Post by Pavane on Jul 30, 2010 12:29:19 GMT -5
Setting:
Storyteller's Butte - Late Summer (RL day 7)
Characters:
Niyt - Female Juvenile Wolf
Shag- Male Wolf
Zuphi - Male Juvenile Wolf
------------------------------------------------
Niyt has been restless, these past few days. Something isn't quite right. She can hear it, just on the edges of her perception, and almost see it when she dreams. But not quite - and during the day, when she climbs up onto a pile of rocks to look out into the desert, she can't see anything to account for the odd feeling even though a part of her insists she should. That's where she is now, as the hot afternoon turns towards cool evening, perched up on a tumble of stones and looking out, keeping watch... at least until she next gets distracted.
Shag has been watching his daughter for some time now. He knows exactly what has been happening in the spirit world. And he feels it when it stirs near here, too. So when his daughter shows signs of agitation from something unseen, he is the one who gets very upset. He's watching from afar, noting the way she acts. Waiting for signs of something only he's aware of. He wonders if he should tell her the truth. Maybe he's just scared of dragging her into the conflict. She's too young to know any of those. So he does nothing, right now. Nothing but watch.
Finally, it's nice and cool... Maybe there's some tasty mice or anything skittering about.. Boy, is he hungry... The gray-furred cub looks up at the sky and his tattered ears suddenly flatten..And the skies seem to be screaming down at him. It's not threatening..more like..demanding..But it's still frightening and new to him. What is this..! The little wolf is driven to bolt..to try to get away. Without the protection of a pack, it's difficult, almost impossible, to find refuge.. Nobody would understand anyway.
Niyt perks her ears as the wind picks up for a moment, a gust of it blowing over her and ruffling her fur as it drives the little clouds across the sky. The murmuring is stronger. Something, something it... wants? Needs? But the moment of clarity passes almost before it arrives, leaving only the sense of urgency. She gets to her feet, shifting from one paw to the other, and turns to climb down - then stops. There. On the ground, like a little lost stormcloud caught in the wind. What's that?
That's a familiar little cloud to Shag's eyes. He tilts his head at the small, raggedy wolf as he bumbles along, much like the first time they met. Hmm. He supposes he *should* do something about this. He stands up and shakes himself off like a giant being unearthed, and makes a ruffing noise at them both.
The skies continue to scream and the small one screams in the form of a high howl of sorts. But now..a strange energy pumps up through the Earth, filling his lungs with air, and forcing the howls to persist. They become deeper and nearly as deep as an adult. He wants to investigate the new scents on the wind, especially since these are so familiar... And it ends.. Not knowing what happened, Zuphi plops back onto his haunches, and looks toward the ruffing noise..
Niyt's ear flicks back to Shag, but he's not nearly so intriguing as this new visitor, and the howl Zuphi makes that seems to echo what she could almost-hear murmured on the wind. She makes a higher-toned little half-howl in reply, and hops down off the rockpile to pad out towards the other youngling to investigate.
Shag's pace increases as he heads for Zuphi more quickly, moving as quick as Niyt. This one seems disturbed by something deeper than mere physical hurts.
Uh oh... Zuphi's ears prick as he sees the shapes moving toward him..and suddenly all the screaming fades. Silence, except for the padding paws of the two wolves moving toward him.
Niyt holds her head high, ears perked with curiosity, and her tail out straight behind her. Confidence, but no threat - and she's got a smaller frame than Zuphi, at least, even if she's been rather better fed.
Zuphi stares at the two, switching from one to the other. It'd been awhile since he passed through here, and the little female's grown some. "Oh, uh..I'll get outta your territory right away.."
Niyt comes in closer, as Shag stops a few steps away, watching the two pups but not interfering with them. She hmms, tilting her head to the side. "Why? Did they tell you where to go? I couldn't hear right." After all, she knows her dad isn't likely to drive someone off, nor is uncle Tariro... so there must be something else going on.
The older youngster glances at the female and considers his words. "Hear right? Do what..? You mean the sky?" He's flattening his ears and repeatedly looking at the sky nervously. "Mmmmh.. I just..I just started running last night..and I wound up here...Dunno what told me to go, I just..started moving."
Niyt nods. "Something's happening. I keep hearing things..." she says, trailing off and canting her head to the side for a moment, ears perked... and then it subsides, and she gives her head a little shake. "But it's hard, 'cause they're all... talking over each other, sorta."
"You hear them too?" Zuphi whines lightly. "They're always..screaming at me. I don't think they like me very much, whatever they are.." He whines lightly, wondering just what to do. What DID he do in the first place?
"I don't think they like anyone," replies Niyt, considering on her words as she speaks. "Not just like being mean, though. Like there's something they want. And they're mad because they aren't getting it, and we're supposed to... to help somehow. But I can't hear well enough!"
Zuphi nods readily and shakily gets to his feet.. He looks up. "Did...Did they just stop? Did they stop for you too?" His ears perk, but only halfway, as he eyes the girl.
Niyt nods. "They're all quiet..." she murmurs, listening carefully for a few moments, and then getting an odd look on her face. "Not gone, but... quiet. Not angry and shouting. Like... like they got something they wanted."
"Wonder what it was." The dark cub tilts his head, wondering for the moment... Then he realizes, since he seems to keep popping up, he might as well, introduce himself..right..? "Er, uh..I'm Zuphi.."
Niyt ponders on that question along with Zuphi, and then smiles. A name, yeah, that's a good thing to go along with the face and scent and spirit-sense she has. "I'm Niyt."
"Nice to meet you.." Zuphi coughs. "So...This your pack's territory? I smell lots of other wolves around here." He grins nervously and even wags his tail a tiny bit.
Niyt nods, smiling. "Yeah. Shag's my dad," she says, with a flick of her head back to him looming some ways back, letting the younglings interact. "He's the beta. Most of the pack stays back by the rockpiles, there, but... everyone comes through here to hunt." There's vague shapes of other wolves back where she indicates, though most of them are in the shade now and hidden.
He looks clearly intimidated. "Hunt..? Do they, uh...hunt scruffy little wolves like me? I don't make a good meal.." He chuckles softly, not wanting to admit that she doesn't know anything about how to behave like a wolf.
Niyt giggles softly, deciding to take that as a joke. "No... well, my sister might, she's really fierce, but she'd just chew your ears if she caught you, so it's not too bad."
"Well that makes me feel better...I, uh.." Zuphi's not terribly sure how he should put this. "You gonna mind if I stay here for awhile..?" Yes. Awkward. But he's so exhausted..
Niyt smiles, and shakes her head. "I don't mind. And I don't think anyone else will either..." she says, giving a glance back towards the rest of her pack that says if they do, they can take it up with her - and for all she's just a little pup, she doesn't seem the sort to back down in an argument without a good reason. Confidence, she has. More than enough, it seems, to make up for Zuphi's lack thereof.
Zuphi is clearly wagging now. Does that mean he's made a friend? He hopes so! He even yips a bit, in a happy manner..It's been a long time since he did that! "Thanks alot..!" He even manages a slight playbow before his paws give out from under him and he falls flat on his belly.
Niyt wags back, smiling, and starts to return the bow - and then Zuphi collapses. Okay, yeah, not so much with having the energy for play right now, apparently. That's okay... she's glad just to have someone she can talk to about what's going on! Dad hears them, but he just tells her to stay away, and that's no good for a curious young wolfess. She steps forward, and leans her head down to try to give a friendly lick in between Zuphi's ears.
He is also quite relieved. He whimpers softly, his tail thumping the ground. "I'm greatful to have you for a friend," he adds after a brief paws. He feels bad that he can't play... But then his eyes widen when she licks between his ears. "Heh..my fur's really messy and dirty..You sure you wanna be tasting mud?" He laughs.
Not only mud, but mud from far-off and distant lands! Why, there's dirt of colors she didn't even know dirt came in... Niyt laughs. "It sure is..." she agrees. "And that means it needs grooming even more!" she adds, and gives another lick. "That's something friends do. To help."
"They do?" Zuphi is perplexed, but he leans into it. It does feel nice. "Well, uh..Thanks!" He laughs sheepishly and loops a foreleg over her head and tests this out, lightly licking her forehead in return.
Niyt smiles, and nods. "You're welcome!" she says. Her fur is just a little dusty, but quite clean compared to Zuphi's - after all, she's got a mother who makes sure she's nice and clean, and keeps her from getting into trouble. She wags her tail, and smiles, nuzzling softly.
Zuphi sqeaks back at her. He barks softly. "Would you, uh..Would you like to be cleaned too..?" He smiles and playfully nips her cheekfur as she nuzzles him. Hmm.. Gotta try this too.. He timidly nuzzles back.
Niyt lies down, shifting a bit as she settles. Her tail wags back and forth, stirring up more dust as it does, and she giggles softly at the nip and nuzzle back, giving a lick at Zuphi's cheek. This is nice... and it's different, when it's a friend instead of just mom complaining at how dirty she got. She nods, smiling. "Okay..."
Zuphi's technically the "cleanest" he's been for weeks. He clumsily noses her ears and licks the top of her head, clumsily putting a paw on the top of her snout. Gotta keep her still!
Niyt can't help but twitch her ears a bit, wiggling them as they get nosed at. She grins, tail wagging back and forth as she tries to stay still to be groomed at!
Zuphi feels totally at ease with his new friend. This is what it's like to have a friend! He grins, already feeling his energy coming back by the second... He licks her again and then softly grips an ear in his mouth and gives a soft tug.
Niyt giggles, letting out a little aroop! as her ear gets tugged at, and lifting up a forepaw to bat in at Zuphi's shoulder with it, grinning.
He yipyowls back, pawing at her paw. He's wagging furiously now and his eyes significantly light up. "Thanks for being my friend, Niyt!"
Niyt grins, wagging her own tail back and forth. "I'm glad you're my friend, too. It's good!" she says, and wiggles, tilting her head around and licking up at him playfully.
Storyteller's Butte - Late Summer (RL day 7)
Characters:
Niyt - Female Juvenile Wolf
Shag- Male Wolf
Zuphi - Male Juvenile Wolf
------------------------------------------------
Niyt has been restless, these past few days. Something isn't quite right. She can hear it, just on the edges of her perception, and almost see it when she dreams. But not quite - and during the day, when she climbs up onto a pile of rocks to look out into the desert, she can't see anything to account for the odd feeling even though a part of her insists she should. That's where she is now, as the hot afternoon turns towards cool evening, perched up on a tumble of stones and looking out, keeping watch... at least until she next gets distracted.
Shag has been watching his daughter for some time now. He knows exactly what has been happening in the spirit world. And he feels it when it stirs near here, too. So when his daughter shows signs of agitation from something unseen, he is the one who gets very upset. He's watching from afar, noting the way she acts. Waiting for signs of something only he's aware of. He wonders if he should tell her the truth. Maybe he's just scared of dragging her into the conflict. She's too young to know any of those. So he does nothing, right now. Nothing but watch.
Finally, it's nice and cool... Maybe there's some tasty mice or anything skittering about.. Boy, is he hungry... The gray-furred cub looks up at the sky and his tattered ears suddenly flatten..And the skies seem to be screaming down at him. It's not threatening..more like..demanding..But it's still frightening and new to him. What is this..! The little wolf is driven to bolt..to try to get away. Without the protection of a pack, it's difficult, almost impossible, to find refuge.. Nobody would understand anyway.
Niyt perks her ears as the wind picks up for a moment, a gust of it blowing over her and ruffling her fur as it drives the little clouds across the sky. The murmuring is stronger. Something, something it... wants? Needs? But the moment of clarity passes almost before it arrives, leaving only the sense of urgency. She gets to her feet, shifting from one paw to the other, and turns to climb down - then stops. There. On the ground, like a little lost stormcloud caught in the wind. What's that?
That's a familiar little cloud to Shag's eyes. He tilts his head at the small, raggedy wolf as he bumbles along, much like the first time they met. Hmm. He supposes he *should* do something about this. He stands up and shakes himself off like a giant being unearthed, and makes a ruffing noise at them both.
The skies continue to scream and the small one screams in the form of a high howl of sorts. But now..a strange energy pumps up through the Earth, filling his lungs with air, and forcing the howls to persist. They become deeper and nearly as deep as an adult. He wants to investigate the new scents on the wind, especially since these are so familiar... And it ends.. Not knowing what happened, Zuphi plops back onto his haunches, and looks toward the ruffing noise..
Niyt's ear flicks back to Shag, but he's not nearly so intriguing as this new visitor, and the howl Zuphi makes that seems to echo what she could almost-hear murmured on the wind. She makes a higher-toned little half-howl in reply, and hops down off the rockpile to pad out towards the other youngling to investigate.
Shag's pace increases as he heads for Zuphi more quickly, moving as quick as Niyt. This one seems disturbed by something deeper than mere physical hurts.
Uh oh... Zuphi's ears prick as he sees the shapes moving toward him..and suddenly all the screaming fades. Silence, except for the padding paws of the two wolves moving toward him.
Niyt holds her head high, ears perked with curiosity, and her tail out straight behind her. Confidence, but no threat - and she's got a smaller frame than Zuphi, at least, even if she's been rather better fed.
Zuphi stares at the two, switching from one to the other. It'd been awhile since he passed through here, and the little female's grown some. "Oh, uh..I'll get outta your territory right away.."
Niyt comes in closer, as Shag stops a few steps away, watching the two pups but not interfering with them. She hmms, tilting her head to the side. "Why? Did they tell you where to go? I couldn't hear right." After all, she knows her dad isn't likely to drive someone off, nor is uncle Tariro... so there must be something else going on.
The older youngster glances at the female and considers his words. "Hear right? Do what..? You mean the sky?" He's flattening his ears and repeatedly looking at the sky nervously. "Mmmmh.. I just..I just started running last night..and I wound up here...Dunno what told me to go, I just..started moving."
Niyt nods. "Something's happening. I keep hearing things..." she says, trailing off and canting her head to the side for a moment, ears perked... and then it subsides, and she gives her head a little shake. "But it's hard, 'cause they're all... talking over each other, sorta."
"You hear them too?" Zuphi whines lightly. "They're always..screaming at me. I don't think they like me very much, whatever they are.." He whines lightly, wondering just what to do. What DID he do in the first place?
"I don't think they like anyone," replies Niyt, considering on her words as she speaks. "Not just like being mean, though. Like there's something they want. And they're mad because they aren't getting it, and we're supposed to... to help somehow. But I can't hear well enough!"
Zuphi nods readily and shakily gets to his feet.. He looks up. "Did...Did they just stop? Did they stop for you too?" His ears perk, but only halfway, as he eyes the girl.
Niyt nods. "They're all quiet..." she murmurs, listening carefully for a few moments, and then getting an odd look on her face. "Not gone, but... quiet. Not angry and shouting. Like... like they got something they wanted."
"Wonder what it was." The dark cub tilts his head, wondering for the moment... Then he realizes, since he seems to keep popping up, he might as well, introduce himself..right..? "Er, uh..I'm Zuphi.."
Niyt ponders on that question along with Zuphi, and then smiles. A name, yeah, that's a good thing to go along with the face and scent and spirit-sense she has. "I'm Niyt."
"Nice to meet you.." Zuphi coughs. "So...This your pack's territory? I smell lots of other wolves around here." He grins nervously and even wags his tail a tiny bit.
Niyt nods, smiling. "Yeah. Shag's my dad," she says, with a flick of her head back to him looming some ways back, letting the younglings interact. "He's the beta. Most of the pack stays back by the rockpiles, there, but... everyone comes through here to hunt." There's vague shapes of other wolves back where she indicates, though most of them are in the shade now and hidden.
He looks clearly intimidated. "Hunt..? Do they, uh...hunt scruffy little wolves like me? I don't make a good meal.." He chuckles softly, not wanting to admit that she doesn't know anything about how to behave like a wolf.
Niyt giggles softly, deciding to take that as a joke. "No... well, my sister might, she's really fierce, but she'd just chew your ears if she caught you, so it's not too bad."
"Well that makes me feel better...I, uh.." Zuphi's not terribly sure how he should put this. "You gonna mind if I stay here for awhile..?" Yes. Awkward. But he's so exhausted..
Niyt smiles, and shakes her head. "I don't mind. And I don't think anyone else will either..." she says, giving a glance back towards the rest of her pack that says if they do, they can take it up with her - and for all she's just a little pup, she doesn't seem the sort to back down in an argument without a good reason. Confidence, she has. More than enough, it seems, to make up for Zuphi's lack thereof.
Zuphi is clearly wagging now. Does that mean he's made a friend? He hopes so! He even yips a bit, in a happy manner..It's been a long time since he did that! "Thanks alot..!" He even manages a slight playbow before his paws give out from under him and he falls flat on his belly.
Niyt wags back, smiling, and starts to return the bow - and then Zuphi collapses. Okay, yeah, not so much with having the energy for play right now, apparently. That's okay... she's glad just to have someone she can talk to about what's going on! Dad hears them, but he just tells her to stay away, and that's no good for a curious young wolfess. She steps forward, and leans her head down to try to give a friendly lick in between Zuphi's ears.
He is also quite relieved. He whimpers softly, his tail thumping the ground. "I'm greatful to have you for a friend," he adds after a brief paws. He feels bad that he can't play... But then his eyes widen when she licks between his ears. "Heh..my fur's really messy and dirty..You sure you wanna be tasting mud?" He laughs.
Not only mud, but mud from far-off and distant lands! Why, there's dirt of colors she didn't even know dirt came in... Niyt laughs. "It sure is..." she agrees. "And that means it needs grooming even more!" she adds, and gives another lick. "That's something friends do. To help."
"They do?" Zuphi is perplexed, but he leans into it. It does feel nice. "Well, uh..Thanks!" He laughs sheepishly and loops a foreleg over her head and tests this out, lightly licking her forehead in return.
Niyt smiles, and nods. "You're welcome!" she says. Her fur is just a little dusty, but quite clean compared to Zuphi's - after all, she's got a mother who makes sure she's nice and clean, and keeps her from getting into trouble. She wags her tail, and smiles, nuzzling softly.
Zuphi sqeaks back at her. He barks softly. "Would you, uh..Would you like to be cleaned too..?" He smiles and playfully nips her cheekfur as she nuzzles him. Hmm.. Gotta try this too.. He timidly nuzzles back.
Niyt lies down, shifting a bit as she settles. Her tail wags back and forth, stirring up more dust as it does, and she giggles softly at the nip and nuzzle back, giving a lick at Zuphi's cheek. This is nice... and it's different, when it's a friend instead of just mom complaining at how dirty she got. She nods, smiling. "Okay..."
Zuphi's technically the "cleanest" he's been for weeks. He clumsily noses her ears and licks the top of her head, clumsily putting a paw on the top of her snout. Gotta keep her still!
Niyt can't help but twitch her ears a bit, wiggling them as they get nosed at. She grins, tail wagging back and forth as she tries to stay still to be groomed at!
Zuphi feels totally at ease with his new friend. This is what it's like to have a friend! He grins, already feeling his energy coming back by the second... He licks her again and then softly grips an ear in his mouth and gives a soft tug.
Niyt giggles, letting out a little aroop! as her ear gets tugged at, and lifting up a forepaw to bat in at Zuphi's shoulder with it, grinning.
He yipyowls back, pawing at her paw. He's wagging furiously now and his eyes significantly light up. "Thanks for being my friend, Niyt!"
Niyt grins, wagging her own tail back and forth. "I'm glad you're my friend, too. It's good!" she says, and wiggles, tilting her head around and licking up at him playfully.