She felt the green pools of light starring at her without even looking up from the swirling mass of water. There was no doubt in demoness’ mind that she could swim. It seemed easy enough, it might take more control than most tasks she had attempted to complete but the fiery pup was confident. But her confidence translated into her head under the water. But she didn’t flail. Her lungs were screaming and begging to let loose or shrink into nothing. She could see blackness crowding the edge of her vision. She was deprived of oxygen and the more time she spent here contemplating her existence the more likely she was to perish. Nova felt the gears of her mind begin to turn, just paddle, don’t flail. Even as she said this she felt the lack of control that she had in the murky environment. It was no wonder to her that only the strongest wolves could survive Abendrot’s terrain.

Nova kicked her hind legs, the water rushed between her toes but the minimal webbing between her toes allowed her to gain some traction. With each kick she felt the pressure above her lessen and the light was coming again but it was a light of life, not death. She broke the surface with a gasp of air, her lungs ensnaring the air with a peculiar need. She drank the air like a dehydrated pup before she regained her composure and continued towards her trainer, Azula. Her ears perked at the sound of her voice, it was a like minimal compliment though its wisdom was something Nova was bound to keep in mind. It would have happened to you at some point. Better now than later on in a current. Nova nodded her head and continued to swim around. Her hind limbs propelled her through the water. The current wasn’t so much of an issue when she had control of her body. Trying to learn this on the run would definitely prove to be a bit more difficult. Try doing it with two pups that could barely walk, never mind swim.” Nova looked towards Azula with more understanding look, though she wouldn’t realize that eventually that would be her reality.

Nova took her time behind Azula as they continued downstream. They were both preoccupied with their own thoughts, but Azula’s bark quickly pulled Nova to attention and brought her towards the multi-hued femme. She watched as she scrambled onto the rocks above her and looked down to signal her turn. Nova took loop out into the water to get a better position. Her claws had grown pointed in the last few weeks of training with Marx and so grappling the rocks was a bit easier than she had expected. Azula shook out her fur as Nova came over the rocky ledge almost throwing the fiery demoness back into the depths. Take a few minutes to watch how the fish move through the waters. You can usually predict where they will be moving next after you watch them for a little while. That will be important when you want to catch one. You cannot try to catch one based on where it is, but where it will be going. They move very quickly, and of course there is the glare and reflection from the sun which can confuse you as well. When you reach in to catch one, you’ll need to think ahead of the fish, and aim for where you think it will be when you touch the water Nova squinted into the water surface trying to follow the silvery bodies beneath its surface, but her trainer was one step ahead of her. Her paw slipped into the surface and flung one of the slick bodied creatures onto the rock, where she proceeded to kill it. I found it easier to learn with my paw first, then I was able to move onto just using teeth to catch them. But we can try that later. Nova just nodded quietly in reply. Her mind spinning, it was one thing to watch and copy but fishing would require her to learn the skill without knowing the whole process.

Her midnight pools stared into the water trained onto a whitish fish that was swimming just beneath the surface. Her eyes flicked back and forth with the fish but she could not for the life of her determine its path. Every time she thought it would move left it went right or vice versa. Nova could feel anger bubbling up, the frustration was adding up and it was getting to the better of her. She growled under her breath. Her pupils were slits allowing her to focus solely on the fish before her. Though its muscles were barely visible under the murky surface Nova was beginning to see patterns in the movement of the fish’s body. She took a deep breath her paw poised above the water waiting for her moment.

In a flash the bloody paw shot forward into the water. Her claws stretched out into the liquid searching for the silvery body but she came up with only water droplets. Nova looked at her paw, her face stolid and emotionless. She said nothing to herself or Azula as she attempted to get over the fact she hadn’t grasped the fish. What had she done wrong? Nova grimaced slightly and returned to her poised position waiting for the next opportune moment. It came quickly; a silvery body flickered closer to the surface and the fiery pup tensed her paw as she waited and predicted its movements. She sat for what seemed like an eternity, she was unsure of herself. This type of hunting wasn’t predictable, it wasn’t based on her ability to be quiet… She had to be able to read the fish’s body language and movements. That wasn’t something that one could copy, it had to be learned. Midnight pools reflected into the surface but the girl was too preoccupied trying to catch her first fish. Nova saw her fish flicker by but she feared to reach for it. Her paw just sat strained over the water’s surface. Nova mentally kicked herself and forced herself to relax and focus on the fish once again. She saw its body twitch, its going to go right! She flicked her paw out once again, her claws sinking into the water and this time she felt them sink into soft flesh.

As her rose out of the water the silvery body of the fish flopped beside her and Nova reached down and killed it instantly. She wanted to taste the blood on her tongue, and when it hit her mouth she could taste the wateriness of the blood. The metallic tang resided on her tongue and she grinned, the blood dripped from her jowls. A small smile on her face. She looked to Azula and pointed to the fish. Care to share in our lesson sucess?