Favorite Dish of the River
04-30-2020, 05:30 AM
Her path had taken her past the weeping woods and a bit further away from pack territory. She'd merely followed the tiny rivers that scuttled beneath the willow roots until they ran into their mother, a gushing thing that only widened as she continued west.
Most of her days alone had been much like this one, letting the land guide her course, stepping away to hunt or hide or sleep, and waking to follow the land again. Her route had been banked by pack borders, impeded by mountains and curved by rivers such as these, all the way until she had reached the willows bordering the Ashen Armada's territory. She'd been mostly aimless then. But now in all her wanderings she was tethered back to home.
It was strange just how much she had missed when traveling alone. But she'd merely been letting her footfalls guide her. Now she was exploring for its own sake... mostly, anyhow. The yearling had needed to get away from the buzz and business of her pack. A first for the friendly girl, but — well. Everyone needed some alone time, right?
The ground was damp along the east bank, caked with dead litter, leaves brown with decay, some still half-dressed in green tones. But autumn was in earnest. Her nose stung with a stiff breeze, but she shook the hurt away and progressed as the bank began to curve sharply towards the south. Her eyes moved before her paws, and in doing so locked onto a figure that was.... walking over the water? But no -- as she padded closer, Malalia could see it was simply a wolf moving across the stepping stones, reaching his forepaws into the current.
Her ears swiveled towards him, her green eyes bright and focused on his movements. On the bluffs of her native pack, the prey had been elk and bison and bush creatures of several kinds -- but rarely fish, if ever. That had been a delicacy gifted to her by her aunt, who'd been gathering herbs by a distant river valley and brought back a plump brook trout. A pup at the time, Malalia had wanted to learn how to fish ever since. For one reason or another the opportunity had never presented itself. Maybe she could learn now, from watching this stranger...?
That thought was short-lived, however, as the wolf came crashing down into the river. Mal let loose a little yelp in surprise, dashing towards the edge of the bank to get a better look. She was positioned downriver from the stranger, but by the time she'd gotten within six or seven lengths of him, he'd pulled himself up. Still, the girl couldn't help but ask — "Hey! Are you alright?"