Post by Pavane on Jun 10, 2011 0:13:08 GMT -5
Fennel, a female raccoon, and Anoki, a male wolf pup.
---
Another lazy near-summer day, which sees Anoki laying in the grass, once again fighting against the inevitable that is Food Coma after a nice lunch in which he has come out the roly-poly pup again. Eyes half closed, head lazily bobbing up and down as he fights the urge to nap, he is sprawled on a small tussok of grass and earth.
The sound of muttering is apparent long before Fennel is, as the coon makes her way through the tall grass. "Feathers! Had feathers. Maybe it stole them? Couldn't be, couldn't be. Wasn't a very good thief. Wasn't very good at all." She gives a chittering laugh, trundling along and making the grass rustle around her.
Ears twitch, and Sleepy Puppy Anoki perks his head a little, sniffing at the air as something unusual comes his way through the tall grass. Huhwhat? That's... a really weeeeird lookin' woof there. She's about his size.. maybe she's jus' a puppy, too! Which means she's fair game for play! Hmmm. But does he have energy to play? ... He wobbles to his feet, sneezing a little at the grass about his snout, and then stretches, considering. Yeah! Play! He toddles a few steps closers toward the chittering Woof, and then yaps. "I see yooo! I a big grass monser, I getchoo!"
If Fennel was being more observant, she might have noticed all the wolf-scent around here. As it is, she's too wrapped up in her own thoughts to realize anything - right up until Anoki rises to challenge her. She stops her muttering, and listens. "Grass monster?" she says consideringly, then huffs. "Had to be one. Makes sense. Grass is here. Grass is stuck. Stuck here! Grass has a monster." She gives herself a shake, her thick fur puffing out. "Fennel sees grass monster!"
Tail wagging, Anoki grrrrowls. "I'mma eetchoo," he warns, as he peers at the raccoon with a wide grin, and bounces a step closer, trying to be all feirce. of course, the fact that he's a ball of brownish fluff does not make this impressive nor scary. He considers Fennel now that he's a bit closer. Huh? "Grass is stuck? Wuts wrong wif grass?"
"Grass monsters eat raccoons?" considers Fennel. "Grass eats raccoons? Hungry grass!" She jumps up, peering down anxiously under her feet. "Fennel not eaten. Yet." Then the looks back up at fluffy wolfpup, and tilts her head. "Grass monster not know? Grass stuck. Fennel walks in forest. Fennel walks in mountains. Fennel walks in river. Fennel walks in grass, too! But grass only in grass. Can't walk. No legs. Need legs to walk."
The puppy tilts his head. Anoki... doesn't.. get it. Okay, Fennel is confuuuusing. He blinks. "What's Fennel? Why'sit walk in da mountains? Wassa river?" he asks, curiously, peeeering at the Coony. He then leans forward to sniff at her curiously. Huh, well, she doesn't smell like Woof, so maybe she isn't a woof. That must mean she's a Dog. But Dogs are okay, right? "You doggy!"
Fennel huffs. "Fennel raccoon. Not dog. Fennel met a dog. No good." She shakes her head. "Don't want to be one of those. Not a dog!" She sniffs back at the wolfpup, but somehow, her instincts for self-preservation completely fail to fire. It's hard to be terrified of a puppy, anyway. "Not wolf, either. You're wolf. Not dog. Fennel is raccoon. Not dog either."
"Raaaaack coom?" Anoki says, blinking. Whaaaat a strange thing. He looks her up and down again, then asks, "Why you talk so funny? Is weird. You're weird. Rackcooms is weird." he says. Ahh, puppy logic. He then snuffles at her again, trying to memorize the smell. So he'll know when weird stuff is coming.
"Yes! Raccoon!" says Fennel. She's rather pleased that he's got the idea - but then, puppy logic and Fennel logic are rather similar things. The biggest difference is that Anoki will grow past puppy logic some day. "Fennel not learn words, long ago. Not have words. Then! Fennel learns many words. So many words! Words not always fit together. Fennel makes fit! Can't not use words! Can't waste words. Has words. Uses words. All words!"
Anoki blinks. All words? Huh. Well, that does make sense! You need to use things or they go unused. "So mebbe I should use all words too?" he asks, curiously, putting actual thought into this. And then he considers. Well, what words does he know? "Mumma!" He shouts, "Grass! Krisha! Daddeh! Monser! Woof! Dog! Rackcoom!" ... Well, thanks to Fennel things may be getting a bit noisier around the lowlands than before.
"Use words, yes!" agrees Fennel, and then blinks as the wolfpup takes it literally. What a fabulous idea! And she gets to learn new words, too... this just gets better and better! Though... what is a 'Krisha', anyways? Oh well, she'll figure it out eventually. She joins in, chittering and then calling out other things. "Bird! Squawk! Rabbit! Words! Feathers! Mew! One... two... eleven... Ate! Nine! Den!"
Hey, it's a win-win! Anoki gets to learn new words, too! His ears twitch as he listens to Fennel, and takes note. Bird? Skwak? Rabbutt? Eleben! Ooo. "Moooooon!" he announces joyfully, "Stah! Auntie Em! Nit! Fluffy! Mud! Rain! Dirt! Wind!" Oh, joy of joys, this has become fun! Being noisy is fun! "No! Yesh! An'ki! Food! Baff!"
Fennel prances about in a circle - well, it's meant to be a prance. Raccoons aren't exactly built for that, though, and so it's more of a tromp around. Maybe a gallumph. "Emmmmmm An Oh!" she shouts, as the insects nearby run for cover underground. "Sky, sky, sky! Flyyyyy!" She runs up to a little tussock, and tries to leap up and launch herself into the air. This goes about as well as could be expected, and she lands about a foot away with a thump. "Ground!" she shouts, only slightly muffled by a faceful of dirt.
Anoki blinks! And toddles after the Rackcoom, attempting to nose at her gently after she's fallen. "You o'tay?" he asks, as he peers at her with concern. After all, falling down is never fun. It never phases him, mind, but that didn't look like a normal fall down, c'os her face was all inna dirt and stuff.
Fennel huffs, shaking herself as she's nosed at. "Still can't fly," she says, and then starts to get her paws back under her and push herself back onto her feet again. She seems to be more or less unharmed, though there's now a mask of dirt to go with the natural one of her patterning. At least her wits can't get any more addled than they already are.
"Flyyyy.." Anoki echos, thoughtfully. "Whasis mean, Fly?" he asks, curiously, with a cock of his head to the right, almost like the RCA dog.
"Fly is..." Fennel pauses a moment, looking for the RIGHT words this time. "Fly is like walk. But in sky! Birds fly. Bats fly. Even little bugs fly! Fennel tries to fly. Can't."
"Oooooo.." Anoki says, as things click. Fly is what those things that go around overhead do. He tilts his head up, looking way into the sky, peering around for anything that could be flying at the moment, curiously. "Fly... An'ki wanna fly too. An'ki could see EBERYTING up dere I betcha.." he says, in awe, as he spots a cloud or two. Attempting to stand on his hind legs a little results in him falling to his back, but he doesn't mind, he can still see up very well from this position. "Dat fly?" he points a paw at a fluffy cloud overhead.
Fennel nods, sitting back on her haunches and looking up as well. "Like in tree. But better. See more!" She huffs as the pup falls backward, and creeps forward to nudge at his side like he did to her earlier - then follows that pointing paw up to the cloud. Her head tilts consideringly. "Must be! Up in sky. Cloud can fly." She nods, then suddenly stops mid-motion and grins. "Can't walk! Cloud comes down, makes fog... but still can't walk. No pawprints! Fennel can walk, cloud can't!"
"Cloooouds." Anoki parrots thoughtfully, as he half curls to peer at them a different way. "Clouds can't walk," he murmurs, thoughtful. But they can fly! His tail wiggles and he announces, "An'ki wanna be a /cloud/!" He beams! And then thinks! Maybe his dad is part cloud, since he's so fluffy all over. Oh! Oh! Maybe that means he can be part cloud, too! "An'ki t'ink daddeh ish cloud. He all fluffeh an' sometimes he can fly when he goes real fast an' run runs." He says, before looking over to fennel. "Fog..? Ish when clouds come down to da grass?"
"Can fly?" Fennel's eyes get wide. "Can _FLY_?" She huffs excitedly, her whole body squirming at the concept. "But... but runs. Not all cloud, then. Part cloud? Must be. Semi-cloud. But... can fly! Goes fast, flies. Flies!" She chitters. "Fennel tries running. Not fast enough?" The pup's final question is utterly ignored by the raccoon in her enthusiasm.
Anoki blinks a bit at Fennel's absolute joy, then bobs his head. "Yuh-hum. Allis feets comes offa da ground and he goes up an' den he comes down again," he says, describing what is actually a jump, but to Anoki, as a pup, must be the most awesome thing ever. "Does it when'ees runni' affer da big things he an' mumma eets," he says, thoughtfully. "Dey kin' fly, too! Is really neat! But An'ki neber talks to dem c'os dey ish dang'rus."
Fennel huffs. "Fennel stays. Watches! Learns how to fly." She nods her head firmly. She'll figure out the secrets of these cloudwolves yet! "Danger? Yes. Many danger. Fennel knows danger!" ...says the raccoon talking to a wolf.
"You goan' stay? ooooo." Anoki says, rolling over, tail wagging, "You can teach An'ki mo' words!" he says, eagerly, with a beaming grin. "An' Mumma an' daddeh can' tech you how t' fly, yush." He nods, firmly. Yup! ... Well, at least Alaqua won't have to give a muddy puppy a bath after this adventure?
"Yes! Fennel teach words. Fennel learn fly! Good plan!" She grins, prancing from one foot to the other in a happy dance. "Anoki is clever like Fennel!"
---
Another lazy near-summer day, which sees Anoki laying in the grass, once again fighting against the inevitable that is Food Coma after a nice lunch in which he has come out the roly-poly pup again. Eyes half closed, head lazily bobbing up and down as he fights the urge to nap, he is sprawled on a small tussok of grass and earth.
The sound of muttering is apparent long before Fennel is, as the coon makes her way through the tall grass. "Feathers! Had feathers. Maybe it stole them? Couldn't be, couldn't be. Wasn't a very good thief. Wasn't very good at all." She gives a chittering laugh, trundling along and making the grass rustle around her.
Ears twitch, and Sleepy Puppy Anoki perks his head a little, sniffing at the air as something unusual comes his way through the tall grass. Huhwhat? That's... a really weeeeird lookin' woof there. She's about his size.. maybe she's jus' a puppy, too! Which means she's fair game for play! Hmmm. But does he have energy to play? ... He wobbles to his feet, sneezing a little at the grass about his snout, and then stretches, considering. Yeah! Play! He toddles a few steps closers toward the chittering Woof, and then yaps. "I see yooo! I a big grass monser, I getchoo!"
If Fennel was being more observant, she might have noticed all the wolf-scent around here. As it is, she's too wrapped up in her own thoughts to realize anything - right up until Anoki rises to challenge her. She stops her muttering, and listens. "Grass monster?" she says consideringly, then huffs. "Had to be one. Makes sense. Grass is here. Grass is stuck. Stuck here! Grass has a monster." She gives herself a shake, her thick fur puffing out. "Fennel sees grass monster!"
Tail wagging, Anoki grrrrowls. "I'mma eetchoo," he warns, as he peers at the raccoon with a wide grin, and bounces a step closer, trying to be all feirce. of course, the fact that he's a ball of brownish fluff does not make this impressive nor scary. He considers Fennel now that he's a bit closer. Huh? "Grass is stuck? Wuts wrong wif grass?"
"Grass monsters eat raccoons?" considers Fennel. "Grass eats raccoons? Hungry grass!" She jumps up, peering down anxiously under her feet. "Fennel not eaten. Yet." Then the looks back up at fluffy wolfpup, and tilts her head. "Grass monster not know? Grass stuck. Fennel walks in forest. Fennel walks in mountains. Fennel walks in river. Fennel walks in grass, too! But grass only in grass. Can't walk. No legs. Need legs to walk."
The puppy tilts his head. Anoki... doesn't.. get it. Okay, Fennel is confuuuusing. He blinks. "What's Fennel? Why'sit walk in da mountains? Wassa river?" he asks, curiously, peeeering at the Coony. He then leans forward to sniff at her curiously. Huh, well, she doesn't smell like Woof, so maybe she isn't a woof. That must mean she's a Dog. But Dogs are okay, right? "You doggy!"
Fennel huffs. "Fennel raccoon. Not dog. Fennel met a dog. No good." She shakes her head. "Don't want to be one of those. Not a dog!" She sniffs back at the wolfpup, but somehow, her instincts for self-preservation completely fail to fire. It's hard to be terrified of a puppy, anyway. "Not wolf, either. You're wolf. Not dog. Fennel is raccoon. Not dog either."
"Raaaaack coom?" Anoki says, blinking. Whaaaat a strange thing. He looks her up and down again, then asks, "Why you talk so funny? Is weird. You're weird. Rackcooms is weird." he says. Ahh, puppy logic. He then snuffles at her again, trying to memorize the smell. So he'll know when weird stuff is coming.
"Yes! Raccoon!" says Fennel. She's rather pleased that he's got the idea - but then, puppy logic and Fennel logic are rather similar things. The biggest difference is that Anoki will grow past puppy logic some day. "Fennel not learn words, long ago. Not have words. Then! Fennel learns many words. So many words! Words not always fit together. Fennel makes fit! Can't not use words! Can't waste words. Has words. Uses words. All words!"
Anoki blinks. All words? Huh. Well, that does make sense! You need to use things or they go unused. "So mebbe I should use all words too?" he asks, curiously, putting actual thought into this. And then he considers. Well, what words does he know? "Mumma!" He shouts, "Grass! Krisha! Daddeh! Monser! Woof! Dog! Rackcoom!" ... Well, thanks to Fennel things may be getting a bit noisier around the lowlands than before.
"Use words, yes!" agrees Fennel, and then blinks as the wolfpup takes it literally. What a fabulous idea! And she gets to learn new words, too... this just gets better and better! Though... what is a 'Krisha', anyways? Oh well, she'll figure it out eventually. She joins in, chittering and then calling out other things. "Bird! Squawk! Rabbit! Words! Feathers! Mew! One... two... eleven... Ate! Nine! Den!"
Hey, it's a win-win! Anoki gets to learn new words, too! His ears twitch as he listens to Fennel, and takes note. Bird? Skwak? Rabbutt? Eleben! Ooo. "Moooooon!" he announces joyfully, "Stah! Auntie Em! Nit! Fluffy! Mud! Rain! Dirt! Wind!" Oh, joy of joys, this has become fun! Being noisy is fun! "No! Yesh! An'ki! Food! Baff!"
Fennel prances about in a circle - well, it's meant to be a prance. Raccoons aren't exactly built for that, though, and so it's more of a tromp around. Maybe a gallumph. "Emmmmmm An Oh!" she shouts, as the insects nearby run for cover underground. "Sky, sky, sky! Flyyyyy!" She runs up to a little tussock, and tries to leap up and launch herself into the air. This goes about as well as could be expected, and she lands about a foot away with a thump. "Ground!" she shouts, only slightly muffled by a faceful of dirt.
Anoki blinks! And toddles after the Rackcoom, attempting to nose at her gently after she's fallen. "You o'tay?" he asks, as he peers at her with concern. After all, falling down is never fun. It never phases him, mind, but that didn't look like a normal fall down, c'os her face was all inna dirt and stuff.
Fennel huffs, shaking herself as she's nosed at. "Still can't fly," she says, and then starts to get her paws back under her and push herself back onto her feet again. She seems to be more or less unharmed, though there's now a mask of dirt to go with the natural one of her patterning. At least her wits can't get any more addled than they already are.
"Flyyyy.." Anoki echos, thoughtfully. "Whasis mean, Fly?" he asks, curiously, with a cock of his head to the right, almost like the RCA dog.
"Fly is..." Fennel pauses a moment, looking for the RIGHT words this time. "Fly is like walk. But in sky! Birds fly. Bats fly. Even little bugs fly! Fennel tries to fly. Can't."
"Oooooo.." Anoki says, as things click. Fly is what those things that go around overhead do. He tilts his head up, looking way into the sky, peering around for anything that could be flying at the moment, curiously. "Fly... An'ki wanna fly too. An'ki could see EBERYTING up dere I betcha.." he says, in awe, as he spots a cloud or two. Attempting to stand on his hind legs a little results in him falling to his back, but he doesn't mind, he can still see up very well from this position. "Dat fly?" he points a paw at a fluffy cloud overhead.
Fennel nods, sitting back on her haunches and looking up as well. "Like in tree. But better. See more!" She huffs as the pup falls backward, and creeps forward to nudge at his side like he did to her earlier - then follows that pointing paw up to the cloud. Her head tilts consideringly. "Must be! Up in sky. Cloud can fly." She nods, then suddenly stops mid-motion and grins. "Can't walk! Cloud comes down, makes fog... but still can't walk. No pawprints! Fennel can walk, cloud can't!"
"Cloooouds." Anoki parrots thoughtfully, as he half curls to peer at them a different way. "Clouds can't walk," he murmurs, thoughtful. But they can fly! His tail wiggles and he announces, "An'ki wanna be a /cloud/!" He beams! And then thinks! Maybe his dad is part cloud, since he's so fluffy all over. Oh! Oh! Maybe that means he can be part cloud, too! "An'ki t'ink daddeh ish cloud. He all fluffeh an' sometimes he can fly when he goes real fast an' run runs." He says, before looking over to fennel. "Fog..? Ish when clouds come down to da grass?"
"Can fly?" Fennel's eyes get wide. "Can _FLY_?" She huffs excitedly, her whole body squirming at the concept. "But... but runs. Not all cloud, then. Part cloud? Must be. Semi-cloud. But... can fly! Goes fast, flies. Flies!" She chitters. "Fennel tries running. Not fast enough?" The pup's final question is utterly ignored by the raccoon in her enthusiasm.
Anoki blinks a bit at Fennel's absolute joy, then bobs his head. "Yuh-hum. Allis feets comes offa da ground and he goes up an' den he comes down again," he says, describing what is actually a jump, but to Anoki, as a pup, must be the most awesome thing ever. "Does it when'ees runni' affer da big things he an' mumma eets," he says, thoughtfully. "Dey kin' fly, too! Is really neat! But An'ki neber talks to dem c'os dey ish dang'rus."
Fennel huffs. "Fennel stays. Watches! Learns how to fly." She nods her head firmly. She'll figure out the secrets of these cloudwolves yet! "Danger? Yes. Many danger. Fennel knows danger!" ...says the raccoon talking to a wolf.
"You goan' stay? ooooo." Anoki says, rolling over, tail wagging, "You can teach An'ki mo' words!" he says, eagerly, with a beaming grin. "An' Mumma an' daddeh can' tech you how t' fly, yush." He nods, firmly. Yup! ... Well, at least Alaqua won't have to give a muddy puppy a bath after this adventure?
"Yes! Fennel teach words. Fennel learn fly! Good plan!" She grins, prancing from one foot to the other in a happy dance. "Anoki is clever like Fennel!"