Getting here had been a freakin' pain in the ass. Like, Cael knew there were packs settling in around here, but holy shit did there have to be like three, border-to border, making a big ol' fricken line across the middle of the south. How was she supposed to get anywhere fast?? Scowling, she stomped across the icy ground towards the river she'd only just noticed. She was on her way home from island hopping but she'd taken a detour when she came to realize that getting around all these borders was going to require a bit more of her time than she'd expected when she bumped into the first one. Fowl mood on full display, she sat by the water with a huff.

Great. And how was she supposed to cross this in winter? She'd probably freeze her ass off. Even though the edges were frozen, she doubted any of the ice was thick enough to hold her. That water was probably freezing cold too. Taking a moment to sit and think, she came to the conclusion that everything was stupid. Her compass had almost gotten stolen by a seagull before too. Not a great day, or week really.

Chaos had decided on a whim that he was going to go hunting today, but he hadn't been particularly interested in chasing rabbits or squirrels, or go looking for someone else to take down something bigger. So when he'd found himself at the river, it had occurred to him... fishing! And of course he'd congratulated himself on his brilliance and set off down the bank seeking out where the fish were hiding. There, a quiet pool where the bank was high and gave him a vantage point. He crept closer, and saw the long, greenish, viciously toothed form of a pike. Oooooh both delicious and fun.

He settled his paws, then carefully hopped into the air and, streamlining his body, dove into the water on top of the fish.

It was then that he realized what a mistake his brilliant idea had been. It was cold, like ice-forming-around-the-edges cold, and the shock stunned him and nearly drove the breath right out of him. Luckily reflex had him snap when his muzzle drove down against the cool slimey skin of the pike, and his fangs pierced the unprotected body.

The pike went mad in response, flailing away and between that and the cold it was all he could do to make the surface. He had to snort out water that had been driven into his nose before he could suck in air, and he found himself unexpectedly closer to the far side of the river than the near side. Still fighting the pike, he struck out for shore and was finally able to scrabble up onto the bank. He threw down the pike, pinned it with his forepaws, and then leaned down to refasten his teeth into the pike's head, finally killing it. He dropped it back to the ground and shook himself violently, spraying icy water everywhere. Brr!

Only then did he glance around, and realize that he had come out onto the shore rather near to a young stranger who, he realized with chagrin, had probably caught the brunt of the cold shower. In apology he bestowed upon her his most charmingly boyish grin. "Nice day for fishing, isn't it?"

Last thing she'd expected as she sat there all huffy and indignant, griping quietly to herself about how if she tried to cross the stupid river her compass might get damaged by the water, was to find some random wolf with big ol' fangs sauntering over to the water and diving right in. What the hell??

Her incredulous expression only melted when he pulled himself and a large fish out of the water and shook out his sopping wet fur and sent water flying in her direction. "Ack, holy shit, little warning?!" she exclaimed, not realizing he'd only just noticed she was there. When he turned and gave her that stupid grin Cael could only offer an unamused deadpan as she sighed, "Is it?"

After shaking her own fur out a little, she recovered enough to eye him skeptically and ask, "Do you make a habit of fishing in winter? Not scared you're gonna lose a limb to frostbite or something?"

She certainly didn't seem pleased by the unexpected rain he'd caused, but Chaos was a master at ignoring what was inconvenient, like other people's feelings and such. He just continued to grin, and shrugged at her question. "This? This is nothing. Barely chilly, really. I used to live up in the mountains - now that's cold in the winter. I wouldn't be particularly worried about even hypothermia down here unless I couldn't get dried off, you know? And only pansies would whine about getting wet in this kind of weather," he added with a sly sideways glance at her, as though daring her to complain further. "Look," he added, scooting back over to the bank and gesturing down. "They're just right there waiting to catch some smaller fish looking to rest in the bend of the river where the water's quieter. All you have to do is drop right down on them and you've got an easy meal. Much better than chasing squirrels." Another pike was hovering there in the shadow of the bank, just as he'd expected, looking even larger than the one he'd already caught. He eyed it, then glanced back up at the girl and grinned again. "In fact, I'm feeling a bit generous today. If you don't want to get your feet wet, you can have the one I already caught and I'll catch this one."