[html] | http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> Mason Hesiod had found clan life to be quite agreeable and exciting in the short span of time he had been part of Inferni. He was still very grateful to have happened upon this place at all. The day he had arrived, it had been pouring rain and he had had very little sense of which direction he was taking. In fact, he had almost not believed it when he had encountered the scent of coyotes at the borders, triggering an instant recognition that creatures like himself frequented the lands.
For the past stretch of time, he had been Kaena Lykoi's shadow. He had ghosted her footsteps, especially taking care to step in them for whatever reason. Although he was quite young and often piped up with an endless amount of questions for his elders in the clan, he was reserved for someone his age. A lot of the time, he would sit back and observe Kaena doing things, even from the smallest details like the way she gestured or made facial expressions when she spoke. He often mimicked her silently, trying to learn her ways. He was instantly taken with the scarred Veritas and trusted her implicitly. If she said pieces of the sky fell down when it rained, he would believe her.
She had mentioned taking him to teach him to fish upon the time of his arrival, but the woman was understandably busy. Still, she provided him with shelter, security, and a lot to think about in the meantime. And so Mason had broken off from her for a while, deciding that he wanted to try to surprise her by catching one of those illusive "fishings" she had described as scaly things that livedi n the water. Mason Hesiod headed toward the biggest body of water he knew, figuring there had to be tons of "fishings" in there.
When he reached the shore, he scrambled over the gritty ground until the waves lapped at his feet. He looked down at the water incredulously. He supposed scaly things would be shiny. But the problem was that the water made a lot of things shiny. Shrugging his small shoulders, the pup went deeper into the water and started snapping at anything that so much as glimmered. He figured the best way to catch a "fishing" was to bite it, after all that had been the way he had caught mice while he was on his own.
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I hope I got Mason's general information figured out okay... you didn't have your profile filled out so I'm kind of guessing. And I also rambled. D:
[html] Two days in and some of the soreness was starting to leave his body, though the bandaged gash in his side was still the most tender thing there was. His head had long stopped aching and the heavy blanket of myopia had been reduced to what it usually was. He felt more sure on his feet, clearly recovering through the care that had been doled out to him. Despite whatever informal bringing up he had been given, he knew without anything said that he was indebted to Inferni; a concept that was mature for a adolescent to grasp. But Hezekiah was unknowingly mature and clear-headed for what was going on his life. He hated the uncertainty and the not knowing, but it didn’t drive him into the throes of anxiety or the fear that had addled his brain a day or two ago.
No, he was surprisingly calm. Just as calm as he had been watching Anselm drag a corpse away and make another pike for another head to sit upon. So in a sense as he meandered loosely through the vast territory that Inferni had claimed, he applauded himself for handling things like an adult. And it really was something that Hezekiah had to do on his own, because he knew that he would not be getting the praise anywhere else. Certainly not from his father. Even though the circumstances as to how he had ended up where he was and how he had gotten injured had yet to come back to him, the fog that had been over his general life had lifted. He now had the understanding of why he had told Kaena he would most likely consider a home with them.
There really wasn’t that much back home for him.
Not knowing where it was only attributed to the ease of leaving it behind, although there were certainly things that he missed about it. Things that did not cross his mind as he took in the sights, allowing himself to be drawn towards the shore simply because of the auditory delight it gave him. He was familiar with the coast, albeit not this one. The coast he had been raised on faced the rising sun, not the setting one. Out where the treeline broke for the rocky, sandy shores did he emerge, taking easy but long strides towards the crisp waters. He wouldn’t dare get his bandage wet and would especially not tolerate the stinging of the salt water anywhere near his healing wound, but he would enjoy the seaside all the same.
Even more so because there was someone there that he could possibly connect with. So far all he had encountered were adults that seemed either as old as his father or slightly younger (what their true ages were he didn’t bother estimating), so to spot someone who was similar to him—a child, distinctly coyote albeit a lighter shade than he—coaxed him to drop his charade of being oh-so-mature and older than he really was. As the distance between them closed, Hezekiah’s brow furrowed at the sight that the younger lad was making. Splashing, hopping, snapping wildly at what he could only guess were the glimmers of fish… and he wasn’t really that good at it.
“What’re you doing?” Hezekiah called out to him softly after watching him snap a couple times more. It should have seemed fairly obvious what he was doing, but for all he knew, maybe this boy was just playing with the fish. Something else Hezekiah could have related to, given that he had either been too young and small or old and big to really tussle with anyone purely for fun. Which was probably why he was how he was; a budding intellectual made of easily shaped clay instead of a refined hunter or fighter made out of stone. [/html]
[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">The water was salty in his mouth, burning his taste buds. Still, Mason continued snapping at the foam-capped water and coming up gagging for air with his nose wrinkled. He only hoped that the scaly creatures that lived beneath the sparkling water would not taste as salty as their environment. Kaena had seemed to savor the thought of fishing, but he could not imagine the woman eating anything that tasted this funky. Slightly frustrated by this new development, Mason dug further into his hunting knowledge. Hunting usually worked out better if the prey could not see the hunter. He wondered how he could make that work out. His yellow-eyed reflection stared back at him from the water. If even he could see himself, how was he supposed to sneak up on those fishings!? His yellow gaze jumped up when he heard a noise. The boy hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, and any scents of strangers would have been masked by the strong scent of the ocean. He was wide-eyed until he finally took in the form of another coyote. He was glad to note that this one didn't appear to be full grown. Mason would have felt foolish if Gabriel had happened upon his futile attempts to catch the fishings. "I'm trying to get the fishings!" he said, tail wagging. "Wanna get some for Kaena!" It didn't dawn on Mason that this guy might not know Kaena. He dashed toward the male with the palest blue eyes and ran a small half circle around him, before stopping to stand beside him. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "We has to hide from them to catch them."
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[html] Ah, so he was fishing. A small smile spread across the length of Hezekiah’s muzzle as the boy bounded out of the water to circle around him with enough excitement for both of them. It was endearing, to say the least, of him to be fishing for Kaena. Aside from Inferni, he felt he was particularly indebted to her as well, because she had been kind enough to make sure he was well off before turning him loose through the territory itself. But Mason did have the right idea about catching them — they most certainly did have to hide. Standing in the water and charging into whatever swallow-watered piles turned up didn’t do them any good.
“I don’t think they can see or hear us up here,” Hezekiah murmured back, letting his gaze roam from the younger boy to the rolling sea and the surrounding landscape. “I’m not that good at fishing in this form either… but what if you tried to jump on them off of the rocks over there?” Gesturing towards the aforementioned rocks with a finger, he took a tentative step towards them, carefully making his steps on the real possibility that the tricky fish would see his taller figure moving towards them.
“Since you’re smaller and quicker, I bet if you sneak real careful on these rocks, they won’t see you coming. And then when the next wave comes in… you could try jumping on them.” They moved right along with the waves, seemingly pushed by them, so it seemed like a good idea. He stopped just before the damp rocks, just where the sand was damp enough to stick to the bottom of his feet, and peered towards co-conspirator. “What do you think?” [/html]
[html] | http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> Mason decided to put his faith into this coyote instantly. He had spent a considerable amount of time as a vagabond and had become wary of the world and the potentially unfriendly faces in it. But the boy knew that within the bounds of Inferni he was safe. The pale-eyed stranger smelled distinctly of the clan already, and he took comfort in that commonality. He could identify with him already, and the smile on his face welcomed trust.
The sandy-coated boy did not know a lot about fishings, aside from the fact that they lived in water. He also knew that they were tricky little creatures, although he had just formed the theory on this beach while attempting to catch one. Mason wasn't afraid of a challenge, but he would rather work smarter than work harder. He was all about results. However, the coyote he just met seemed to have some sort of an idea about how to deal with these dastardly fishings.
Mason followed the stranger's movements, mimicking the way he moved. His footsteps were careful, but he also dug his paws deep into the sand in an effort not to stray in his path. He pulled his legs up high and stepped with effort and then clambered up on to the rocks. His yellow eyes were steady on the waves, though he turned his glance to the pale-eyed coyote for a moment. "My name's Mason," he whispered loudly. "What's your names? I will share the fishings with you."
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Sorry about the wait.
[html] “I'm Hezekiah,” he supplied, just as quietly as the younger boy. For the first time since he had been taken in by Inferni, a small smile graced his usually stoic features. Now that they had been acquainted, it was time to get into place and perhaps their assault on the silvery fish in the salty sea. Though he did not join Mason on the rocks, Hezekiah crouched carefully and leaned against them all the same to put himself eye-level with his newfound friend, mindful of the bandaged wound at his side as he did so, and peered out at the rolling shallow waters.
“Look, they're gathering again. They think we're gone,” he said, gesturing with one hand ever so slightly over the top of the rough stone as the waves pushed the fish to-and-fro. He turned his attention back to Mason with an encouraging grin. “Are you ready?” If the fish were as stupid as Hezekiah believed them to be, their first shot didn't have to be the best. It would have been fantastic, but there was a logical part of his mind that ruled against the likelihood that they'd be straight A fish-catchers right off the bat.
But they'd find out in a matter of seconds. [/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/S ... ranges.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat; width:300px; border:1px #000000 solid; font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px;"> It happens. 
Mason's dewclaws scrambled against the rocks as they made purchase on their craggy surface. After he felt as though he had a good sense of balance, he peered over the edge into the glittering water. Hezekiah's confidence in their plan gave the young boy faith that this effort would work. At least, it would work better than all of his previous attempts. Mason figured that anything had to be better than spitting out overly salty water for hours after his efforts.
The tawny-pelted boy grinned and nodded that he was in fact ready to make his first attempt at this method of fishing. His muscles tensed as he saw the tell-tale glimmer of fish scales, his heart pounding with excitement. It was difficult for him not to dance about in excitement, which would have caused him to fall off the rocks. He kept this in mind as his yellow eyes followed the glimmer-shadows of his targets.
The boy sprang into the ocean, splashing water about as he scrambled to catch a fish. Taking a deep breath, he plunged fast into the water, snapping at the slippery fish. He resurfaced twice, chasing after the fish in the water as they swam away frantically. After several seconds, his head emerged with a great surge of water, his oversized ears dripping. His teeth were exposed in a canine grin and he turned toward Hezekiah to show him that he had indeed captured some of their prey. A small, undersized fish hung from his teeth, flopping from side to side. He had managed to sink his teeth into the thin membrane of the fish's tail fin.
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It's kind of the story of my life. I've gotten so bad at time management everywhere else but my homework, lol. ;_; Cute table, btw!
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... p/hezt.png) no-repeat top center;">
In the blink of an eye, Mason had jumped into the ocean shallows and in another blink, he had disappeared beneath the frothy white-tops of the waves as they rolled in, his body nothing more than a dark blur like the scattering fish he was after. Hezekiah tensed, his breath held in without much acknowledgement at all and it was baited at that — he wanted to know if his plan worked or not. For every second that went by, it seemed like the race to the next one got slower and slower until finally, just behind the next set of waves that rolled in, Mason’s sandy head peaked through the waters with an expression nothing short of triumph.
And in turn, Hezekiah beamed just as broad of a smile back to him. “You did it! You caught a fish!” he called out to him despite stating the obvious and pulled away from the outcropping of rocks around to the shore where he expected to see the younger boy come back to land. They had got one fish now and even if it was a small fish, it was still a fish. It was still success, it was a start off on the right foot. “Man, you looked just like a fish yourself when dove underwater after them like that,” he went on to say, with a hearty wave of his bushy tail, just daring to creep close enough to the waters that they met his ankles.
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Homework is a good thing to be on top of, and thanks And this is going to be short & crap, because I have to take a quiz in this class soon :X
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/S ... ranges.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat; width:300px; border:1px #000000 solid; font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px;"> Mason struggled against the water, making his footsteps heavier as he made his way toward his fishing companion. The fish was held clenched in his teeth, though a canine smile was apparent on his face. As he reached the shallowest waters, he blinked salt from his eyes. The fish was still wriggling, struggling to return to the water. The boy shook his head heard, flipping the fish about in retaliation to its struggles.
"Ah'felllt dike ah feesh," he said, his speech muffled by the fact that his teeth were closed to keep his prey intact. He came on to the shore and dropped the fish to the sand, putting his paw down on it to keep it from flipping back into the water. He was sopping wet and his oversized ears dropped from the sopping wet salt water. He shook himself out, water droplets flying about as he tried to loosen the moisture from his fur. "It is for you!" he said, beaming.
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