his mentality not to be disappointed. He clamped his teeth into his quarry and thrust his legs into a straight position, forcing his head from the water.

His long, thick fur was shoved forward, obscuring his face. All one would see is a spiky head holding a thrashing trout. he retreated form the ice in hurried steps, shaking his mighty head back and forth to try and kill his prey. When this didn't work, he threw the two-footer out onto the snow to flop its last breaths far away from the river. He triumphantly tromped towards the indent it had made, and watched it send clumps and puffs of snow about itself before finally twitching to a halt. He grinned, shaking his terribly cold head free from the water's deathly claws. "You've evaded me these seasons, but now I have bested you! you...you fish!!" He guffawed heartily, his loud barking laugh echoing slightly in this empty landscape. He was completely alone. His fish nemesis was even gone. Dead. Just a slender corpse to eat from.

If he was alone then what was that ridge of brown fur near that lone tree? Tiago's head rose, still rather damp and silly looking when compared to the rest of his perfectly dry body. "Who's hiding behind that drift?" He gruffly addressed the snooper. "It's rude to lurk about you know."

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

He was fishing! She wasn't much of a fisher-wolf herself and never had she even heard of it being done in winter, but hey: the opportunity was there, so why not? With a mighty thrust he plunged his head through the hole in the ice and came up again with an admirable two-foot long trout flopping between his jaws. Dripping fur fell forward into his eyes and he triumphantly carried the victim to the bank and left him there to thrash and gasp and die. "You've evaded me these seasons, but now I have bested you! you...you fish!"! ...was this guy insane? A throaty, hearty laugh boomed out over the frozen river and vibrated in the cold, clear air and faded just as quickly. It was kind of eerie if she let herself think about it, but she wouldn't, this guy may have been a head-case, but she wasn't going to let that bother her or distract her. As long as she was careful, things would be fine.

He suddenly raised his head in her direction and she tried to scrunch herself up smaller. To no avail. He called her out, gruffing that it was rude to lurk around and spy. Her ruff bristled and she indignantly got to her paws. She hadn't been lurking and she wasn't a snoop! How dare he? She proudly raised her chin and drew herself up to her full height - which wasn't much considering she really was a pretty short year-and-a-half-old-wolf, but she wasn't going to take such an insult. "I wasn't lurking. And it's just as rude to speak to your dinner and mock them like that before they die." she nodded to the fish. "That is, given that he is your dinner." she turned her body towards him, but did not approach.

[Deleted]

A smaller shewolf limped from behind the snowdrift, ruffled a little bit. Embarrassed that she had been caught. She was a cold brown with white and dark brown markings. Her nose was as choking bright yellow. It made her look sick. She seemed defensive, which made sense when disagreeing with a large male wolf. Still her disagreeing with him at all earned her a tiny shred of respect. However, she claimed she hadn't been lurking. Riiiight. "Your definition of lurking must vary from mine." He raised an eyebrow quizzically, his tail following suit. Her next comment seemed too judgmental for Tiago's taste. "It's a fish little lady." Tiago replied dryly, slamming his large paw down on the meaty creature, its insides making an audible squish. Fish were lesser creatures, meant for food and for cubs to gaze at in the summer.

"If you can't mock a fish who can you mock?" He shrugged and flicked his tail, relaxing. She was just gnat on his shoulder. A maggot in his meat. Something trivial. A background character. He picked up his fish and padded away from her. She probably just wanted his fish, which seemed apparent with that last comment. Of course it was his dinner! If he wanted to kill something for fun, she would be dead right now. He wasn't Fjord though, he killed from afar. One has to be privileged to have their blood on his paws.

Ha, he was being much too nice for an evil wolf. He'd satisfy his need for mayhem when the right moment presented itself. Good things come to those who wait. This fish was proof enough of that.

-exit Tiago-

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

He gave her an up-and-down appraisal. He was a good size, easily double what she was, maybe even double and half-again. A murky blue-green shag with painfully bright yellow eyes almost made him spooky, at the very least it gave him a darker appearance. He raised an eyebrow at her disclaimer: she hadn't been snooping. Riiiight. "Your definition of lurking must vary from mine." he appraised drily. Well, it probably did. Apparently he felt that any cautious sitting-back and surveying a situation before jumping into it was lurking. No, lurking was what scavengers, thieves and killers did before they attempted to strike. She had no such intention and she really didn't care for this brute telling her what she was doing and that she was a "little lady", but she stood there and took it, letting her piercing yellow eyes object for her.

If you can't mock a fish, who can you mock? ...Was he serious? She smirked, "If it was me, I wouldn't want to announce to the world that a fish has been evading me for so long and it took a sudden strike in the dead of winter to surprise the beast." she shot back. Her opinion obviously did not affect him as he didn't bat an eyelash. Instead he took the trout in his maw, turned and padded away. Didn't even give her a last look, didn't dignify her quip with a comeback. Well good for him, he wasn't stupid, just crazy and maybe egotistical for screaming vengance at a dying and dead fish.

She'd gone there to hunt - her growling belly reminded her, but now the spot was spoiled: two wolves in the area, even on a cold winter day washed out of smells - any prey could scent that and they'd steer clear. It was time for her to move on. Turning herself east and slightly north she took her own path into the woods. It was better sheltered there, and warmer, a snug place to hide on a day like this, and where there were hiding places there was food and survival called.

-Exit Kailypso-