ORIGIN

Ecstatic that his lessons continued to visibly pay off, any irritation the last carelessly tossed words may have caused his opponent escaped notice. Glee shone in Fahl's eyes when the wolf withdrew her paw from the water, the green of algae held within instead of glinting fish scales. Mockery unintended, he laughed again.

"Yes. Lucky. But I doubt," he said before taking a breath in preparation for a deliberate emphasis, "you can eat it." Indeed, if moss was not to her liking, the superior taste of algae wouldn't do the trick either. But still, he could not wait to explore the water more later. Perhaps his preferred food grew plentifully here.

For now though, a competition needed attending to. Out of sportsmanship and a desire to continue enjoying this test of skill, Fahl set forth a proposal. "Three rounds. This was first round. See who catches best. Good?"

Upon hearing agreement, Fahl enthusiastically nodded his head. Perfect. Fishing against another wasn't new to him, but facing someone presumably not a master was another thing altogether. Measuring skill with another pupil could prove to be useful.

He leaned forward to get a closer look at the wolf's successful catch. The compulsion to compare caused him to slide his fish next to hers. While neither were as impressive in size as the very one that had started this entire competition, his remained the inferior one. Despite the algae-grabbing incident, she had the lead.

"Good job," he said. That seemed to be the appropriate response. Unlike Imp's encouraging words, though, they left much room for interpretation. Try as he might to emulate the same level of energy his teacher exuded, it was becoming obvious that his tongue refused to cooperate and convey such. It... nagged at him.

But, yes, his turn. Same as before, he got into position, scanned the waters, and waited. Then, as soon as he sensed movement, Fahl dove. This one was trickier, more agile. Even so, he persisted, avoiding being shaken by its evasive maneuvers. He'd been close, teeth nearly grazing it.

And then not. Face stinging from the brutal slap of a tail in his face, he reeled back. Bubbles burst from his mouth; underwater, thankfully, no one would be exposed to the string of curses he spewed. Hurt outrage at rebellious food spent, he emerged from the depths, silent and with nothing to show for his efforts.

Round two over, one fish total for each.

The wolf did not seem to fare any better on her turn. Well, maybe slightly better. Fahl's jaw still stung from his less than ideal fish encounter. Not wanting to appear too consumed in his own failure, he dipped his head in a small show of sympathy. Hopefully the lingering pain would not hinder him in the final round.

But that wasn't the only thing to worry about. When he'd plunged into the water, the focus had not been there. Whatever had cast his thoughts adrift, he needed to defy it and rein them back in. One couldn't be expected to fish well when their concentration was not entirely devoted to the task.

Fahl fell into routine one more time: watched, waited, and dove. This time, barely snagging it by a fin, he emerged with a wriggling fish held in his mouth. It was set beside the other fish, right next to the first one he'd caught, so that it could be scrutinized and comparisons could be made.

It appeared he'd have some more practice to do. At least five paws across in length, this fish was the biggest catch Fahl had ever seen. And a bit much for the wolf to handle, as it continued to flail desperately against fate with mouth agape and its tail slapping on the ground. He seized the request for aid. Rushing over, he leapt to slam down on the stubborn creature with both front feet.

Even with this weight applied upon it, the fish continued to buck wildly. Determined, Fahl pressed down. Its squirms did not entirely cease but diminished enough to be less of a problem. Not wanting distraction to cause him to slip up and release the fish, his next words were said to the wolf without an upward glance.

"Make your move."

Although fish wasn't to his taste, he could not turn down the hearty meal that the half offered would be. It'd be a rude and poor decision for his ever-unsatisfied stomach to do so. Therefore, an accepting nod was his response. In a show of politeness since this was the wolf's kill, Fahl withdrew his weight from the fish and settled claws back onto the ground.

"You caught it. You take preferred half." He tilted his head down to where the gargantuan bundle of scales lay slain. Whether someone had a fish end they enjoyed more, he had no idea, but the odd suggestion seemed decent enough to say. However, the more he pondered over his words, the dumber they became. Hopefully, she'd just take a bite of whichever and end the increasing doubt over his manners.

Another thought occurred, born from a hint of curiosity. "Have you eaten warm? Or only cold?" While he did not know what magic the other possessed, this was the perfect opportunity to test a supposed truth he'd learned some time ago. Burnt fish continued to elude his skills, but maybe a Gembound who liked eating the finned things would be able to tell if his mediocre heating of the fish still improved its flavor.