By some miraculous stroke of luck, Nami was not in fact dying. Maybe she hadn't been at all - the symptoms had been strange and overwhelming but not necessarily painful, and she wondered if whatever illness she'd been afflicted with had made her not think too clearly. Either way it seemed like her sickness had broken all at once, at the first sign of sunlight creeping over the horizon. Slowly the thoughts began to ease up and the ooze began to slow, and when she woke up today she finally felt like herself again. Finally. It'd been so long since she'd felt even a little normal and feeling like her health was finally back, well, it was a breath of fresh air.

She spent the morning heading south, no longer avoiding the water as she had been. Strangely she'd found herself compelled to swim deeper and deeper and - she shook those dark thoughts from her mind with a flick of her head as she neared the edge of the water. Not the type to dwell much on the past, Nami was determined to do the same now, even if it was quite possibly better to reflect on what all she'd gone through. Now she was simply happy to breathe in the fresh air without coughing, and to feel the first gentle tickle of sunlight on her face as she faced the horizon and let her eyes close, basking in the world that was slowly returning to life once again.

Rudyard was sick of resting and waiting on his body to slowly heal.  He had started trying to spar again but he had a long way to go.  The missing toes and missing tail were throwing off his balance and he didn’t have the strength built back up for the stamina, strength, and quick turns in hunting.  Rudy was fighting an inner demon that had nothing to do with the recent sickness.  The haunting feeling of having been a victim, the realization he had been helpless in the end.  The nightmares that remained when the sickness ended and Rudy was just glad he didn’t share his den with anyone so they wouldn’t know.

He wanted to be useful again so even if he couldn’t take down deer or even rabbits then at least he could catch some fish.  The shimmering shore was a spot that had pleasant memories and only a rock’s kick away from the official pack line.  It was a surprise when he reached the beach he spotted another wolf a short ways off.  Who was this so close to his home.  Rudy didn’t go close to the wolf right away, quietly just watching her as she watched the horizon.  The motley wolf remained still for several minutes before moving towards her.  They weren’t that far from home even though she wasn’t on their turf.  Might as well see who it was.  Rudy paid attention to how he walked, focusing on making sure there was no sign of a limp or hesitancy to use one leg.  His paw was still sensitive to the touch on the ground, whether it was real or a phantom pain was unknown nor did it matter.

He was self-conscious of the lack of his tail, imagining how sad of a sight it looked.  Rudy had never realized how much he had cared about his appearance but now that there had been changes his mind imagined the entire world noticing.  His eyes flicked to the water even as he approached, watching for the sparkling scales dancing under the water’s surface.  He spotted the promise of food, at least he wouldn’t need to backtrack after meeting her.  The fish seemed in good supply today which had him wonder if they had also been affected for the temporarily-eternal night.  "Hello," he spoke up as he neared the stranger, "Can't say I've seen you around here before."

"Speech"

Life was good. Nami genuinely couldn't complain, despite not feeling fully like herself yet. She had no doubt she'd get there before long. With the sun's slow appearance and the feeling of the ocean wind tickling her nose, she felt alive again - and the approach of another wolf helped her mood lift. Though she'd felt quite lonely during her sickness, torn between wanting to stay away from others so she wouldn't infect them and being desperate for help, now she felt much less uneasy in the presence of others - though the thought of scaring someone quickly made her hold back her normally overwhelming friendliness.

Still she flashed the yearling a grin as he approached, her small nub of a tail wagging in a steady rhythm behind her, sending bits of sand flying. She wondered if perhaps he'd been unwell too; she wouldn't pry though, knowing she didn't want to talk much about how she'd fared recently. She'd rather focus on getting better and making the most of the time she'd been given. "Hello there!" Nami greeted him, no lack of friendliness in her voice. "I'm Nami. I'm new to these parts, actually," she admitted, sounding a little winded. It'd been awhile since she'd really talked to anyone, after all. "I was thinking of fishing a little bit - looks like this beach is good fishing," she observed eagerly. The sand itself wasn't the only thing glimmering, and she watched as small fish danced close to the shoreline, as if begging them to dive in.

She was acting friendly enough so Rudy would go with that pretense. As she was talking about the fishing Rudy couldn’t help but notice her tail, his own tiny puff of a tail remaining twitching hesitantly seeing someone else lacking in that area.  Rudy realized she’d stopped talking a second ago and he was stupidly looking towards her tail.  Awkward.

“Sorry, and yes, the fishing is really good here.  More so now that things are better.” Rudy doubted he needed to specify what was ‘better’.   “I was planning to do a bit of fishing as well so.” That said as he waded into the water, eyes watching the shiny fish darting about.  “Um, can I ask something really unrelated?”  Rudy launched his head in the water, a fish started to come up but he’d only got a bit of the fin so it fell back in.  The motley grey wolf shook the water off his muzzle, “I was just wondering, did you hurt your tail or has it always been like that?” Might be a personal question, might not but Rudy was asking.

His eyes were still on the fish though so whatever look she might give him would be missed.  Couldn’t let it be obvious how curious he was after all and, he did want to catch some fish.

Rudyard Carpathius

Nami didn't seem to notice his staring, distracted by the vast stretch of sand and water that lay beyond it. If anything was destined to brighten her mood it was a little swim or a bit of fishing, and she was determined to do just that, even if this stranger - what was his name, anyway? - didn't want to join her. "Guess we're fishing together then," she half-suggested, half-asked. Rudyard seemed friendly enough, and at this point she'd take practically any company she could get, especially the amiable sort. Slowly she followed him, content to feel the cool water licking the pads of her paws. Before long she felt it lapping against her belly, and her pale gaze slowly drifted along the surface of the water, quietly searching.

"Of course - only if I get your name, though," Nami suggested with a playful grin. His next question caught her slightly off guard, and she nodded, ready for his question. "Yes, of course," she started. Well, at least she'd thought she'd been prepared for it, but when it came she faltered slightly, jaw unhinging as she paused and searched for the words. "I, well - had a bit of an accident when I was young. Shark attack," she admitted, sounding a bit hesitant. It wasn't among her favorite memories but she liked to think it spoke of her resilience, though at the time she'd been told it was a reminder of her recklessness. "Hasn't slowed me down any. What about you?" Gesturing slightly toward him, she shifted her attention back to the water once she saw a flash of light zooming beneath the surface. Lurching forward, her jaws parted as aimed for the fish below. Ultimately she had to plunge beneath the surface, holding her breath as she skillfully snatched up one of the fish, emerging soaking wet and beaming with the fish between her jaws.

Had he forgotten to give his name?  Rudy could sometimes forget those minor details and just expect someone to know it when there was no reason they would. “Rudyard Carpathius, most just call me Rudy.”  Rudy spoke with his eyes on the water, watching the silver shapes as they’d seem still one moment only to dart the moment he even bent a leg a bit too much.  Rudyard could catch fish but it often involved several attempts before he succeeded.  Rudy had been starting to get better before his injury.

The motley grey wolf darted his head in the water but came up empty glaring at the water. “Shark?” Rudy tried searching his memory but the best he could come up with was ‘big fish’.  “What do they look like? Never seen one, just a big fish right?” What about him and his tail?  “Its uh, recent.  I guess short summary is I lost a fight and they took a victory prize.” The words came out choked and to hide his expression he lunged for the next fish he saw.  Amusingly the attempt to bite a fish that involved almost no aim was the one where a fish was kind enough to be right there anyway.  Rudy grabbed a slippery silver fish out of the water, a feeling of satisfaction at the one fish.

Rudyard Carpathius

"Rudy," she repeated his name with a grin, liking the way it sounded on her tongue - short and sweet, like the names traditionally given in her family. "I like it. Our names rhyme," Nami added with a short little laugh as she waded out further into the water. It felt nice to be back here, watching the fish as they darted around in the shallows, seemingly oblivious to the potential danger that lay just ahead of them. Fishing was her life, and if her fear of water had remained she wasn't sure what she'd do with herself - she couldn't imagine a life away from the sea. Perhaps it wouldn't have been worth living at all. But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind, not one to focus on the past for any longer than she had to. There was too much to look forward to in the future.

He'd never seen a shark before. Lucky guy. She wouldn't complain if she never encountered one again, though it hadn't deterred her from the ocean any, nor had it made her any more wary; she was probably more foolish than brave for that one. "They're... sorta like real big, nasty fish. They have sharp teeth, too. Not the sort of creatures you want to mess around with. You'd know one if you saw one," she explained, giving a serious nod. Rudy went on to explain he'd lost his tail in a fight too - she looked sympathetic as she gazed over at him before returning to her task at hand.

When she emerged with a fish clasped between her jaws, she tossed it back to short before wading back in. "Truthfully? You don't really need a tail anyway. Life's kinda been better without it. It only got in the way before," Nami informed him, sounding serious, not simply trying to make him feel better. That was simply how she looked at life in general, with a strange amount of optimism no matter what situation came her way. She couldn't help it, and nothing had changed her positive outlook so far, not even the ooze.