Undoubtedly sore after the fight she'd thrown herself into - though she knew the rest of the pack was faring just the same, if not even worse than her - Nami still somehow managed to keep an optimistic attitude. Maybe not as much as usual, but she never found a reason for dwelling on things she couldn't change. Wasn't like it would make her feel any better about things. With a day so lovely, it was hard to really be in a bad mood anyway - it was a pleasant day, albeit a bit chilly, with a cool wind coming in from the sea. It wouldn't deter her from fishing though, as it rarely did. Nami had found her way to the bay, somewhere she could be found quite often, with the intent to see what she could fish up for the pack today. Of course the bay was teeming with life, most far too big for her to take down on her own. She looked out across the still waters, watching as she saw a fin - maybe a dolphin? - popping up and down above the water, too far out for her to really see. There were plenty of fish swimming among the fields of kelp and sea lettuce, just waiting to be snatched up, and she surveyed it all thoughtfully as she decided what to go after today.

note: set in summer now!!

Father had not explicitly stated he couldn't go as far as the bay. It was still Tojo lands so as long as one of the dogs followed him, he wouldn't get into trouble. Not that he cared if he got in trouble anyway. Mama would save him from the disappointed looks from Hattori anyway. So he makes his way along, rubbing his nubby little horns along the bamboo to leave as markers to find his way back later. His paws were lazily dragging through the leaf litter and dirt until he could hear the wash of waves against the sandy shore of the bay. The excitement of seeing something new caused him to pick up the pace until the bamboo gave way to grass and miniscule grains of sand.

Stopping at the crest of a dune, he looks left and right. Water sparkled ahead of him with waves rippling and splashes from fish popping up every so often. How cool was this place? Not as cool as that huge oak forest or the bamboo, but mama had talked about summer time being rather warm and teaching him how to properly swim here. Until then, maybe he could find something else to do. Like... oh, Nami! He hadn't really met met the woman yet except in passing and lessons about the pack from his father, but that wouldn't stop the boy.

Moving in the direction of Nami, his tail waves happily behind him and lips are pulled up into that boyish smile. "Oi! Nami! Whatcha doin'?" The lilted accent of his voice proves that he has been taking the language lessons seriously, but he's not as hoity toity as his father and refuses to speak it if he knows someone else doesn't know it. When he stops near her, he looks out to where she's looking. Did she have a plan or? Jiro can't help but cant his head to the side and some what invade her personal space for a better look.

For a long while Nami was just happy sitting and surveying the bay, watching as the schools of fish passed her by. Eventually she'd come across a suitable target, but her hunger wasn't overwhelming right now, not by any means. It was easy enough for her to notice the young boy wandering up, his black and white coat a sharp contrast to the sand around them, whereas she practically blended it. Her bobbed tail began to wiggle behind her, a grin creeping over her lips. "Hello there! Jiro, isn't it?" If she'd gotten it wrong she wouldn't be the least bit surprised, not with how big Hanzo and Kiriko's litter had turned out to be. She tried paying attention though and strived to know all their names, though getting to know them all in time sounded like an even better plan. She'd never planned on having children of her own, but these youngsters had a way of pulling at her heartstrings in a way she hadn't expected. "I was looking for something to try to fish. Have you ever done any fishing before?" Her eyes were bright and eager to teach. Even if he wasn't interested, she was sure she could find something else for them to do. Maybe some swimming, or just wandering around the bay... the possibilities were endless. "Look at that one," she gestured with her nose not too far out, to a huge fish with shimmering silver scales as it wove between the long strands of kelp.

Jiro's tail wags a few times as she gets his name correct. Giving her his typical lazy smile, he moves to sit his butt down on the sand beside her. "Yer good at names considerin' there's so many of us," Jiro says, a little bit of a puppy-like laugh in his tone as he lets his gaze wander from the happy-go-lucky Nami to the bay. The water shines beneath the sun on this particularly clear day. When had those clouds cleared from the sky? Rain had practically fallen every day since he was born so it was no surprise that the day he decided to wander down to the bay, he had been graced with good weather.

Fish? Jiro looks back to Nami for a second. Since most of his time had been within the bamboo, he had actually never really looked at the bay or its contents. "Fish? Like the ones we eat?" His face scrunches. Why had it never occurred to him that these fish creatures would live anywhere except in the bamboo? "Ya mean they're in there?" He asks as his pale gaze turns to where she now points as the very large silvery, shimmery fish.

"I like'ta hunt mice and grasshoppers and sometimes lizards," Jiro comments, his eyes still trained on the large fish weaving in and out of the kelp. "How do ya hunt fish?" His voice is incredulous as he finally turns to look back up at Nami. He almost didn't believe her because they looked so fast and far more slippery than a lizard or a snake!

The boy looked pleased at her knowing his name, and she beamed right back at him in response. Oh, what a joy these youngest members of Tojo-Kai were! Before she'd joined the pack her life had felt relatively aimless, paling in comparison to the grand adventure she'd set out to have when she was younger... though she felt now that she'd found purpose, and passing some of her knowledge to these kids felt like something that could add to that purpose now, too. Maybe some of the group would be interested in fishing like she was! Even if not, though, she could surely impart some knowledge on them that could be applied to hunting in general as a skill. "There really are so many of you," she stressed, letting out a soft chuckle. It was obvious that they were getting older and more capable now, venturing out from their den within the bamboo and beginning to see more of the world - starting with the lands adjacent. Before long they'd be wandering outside of Tojo's lands and even further. Though she wasn't terribly close to them she already felt a little bit of worry and protectiveness begin to creep into her thoughts, though she pushed those out of her mind for now. Save those worries for when they were needed. She nodded at his question. "Yep! Like the ones we eat. They're in there," she explained. "Fishing can be pretty complicated. It's a lot different than hunting things like mice," Nami started to get into it, using something he was familiar with as a reference. "With mice, they can hear you coming sometimes, so you have to focus on being sneaky and quiet. You can't really hide your approach from fish though. They can feel it in the way the water moves around them." Maybe showing him would help emphasize her point, more than just explaining. Slowly she stretched her forelimbs, taking a few slow steps forward into the water. Though she was far out from the fish, who hadn't seemed to notice her presence earlier, suddenly shifted its lazy course, taking off through the kelp and swimming further out, far out of her grasp. "See?" "Fishing is about being fast, but also thinking smart. A lot of fish, especially small ones, travel together in schools - like how wolves tend to stay in packs. They don't like being alone, so sometimes you can confuse them into separating and catching them while they're trying to get back." There was a lot to it, and Nami knew that. She didn't want to overwhelm Jiro either, so maybe they could focus on some smaller fish, at least until he got the hang of swimming. "We can start here. There's lots of little guys here," she explained, moving slowly and watching the way the schools of tiny fish moved freely between her paws.

The world really was amazing, wasn't it? So many different animals lived in so many different places it felt as if he was learning something new every day! Impressed that Nami was so knowledgeable about fish, Jiro stares down at the water as she begins to explain fishing to him. From his position in the water, he watches as she stretched a limb forward to disturb the water. As the ripples of water spread around, he watches as the larger fish suddenly takes off through the kelp. Whoa! They could tell their position just from the water? Jiro can't help but lower his muzzle closer to the water until his breath is forming ripples along the surface.

Fishing is about being fast and smart. Which unfortunately Jiro is really neither. His siblings were far faster and smarter than he tended to be even if he didn't show that he noticed or cared. Looking up to Nami, he listens to her explain how separating a fish from its school would make it easier to snag one right out of the water. Truly, there was a lot to fishing and he wasn't sure he would be good at it. Following as slowly as he could, he moves to where Nami points at the smaller fish that swim in tight groups in perfect sync. "So how do we confuse them?" Jiro questions, trying to show that he really was listening to her instruction.

It was rewarding to teach one of these youngsters about fishing. She swore she could see the interest shining in his eyes as he studied the water, her own gaze drifting from the boy to the water and back again as he listened to her explanations. He seemed intensely focused, leaning forward toward the surface of the water, watching the larger fish as it swam through the kelp. He seemed a little confounded by her explanation. Reflecting on her words, she recognized she could've made things a little easier for a boy his age to understand. "Well. Fish are good at staying together, but sometimes get a little mixed up when you break up their schools. Sometimes you can just kinda... swim up on them and snatch one up. It's not always that easy, but, you never know until you try! Here, watch me." As if to demonstrate, Nami moved forward all at once, aiming to dive gracefully into the water. As expected, the fish sensed her movement before she was up on them, beginning to scatter. Most of them, at least. Kicking forward through the water with her eyes open, she managed to snatch one of the tiny fish up, surfacing with it clasped between her jaws. Paddling to the surface, she tossed the fish to the shore. "You gotta practice swimming before you get too ambitious, though! Have your parents taught you how to swim yet?" Surely Jiro knew a little, being so close to the ocean and all, but she was curious just how much he knew.

Secretly, Jiro is thankful that Nami reexplains what she means. It makes more sense, enough that his tail gives a few hopeful wags. So if he's quick and graceful enough, he could pounce into the water and snatch one right up! And before he could ask, Nami was already offering to demonstrate. Was she reading his mind?!

Carefully, Jiro watches with wide eyes, nose practically submerged into the water as Nami dives beneath. Seconds later, she reemerges with a small fish between her jaws that flies effortlessly onto the sand behind them. "Whooooa, s'cool," the pup murmurs, his tail waving excitedly behind him, eager to try now.

Looking up at Nami, he gives his head an excited nod. "Yeah! They took us out to the creeks and ponds in the forest to learn before letting us out here," he looks out to the bay now, lifting a paw to point at the shifting waters. "Otōsan says that this water has a tide and it moves in and out every few hours so we gotta be careful for dangerous currents," Jiro looks back to Nami, waiting to see if his answer was right. He does listen well, but the class clown in him enjoys portraying that he doesn't.

"Can I try catching one?" He asks, smile growing as he tries not to prance around and disturb the water too much.

Nami was more than happy to demonstrate just what she meant, emerging from the water looking quite pleased with herself. She knew if any of Tojo-Kai's youngest were interested in fishing that they'd master the art, all in due time! It was hard not to think back on her earliest childhood memories of fishing, and how much patience she had to practice waiting for the fish to swim to just the right spot to snatch one out of the water. Becoming a good fisherwolf definitely took patient as well as practice, and having a good handle on swimming was a good start. Nami nodded as Jiro explained he'd gotten to swim in the creeks and ponds nearby before being allowed into the bay, which made sense. "Yes, he's right about that. Sometimes water like this can trick you. It might not look very dangerous but those tides can pull you further out without you realizing - you always want to be careful near the ocean, and never swim out too far," she explained, nodding carefully so that he might understand these waters weren't the type to play about it. Obviously there were exceptions to that rule, but these kids were too young to be swimming far from the shore. Better instill a sense of danger in them now, at least until they were old enough to understand their own limits better. Nami nodded enthusiastically to his question. "Of course! The tide looks like it's coming in now, so it's a good time to fish," she said, twisting her head around to examine the seaweed that lined the beach, though the water was beginning to slowly creep further in. "Just don't go out much further than this, but try to grab a fish! If you fail, just keep trying. The fish won't swim away forever," she added with a grin. Fishing was different than hunting land creatures in many ways, but she was grateful the ever-moving nature of the water made it so that prey often circled back around sooner rather than later.

Jiro looks from Nami as she nods enthusiastically out to the tide. Water slowly creeps up, reaching closer and closer for the seaweed that lines the beach. He makes a mental note not to go much farther than they already are. Being swept out in the tide was one thing, doing it under Nami's watch was another. No sense in risking her getting into trouble!

He smiles at her comment, instilling himself to not give up even if the fish do get away from him. Giving Nami a nod, Jiro takes a few steps forward until he spots a small school of fish circling around and through the seaweed. His eyes follow their synchronized movements, waiting for the perfect moment. As they dart away, swooping in a circle and come wiggling back toward him, Jiro moves to dive forward. Pushing himself nose first through the surface as Nami had shown, he opens his jaws and aims to grab ahold of a fish.

When his teeth snap shut, fishless, he pulls back up for air. Dripping water, his nose wrinkles for a moment. "They're fast!" Jiro mentions, a little laugh on his voice before he goes to focus back on the school of fish once more. Just like Nami had mentioned, the fish were already regrouped and swimming in circles once more.