He stepped into the water, watching the ripples grow and fade with each step, the night air cool on his fur as the bite of winter drew closer. He wanted to return to Auster but was determined to enjoy the festivities while he could, and god damn it he would. He darted his head quickly into the water, aiming to close his jaws around a fish his mouth filling with mud and water as he plunged his head beneath the surface. Distantly he could hear his companion snort, the golden baboon waiting on the back while he tried his hand at hunting. There had been a point when he wanted to be a great hunter like his uncle Cloud but that time was long behind him, gone, the day he discovered that his father meant to sacrifice him to the demons of his religion. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Saren had been drug out to participate in the festival by his sister Thalia. He didn’t want to let her down by not participating so he figured he might as well try. He spotted an adult wolf nearby who was also trying to fish. Saren wasn’t that good at hunting yet and he hadn’t tried fishing yet. Following the adult’s example Saren stuck his face into the water with his eyes shut and ears flattened. He wanted to keep water from getting in places that it wasn’t supposed to be. As he opened his mouth to try and catch any fish that might swim by he felt the water flood into his mouth. He came up from the water snorting water out of his nose and trying to catch a glance at how many fish he had caught.

He raised his head, holding the wiggling fish tightly in his jaws before he tossed it to his companion who caught it in one black hand. He had been aware of someone else’s presence but hadn’t anticipated seeing one of the children he had brought into the world. He thought back to the name the pale woman had given the small pup and greeted him with a cheerful “Saren, how you’ve grown!” Before a fish swam between his paws and he ducked his head down to grab it before it could escape, his mouth filling again with mud and water, clouding the pool as he snapped his jaws below the water’s surface. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

As Saren looked to see what he had caught to his surprise he found one very large fish, that certainly hadn’t been what Saren was expecting. Before he could figure out what to do with it though the adult wolf had called out to him. ”Saren, how you’ve grown!” Saren had no clue who this man was nor how they knew about him much less his name. The pup didn’t put much effort into hiding the confusion from his face. Setting the hopefully dead fish aside Saren went to catching another one except this time with his paws, he was not eager to receive the same experience again. He began feeling around for fish with his paws hoping that he could step on one of them before it got away.

Saren didn’t know how he should react to the words of the adult, clearly they knew him somehow, but Saren had no recollection of how. “Th-thanks?” After fumbled words came out of Saren’s mouth he quickly turned his attention back towards fishing, how was he ever going to face becoming an adult like this?

He tossed the second fish to his companion who caught it with practiced ease although it wasn’t as big as the one he had captured originally. The boy on the other hand landed a fine catch and wrestled it into submission. “Nice catch.” He smirked, then cocked his head to the side “I take it you don’t remember me.” He chuckled, not a surprise since the last time he saw the pup he was a blind and deaf wiggling ball of fluff. “My name is Rain, I’m the healer that saw to your mother when you were born.” He grinned then dipped his head down again as he felt a fish flash by his paws, and quickly moved to catch it. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

The adult had guessed correctly that Saren didn’t remember him, Saren hadn’t met many people so chances were that if he had met them he would’ve remembered them. So the man was a healer? This was a topic that interested him. Saren had heard about healing, but hadn’t really explored it. His family seemed to be more into fighting or running around than healing anyways. “H-hi Rain, you’re a healer?”

Saren’s pawing technique had yet to reveal any results, he kept trying though. The thought of getting water in his nose again wasn’t a welcoming one. He wasn’t quite sure how Rain did it.

“One of the finest the empire has to offer.” He said with a grin after tossing his less than substantial catch to his companion. So far he had captured three fish all of them less than exemplary. He dove again hunting for a fourth, once again upturning the mud and water in his quest as he rooted through the water like an angry boar. Without looking he tossed his catch to his companion his tail flicking as water droplets flew from his neck and mouth. It paid to have a companion with hands when it came to healing, the baboons paws could be so clever when it came to lacing stitches and cleaning his instruments. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

One of the finest? That could very well mean the only, if his family had any indication on the pack he didn’t think the pack had many healing inclined wolves. Although if everyone fought all the time there had to be at least someone who patched up their wounds. “Healing seems like it would be fun, there’s less anger involved.” His sister Thalia seemed to enjoy being angry, he didn’t understand how one could do that.

Feeling fish rush by his legs Saren went to grab one of them with his mouth, hopefully this time he had learned how to keep water from getting inside him. Why couldn’t he be a sea creature, at least then he could breathe underwater.

“I certainly enjoy it.” He said, smiling fondly at the boy. “It helps if you hold your breath before you put your head under.” He explained, hoping the boy was old enough to put the small lesson into practice. “Like this…” He took a deep inhale, making sure to make noise as he sucked in breath then dunked his head in the water and withdrew holding a fish, a wide grin tugging on his features as he exhaled loudly to demonstrate. “Now you try.” He offered, his tail wagging slightly behind him as he watched the boy intently. He was pleased that the boy seemed to be interested in healing, he had wanted an apprentice for some time but had found most of the Abraxas were far more interested in warcraft. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Coming up from the water and setting any fish he had managed to catch aside Saren heard Rain trying to give him advice. The pup watched as the adult tried to demonstrate, he wasn’t sure what holding your breath did to stop water from getting in your lungs, but he might as well give it a try. Doing his best to plant his feet on the ground beneath him he drew the air into his lungs, filling his chest. Diving his head into the water beneath Saren hoped that a fish appeared soon for him to catch. He didn’t want to stay down here for too long.

He waited patiently to see the results of the boy’s fishing attempt, his tail waving behind him silently as he watched the pale pup. He felt another fish dart between his paws and quickly dipped his head to catch it, flinging it toward his companion heedlessly before resuming watching the boy. For a moment he was concerned that he was having difficulty and stepped closer afraid that the boy might be drowning, the fur on his head raising as he felt the blood drain out of him at the thought. He glanced at his companion who rose to stand and crept toward the boy, afraid that he might need to resuscitate him. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Saren lifted his head out of the water, the technique had meant that not as much water flooded his system. Some still had though, he quickly set anything that had landed in his mouth fish or otherwise. “I think I still prefer searching with my paws.” Briefly shaking the water off his head before continuing his previous technique of feeling around for the fish. Not having an adult body certainly wasn’t helping him in this case, but he figured that as he grew older his current way of fishing would work out better for him. Being taller and bulkier seemed like it had its advantages.

He chuckled, more relived that the boy was alright than disappointed that he didn’t wish to employ his methods. “Well, in healing finding your own way is important.” He explained, his tail flicking slightly behind him as he dipped his head again to catch another fish. He was already beginning to feel tired and he was sure the pup would be exhausted too, but he still had a few attempts left at catching so he pressed on, heedless of how tired he was, determined to be the best at everything he did, no matter what it was or who was there to stop him. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Saren wondered what it was he had done that was worth laughing at. He knew he wasn’t a guy people normally laughed at so this was a different experience for him. The words that rain had said seemed to resonate with Saren. Finding your own way was important. Thinking back to a conversation with his dad Saren remembered how his father had said that one of the ways to survive in their pack was to basically lie. Saren didn’t want to do that though, he could find his own way to survive, one that stayed true to himself rather than pleasing others. “I think the same goes for life.”

In regards to fishing though Saren continued using his paws, feeling a fish swim past and making a small jump to go after it.

The thought was so articulate that Rain was caught off guard for a moment and nearly lost a fish thayt swam in front of him. “That’s a very mature thought for a boy your age.” He commented. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon and the fireflies began to swarm. Rain considered using the opportunity to catch a few for the other event but thought better of it in the end. Even if he had something in his bag that he could catch them with he should focus on the task at hand first. There would be time to do everything he was sure. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Mature for his age, he hadn’t gotten that specific comment yet, but it felt familiar. Considering the amount of time he spent by himself thinking it wasn’t surprising. “I have those a lot.” Even though he had a lot of thoughts he rarely told them to anyone, he was too timid to even think about sharing his thoughts with anyone. His sister would probably beat him up if he shared any of his thoughts with her. She’d probably call him a nerd or something, he doubted she spent as much time thinking as he did.

The movement of the water distracted him from his thoughts as he moved to catch the fish with a paw.

“Do you now?” He asked with a smile, his tail raising in a soft curl as a fish lept in front of him and he grabbed it from the air. “Perhaps you would be interested in being my apprentice, I could use a sharp mind like yours in my laboratory.” He explained with a gentle smile. He would never dare to experiment on the boy like he had on the lioness or his rats and weasels but an apprentice to help him sort his poisons and catalog his experiments would be useful, it would also be a show to Malleus that he was ready to grow into a higher rank and expand the empire with the accumulation of more healers. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

Saren’s head tilted as he heard the word apprentice. He wasn’t quite sure what being an apprentice meant, he sure hoped it didn’t mean more socializing. So far Rain hadn’t been that bad of a person and he wasn’t that hard to talk to. Maybe being around him more wouldn’t be so bad. “What does being an apprentice mean?” Saren wasn’t so sure about agreeing to something he didn’t know the full meaning of.

Picking up any of the fish he had caught with his paws he deposited them off to the side with the rest of the ones he had caught. Returning to search for more, he was almost done and getting worn out, he might just take a nap after this.

“It means you would be my helper and learn to do what I do.” He explained, snatching up his tenth and final fish. “You’ll need to work hard though, I won’t tolerate the empire having a lazy healer.” He teased, raising one brow as he asked. “You’re not a lazy boy are you?” He smiled. Even if he was he was sure he could teach it out of the boy with time and he would be shaped into a fine healer. He liked the idea of walking with the boy through the gardens and explaining everything to him that he knew. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

So that’s what an apprentice was, helping and learning healing didn’t seem like too bad a deal. Saren didn’t know how good he was at hard work though, there hadn’t been many opportunities so far to do it. He didn’t think he was lazy though. Lazy meant you didn’t do much of anything, Saren at least did things. Whether it was seen as productive in the eyes of others or not was yet to be seen. “I don’t think I’m lazy.”

For the last time Saren would bring his paw down on an unlucky fish. He had no idea how he was going to take all the ones he had caught back for tickets, but at least this hadn’t been for nothing. Meeting Rain had been nice.