Of the Birds and The Bee- Oh, is that a butterfly?!

The vibrant, hulking red male had wandered, deciding to explore beyond familiar ground. His paws had taken him toward the southern region of the continent. Now, he stood at the edge of a river, deep sapphire eyes peering into the clear water. There; a silvery flash of scales, there and gone again. He’d never tried fishing, though his mother had told him a few basics. He’d have to try his paw at it, for the experience at the very least. For the moment, however, he was happy just to get a drink and find a shady spot to escape the summer heat. His mother had been acting odd, the last few days. She’d come out of the den one day and run off, not seeing him and not hearing his greeting. A couple hours later, she’d charged him and Zuriel with watching Baine and Tornach while she went for a trip to the east, to attend to matters concerning their near future pack.

She’d seemed upset, but for the life of him, he couldn’t guess why. He probably wouldn’t have understood the meaning of the answer had he received it, either. For whatever reason, his mother’s birds and bees talk hadn’t quite clicked in his head that boy wolf plus girl wolf equaled babies. And he hadn’t walked in on his mother and father doing the creation dance either, so there wasn’t even that to go off of. Just brief descriptions of what to do. Maybe it had been that butterfly that had fluttered past his nose during the lesson. That butterfly had been great fun to chase, and catch… That butterfly had tasted like the worst thing he had ever eaten in his life.

He crouched down to lap at the water, relishing its cool flavor on his tongue, drinking his fill before straightening and looking around. He’d have to be heading home soon. If he got a start within the next hour, he’d be home in time to maybe hunt down a deer to last the family a while. He gave himself a shake, gold and sapphire necklace jingling softly around his neck. Cinder popped out of the brush a moment later, stopping to stare disdainfully at the water before mincing to his paws and rubbing a complete figure eight around his front legs. Her squirrel like, fluffy tail just brushed his brisket, and she gazed up at him with hooded sapphire eyes. "Dia duit, Regulus. Tá muid iniúchadh áiteanna nua lá atá inniu ann, ansin?." She asked cheerfully, whiskers twitching.

Regulus grinned down at his little friend. "Yeah. B'fhéidir go mbainfidh muid ag freastal ar duine éigin nua agus a dhéanamh do chara, eh?" he answered, then peered into the water as another flash of scales caught the sunlight. "Nó b'fhéidir go mbainfidh muid ag breith ar iasc nó dhó a thabhairt abhaile agus a thaispeáint Máthair." The cat’s ears perked at the word ‘fish’ and she turned her head to look at the water. Fish, or stay dry?

The wind shifted, bringing the scents from across the river to both noses, and Regulus stilled momentarily, analyzing the scents. "Ná trasna na habhann. Sílim go bhfuil teorann Imperium ar an taobh eile. Ligeann leith sin, eh?" Valentine Imperialis had been nice enough, but Regulus highly doubted the Rex of Imperium would be as nice if a rogue swam onto his borders. Cinder looked from the water to Regulus, and back to the water, a look of incredulity on her face. "Dáiríre? Ní gá duit a insint dom gan a bheith ag snámh ... Sin ós rud é go nach mbeidh mé ag snámh." Regulus chuckled, lowering his head to nudge the cat gently. "Just a dhéanamh cinnte go bhfuil gach."

He waded into the water, the cat immediately leaping onto his back to avoid the water and still be close, and stood still, watching the fish swim around, waiting for them to adjust to his presence. That was one of the things his mother had taught him about fishing. Be very, very patient.