At the Water's Edge (Closed)

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River padded along the river bank, staring into the water as she explored. She had some time off - what was a hunter supposed to do when there was plenty of prey to last a couple days? - so she took advantage of it the best way she knew how - seeking some unknown land and trying to figure out as much about it as possible. This was the third area she had seen, she supposed, with the first two being the Orchard and the Blue Plain. There were differences that marked the edges of each part of the world, but also similarities. The other two places also had water and plenty of plants, though the plant life - and animal life as well, she assumed - was remarkably different. Perhaps she could hunt here and bring her prey back. Then it could be considered a productive hunting trip and not just her getting away from the territory for a while.

She stopped to rest on a flat rock near the water's edge. As she gazed into the river, some odd moss caught her eye. It had blossoms all through it, it seemed, and it looked like there was plenty of it. It was pretty, and it looked soft. Maybe she could gather some and let it dry out a bit before carrying it home. It could make excellent bedding...

The feline stood and stretched, and then reached down into the water to gather the moss and pull it as gently as she could toward the shore. It occurred to her that she might want to grab as much as she could carry. Maybe Kayalee and Ebony would like some for their own nests, as well.

[poppy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=background,http://i49.tinypic.com/16itg0y.png,true] Fennel floated along the slow-moving river for a few more moments, enjoying the cool water running over his back, before he climbed out, scrambling to get a grip on the slippery river bank. The mud made it difficult to get much traction, and it stuck to his white paws, negating any cleansing effects the river water may have had on them. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best idea to go for a swim, he thought, but it was certainly nice. After all, his winter coat was starting to come in a bit sooner than he had expected, making his skin uncomfortably warm at times, and Fennel needed to wash off anyway -- the burrs that clung to his fur were becoming intolerable. The canine finally made his way up the steep bank and wiped his paws on a patch of grass before shaking himself thoroughly to dry off, drops of water flying every which way. It was a while before Fennel spotted the spindly feline lounging on a rock not ten tail-lengths away from him. He watched as she stuck her paw in the river, thoroughly confused, as he was unable to see the moss from where he was standing. She had a striking pelt, he noticed, the high-contrast black and white fur making her easily visible against the warm tones of falling leaves. "Hello," he finally said after observing her for a while longer, realizing he probably looked like an idiot. "I hope you're not startled by my random climb out of the water." The canine chuckled. "I was just going for a swim. I don't think we've met before. My name is Fennel."

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River easily had enough moss for her own nest by the time the canine approached, so the interruption of her task didn’t bother her as much as it might have. She turned to face the canine, listening as he spoke. He seemed different from the other two canines she remembered meeting – one being kind but something of a show-off and the other being…hyper, for lack of a more polite word. This one seemed to be friendly and polite, which would make him easy to get along with. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to hang around and talk for a bit.

“We haven’t,” she responded when he said he didn’t believe they’d met before. “I’m River.” She inclined her head to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

[poppy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=background,http://i49.tinypic.com/16itg0y.png,true] "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, River," the canine said, rolling the name around in his mouth. He found it unusual that she would be named after a natural feature -- after all, the rest of the beings he'd met had names like Orad or Nixen. Now, those you didn't hear in everyday speech. But still, he thought, I'm the one named after a vegetable, aren't I? Fennel licked his lips, and, as if on cue, his stomach began to rumble. I'm hungry, he realized. It was a sensation that he had felt several times in the past, but each time it seemed to take him by surprise. He'd never had fennel before, but he thought he could use some to sate his appetite. Fennel probably tastes quite delicious, he thought, and giggled, a decidedly un-masculine sound coming from his throat. Fennel sauntered to where River was. Now he could tell that she had been gathering moss -- to use as a bandage of sorts, he supposed, or perhaps a building material. It was a good conversation starter, at the very least. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you gathering that moss?"

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Indeed, he seemed very polite, even without being too formal. Ebony had been polite as well upon their first meeting, though he had a tendency to call her “madam” until she’d insisted he stop. This level of formality she could work with.

He licked his lips and his stomach rumbled. Was he hungry? Come to think of it, it wouldn’t hurt her to have a bite or two to eat. Maybe they should hunt. It was unlikely that he was part of the tribe – the only two members she knew of other than herself were Kayalee and Ebony – but that shouldn’t matter, should it? The tribe was a peaceful one.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a…giggle? Her ears flicked, but otherwise she tried not to react. It wasn’t a bad thing, but certainly not what she’d expected. What did she expect? Well, no, that didn’t matter.

He asked about the moss, and she poked at it. “It’s pretty and soft. I thought it’d make a good lining for my nest once it dried out a bit.” She considered it a moment, and then spread what she had gathered on a rock to dry. “If I let it dry here, it may take a bit, and I’m getting hungry. I don’t suppose you’d care to join me in a hunt?” She could easily enough hunt on her own, but he seemed hungry, too. Why not work together?

[poppy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=background,http://i49.tinypic.com/16itg0y.png,true] The canine listened politely to River explaining the moss she had gathered. He had been right, or at least partially -- a building material for her nest. Come to think of it, perhaps a nest would be useful for himself, especially during the winter months. His coat was more than thick enough to weather the mild winters of the land, but a nest would be more comfortable than finding any patch of soft grass with a tree to offer protection from the elements where he would settle down for the night, as he was doing now. Fennel shook his head to clear his wandering mind, once again focusing on the small feline before him. She was hungry, too, evidently, and the thought of sharing a hunt entered his head before she offered the idea. He hadn't had anyone to hunt with since the last time he had seen Nixen, and that was a long time ago. Since then, Fennel had had to catch prey on his own -- a difficult task considering his size and the amount of food needed to maintain it. He was used to going to bed on a not-entirely-full stomach by now, but the canine wished he was more adept at hunting. It would certainly make life easier, and he wouldn't have to annoy others by constantly pestering them for food. But River was willing to go with him, and, well, he needed to eat. "I would love to join you on a hunt, River," he replied. "But I should warn you, I am, ah, not so good at hunting. Honestly, I'm very bad at it." Fennel ducked his head in embarrassment. A dog of his size and age that couldn't catch its own prey? Ridiculous.

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She blinked when he warned her that he wasn’t good at hunting, but decided it was in bad taste to inquire about it. It was possible to survive without eating meat, she supposed, but the thought of living a vegetarian lifestyle was not something she found appealing. In any case, they were going to be hunting partners at the moment, and that meant helping each other, even if he was right and it meant mostly her helping him. Why not? Playing teacher could be fun.

“Do you have a particular strategy you use?” she asked after a moment. “Or any preferred prey?” If he had a type of hunting that worked best for him, it might be best to start from here, build up his skill, and then work on other methods.

She frowned as she thought. "Maybe I should give you tie to think about this. Come find me in the plains when you're ready to learn." She grabbed her moss and padded home.

((Sorry, Poppy. ^.^; Didn't know if you were gonna respond to this again or not, so...))