Be still
Wild and young
Long may your innocence reign
Like shells on the shore
And may your limits be unknown
And may your efforts be your own
If you ever feel you can't take it anymore
Don't break character
You've got a lot of heart
Is this real or just a dream?
Rise up like the sun
Labor till the work is done

The young and enthusiastic child remained quiet and calm as he narrowed his eyes at the stilling water. He could see the small fishes mocking him in the water as he slowly hissed at them. Every attempt he had made thus far had failed and he had considered trying the falls instead. No. He had been challenged by the fish that swam so safely under the water so he would not stop until he caught them. The young child's chocolate brown paw dove into the water as he attempted to scoop a fish out of the water and onto the shore so he could end his life and bring home a gift for his mother. One that he had caught of his own merit. Alas, he would not succeed as the fish saw his shadow and scattered off. He frowned, slapping at the water as his paw fell into it. Small splashes rose, covering the base of his legs where they met the front of his chest. He sighed, turning away as he looked around for his dad or someone who could help him. So maybe he wasn't ready for fishing yet.

Aslan wasn't entirely certain what to do with himself for that moment. He had tried taking Varda's lead and choosing a skill to focus on, and now would have been a wonderful time to try practising it whatever he selected. He was no closer to choosing however, not hungry he didn't want to hunt, there was no one around to spar and teach him to fight and he doubted Sorrel would let him tag along on a hunt for herbs to enquire what each plant did. And so here he was taking a simple walk along the beach and all those plans completely forgotten anyway as he caught sight of his little brother ahead. He set his path straight for Fate now. Spending time with him certainly more appealing than spending it alone to try and choose a field to work on when really he knew that mental method of 'I'm doing this now' wouldn't work for him as well as it had for Varda. He could be ambitious perhaps, though there was no denying he simply wasn't as focussed as his sister. "Hey Fate." He greeted, drawing to a stop at the pup's side. They were growing quickly, though still they only made the tall boy feel even more like a giant when he stood next to them. "What are you up to?"

The chocolate brown figure that Fate first mistook for his father approached him and Fate grinned. "Hiya, Aslan!" He greeted when his big brother spoke. He was asked what he was up to and he looked back at the water, his paws still damp from his several fishing attempts. "I was trying to catch a fish for mom but they kept getting away." The young boy explained why he was out and about and then a great idea struck him. "Can you teach me how to fish?" The young boy's eyes widened as he gave an innocent and pleading look to Aslan. The young boy let his tail wag in the process. If anyone could teach him, one of his older siblings could.

From a distance it was certainly Frith that Aslan resembled more in appearance. Those markings around his eyes and even his eyes themselves were certainly from Novella however. The first three pups certainly seemed to have borrowed aspects of their parent's appearance far more than Fate and Luck, less obvious who their parents were on first glance yet the pair certainly resembled each other. Mismatched eyes would glance down to the water as Fate did, watching the fish darting in and out of sight almost taunting in it's movements given the child's explanation of fishing troubles. He would smile, not out of amusement for the fish's game but for the gesture that Fate wished to make. Their mother was out and about a little more though Aslan was sure she still appreciated the food brought to her, for Fate and Luck if nothing else. This however would certainly be a prized meal for her, learning that her little boy had caught it on his own. Aslan would certainly try help him reach that goal. "I can try." He responded, hoping not to get Fate's hopes up too much. He wasn't sure how good of a teacher he was. "Let's see how you're doing so far." Well evidently not too well as he hadn't yet caught a fish though Aslan thought it may have been easier to try help him improve if he could see where he was going wrong first of all.

His older sibling would smile when he said that he had trouble catching fish and that would make Fate frown. Was it a good thing that he couldn't catch a fish? He shrugged it off when Aslan said that he could try and help Fate learn how to fish. Trying was all the boy could really ask for. He wanted to know how the boy had been doing so far. "I got pretty close last time but they were too fast!" The young boy explained before heading back towards the water to try again. Once more he would focus on the calming water as his paw raised he went down for a swoop but as his shadow crossed the fish once more, they scattered and he narrowly escaped one. It was less than a mouse length away. He frowned, looking back at Aslan for advice.

Aslan certainly hadn't meant to offend his little brother, he'd simply found the gesture a sweet and thoughtful one that he was sure their mother would be able to appreciate in her current state. Judging from the frown however Fate hadn't quite seen it that way and the elder boy would be quick to try rectify the situation. "Mum will like it." He explained. Now Fate would fall happily to abiding his request, explaining that he had been close and then demonstrating his technique. Once more it failed, paw meeting the water with a splash and no fish scooped out with it. As the boy's bright eyes glanced back to him, Aslan would move closer, sitting beside his brother to show him a different tactic. "Start with your paw as close to the water as you can get it, keep it still until you're ready though." Aslan explained, placing his own paw into position to demonstrate. "You seem to be watching the fish carefully so that's good, but you've got too far to reach to catch it. The smaller and quicker the movement you make, the more chance you have of catching it. Try again."

When Aslan assured him that mom would love it, his frown brightened up significantly into an ear to ear grin. After his failed fihsing attempt, his brother started to speak and demonstrate what he needed to do. Fate soaked up the information as he processed and stored it in the depths of his mind. He practiced holding his paw out and still but he was still a bit shaky. His brother encouraged him to try it again and he narrowed his eyes, looking intently at the water. The fish started to swim back to where they had been before the failed attempt. He watched their movements before quickly swiping his paw down in one fluent motion. The fish went flying in the air and Fate tried to jump up to catch it but it landed back into the water and swam away. He frowned as he turned back to Aslan. What had he done wrong?

Aslan wasn't sure he'd ever had anyone listen to him quite so intently though Fate was certainly focussed now, mimicking his actions carefully before taking another attempt at catching a fish. He'd definitely taken the advice seriously, the subtle little differences now were clear and as the paw darted down into the water a fish came flying through the air as he scooped it back out. Aslan watched, a proud smile on his face though it seemed it was a little premature. The fish went straight up into the air and though Fate tried hard to catch it, jaws missed the fish and it landed back in it's home with a splash before swimming away again. It had left the boy rather disheartened, once more looking back to Aslan clearly in search of more advice. Fortunately he had it. "If you want to use your paw you've got to scoop backwards rather than straight up, that way it'll hopefully land on the ground rather than back in the water." He informed the boy. There was another tactic of course that he could try, though if you didn't want to stick your head under the water then it wasn't the right method at all. "You could use your mouth to catch it instead of your paw, especially if you're in the water and can't scoop the fish out towards the land. Same thing, keep close but lower your nose to the water instead. You'll have to stick your head under to catch it though."

His older brother had excellent advice as he explained that if he wanted to catch it, he needed to scoop it and throw it towards the land or he could stick his head under water to catch it. "I'd prefer to keep my head drive." He joked with a small giggle as he focused once more on the water. He would catch this last fish for his mom. He narrowed his eyes intently, waiting for the fish to return. In the back of his head, he wondered why the fish returned but he would not concern himself with that... he needed to focus. He watched as the fish started to swarm back to their location as his paw remained still above the water. He would swoop down in one fluid motion aimed towards the land and the fish went flying out through the air onto the shore. Fate ran towards it, picking it up in his jaws. The lack of oxygen and impact of the landing had killed the fish but Fate wanted to make sure. "I cawt it!" He said with excitement as the fish remained in his mouth. "Fank yew Aslan!"

Fate didn't seem quite so keen on the idea of putting his head underneath the water. That was fine, it wasn't to everyone's taste after all and as long as he was close enough to land this tactic should still work. Maybe if his reflexes improved as he got bigger he could even try catching them in the air again, though for now it was best to keep it simple. Aslan watched as Fate once more set to motion on trying again, once more his poised himself over the water, eyes watching carefully and paw ready to strike. In a fluid motion the paw dipped back into the water and once more a fish came flying free, this time sent backwards and landing upon the ground and Fate happily scampered over to retrieve it. Now there was definitely a reason for the wide smile on Aslan's face. "Good job. We'll make a fisherman of you yet." He congratulated him, glad to see his brother succeed and pleased by the happiness it brought him. And he'd helped, that sense of pride was back again. "You're welcome. But go on, go give it to mum whilst it's fresh." He encouraged, the sense of achievement that Fate carried would hopefully rub off on their mother and cheer her up a little.

The young child listened as his older brother congratulated him and spoke of him being a fisherman. This time he set down the fish. "Thank you Aslan! I couldn't have done it without you!" The boy said before his brother told him to run and take it to mom before it became no good. He picked up the fish and scampered off to find his mother, whom he figured he might be able to find back in the den. He was eager to see her reaction to his gift. Now he knew how to fish and he could practice! Fishing was a good way to bridge into hunting. Then maybe his dad could teach him how to fight or maybe he could teach Luck how to fish. The ideas and possibilities flooded him as he eagerly headed towards the family den.

Manners had certainly been instilled into Fate already, a part of Aslan wondered if Varda had played any part in that particular part of education she would certainly be pleased to hear their little brother speaking so well anyway. They weren't exactly a rude family though, to be entirely honest Aslan would have been surprised to hear no thanks at all. Eagerly the boy would bound away to go and give their mother her gift. He opted not to follow, letting Fate explain whatever he wished all on his own and receive all of the praise as well. Maybe he'd go plan another lesson for his little brother, though he had been a little uncertain about the teaching side of things before the pups had been born, apparently he quite enjoyed sharing the knowledge now.