Fishing oddness (Closed)

[Argus]

Chhaya was excited about her new project and now she wanted to see how it worked, she wanted to know the feeling of being invisible. She didn't really know how to though and she was hungry. It was when she walked into the clearing where the Wildwater Falls flowed that the idea of a fish dinner came to her. She smiled and took a deep breath then walked quietly into the pool of water the falls created. The current was strong here and she needed to hurry if she didn't want to get stuck in the water. She ducked her body entirely under the surface, allowing herself to sink deep enough in the water so that the sunlight wouldn't touch her. Once she could no longer feel the warmth of the sun, she closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing herself to become invisible, hiding herself from the fish. She opened her eyes again, watching and waiting for a fish to swim near her so she could snap it up.

She snapped at the first one that came near her invisible form, bubbles of air coming from her open mouth. She sank her teeth in its thrashing form and swam upward before her lungs became too oxygen deprived. She burst out on the surface of the water, the sunlight making her visible again, and threw her catch on the bank of the pool of water. She clambered up onto dry land after it and settled down to study her catch. It wasn't the biggest fish she had seen swimming around, but it wasn't the smallest either. Overall, it was a decent meal. She smiled and started to pick the meat off the scales. It was strange to fish this way, but not necessarily a bad way to do it, just strange. She liked her power, but she doubted she would be using it to catch fish again, seeing how she could have easily drowned.

Now, with bigger game, such as moose or elk, it would probably prove much more useful than with fish. She smirked, imagining how surprised a moose would be if it were wandering around at night and suddenly felt a wolf's teeth at its neck, without ever have seen anything. For now, her power was only strong enough to work in darkness, but one day she'd be able to use it in daylight. Soon, but not yet. For the time being, she accepted its limitations. Besides, there was an easier way to catch fish and Chhaya was too lazy to go through that hassle every time.

[Meds]

Axel;

Axel was trotting upstream of a river, enjoying the summer sun. He had only just found his way into this valley, but so far it was to his liking. He had already seen flashes of other brightly-coloured wolves, so he knew his deep-blue mane wouldn't turn any heads. That was nice. That hadn't exactly been the case on the way to the valley. He found that where he started from, most wolves had more neutral-looking pelts, his own blue being largely an oddity. But the closer he got to the mysterious mountain along the horizon, the more bright colours began to crop up. He had even seen a fully-pink wolf. He deduced that most of the colourful creatures were coming from or going to, the valley below the mountain that he had been subconsciously heading for. It was these reasons more than anything that he came into the valley in the first place.

Axel had already had a bite to eat from the seemingly-abundant prey in the area, and now he was just getting a feel for the place—seeing if it was somewhere he would like to stick around for a while.
He was pondering these thoughts, as eventually the little stream he was following opened to a larger few pools, fed by a loud couple of falls off a ways in the distance. Axel smiled. Fresh water meant even more available prey, and though he wasn't hungry, he thought it would be good to take a look. Dark brown-patterned paws edged up to the bank, and his blue-marked tail thrashed behind him as he peered into the water. There was quite a few flashes of scales beneath, to his delight. Perhaps this valley wouldn't be so bad.

Then a subtle-shift in the pattern of the water changed, and Axel frowned. He leaned closer, confused, when suddenly a fish that had been swimming happily was suddenly crushed and bleeding. Axel's yellow eyes widened, and he had just leaned even closer to get a better look, when a wolf that had not been there before emerged from the water. Axel leapt backwards in surprise, a cautious growl ripping from his throat. A trick of the light, perhaps?
He continued backing until he was a reasonable distance from the wolf, but still surveyed her with wide eyes.
"What—" He tried to say, though he had meant to say hello. He opened his mouth to speak again, but no further sound came out. Had she just appeared from nowhere?

[Argus]

Chhaya turned her head to look at the wolf who had made the exclamation. Must not know about the powers. She finished her fish while she studied the male. He didn't seem dangerous, just a little shaken to have her appear out of nowhere. He had yellow eyes with a brown and blue coat. I don't like the color yellow. Chhaya stood up from her spot on the ground and shook out her fur like a dog. Then she turned towards the male and mimicked his expression of shock. "What- you never saw a wolf with invisibility?" There was mocking laughter in her voice, but not enough of it to indicate he was unwelcome there. Wonder what he'd think if he met up with a wolf that held her second choice of power. Chameleon. A smirk grew on her face as she imagined how he'd react if an animal he was trying to sink his teeth into suddenly became a wolf. He might even be more surprised than the moose being killed by an invisible predator.

"You don't have to run from me. I have no interest in biting you." As if I could even reach his neck. It was true that even now she had to crane her neck up to see his face. This fact meant it was unlikely she would be able to do any harm to him besides a nick or scratch even if she had wished to hurt him. That wasn't the way Chhaya worked though. She was a wolf that liked using words (and occasional threats) against others rather than teeth and claws. She didn't get the feeling that he feared her though, more like he hadn't been expecting her. Then again, who would have been expecting her? She scanned his form once again and decided that she liked how he looked.

He was fit but didn't have muscles which would indicate constant use. He also didn't have the stoutness and barrel chest of her brother's form. He seemed pleasant enough, but Chhaya didn't really care about how he looked, or how he acted for that matter. Her only care at that moment was whether he would entertain her or not. If he was boring (as most were) then she would leave and find someone who would amuse her. Best not get ahead of myself. He might surprise me and be interesting. Not that it would matter if he was. This will probably be the only time we meet. Not taking into consideration the possibility of my plan for Kiran failing.

[Meds]

Axel;

She laughed at him a little bit mockingly, though not enough to make him feel uncomfortable or especially-judged. He lifted his brow and surveyed her closely.
"Frankly, I've never seen an invisible anything before—but isn't that sort of the point?" Axel gave a throaty chuckle, somewhat recovered now from the initial shock of seeing a wolf appear out of nowhere from under the water. Something made her smirk then, but he didn't think it was his joke that had done it. She mentioned then that he didn't have to run from her, as she had no interest in biting him. Axel quirked his brow once more and looked her up and down subtly. Her attacking him was not exactly one of his worries at that moment, especially with the height difference.

"Well, doesn't that work out—as I have no interest in running." He fixed her with his golden-stare as she looked him up and down. Whatever she found there didn't seem to necessarily disagree with her, for she made no further snide comments, but something in her eyes made Axel wonder if she wasn't planning something dark and secret anyway. A slight quirk of her lips made him think that she had something on her mind other than his physical form. "How's invisible fishing?" He asked, his voice half-serious and half-playful.

[Argus]

"Invisible fishing?" Then she remembered why he had been surprised and rolled her eyes at herself. "Oh that. I guess it's okay. She had become so lost in her musings that she had forgotten all about her dip in the pool of water. Her green fur was still damp so she shook herself unable to remember if she had already done that. It didn't matter if she repeated her actions anyway.

"How's being rude and acting surprised?" He still hadn't said hello to her but since she didn't say hello either she didn't hold it against him. Who am I to judge rudeness? After all, I am planning on turning Kiran into a mindless servant." No, she had no right to judge him. Then she remembered how she had interrupted that other male's meal and ordered him to do what she wanted. She'd never gotten his name either, but that was fine, because she had no intention of seeing him again either. Her eyes took on a faraway look for a second, and her thoughts took on a chaotic disorder. Mom and Dad would be so proud of me. Wonder what evil deeds they've committed since I left. She focused back on the male, suddenly remembering his existence.

She sat on her haunches, quite sure that this wolf was not dangerous. He had a different sense of humor than her, more similar to her brother's, but she knew from experience that it could be witty in the right situation. "I suppose it would be better if I were in a bigger pond, but it feels the hole in one's stomach, and yes the point of being invisible is so no one can see me."

((I fixed her bio, turns out that she had a Physical Build but when I edited her profile to add her mark I accidentally erased the words physical build. The actual sentences were put into the coat section. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.))

[Meds]

Axel;

Axel was having a bit of a hard time keeping up with this female. He had asked a question, a polite question at that, only to have it turned back at him in the rudest way; in fact, she confronted him about being rude, though as far as Axel knew, asking how the fishing was did not qualify as rude.
The brown and blue male lifted his brow slightly, curious, but didn't comment. He continued to be a bit confused when the female berated him, reminding him that the point of being invisible was that so nobody could see her. Axel cleared his throat, but wasn't one to let things like that slide.

"Not to be rude..." He said, quirking a smile, still unsure that he had been rude at all. "But me saying I had never seen an invisible wolf before was in response to you saying to me, rather bluntly I might add, 'what- you never saw an invisible wolf before?'" He blinked at her openly, lounging against his haunches and glancing toward the river. "So you can see my confusion. You asked me if I had ever seen an invisible wolf, and I said I hadn't but wasn't that sort of the point of being invisible. Then you went on to correct me, saying repeating to me that the point of being invisible is for nobody to see you." He shrugged his shoulders easily, getting up and sauntering to the river's edge. "You can understand my confusion."

He glanced sideways at her, for she was now beside him (though still a full body's length and more away), then turned to the water. She had said fishing in a bigger pond would be better, yes, Axel could see that. The current was probably frustrating.
"My name is Axel. I would say it's a pleasure to meet you but it isn't, yet. No, I've never met a wolf that can turn invisible, acting surprised and being—apparently—rude is fine, thank you, and that's interesting about a bigger pond. Is that because of the current?" He spoke quickly, as silver-tongued wolves could, and commented on all of the conversation points at once to lighten the mood some. He wasn't trying to make her laugh, exactly—he didn't even know if she could, or wanted to—but he was easing the tension between his own shoulders, and that was enough.

[Argus]

Chhaya laughed at his response, but it wasn't a laugh that held amusement. "You aren't quoting me right, Axel. I said "What- you never saw a wolf with invisibility?" As in the power invisibility. Also, I never say it's a pleasure to meet a new wolf because it never is. To me, they're all pests, but if they like to talk about interesting things, they tend to grow on me." She hadn't been referring to his question about fishing as rude, but from his body language, that was what he thought. She didn't bother correcting him, knowing that it was an inconsequential fact and she had to focus on the whole picture. So far, he wasn't as dull as other wolves, so she wouldn't show him how rude she could be. He wanted to know what she had meant when she mentioned the bigger pond, and he was partially correct.

"In part because of the current, and in part because of a much simpler answer. Bigger pond means more fish and generally, the fish are bigger if they have a bigger habitat. Not always, because a bigger pond might bring more predators, but generally. That was just the way Chhaya thought about things, but she knew that many individuals had a different process of thinking, and many of them often arrived at a different conclusion. Sometimes they even offered up an answer that surprised her, merely because she would never have thought of it that way.

If he thought that she was confusing, he would really be shocked by some of the other evil wolves. Some of them were just plain insane and others would mock him until he was in an enraged fury. Some wolves found it amusing to make a wolf angry, but Chhaya simply liked the fun of taunting them, of mocking them. At times that amused her, and at other times she became frustrated with the words, disliking how she had to play with them and change their meaning to fit what she desired. It all depended on the wolf and the situation, and there were plenty of variables that could change how she reacted. Hmmm. I wonder what this wolf is doing. He acts affronted, then he introduces himself. Strange. Then she realized that he had introduced himself and she hadn't returned the favor. She normally wouldn't give her name to any wolf she had just met, but she didn't think this wolf would care, because of this, she saw no harm in telling him. "I'm Chhaya by the way."

[Meds]

Axel;

"Semantics," Axel retorted when she corrected his quote. He quirked another grin in place as he glanced at her over his shoulder before turning back to the slowly-moving summer river. "But as in the power you say?" Well that did certainly grab Axel's interest. Could the colourful-pelted wolves that he had followed into this haven be gifted further? "So there are others with gifts like yours." His last words weren't really a question, more of a statement, but he was looking for clarification all the same. How very interesting. He wouldn't pick invisibility for himself, but there was no denying it was interesting.

She explained why a larger body of water yielded better results. Axel raised his brow, but kept his yellow eyes focused on the lazy river. He knew why larger waters provided better fishing, of course—he had more been interested in the invisible aspect. She had, after all, been underwater, and so he could have only assumed that the current was the most of her worries. If it was simply a smaller quantity of prey that made her want to move locations, well, Axel wouldn't stop her from leaving.
In any case, she didn't seem very happy to discuss her gift. Axel took the hint, albeit a little bit slowly, and decided not to mention it again. It seemed, the way she talked about it, that a powered-wolf was an everyday occurrence. Perhaps it was—but Axel wouldn't bother her with the same line twice.

She then said her name was Chhaya, to which Axel nodded to. He turned his back on the river behind him. He didn't trust her, not by a long shot, but even if she were to push him in or something, the river was so sluggish that day that he had no fear. He might even take a dip in the water himself, if the feeling took him.
"Ah, well that's where we're different. I always say it's a pleasure to meet a new wolf—unless it's not." His deep-yellow eyes twinkled, and his quirked smile remained. "Tell me—am I but a pest the likes of which you desire to squash under your all-too-capable foot?" The blue in his tail flashed as he waved it slowly behind him. "Or has this pest interested you enough to escape such an untimely demise?"

He wasn't making fun of her—he was more just enjoying the interaction in his own way. He wouldn't say that Chhaya was a wolf he would necessarily chose to spend time with, but she was there and so was he, and Axel wasn't a gloomy or moody sort of creature. He was hard to offend, hard to frighten, and even harder to annoy. He enjoyed his life and those he met—and even if he didn't always enjoy the actual wolves themselves, he enjoyed interacting with them just the same.

[Argus]

"Sure, there are other wolves with powers like mine. Although they really aren't as common as my words made it seem. Some wolves go to ask for a power and receive none. However, many wolves in the valley just seem to know what I mean when I say power, so I assumed you would too. I was wrong." She knew he hadn't asked but for all he knew she could have been a nut case talking nonsense. She also knew that many wouldn't have chosen invisibility but she had her reasons. Incentives that many wolves did not have and would not understand. She didn't mind talk of her power but if she went too deep into subject she would reveal her plans, and she didn't want that.

She had no interest in leaving, her belly quite full from her first fish. She wasn't accustomed to fending for herself, of finding her own food, but she knew enough to scrape by. Just a little while longer then I won't have to live like this. At that moment, she was as content as her thoughts allowed her to be and just wanted to laze around for a while. He had turned his back on her earlier and while others might have been tempted to push him in, she wasn't. It would do her no good, since he most likely could swim, and she probably wasn't strong enough to move his big body anyway. I'd most likely break a bone trying.

I'm not sure yet. I'm still deciding what your fate is to be. Maybe I will squash you like an insect, and maybe I won't. I suppose you'll just have to wait with bated breath for my fickle mind to decide. Her tone was similar to his and her eyes, while not amused, were not annoyed as they had been before. While she did not like talking, she did have her better days, but she also had her bad days. On those days anyone that asked her a question would likely get more insults than they had bargained for. Axel was just lucky today was one of her medium days. Not great, but not terrible either. Her brother often counted himself lucky if she only wandered away once in a day. Or at least he had, before Juno butted in and ruined evrything.

Yes, it most certainly is not a pleasure to make my aquantince but it could be much worse. You could always meet a wolf that wished to sacrifice your eyes to the goddess Geist."

[Meds]

Axel;

Axel shrugged his blue-highlighted shoulders and glanced back into the water for a moment when Chhaya explained that she had just assumed he would know what she was talking about.
"I'm new here—I guess that much is obvious now," He chuckled quietly. "Thank you, though. For the information." Apparently, many wolves were denied powers. This was interesting. He assumed there was some deity that granted the wolves their wishes (sometimes), and that in itself was enough to make him curious. Perhaps coming to this valley hadn't been such a bad idea after all...

He felt her eyes on the back of his neck as he continued studying the water. He half-wondered if she was considering pushing him in, but when no such force came, he thought not. She continued speaking then, so Axel turned and took a few steps away from the river bank so he could listen better. His yellow eyes caught on a single shining fish-scale stuck on her mouth, left over from her meal. She bantered back at him, and apparently she had not yet decided whether to squash him or not.
"How intriguing," He commented, a small smiling pulling at the corner of his lips. He still didn't think she would be able to do it, but to see her try might be fine. Besides, she had invisibility, who knew what other kinds of secrets she held. She continued by agreeing that it was not a pleasure to meet her. Axel gave a quick, deep nod, which sent his blue mane into a frenzy of activity. "So it's settled. It is not a pleasure to meet you." His smile died, but his eyes twinkled in the joke. Chhaya then went on to speak about a goddess named Geist, and something about his eyes. Axel's lip lifted in distaste, and he leaned back slightly on his haunches.

"What, these old things?" He looked to the sky and down again quickly, as if to indicate his own eyes. "Any goddess worth her salt wouldn't want these. My mother used to say that I was so out of place in the family, that even my eyes were the colour of deceit." The smile returned.

[Argus]

"Not that I know the goddess of evil well, but I don't think she discriminates between eyes because of color. Although who knows? She's a goddess, too complicated for the minds of us simple mortals to comprehend. No need for thanks. Information is not hard to come by here, but not all of it is true. You have to be able to tell the difference from a lie and a truth if you don't want your throat slit. However, if you prefer to take the fun way out of here, who am I to stop you?" She didn't really think it would make much difference in the end what she said. Words alone were rarely enough to stop a determined or idiotic wolf.

She noticed that he was staring at a place near her muzzle and wiped her mouth on her paw. She came away with a scale and rolled her eyes. "You couldn't have told me that I had remains of lunch on my face?" A slight breeze ruffled her fur and she sighed. It wasn't that she liked nature, for there was very little she claimed to like, but it was at times pleasant. She shifted into a more comfortable position and listened to his next words.

"Yes it's settled. However, while we're crossing our letters I'd like to settle the fact that you're not exactly a ray of sunshine yourself." She was joking too, but in a more subtle way. She was not much of a joker, not having a large sense of humor, but she had little pride, and sometimes that in itself was funny. He talked about how he had been different than the rest of his family, how he was out of place with them. She couldn't say that she had ever felt that way, but her brother most certainly could. He was shunned both by his parents and his pack.

"I admit your eyes are not exactly my favorite color, no. However, I do not believe yellow is the color of deceit. Although I'm not a master of colors. I would associate it with disease or joy, depending on the hue. The lighter shades are happier, and the darker colors are almost sickly." She knew that she wasn't helping him, but she hadn't began talking to brighten his mood. Either way, she knew all she wanted to know about eyes and hers reflected that. "It is not the color of a wolf or any of their physical appearance that makes up the character. Right now, all I would like to know is what kind of creature you might become Axel." Not that it was very important information but it would give her something to think on.

[Meds]

Axel;

Chhaya didn't pick up on his light joking, and quickly corrected him by saying that Geist probably didn't discriminate on the colour of eyes. Axel sighed as she went on to explain that if he wasn't careful with Geist, he would probably end up dead.
"Well I don't think I'll spend much time on the topic of that Goddess, then." Or those that view her so highly, he added in his mind. If what Chhaya said of Geist was true, then Axel could only imagine that wolves like her were equally miserable and dangerous. "Oh you're fine," Axel added as she growled at him about the scale on her face. He kept from rolling his eyes with some effort, but managed in the end. "A scale never killed anybody."

Chhaya then pointed out that Axel wasn't being very pleasant, either. He had half a mind to correct her and say that he put in an effort when it seemed worth it to him, and didn't when faced with an apparent lost cause—but he didn't feel it necessary. Chhaya didn't seem like a wolf who would change her mind easily, so Axel merely shrugged his blue-patterned shoulders.

"And I thank you, for what it's worth," He started, his voice holding a smile that his face did not reveal. "For reassuring me that my mother was, perhaps, not entirely right about me. I'll admit, disease is much more desirable than deceit." His smile peeked out then, appreciating (for what it was) that she had at least taken the time to spare him some thought beyond—pest. She then surprised him, showing an interest in what he might or might not become later on in his life. He lifted his brow smoothly, looking her up and down.

"What I might become?" Another confident smile. "Who's to say I haven't already become it? I am what I am, as far as you know, with no interest in changing or reinventing that self." But perhaps she had meant it in the form of his past. "I have no interest in Geist or the evil ways of the world, and instead choose to immerse myself with those who share my views,
help where I can, and generally live a good life." As good as a neutral wolf could, in any case. He also didn't feel the need to include that his self-proclaimed desire to surround himself with like-wolves probably didn't include Chhaya herself.

[Argus]

A smile of genuine amusement curved Chhaya's lips and her eyes glinted as she focused on the wolf again."You fancy yourself so clever don't you Axel, you go so far as to believe yourself funny. And perhaps you are. Either way, my words weren't meant to imply that the scale would kill me. At least as it was. Now if I had managed to swallow it, that would have been a different matter." Then she listened to his other words, what her brother might have called a subdued rampage. The wolf was too cocky by half, but she couldn't change that fact and had no wish to. He rubbed her the wrong way, yes, but that's what made him bearable.

Chhaya chuckled under her breath at his words about deceit being much worse than disease and decided to have a little bit of fun for herself. "I disagree. Deceit is so much more fun than disease might ever be. Unless, of course, when it comes to diseases of the mind. Now those can be interesting." She glanced up at the horizon and saw the position of the sun had sunk several degrees.

"I never said that I wished for you to change, but change is not something that can be avoided. Time changes all, morphs everything into something new, down to the rocks and that fall of water behind you. Like it or not Axel, you will change, you just may never notice. There are so many possibilities each wolf has but those they meet and what they experience change the outcome. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it is the outcome of these encounters and events, what one might become, that is more important rather than what they are." However, she realized now that she had make another mistake in asking him the question, for he could not answer that question honestly. She inclined his head as he mentioned he had no wishes to be involved in evil doings and she took no offense. "If every wolf was evil, the world would not be anywhere near as diverse or of as much an enigma. I am quite okay with you disliking the dark side of things, even though I am aware you did not ask for my approval."

She shrugged and looked again towards the sun. "I think that we are both weary of each other, and I believe it is time for me to depart. After all, evil plots don't think and carry out themselves. It seems that you were amusing enough to save yourself from being an insect crushed by my paw." Chhaya turned, and tail swishing, walked away, thoughts suddenly elsewhere.

[Meds]

Axel;

Hmm, he had failed to make nice with this female; unless, of course, what he had just experienced was as nice as she got. He had not been attacked, after all, and nor had he really been slighted. Perhaps with wolves like Chhaya, one should count their blessings. For a moment he thought that he would be insulted after all, when Chhaya made mention of how funny he thought he was—but then she flipped it on him, as she had done once before, and said that perhaps he was funny, but she didn't really care either way. Axel could understand that—even appreciate it. But then she continued to discuss semantics. What she had or hadn't said, what she had or hadn't meant, and what Axel had or hadn't misunderstood; and as such, Axel found his interest in the conversation with the female dwindling. He would have been more than happy to sit around and prattle about her ability, even see it perhaps, but as he had already guessed, she wasn't really interested in talking about that.
Even so, however, what she said about change, though slightly drawn out, made reasonable sense. Axel nodded along with her words, the first sign he had heard anything since she had started talking again. She then moved to evil wolves. It was curious that she could make it seem like she was about to start an argument, but at the same time go back on it and say things like, ''Though I am aware you did not ask for my approval', or 'And perhaps you are'. Maybe that was a necessary thing with evil wolves—having to remain reasonably aloof no matter the topic or opinion.

In any case, he couldn't dwell on it for long before Chhaya was taking her leave. She mentioned something cryptic about an evil plot as she turned her tail and left. Axel felt himself almost get curious, but thankfully remained otherwise indifferent. Evil wolves would do what they did with or without his influence. He watched her go with deep-yellow eyes, saying nothing, and wondering about the mountain that she had mentioned.

-Fade to black-