This... was the most greenery he'd seen in his short life. That wasn't actually saying much though, considering the few places he was familiar with were either hidden beneath mist or so chilly that he often had odd, protective flare-ups of magic. However, putting aside his lack of experience, what he saw sprawled before him was near paradise. And he only considered it "near" because there wasn't a waterfall like his home of Pisces.

Regardless, Fahl certainly did not regret examining the mossy cavern entrance now. Fish never had quite the right taste, and although algae always managed to hit the spot, sometimes it was just a little too scarce for his ravenous appetite. This, though, he supposed he could work with.

Very much a growing boy, the marine iguana idly scraped his teeth along one of the green-smudged stones closest to him. Might as well see what the local plant life tasted sooner rather than later.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet trudged along the trail. Usually, she had a taste for meat, red meat, so she would hunt down rabbits and such. But today, she decided to catch some fish to eat. Rabbits stopped tasting good after a while if you ate too much of them, so fish it was.
At the end of the trail, was not a pond, but a cavern entrance. It was very mossy, which is what happened when the area was moist and damp. Comet spotted a giant lizard-- which is what it looked like-- eating the moss of the stones. She would never have even thought of eating such a weird thing, but again, she wasn't a lizard.
She walked over to the giant lizard and watched him eat the moss of the stones. Does that taste good? she wondered if she should try some. From the way he was eating them, they seemed delicious.

@Fahl

It was a passable alternative to algae but nothing amazing. Unlike the blandness pervasive in most fish he caught, a mild bitter taste crossed his tongue. As it wasn't anything to complain about, when his eyes lifted to whoever had interrupted him, he continued munching on whatever he'd stripped from the stone.

Peevish from being stared at like a curiosity, Fahl nearly snapped out. However, what seemed to be genuine interest stayed his irritation enough to temper his response into a noncommittal grunt. "It's..." He grappled for the proper word. "Sat... is. Fact... ory."

Unimpressed by his stilted delivery, he huffed and simplified. "Fine. Food's better in water." A protective crouch over the stones in front of him followed his statement, a contrast to his less than glowing review of the meal. No way was this fluffy creature taking what he found first. "Why you ask?"

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet watched the giant lizard look at her with a slightly irritated manner. Although she couldn't be completely sure if he was irritated or not, she was not used to reading expressions on lizards. Then he replied with a weird word. Satisfactory. She had not heard that before and was wondering what it meant when he revised and said it was fine. So that was what it meant.
Comet watched the lizard take a protective stance over the moss covered stones. Well, I just thought I could try a bit? She noticed he was looking wary and might not want to give her some of the green stuff. Well I don't like eating mold anyway. You keep it to yourself if you want. she huffed. The lizard was sort of bothering her. He didn't seem to like the moss that much, so why didn't he want to share it? Comet felt the sudden urge to push him into the water, but stopped herself from doing that. I'll find some better food to eat. it wasn't like plants tasted good, meat was much better.

@Fahl

Try? Well then, why bother asking such a ridiculous question. If he wanted a bite of something, he did. It'd be a waste of his time and anyone else's if he awkwardly padded around the concept of sampling something that could abate his hunger pangs. It was at that moment Fahl decided this other Gembound, although well-intentioned, was more than a little bit unusual.

Still, finders keepers. He'd seen these first, but she could just as well take a nibble from any of the other moss-laden stones lying about. His mouth opened, the suggestion resting on his tongue, when she spoke again. Jaws promptly shut. If scowling were something an iguana was capable of, he would have done so; instead he had to settle for a glare.

Find better food. What sort of logic was that?

Fahl straightened up from his crouch, then stretched his neck out to pluck a nearby stone just outside of his protection. With a toss of his head, he lobbed it in her general direction. If he was fortunate with his uncoordinated throw, it would not actually hit anyone but land gently amongst the vegetation.

"Have to try first. Then you know if it's act... ual... ly better."

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet watched the lizard scowl at her and then pick up a mossy stone and throw it in her direction. It was a far miss, but she could tell it was not meant to hit, it was for her to try. First, a sniff, her nose took in the earthy scent of the moss. It didn't smell horrible. A tentative lick, then a little nibble. She could not resist the strong urge to spit out that disgusting plant and barfed into the water. Okay, that stuff tastes really bad. Comet wondered why that lizard even liked eating that stuff.
I'll see if I can get some-- fish. she dipped her paw into the water and waited for a fish to swim by. Soon enough, one darted past and her paw scooped it out of the water. With a quick bite, it stopped struggling and she walked over and sat next to the lizard with her new kill. Fish tastes much better. she saw that he didn't like the moss too much himself. She tore off a piece of the fish. Want to try some? Comet hoped that she could get on his good side again as she didn't like others being angry at her for too long.

@Fahl

At least she tried and now knew for certain, even if it was uncomfortable watching such a small amount of food wasted and retched into the water. And there was something amusing about seeing someone with a less resilient stomach than his own. He bit out a sharp, almost hacking laugh.

"To you it is."

The fish he eyed with heavy skepticism. Fahl considered informing her of his plentiful experience with fish and how their palates clearly disagreed on this matter. However, explanations took time and energy; his leaden tongue required far too much of both. Without giving an answer, he lunged forward and took a bite. It tasted similar to most other cave fish he consumed: almost flavorless. The morsel was easily swallowed.

"It's decent." His voice maintained its usual flatness, leaving it up to the listener to determine what sincerity existed in the two words. "Why you fish like that?"

The question was not intended to offend, though that might be hard to tell. Fishing with a paw went against any lessons familiar to him, so Fahl wished to understand this strange technique. Maybe he could even put it to the test against his own.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet was not very happy about the way the lizard laughed when she barfed out the moss. But she bit back her words and watched him lunge forward and take a bite of the fish chunk she offered him.
It's decent. he said in his flat, monotonic voice. She gained no information out of whether he liked the fish more than the moss or not, as he talked in the same flat voice when she had asked him how the moss tasted. At least he didn't barf it out like she did so it wasn't horrible.
Then he asked her a question. She wasn't sure if he meant it as an insult, question, or something else, but they way he said it prompted an answer.
"Do you fish any different? It is easier to catch fish with paws than biting them out of the water." Comet looked at the lizard, whose claws and mouth didn't seem suited for anything other than clinging onto rocks and munching on moss. "Do you think you can fish better? Show me." she challenged. They'll have to see who is the better fisher here. Claws or paws.

@Fahl

Maybe in another world where Fahl could actually speak with sufficient articulation, the conversation would have gone slightly different. Thoughts matching his words, he would have descended into an impassioned lecture on the wrongness of everything she said. Mouths could work perfectly for the task if one had speed and precision. Paws were too flimsy, too likely to let the catch slip by, unlike caging the catch inside strong jaws. And if she didn't believe him, he'd recommend an expert opinion on the matter; his teacher could bite fish from the water without even looking—because, well, he didn't have eyes.

But this wasn't that world, so he said, "Bites are better. You must not be quick enough." Challenge readily accepted, his chin lifted in a show of confidence. "Will show."

He ambled away from the rocks and down to the water's edge. Falling into routine, Fahl scanned the surface for ripples of activity. Despite the usual impatience urging him to fidget, he remained still, waiting. Eyes caught the darting of fins below. Weight shifted onto his back legs, and he sprang.

The hard part always was the sudden burst of pressure against his eyes when he dove. Adjusting took time, but he never waited for his vision to clear of bubbles. Fish had a familiar enough shape for him to recognize and snap out at. Little jagged teeth grasped it by the tailfin.

Fahl took a small victory lap before he hauled himself onto land, fish struggling to escape his grip. He spat it out and ended its life with a quick blow to the head. Stealing a line from a certain blind Gembound, an easy declaration fell past his tongue. "Master fisher."

Never mind that it was a little on the small side in comparison to the wolf's fish. Even though he was not present to witness it, the iguana felt he'd done someone proud.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet could tell there was something going in the lizards brain, something much longer and complex than his statement about how biting was better. But she said nothing about that, because she was sure if she prompted him the lizard would talk too long in that boring and monotone voice of his. She listened to him accept her challenge, and grinned. The game was on.
Comet followed him down to the shore where he scanned the surface. She saw he was experienced at this because he knew which ripples were fish, and when to attack. His dive was nearly flawless, but she saw that his weakness with this strategy was the moments when he hit the water, temporary blindness. You didn't get that from fishing with your paw, it was certainly a flaw within his strategy. But seconds later, he did a victory lap and emerged with a fish in his jaws. She snarled at his declaration of being a 'master fisher'. "Hmph, I'll show you what I can catch." Even her catch before that had been bigger than what he had caught.
When her paw dipped into the water, it came up with not a fish, but a clump of algae. "Whoops." She eyed the lizard, "Well my fish I caught before was bigger than the one you have now. I just got lucky this time."

@Fahl