koi wolves fishing ISN'T cannibalism
Marauder
Bloodletter
Dove Island Kuroki wasn't much of a craftsman. His toes were fairly dexterous, and his talons made cutting and trimming easy but he just didn't have the patience for it. He found no joy in slowly chipping away at a project, at putting in time and effort and not getting immediate results. Instant gratification was where it was at, he lived for the here and now. Damn the consequences that lurked further down the road, he was a prince for crying out loud. To hell with it all. All that being said, Kuroki didn't hate fishing. Sure, maintaining the nets and casting them out was more effort than he'd like but it was well worth the reward. He didn't care what anyone said, seafood was the shit and the more he ate, the happier he was. Even he realised it'd be a waste not to eat their fill, since Ashen had more shoreline than what they knew to do with. Crafting on a scale like this wasn't really something he could, or even felt like, doing alone and so he tipped his head back and let out a casual call for his siblings. He doubted Take would show up, he rarely did as silent as he was, but he figured at least one of his sisters would trot on by. As he waited he padded his way down the beach, dark paws already stained yellow with sand as he dragged up one of the many nets that had been left on the shore. It was torn in places, strewn with tangled seaweed and loose bits of fish bone. From the looks of it, it had been deployed on another island but had washed up after a rough storm, with the anchors that had it set up on the shore long gone. Probably sunk at the bottom of the bay. With a grunt he began ripping off the seaweed, hoping to get a better look at the damage, to see whether it was worth salvaging or scrapping. Hooking them with his talon he flicked them aside carelessly, his tongue clicked against his teeth as he found a splintered rod of drift wood tangled in the centre. What a pain. |
![[Image: jCtsUWy.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/jCtsUWy.gif)
Contrary to his sibling, Takeshi didn’t mind the tediousness that came with crafting. He often spent time with his quiet sister, Ikigai, practicing their penmanship or tinkering with jewelry or other things for her. As much as he loved his siblings, all but Iki could be rather loud, which had been triggering his migraines. They also preferred to do things outside of the palace, where the young prince had been restricted for several months to be monitored by his grandmother.
Luckily, he’d been migraine free for several weeks as he’d adapted to his horn growth and he’d been able to venture outside of the palace more often. So, when his brother let out a call for his siblings, the glowing boy was quick to head in his direction. He streaked between the islands in a glowing red and black blur, the thundering of his heavy paws unabashedly announcing his arrival. He could be quite adept at hiding his presence if he so desired, but he wanted his sibling to know he was ready to help.
The boy let out a chuff of greeting to his rambunctious only brother, blood red gaze lowering curiously at the netting that was interwoven at the other’s talon-toed paws. His white dotted brows rose in question as he looked to him, head tilting to the side. His paws moved quickly across the sand, writing “fishing?” at their feet. Take could certainly go for some sushi as well. He moved across from Oki, leaning his head down to grab a strand of the netting and pulling to try and untangle the web that was surrounding the splintered piece of driftwood, trying his best not to get splinters in his gums in the process.
![[Image: takechibisig.png]](https://i.ibb.co/4m9pdKg/takechibisig.png)
She didn’t let how much it bothered her show, she wore a happy grin as she raced to meet her brothers. Mismatched paws carried her to Take’s side as she leaned into her larger brother. While she was thin and lithe much like her mother, both brothers were built far more sturdy. She was a mix of the two of them, she wasn’t as talented as Take but she had far more patience than Oki to get things done. This thrashed netting was no different. Living on an island chain she was no stranger to food of the sea, and all the beneficial oils made her coat gleam.
"What can I help with, Oki?” She asked sweetly as she fondled the damaged netting.
Kuroki was honestly a little surprised when Take arrived on the scene. For the longest time he'd kept himself stowed away in the depths of the palace and showed very little interest in joining Oki on his misadventures. That was fine and all, Kuroki liked mischief enough to go it alone, but the months stretched on and on till it felt like it had been a lifetime since the Ashen Dragon had actually gone outside. And yet here he now was, standing tall and broad as he wordlessly asked what was needed of him. Well helping him untangle this mess of a net was the place to start. He pulled back to say as much just as Ike stumbled onto the scene, some things never changed. Kuroki snorted, watching her fumble about had always been amusing to him. He shuffled along with the netting bundled in his mouth and flapped it out so it laid a bit more flat on the sand, giving the siblings each a section to work on. Using his talons again he finally managed to dislodge the stick and tossed it aside, hoping it would hit Take. Just cause. He then began knotting the torn sections of net together, filling in the holes as he bunched up the strings. It was messy but as long as it filled the gape he didn't care. "Yeah. Figured we could untangle this, do some repairs then toss it out. Saw a dark shadow in the water earlier" He grinned so wide his sabres protruded a little."Ya think it's a shark?" |
Take could tell that Oki was surprised by his appearance and he couldn’t exactly blame him. The Ashen Dragon’s presence had been scarce and it seemed like his siblings hadn’t quite understood the full extent of his illness and how much it had crippled him. It didn’t help that he couldn’t verbalize his struggles to them.
Ike showed up, her big paws and gangly legs making her seem like a young fawn just learning how to walk. All of his sisters were beautiful and he’d fight anyone who said otherwise, from regal Iki, to fiery and brazen Kit, to charming and down to earth Ike. Sure she was a bit awkward at that moment, but he knew she’d grow into herself. He just wished it didn’t bother her so much. She leaned into his glowing, scaled side and he rumbled in greeting, turning his head to offer a bump to her cheek.
Oki confirmed what he’d suspected; that he was trying to repair the net in order to do a little fishing. The mischievous Abraxas tossed a piece of wood he’d untangled from the netting at Take, who ducked to the side and wrinkled his nose at his brother. At the mention of a shark, the glowing princeling bared his teeth and clicked them together a few times as if he were mimicking a shark with their many rows of sharp teeth. Then, he leaned down to continue untangling some of the sections from debris. Oki and Ike would likely be better than him at fixing the netting itself with their long, dextrous claws. He’d just do what he could to help.
Oki spoke about his plans, vaguely glancing over the repair part and quickly getting quite literally to the meat of the matter. There was possibly a shark out there. Ike’s eyes widened in surprise as she picked up a bit of the net and began to follow her brother’s lead, but maybe a little prettier than his. Even then she had to try really hard to get it to work. Her clumsiness spilled over to her paws as she patched two parts of the net back together. She could barely hold the conversation and her concentration deepened.
"I hope so. I want to try shark.” She commented while her tongue was sticking out of her mouth, visual proof of her efforts.
Kuroki sniggered in devious delight, more than a little smug knowing his siblings were willing to play along. The last thing he wanted was one of them to turn tail and tattle to their parents. As far as Kuroki was concerned they weren't doing anything wrong, really they were helping bring food to Ashen's table. Wasn't that awfully generous of them? It wasn't every day royalty hopped down from the almighty perch to do work of the common folk, or something equally as snooby. Unfurling the last few tangles on his section, Kuroki stretched out the net to test its strength. Some parts were still frayed and a little loose but as a whole it was in far better condition than before. All they really needed was for it to be strong enough to get the shark all stuck with nowhere to escape, their teeth and claws would do the rest. Raising it up, the Ashen prince gave his part one last look over before concluding he was done with a nod. "Aight that should do it, help me cast it out." |
The siblings all quickly went to work, Oki moving surprisingly quickly and Iki doing well..her best. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she tied and knotted and untied to the best of her ability. Sometimes he swore he could see her pink tongue sticking out of her mouth and he felt an amused smirk curl onto the corners of his dark lips. He really did have an adorable little sister.
Once everything had been fixed and preened to make it appropriate to use, the trio stood up to prepare to cast. It wasn’t the first time the Ashen princling had done something like this. After all, he lived on an entire archipelago. His entire life had involved him surrounded by water. The boy grabbed a section of the netting in his teeth and waited for his brother to do the same. It was really a 2 wolf job and, while Ike was starting to catch up to them in size, both boys had more muscle and height and it would make it easier for them to cast the net once they waded further into the water.
The tall princess lifted herself to her paws, taking the smaller section of the net. She wasn’t blind and at least Take looked like he was more than willing to carry a heavier share. She grinned at her brothers as she stood ready, the netting draping from her lips.
Wading out into the water, Kuroki dragged his section out and paused as he looked over at Ike, more than willing to help with her share if need be. Yeah yeah, he knew being a girl didn't make her weak or nothing but what was wrong with him wanting to look out for his sisters? Nothing, if you asked him. Was just knee-jerk reaction by that point, like if nothing else he'd look out for family wherever he could. Scooping up a heavy stone from beneath the waves, Kuroki pressed it atop the bottom section of his net to weigh it down, so it wouldn't give their prey any room to swim underneath. Now came the fun part. "If anyone loses any toes or part of their tail...don't tell mum." He asked, paddling to stay afloat in the water, eyes stuck on the dark shadow. "I'm goin' in." And then he dipped beneath the surface, intent on driving the shark towards their net. |
Take loved to see his sister so eager and happy. The smile that lit up her face simply by helping carry the net made his heart lighter. Truly, the large boy was a simp for his sisters who had him wrapped around their pretty little paws. He knew she felt out of place, seeing as her limbs were a bit more gangly than the rest of them, but he knew that she would grow into them beautifully, all she would have to do was wait and see.
Which was similar to what they were doing at that point. Takeshi’s brows rose at his brother’s comment and he instinctively lifted his tail to arch over his back, wriggling his paws to make sure they were all there. He almost protested when his sibling put the rock down to steady his portion, but the boy had already doven in before he could utter a sound. His glowing red gaze looked sideways toward his sister, an unspoken message of disbelief and slight amusement lingering there as he held his portion of the net in his teeth, waiting for his brother to do his portion.