---

A noisy intake of air could be heard as a dark she-wolf crested the rise of a hill. The air chilled her young lungs but it was nothing that she couldn't stand, and nothing that she didn't enjoy. It wasn't like she was back home, no, this was a new land with new air and new wolves to meet. She couldn't wait to see the locals of this place! Her gray tail swayed behind her, launched into a crescendo by the thoughts that swarmed her mind. Everything she could explore, everything she could do. All she need do was delve deeper into the land, perhaps find a pack but what was the hurry?

Her stomach let out a rumble, reminding her of the troubles of winter before her head got away with the excitement and joy. Oh yeah, that was the hurry... Ah well, she wasn't a bad hunter she could take care of that no problem. Perhaps that river in front of her would provide a great selection of fish. Now, she wasn't exactly a fisher wolf but she was always open to trying new things. Twas a new place with new opportunities. Why not give fishing a go?

With a mischievous grin laced on her white muzzle, she trotted down towards the cold river. Youthful excitement kept her spirits high even as she reached the river and saw... absolutely nothing. Were they hiding elsewhere? Surely a river of this size meant there were fish here. Where were they? Was she doing this fishing thing wrong already? With her face screwed up in a pensive frown she stared down at the water with her shadow conspicuously casting across the water, unknown to her that was what was keeping the fish away.

Still though, the young gal sat, waiting for a fish to cross her path...

She would be waiting a while.

---

312| open | notes

"I Speak!"
I Think...

Wolf by Khalliysgraphy | Textures by Javajunkie247
Table by Plymouth

Wandering his way through the land at an easy, unhurried pace, Jouko found he'd lost his sister a while back. Just where she might be was beyond him at this point, buuut... Oh well. She'd show up, or he would depending on who found who. For now he was quite entranced by the swollen river surging down below him. He sat at the edge of it, a few feet above the water on some frosty grass. The weather was nice, cold but not as cold as the north. He was probably one of the few wolves hanging around here that actually preferred the cold.

Stretching out long limbs in the lackadaisical manner of a cat, Jouko was considering either taking a nap or beginning the quest to find Aggie when- oh, hey. A girl with pretty markings came over the hill toward the river on the opposite shore. Blue eyes tracked her progress as she made her way to the water and slipped into the river's embrace presumeably to harvest some of it's bounty. Unfortunately with the sun behind her she'd be scaring off any scaly snacks. Rising to his paws, Jouko stretched again before calling out warmly, "You're not going to catch anything like that, you know."

---

She stepped in with her front two paws, shivering, as her good mood slipped away and fell into annoyance. What was taking so long? Fish weren't that smart were they? She'd seen some wolves that made it look so easy! They stood at the water's edge and ducked their muzzles down into the water and always came up with a fish! Why were they making it so hard today? An annoyed rumble escaped her throat before she cut it off, knowing that certainly wouldn't help things.

She was absolutely focused, ready to grab the first thing that made an appearance. If only it made an appearance...

"You're not going to catch anything like that, you know."

Rhoglii nearly jumped out of her fur at the sound of the voice. She scrambled away from the water's edge, paws and coat now soaking as she'd made a mad dash away from the water, throwing it everywhere in the process. Dignity barely intact she glared at the other wolf, safe from any retaliation should she release her irritation at not finding any fish. And boy, was there plenty of it now that she'd made a fool of herself in the water.

"What the hell, guy? I was concentrating!" She poked out her bottom lip indignantly, though if she was trying to go for threatening she failed miserably. With the water slicking her fur down to her slight form and her face small and youthful she looked more like a miffed puppy. Hardly threatening to even a rabbit.

She shook herself off, spraying water every which way and managing to make her fur stick up all over the place when she was done. Slightly less annoyed she spoke again, "And what do you mean? They were about to show up! I saw one over there till you said something and scared it away!" When she said "over there" she pointed vaguely in one direction with a paw --in the direction that she'd seen absolutely nothing-- before huffing and stepping back up to the water's edge, eyeing the other fellow closely. He seemed young, fresh out of puphood, with a coat dark and not unlike her own.

---

362| Jouko | notes

"I Speak!"
I Think...

Wolf by Khalliysgraphy | Textures by Javajunkie247
Table by Plymouth

He raised a brow as the woman scrambled madly for shore. Clearly she'd not anticipated someone talking to her all of a sudden. Whoops. Jouko didn't think he was a particularly intimidating guy so she musta' really been in her own world there. Her pouty face elicited an easy smile from the man as she chuckled, "Yes, I saw that. You were entirely unaware of your surroundings, huh?" This half-drenched woman was kind of a riot. Moving to find a spot where he could be closer to the water, Jouko sat looking at the woman from across the river.

Her response after the shock wore off had him shaking his head incredulously. Scoffing dismissively, the man decided to plop back down and let her figure it out on her own. "Mhm, sure, love. Tell you what, when you get tired of waiting for fish that won't show let me know and I may be persuaded to help you out." Resting his chin on his paws, he set to observe her through half-closed eyes.

---

Her golden eyes smoldered when the male called her out on her lack of observational skills. White jaws clenched as she tried to think of something to rebuttle with but there was hardly a thing. She really should have been paying attention, anything could have happened. She was a newcomer here and didn't know if there were killers about, everything wasn't always peachy-keen somewhere new. Since there wasn't an intellectual retort to make she settled on the childish. "Bite me." Then she stubbornly took her eyes away from him, eyes locked onto the river as she moved to place her forepaws in the water with her shadow once more crossing the waves.

Her intent was to completely ignore him, especially when he let out that smug little quip. Stupid punk. Who does he think he is? Sneaking up on me and actin' like he knows everything! Silently she fumed, teeth clenching against each other because she knew he was still laying there watching her. Needless to say, ignoring him didn't work when her thoughts were consumed by him, even if a fish had swam by she would have completely missed it in her anger.

Finally she exploded, "Why are you still here?! Don't you have something better to do? I ain't no free entertainment!" Yelling probably wasn't helping her predicament either but she couldn't care less now. Keeping her temper in check had never been one of her strong points.

---

239| Jouko | notes

"I Speak!"
I Think...

Wolf by Khalliysgraphy | Textures by Javajunkie247
Table by Plymouth

The man sighed and rolled his eyes at her childish response to being cornered by the facts. Yeesh, he was just tryin' ta help. Oh well, let her go hungry, see if he cared. No skin off his nose anyways. Watching with amusement as she once more stepped in the water and gazed into her own shadow, Jouko stifled a small laugh, biting his paw to make himself keep it in. It was sort of endearing how hilariously stubborn the girl was, the way she moved so defiantly as if she could just will herself to succeed despite entering the situation all wrong, then not wanting to be told she was wrong. She was like a pup who did what you told them not to. Frustrating, but still cute enough for you to not just walk away.

He watched a while, gazing at the woman who he could see was puffing up like a volcano about to burst right before she snapped. Watching her calmly Jouko lifted his brows skyward, rumbling, "I'm afraid I don't have anywhere to be. But I doubt it's just my presence you dislike, now isn't it?" Rising to his paws and stepping into the water on his side of the river, Jouko laughed, "You don't like that I'm right. But, let me guess! You don't want help. That right?" Giving the girl a knowing smile that was sweet as an over ripe strawberry Jouko settled himself a few dozen yards away from her and prepared himself to catch his own meal.

Positioning himself in a way he could stand comfortably for several minutes, with the sun in front of him casting his shadow behind and his breathing silenced the man stood poised to catch the first tasty morsel that crossed his path. He didn't know how miss prideful over there was fairing, but he figured if she didn't want to be around him she'd just go up river or something. Chilly blue eyes flickered side to side, keeping tabs on the little movements he spotted. They were approaching, he'd just need to be patient.

---

"Lucky me..." She grumbled under her breath when the younger male mentioned having nothing else to do. He kept on like an annoying flea that bit at one spot. It was all the more infuriating because he was right. She didn't mind the guy as much as the fact that he kept hitting on all the right things. She didn't want him to be right about however she was going about her fishing but it was likely that he knew a lot more about the subject than she did. There was also the fact that she didn't want his help either. It would just make her the happiest wolf ever if she could catch a fish on her own and rub it in his face. Though even in her stubborn anger she knew that that likely wasn't going to happen. "I'll refer you back to the aforementioned 'bite me'." She glared at him for a moment, watching as he poised himself in the river and waited just as she was doing.

"If I'm doing it wrong then you're doing it wrong too! I don't see anything different in what we're doing!" Except his obviously better form, the fact he wasn't yelling... and the shadow. "I bet you aren't gonna catch anything!" She sneered, but despite her nasty expression she still watched him. Curious despite her irritation with his infuriating words and his sugary sweet voice. How much did he actually know? Besides, if he missed, who would be there to mock him and rub it in if she wasn't watching?

---

260| Jouko | notes

"I Speak!"
I Think...

Wolf by Khalliysgraphy | Textures by Javajunkie247
Table by Plymouth

Sighing softly and shaking his head Jouko fixed her with that pale blue gaze of his and laughed softly, "You're an absolute delight, you know that?" Good thing he was built to deal with shit like this. Little miss snappy was quite a piece of work, though he still found her spirit amusing and surprisingly not too offputting.

He stood watching the water, muscles holding him fixed in position, ready to strike. Flashes of movement at first were sporadic, but with patience and much waiting he saw the brilliant flash of scales more frequently, coming closer and closer as the creatures became more convinced he was simply a part of the scenery and not a predator waiting to scoop one of them up in his jaws. Rolling his eyes once more at her commentary he hissed, "Not so, not so m'dear. Allow me to prove the difference is great."

Scanning the shimmering dark waters, Jouko stood stock still waiting for his chance. Soon his endless patience was rewarded as a large shape darted closer, moving this way and that. When at last it made its way in range Jouko plunged his face into the water, jaws open. Closing his mouth around the unsuspecting fish his fangs sunk deep into the animals flash to keep it from escaping his grasp. Lifting the fish free of the river, Jouko splashed his way towards shore, head held high with his prize and movements conveying the satisfaction he felt at this victory. Now he just had to kill the squirming, flopping, flailing fish that seemed bent on smacking it's way free.