This land... reminded her of old ones. Lands she'd been to. Lands she'd rather forget. But it was a familiar pull that made her lurk on the outskirts of the Willows before venturing closer. Steps tapped the dry ground, the winter's chill making hot breath escape her muzzle. Oceanic eyes glanced this way and that as if expecting to see ghosts from the not-to-distant past. She scoffed at herself. Silly. Stupid. Nobody she knew was in this realm.

How sad was that? Wren was all alone. No comrades. No pack. No friends even. She had made efforts, of course, lately but... It felt stiff and awkward. She was pretty damn sure they were all judging her newness. Suspicious of the outsider. "Hello?" she called out, frowning. Was that bells she heard? Strange. It was enough to make her get closer. The Willows were an empty shadow, and the bare bones of mighty trees were still a bit lush.

The West was strange. It was like a desert but also not. There was vegetation, of course. Specks of life. So not... well, okay it was like one. Wren paused, looking around. She thought she heard someone here but she didn't see them. The young woman fell silent.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He’d left several fish traps in the pond and now, after some time spent at home, he made his way back to the location. Since fish in traps weren’t able to get away whether bells and clinking beads reached their senses or not, he’d kept them on, especially since he had no plans on hunting larger prey today, if he was to be able to carry his catches home. His cloak rustled around his hind legs as he passed through the willow-fronds, now bared by winter’s grasp, and he grinned to himself as he spotted the colored cloth he’d left to mark the first trap. Pond trapping wasn’t as easy as leaving the fish traps in the current of a stream at narrow spots that gave the fish no avenue to escape, but he might come away with some fish to dry. A voice called out as he hauled on the cordage rope and towed the trap to shore, and he paused to scan in the call’s direction before he turned back t the basket and pulled it open, grinning to himself. Two fat fish squirmed in the trap, and he dealt them both a quick stab of his claws before pulling them from the trap and resetting it. That done, he slid a sinew cord through the gills of his two catches and fastened them to the pouches on his armor, moving along the shoreline until the owner of the voice came into sight. He paused to study the woman, then nodded with an easy smile of greeting before he went to the next trap and pulled it to shore. “Good day, miss.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The guy was fishing. Not just fishing but using contraptions to do it for him. She didn't know how to feel about that. Wren had been taught to fish a certain way, the more feral way. Using traps seemed... alien to her. The young woman tilted her head at his efforts but knew to keep her mouth shut. She understood from looking that the traps would catch more fish than one paw alone. "Hey." Was all she hoped to say at the moment, trying to process.

She walked a bit closer, still keeping distance in case his façade was a ruse. Even he was strange to look at, but she'd seen stranger folks on her travels. His mess of mane-like hair was enough for her to shudder inwardly. Imagine trying to keep that all clean! "Fishing, huh?" Wren ventured after a beat "need any help?" He seemed to got it on lock, but she had to ask anyway. "I know it takes more time to fish with a single paw but I can do it."

She shrugged. "I don't have traps to help me like you do." And she won't ask him to share with a total stranger either!

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

The woman greeted him in response, and he smiled lightly as he opened the trap and peered inside. Three fish, this time. Her question brought his eyes up and he nodded with a grin as he reached into the trap and speared each of the fish with a claw before pulling them from the basket and stringing them, resetting the trap and reattaching the fish string to his armor. “Sure! I’ll share some of mine in trade for help. I’m Ardyn Adravendi, by the way.” He rose to his paws and ambled along the shore to the third trap and repeated the process of hauling it to shore. From the looks of it, he’d have plenty to take home even with giving one or two fish to the woman. Six fish writhed where they were squashed into the trap. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The man seemed friendly enough. She walked closer, to the edge of the water, and side-eyed him. "That'd be swell, thanks" It'd be rude to reject something someone was doing out of the goodness of their heart "I'm Wren, by the way" the young woman added, forgetting her manners briefly "I know how to fish a certain way. My old pack taught me. Well, the alpha did." She glanced back at the lapping waves, biting back a sigh.

Those were the days. She settled before the water, letting her shadow fall on the earth. Her voice was hushed, and she didn't realize she was babbling to this stranger about her hunting skills. "Trick is to make ripples. Fish are stupid. They'll come swimming, attracted to the movements..." Wren began, eyes on the water. She reached out and pat the surface a few times. The subtle waves made the silvery fish draw closer. She waited until a juicy one came up, and slapped it out of the water.

Biting it's neck, she ended it's life.

"Speech"
1/3 hunt small prey (fish)

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

She accepted the trade, and he nodded lightly, hooking each of the fish in the trap and stringing them as she introduced herself. He grinned, returning, “Pleasure to meet you, Wren.” He set the trap back in the water, baited once more and slipped to settle beside as she spoke, demonstrating her own fishing method. Most of what she said he knew, but it was always interesting to see how someone else did their own hunting or fishing. “They like insects and smaller fish. The valley nearby has a river with some very nice sized trout and salmon man the run up each year.” He nodded toward Emerald Valley. He’d enjoyed hunting there many times. It was a peaceful place to camp and he rarely came away empty-pawed. His eyes shifted to the water, and he slipped one dexterous-toed paw into the water, pads up, long digits wiggling softly. Fiery light flared as the water stroked and stirred the ink-black fur of his paw and lower leg, and soon enough, a fish drifted over, body undulating as it considered the curious phenomena before it. He remained patient as it edged closer; then, as the fish made the snap decision that this might be tasty and darted in, Ardyn’s long digits snapped shut around the slender body, claws unsheathing in a quick jab into the animal’s head as he withdrew the fish from the water, tossing it well above water level. The fish flopped but fell still after only one or two bounces on the ground. “Once I figured out weaving fish traps, getting a good yield has been a lot easier. Which makes feeding my pack a bit easier. My Da gave me the basics of snare making, but it’s easier for me with my front paws than for him.” His features flashed in a grin as he flicked water from his paw into the pond and straightened Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Sharing information was one part of learning new skills. Wren listened to the man, dipping her head in gratitude for the details. "So, if you bait your snares with dead insects and small fish" she began, pondering "you'd catch twice as much?" She was interested in how the snares worked and how to craft fish traps, but resisted in favour of hunting.

Falling silent, she watched and waited. A paw flashed out, slapping the silvery fish out of the water. Ending it's life, she tossed the body onto the growing pile she was gathering. "Pack?" she added, licking blood from her lips "what pack do you belong to?" She hadn't come across that location yet, so she was curious "is it near here?"

She kept her voice level. Showing too much curiosity and hurried words made her look suspicious. Wren was not looking to start trouble anyway.

"Speech"
2/3 hunt small prey (fish)