The little sprout had never in his whole entire life been so near so many giants. He crept along in the shadows, his bright browns blending seamlessly into the dark. No one could see him. There wasn’t as many trees as he would have liked, and when he had been forced to fonder around in the mud like giants, he hadn’t been too pleased.

He made his way to the lake, well he wasn’t much of a fisher, he was also fearless and his almost drown/eaten by a crocodile adventure hadn’t phaised him in the least. In fact, that was twice in the past season he had almost drowned. Couldn’t forget the stint with the Sea Cows.

He paused in astonishment as he saw the lion by the shore, clearly setting up for fishing. The wolves around her didn’t even seem fussed about the great huge honking beast in their midst. This world sometimes felt like it was tipping on its head.

Shaking his muzzle in surprised amusement, the little ninja made his way towards the lioness. His steps where cautious, poised to flee up the nearest tree if it looked like she was going to attack. “Oh ghee whizz, what did they feed you?” he asked as he got the full look at her size. He came to a slightly skittish stop near her and looked down at the water. “Mind sharing this spot?” if he was lucky. All the other silly giants wouldn’t wanna go near the lioness, and she would keep them a good space of water clear for fishing.

Without waiting for an answer he crept closer to the water, and dived half his body into it in an attempt to catch a fish. He flailed for a moment as he pulled his little body back to the shore, and shook the water from his coat. Just because he couldn’t swim, didn’t mean he wasn’t diving in head first. Gotta give the competition your all, eh?

Cannival was staring at the water as the small voice piped up. The lioness turned to face the newcomer, but her gaze did not fall upon any wolf. Her brow furrowed as she wondered where the sound might have come from, but then he continued to speak and she realized he was down. "Oh, wow." She remarked, taken back. "What didn't they feed you?" He was the tiniest wolf she'd ever seen, smaller even then the near-yearlings living in Abaven. He asked if she might share her area, and the lioness gave a wordless gesture towards the lake to invite him in.

She watched carefully as he made his first attempt, his small body splashing into the water after his strike. He flailed for a moment, then drug himself back to shore. Cannival blinked in amazement at his method, stepping towards him awkwardly. "Uhh, I might be able to help with that." She offered, voice kind. The tiny wolf did not move to avoid her grasp, and so with his permission she let her jaws close around his back the same way she'd pick up a cub, being exceedingly careful not to bite too hard. Once he was secure, she walked him to the waters edge and leaned her neck down so that the small wolf's body dangled just above the surface.

While she held him there, she made her own attempt at fishing. Her mouth was taken, and so she balanced herself upon one forepaw and let the other swipe at the water to catch the fish lurking below.

It was weird, standing in the shadows of the lion. He felt he would have to be careful, least she stand on him unknowingly. On the bright side, she looked as sturdy as a tree, and he felt he could scale her leg and hide between her ears if he needed to. In fact it was just like having a movable tree nearby. He doubted anyone would easily take on this tree-trunk cat. Maybe he ought to slide on by closer to her and stick around during this scary festival business. If he asked really nicely, maybe she would let him perch on her back so he didn’t get trodden on by these clumsy silly mud-rolling giant creatures.

With that in mind, when he watched her flailing fishing attempt, and made a suggestion, he wasn’t about to turn her down. In light of befriending the cat tree, he gave her a nod and stood rigidly as her fangs went close to him. This was probably one of those things his sister would call a bad move but then... she was no fun, so what did she know.

He let out an eeep as she lifted him into the air, before clearing his throat and trying to look appropriately ruggedly and tough. He held him above the water, and was able to balance herself as she fished with a paw. Oh wow, this was like some twisted version of fishing from an overhanging tree branch. Only.. the tree branch hung onto him! Only in the giants world could things get this world. in the land of the giants, tree branch hang on you!

He curled his feet inwards so they didn’t dip into the water, until he saw fish swimming by, then he released them and tried to sort of push them closer to his mouth so he could attempt to bite them and pull them free of the water.

Cannival felt awkward holding this little wolf in her mouth - a total stranger and he'd let her wrap her jaws around him. How very weird. He didn't seem at all bothered by the help though, and she could see around his small body as he tried to grapple some fish towards himself. She helped with his attempts by lowering his front end so that there wasn't so much distance to scoop the things from the water to his mouth, and once he'd caught one she'd swing him back closer to the shore with ample room to drop the thing. At the same time, she'd throw her own fish held in her paw onto the ground.

Once he was ready again, she moved back to the shore. Readying herself she balanced once more and swatted again at the water, feeling for the distinctive scales that adorned the fish. To someone who might be watching, this was probably the weirdest sight they'd see all day. Cannival hoped no festival staff might wander by and reprimand her for trying to eat a festival-goer.

The lion - which, without a name, he was forced henceforth to refer to as cat-tree, did seem to be trying to help him. Her easy attitude at assisting a fellow festival goer endeared him to her, and gave him some hope. He was definitely going to be asking her if he could stick around, and use her as a safety zone. Because, really, who wanted to be crawling around in the mud like those smelly giants?

Not that cat tree was a smelly giant, she was something different. Besides, she was made for climbing too, that had to give her points in coolness (so long as she wasn’t climbing up his tree to eat him)

She helped position him so he could push a fish into his mouth, and it surprisingly worked. Once he had a little scaly beast in his maw, she brought him back to shore, and he could deposit the dead slimy thing on the earth, before she was bringing them back over the water again. He did the same trick again in an attempt to catch another fish, before speaking. “Ya-know, if I stood on your head, I could see what fish are around for the both of us.” he slyly suggested as he began Master Plan Implement Cat Tree.

The tiny thing spoke up again, and Canni pulled back from the shore to listen. He suggested a new tactic, and she took a moment to consider his words. It was true, he could see more fish from atop her head but then how was he to reach the water to catch any? It wasn't fair to take his help and not have him get tickets in return. Canni was taller then the shore, if he struggled from the edge of the water he'd surely struggle atop her head.

A thought came to her then, and she placed the small wolf onto the ground. Carefully, she surveyed the nearby area, looking for an area shallow enough to stand. She only needed to move a few paces off to find a place off the shore where she could stand but still was deep enough for fish to swim past. The lioness stepped into the water- shivering briskly at the chill - and moved her head towards him. "If you hop on now, you should be able to fish off my back and still see more of the lake for us both to hunt in."

As she spoke she stood perfectly still, and she felt something brush past her legs. Her head dipped into the water suddenly to try to catch the thing, and then withdrew to face him once more - allowing her head to be a stepping stone onto her back. "Oh, my name is Cannival."

He wiggled a little to try and look up at the wolf that held him, trying to gauge her thoughts on his words. He sighed sadly when she put him back on the sand and moved a few paces off. Aw man, he had offended cat-tree.

She moved deeper into the water, and he knew she had effectively gotten away from him. His swimming was so sub-par she could laugh at his flailing around and shoot off easily. Heck, she could walk off easily well he was ‘swimming’

Instead, the kind, sweet, cat-tree moved her head towards him and invited him to hop on. “Oh gee whizz, really?” he said, immediately bouncing to his full, impressive height and giving her a broad, happy grin.

His paws where tiny so jumping from the ground wasn’t easy, he backed up a little to give himself a running start, and bounced a couple steps across the sand before jumping, and landing on her head. He almost slipped right off her head was wet after all, but he managed to get a paw around her neck and hauled himself on.

He let himself slid down her neck and land on her back, and look at the water on each side. He balanced himself well, walking across her back like it was flat solid ground. “Just like home” he said happily, as he gave his living tree-branch a pat. “I’m Ramesh, but you can call me Ra” he said, before dipping his head under the water in an attempt to snag a fish. He came back out again, spitting out salt water and shaking his head. Who signed him up for fishing again?

The small spunky wolf seemed overjoyed at her offer, and as he clambered onto her face and then back the lioness was reminded of her sweet friend Motif. She let out a sigh of longing, eyes shutting for a moment before pulling back open at his words. "It's nice to meet you." The lioness responded politely. She noticed the way his feet moved carefully on her back as if he'd done it a million times before - his balance was perfect. "Have you done this before?" She asked, curious. What other explanation could there be for this tiny thing to be so practiced at standing atop a lioness?

He seemed to do well with his own fish-capades, and so Cannival turned her attention back to the water. She watched carefully as the fish swam by, deliberately not going for the first few simply so she didn't scare all of them away before Ramesh could get his own. Once the fish were swimming relaxed around her legs, she pushed her muzzle into the water to try and catch one.

He grinned, tilting his head to the side as he looked over at the lioness. “Naw, not this exactly.” he admitted. “I’m a-” pause his sister had gotten real unhappy the last time he had sprouted what he was to a stranger. But, oh, who was he kidding. “-A Songa, we live in the trees.” he explained, strolling back and forth along her back like it was the easiest thing in the world. The curve of her body reminded him of a nice thick tree branch, and well she was wet, he compensated for the slip easily enough.

He could be clumsy as anything on the ground, but trees was what he was made for, and that included Cat-tree. “This festival is a right hoot isn’t it? A shame it’s all on the ground, makes it real hard for a mighty warrior to get around those bumbling giants.” he explained, before pausing again. “Not you, your built for trees too, like me.” he moved along her back again, before striking out at the water. He looked a lot more confident now that he was standing on the equivalent of a tree branch hanging out over the water.

Wolves who lived in trees? The idea was baffling, and Cannival's curiosity was peaked. "That's incredible." She responded thoughtfully, picturing a race of dozens of tiny ninja wolves hoping from branch to branch like a squirrel. "I don't mind the ground, it's not always easy to find a tree that can hold my weight - unlike you, of course. I'm sure you could climb a twig if you put your mind to it."

She dipped her head once more, letting the water part around her muzzle until a fish came close enough to strike at. Pulling back, she wanted to keep asking questions. "How many of you are there? I've never seen a wolf so small before." That was a lie, she'd seen pups his size but the lioness felt that if she compared him to a child he might be offended... regardless of how child-like he seemed to be.

He puffed up a little as she said how incredible it was, she sounded curious and intrigued. She said she liked the ground, which surprised him. But maybe it made sense with the size she was. Still, he couldn’t ever picture himself picking ground over sky. There was a freedom to flying through the trees, and invincibility. No matter how strong and scary those bumbling giants where they could never catch him in the trees.

“Yeah, well, at least I don’t break everything” he grumbled, before flicking her a grin to show he wasn’t really offended with the short joke. “Well my sister must have gotten some of them tall genes, she's not as short as I am. We’re a whole people in the trees, there's lots of us, but we don’t normally go too far from home.” he explained, puffing up his chest proudly.

He took his cue from her and made his next attempt at fishing as well, snapping at fish that came by with lazy ease.

Cannival chuckled quietly, thoroughly enjoying the little sprout's company. She looked back to him as he grumbled, catching his grin to ensure to her that he was not offended. "Well, I feel like unless your sister is three times your size that it's less of her getting a 'tall gene' and more lacking in the 'short gene' department." It was funny how he spoke like the 'giants' of the world were merely unnatural, and that it was his height that was how wolves were meant to be. Shaking her head in amusement, she leaned down towards the water to snatch at another fish with her maw.

Coming back up again, she continued her line of questioning. "So, what are you doing so far from home then?" She asked with renewed interest. "Just couldn't resist the draw of the festival? Did your sister come, too?"

He snorted, amused at the way she praised it. “Yeah, true. She’s not anything like those giants” he agreed. He just liked teasing her for her height, when Songa usually prided themselves on their short stature. Of course, that didn’t stop his sister from calling him a shorty.

He spoke to Canni like she wasn’t anything like those giants, she was a cat after all, and a creature of both worlds, trees and ground. He could respect that. “I need to get the best trophy ever to come back home with, to prove my worth. But also, yes, I liked the idea of the festival.” he agreed. After all, the thoughts went hand in hand. Maybe he would get some real neat prize from all this, and he could flaunt that back home. “She didn’t, but then she doesn’t like fun.” Ramesh explained. “How come your a lion at a wolf festival?” he asked back. She seemed really comfortable in the presence of wolves.

He did a little circle on her back as he eyed the water, watching the fish swam as he spoke. When he saw one coming near by his make shift tree, he lunged at it.

Cannival raised a brow at his words. So he came here to get a trophy to take home? It made sense, Cannival was sure the tiny thing couldn't take down a real predator for a true trophy to be proud of. She wondered if they found shed antlers or something on the ground to take back to craft, surely their main source of prey was nothing but rabbits and baby deer, right? She nodded thoughtfully as he spoke on his prize.

"If you bring back something from here I'm sure you'll be the talk of the trees." The lioness commented happily, continuing to watch the water. "I'm living with a pack in the south right now, a few of them came up here and I decided rather then stay back at the castle that I'd come along. To be honest though, I'm trying to avoid some people while I'm here." Her eyes darted to the side, as if Shaye or Motif might sneak up at any minute. "Maybe you could help me." She added thoughtfully.

Another fish swam by, and Cannival took no time in lunging into the water after it. Her face was beginning to get cold from the repeated dips into the lake, and she shook her head as best as she could without letting the movement run down her back and dislodge the wolf.

“Maybe” he said cooly as she mentioned being the talk of the trees. She already spoke like a Songa, which made him grin. Instead, he said, almost slyly. “It’s going to be hard to beat that Jagaur I tore out of the trees and skinned, but I’m hoping I can manage” he boosted, eyeing her sideways. Would she be upset that ‘he’ had killed a big cat? Of course, it wasn’t the whole story, but it was close enough to it, right?

“Oh?” he asked, thoughtful and curious. “Well ghee, I mean I couldn’t help you if I was down on the ground, these giants all look the same to me here” he said, definitely a lot more slyly this time. He had a feeling the two of them could come to an arrangment.

He balanced himself, pushing his weight back and forth as Cannival shook herself, and wasn’t bothered the least by it. He waited until the tidal wave of moving cat was done, before he made his next fishing attempt.

Cannival was incredulous once more. "You? You took down a jaguar?" She grinned, turning her head to look at him and see if he was kidding. "No way. A little thing like you? I could step on you and-" She made a noise that sounded like a 'squish' with her mouth, which devolved into a chuckle. "You'll have to show me your hunting style sometime." Though it was a laughable mental picture, the lioness was indeed curious at how he managed to down a big cat. All she could picture was 30 tiny ninja wolves overwhelming the poor jaguar until it suffocated beneath their small fuzzy bodies.

"Well no, you wouldn't be on the ground." She continued. "I'd need you up high by my head, scouting for the people I'm avoiding so I can run if they might spot me." A sly grin. "But you'd have to be able to hold on tight, I ca n run quite fast." Once more she looked back to her fishing. The swimming blobs were all starting to look the same now, and Cannival thought decidedly that she wouldn't be having fish for dinner for many months after this. Once more her face dipped into the water- with less enthusiasm as the other attempts -to try to catch a fish.

“look, cat tree, we have an art to fighting from the trees. Me and my sis, we fought an alligator that was attacking those sea cows she likes. So we ran along the branches, jumped, swiped, we took out his eye ” he boosted, making a squishing sound himself, getting lost in his tale. He was grinning widely, his tail flicking easily behind him. He was making gestures with his paws almost like a red-panda might.

“Heck yeah! We should go hunting after all this is over, Mountain.” he agreed happily. He had never hunted with a large cat before, and it was going to be epic

“I can hold on! Haven’t you seen me hold on?” he said, eagerly, landing his paws back on her fur again and shaking out his coat. This was officially the best adventure of all time. ‘You just tell me who your avoiding, i’ll teach you how to be a ninja” he promised her.

Still as enthusiastic as his first time, the small sprout lay flat on the cat, tail swishing behind him as he crept forward, and made to snag a fish from the water.

The enthusiasm this wolf gave off was enough to excite Cannival, too. She felt like she was back talking to the little ones in Abaven, hearing their stories and promising rides and fun times galore. This wolf might as well have been a yearling for his size and attitude, and Cannival decidedly loved him like she loved all children. "Sounds like fun." She said genuinely, a warm smile coming over her face.

"We can hunt something big and you can show me how you take it down tiny-terror style." A laugh, and then a small pause. "I'm avoiding Abaven wolves. One is a HUGE wolf alpha female, she's grey and black and blueish. She keeps feathers behind her ears. The other is a little pup, but the same coloring. If you see them I need to run far and fast away."

It was a good plan, and Cannival was overjoyed to have met the little friend. With renewed vigor she threw her muzzle back into the lake, hoping to latch onto a nearby fish.

He liked her interest in his style, the more people he could inspire fear in, the better, right? And once she realised how dangerous a small, easily concealed ninja in the trees could be, she would be stepping cautiously for the rest of her days. Grinning at that thought, the tiny warrior gave his tail another flick, and cast his eyes back to the water.

“You got it, boss!” he said after describing the wolves she was trying to avoid. “So what did you do, steal their lunch or something?’ he asked, curious. Surely she wasn’t afraid of some wolf and her pup. “You know, if you want me to stick bees in their beds just ask.” he offered with a friendly smile, like he wasn’t promising mischief.

At least she was showing more enthusiasm with her fishing now, and Ramesh would dart after another fish, running down the length of her back as it swam by, and almost diving after it. He almost fell it, but luckily he was able to catch himself in the fur of her coat.

Cannival let out a hearty laugh at his proposal, ending the sound in what was almost a sigh of exasperation. "No, no. They're friends of mine. I feel guilty because I left them without saying anything, and I'm not quite ready to face them yet. Not until I'm prepared to return home." It was the short version of the story, but it worked for Canni.

She needed to make at least one more attempt at fishing, and so she waited to find the biggest fish she could. Seeing one that might be properly sized, she dipped her face after it into the water and prayed her bite struck gold.