Post by Therdde on Jul 7, 2009 19:35:01 GMT -5
Characters:
Abel - Male Wolf Pup
Skelaghe - Female Wolf
- Hilltop Vista -
A hot morning finds Ute pup Abel resting in the shade of bushes. He keeps himself cool while still enjoying the outside air. Sometimes the den can feel cramped, especially with sleeping, boring, lazy, sisters. He pants and wags his tail slowly as he sniffs the air, wondering where his mom went. Abel isn't exactly fond of the heat, but he loves being outside of the den. The late morning seems almost relentless today, especially cruel. He rolls onto his side and rests his head down on the ground; it's much better in the shade. Not even the thinnest of clouds can be seen in the rich blue sky overhead. It's been a while since it has rained as well. Summer's definitely here.
It was much earlier this morning when Skelaghe left her children in the very capable paws of one of her companions before setting off to the west. To the water. It is not so different than any time she has left to go hunt, given her preference for fish, but there is a key exception. When she returns today, it is not with a fish in her mouth. Rather, she carries with her two different types of plants. The first plant is made of long stalks tipped with small seeds, while the second is a purple-colored flower. Simple smartweed and red clover. The first was gathered from the water, and the second from the expansive field of clover to the west. She carries as much as her mouth will allow, in about a 50/50 ratio, and as she approaches the den, her pace slows and she looks around. At least the flowers and grass do not leave a sour taste in her mouth.
"Mom!" Abel laughs as he comes out of his "hiding" spot and dashes to greet her. He slows slightly, concerned with whatever it is in her mouth. It's not food, it's not... food. Flowers? They smell kinda nice. Finishing his run, he circles mom and sniffs her and the plants. Not that it's a big deal or anything, if Skelaghe likes to collect weeds and flowers, Abel has no immediate objections. "What are those for?" Again his curiosity leads his nose to the purple flowers.
Skelaghe turns her head as she hears her son call to her, and at the sight of a puppy missile headed in her direction, she stops walking. As he circles around her, she smiles and drops the plants to the ground, then says, "Those, puppy, are for you. And your sisters too, of course." They are starting to get old enough to wander a short distance away from their parents for short periods. It is time that they receive their markings, and these plants are going to be what will allow her to do that.
"Oh... Thanks!" Abel is completely uncertain what they are for still, but at least he knows they are a gift from mommy! And the pup is grateful for that. He wags his tail, examining the new plants. He sits down next to Skelaghe, leaning against her with his rapidly increasing weight and size. "Can they do anything?" He doesn't inquire to mean rude, but there has to be some story or some significance behind these, especially in an amount so much.
Skelaghe chuckles quietly when Abel asks her if they can do anything. Well, not on their own, but with a little help from her... "Do you see the sun on Mommy's shoulder? They can give you a mark like mine... with a little bit of work." Skelaghe lowers her head to nuzzle at her son gently, then asks, "Would you like that?"
Well yeah Abel would like that! Any time spent with mom is time well spent. "Yeah! I want one!" He stands again and sniffs at the herbs, curious as to how a sun-marking on a shoulder could be produced from these weeds. "What should I do?" If work is included, the excited puppy wants to get started on whatever it is he has to do. The summer heat hardly seems like a factor in his state; puppy energy is boundless!
"How about if you dig a little hole for me, okay? Make sure you get all of the grass away from it. It wouldn't look very good if your shoulder turns out to be green instead of yellow." Skelaghe will set about crushing the flowers and seeds together. The small amount required to just mark Abel won't take very long. Even all of her pups getting their marking ought to take less than half of the plants the gathered, so long as she uses them sparingly. There are others here now, though, who have not yet been marked as being of Ute. Will any of them even be interested? Will /Helaku/ even be interested? Skelaghe doesn't know.
"Dig?" Abel looks at the ground, slowly moving dried grass and weeds away from the ground. "Right here?" He looks up at Skel, then back down. It begins slowly, Skelaghe's son paws at the ground, but eventually a big, wide, grin appears on his muzzle and he goes right at it, digging a hole. The dirt is rather dry, but it isn't unmalleable. "...Deeper?" He sure hopes so, this is fun.
Skelaghe watches as her son begins to dig. Smiling at him in response to his first question. As he digs, she lowers her head to take a couple of each plan, separating them from the others, before she walks over to the hole her son is digging. When he asks if he should dig deeper, she shakes her head. As long as the grass is away from the area, it is suitable for her purposes. She could have simply done this in the den, but then, she wouldn't have had a job for her son to do. She places the two clover flowers in the hole, even as she continues to hold the smartweed in her mouth, speaking around it. "This you could try to crush that up a little, pup?" She'll chew the smartweed, but the clover can be sufficiantly crushed with a paw. Not /Abel's/ paw, probably, but it should keep him occupied while she chews up the other dye ingredient.
Abel nods, as if receiving the most important instructions of his life. With equal enthusiasm, he presses his paws and twists them against the flowers in his hole (which he is equally proud of). Not much seems to be happening, the flowers crush and fold slightly under Abel's unable paws. "Mmm... Now what?" Of course he doesn't realize that the flowers require more grinning and and twisting, but he is still willing to help whatever can both for mom, and for his sisters.
The weed in her mouth does not taste pleasant, and after only a brief moment, when Abel speaks, she lowers her head once more to spit it out into the hole. She does not answer the boy immediately. Rather, she turns her head to lick at her fur for a while, as to remove some of the taste from her mouth. "Now, I'm going to mix them together a bit. You go ahead and sit, okay, Abel?" Without waiting for an answer, she steps on the plants, as much to mix them together as to finish crushing up the clover.
"Okay!" Abel takes a step back and sits down obediently. His tongue hangs out and he begins to pant again, as the heat continues to beat down on him. He thinks about the sun, then the marking, how they were related. "Mom? Why a sun? Why not... A tree?" His inquiry is genuine as he stands up again and sniffs at the mixture Skelaghe is in the process of making. "Does anyone else have a sun?"
Skelaghe keeps her eyes on her son as she continues to crush the plants beneath her paw. Her voice is pleasant as she answers, filled with patience and love. "It is because the sun gives us all that we have, Abel. The spirit of the sun, Tobba, is very loving, and provides the entire world with life. Without his blessing... Well, you will see, when your first winter comes. When the trees themselves weep and slumber and all creatures wish for the sun's return to full strength." And /that/ is why winter is a time for togetherness, for shared worship and storytelling, for honoring that which the sun gives them the rest of the year. So that the winter does not continue indefinitely.
Abel loves hearing stories, especially from mom. "Wow!" He calls out enthusiastically with a little jump onto his back paws. "So... You have... Tobba on your shoulder?" It's still a bit of a difficult concept for the puppy, but he seems to be piecing it all together rather well. "And me?" Spirit... What's a spirit? Abel believes Tobba is a wolf somewhere who somehow is related to the sun. That will certainly require more explanation later.
Yes, later. When her pups will understand more. For now, they're all still just stories. "Yes. A representation of him, anyway. And you will too. And Aquene, Anora, and Leotie too." And hopefully Daddy too, at the very least. Finally, Skelaghe removes her paw from the crushed plants. The color of the crushes plant matter and minor amounts of liquid does not look very yellow, nothing like the shade Skelaghe has on her shoulder, but she knows that once it is applied and dries, it will show up well even on her darker-furred pups. "Now, can you hold very still for me, Abel?"
Abel seats himself close to Skelaghe and looks at her. He trusts mom entirely, but he isn't exactly patient. As he sits, he still continues his bombardment of questions for mom to answer. "What about Ashen?" He considers the cougar as his brother, though he is aware that they aren't actually related in anyway; they're just close friends.
What about Ashen? In no way would Skelaghe hesitate about placing the Ute mark on the young, growing cougar... But how much longer will Ashen be with them? Will he eventually want to part ways with the Ute? With a very soft sigh, Skelaghe answers, "That is up to him, puppy. The tribe that he came from... They do not believe the same things that I was taught. The same things that I will continue to teach you, as you grow." She wouldn't mind a cougar wearing the mark of the Ute... But she /would/ mind someone who does not believe in what she teaches, at least so far as they apply to day to day behaviour, wearing that mark. Would she agree to give Tek the marking, if he had any desire to wear it? Teketa respects her beliefs, but they are not his, and /she/ respects /that/. He is a very noble wolf, though. Tolerant of other species. So... probably. But what of Ashen? If he were not blind, would he be with the wolves now, or would he have avoided them at all cost?
"Oh." Abel sounds dismissive, but it's only a habit of his youthful nature; he does care about Ashen a lot. That much is rather obvious, but if it's up to him, it's up to him. At least, if mom says so. He decides that he should talk to Ashen about it, even though he doesn't fully understand. He knows enough to understand it would mean he belonged with them. "Ashen isn't from our tribe?" Now he is really confused. His tail still wags, showing he isn't too afraid of this, but he at least wants to be warned before any marking of any kind is placed on him.
There isn't actually a warning forthcoming though. At least, not a verbal one. After a few moments of letting the developing dyes set, though, Skelaghe reaches out to put her paw in it, after which she reaches gently for her son to place a dot of the liquid and crushed plants on her son's left shoulder. She does her best to make a round circle in the pup's fur, and she does not do poorly. She may not be the most dexterous creature, but it is smuch easier to apply the dye to another animal than it is to put it on her own shoulder. "No, puppy, Ashen is not from our pack. Not originally. He was born in the mountain, very far away, with other cougars. He came to us just a little while before you and your littermates were born. But I love him just as I love all of our packmates."
Quietly and patiently waits while he is honored with the pack's marking. This is a much bigger deal than Abel realizes, but he's just as willing and pleased to accept it, regardless. He tries to look at it, but his muzzle only gets in the way. He withdraws it and looks forward again, still smiling.
After the circle in the center, Skelaghe draws six lines around it. It goes quickly, and once it is done, Skelaghe nuzzles her son lightly before saying, "Now, you have to be very careful until it's dry, okay. No more squeezing through bushes or rolling around on the ground for a little while, okay?" Skelaghe says this with a grin. There is no way she could have done this any sooner without having her pups smear it all over the place. "Do you think you could go wake up your sistrs for me, and do it nicely, Abel?"
"Okay." Abel will be *very* careful not to smear his markings. He already loves it, and loves what it represents (at least what he understands). "I'll get them!" With that, he walks, not runs, into the cave a short distance away and starts nudging and talking to his his sisters one by one. Of course, he begins by showing off his marking to them, *then* telling them to go out side for their turn.
Abel - Male Wolf Pup
Skelaghe - Female Wolf
- Hilltop Vista -
A hot morning finds Ute pup Abel resting in the shade of bushes. He keeps himself cool while still enjoying the outside air. Sometimes the den can feel cramped, especially with sleeping, boring, lazy, sisters. He pants and wags his tail slowly as he sniffs the air, wondering where his mom went. Abel isn't exactly fond of the heat, but he loves being outside of the den. The late morning seems almost relentless today, especially cruel. He rolls onto his side and rests his head down on the ground; it's much better in the shade. Not even the thinnest of clouds can be seen in the rich blue sky overhead. It's been a while since it has rained as well. Summer's definitely here.
It was much earlier this morning when Skelaghe left her children in the very capable paws of one of her companions before setting off to the west. To the water. It is not so different than any time she has left to go hunt, given her preference for fish, but there is a key exception. When she returns today, it is not with a fish in her mouth. Rather, she carries with her two different types of plants. The first plant is made of long stalks tipped with small seeds, while the second is a purple-colored flower. Simple smartweed and red clover. The first was gathered from the water, and the second from the expansive field of clover to the west. She carries as much as her mouth will allow, in about a 50/50 ratio, and as she approaches the den, her pace slows and she looks around. At least the flowers and grass do not leave a sour taste in her mouth.
"Mom!" Abel laughs as he comes out of his "hiding" spot and dashes to greet her. He slows slightly, concerned with whatever it is in her mouth. It's not food, it's not... food. Flowers? They smell kinda nice. Finishing his run, he circles mom and sniffs her and the plants. Not that it's a big deal or anything, if Skelaghe likes to collect weeds and flowers, Abel has no immediate objections. "What are those for?" Again his curiosity leads his nose to the purple flowers.
Skelaghe turns her head as she hears her son call to her, and at the sight of a puppy missile headed in her direction, she stops walking. As he circles around her, she smiles and drops the plants to the ground, then says, "Those, puppy, are for you. And your sisters too, of course." They are starting to get old enough to wander a short distance away from their parents for short periods. It is time that they receive their markings, and these plants are going to be what will allow her to do that.
"Oh... Thanks!" Abel is completely uncertain what they are for still, but at least he knows they are a gift from mommy! And the pup is grateful for that. He wags his tail, examining the new plants. He sits down next to Skelaghe, leaning against her with his rapidly increasing weight and size. "Can they do anything?" He doesn't inquire to mean rude, but there has to be some story or some significance behind these, especially in an amount so much.
Skelaghe chuckles quietly when Abel asks her if they can do anything. Well, not on their own, but with a little help from her... "Do you see the sun on Mommy's shoulder? They can give you a mark like mine... with a little bit of work." Skelaghe lowers her head to nuzzle at her son gently, then asks, "Would you like that?"
Well yeah Abel would like that! Any time spent with mom is time well spent. "Yeah! I want one!" He stands again and sniffs at the herbs, curious as to how a sun-marking on a shoulder could be produced from these weeds. "What should I do?" If work is included, the excited puppy wants to get started on whatever it is he has to do. The summer heat hardly seems like a factor in his state; puppy energy is boundless!
"How about if you dig a little hole for me, okay? Make sure you get all of the grass away from it. It wouldn't look very good if your shoulder turns out to be green instead of yellow." Skelaghe will set about crushing the flowers and seeds together. The small amount required to just mark Abel won't take very long. Even all of her pups getting their marking ought to take less than half of the plants the gathered, so long as she uses them sparingly. There are others here now, though, who have not yet been marked as being of Ute. Will any of them even be interested? Will /Helaku/ even be interested? Skelaghe doesn't know.
"Dig?" Abel looks at the ground, slowly moving dried grass and weeds away from the ground. "Right here?" He looks up at Skel, then back down. It begins slowly, Skelaghe's son paws at the ground, but eventually a big, wide, grin appears on his muzzle and he goes right at it, digging a hole. The dirt is rather dry, but it isn't unmalleable. "...Deeper?" He sure hopes so, this is fun.
Skelaghe watches as her son begins to dig. Smiling at him in response to his first question. As he digs, she lowers her head to take a couple of each plan, separating them from the others, before she walks over to the hole her son is digging. When he asks if he should dig deeper, she shakes her head. As long as the grass is away from the area, it is suitable for her purposes. She could have simply done this in the den, but then, she wouldn't have had a job for her son to do. She places the two clover flowers in the hole, even as she continues to hold the smartweed in her mouth, speaking around it. "This you could try to crush that up a little, pup?" She'll chew the smartweed, but the clover can be sufficiantly crushed with a paw. Not /Abel's/ paw, probably, but it should keep him occupied while she chews up the other dye ingredient.
Abel nods, as if receiving the most important instructions of his life. With equal enthusiasm, he presses his paws and twists them against the flowers in his hole (which he is equally proud of). Not much seems to be happening, the flowers crush and fold slightly under Abel's unable paws. "Mmm... Now what?" Of course he doesn't realize that the flowers require more grinning and and twisting, but he is still willing to help whatever can both for mom, and for his sisters.
The weed in her mouth does not taste pleasant, and after only a brief moment, when Abel speaks, she lowers her head once more to spit it out into the hole. She does not answer the boy immediately. Rather, she turns her head to lick at her fur for a while, as to remove some of the taste from her mouth. "Now, I'm going to mix them together a bit. You go ahead and sit, okay, Abel?" Without waiting for an answer, she steps on the plants, as much to mix them together as to finish crushing up the clover.
"Okay!" Abel takes a step back and sits down obediently. His tongue hangs out and he begins to pant again, as the heat continues to beat down on him. He thinks about the sun, then the marking, how they were related. "Mom? Why a sun? Why not... A tree?" His inquiry is genuine as he stands up again and sniffs at the mixture Skelaghe is in the process of making. "Does anyone else have a sun?"
Skelaghe keeps her eyes on her son as she continues to crush the plants beneath her paw. Her voice is pleasant as she answers, filled with patience and love. "It is because the sun gives us all that we have, Abel. The spirit of the sun, Tobba, is very loving, and provides the entire world with life. Without his blessing... Well, you will see, when your first winter comes. When the trees themselves weep and slumber and all creatures wish for the sun's return to full strength." And /that/ is why winter is a time for togetherness, for shared worship and storytelling, for honoring that which the sun gives them the rest of the year. So that the winter does not continue indefinitely.
Abel loves hearing stories, especially from mom. "Wow!" He calls out enthusiastically with a little jump onto his back paws. "So... You have... Tobba on your shoulder?" It's still a bit of a difficult concept for the puppy, but he seems to be piecing it all together rather well. "And me?" Spirit... What's a spirit? Abel believes Tobba is a wolf somewhere who somehow is related to the sun. That will certainly require more explanation later.
Yes, later. When her pups will understand more. For now, they're all still just stories. "Yes. A representation of him, anyway. And you will too. And Aquene, Anora, and Leotie too." And hopefully Daddy too, at the very least. Finally, Skelaghe removes her paw from the crushed plants. The color of the crushes plant matter and minor amounts of liquid does not look very yellow, nothing like the shade Skelaghe has on her shoulder, but she knows that once it is applied and dries, it will show up well even on her darker-furred pups. "Now, can you hold very still for me, Abel?"
Abel seats himself close to Skelaghe and looks at her. He trusts mom entirely, but he isn't exactly patient. As he sits, he still continues his bombardment of questions for mom to answer. "What about Ashen?" He considers the cougar as his brother, though he is aware that they aren't actually related in anyway; they're just close friends.
What about Ashen? In no way would Skelaghe hesitate about placing the Ute mark on the young, growing cougar... But how much longer will Ashen be with them? Will he eventually want to part ways with the Ute? With a very soft sigh, Skelaghe answers, "That is up to him, puppy. The tribe that he came from... They do not believe the same things that I was taught. The same things that I will continue to teach you, as you grow." She wouldn't mind a cougar wearing the mark of the Ute... But she /would/ mind someone who does not believe in what she teaches, at least so far as they apply to day to day behaviour, wearing that mark. Would she agree to give Tek the marking, if he had any desire to wear it? Teketa respects her beliefs, but they are not his, and /she/ respects /that/. He is a very noble wolf, though. Tolerant of other species. So... probably. But what of Ashen? If he were not blind, would he be with the wolves now, or would he have avoided them at all cost?
"Oh." Abel sounds dismissive, but it's only a habit of his youthful nature; he does care about Ashen a lot. That much is rather obvious, but if it's up to him, it's up to him. At least, if mom says so. He decides that he should talk to Ashen about it, even though he doesn't fully understand. He knows enough to understand it would mean he belonged with them. "Ashen isn't from our tribe?" Now he is really confused. His tail still wags, showing he isn't too afraid of this, but he at least wants to be warned before any marking of any kind is placed on him.
There isn't actually a warning forthcoming though. At least, not a verbal one. After a few moments of letting the developing dyes set, though, Skelaghe reaches out to put her paw in it, after which she reaches gently for her son to place a dot of the liquid and crushed plants on her son's left shoulder. She does her best to make a round circle in the pup's fur, and she does not do poorly. She may not be the most dexterous creature, but it is smuch easier to apply the dye to another animal than it is to put it on her own shoulder. "No, puppy, Ashen is not from our pack. Not originally. He was born in the mountain, very far away, with other cougars. He came to us just a little while before you and your littermates were born. But I love him just as I love all of our packmates."
Quietly and patiently waits while he is honored with the pack's marking. This is a much bigger deal than Abel realizes, but he's just as willing and pleased to accept it, regardless. He tries to look at it, but his muzzle only gets in the way. He withdraws it and looks forward again, still smiling.
After the circle in the center, Skelaghe draws six lines around it. It goes quickly, and once it is done, Skelaghe nuzzles her son lightly before saying, "Now, you have to be very careful until it's dry, okay. No more squeezing through bushes or rolling around on the ground for a little while, okay?" Skelaghe says this with a grin. There is no way she could have done this any sooner without having her pups smear it all over the place. "Do you think you could go wake up your sistrs for me, and do it nicely, Abel?"
"Okay." Abel will be *very* careful not to smear his markings. He already loves it, and loves what it represents (at least what he understands). "I'll get them!" With that, he walks, not runs, into the cave a short distance away and starts nudging and talking to his his sisters one by one. Of course, he begins by showing off his marking to them, *then* telling them to go out side for their turn.