[Mercury]

The Dark Moon Queen of Nardir                 ☿ "Being brave means to know something is scary, difficult, and dangerous, and doing it anyway, because the possibility of winning the fight is worth the chance of losing it. - Emilie Autumn

Things were beginning to settle down to business as usual in Nardir.  The borders had been secured, and recently, though with stern warning, the curfew and denning restrictions had been lifted.  However, the pack's center of activity remained at the Castle.  Togetherness and interactions were strengthening their bonds, and the Dark Moon Queen was pleased to see the growth.  Tendrils she was carefully cultivating.  There was still much more to be done, but she felt the need to balance work with well... different work.  As a youngster, Mercury had been taught to fish.  A skill that came in handy in the plethora of lakes and rivers that flowed in Nardir.  It was knowledge that had perhaps not been useful in the mountains, but it would do well to pass it along now.  And she knew just where to start.

Descending down from her den high in the Castle, she stopped into the apartment belonging to Buckshot and Sarajevo.  She did not expect the White Dove of the X Clan to be home, not with her cousin/brother still laid up in one of the ground-level dens.  Sara would sleep near her patient.  It was a healer thing.  But hopefully Buck would be home.  The son of the Adolphin line was Nardir's resident Forester, and Mercury had been meaning to discuss his formal position.  But before that, she figured they would go fishing.  She hadn't had time to get to know the newest generation, and was determined not to be an unobtainable, lofty figure.  Once Buckshot was comfortably in his element, she'd broach the subject of his promotion.

"Good morning, Buckshot."  She greeted from the doorway.  "I fancy fish for breakfast. Would you and your pups like to join me?"


When the arrangements had been made and the children were successfully rounded up, The Queen and her little court descended down towards the water.  There was an island just outside the Mother's Hills that had excellent fishing spots.  If one of the pups was open to the idea, Mercury would scoop one up and set them on her back, walking with poise and even strides so they could be seated easily.  If any of the other members spotted them, her wagging tail would make it clear that this was a relaxed, friendly outing open to all.  After all, fish was a Nardir staple.

☿

[Pawprint]

Buckshot was currently kicking his legs in the air dreaming.  He had an idea and was so excited he couldn't escape it, awake or asleep!  He had found himself a few feet from a group of bumblebees buzzing around their nest just above ground.  He was sure he smelled the honey from the purple flowers that surrounded them.  One of the bees hovered over his nose and watched him.  It looked like the equivalent of tilting its head as a dog.

"Good morning Buckshot."
"Aiieeee!"

With a start, the scruffed up wolf threw his body forward and looked around for bumblebees.  All four legs were awkwardly sticking out as he sat on his rear and his hair sticking up.  His children looked at him as if he was the weirdest dad ever.  Which meant things were normal.

"Sorry kids.  Pa-poo dreamed hard this time.  This bumblebee was talking and it sounded like--"
"LeeLee!"  Beatrice pointed to the entrance.

Buckshot was immediately on all fours and and was at the entrance in three leaps.  The cave curved a little--maybe she didn't notice from where was standing?

"I fancy fish for breakfast...."

Buckshot tried to restrain the smile spreading across his face like the morning sun.  He felt like he was three years old again.  After all the stories Old Adolph told of fishing here, he could finally have a--

"Oh, we'll have a fish partyyyyy!"  Buckshot almost hit the ceiling when he jumped up.  "Come on kids, daddy's gonna build a fish trap.  Maybe we'll find grandpa's old traps too!  His were the sturdiest, best fish traps you've ever seen.  One time he told me he even fell in one and was trapped for a few minutes until another wolf carried him out."  His head swung between them and Mercury.  Surely she knew of Adolph's traps, but he was telling this story to her too.

"If you rather stay behind, grandpa is sleeping in the way back.  I'm sure he'll want to come when he wakes up, but it'll be a while before then."  He waited until those who came caught up to him before heading out the door to follow Mercury.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Beatrice followed her father, but not before swinging to the back of the cave to press her head to Grandpa Adolph's side.  Then she ran squeaking after the group.  Squeaking away from the dens.  Getting distracted by mice as she did the mouse 'three squeak hello' that caught their attention.  Barking different pitches on the trek to the water and pawing at Mercury's chest at the offer to pick her up.

"LeeLee LeeLee LeeLee Lee!"
"Beatrice."

She heard the semi-serious sound of her father and she sat down neatly to show respect.  She had to remember who Leader was, even if this was "fun day Leader."  But now she was on Leader's back and the world was TALL!  So THAT'S what it was like to be a giant wolf like Grampi B and Tica!

[Sekirei]

Rapture followed her dad and sibs to the lake. He was fancying fish for breakfast and she was curious about how one went about getting said fish. She was probably going to watch. When they arrived they saw that Mer-Mer was there and Daddy seemed pleased to see her. "Come on kids, daddy's gonna build a fish trap.  Maybe we'll find grandpa's old traps too!  His were the sturdiest, best fish traps you've ever seen.  One time he told me he even fell in one and was trapped for a few minutes until another wolf carried him out." His head swung between them and Mercury. "If you rather stay behind, grandpa is sleeping in the way back.  I'm sure he'll want to come when he wakes up, but it'll be a while before then." he said.

Rapture just watched as Mer-Mer indulged her sister by letting her onto her back. The brown girl herself trotted beside the black adult, eager to see what sort of silly things her daddy was going to get up into and hanging out with other adults would be fun as well. 

*short post is short*

[Alexander]

Speech:#99ccff

The morning was early and the sun was only just beginning to rise up over the mountain rage. It wasn't something that stopped Alexander though, oh no. The boy had found himself up early every morning and learning his way around the lands. To be frank, he only knew his way from his current home back at the pond and shallow cave inward towards the Castle. He had dared not explore too much for fear of running in to a pack member who did not yet know of his existence (it was a strange thought but one that crossed his mind nevertheless). So he made his way as he always did, tracing his steps from where he started to where he would eventually end up. By now the path had become worn and settled in to a mere dirt line that led him home again each and every time. It was a sobering thought that found its way in to his brain as he watched his footsteps relay dirt upon the ground where grass once used to be. How strange was the concept of repetition? It brought him ease though; a solid, real world thing that amounted to something- even if he still held troubles of knowing who he was.

Yet on his journey this morning he came across a strange sight; the wolf that Hakan had dubbed his sister, and Alpha of Nardir, was straying from the Castle with another behind her chatting to several pups. Ears perked as he watched them go, her tail wagging behind her in a way that led him to believe that if he were to follow and join that he'd be welcome.

So he did just that.

But not right away. No, he lingered behind, out of sight for a moment with uncertainty building up in his chest, but in the end found the courage to take that first step and follow behind his leader and the trailing loud voices of pups eager to fish.


-----
ooc: short post is also short whoops

Down an unknown road

to embrace my fate

Though that road may wander,

it will lead me to you

[Kimster]

A fish expedition? Schimmah watched with wide eyes as Mercury went past, carrying a pup on her back with more clamouring around her, and with another wolf following. Mercury's tail was swaying in a relaxed manner, seeming to invite Schimmah along. The young wolfess watched as the procession drifted off, and saw a golden coloured male hesitating on the edges. His expression mirrored her own feelings, so much so that she immediately felt a kinship to him. Finally he did decide to follow, and as he passed her den she also slunk out and tiptoed behind him.

Kind of hoping he wouldn't notice her, but sorta hoping he does? It was a weird feeling. After her talk with Hakan she felt much more positive about staying in this pack, and she knew that she had to brave and make friends on her own, not just sit around hoping that she wouldn't be eaten. Maybe, with this fishing expedition, she would meet more packmembers and maybe, just maybe, they won't be too scary? And best yet, she could show Mercury that she's not just a sparkly rock finder, but a fisher wolf! Yeah!

Uh... she didn't exactly know how to fish, but she was pretty sure it wasn't too difficult?

This little bird was spreading it's wings.

----o0o----

The most horrendous snoring filled a den set at the outermost edge of the gathering. A blue male with a striking coat was sprawled on his side with his head turned almost upside down. One back leg twitched spasmodically as he dreamt. With a gnark, sporfle, gnak uck noice he startled awake as a squeaking pierced his ears. What on earth was making that noise? Opening a bleary green eye he saw Mercury passing by with a male that looked sort of familiar, and one of the pups was making that racket. A squeaking pup? Well, now he's seen - and heard - everything.

He gazed at the procession ambling by, catching something about a fishing expedition. Hmf. Nice. Fish for lunch. Yumm. Oooo he hadn't eaten so well in WEEKS. He smiled happily, it was good to be part of a pack again. He loved being in the middle of it, knowing all the juicy little gossip stories, knowing all the little feuds and friendships. He hadn't met all the pack yet, of course, but he's started off well.

He yawned and stretched, taking his time and keeping his eyes closed, completely missing Tobie and Schimmah going by his den. For a moment he stood like that, his eyes still closed - yeah he'll join the fishing thing...later. As if a puppeteer had cut his strings, he flopped back down to the ground and snoozed on.

[Mother Moon]

Nardirian Fishing Mini-Game

How to Play

• To begin the game, write an RP post that describes your character attempting to catch a fish.
  • remember not to describe the fish in any way, but you can describe technique, traps or other setup information
    
• Copy/paste the following code in our Discord "Dicebox" channel to randomly roll a result. Match the number to the corresponding fish chart provided below.
  
  
  !1d20
  

(PM Scy if you have any issues)

• In the following round's post, Quote your result and then RP how your character deals with it.
  
• Characters are not required to fish each round, but are required to have a dice result that can be matched in the channel to verify what they caught. No auto-catching! (That's cheating!)
  

Fishing Results Chart

[S] = Small  (single serving) [M] = Medium (dinner for two)  [L] = Large (family style) [XL] = Extra Large (catering order)

1. Miss		11. Water Weed
2. Lake Trout [M]		12. Lake Herring [S]
3. Stick		13. Rainbow Trout [M]
4. Northern Pike [L]		14. Miss
5. Water Weed		15. Catfish [M]
6. Old Skull (your choice)		16. Stick
7. Miss		17. Rainbow Trout [S]
8. Miss		18. Stick
9. Walleye [M]		19. Chinook Salmon [M]
10. Brook Trout [S]		20. Lake Sturgeon [XL]

[Mercury]

The Dark Moon Queen of Nardir                 ☿ "Being brave means to know something is scary, difficult, and dangerous, and doing it anyway, because the possibility of winning the fight is worth the chance of losing it. - Emilie Autumn

Mercury waited politely as a yelp resounded from somewhere inside, followed by the high-pitched yipping of pups.  A moment later, a sleep-rumpled Buckshot came to the door.  If he had been human, would he have even remembered pants?  Good thing they were furry... 

"Oh, we'll have a fish partyyyyy!"  Buckshot's enthusiasm caught the Queen off guard a bit, and she stepped back in surprise at his bunny hop.  "Come on kids, daddy's gonna build a fish trap.  Maybe we'll find grandpa's old traps too!  His were the sturdiest, best fish traps you've ever seen.  One time he told me he even fell in one and was trapped for a few minutes until another wolf carried him out."

She smiled back at Buck, knowing exactly what he was talking about.  The spot they were heading to was one of the more well known among the original Nardirians.  After all, it had been Adolph who had taught her to fish, all those seasons ago. Mercury chuckled a bit, but stepped away from the doorway while the family got ready to go.

"LeeLee LeeLee LeeLee Lee!"

Mercury obliged Beatrice's request to be picked up, but not until her little butt had thumped on the floor at her father's implied command.  Her smile at Bea was warm and amused, and she stood patiently while the little girl got comfortable.  Rapture followed along in their wake, a bit more reserved than her sister.  She remained focused on keeping her steps balanced for Bea's ride and making smalltalk with Buckshot, but the two shyer members of their procession did not go unnoticed.  Wanting to keep the pressure out of the situation, Mercury politely ignored Shimmah and Alexander.

"You know," The Dark Moon chatted.  "We are going to the exact place where your father taught me to fish."

☿

[Sekirei]

Rapture noticed Shimmy following and her eyes soon landed on a gold and black male. Tilting her head as a curious feeling came over her, the young pup watched as he joined the procession. His green eyes were so...pretty. Rapture let her speed slow until she had ended up near him. That strange feeling got stronger in response and she felt her face get a little warm. Aku-Aku and Tico had made her feel similarly but this was both stronger and a little different. Aku-Aku and Tico were family. This wolf wasn't. She suddenly felt shy but stuck trailing near him, not wanting to draw attention to herself by catching up to her dad and Merc-Merc.

She kept her bi-colored eyes on the ground in front of her, occasionally looking over to catch glimpses of the male. Her ears started burning a little. "Rapture. That's my name. What's yours?" she suddenly blurted out, looking up at the male. Her gold and blue eyes looked at him a bit earnestly. She wanted to know who he was. If nothing else, it would be a good distraction from the strange events that were going on. Aku-Aku had gone away and Momma wasn't talking. This male seemed shy and a bit unsure. She wanted to help him out.

[Alexander]

Speech:#99ccff

The golden prince didn't notice the child right away until she'd spoken.

"Rapture. That's my name. What's yours?"

His head swung down in surprise to see her matching his walking speed; ears perked as he took her tiny frame in a moment- his own skin reddening under his fur. Was she talking to him? He'd never really...interacted...with children before, and quite frankly was unsure of how to approach this very overly extroverted child.

"Uhh--Tobie. Hello." he finally said as he walked on, barely noticing as they arrived at the lake.

"It's uh, it's nice to meet you, Rapture." Alexander's ears pulled back a bit as he looked up to see the Queen walking along ahead of him with the other pups still in tow. He felt a rumble in his stomach as he looked back out over the water, his own paws trailing him away from the pup and towards the shore banks. He'd lift his head and take in a deep breath of air, tail swaying gently behind him. Alexander didn't know if the child had followed or not, but if she had then she surely would have seen a smile creeping upon his face.

It was peaceful here. Golden green eyes scanned the water for a moment before a splash caught his attention; head swinging in the direction of the splash- his entire body stiffening as he watched it. The boy smirked as he slowly took a step in to the water, and then another. He didn't have a plan- he was simply going to creep up and then lunge for the first fish he saw. Sure, it wasn't pretty, but it was definitely something a dog would have done- and it was something Alexander was for sure about to do.

ANGUS- AlexanderToday at 2:43 AM
!1d20
DiceParserBOTToday at 2:43 AM
# 4
Details:[1d20 (4)]

He waded in the water silently for a moment, golden green eyes scanning the top of the waters edge as a stillness hung in the air. The only sounds he could hear were the pumping of blood from his heart to his ears and the sound of his stomach screaming for some breakfast. He had no plan, unless one considered waiting and nose diving in with open jaws was a plan. It was like watching a swan dive, though less graceful as Alexander stood there silent one moment, and then dove in to the water head first with a loud splash the next. When he finally managed to resurface, he found himself victorious with a large northern pike caught between his tightening jaws.

Down an unknown road

to embrace my fate

Though that road may wander,

it will lead me to you

[Aeneas]

    The voices outside the den startled Aeneas to wakefulness, but he groaned and shoved his head further beneath Adolph's furry hide to block out the sound. The only voices he recognized for sure were those of his father and siblings, so this couldn't be that important, could it? Something about a fish party. Aeneas didn't want anything to do with a fish party. That sounded ridiculous. And besides, he didn't know how to fish.

    It wasn't until the voices receded and he was left alone with Adolph that he finally realized that perhaps his not knowing how to fish was precisely what this fish party was designed to remedy.

    With another groan, Aeneas rolled away from his sleeping grandfather and dragged himself out of the den. He could still hear voices in the distance, and assumed they'd headed to the lake-- that seemed the logical course for a fish party. And he had better start being sociable. And productive. Or something. With a quick shake to rid his fur of any stray moss and bedding, he began trotting down to the water. He could pick out familiar forms as he went-- Mercury, his sisters, his father-- but blanked at the gold wolf coming out of the water with a fish. Oh well, he'd learn his name later, probably.

    Aeneas took up a spot along the bank near Beatrice, and watched the water carefully. How does one catch a fish? He strained to remember anything his father had said on the matter. Something something something traps? Bait? He could lay a trap with some bait. Or he could at least try. With a despondent sigh at what he was about to do, Aeneas grabbed a few long fronds of grass in his mouth and waded out into the water. Fish darted away from his moving legs, but then he stopped moving and let the grass float on the water, right in front of his nose. And then he waited.

    It wasn't long before curious fish began to investigate the grass, treating his unmoving form as just another part of the lake. As one swam up into the grass, Aeneas lurched forward and attempted to close his jaws on it.

Puffin - Aeneas, BecruxToday at 6:38 PM
!1d20
DiceParserBOTToday at 6:38 PM
# 3
Details:[1d20 (3)]

    Aeneas came away with a stick in his jaws. He let the stick go, and scrambled up out of the water to shake off on the shore. "That stick came outta nowhere," he muttered to anyone in earshot.

[Kimster]

Schimmah hung back and watched the other wolves dive in faces first. Her maw crinkled upwards slightly in disgust - ew. Just, like, take it in your mouth? The big wolf closest to her muttered something about a stick that came out of nowhere. The expression on his face made her giggle, and if he happened to look her way she'd widen her eyes pretend not have heard him - shy girl is super shy.

Although, that thing he did with the grass was kinda clever. The young wolfess was sure she could do better! Pretty sure. Um. Sorta sure. Hm. She started plucking bendy fronds and grass that looked long enough, weaving them into a type of basket. She'd gotten a lot of practice with baskets lately! But this particular basket's holes were too big to keep stuff like herbs inside. The final product was messy and wobbly. She gave it a critical look, scowling - ugh, not sure if this thing is going to work, but at least if she tried she'd know if her idea had merit. Gently taking it in her maw, she waded into the water, wrinkling her nose at the oozing sludge between her toes. Guessing at where the fish might swim, she placed the trap in the water and stood still, gazing into the murky depths and hoping her trap might work.

Fishy shapes darted around her paws, and then one darted into the trap....and with a quick dip she scooped the trap out with a good sized Northern Pike inside! Yeah the idea worked! Well, ok sort of. She still had to stand there and scoop it out, but at least she wasn't covered in grass and mud. Hm. What she needed was to fashion it in a way that fish would get in, but not out. Sloshing back to the bank, she pondered her next trap.

Kimster - SchimmahToday at 1:39 PM
!1d20
DiceParserBOTToday at 1:39 PM
# 4
Details:[1d20 (4)]