Come down, come down sweet reverence

With spring almost over Jynn made one more trip to the east in search of salmon, this time accompanied by Birna. While the cat was not fond of the warmer weather she had a taste for salmon so of course Jynn had to share her favorite salmon fishing spot in Boreas. "We're almost there!" She could hear the sound of the rapids getting louder and louder as they approached. Soon the rushing, silvery water was in sight and she bounded forward toward the river, maneuvering along the rapids until she found a spot where the water rushed down over a ledge. The salmon would be trying to leap up over this ledge and when they did that would be the best time to try and grab one.

Fish were a rare delicacy and not something Birna often had a chance to eat. Growing up in the high and frigid mountains there were rarely rivers and lakes large enough to sustain fish worth going after. As she lived in this new land she learned now that there were such mountains but hers had not been one of them. Her diet had consisted mainly of various rabbits, rodents, and ibex. The tasty, fatty flesh of salmon was a new favorite and when Jynn offered to share a hunting spot in Boreas Birna took her up on the offer. While the cat planned to spend much of the winter in Auster she planned to return to Boreas eventually and having a list of hunting spots would be much appreciated.

Speech

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn settled at the edge of the ledge, her long neck stretched out, ears and eyes alert to the movement of the fish below. Her tail fanned out for added balance as she settled her weight into the slippery rocks. The last thing she wanted to do was go tumbling into the rushing water. A glimmer of silver caught her attention and she leaned just a little forward. Suddenly a salmon flung itself out of the water. Jynn's jaws launched forward but unfortunately she just missed. Her fangs snipped its tail fin but the fish landed in the upper level and took off. If she had better footing she'd have been tempted to go after it while it struggled to gain ground against the current but she wasn't confident enough yet.

Birna watched Jynn take up a position on the ledge and not wishing to crowd her fellow predator she moved up a little ways to where the river was more shallow and curved in toward the shore. She imagined that with as much effort as the salmon were exerting that some of them would seek slower moving waters to rest up for the next leap. The great cat settled on the edge of the bank, her limbs coiled under her and one paw slightly stretched out in waiting. Sooner or later a fish was going to swim by and when it did she wanted to be ready to slay it, ideally without to much time spent in the water.

Speech

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn crouched down a little lower for the security of a more stable footing. Now to wait. She tried to keep her focus on the fishing task at hand but she had to admit the rush sound of the water was soothing. At least in some ways. She knew it masked the sound of approaching predators but she hadn't caught the scent of any bears so far so she was hopeful they'd be unbothered. Another flash of silver caught her attention and soon another salmon leapt from the water. This time Jynn was ready and her jaws launched forward, seizing the fish right behind the head. Jynn braced herself as it twisted and flailed, turning quickly she took it back inland and worked to chew through the gils and bleed it dry.

Birna kept her focus on what she was doing. From what she knew of Jynn the woman was a reasonably accomplished fisher woman. It was Birna who was something of a novice but she'd been graced with great gifts. Watching as a salmon started to swim by her right paw lashed out slapping down into the water as an electroshock was delivered. The fish suddenly seized up and with a swift movement of her paw she flipped it out of the water where she was upon it in a moment. Birna seized it by the gills and using her powerful jaws soon had the head detached. She started eating, making short work of the smaller fish.

Speech

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Licking the blood off her muzzle she tucked the fish away nearby and returned to her fishing spot. "I'm going to try and get another, feel free to start eating without me." Jynn headed back to her fishing spot. She planned to eat one and then smoke strips of the other over a fire. Ideally not right next to the river. They'd need to find a more secluded spot to attract less predators but while she had a large feline friend she decided this was the perfect time to preserve meat. If a bear or something appeared they'd have a better change driving it off together than Jynn would have by herself. Jynn spied a few fish leap up but they were on the other side of the river. She had to be patient.

Birna looked up for a moment as Jynn stated that she was going to go after another. The leopard nodded. Probably not a bad idea. She would as well but she was wary of leaving prey just sitting. True, there were two of them now but old habits died hard and she worked to eat hers. A few times she paused to deal with the bones but soon she had removed and consumed most of the salmons meat. What a delightful flesh! Birna licked her lips, cleaned the blood off her face then moved back to her hunting position. As she did a raven swooped down to pick at any remaining bits of meat. They'd best make it quick. Other predators were likely to note the gathering ravens.

Speech

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn continued to wait. That was the one thing that sucked about fishing versus hunting other prey. So much of it was a waiting game. Jynn tried not to let her mind wander but it was difficult, she had always been something of a day dreamer. She was suddenly brought back to reality as large salmon surged forward and leapt. Jynn twisted her head, grabbing it by the tail. She lurched forward at the sudden weight, dropping to her belly as her front legs splayed out to steady herself. Oh crap! She could feel herself sliding toward the water but she held on tight to her prize as she tried to scoot back with her hind legs while pushing with her front.

Birna settled in to wait, her body going as still as a stone. She kept herself low, her legs coiled beneath her and her belly fur just touching the rocks below her. It was cooler here near the edge of the river and slowly she stretched her paws out to rest them in the water. The eastern part of Boreas was more tolerable than the southern portion but it was still getting to hot for her comfort. One more fish and she would call it a day. That would give her enough protein and fat to hold her through the next day and possibly the one after that. If Jynn were up to it perhaps the pair of them could go after some larger prey.

Speech

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's abdomen tightened as she kicked off with her legs, dragging the large salmon ashore. In a moment she released the tail and leapt at its head, sinking her body down to pin it and help prevent it from flinging itself back into the water. Once she was fairly certain the fish was dead she dragged it over to the other one. Or what was left of it. "Hey!" She dropped the bigger fish and dove in, chasing ravens away from her first catch. Crap, this was going to be harder than she thought. She quickly set about eating the smaller one, pausing now and then to chase birds from the larger catch. If she could get them the small carcass maybe they'd leave her in peace to fillet the larger one.