The mist of the early morning filled the plains around the rapids but it wasn't something that bothered Aranea at all. She was used to late nights and early mornings and wouldn't go about dragging herself around until she felt awake. She stopped to turn towards Allegro and make sure he was close by before letting him step up to her and take the lead if he wanted. Their night had become more magical by the minute it seemed and she was regretting wishing the brute from Abaven would just leave her alone. Her judgment of him was clouded by her hurt memories of the pack and her past and she was choosing to ignore the sour taste it brought to her tongue. Looking up at the large brute with a more joyous grin than normal she would state, "I thought we could get some breakfast before I have to head back to Lirim." She was probably expected back last night but it wasn't the first time she had gone a night or two outside the pack. At least not wanting to leave the brute alone before he woke, she was willing to give him a little more of her time before she had to return back to her normal life. Walk "Talk" Think

The whole night had felt like a dream and he had partially expected to wake up back in his den within Abaven just to find out that it had actually been just that. However, to his pleasant surprise, when he woke up it was beside Aranea and his time with her had the chance to bleed over into the morning. He walked with her out of the Redbud Nook and out toward the river. Eventually he would have to let her get back to her pack and he would have to get back to his, but that didn't mean he wanted that to be the case. He was racking his brain as they walked for a bit, searching for some kind of reason for him to spend more time with her or perhaps keep her here for a bit longer, when she looked up at him and gave him a perfect excuse. Breakfast! Of course! "Absolutely!" he agreed with a smile. Hunting was at least one thing he was certain that he could handle - letting her leave and knowing that he was going to have to go back to his every day life once she did was another story. "What are you in the mood for? I'm sure we could find some hares near by or maybe some fish if we go down to a calmer part of the river... We might even find a few deer back toward the trees this time of year." He'd move the world to get her whatever she wanted if it meant keeping that happy grin on her face. He wasn't sure what it said about him that just one night together could get him completely wrapped around her paw, but at this point he couldn't resit it. Perhaps once she left it would break whatever this spell was, but until that happened he was happy to just do what he could to keep her happy as well. "Talk"

Aranea didn't really have a preference on what was for breakfast and had to think for a moment on the options Allegro gave her. She herself would usually take on smaller prey, though sometimes rabbits were a bit hard for her to keep up with. And though they could probably take a deer down, Aranea felt like Allegro would be doing all the work. Not that it was a bad thing, at least for him. "We could try for some fish if that's okay?" She would start down the bank of the river, making sure to stay near him as they ventured to find a decent spot to try. Not only would it be ideal to find the fish in a calmer part of the water, but Aranea herself would probably be easily swept away in the rush of the rapids. Wanting to keep some conversation with him as they searched, she'd try to get to know him a little better and maybe even open up a little if she tried hard enough. She wouldn't expect to meet him again, at least anytime soon. But she couldn't lie to say she didn't want to again. "I know you said you stayed with your family a bit last year. Any reason you were in and out of Abaven for a while?" Walk "Talk" Think

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He gave her a pleased grin when she took him up on his offer of having some fish for their breakfast and he nodded in agreement. "Sure! I've been working on my fishing skills so it'll be good practice." With that decision made they walked together along the river to find a more calm spot where it would be safe and easier for them to try fishing. The fastest of the rapids wouldn't be safe for either of them, but especially for her. She was pretty small and slender so he had a feeling that even a strong gust of wind might just sweep her away - much less the rolling rapids they were currently searching.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before she posed a question for him and he offered her a smile as he began to explain the situation. He had already gotten the sense that she didn't like to share much of her life last night and he was perfectly fine with respecting those boundaries as long as she wanted them to be there, but he was also more than willing to share bits about him if she wanted to know. "I was mostly just stretching my skills as a hunter and searching out different kinds of prey around Boreas and Auster, doing some exploring and that kind of thing... I wasn't usually gone very long, but I had an accident on one of my hunting trips in Auster. I was chasing down a tapir one night and it made a sharp turn to avoid a cliff I didn't see and went right over the edge before I could stop myself. I tumbled down the bank and luckily it wasn't all that steep, but it did make me break my leg and I was pretty beat up by the time I reached the bottom."

It was more details than was probably necessary, but he liked telling stories and it filled the time while they walked together along the river bank. "I really thought I was a goner at that point cause I tried calling for help, but no one answered for a while. When morning came a wolf happened to wander by and by some stroke of luck she knew my mother because they used to live together. I haven't seen my mother in years because she left when I was really young and ended up in Abaven because of my father, but I look just like her so I guess it was easy to pick out who I was related to. How many black and gold swirled wolves could there be out there, ya know?" He chuckled and let his blue eyes scan their surroundings again. "Anyway, the pack that she lived in where my mother grew up was actually not all that far from where I was near the bottom tip of Auster so she was able to go get help and they took me back there so their healers could look at my leg. I ended up staying there until it was healed since I didn't think I'd be able to make it all the way back up to the eastern part of Boreas on a broken leg. So that's why I was gone for so long."

She gladly listened as he spoke and would honestly feel embarrassed that not only was there a lot she felt uncomfortable with sharing, but she felt like there wasn't much to share either. He reminded her of herself back when she was a yearling and now she only wished he could have known her then. Maybe he could have prevented her depression or at least helped her better than Tyranis. And she couldn't help but think of how her life would have been different if they had met all those years earlier or even shortly after the betrayal. But she didn't know Allegro as much as she was acting like, and she would try not to let the feelings of what-if consume her. "That does sound scary. I don't think I'd be chasing a prey that badly to miss a cliff and fall over." She didn't mean it offensively, but she honestly didn't attempt a hard chase hardly ever. And she certainly couldn't imagine what would run through her head if she unwillingly tumbled down a cliffside. "Yeah, can't say I've seen anyone that looks like you." She had seen a number of strange color and markings on wolves, a lot having their own special markings that you wouldn't forget. He'd be in that category because of the combination of his appearance. As they walked along the river, it started to calm and she could see where it would be shallow enough and gentle enough for the two of them to try their luck. "I uh- left Abaven to be with a boyfriend." Even if it was just a snippet of something she could share with him. "It didn't last any more than half a year." She may have gone off in thought for a moment, though tried to shake off the harsh feelings. "Sorry I don't have as much to talk to you about." Walk "Talk" Think

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Allegro grinned and chuckled with a shrug when she said that she had never hunted so hard that she would have missed a cliff. “Well, I certainly don’t think I’ll be doing that again. No prey is worth all that... but when you’re young and dumb, eh?” He still enjoyed hunting and had a lot of satisfaction from being able to provide for and take care of those around him, but he was pretty sure that just hunting for fun or sport was behind him. While he wasn’t old by any means, he knew that he wasn’t as young as he once was. He fully understood how he lucky he was to be able to limp away from that fall so now his attention was fully on figuring out how to make the most of the life he had ahead of him now.

He raised an interested brow when she mentioned a boyfriend and tried to hide the momentary disappointment that sneaked up on him before she was able to clarify that the relationship hadn’t lasted. He didn’t want to be happy that her boyfriend hadn’t worked out, but there was a small part of him that was. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied in a form of condolences for the lost love, but it was hard to make his tone genuine. He liked to assume that she was single with how their night had gone and not that he had helped her in cheating, but now that her relationship status was confirmed he couldn’t help but feel a little flicker of hope.

“That’s alright, no need to apologize,” he assured her with a smile when she said that she didn’t have much to talk about. He felt certain that there was much more to her story, but he wasn’t going to press her for it. With any luck maybe there would be more time for him to get to know her better, but for now he would just focus on getting them some breakfast. When the river started to calm enough for them to try fishing, he nodded to a good spot and said, “This should do nicely!”

He waded out into the river, stopping once the water was just barely grazing his stomach. Once he was in position he held still and waited for the fish to come by, keeping his eyes peeled for the glimmer of their scales. He wasn’t always patient enough for fishing, but this time it just meant he’d get to draw out this time with Aranea so he was more than willing to find them a few fish to share.

She admired his respect for her privacy though she was sure she sensed even just a bit of hidden tension on the mystery of her, even if it was her imagination telling her so. She was enjoying her time with him and though he was still honestly a bit of a stranger regardless of how much he had shared with her and what they had done with their time together, she just didn't want to open up about what had happened to her with anyone. She had with Torin and it was dreadful and painful and it just seemed like she still wasn't ready. She took careful steps out into the water and placed herself beside him, giving him a gentle look before putting her focus onto the stream below them. She also wasn't one that would usually wait around for a chance at fish not because she wasn't patient but usually just didn't have the time to sit around and wait. When she was hungry, she was hungry and it was easier to go ahead and chase a fawn than sit around and wait for the fish to move around you. Still, it was worth the change and the time to be with him. It seemed like forever in only a few moments before the fish had grown used to their presence and she would try to be more patient before starting her attempt. Eventually she would throw her open jaw into the rush, but her teeth would be met with nothing in return. Raising her dripping chin from the water she'd wait again, lunging, and again fail to grab hold of her new target. Walk "Talk" Think

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As he stood in the water with her at his side and the quiet settled over them he found himself smiling without really noticing it. He hadn't realized how much he had missed the companionship of others until now. When he had been with his mother's former pack, he had been around someone nearly all the time. They all seemed to be interested in hearing about the place where Oria had ended up and he in turn was just as interested in learning about the wolves that had raised her. They didn't seem to have visitors come from outside of their pack all that often so new faces were incredibly interesting to them. When he came back to Abaven he saw wolves here and there living there lives and occasionally he would spend time with his family members, but it felt very obvious that time had moved on without him. He wasn't sure how to reconnect with them now and he found himself lingering and wandering on his own more and more. Now that he was spending this comfortably quiet time with Aranea it made him realize how much just being with someone had been missing from his life.

He let her take the first couple lunges at fish as they swam within reach. After her second miss, he told her quietly so not to disturb the fish that might swim by next, "The water messes with the angle of how you see them. So they're actually further along than they appear... plus you have to adjust for the amount of time it takes for you to strike and get through the water." He hoped she wouldn't mind his advice, but it was all stuff that he had learned on his own with lots of trial and error. Hopefully he'd keep her from a lot of the same wasted time with his experience. He spotted another first heading their way and he added, "Like this," before shifting just a bit to put himself a bit closer to its path. Holding still, he waited till the fish was almost at his front leg before ducking his head under the water and catching the fish between his teeth right behind its gills. Popping his head back above the surface again, Allegro grinned around his catch as he looked back to Aranea with a nod.

Her ears lightly pulled back with a bit of frustration as he went to explain his strategy though her eyes gave him much interest and focus to the advice. If anything she just felt a little embarrassed but not so much to churn her nerves at least. She'd watch as he went in for his own grab almost flawlessly and couldn't help but smile as he did back at her. Her gaze would move back to the water and her face loosened as she tried to focus again. Soon, another fish she could spot came swaying down stream. Surely she couldn't miss this one too, especially after Allegro gave her his advice and successfully gave her a flawless demonstration. Her nose dove into the water, and her teeth would come to meet the scaly skin. She went to pull the fish out of the water, just a slight amount of joy in her expression as she was relived she wouldn't embarrass herself more. Well, until the fish flopped about and her tiny mouth lost the grip around it's slimy skin and it went flying into the air. Definitely lost the achievement in her glare as the fish seemed to have grown wings and flew. Walk "Talk" Think

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Allegro watched Aranea refocus on her task and once the fish in his grasp had gone completely still he made a toss with his head to throw it onto the shore, making sure it landed in a patch of grass along the bank before turning his eyes back to Aranea again. He patiently watched and waited while she took her turn trying to catch a fish as well. She certainly was able to take his advice to heart and he saw her strike at a great time and a grin pulled to his lips in response, his tail wagging excitedly for her when he saw her head lift away from the water again with a fish in tow. However, the slippery scales of the fish clearly proved to be a bit tricky as it went flying from her mouth like a flying fish but without the wing-like fins. His eyes went wide as he watched it for a moment while he made a split second decision to try and save her catch.

He made a quick hop into the air, snapping a couple of times after it before finally sinking his teeth into it a bit further down its tail. It flopped and struggled against his grip, but his teeth bit through the scales so there was no way it was getting away this time! However, as he came back down to land, the current of the river swept his front feet out from under him and made his front half take a full on dunk in the river. He floundered for a moment before regaining his footing and standing once more, now fully soaked and holding a flopping fish that was currently trying to hit him in the face.

Looking to Aranea again with a wide, but slightly embarrassed grin, he laughed around the mouth full of fish he was currently holding and started trudging toward the shore. With the second part of their catch deposited on the grass beside the first, he gave himself a hard shake, sending a spray of water in all directions and making his black and yellow fur stick up in odd places. Not really realizing how silly he had made himself look, he turned back to the pale woman again and gave her another grin, saying, "Breakfast is served!"

As Allegro made the quick save, Aranea's annoyed look at the flying fish would change to a joking grin as he presented the catch with almost a gloating achievement. Her thought of him being a show-off not really taken to heart but a tease if she were to mention. Though her next expression was that of worry as he fell into the rush of the river, her body leaping towards him as if she could help which was not really ideal given their size difference. He would recover quickly though, Aranea trying to hide an embarrassed smile to her worry for him. Maybe all the talk about his clumsiness and broken leg was coming around to speak for itself. She'd follow him back up the bank carefully, making sure she didn't follow his steps into the water and get swept down the stream. She was met with a heavy spray of water when she escaped the bank but wouldn't get upset over it. Though she seemed like a fragile little princess, she was actually quite the tom-boy and had never been worried about getting dirty. She gently walked over to join him more, grabbing the fish he had thrown up the bank earlier and just taking a few steps from the bank to dry off in the sun while they ate. She'd start to pull from the fish, getting down into the meaty insides. It was a nice change and was weird to say how she missed the taste of it, "I haven't had fish in a while. Thanks for the catch." It was a generous gesture, but she didn't want to seem too desperate for his kindness or attention. She'd continue at her fish but when she was done she would only wait for him to be ready to part ways. It was weird to think their time together was short and not long enough and though she felt very comfortable beside him she still felt this sense of awkwardness. Maybe the fact that she didn't want or felt like there wasn't much she could share about herself. But none the less the time they spent together made her a little more happy than normal if anything. Walk "Talk" Think

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Allegro was happy to settle in beside Aranea with one of the fish so he could dig into their breakfast together. Even though he made fish a much larger portion of his diet since returning to Abaven, he was still pleased with their catch and couldn't deny that it certainly hit the spot. His ears twitched to face her when she spoke, pulling his attention back toward her. Her thanking him was met with a grin and he gave a small, nonchalant shrug. "Oh, no need to thank me. I'm happy to do it." Being able to care for and provide for wolves he liked and cared about was one of his biggest joys and accomplishments. He had never thought of himself as the best fighter or protector and healing had never really clicked very well with him so hunting had been his one outlet for how he could best help the wolves around him.

Once they were done with their fish and he had licked his mouth and paws clean from their meal, he looked toward Aranea again with a small, slightly sad smile. "I guess you'll need to be getting back to your pack now, huh?" He knew he should be doing the same, but he had been enjoying her company so much that he was sad to see it end. He kept a little hope in the back of his mind that they might cross paths again some day, but he knew that he had to keep his hopes realistic. What real reason would she have for coming out this way all that often if she lived out west? Although perhaps he could make the trip at some point... But it was still too early to say if this chance meeting would actually lead to anything or if it would just live on as a pleasant memory.

She would lose eye contact with him as his expression saddened, not wanting to really part ways herself. Her little bit of anxiousness showing through her features. But she did have her duties back at Lirim and it was silly to think she was having any larger feelings for the one night stand. But she couldn't deny his charming and kind nature, both pluses that were probably what dragged her into him. Her eyes flicked to him for a second before looking back down to her finished meal. Her disappointment hard to hide. "Yeah, that would be best." She'd try to offer him a smile as if a gesture for thanks one last time, "Until next time?" She'd reassure him though the thought of them crossing paths again while they were so far apart was hard to imagine. However she did know she wished they would meet again and hopefully soon. She'd stand to leave, trying hard not to linger and make it harder on both of them to part ways. But it seemed they both had to get back to their everyday lives and maybe working back in their packs would help subside the longing feelings. -Exit Aranea- Walk "Talk" Think