Meander

Summer was in full swing. Even in the first hours of the day, the sun was strong - Nadia was glad that she had opted to wear her sun hat, to prevent herself from burning her cheeks or the back of her neck. The floppy brim wasn't ideal for seeing where she was going, though. One booted foot squelched in a patch of wet mud, and she almost slipped over, only narrowly managing to catch herself.

"Confound it," She muttered. "I suppose I'd better grow accustomed to such happenings, hm?"

If Mabel could hear her, she didn't react. Instead, she snored, soft puffs of breath out of her little nose. Too cute. Nadia thought that it was the most relaxing sound in the world other than birdsong and rustling leaves. It was a shame their expedition wasn't going to take them to a slightly more wooded area, for both of their protection.

Now, where did one begin...? Nadia had thought that you might need bait, but had nothing of the sort. Crumbs. Was it possible to catch a fish with a line without bait? With some more gullible fish, potentially. Her brow furrowed as she observed the pole, from the wire to the hook - it looked pretty nasty. Forgive me, fish. I will give back to the river somehow.

Learning how to cast. She had read about it, but never observed it in practice, or tried it herself. As was usual, she had leapt into this without taking the time to try it out; she had to learn that not everything could be taught by a book.

Mabel's bleary eyes blinked open in time to watch the woman draw the pole back and then swing it forwards. The line made it perhaps a few feet in front of her to land on the ground. Hm. Maybe she should go back to sleep.

A pretty little shell is found rather quickly!

That was why they had come out in the first place, after all. Nadia was trying to find her niche - something that she was good at, that allowed her to spend time with her companions, and paid her a decent living wage. That was a huge ask. She recognised that usually, there would be a compromise... but she still lived in hope that she would be blessed with good luck.

It was relaxing, at least. Sitting by the water. She could hear the bubbling of the river as it flowed downstream; though she wasn't a massive fan of the idea of being submerged in it, she could appreciate its sounds and natural beauty. Someone else appeared ready to appreciate it, too. Mabel was stirring from her sleepiness, and stretched out, the tip of her tail wagging. Time to have some fun. She'd not seen a river before, so it was all new and exciting!

That... didn't actually mean much, though, did it? Nadia knew as well as anyone that representations of things in books were hardly foolproof and accurate. Hmm. She was beginning to wish that she had gotten out of her comfort zone and consulted a professional.

At least she wasn't doing something with significant risk, like... she didn't know, ski jumping or paragliding! Not that she would ever consider those sports anyway. Oh, the things she told herself to keep her anxiety at bay. Mabel made a grunt, shoving her head under Nadia's arm as she scrambled into her lap, jostling the rod in the process.

"Careful, darling, careful," She told the puppy, raising her arms as carefully as possible to accommodate the houluh without messing with the rod too much. "You want to sit with me? That's quite alright. Perhaps you will bring me luck!"

A doggy shaped good luck charm.

A little snail shell could be found all alone on the riverbank.