[PRP] To Gain Focus (Vanquish & Shimmering Shoals)

[Syrie]

Vanquish was not in a pleasant mood as he stomped through what was once clear water. He had gone closer to one of the rivers feeding the section of the swamp that he preferred, intending to cool his head and do some fishing -- how difficult could it be -- but the flashing scales of the fish had proven extremely fugitive.

Vanquish's bad mood had only gotten worse as his hooves churned the water brackish.

"Sun and scales!" He hissed through pointed teeth, snapping down at what he thought was a fish only to come up with a mouthful of waterweed. The buck swept his ears back in ill temper and seemed ready to explode.

Clearly, the finer points of fishing, such as accounting for the skew of water refraction or just...not stomping around, had escaped him.

Please let me know if anything needs to be changed or edited for this open!

[seru_ame]

It was a rare day for Shimmering Scales. He'd felt an impulse, an urge, to swim upstream, up river. Through the shallows, the rise and fall of his mighty fluke carrying him far. Fish swam alongside him for a time- kin of the kin, attracted by his scales. He wasn't hungry right then, and so, he welcomed their company. From time to time, he had to tip his head up, and take a breath, of course, but, up until a point, he traveled beneath.

Eventually, though, the water turned murky, agitated- not by the natural eddies, but instead, with fluffy hooves. He twisted, touched his hooves down, and slowly hauled his bulk out onto the riverbank. Fury-laced words cursed the water-weed in the other buck's mouth, and the kiokote canted his head curiously. With his mane plastered to his neck, he looked a sight, he was sure.

"Lo, friend- that might make a fine meal if you dry it out, but you don't look the type to mean to catch it so," he half-sang, slow, melodic words, "harshly?"

Nono, it's a good starter~ Ty for it <3

[Syrie]

As he stood, fuming over the mouthful of waterweed, a new scent pricked his senses. Unfamiliar, damp and clearly of the water. Vanquish's ears flicked as a brilliantly coloured kin rose labourously from the river. The buck spat the waterweed and shifted around so that he presented not only his front but also much of his right flank towards the newcomer; if trouble was wanted, he was at a disadvantage but he was ready.

The kiokote's first words read as mocking, which caused his feathers and fur to bristle further, but Vanquish had not survived as long as he had with making foolish judgments. "We are not friends, stranger." He growled his words, lashing his tail against the surface of the water as it ran past his knees, ever clearer with the kimeti's stillness.

He considered the other's shape and size, the knowledge that waterweed could be dried for a passable meal - news to him. After a long pause, his ruffled feathers smoothed and he spoke again. "I was fishing."

[seru_ame]

Shimmer yawned, a far too wide maw filled with needle-like seal teeth showing just briefly before he tossed his head, wrinkled his nose. He made no effort to get any closer, let his tail hang in the water. He smiled lazily, reassuringly, and stretched to get his legs under him more fully. "My mistake, then, but I don't think we're enemies, either." Pink eyes studied the buck, and he looked down at the still slightly-murky water at his knees.

"Oh? Well, I've never been fishing for waterweed before," he half-teased before lofting his tail and turning to wade half-way back into the water, tipped his head to peer back down into the waters. "Are there many fish here?"

[Syrie]

As the newcomer continued to be unperturbed and show no signs of aggression, Vanquished relaxed his vigilant stance. The thick mane on the kiokote's neck was drying and standing up like thick grass and he had teeth that were made for malice. A predator like himself, but not overtly aggressive, this one felt like play, which was something Vanquish hadn't seen in a long time - partially by choice and partially by fate.

"Mmm." Vanquish scented the air, feathers ruffling as he moved to stay just out of reach from the kiokote out of habit. "There were many fish. Hiding in the waterweed." He rumbled, peering down at his legs and finding the tension leeching out with the chill of the water. Or perhaps it was the calm of the kin near him that was affecting his own mood? Vanquish side-eyed his fishy companion thoughtfully. "It should be easy to catch." And yet.

And yet. As he considered this, his frustration rose again. What had he done wrong? He had no problems catching voles, lizards, and even ground birds! Fish surely weren't so difficult. The Kiokote had a fish tail...perhaps he should just take him out and eat him? No, that wasn't the way - unless the newcomer tried attacking first, Vanquish wouldn't savage him. It didn't seem that would happen, so he could only return his attention to the swirling river water around his legs, watching the water clear slowly around both their legs.

"You can fish?" Only the slightest inflection made it a question rather than a statement.

[seru_ame]

Shimmering had a generous layer of fat under his skin, over his muscles. A well-fed predator could afford to be playful. He twitched his skin, his scales and fur standing up a little. He was not moving in any kind of hurried manner, watching the ripples as the murk around his feet mellowed. He let his fluke relax. His eyes didn't stray from the water. "Mmm. There are many. They are not terribly easy to catch- I can't catch birds to save my skin," he confessed quietly, and then lowered his head so his muzzle was nearly, nearly grazing the water.

He opened his mouth, and lowered it in, slowly, slowly-

SNAP! -down, coming up with a flailing fish in his mouth , which he dragged to the shore and dropped before recollecting it by the tail- and slammed it down on the ground to stop its suffering. He lifted his head, and smiled. "Yes, I can fish. You can, too. Count your breath, don't flail."

[Syrie]

Vanquish shuddered to get midges off his body, even at the river there was little chance of escaping them without having applied something special from the swamp - and that dried itchy. He was less fond of the crusty feeling than he was of being bitten by tiny vampires - one was a strange flight of fancy, the other a fact of life.

"Birds, lizards. Vole. I catch them. This..." He watched Shimmering with great intensity, tattered ears pricked forward and eyes bright on the strange kio and his mesmerizing actions. Slow. Deliberate. Unhurried. Like he was calculating something. "Water is tricky. Nothing stays where it looks."

But he was already slow-treading the water, carefully stalking a trio of fish so his footsteps disturbed the riverbed as little as possible. He kept his head low, just as the kio had. Everything seemed, to Vanquish, set perfectly for success.

He opened his mouth and duplicated Shimmering's earlier actions. SNAP He came up with...nothing! Instead of being angry or frustrated, the buck's posture spoke of excitement. "I felt it! Against my chin. It wasn't where I thought -- why?" Clearly, his attempts at fishing on his own had been so dismal that even a failure that was closer to success soothed any potential ire.

[seru_ame]

The buck's posture was much, much more at ease. In fact, he seemed to be enthusiastic about the near-miss instead of irritated. Shimmering smiled, ears perking up. He moved slightly closer, and looked down at his feet in the water. The fish had gone away, but they would be back, he was sure. His head came back up, and he looked down at his own feet.

How best to explain. How indeed.

Shimmering canted his head, and then looked down to Vanquish's feet once more. "So- do you see how your legs bend at the waterline, the wrong way? At the wrong spot?" he pointed out, and then started looking around a bit. "I used to practice diving for stones after throwing them, to get the- you know, the angles. But, if you angle your head like your legs, it helps."

[Syrie]

Vanquished didn't seem to notice Shimmering having moved closer, or if he did the movement was no longer read as threat needing reaction. The Kiokote's movement did cause the water to lap against his legs, swirling the waterweed before it resettled, but by then Vanquished was already focused fully on what his brightly coloured companion was telling him.

"Ah. Aah." He stuck his head down into the water again, shifting minutely according to the bend of the water. Whuff. Bubbles of released air came up just before the buck's head did; he shook water from his muzzle and snorted to clear his airways. Waterweed had gotten into his nose! But he had felt the angle somewhat, and he understood what the Kio had said - in theory.

"I will try again." Vanquished moved slowly deeper, the water going up over his knees. The fish were less disturbed there and would take less time to come out from hiding, he hoped. Fishing required focus, he was coming to understand - and patience - neither of which he had in spades, but he would do his best. The lulling sound of the river rang loudly in his ears as the buck slowly brought his muzzle back to the water, sinking below with as small a disturbance as possible. Other than his eyes, ears, and the twitching of his coat from the midges, Vanquished was stock still as he waited the proper moment - waited for the quicksilver fish to thread through the waterweeds between his legs.

Patience paid off as he gauged the angle on a shiner. Moving into a more optimal position the same way he would have approached a bird or squirrel, Vanquished made his second attempt at snapping up a fish the way Shimmering had shown him- slow approach, then a quick snap of confident jaws.

This time his head came up with the gleaming fish snared -- victory was his! Vanquished simply ate the smallish fish right then and there, rinsing his muzzle after and wiggling his ears in a pleased manner. "It worked. I can fish." He made a bold assumption that pulling off the feat once meant he could do so again.

[seru_ame]

Shimmering stood still, waiting, watching. He didn't dare to get too much closer, for fear of disturbing the fish, disrupting Vanquished's attempt at learning. Instead, he simply watched, tail slowly sinking into the water. He let himself relax fully, and a few fish even came closer, nibbling at his legs, his little tufts of fluff.

As Vanquished put his head into the water, experimentally, Shimmering snickered, and then shook his head in amusement, picking up just one hind hoof. He was fully relaxed then, calm and amused by his experimentation. The buck moved further, and declared he would try again. "Alright. Good luck, you've got this," he murmured encouragingly. At least he didn't accidentally inhale the water while he was dunked into the water.

Shimmering perked up as Vanquished started to move- and then snapped up a small fish. All the same, it was a capture, and Vanquished snapped it up, practically swallowing it down in a series of quick snaps. Shimmering snickered, and then slunk closer, smiling. "Congratulations~" he chuckled, and then wiggled his own ears softly. "Think you can do it again?" he challenged playfully.

Sorry for the delay! My brain fell out.

[Syrie]

Despite his excitement at having succeeded, Vanquished had kept the movement of his body to a minimum; the Kiokote buck was still so he could do nothing less. Shimmering seemed amused but without malice, so Vanquished took it in stride; he could accept a ribbing where it was due - a tiny fish was not exactly a big catch by any means.

"Yes." Vanquished snorted as though he'd heard something silly, but in the water his tail barely twitched and his ears were relaxed still. Once more he peered down into the water, looking for likely prey. He shifted slightly, lowering his head once more but keeping his nose above water - he was learning what worked for him, what didn't - until he was locked in on another fish. This time when he came up, it was with a bluegill caught in his jaws and a glint of triumph in his eyes as he showed off his new prize to the Kiokote.

"Mmmph!" He tossed the fish to his companion so he could shake water from his face. "How's that?" It dawned on the buck that he had no idea what the brightly coloured Kio's name was - nor had he given his name. "I'm called by Vanquished." An aside, really. It didn't mean much, just two bucks fishing.

Don't worry about it, happens. Thank you for doing this rp, btw.

[seru_ame]

Mirroring Shimmering's behavior, keeping still and not exploding at the gentle teasing. There- that was better by far than how he'd been when Shimmering had first approached. His tail swayed in contentment, and he nodded encouragingly. Vanquished put his nose back to the water- scarcely a breath away, he could see the faintest ripples. There! He was learning plenty quick. And, that, that little gesture he did- well, he'd point that out later. If he remembered.

For now, a celebration to be had, as Vanquished plunged his face in once more, and hauled up a bluegill. The Kiokote beamed at him warmly, a playful laugh bubbling up as the buck tossed the panicked fish with a flick of his head. With a surprising amount of agility and flexibility, Shimmering twisted and caught it, bit down- hard. The fish thrashed once, and then sagged in his mouth as Shimmering moved to the shore, dropping the scaly prize on a water-worn rock that was dry at the moment. "Vanquished. Shimmering Shoals. You can shorten it as you like, though." He gestured with his nose to the bluegill. "Good catch, this one. Well done. Do you like them better cooked or raw?"

Slippery grey matter is slippery. Thank you for your patience <3

[Syrie]

Vanquished turned bright eyes from the banked fish to Shimmering and pricked his ears. A question he had no idea on how to answer had been posed to him - which was more delicious? Did it matter? Most of what he ate was raw, sometimes still wriggling between his teeth. "It seemed a good size." To share. An idea that was strange to the Kimeti but also not unwelcome as the Kiokote had shared his fishing knowledge. It was only right and correct that Vanquished do the same.

"I haven't had it cooked." Slowly he waded towards shore and Shoals; a contemplative look expressed in face and stance.

"Which do you prefer, Shim?" Was bluegill more or less tasty when the flesh had been seared by fire? Vanquished wanted to know, hungering for the information as much as he had hungered for the skill to catch fish in the first place. There was so much to experience in life! "You can call me as you like, also." He answered things backwards, as they were processed; hooves making wet sucking noises through the mud as he rejoined Shimmering to peer down at the fish drying slowly upon the rock.

No worries, I get lost in the grey sauce too. Thank you so much for being patient and rping with me!

[seru_ame]

Shimmering Shoals settled down by the fish as it dried. He turned his head this way and that thoughtfully. "Mm. I don't mind either way- though with fruit, when I can manage it," he smiled. He lifted his hoof, and pointed with his knee, and gestured. "If you want to try it cooked, I can teach you how to cook it well. Just help me find some dry grass and leaves. Small sticks." He pushed himself back upright, and then flashed a smile as he began to seek out some sticks and leaves as he meandered around the area happily. The fish wouldn't be going anywhere, after all.

"Hm... I'm thinking- Van? Vanquish? Van's shorter. Not terribly... dignified," he murmured softly, thoughtfully. "No, no. Just Vanquish, I think. You look far too up-and-down for just Van," he decided around a mouthful of sticks.

Thank you for playing with me, too <3