With boldness as his ally, luck as a friend, and curiosity as his guiding star Nico had found himself exploring further south.  He’d traveled for a little while with Oscar but the donkey was a member of a herd so there was a point at which they parted ways.  Nico had promised to return and visit once he was done exploring.  Nico’s magpie was his lookout, alerting him if any that threats to avoid or hide from.  Taiga had taught him all about hunting so he was a pro now!  Also, he’d eat anything including fruits or scraps others left behind.

So the pup had made his way down south until he saw something amazing.  Nico had never seen a beach before and he gaped at the endless water. After he was done staring for a few minutes at the water he glanced down at the strange sand he stood on. It was gritty and black and kinda gave a bit under his weight like mud would.  Nico slowly moved to where the water met the sand, tapping a paw into it curiously.

Echo, the magpie, landed on the coyote pup's head and pruned a few feathers as it made a loud note of distaste.  There weren’t trees right there to relax in.  Nothing but sand and water which wasn’t the bird's preference.  

“If you don’t like it go find a tree somewhere,” Nico huffed.  With that, the pup started walking along the edge of the beach, the bottom of his feet sometimes in water and sometimes just sand as the waves came and went.  There became a point he stopped, a scent to be cautious of coming to him.  With the sting of salt in the air he hadn’t noticed it till almost on top of the wolves' boundary lines.  He wasn’t so foolish as to pass the edge but he wasn’t so smart as to run straight away either.

"Nico"

The day is warm but a cool, ocean breeze tickles the pup’s fur. Calico Jack lays sprawled out on his side, stretched as far as his little body can go. A content sigh rumbles past his dark lips as he watches the adults of the pack do… stuff. What stuff they have to do is lost on the pup since his world revolves around eating and sleeping. Well, and now exploring. Small front legs curl inward as a yawn splits the pup’s maw and his head tucks as Jack does a huge stretch, his back toes even point. Oh, that was a good one! Releasing the pose, Calico sits up, resting on his belly and shaking his head as a few, loose granules of sand try to get in his ears.

Now, what to do? As Calico stands, deciding what the day holds for him, a small voice huffs at someone. It sounds like another pup but all his siblings are playing else and not near the border. Head tilts, curiosity pulling the patchwork pup toward this new, strange voice. What greets him is a black and white pup with long ears. Jack has never seen a wolf with ears like that! He needs to get to know this kid. Trotting toward the stranger, Calico Jack calls out, “’Ello! Whatca doin’ over there?” Jack stops at the invisible line that marks the border, knowing that he isn’t supposed to step over it but curious as to what this other pup is doing.


"Calico Jack"

After a bit of time looking at the water and looking past the border into the pack's land Nico started to think it was a bad idea.  This wasn’t a forest or a grassy area he could find a hiding spot if need be.  If a wolf wanted to chase him down there was nowhere for Nico to go.  Not that he was scared of a wolf!  Pride surfaced to debate with sound logic.

“We should go,” the boy finally acknowledged to Echo.

The black and white magpie snapped his beak at Nico’s scruff, it was a great show of agitation yet all it did was move some of the fuzz around.  Echo had no intention of hurting the pup it was traveling with.  To the bird's mind, they made beautiful music together and were grand traveling companions.  Also, not that he would tell Nico but the bird knew the pup was far too young to be alone, and Echo increased the chances of him surviving most likely more than the boy realized.

“Let's go.” The bird responded back.

Even as Nico started to turn, chest and shoulders twisting to face around the boy heard a voice.  He almost ran but then realized how young the voice was.  Glancing back over his shoulder the boy spotted a wolf pup.  Well, that didn’t seem to dangerous nor did he seem to want to eat Nico by the expression.  Well, if he had Nico would show him real fast who the stronger of the two was.

Nico turned about to head toward the other kid.  “I was walkin in the water.  It feels funny with the sand underneath.”  Was this news to the kid or had he already figured out the strangeness of the beach?  “Boy aren’t you a buncha colors,” Nico added on, seeing as the kid wasn’t a coyote eater.  “Bet ya gonna have a hard time sneaking up on your food huh.”

“Let’s go.” Echo tugged on Nico’s ear in a reminder this wasn’t part of the plan.

“Ah Echo, you worry too much.”

This earned Nico a slightly harder tug at the ear.  This time Nico just ignored the bird, more curious about the other pup.

"Niko"

The patchwork pup stands on the invisible border that separates where he can roam from where he is not allowed to go. He calls out to the weird pup near the water’s edge, curious as to why he gets to be out there alone but Jack isn’t allowed to be. Head tilts as he hears the bird speak, ears perking as the strange kid turns to face him. Calico Jack offers the pup a charming smile as the long-eared boy speaks and he barks out a laugh at being called a bunch of colors. With a shake of his skull, the boy calls out, “Why would I want to sneak up on food? It is brought to me. And, if you think I’m a bunch of colors, you should see my siblings.”

A wide grin is on his lips as the bird speaks and the pup tries to calm the flightily beast down. Smoothly, the pup says, “I’m Calico Jack. Want to see a ship?” Eyes dance with excitement as he invites the stranger over the border. Stepping back, he adds, “Ma says it’s okay. The beach is open to anyone.” Icy blue eyes watch the strange looking wolf, curious to find out why his legs and ears look longer than any wolf he has seen.


"Calico Jack"

For a wolf, Jack seemed friendly enough.  He’d always heard about them as dangerous and how they were cruel and killed coyotes for no good reason.  Was it because he was a pup or were some wolves ok and some not ok?  For a pup these were large questions with far too many paths to think along.  Regardless, this one was friendly.

“Well, you gonna change your coat color when ya get bigger? I bet ya folk aren’t planning to bring ya food forever.  I hunt for myself.  I ain’t got anyone to bring me a meal.” The words were said proudly, not mentioning the size of his current prey or the fact he also ate all manner of things aside from what needed hunting.  Those were minor details that didn’t need to be known for the moment.

“No!” Echo answered for Nico the moment Calico suggested going to the ship.  “No.  No.  No.” With each 'no' the magpie poked Nico’s head with his bill.   How was the bird to keep the child alive if he was fooling around with wolves?  Didn’t he understand puppy wolves had parent wolves in the area?

Nico thrashed his head, reaching up a paw to swat away the annoying friend.  “Stop it, stop it you, alright, alright.  I get it.”

The bird quit pecking the moment Nico agreed. Fluffing its feathers in what appeared a sigh of relief.

Nico wanted to go to the ship and he was fairly certain it was a bad idea.  Still, the wolf was offering so it would be ok right?  Was he some coward to run when no one was threatening?  Nico imagined Echo sitting up on his head expecting him to turn around.  “What’s a ship?”  Nico couldn’t even bring anything to mind, there were no hints that came to him from this strange word.  “Is it something fun?”

Stepping over the invisible line, common sense clearly left behind, the coyote pup followed the wolf.  Echo took flight, the magpie swooping overhead with the cry, “no no no no.  On your own!” The bird flew away out of sight.  Nico watched, jaw-dropping for a moment as the magpie flew out of sight.  Shoot, he’d really upset it this time.  Nico’s brow furrowed but a glance to Jack and he nodded, “I wanna see the ship!” whatever that was.  Echo was bound to come back eventually, right?

"Niko"

Calico watches the curious, strange wolf pup, head tilting and brows furrowing when he mentions changing color. The concept of hunting for food is foreign to pup that has only just left his den. Wrinkling his nose, Jack gives a huge shrug of his shoulders and squints at the stranger, asking, “Do pups usually change colors when they get older? Why don’t you have food brought to you? Don’t your ma feed you?” The world is new to Calico Jack that the concept of hunting and orphans is as strange as it is unknown.

The pup’s bird friend screeches its displeasure at Calico Jack inviting the pup across the border and the small pirate pup winces as it pokes the strange wolf pup’s head. Looking to the magpie, Calico offers a smooth, toothy grin and says in his most reassuring voice, “Nothings gonna happen to him little one. I promise. Cross my heart!” The pup scowls in a show of just how serious he is. His right paw lifts to mark an ‘X’ on his chest. With a firm nod, the pup then breaks into another charming smile as he waits for the strange pup to work out what he is going to do.

The pup looks to Jack and he lifts his brows, maw splitting into an excited grin as the stranger asks what a ship is. Stepping back, Calico Jack is ready to show the pup, eager to explain, when the pup and his magpie friend have a small argument. Jack’s eyes round in bewildered worry as the magpie flies away, his gaze worriedly sliding over to the stranger. The pup does not seem worried about it though, asking to see the ship and Calico’s worry melts away as he lets out a happy laugh.

Beckoning the pup to follow him, Jack leads the way further into the pirate’s territory while saying, “A ships a wooden thing that floats on the water. It's cool.” A proud smile pulls at his lips before Calico looks to the pup, curiosity flashing in his eyes, as he says, “Say, what’s your name anyway? If you’re my guest, can I at least know that? Also, why are you… so strange looking? Do many wolves grow up to look like you?” Paws cut a path across the beach as Jack looks to the stranger, eager to learn why he looks the way he does.


"Calico Jack"

“I dunno what wolves do when they get bigger.  Some birds change colors.  Echo told me.  He said pigs change colors also, or at least they have stripes and then they go away.” Echo knew a lot, at least it seemed like he did.  “He didn’t say wolves do but, I didn’t ask.”   Nico followed Jack mulling over how he'd need to ask the bird.  Wouldn't Echo be happy when he learned Nico was right and he'd been perfectly safe.

The boy's next question had Nico’s own assuredness fade with pain for a moment then quickly shaking it off with a negative to Jac.  “Nope.  I uh,” this kid was clearly naive so how much would he wreck it? “Yeah, no.  Stuff came up so I headed out alone.”  If the kid wanted to pester he could give him the flat-out truth but innocence seemed a nice notion.

“It’s alright,” Nico assures Jack when the pup had tried so hard to comfort Echo and the bird hadn’t bought it.  “He’s pretty protective of me.  He’s bound to come back after he makes a point of being unhappy.”

That was that then and he followed behind Jack to go see this ‘ship’ thing.  Wood was the stuff that made up trees.  Wait.  Were they going to see a big stick or something stupid like that?  “I’ve seen wood float before.  Do you call floating wood ‘ships’?"  Why did they deserve such a special term?  If this kid thought floating sticks were cool he really did need to go see more of the world!

“Well, my name isn’t near as long as yours.  I’m Nico.” He took a second to consider if it was smart to tell the wolf he was a coyote.  What if he knew coyotes and wolves weren’t always the best of friends but just didn’t know what a coyote looked like? “I’m not a wolf.  I’m a coyote.  We ain’t the same species.  That’s why I don’t know what happens to wolf fur.  You know, your parents gotta kill food to give ya something to eat.  When you get bigger you’re supposed to do it yourself.  I know that much.”  Only an idiot didn’t know that.  Like a typical child, the moment Nico learned a thing anyone who didn’t know it was clearly clueless.  He’d also learned the reality of that so much more than many his age.  

“Hunting’s fun though.  I bet its more than fun than seein ships” Hesitation, “but I still want to see your ship.  I hope it's real big.  What do you do with it?”  Would big make a stick in water better?  Maybe?  How big did it need to be to fit the word ‘ship’.  Nico paused in his step, lowering his head and chest to where it almost touched the ground as he watched a funny thing moving by.  A crab was innocently moving along sideways, pinchers held up high to protect it.  “That’s a funny-looking thing.  Is it food?”  Nico thought about food a lot.

"Niko"

The strange wolf pup says that birds change colors and pigs do too. Calico Jack’s eyes slowly round in wide wonder as the pup ponders not only the fact that animals can change color but that there is an animal Jack has never heard of. Sure, his mom has a bird and he has seen some flying around the beach, the strange white creature’s cawing their displeasure at the wolves that roam the beach but they are all fully grown. What color were they when they were pups? Or… whatever a young bird is called when they are Calico’s age. As he steps back from the borderline, the pirate pup silently ponders what the heck a pig is.

Maybe they are huge, hulking beasts, that stand on two legs and waddle around, crying for food! His imagination runs wild as he asks the other pup about why his mother doesn’t feed him and is surprised at the pain that flashes across the stranger’s face. Confusion paints the patchwork pup’s features as he looks to his newfound friend, an eyebrow raises in silent question but he does not voice any questions to the answer that is given. Instead, his brows furrow as he considers a new question that has just been added to his already bewildered mind, ‘you can choose to leave your ma and strike out on his own?’

Everything gets weirder as the kid’s magpie friend flies away and Jack’s icy blue gaze follows after it before turning back to the strange pup with worry and little bit of hurt lingering in his gaze. The pup assures him that the bird will come back and Calico Jack nods in understanding and, with that, Jack begins to lead the pup toward where the pack’s ship is. Small paws cut a path away from the invisible line that separates the outside world from Jack’s as the pup shares his name and Calico flashes the kid a huge grin. Nico goes on to explain that isn’t a wolf but something called a coyote and the patchwork pup is once again left to mull over what that means.

As Nico continues on, he tells Calico about having to kill food and the befuddled pup just nods, his mind slowly grinding to a halt from the information overload. He speaks of hunting being fun and betting that is better than seeing ships and Jack suddenly stops. His mind reels from everything he is ‘learning’ and the coyote pup officially tells him more things than he has learned since he was born. Icy blues find Nico’s yellow gaze and the confusion the pup has felt since they stared at each other over the borderline is written into every line of his face. An almost painful expression tugs at his features and Calico wears a frown as he says, “Look, I don’t know half of the stuff you are talking about. Ma just let us come out of the den yesterday.”

Truthfully, Jack doesn’t know most of what Nico is going on about but he doesn’t want the coyote pup to think he is an idiot. Puffing out his chest, a proud grin appears on Calico’s lips as he continues on, “But, there is one thing I know. Ships are way better then hunting. And, you’ll just have to see it to believe it.” He flashes a wide, charming grin to Nico, eyes dancing with mischievousness as he tosses the other pup a wink. With that, he once again starts making his way toward the ship, bound and determined to show Nico that ships are way better then hunting. Honestly, Calico doesn’t know if hunting is more fun since he has never done it but that didn’t stop him from making his bold claim.

Nico’s voice pulls Jack’s attention from his predetermined route and he slows to cast his gaze down at the scuttling red crab. Looking to Nico, he lifts a brow in curiosity as he says, “Crabs? Yeah, you can eat ‘em but they are crunchy and their pinchers hurt.” Turning back to his task, a realization strikes Calico right between the eyes and he suddenly stops. Looking to the coyote pup, Jack eyes up the kid as a plan takes shape in his mind. After a moment, he says, “Say, you never seen a ship or crabs. And you know… other things that I don’t.”

Without warning, Calico whips around to face Nico, the patchwork pup’s eyes dancing with eager delight as the next words spill from his mouth at an excited clip, “What do ya say we teach other things? I can show you ships, swords, monkeys, and other things! You can teach me about huntin’ and pigs and the outside world! I’ll give ya food, lots of it, more than you could eat in a year!” The idea sounds great to Calico and he doesn’t see any reason Nico could turn him down. The kid seems to think about food a lot so his terms must be acceptable… right? Chest puffs out as Jack thrusts one small paw to the taller pup and says, “Deal?”


"Calico Jack"

Of course, Nico hadn’t seen everything he’d spoken of.  Sure, Echo had told him about pigs being a different color when small but that didn’t mean Nico had ever seen it.  Still, for the time he was with his parents they had been roaming instead of staying in one land as a pack.  Then Nico had his time with the herd and Taiga.  The boy imagined he had seen a lot more than most his age. Safe to say Nico hadn’t quite imagined just how clueless the boy was.  Though Nico also hadn’t imagined just how young the boy he spoke to was.  

“You just came out of your den?” Nico’s nose scrunched up and eyes squinted considering the wolf pup.  “Mom and dad did say wolves generally got larger than coyotes but uh, never specified how big.  Sooo, you probably are younger than me. Man, I bet you’ll be huge.”

So the funny thing was a crab.  It could be food but it was crunch and it could hurt him?  Nico didn’t need food at this moment, not when he had a distraction but he’d remember that he could eat crabs if it became necessary.  He waved a paw over the crab but not close enough for the crab to reach him.  Nico glanced to Jack as the boy seemed to get an idea into his head.

He listened to the kid suggest a trade in knowledge, grinning wickedly back at him.  “Well, ya know hunting takes a looooooooooot of work.” Nico drawled out.  “I been training every since I left the den!” Nico had his own bold grin on his face for a moment, enjoying the energy of the other boy if nothing else.  It was nice having another kid close to his age again.  Hopefully, the boy was right on ships being great.  Then he was mentioning swords and monkeys which Nico also had no image for.  

“Aw,” Nico waved a paw at the boy, “Course I’ll show ya, was gonna offer ya that even before ya mentioned swords.  I wanna see a real sword.”  Not that Nico had a damn clue what a sword was but he imagined it was something that fit into a den. Still, even if it was boring Nico just wanted to have a friend a while longer to play with.  Maybe they’d have some fun discoveries together.

Then the real offer came up!  Lots of food?  All the food he wanted without having to hunt?  Hunting was fun and all, but having a free source also sounded pretty good.  “Um, your family won’t mind that?  Sharing all that food?”  Some of these wolves might be the sort to kill coyotes so how would they feel about Jack offering to share their food?  “I don’t want to upset them.”  Nico didn’t want to become the food.  Regardless there was another problem.  “So, you able to leave the beachside?  You said you just left your den.  I’ve been hunting in the grass and around trees n such.”  He’d also been eating berries and eggs and scraps he found but that part didn’t sound nearly as exciting.  Nico pointed to another crab, “I bet I can show you how to kill that later and be safe about it but, I wanna see the ship first.  I wanna see why it's so neat cause hunting is super neat.”

"Niko"

Nico’s question about Calico just coming out the den takes the patchwork pup by surprise. Eyes blink in confusion and his head tilts as the coyote pup looks at him. The next words that Nico says has a chuckle rumbling out of Jack’s throat. One white paw waves through the air as he says, “Nah. Not huge. Well… maybe. I don’t know. Say, how old are you anyway?” Eyebrows lift, curious as to how much older the coyote is. Eyes track down to the crab and the pair talk about but then, Calico Jack comes up with the brilliant idea of sharing their knowledge.

Eyes are bright with eagerness as Nico grins wickedly at him and Jack’s ears stand a little taller as the coyote drawls on. An eyebrow raises, as if to say, ‘Work? I ain’t scared of work!’. Maybe Calico would be scared if he knew what work was, the tediousness and pain-staking attention that goes into work. But, the oblivious pup has never heard the word so he does what he does best; plays if off like it is nothing. The coyote waves a paw at him and Calico’s tail slowly wags as Nico admits he was going to share his knowledge.

As the talk turns to food, Calico Jack watches the pup that seems to be alone in the world. Is that hunger he sees burning deep his eyes? Jack shrugs off the question about his family minding, saying, “Nah, they won’t mind. We got plenty and you got none. Seems only fair to share, ya know?” A paw is waved as Nico voices his concern about upsetting Calico’s family and he says, “Nah, don’t you worry about. I’ll fix it so you get all the food you want.” A twinkle is in Jack’s eye as he gives his new friend a wink all while trying to figure out exactly what ma will say when he starts sneaking food to a coyote pup.

Ah, but that is problem for tomorrow Jack! Nico asks if he can leave the beach and Calico shrugs, pointing to the cavern that is the other land they occupy as he says, “We can go in there and on the ship to sleep. But I don’t know about other places. Do we need trees and stuff? I know some of the bigs catch fish in the water. I have a my very own net that we could use!” Thoughts spill out of his mouth as Calico considers his options, mind still working the problem as he leads the way to where the family’s ship is.

The beach bends and, as they follow it, the huge hull comes into view. Jack is silent as he looks to Nico, a shit-eating grin on his lips as he watches the pup’s reaction. He slows to allow the pup more time to take in the absolute size of the thing, all while Calico Jack happily prances along.



"Calico Jack"

Nico lifted his head up a bit better at his grinned proudly when asked about his age, “I’m six whole months now!” Well, something like that.  When summer came he would be six months and Oscar had told him summer was just about here.  He either was six months or would be soon, depending on how hot it got apparently.

The kid says he isn’t scared of work and Nico grins right back at home, “Yeah, well that means we can work ya real hard then!  You got siblings right?  We’ll make sure you got the best skills to show off better than everyone else.  I can teach ya everything I know!”  The coyote pup mostly wanted to do stuff with his new friend and this seemed a grand idea.  More time spent teaching him meant more time they’d be together.  There was that nagging notion in the back of his head that the more time he spent here and with Jack the more likely he’d run into other wolves.  Wolves that might have demonic eyes, saliva-dripping teeth, and whatever the signs were of sheer evil as it comes to eat you.  That was for tomorrow, not now.

Nico could practically taste all this free meat he was being offered.  It wouldn’t be mice, eggs, fish, fruits, or any of the other things he found.  This could be an easy-to-get meal of meat and it sounded yummy.  Knowing it was from wolves somehow made it that much cooler.  Maybe he’d teach Jack how good bird eggs were also and where to find them.  Not all birds lived in trees after all.  Nico bet Jack didn’t know about ground birds yet!  That’d be impressive to him also.

“Hm, I’m not sure,” Nico admitted when Jack asked if they needed to go to other spots to hunt.  “Beaches are new to me but I don’t smell any of the normal things I’d hunt out here.”  Nico glanced about over the black sand that seemed to lack many hiding spots where rodents and bugs he was used to would hide in.  The boy could sniff around more and see what he could find but that could be done later.  

Taiga had shown him how to get fish from a river before but was the fish in the giant water the same as fish in the river?  This thing called a net was a new word to Nico and Nico got a look of confusion, “Net?  I never used a net before.  I wanna see it.” It was cool if Jack could really get him food but how long would that last?  The more ways Nico could learn to hunt the better.  So, best learn what a net was and how it helped catch fish.  Nico’s grin grew again as he imagined doing so much with his new friend.  It had been fun being with the herd but he’d really missed a friend that was more similar to his own kind and his own age.

His pup tail spun like spokes of a fan in wide sweeping circles as hope for a more fun future came to mind.  They continued forward and Nico’s eyes rounded as the ship came into sight.  Say, that was more than a stick in the water for sure!  That was like a, a, a ship apparently! Nico ran a single stride before skidding to a stop, a few grains of sand kicked up at the sudden stop. Right, wolves, big adult scary wolves might be on it.  “So, that’s definitely cool, almost as good as hunting.”  Actually, it looked super awesome.”

"Niko"

Calico looks to the coyote pup, inquiring as to how old he is and the patchwork pup’s features relax into mask of pure reverence. That is amazing! Eyes brighten as the pup’s face becomes excited as he blurts out, “Six whole months?! Shoot that means you’re almost a year! Dang! You must know a lot!” For a pup that is a few weeks old and has no real concept of how to measure passing time, six months might actually mean that Nico is a year old. But, he doesn’t want to ask and make himself look stupid, so he plays it up, grinning wide and bright for his friend. All that Jack knows for certain is that Nico has more time outside under his belt.

They continue to talk and walk, the coyote pup bringing up about working hard and Jack nods vigorously as the subject of siblings is brought up. Wait, he can make him better than his siblings? That sounds great! Calico turns around, barking out a high-pitched sound of excitement while his front-end lowers and bounces around, suddenly eager to working with his friend. Tail wags as he chatters at a fast clip, “Yeah show me! When can we start? Can we start now?” His endless fountain of puppy energy is overflowing and Jack would be happy to begin working now. But wait weren’t they doing something? Oh right, the ship.

Calico Jack returns to the first task he had promised Nico, a sudden bounce in step as he happily prances along the beach, a white paw sticking out to show the other land the pack owns while asking if they need to leave the beach. The patchwork pup nods along to Nico’s assessment, willing to try and learn anything the coyote has to show him and Jack dips his head in agreement to his friend’s curiosity about the net. Another, slightly smug, smile appears as Calico thinks her gets to show Nico something new.

The large ship finally comes into view and Calico Jack slows to be able to watch the coyote pup’s reaction, Nico running forward a stride before skidding to a stop. Jack slowly saunters up, stopping next to his friend and allowing his icy blue gaze to roam over Nico’s face. He finds the excitement and awe that his friend tries to play down and a smug grin spreads on his lips as Jack cocks a brow in silent question before the coyote pup’s next words pull a sharp bark of laughter from the patchwork pup.

He shakes his head, a playful glint in his eyes as he feigns a huge frown, saying, “Oh well, if you don’t like the ship, I guess you won’t like the other stuff I have to show ya.” Bottom lip juts out a little and Calico forces it to wobble as he widens his eyes and rounds them. Hey, a guy has to try out his puppy dog eyes on someone. And who better than his new friend?


"Calico Jack"

Nico loved being the center of attention, he always had.  He’d never been shy to make an opinion, never fearful about taking risks nor worried that anything might find him silly.  Nico was young but felt he knew how the world worked or the important parts at least.  Besides, what he didn’t understand he’d figure out or Echo would tell him anything important.

The little coyote didn’t bother to correct Cal on the notion of Nico being almost a year old.  He was closer to being a year old than he was yesterday and a whole lot closer than Jack was.  So, sure, in a strained sort of way he was almost a year old.  For that matter, Nico felt like he did know a lot!  How many wolves knew that some prey animals kept pets?  How many knew how huge, truly huge, a cat could become?  Had any of these wolves ever ridden a donkey?  Nah, Nico was special.

He didn’t bother rattling off these amazing details though, he’d save them for another day.  Cal already was clearly impressed by what Nico had already told him.

What was with the act? Nico looked at Cal’s well-reheared puppyish act that was designed to win adults' sympathy for a pup's plight.  Nico was a pup too! It was one thing to use ‘the act’ on parents or adults but not on a kid your own age! Right? Or did Cal put Nico into the camp of older folk it should work on?  Nico grinned at the notion though didn’t bother to explain the reason.

“Hey, I said it looked awesome!  Honest, it does.” What more did Cal want?  Nico wanted to explore the ship, every impish child part of him did but there were limits to how much he could ignore his instincts telling him a thing was a bad idea.  Hopefully, Cal didn’t plan to try and urge him onto it.  There were probably dozens or hundreds of wolves all shoved onto it somehow.  More wolves than could be counted.

“So yeah, where’s the ‘net’?  I want you to show me how it works.” The subtle challenge was there; did Calico Jack know how to use his own net?


"Niko"

The puppy dog eyes are not as powerful against Nico and Calico Jack takes note of that. For some reason, adults make strange cooing sounds when he does it but it seems that younglings are immune to it. Interesting. A huge smirk splits his lips as drops the act, laughing jovially at his friend’s words. Jack waves a white paw through the air in a show that he had only been joking. Tail wags as the patchwork trots forward a few steps, saying, “Well, come on then! You’ll really like the inside! Ma keeps the biggest room for us!”

However, Nico’s words have Calico pausing to turn back to his friend, brows furrowing in confusion. He doesn’t want to see the ship? While his net is cool and all, Jack would never think it tops being inside the ship. Maybe Nico is afraid of enclosed spaces? Realization dawns across the pup’s features as he understands that his coyote pup friend might be nervous about going inside. Brain switches tracks and Calico changes course to take Nico to where his net is. As he walks, Jack says, “The net is over here! It is made of seaweed but, when I get bigger, I’ll get one made of rope! Here it is!”

Pulling to stop near some the pirate’s fishing equipment, Calico Jack retrieves his makeshift net that Eden had repaired and drags it over to Nico. Placing it in front of the coyote pup, Calico says, “Okay so this is good catching crabs! You bundle the thing up like this…” White paws squish the soft net together until it resembles a hot dog and says, “Then you put it in your mouth like this…” reaching down he gathers the net in his mouth, one side dangling a little way down his chin and, around the object in his mouth, says, “Then throw it!”

With a mighty flourish, the pup swings his head to the side before whipping it forward and releasing the seaweed net in one smooth motion. It flies toward Nico and, if the pup does not move, the net will land gentle over his head. Tail wags happily as he looks to his friend and asks, “Whatca think? Cool right!” Surely Nico thinks the net is amazing, since it is new and he hadn’t even known how it was used. Small chest puffs out slightly as he looks Nico in a proud gesture. He had shown Nico something new!


"Calico Jack"

They got the biggest rooms huh? That was some interesting information.  First off, it meant there were several dens in the ship instead of a single big one.  It also meant that either Calico was sure he was in the best but wasn’t, or that his mom somehow had the ability to get the best for them.  Were all the wolves here part of his family?  Were they different families?  Was his mom someone important?  Uh was it even important? Nah.  The important thing was Calico hung out in a ship, which was an awesome thing.  Also important was seeing this net.

They get to where other strange items are and Calico goes to grab something from the supplies.  Nico takes a few seconds to just look at the odds and ends of things he has no name for or understanding of.  Hmm.  Then his attention turns to Jack pulling out a ‘net.’  It was like someone had taken some kinda plants and put them all together in a pattern of squares.  The coyote pup sat down and watched with a curious expression as Cal made an example of how to use the nets.  He planned to stay quiet and still in case Jack needed to concentrate.  

Um, Cal either wasn’t aiming well or his aim wasn’t where Nico wanted it. Shoot.  Nico came to the realization about the same time as Cal let go of the neck to send it sailing.  Nico was on his feet in an instant and leaping away.  It halfway worked but had Jack been a real enemy Nico would die.  Nico had gotten his body out of the way but the net had landed on his back legs and sure enough, as the pup tried to kick it off one of his legs went right through the hole in the net.

Any concern if Jack was turning on him or playing was figured out fast by how cheery and happy his new friend still is.  Nah, Jack was harmless.  Still, it was a good lesson for to Nico to pay attention. “You got me,” Nico said with a small laugh.  He paused to focus on his feet for a moment to carefully peel himself out from under it.  “You said t was good for crabs.  What makes it for crabs instead of other things?  It caught my foot.  So it could catch other stuff, right?”  Nico had no notion of the durability of seaweed after all.  “Say, did you make it or did someone give it to ya?  Do you know how to make this net?”  Bet all manner of things on water or land could be caught in this type of thing!

"Niko"

Calico throws the net at his friend, the sudden realization on Nico’s face when he understood where it was going to land was priceless. Now, Jack may be a lot of things but he never ever had a malicious thought when throwing the net at his friend. Enemy? Nope. Ill planed joke? Yep! The way that alarm crosses his friend’s features has the pup’s smug grin faltering and worry flashing across his face.

But Nico seems to understand that Jack isn’t trying to being mean (well, he hopes anyway) and that it was all a joke. His friend admits defeat and Calico Jack chuckles, looking down at Nico’s paws as his friend’s gaze moves downward. Hmm. Seems the net can trap the paws even when thrown over the body! Good to know. Icy blues look back at his friend as he begins to talk and the smaller pup’s tail wags.

Nico speaks and Jack nods his head enthusiastically, saying, “Oh I just said its good for crabs ‘cus that’s what I’ve caught with it so far! Eden says I can use it to catch my siblings too! We could try to catch fishes with it but I see the adults use ones made of rope for that. Uh, I didn’t make it but I found it! Eden repaired it for me and it’s been mine ever since.”

Calico Jack puffs out his chest in pride leaving out the part where he has has only had the net for a day. Nico doesn’t need to know that! Stepping forward, Calico leans in, lifting the net up and off his friend. Stepping back, Jack then lays the seaweed net in between them, allowing Nico to inspect his toy. Since his friend is older and, knows more, the patchwork pup looks to him for advice, asking, “Think it can be used for other stuff?” If anybody would know that answer, it has to his friend! Nico is smart, after all.


"Calico Jack"

Nico did have to remind himself he had just met Jack.  For how natural their friendship seemed it was also bright and new.  So it was a relief that the net had just been for fun.  As Jack helps get the net off of him Nico takes a stride away, shaking out his coat of loose sand particles before turning to look between Cal and his net.

Now here is Jacke, one whole day out of living inside his den and he’s got this cool net.  Nico had wondered if the pup might have made it in the den but that wasn’t the case.  He had found it?  So either he found it today or he found it in his den. Hmm.  Now it was Nico’s job to sound knowledgeable!

Siblings surely weighed more than the fish right?  Unless the fish in this huge mass of water were bigger than what he was used to in the river?  Or Jack has real small siblings?  Hm, how did it all work?  Nico looked again at the neck then waded out in the water, feeling the surf rushing over his paws and then away.  “You got funny water ya know.  The water I’m used to doesn’t go back and forth so much.

The coyote pup digs a paw in the sand distractedly as he searches for signs of fish.  No fish but a funny small thing with lots of tentacles jumps away from his feet.  The small octopus is gone in moments.  “Say, that woulda fit in the net.” Glancing back at Jack Nico grins, “well, I figure what we do is we toss the net on the water and let it sit for a bit.  We can come back and see if anything is caught in it!”

It would work or not work right?  It was Nico’s plan so he should sound pretty smart coming up with it right?  “Besides, you said Eden helped you repair it right?  So if something too big damages it some then it's no problem.  I bet Eden can help you fix it again.  Then you watch carefully to try and figure out how it's made.” Brilliant, sheer brilliance!  

"Niko"

With Cal’s new net spread out between him and Nico, Jack looks to his friend for ideas. The coyote pup talks about how the water he is used to not going back and forth so much and wolf pup hums thoughtfully as his icy blue gaze slowly slides over to the water’s edge. It does seem to move a lot… what if it took his net away? A frown tugs his lips down but the sound of Nico digging a paw into the sand has Cal’s focus snapping back to his friend, curious to see what he is doing. Eyebrows shoot up as a small, tentacled creature jumps away from his paws.

Head bobs in agreement to Nico’s assessment, lips again tugging down at the thought of losing his net to the waves. As the coyote pup finishes, Jack speaks up, saying, “Yeah but what if the waves take it away? I could lose it! Maybe we can tie something to one end and then tie the other end to something heavy? And, and that end can stay out of the water! So, I won’t lose the net and we can pull in!” The pup’s worry gives way to relief as he forms a plan to keep his seaweed net safe, after all, it is the very first present he got!

Casting his eyes to the ground around them, Cal spies a rather large stone that would be perfect to weigh down the net… if they can move it. Icy gaze snaps back to Nico as he excitedly points to the object and says, “We could use that! It looks heavy and it would keep my net from getting lost! I bet there is some extra rope in the gear too.” Standing, Jack returns to the scattered fishing equipment and begins digging around for a length of unused rope.

After several minutes, Calico lifts his head up with a triumphant look and some rope dangling from his maw. Trotting the short distance back to his friend, he deposits it on the ground next to his net and waits to see what the wise Nico thinks.


"Calico Jack"

Jack was worried about the water taking away his net huh?  Even as the question came to mind Jack was already coming up with a plan to stop the problem.  “Wonder what’s out there,” Nico observed with quiet thought looking at the water as it continued in the distance.  

When Jack mentioned the ‘something to tie it to' Nico’s mind jumped straight to tying it to one of their paws but before he could even say it Jack was suggesting the rock.  Hmm, was that better than to a coyote, er, wolf?  Reluctantly Nico admitted to himself they probably were but the rock couldn’t tell them what it felt like.  Was the net pulling hard against it or not?

Nico watched his friend dig about for a moment but then turned his attention back to the net and water itself, brow furrowed as the young pup tried to think real deep on how this process would work.  “So like,”a pause huffing as it all seemed complex and the young coyote jogged back farther into the water, the wave rolling in now touching his belly.  Thrusting his head in the water only to jerk it back out, “hey hey that stings.  Other water doesn’t sting my eyes like this one does!”  Saltwater was a new concept to the pup.

“Like, if the rock is on it don’t you think it’ll just end up flat on the water floor?  Or do you think the part away from the rock will do... whatever it's meant to do?” Nico was imaginative generally but there were too many new things all at once for the pups mind to handle.

"Niko"

Cal eyes his fishing net, frowning in thought when Nico’s words suddenly pull the pup’s attention out to the rolling waves. Icy blue gaze flicks back the coyote pup and he simply says, “Fish.” Everyone knows that there are fish out there! He has seen and smelled them since the moment he came into the world and, when he was allowed out, he had spent all of that first day watching the adults hull in nets full of the wiggly creatures. The bigs had offered him the name and even let him eat one!

Maybe the net can catch one of those yummy morsels again… but first he needs to make sure it won’t get lost. Jack is able to dig out a length of rope and suggests a rather big rock to help keep the net from floating away. Gathering the equipment, the patchwork pup trots after his friend, stopping near the water’s edge to deposits the items on the black sand. Eyebrows lift in quiet wonder as Nico plunges his head into the rolling water before jerking back out and exclaiming that it stings.

Looking to Nico, Jack cocks his head and scoffs slightly while saying, “Ya don’t open your eyes under water. The salt burns ‘em. What kind of water do you have?” Curiosity tugs at his mind but he pushes it away to answer the coyote’s next question. With a small chuckle, the patchwork pup shakes his head in the negative, saying, “You don’t toss the rock with the net. The rock stays up here with us and the rope keeps the net from being pulled out too far. Here, come help me.”

Figuring it is easier to show then explain, Cal waves Nico over to him begins to loop the rope around one end of his net. He had seen the adults do something similar and the pup tries to replicate what they had done. Instructing Nico on what to do and where to put his paws, the pair manage to sloppily tie one end of the rope to the net and the other to the large rock before shoving the rock closer to the water’s edge.

Looking to his friend, Jack says, “Okay, now we just toss the net out into the water and come back later to see if we catch anything! Ready?” Moving to one side of the seaweed net, Cal gathers the side in his mouth and directs Nico to do the same on his side. Counting down, they swing the net back and forth, preparing to toss it out onto the gently rolling waves.


"Calico Jack"