She'd spent the better part of summer perfecting this recipe. Everyone in her family had tasted in a billion times. She swore she'd even heard some of them mutter that they were sick of salmon, but she just pretended not to hear such blasphemy. By borrowing a raven from her aunt and some luck, Fable had managed to stoke a blistering cooking fire beneath a long, flat and thin rock. The wood had burned down to coals now. Nearly drooling with anticipation, she added some more kindling to encourage it to flame again before carefully unwrapping her ingredients. Two roughly cut slabs of salmon, two halves of the same tremendous fish she'd carefully fileted earlier in the morning lay splayed out on a flat cedar plank. It had taken Sparhawk only a few tries to understand what she was requesting before he'd quickly fashioned his beloved daughter the tools she sought. He doted on all of them and she loved him dearly for it.

A glimmering, trickly honeycomb sweated between the two filets. Fable dragged her ingredients to the water's edge and rinsed her paws before carefully smearing each half with the wonderfully sweet honey. Bits of comb glittered like lost treasure on the beautifully ribboned with fat fish. The fish had had plenty of time to themselves over the long winter - they'd all grown unusually fat and lazy. Perfect for Fable, since her preferred food always came from the ponds, streams, and ocean.

She fumbled with the small sachet of spices she'd made. They were coarsely ground because there was only so much she could do maneuvering a mortar and pestle with her mouth (and she thought she'd even cracked a tooth, but she was afraid to tell her parents). Fable liked to think the roughly ground spices made the flavors pop - as long as she coated the fish evenly and made sure they didn't bunch up. There... ohmigod, ohmigod, this is gonna be so good. With a satisfied grunt, she hauled the honey-and-herb salmon back to her well-tended fire and slid the cedar plank on top of the hot stone. In no time at all, smoke curled towards the overcast sky and the sweet, sweet smell of salmon drifted through the surrounding woods. Fable sat back, occasionally tending the fire and resisting the urge to fiddle with the salmon. It always turned out best when she left it alone to cook.

Reuniting with Ophie had easily been the highlight of her day - of herweek, even. Slowly Kaija was growing more certain about her plans to embark into the world on her own, though she wanted to figure out where her dad had gone off to first, and see if he wanted a traveling partner for awhile. Now that she was a yearling she was sure she had the skills to make it on her own, though mentally she was less sure. What if she found herself missing her siblings, her mom? Even the other wolves in Valhalla? She had to remind herself she had friends elsewhere though (at least one, maybe even two) and that everyone she met was a potential friend, unless they sucked. She liked to think she was a decent judge of character, but the truth was that Kaija was still pretty sheltered. She had so much to see and learn, and... wait, what was that smell?!

It wasn't the normal kind of scent that alerted her to a prey animal nearby. This was something much more delicious. After rousing Ophie's attention she set off to find it, nearly drooling as she got closer to the source of the aroma. "What d'you think that is?" Kaija asked her friend as they drew closer, eventually the sound of trickling water becoming audible. The scent of fire was the next thing she noticed, though the food smells definitely overwhelmed it. Trekking over the vegetation that remained here, the sight suddenly popping into a view. A wolf - well, technically a child, definitely younger than she was - was tending to something. Her interest was piqued, and nothing about her posture was apprehensive as she strode up, hoping Ophie would be close behind her. "What's that? It smells so good," she admitted, grinning at the sight. Up close it looked like some kind of fish but she'd never seen anything cooked like this. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation, though she knew better than to assume another wolf's meal might be shared. She was intensely curious though and hoped at least she might get some answers, if not a bite.

It didn't take a lot to get Ophie's belly rumbling. Sure, she was supposed to be back home helping resupply their pantry, but surely she could argue following a trail of such delicious smelling food was for the pack's benefit, right? Nope. If they managed to find it, it was going right in Ophie's belly. She'd fight Kaija for it if she had to....well, actually probably not, but she was serious enough that the thought crossed her mind. Even if only for a second. Hanging out with her best buddy or not, Ophie's eyes-and nose- was on the prize. She quickened her step as best she could, playfully shoulder checking Kaija out of the way as she tried to stomp ahead to take the lead.

Once out in the opening, Ophie's eyes widened as she took in the glorious sight, as though she'd stumbled across the lost treasures of Atlantis. Her tongue swiped across her lips, heart racing in anticipation, there didn't seem to be a lot of food but by the Gods she'd gobble it down in a heartbeat. Quicker than a lightening strike. She didn't even pay all that much attention to the pup happily cooking away, enjoying her craft like the heavenly artisan she was.

"CAN I HAVE SOME!?" Ophie blurted out-or rather screamed-, no decorum or grace. Just hunger.  And then as though she suddenly remembered her manners she continued, though it didn't help much. If at all. "PLEEASE?"

Fable stared deeply into the embers, totally in her element - so much so that she didn't hear the others approach. CAN I HAVE SOME PLEEASE?! "Ahh!" With a yelp she sat back suddenly, squashing her tail. Shimmying back into a more comfortable position, she grinned at the two young girls. They were just a little bit older... and the winter had kept visitors from the pack. This was quite possibly the very first chance to make a friend that wasn't directly related to her! She tried to keep the dopey grin that threatened to creep on to her face at bay. It was important that they thought she was cool and nice, but mostly cool. Poem and Sparhawk had raised them with plenty of manners - and although she loved to eat, she loved to share her creations even more. Maybe they'd have some good ideas! New palates might help her create new recipes.

"Sure! You just gotta wait... a little longer..." She paused, staring into the flames as the fire popped and sizzled. The tender pink flesh of the salmon finally turned opaque - it would flake apart, perfect and moist. With careful and quick paws, Fable shifted the two cedar plants off of the fire and offered one slab of salmon to each of them. "Okay, but the deal is, you have to tell me every single thing you taste when you eat it! Describe it in tooons of detail!" She grinned, her tail wagging in a blur. "Oh, and my name's Fable! What's yours?"

Ophie's determination didn't bother her. She was shoved a bit roughly to the side as her front overtook her, but she couldn't (and wouldn't) fault her for her voracious appetite. She knew very well that her family was all about training and fighting and fitness and all that nonsense, so it made sense to her that when she slipped away from them that she might want to gorge a little. Letting out a little bark of feigned protest, she loped along after her and closer to the stranger. If her very rude question bothered Kaija she made no notice of, letting out an amused snort at her unbridled enthusiasm toward a potential meal. Kaija had a tendency to be abrasive herself, so she couldn't help but feel like she and Ophie were even more similar than she'd initially thought, even if Ophie's spirit was most easily kindled by the sight and smell of a good meal.

Fortunately for them both, the stranger yearling looked quite happy with their arrival, even if it had been abrupt and loud. She seemed more willing to give them a share of her meal than Kaija had expected, and she licked her lips in anticipation. "Yeah, sure!" She agreed happily, watching as Fable turned the planks toward them. "I'm Kaija, and this is Ophie," she gestured toward the bigger girl, sure she was more interested in the food than introductions at the moment. Without hesitating for too much longer she began to tear into the salmon, surprised at how tender it was despite being cooked. There were a bunch of flavors that she couldn't recognize too; it was sweet but savory and smoky at the same time. How quickly she began to devour it was proof alone of just how good it was, before she was even able to formulate a real opinion of the meal.

Ophie's sense of reason and shame was buried so deep it could no longer see the light of day. Had she been with anyone else but Kaija they might have tried to snap some manners back into her, but the Valhalla wolf seemed more than content to let this ravenous part of Ophie stomp wild and free. Her eyes gleamed with the prospect of all the flavours and textures dancing on her tongue, no doubt far more delicious than any scrap she could snatch from the Armada's stores. Back home food was simply something to fill an empty space in the stomach, a necessity to keep strong and serve,  so the prospect of eating something to simply enjoy it really made Ophie feel...happy. Like eating was okay and not something to be ashamed of.

She nodded along, eager to accept any requests the pup might toss their way. If she asked Ophie to jump she'd need to know how high! Shifting a little so her shoulder brushed against Kaija's-there was just something comforting about her presence OKAY- she scrambled to string words together, some that weren't just a rush of gluttony fueled praise.

"Yeah I can even try and help you hunt after if you want. So you don't go without." She offered, though her gaze didn't leave the food as it was offered to her, like she feared if she blinked it'd vanish before her very eyes. Like a wolf famished, Ophie tucked into her portion, snarfing and chomping till only the bare slab remained. She licked her lips, enjoying the lingering taste upon her tongue as she furrowed her brows deep in thought. Fable had been kind enough to share so it was only right she offered some feedback, as asked.  "So goood. Like..the yummiest thing ever. Cooking it really brought out the flavours, salmon is always real tender but this! " She struggled to find the words and instead gestured with a wave of her front paw.

Fable crouched beside the embers as the other girls began to eat, her eyes sparkling with glee. Everyone in Abaven indulged her desire to elevate their food, but she'd never had someone appreciate a meal quite like Ophie did. It was enough to make her giddy. Unable to container herself, she hopped back and forth from paw to paw as she waited for the verdict on the meal. Ophie's praise came first in one great flood. It was like a dam had broken inside of her and the dam was mostly holding back drool. "Omigosh," Fable breathed, her eyes wide, "thank you! That's so nice!" Her parents and Theory were encouraging, and the rest of the pack certainly appreciated her efforts, but to hear it from an almost-stranger made her almost bashful with pride. "This is my sixth version of fire salmon. Um, I'm still working on the name," Fable added, this time feeling a real heat creep up her neck and flush her face. The name definitely could use some additional tweaking, but really, all that mattered was the taste.

"Are you guys friends?" she asked bluntly, her tail wagging slowly. There was a hidden kernel of hope beneath the question - can we all be friends? Theory told her Abaven had the most territories of any pack, but when it was all you'd ever known through one long, endless winter... it still felt pretty small. Now that the weather had cleared up, the whole wide world had begun to open up. Fable couldn't stop thinking about all of the new dishes that were out there, just waiting to be discovered. "Oh, yes! Hunting! I've been practicing. Well, I gotta, so I can get supplies." She peered over her shoulder, as if the perfect prey was waiting right behind her. "We can start that after Kaija tells me what she thought of the fish," Fable grinned.

Truthfully Kaija was too distracted by her own food to pay much mind to how voraciously Ophie was eating, happy to focus on her own meal and just how much she was enjoying it. It was a whole different experience than just killing whatever you hunted - she knew right off she'd gladly enjoy food that others cooked but she'd likely never find the patience to cook something on her own, so this might very well be the only time she ever had a meal like this. She nodded enthusiastically along with Ophie's offer, deciding that she'd be happy to help get her some more fish to replace what they'd eaten, but Fable wanted her opinion first. She lapped the remaining salmon juices from her lips, trying to come up with the right words.

"What Ophie said! It's really tender and flaky. And it's really sweet too, like honey, but still fishy. It's so good!" Kaija insisted, eyes wide with enthusiasm. "Yeah, we're best friends," she answered without skipping a beat or letting Ophie answer first. Besides her siblings Ophie really was the closest friend she had and admitting that seemed natural as anything, and she didn't wait to see if she'd agree. "Do you think there are fish in these falls, or do we need to go somewhere else?" Kaija gestured to the falls, happy to get started to replenish what they'd eaten. "Oh, and thank you too. That was really good!" Kaija wasn't entirely without manners, not all the time at least. Thanking her only seemed fair.