Silence fell over the pair as they treaded deeper and deeper into Abendrot. The sunlight had all but disappeared, but it was a comfort to the fiery pup. She enjoyed the feeling of the shadows pulling at her fur making her merge into the landscape like a bloody patch. To unsuspecting eyes and wolves she could have been a dead body laying at the borders, when in reality they would be the poor soul with their blood spilled on the ground. She entertained the idea of her first taste of blood. The life source that pumped through every wolf in Blossom Forest; though some had the unfortunate circumstance of losing it to another wolf. Nova was not yet old enough to understand the psychological effects of fighting and killing but she would never really grasp it. Her unstable mind didn’t allow her to understand the consequences of her actions, good or bad. She saw herself as the master of disciplines, the perfect puppet. It was like congenital analgesia, she couldn’t feel pain and so she never knew when to stop. She just went on like nothing had happened. She could drop dead without even knowing she was actually near death. This inability wasn’t a hinder to her; it gave her the mentality of being invincible.

Nova’s midnight portals scanned the land the stretched into blackness. To most wolves there would have been nothing to see but in Abendrot, that was not the case. Every shadow could be an assassin, spy or soldier waiting to take your head off. She looked to Azula as they came to a halt. The cream and tan assassin agreed to teach her how to swim and fih. Their opposing pools stared into each other during the brief stop before Azula took the lead again. “Even if Abendrot was not often flooded it would be good to learn. You may never know what situation life will throw you in. So if you get the opportunity to learn a new skill it is often good to take advantage of that, even if it appears to be a useless skillset.” Nova kept an eye on the femme fatale as they continued towards the river, which came into view within minutes. Azula made a brief stop before she stepped into the shallow waters. She was shoulder deep within seconds. Nova took a step towards the river and stopped, her ears perked listening to Azula’s instruction: “This area of the river is calm compared to others, a good place to learn before we practice in more dangerous areas. Use your front limbs to paddle and direct you. Make sure to always keep your head above the water for now, and if you panic try not to flail, that will only make things worse.” Nova watched with a glimmer of amazement as the femme pushed away from the ground and swam into deeper waters. She watched with trained eyes. Every twitching muscle and minute motion that kept Azula afloat was stored into her brain.

Her midnight portals looked down into the black water. It did not look forgiving but Nova was not one to let nature take control. She took slow steps into the water, the current sweeping gently at her fur washing away any traces of mud and soot. She continued deeper the undercurrent pulling at her paws trying to trip and drown her. Nova pulled at her memory trying to remember Azula’s pushing tactic. Her hindquarters contracted and she shoved hard at the silt ground. A little too hard. Her rear paw slipped and she went into the deeper water at an angle ruining any chance of her staying above water. Nova’s head slipped under the surface. Her eyes closed tightly and her lungs begged for air, but Azula’s words floated into her mind: Don’t flail. She felt her front legs start to move in a paddling motion and the pressure above her head started to lessen. She broke the surface and sucked in a deep breath of air. Her midnight orbs were open wide in shock, but her limbs kept moving. She looked over to Azula, her smooth façade replacing the wide shock across her features. “So much for a smooth start.” Her voice was laced with sarcasm as she spoke, trying to play down her first mistake. The current pulled with more ferocity in the deeper waters but Nova cycled her legs with determination. She hoped fishing would be a bit easier, but as she looked down into swirling abyss she realized swimming was the least of her worries in this lesson. “Trying to learn this on the run would definitely prove to be a bit more difficult.” She definitely couldn’t underestimate a warrior like Azula. Or she’d be the next carcass on the border.