It had been brought up at one of the council meetings that some wolves were getting tired of red meat. Really? They could afford to be picky now? Winter made prey scarce. He and Viper were bringing in tons of red meat, but now that wasn't good enough. The dire wolf almost opened his mouth to make some retort but he remembered his oath at the last minute. That didn't stop him from grumbling audibly though. So what, now they had to go out and catch birds? Or fish? It was disgusting. The bastards should be happy that they were able to eat anything at all.

Chimera sent his dogs to fetch Viper as always. Even the prospect of seeing the woman didn't lighten his spirits. He was too busy being grumpy today. If he ruled, there would be no room for whining. His wolves would take what they were given and they would be thankful. They wouldn't get to pick and choose and generally be prissy fucks.

Taking the net that Viper had used to cover the spike pit, Chimera wrapped it up with a few ropes and other items inside. Today they were going to catch fish, if they were lucky. Once they did, he'd better never hear another word of complaint from the peanut gallery.

Viper hadn’t thought less of Chimera from their last gathering, but she didn’t really dwell on what had happened. It was an amazing experience for her, but she almost didn’t want to get her hopes up that it would be happening again anytime soon. They had done tons of hunting trips prior, and the trip to the springs had seemed to be a once in a while thing so she connected whatever they had done to a day off. The mastiffs would come to grab her and she’d immediately follow them to Chimera. She noted his slightly grumpy attitude since the last few times that had hunted together they were actually smiling back and forth to each other and what not. But she didn’t know what ailed the man’s attitude. They came through the black beach before Chimera dropped the supplies and started to set things up. Viper helped spread out the net and lay out the supplies in preparation for what they were about to craft. A net of some sort. She wasn’t a fond one of fish, hunting a deer had always been easier for her. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

With the supplies laid out, Chimera took a long, thin rope and began winding it through the pre- crafted net. It would make the spaces between much smaller and suppo any fish that they might catch in the net would have less chance of escaping. He planned to throw the merry ot into the ocean and hope that it pulled something in. As he worked his ire died down. Forced to focus on the repetitive task, he didn't have much time for thinking about other things. Again and again he stretched the additional rope through the spaces. It was time consuming but hopefully it would pay off. Occasionally Chimera stole glances at Viper. Mostly to see her progress, but also just to see her. They'd shared their bodies with one another. That was something. An event that he wouldn't mind repeating. The sooner, the better. Ah, but not too soon. They needed to catch disgusting fish first. Maybe afterwards, if they didn't stink too badly, he could have her beneath him again. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Watching Chimera, she caught on quickly as she always had. This reminded her of when they unbraided the rope for the snares, only this time they were braiding instead of taking it apart. She weaved the rope between the already made net that was still borrowed from Hattori, not that he minded. Viper understood pretty quickly they would be after fish once this was all over. They were on the beach, but were they supposed to run around and catch an elk with this? That certainly wouldn’t work. She too would look to Chimera as they worked, not like she had before when she was observing what he was doing to follow. But she also wasn’t gawking over him whilst they work. She could feel his eye on her as well. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

With the gaps on the net made smaller, Chimera then thought about how they might make the net sink. Casting his pale eye across the moonlit beach, the young man got an idea. He'd brought too much rope just in case they needed it and it appeared that they did. Chimera tied a rope to each corner of the net. Not only did he do that, but he tied rocks to the bottom corners of the net so it would sink when they threw it. Chi looked to Viper just as she was looking at him and he gestured to the net, silently asking if she thought it would work. Even if she didn't think so, it was too late now. The knots had been tied. Taking up his corners of the net, Chi bid Viper to do the same. They would have to throw the weighted end out into the surf then pull it back in with the bottom ropes. It didn't sound too difficult, right? With the net ready and their task about to start, Chi looked to Viper again. He wasn't looking for any particular reason. He was looking just to look. The sensations that they'd shared flashed through his mind and a low rumble sounded in his throat. He would have to be patient. He would have to wait. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Viper tied a second layer of rope to the rocks to criss cross the ties, so it would have been less likely for the rocks to slip out. Chimera was looking back to her, but his emotions tend to be more than nothing so she wouldn’t catch on to exactly what he was thinking, at least beyond the crafting of the net. He was either pretty grumpy or giving her an enjoyed grin from time to time, but he never lingered in happiness and he hadn’t lingered in anger around her either. She would at least be on a same wave length by not showing true, emotional feelings even when they arouse. She picked up the side of the net across from Chimera, she would wait to move into his steps to start. Her paw laid on the rope she needed to grab to pull it back in, she was ready. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Viper reinforced the knotwork around the weighted bottom of the net and Chi appreciated her attention to detail. Her paws and mouth were a lot smaller than his so naturally she could do a better job at the tiny things. Once she was finished and they'd taken the net to the surf, the big brute nodded to the small fae. Chi had made two small loops at the ends of long ropes. These ropes were attached to the non-weighted end. Chi slid his paw through the loop on his side and indicated that Viper should do the same. They needed to try and throw the weighted end out past the surf at the same time. He wasn't sure how best they could do it since Viper was so small, but they would try. Taking the net in his mouth, Chi nodded his head three times as though he were counting and made sure that Viper saw him. At the third nod, he stepped forward, curled his neck and released the net. The rock weight sent the net flying out into the moonlit surf. They had only to pull the ropes in and see what they caught... if anything. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Viper placed her paw as Chimera instructed, making sure she would have a hold of the net after they tossed it. Her gaze moved to him as they picked it up and he started to silently count with the bob of his head. She looked out before the third one, ready to throw in sync with him. She had a little more trouble tossing it, but she would manage enough to get it out far enough to where they wanted. As the net hit the water's surface, her paw curled to keep it connected to her. The moonlight over the gentle waves made it difficult to know for sure what would be under the net if anything at all, but they would find out soon enough when they reeled it in. She was ready to start the pull through the current when Chimera was. Their symmetry was impressive given their drastic size differences, and they seemed to work together and do everything with ease, even when Viper had to step up and make a little more work to do so. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Once the net was thrown, Chimera waited for a few moments before he started to pull the net back to shore. Hopefully they had something in it. Any little fish would do. It took quite a bit of pulling to reel the net back in and when they got it to the beach... nothing. Not a single damn fish was in the net. A low growl of frustration sounded and Chimera's lips pulled back from his razor teeth for a moment. This was too much work to go back home empty handed. Taking up the net once more, Chimera threw it into the water again, knowing that Viper would take his cues and follow along. Perhaps they needed to wait longer between casting and pulling. Give the fish some time to settle back into their normal behaviors after the splashing on the surface. Chi sat in the sand, glaring daggers at both the ocean and the net within. He was getting grumpier by the minute. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Viper pulled the net back as Chimera did, and when he opened it to reveal nothing he let out a frustrated growl. Her eras went back to him not being satisfied, that wouldn't do. She wasn't afraid of him in the slightest, only upset that he was. Though, she didn't see the feelings in any kind of romantic way, just how she felt. She gladly set the net up again and prepared to throw along side him. They sat there for a moment, Viper's paw kept twitching ready to pull in with Chimera. Wow, this sucked. Who had the patience for this? Eventually when they made the move, Viper eagerly awaited to see what spoils they might have pulled in. Hopefully Chimera would be a bit happier this time. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

Having decided that they'd waited long enough, the pair began to reel in the net for a second time. This time was a little better than last. They caught a crab in the net. It was a small crab and not worth the trouble. Chimera winced as it latched onto his paw. With a snap, he sent the little creature flying off down the beach. This fishing trip was going to be a bust. He knew it. Taking up the net a final time, Chimera began to move down the beach. Perhaps if they threw it in a different location? There was a small inlet up ahead. Perhaps if they threw the net out into the ocean and dragged it into the inlet, then they'd have at least a little something to take home. Awkwardly, Chi jumped over the water and onto the other side. With the netting in his mouth, he stumbled and almost fell backwards into the water. Thankfully, he kept his footing. With Viper on one side and Chi on the other, he motioned for her to throw. Whipping his neck, Chi threw his side of the net out into the water. Again they waited for a short time before beginning to haul the net back towards the inlet. Instantly, a difference could be seen. Chi saw the water churning as they pulled fish up and into the little pool. He pulled with more enthusiasm now that he'd seen results and soon they had a net full of fish flopping around in the net and on shore. Well... maybe not a net full... but at least twenty or so nice sized fish. The smaller ones that the large fish had been feeding on had filtered through the net. He wasn't sure exactly what kind of fish they were, but the smallest was about a foot long and the largest was two-ish. It was good enough for him. Wrapping up the fish in the net, Chi nodded to Viper, wondering if she was ready to head back home. He was a little grumpy and knew that he smelled like fish, so he wasn't really thinking about sex anymore, unfortunately. "Chimera" -- "Viper"

A flinch went through her body as Chimera was pinched by the crab and flew it across the air. She'd follow still eagerly after him as they moved positions, noticing his more than irritated behavior while he was losing his footing and grunting and the like. They were throwing the net again? Viper let out a little groan herself as they went to prepare. But she too would notice the difference of actually catching the fish. And when they dragged the net in, their catch was quite marvelous. Still not worth all that trouble. But fishing naturally wasn't really an option while all the rivers had frozen up. Chimera would ready them for the move back, and while Viper was happy to do so, she trotted up in front of him, not abruptly or pushy. But her eyes went to search for his, wanting to make his more agitated mood into a better one. And if finding the fish hadn't she supposed other things would. She advanced gently toward him, wanting to grab gentle nibbles under his cheek, a sign for him to know what she was asking for. However, if he refused she wouldn't be heartbroken over it. While it was still new and exciting, she wasn't a big old cry baby and wouldn't be that disappointed if he just wanted to go home. Her only goal was to make him satisfied from what the continuous fishing failing had done. "Chimera" -- "Viper"