I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Birna settled near the edge of the lake with a number of rivercane poles and grape vines for making a fish snare. Her raven had told her of the process and she was intrigued to give it a try. While the electrocytes in her paws helped with fishing there was still a terribly long wait to wait for a fish to get close enough to strike it. As the larger fish tended to be farther out it was a lot of waiting for a small portion of meat.

She stuck the river cane poles in a circle in the ground to create a frame for her to weave the grapevine around. Using her unusually dexterous paws she started weaving at the base, her raven's beak helping to coordinate the strands.

Speech

Vanille was still wandering as the days went on, only surviving since the last time she had seen the cat woman. So of course when she spotted her working by the river, she actually felt some kind of joy seeing someone she knew. Birna was originally a little frightening to approach, but not now that Vanille had worked beside her.

"It's nice to meet you again." Vanille spoke with a smile in greeting, looking down at what Birna was working on. "Soemthing else new to me it seems." She commented. She had some nets back in her den that usually needed repairs every time she used them. But she had never used a fish snare before, just as she didn't tend to use snares on deer. Birna was teaching Vanille different ways to catch prey, she wouldn't take the lessons for granted. "Want some help again this time?"

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Birna continued weaving the vines in and out, pausing only as a familiar scent tickled her nose and alerted her to the arrival of Vanille. The woman spied the basket and asked if she could help. Birna nodded. "Yes, certainly. If you can take over weaving on this basket I'll get started on the second, smaller basket. These are a special kind my companion has told me about." She gestured to the raven who nodded. "They can trap fish. We'll need both a big basket to hold them and a smaller one to funnel them inside and make it harder for them to get out." She released the vine she was working on and stepped back so that Vanille could try her paw at it.

"Guelder, perhaps you should hunt for the bait." The rpale aven nodded and took off into the sky. They would need worms to bait the trap and entice the fish into the strange device. Birna set a few more shorter stands of cane into the ground. This time she tried starting at the top with the grapevine, tying everything together while leaving some of the cane exposed for sharpening later. She then started weaving. "So Vanielle, what brings you this way to the east?"

Speech

Birna invited her to start working on what she started, so Vanille was quick to begin the process. Weaving was nothing new to her, so after she examined what Birna had started it was easy for her to keep up the method.

Vanille's eyes moved to the raven as it took off after Birna requested some bait. Vanille didn't have a companion like that, and it intrigued her to think of how much the bird knew and how well Birna and Guelder got along. They seemed like a nice pair.

She kept weaving the larger basket and only paused as Birna had asked her what brought her this way. It wasn't really a sensitive answer, but the details around it were. She still kept a strong composure before she answered and moved back to working on the basket, "I'm just a traveler, I try to track the herds and get to know the land around me." It was a simple answer because Vanille really didn't have a set purpose or goal. Not right now in her life at least. Maybe she was still secretly grieving.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Birna continued her weaving until the smaller basket was done. Once it was she returned to the top of the basket where the exposed tines had been left. Carefully using her claws she shredded the sticks to make fine points. It would be easy for fish to get in but hard for them to get out and past the tines. Not impossible of course, but difficult enough that they should get at least a few in the trap. Birna gently lifted the basket off the ground, pulling out the sugar cane tines that had held it in place while she wove. She worked to bend these back in toward the larger opening. Again to make it easier for a fish to swim in without injury but more difficult for it to swim out.

Vanille explained that she was just traveling and Birna nodded lightly. "As am I. The seasons lengthen and I head back north. I was not built for the warmer weather of these lands." Soon Guelder returned with a long, think stick. Along the stick were worms that the raven had threaded onto it. Ahhh perfect. Birna grinned. "It's time to assemble. Vanille are you ready? I will place the smaller basket at the opening of the larger one and we'll tie it in place. Guelder can thread the bait through and we can find a place in the lake to set the trap."


Speech

Vanille listened intently as Birna explained she was more comfortable in the colder temperatures of the north. Vanille could see it, given the kind of mammal she was. But Vanille was not the same. Accustomed to the north that was, otherwise she was used to where she had grown up probably just the same as Birna. "I've lived in central Boreas my whole life. Can't imagine the northern climates." She spoke with a smile, maybe even a bit of a hidden compliment in there. There was nothing wrong with what Birna liked.

As Birna suggested the plan, Vanille picked up her finished basket and brought it over to the cat woman and her bird. Holding her paw on it to keep it in place, she followed task as Birna started tying the pieces together. Soon they would have the bait inside and their trap would be ready to set out.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Vanille explained that she'd lived in central Boreas her whole life. "Ahh… you must know the best hunting spots." Birna chuckled. "The north is harsh in the winter time. Harsh and quiet, but it has it beauty as well. There is serenity in the stillness of it." Birna finished tying the baskets together, checking that the opening was sizeable enough to get some decent fish. To small and they'd only lure in tiny fish, too large and they'd let medium-sized and smaller fish swim free. This one looked to be a good size. Birna held the basket still as Guelder threaded the bait stick down inside, using his beak and talons to shimmy the stick and the worms through.

"Alright then, let's place it." Picking the trap up delicately in her jaws she maneuvered to the edge of the water, stepping out into it and swimming a short ways before dropping the trap into the water. She had one long grapevine tied to part of the trap which she carried with her back to shore. She didn't want the currents or some larger creature to make off with their snare. Once back on dry land she shook out her coat and began to groom. "I suppose now we wait? Unless you'd like to splash in the water over there and see if you can scare some fish toward this side of the lake?"


Speech

Letting Birna finish up with making sure the basket was secure, she let her take the lead and place the basket out in the water. Vanille stayed on shore while she did so, not wanting to get in the way or mess around in the water too much.

When Birna returned she watched as the basket floated around in the water, content with waiting here if that's what the cat wanted. Vanille remembered the last time they hunted together and how Birna waited for the prey to come to her, so she was fine with waiting. Or until Birna had suggested moving the water around a ways away. "Sounds doable." Vanille smiled before taking a long loop around the lake, but close enough to the basket so that the fish she would scare away would be close enough to notice the bait when they relocated. Her paws stepped into the water and she wadded through, looking into the waters around her to see if she could spot any fish moving in the direction she wanted.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Birna settled in to wait while Vanille went to startle the fish. While she waited she set about grooming her fur, just for a few moments for she'd need to go in and get the trap. Her focus shifted to the sounds and smells of the land around her, keeping an eye out for other predators that might seek to fish at the lake. She didn't want to go pulling their snare up full of fish in the sight of a hungry bear. That would be a good way to risk losing their catch. Her ears perked up at the sound of splashing and she knew Vanielle was working at startling the fish. It wouldn't be long now. Birna crept to the edge of the lake, worming her way through the cattails as she tried to see if she could spy any fish. The water was clear but not crystalline so it was hard to see exactly what was happening but she could swear she saw some silvery flashes headed for the basket.


Speech

Vanille kept moving her paws carefully in the water, just enough to get the fish moving but not scattering all over the lake. She looked up to see that Birna had joined her in the water, watching and waiting for the right opportunity to pull the basket back to land.

Her paws moved closer to the basket, focusing sharply on the water and looking for the little sliver flashes moving towards the trap. She stopped a distance away, just observing the waters. When she thought they had a few in their basket, she looked up to Birna with a silent wonder. She wanted to make sure her cat companion agreed before making any choices of her own.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

I'm Tired of Looking for Answers

Birna spied a flash heading for the basket but she waited a bit longer, wanting to be sure they had a fish or few before disturbing the water and possibly scaring the fish away from their snare. She looked at Vanille who looked up and the leopard nodded. She was pretty sure they had something in there. Taking hold of the vine she started to lure the trap in, pausing when she started getting close to the weeds. Wary of risking damage to the snare she waded out into the weeds and cattails, grabbing the baset in her jaws and carefully lifting it up. The water drained out and she could hear the flopping of fish. Grinning she took the snare back to shore. With Guelder's help they unfashed the smaller basket and removed it to reveal a number of bluegill and pan fish flopping in the larger basket. "Success! Let's split these up and eat."

Speech

When Birna nodded, Vanille stepped in closer as she was pulling in the basket hoping she could scamper a couple more fish in as it was being pulled to shore. She followed the snare in the direction Birna was pulling it in to her, and soon the two were face to face again.

Once back to shore, Vanille peered over the rim of the basket but continued to let Birna do her thing. Honestly she wouldn't have been upset this time around if Birna took the loot for herself. She was just happy to help. But of course the friendly cat woman offered to split the prize and Vanille wouldn't object. As they sorted the fish, Vanille looked up to the woman once more with a small smile, "Perhaps we will meet again." It had been twice, so maybe a third time. Though Vanille was probably not going to be travelling north so maybe not for a while.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature