Post by Askuwheteau on Jul 22, 2011 20:48:53 GMT -5
Adult Male Wolf: Askuwheteau
Adult Female Wolf: Wachiwa
Hilltop Vista
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In the midst of the grassy fields, a high hill rises smoothly above the ground, about a hundred feet tall at its peak. The climb to the top is an easy one, affording a breathtaking view of the local scenery. The hill is a verdant green year-round, though in the spring and summer a myriad of vibrantly-colored wildflower blooms cover its expanse. At the base of the mound, the entrance to a den can be seen, a start contrast of brown dirt against the green grass covering the hill and its surroundings.
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The days just seem to run into each other as late summer reigns over the forest; the leaves are at the faintest hint of turning colors, the grass has dried to a fine greenish yellow, and Chewy has once again found a nice patch of grass to sprawl in as if the dead, though located in front of the den in the hilltop area. Must keep close to the pups, especially with a nasty fox around, and that /really/ weird wolf trying to lure them into games they shouldn't play.
Askuwheteau has been running himself ragged lately, doing patrols, even ranging outside the packs borders to try and cut off potential intruders before they arrive, and despite his attempts at lightening up the strain on the male is starting to tell. He isn't /looking/ bad but his fur is disheveled and he has an increasingly unfriendly look about his eyes lately. Un friendly too strangers that is, those lovely hazel orbs still light up with delight when they find themselves lighting on a packmate with the exception of Mori or Lupin. And so with a slightly weary lope to his gait comes Asku now, ranging closer to the pack's holdings proper with three fat hares in his maw, it was a nice size meal for a single wolf with enough to spare in case he should find someone to share it with, and low and behold who does he find but his best friend! How fortuitous! He turns and gives a rather gruff sounding wuff around the hares as he trots in her direction, now was as good a time as any for a chat and a bit of something to eat. "Heya Chew...want some lunch? My treat?"
Ears twitch, and the tired, yet still somehow cheerful wolfess lifts her head from the grass to look at Asku. She utters a chuff of noise at him in return, tail wagging slightly, before she mmfs. "I dunnoooo," she murmurs, looking back at the den warily. "I mean, like, they're asleep /now/, but that never lasts very long, and there's been this weird wolf running around who shows up and tries to get them to play with him and stuff, but if you try to tell him he's on pack land, he gets angry and stalks off, and stuff.." She hmfs. Then she slowly stands, stretching, before she sighs, "I suppose I got time to eat something, sure.." a pause, "As long as we stay within sight of the den." A slight frown and grimace follows.
Askuwheteau sighs at this news and he drops the hares at the she-wolf's feet in order to give her a proper nosing in greeting. There is an uncharacteristic snarl in Asku's voice as he for a moment lets his temper flare, "If I catch him around here they'll be one less wolf in this world, no questions asked." Then he shakes his head and lets the temper fit pass with a grunt, "I'm sorry Chewy, I'm just frustrated. I work and I work to keep these intruders off our lands but they just keep slipping through. And now to hear they've been getting all the way up to the den and playing with the pups and causing worry to my best buddy." He tries to make it into a joke, hip-bumping her before he lays down to begin gnawing on the stomach of one of the rabbits, pointedly saving the ears for Wachiwa, he knew they were her favorite parts. "If you need a break from pup-sitting I could take a shift, you could hunt, stretch your legs, or take a nap without having to keep one eye open for wandering puppies."
"Oh, no no, it's okay, Asku, you don't need to do that," Chewy says, smiling at him, leaning in to lick at his ears carefully as he lays down. Truth be told, the slight growl is also felt by her; she's frustrated that she's having such trouble keeping the pups safe; having heard first about the one-eyed male, and then the run-in with Rafe. She sighs. Then pulls a rabbit close, and begins picking lazily at the legs as she, too, lays down. "The pups have a point, though. It's not fair to them to be kept cooped up in the den all the time. You and me were always running around, but for some reason this summer just seems to be.. worse than any I can remember. Maybe it's because we're finally adults, and now we have to see what's going on, instead of just playing all the time. But I've done my best to try and make things good.. I've got hidey holes full of food everywhere in case the winter is as bad as the summer was.." She sighs. And eats a bit of rabbit thoughtfully, and truth be told she probably needed it, looking lean from a summer of doing naut but critter catchin' and pupsitting. "... I just wish mom and dad were here to tell me if I was doing things right."
Askuwheteau pauses in his eating and glares at his rabbit as if it had suddenly insulted him, but really he's just thinking, "I keep wondering the same thing myself, I remember the adults going without food our first winter so we could eat, but I was just a pup and my mind was on playing and having fun. Adult cares seemed so far away, I just assumed the grown ups would make everything alright...." He begins to eat again pulling at the hare and sighing, "It's not just me then...I've been wishing for simpler times lately, for my Mom and dad and yours to be back. Wishing I were the puppy being protected from all the bad in the world. Back when I wasn't having to growl all the time and sticking all four of my paws in my mouth around the she-wolves." He cast in another little joke, trying to keep the mood from growing too heavy with a little smile Chewy's direction.
"Asku, you were sticking your paws in your mouth back then, too." Teases Chewy softly, looking at him with a smirk, and a light wag of the tail. "Unfortunately.. there's no going back now. They've gone to be with the spirits, and we've got to watch out for the pack now. We've got to be the grown ups.. And I guess we're the ones who have to make everything alright." She sighs, and tucks into the rabbit's belly with a crunchy chompy sigh. She shakes her head a little, then says, "And I can't help but think we're doing a bad job of it.. but at least we're trying, and that's the most we can do." She sighs, ears drooping some, chomping again.
Askuwheteau laughs a bit and leans over too roguishly smear some rabbit blood in Wachiwa's fur, "No Chewy you are thinking of yourself.../you/ were always sticking my paws in your mouth. But yes, I think our lack of experience is showing, I can't help but feel as if we are doing a bad job of things. Like Dad and Mom and Quidel would have already had everything sorted out and done with already. But you are right also about trying. There is no use in fretting about things, we can only do as much as we can do and no more then that. Worry, sorrow, fear, frustration...none of those feelings ever improve a situation. In most cases they only make things worse, I'm just glad we are getting some things right, The pups are not hurt, they are well fed thanks to you, Skahla and I have patched things up, the pack is drawing together, I'm just losing sleep over all these "visitors" we've been having and the bear and all."
"I haven't smelled any bear in a while," murmurs Chewy, "Maybe it's moved on and we can finally stop worrying about it." She shakes her head at the smear of blood, and then playfully turns to nip at his ear. "Watch it, you, if I get stuff on my face I can't lick off, I might have to sit on you!" She says, amused. She turns back to her own rabbit, and gnaws on the legs, crunching the bones, and licking at the meat. "As for the visitors... I dunno what we can do about those. Skahla needs to mark the lands again, I guess, so that the visitors know they're coming on pack land.. And we /all/ need to watch for them, not just you." She shakes her head. Then, bored with the meal, she starts tugging at the ears, pinning the head with a paw as she does so. "Grrff.." she mutters, before she considers. "Just think, next year it might be Shawnee and Skahla's pups I'm watching," she chuckles.
Askuwheteau chuckles softly and wrinkles his muzzle at his best friend, whispering conspiratorially, "/My/ brother and /Your/ sister having pups? Ancestors preserve us all...the pack would be doomed." He laughs as she threatens to sit on him, "Yeah just try it Chewy, and You'll find me being the one sitting on you. I ain't scured."
"Nuh-uhn, I'd be sitting on you," She smirks, before she perks her ears, and peers at him. "Well you don't think I'll be having pups, do you? I mean... It's not like anyone wants to have pups with me." She gives him a nudge with a paw, before she hmms softly. "Maybe they'll wait though, a year, so that the pups we have now are more growed up and able to take care of themselves before we have more. Might be like, a good idea ,so that we don't get overwhelmed or something." She hmms softly, and then starts licking her paws to clean the blood from her paws.
Askuwheteau smirks as he is nudged and then outrageously he reaches over to grab her with both paws, "Oh I dunno about that.... I was little more then a pup myself when I said that. I'm a grown male now..." He lowers his voice as he moves towards her as if to mount her. "If a certain female would forgive me my past insecurities that is..." He was definitely trying to make her blush now.
"... Askuuuu!" Squeals Wachiwa, as he makes his motions, and she scoots away from him, whirling to scold, "Not in front of the deeeen! Do /you/ want to be the one to explain /that/ to your little sister and brother?" she asks, playfully, before she chuckles, and nudges at his shoulder in a muzzle. "If /anything/ we should ask permission of the Alphas before we even /think/ of that kind of thing, and most certainly shouldn't even think of doing it around the pups! ... Besides." She does, indeed blush a bit, "Besides, I'm sure there's girls around here plenty who are more worthy of you than me."
Askuwheteau grins impishly as Wachiwa scoots away from him, "Well Maybe you're right...about asking for permission that is. And /NO/ I don't want to have to explain that to the pups...Just imagine me trying to tell them about that sort of thing while Tala is sitting there looking so cute and innocent? I'd die! But No Chewy, there may be other girls around but none more worthy or less worthy of my affection then you. Besides you make it sound like I'm something special." He grows tender then and gently brushes his nose against her cheek, daring to hint at planning on kissing her, "I'm just a wolf Chewy...no better or worse then any other wolf..."
"You're one of Wya's, Asku. You're one of her last. That does make you special. In a way," Chewy says, with a weak smile, but then she turns her head a little at the light 'kiss', and murmurs, "If you believe that Helaku fellow I'm too good for /you/," she chuckles softly, shaking her head. "Last of the line of Old Ute blood he told me. Not that I care. Like you said. You're a wolf, I'm a wolf." She chuckles softly, and then smiles, nuzzling at his cheek. "I'm honored if you'd have me anyway." Chewy mmfs softly, then says, "... Really, though, shouldn't the Alphas have the first litter?" She asks, softly, looking at the den again with a sigh, "And we should wait till they've at least seen their way through a winter.."
Askuwheteau laughs softly and nods, "True, you are too good for me Chewy, I've a mean spiteful streak in me that I think you don't have. So even if it wasn't for your bloodline you'd be a real catch for me. I'm surprised you haven't told me to take a long walk off a short overhang already." He snuffles into her fur and wruffs, "Yeah, And like we've been saying all along, we have all the time in the world. No need to rush. Plus I'd prefer us to have a more stable environment before we brought our pups into the world, wouldn't you? Oh and before I forget...." He then seemed to remember something and with a lopsided grin broke the mood by picking up his half eaten hare and hitting Wachiwa with it, "/That/ was for the wet beaver upside the head last week. Payback is a female wolf isn't it?"
Whap! Splutter. Chewy blinks a bit, then grrs. "Heeey, you deserved that. You were going to take the pups to a dangerous place," she says, chuckling, before she considers him.. and pounces for him. "C'mere, I'm gonna sit on your head, and then we'll be even," she giggles, trying to wrap forepaws about his neck to wrassle him down.
Askuwheteau laughs when she pounces for him and he rises slightly to meet her pounce, he wasn't backing down, oh he might let her win in the end, but it was more fun if there was a struggle first. He started to try to push her back with his chest nipping and mock growling, "You better bring your A game Chewy. I'm no pushover!"
"Oh, my A game, huh? Why don't I bring my B game and win over you anyway," she teases. Chewy pounces for him again, paws shoving for his shoulder as she attempts to catch his ear in the very wachiwa-esque manner of tugging at it; though as usual she's more careful about things than a puppy might be. "C'mere, you," she half growls through her teeth, playfully, before he also gets a giggly comment of, "You'll never beat me at ear tugging, I've always been the chewy queen."
Askuwheteau laughs and when his ear is caught between her teeth he rolls his paws under her, attempting to trip her up, of course this slides him beneath her so that if she falls she falls on his side but at least it takes the pressure off his tugged-on ear, "Well maybe you are the ear tugging queen, But I am the master of tactics, It's how I beat Skahla even though he's bigger then me, and It's how I'll beat you...ya big bully.!" He teases back playfully making out as if Chewy was at all mean.
And lo she slides and slips, falling on top of him with a hoof of noise. She blinks, and releases his ear, paws sprawling across his shoulder. "Oh, I'm the bully, huh?" She says, with a light wag of tail, grinning, before she grrrs, "Then I'll bully all over you!" She ducks her head in and begins tucking at his fur slightly, nipping here and there, before she breaks into giggles. She'd never do good at a real severely mean person, not the way just trying to play a bully causes her to laugh.
Askuwheteau wiggles under her as he is tugged at here and there, It more tickled then anything else, He does sing out in a falsetto however, "Oh no! Someone save me! The evil she-wolf is tearing me apaaaaarrrrrtttt!" His tail however was beating the ground happily, it had been a long time since Asku had let go and had a real good wrasslin match.
"Yeah, you better call for help, only it's never gonna come, HA HAH HAH HAH!" Chewy announces, head lifting a bit, before she then paws at his face and attempts to reach his belly for fur tugging and slurpity belly raspberries. "Oooh I'mma getcha, I'mmma getcha!" she says, giggling 'evilly' even with her tail wagging so much her backside is starting to wave, too.
Askuwheteau actually howls with laughter now, apparently his belly is very sensitive, he pushes at Chewys head with both forepaws while cackling like a mad thing, "No! Stop! Bwahahahahhahahahaha!!!!" Asku begins to wheeze after a moment or two of the belly torture.
"Nooo!" Giggles Wachiwa, as she moves from pawing at his head, to wrapping forepaws about his chest to anchor herself against his paws, as she starts to shake her snout against his belly, giggling madly, as she sluurps, then raspberries, then tickles. Although eventually, she lets go and falls over on her side, gasping from her giggles, grinning, tongue lolling. "You might win this time... But I'll win next time, I swear!" she giggles, between breaths, before pawing at his hip.
Askuwheteau lays on his side panting fro breath, his tail weakly flopping now but a huge grin on his muzzle, "You almost won this time....I can barely breathe right now from laughing so hard." He looks down at her and lightly pawed her ears, "Wicked she-wolf..." he remarked with good humor.
"Well," she giggles, snorting slightly, "I did learn from the best." She grins, before rolling over to look at him, and grinning. "Man, I missed playing like that, Asku.. let's never forget we can always have fun if we want, promise?" She says, grinning at him, waving a paw about. "We should never forget how to have fun even if we gotta be grown ups." She giggles softly, then lays her head on the ground, trying to catch her breath, and slowly succeeding.
Askuwheteau smiles and nods holding up one paw, "It's a promise, high paw! An official promise between best friends to always remember to have fun no matter how stressful things get. And I do feel better about things now. More relaxed. Thanks for the match Chewy, it's been awhile for me. I guess I kinda got scared after having that fight with Skahla, worried that if I scuffled with anyone it might get out of paw again yanno?"
A laugh, as Chewy slaps her paw to his. "You know I could never get serious in a fight, Asku. I'm like, more a lover than a fighter." She grins, tail wagging a bit, before she rolls over and sits up a bit, grass clinging everywhere. She grins over at him then says, "And I really did mean it. There's got to be girls here more deserving of you. Maybe that Snow girl. And Tala seems pretty caught up on you, I'd hate to steal her favorite brother." She giggles.
Askuwheteau closes his eyes and sighs contentedly, "Snow is gone Chewy, she's been gone for a long time now. If you truly feel that way I won't force myself on you, or I could do what my father did and have you and another attend me. But I love you Chewy, always will." He then chortles, "Oh Tala has me wrapped around her little paw and she knows it. Ikuna too. I adore my little brother and sister. In fact I think all the pups really like me, dunno why though. Maybe it's my stories."
"It's definitely your stories, my sun," Murmurs Chewy, as she slowly stands, slips over toward him, and lays down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "And I dunno about that whole, 'keeping more wommins' thing. Your dad was... weird about that. I kinda like the idea of being someone's only girl," she chuckles a little, then siiighs. "I love the pups, too. I guess really that's why I want some of my own some day. Puppy breath is like heaven.. and to think I could teach someone something all my own.. something that came from me, and will always have a part of me in them.. it's kinda.. I dunno. Cool."
Askuwheteau turns as Wachiwa lays beside him and he lightly noses her chest, "Well, to be honest I don't think I could manage more then one wolfess at a time. Not sure I'd want to anyway. I've always liked that story I told you about the sun and the moon, Of Alpha being so totally devoted to Beta that he would run across the sky after her. So intent on saving the she-wolf he loved he didn't even look back once, even though that very lack of looking back was what caused their tragic state. And for me it's not so much the smell of a puppy's breath as more the innocence in them, I wanna protect that, keep them small and cute and unhurt for as long as I possibly can even if I have to get hurt in the process. That’s why I....why I haven't told Ahiga yet." Asku's admission comes after a brief pause, but that pause held meaning.
Ears perk. Chewy's features become slightly serious. "You found his mother's remains then, Asku?" She asks, frowning at him, before she sighs. "That's.. probably the best thing then, not to tell him. He's so happy here, I'd hate to see him cry."
Askuwheteau looks even more pained as Chewy figures it out, "Her name is Donoma..." He says, but how could Asku know her name? Not even Ahiga knew what other adults called his mother. The only answer could be that Ahiga's mother was in fact not dead, and Asku had spoken to her. His next words confirm this assumption, "She spoke with me some time ago. She...can't be with Ahiga, but I don't want him to think she is dead. If her situation changes in the future it maybe that they will be able to be reunited, but at the same time I don't want to get his hopes up or have him go running off to find her. I'm not sure what to tell him, except that he lives with us now. Maybe he'll forget about her. But I just keep thinking...my parents are dead, but how much more horrible would it be to know your mother is alive...somewhere, but you just can't be with her?" Asku suddenly looked very world weary, he had been carrying this burden alone for some time now.
Ears twitch, and Chewy thinks about it. She's not the wisest wolf in the pack, and lord help them if she ever becomes the wisest wolf in the pack. But she does have her thoughts and opinions. "It's simple, Asku. You should tell him the truth. That he lives with us, and that maybe some day he will see his mother again. And that in the meantime, she will always be a part of him in his heart." She looks to her friend, then smiles warmly. "That's the truth, isn't it? Even if she's not here, even if she's far away but isn't dead, she's still a part of him inside his heart, the same as your parents and mine will always be a part of us in our hearts. And even if we can't see them with our eyes.. we can see them with our memories and our thoughts." She reaches out to nuzzle at his cheek, adding: "It is a terrible thing to have to keep the actual truth from him. And when he is older, we should tell him the whole truth. But right now.. he's young. Let him be young. Let him handle this the way the young do."
Askuwheteau lays there looking thoughtful, until finally after a moment or two he remarks, "You know Chewy, for all my pride in my tactical mind...sometimes you shame me with your practical wisdom. I've struggled with this for at least two weeks, and in a matter of moments you simply hand me the answer. Maybe oldwolf Hinto is right and I /do/ think too much. Maybe I should start leaving it up to others to do more of the thinking. I seem to overlook so much while trying to keep everything under control. and the more I tighten my control the more things seem to slip away out of my control. I guess I should try being a bit more chaotic. See if that doesn't render better results."
"... I dunno, Asku. Chaotic is so... Chaosy! You could stand to be less /serious/ about things, though." smirks Chewy, leaning in to nudge his cheek with her snout, "I mean, you're always so... Serious. Like.. like frowny frowny serious. Not growly serious like your brother but..." Chewy chuckles, then sighs. "I mean, I'm not like, the smartest wolf there is, but.. Sometimes, if I don't think about things, I get answers." He gets a smile, and a wag of tail, before she adds: "So yeah, maybe you could stop thinking /sooo/ much.. but.. sometimes thinking is good, too. Thinking gives you a... edge, on some things. Like, I'd never know what to do if like, we had a bunch of angry people here. But you would! And that's like so good!"
Askuwheteau chuckles in spite of himself and as he is nudged his tail wags a bit, "Well It's good to know that I'm only frowny serious and not growly serious." He lightly teases his friend with a wink. I think us stupid boys tend to be really serious, it's a flaw built in when we are born that doesn't appear until we get older usually, then we get really old like Hinto and it either gets worse or it goes away. I think we trade that flaw for not being able to make puppies anymore and having rickety hips....or maybe it's the making puppies earlier in life that give us rickety hips, I'm not sure." He rolls over and partially leans on Chewy then, "But I'm glad to know we have all the bases covered between the two of us."
".... I dunno anything about your rickety old man hips, Asku," snorts Chewy, smirking, "And I'll thank you kindly not to tell me anything about them either. The less I know about the noises your body makes when you're hunting the better!" She grins though, pawing at his nose a little playfully, then lays her head down again on the grass with a whuff of noise. "Some day, when we're old and gray, the world will be different, and on that day, we'll look back and wish we could have stayed young for ever."
Askuwheteau rolls over onto his back suddenly, looking up at the sky and seeming to wax wistful, "Probably, but that’s the way of the world isn't it? We are already doing it. Remembering the days of our puppyhood fondly, nothing is ever as good as it once was no matter how bad it used to be..."
"I think that's the way it's meant to be. It's one of the punishments Alpha and Beta were given when they betrayed The Great Spirits when tricked by Raven," Wachiwa says thoughtfully, "That we will always long for what has already been, and what can never be again, that we will always wish for what cannot be, and when we have what we want, we don't know what to do." Chuckles Chewy softly. "When they first tasted the blood of the Great Protector, they learned that we are not as perfect as the spirits are, and that being only mortal, our time is limited. But that's the beauty of puppies, y'know?" She chuckles softly. "When we make our children, we put bits of ourselves in them, so even when we are gone, they remain behind and we thus are never forgotten."
Askuwheteau nods and smiles with a dreamy murmuring, "The only true immortality...." It seemed Asku was starting to doze off there beside his friend.
Looking over at Asku, Chewy smiles faintly. She claims not to be the wisest.. but somehow she has wisdom of a different sort. Watching him, she starts to sing softly as she might to a puppy: "Love, it seems like only yesterday, you were just a child at play. Now you're all grown up inside of me, and oh, how fast those moments flee. Once we watched a lazy world go by, now the days seem to fly. Life is brief, but when it's gone, love goes on and on.."
The male is helpless before the onslaught of his dearest friend, the warm day, the food which he had only partially eaten, the play followed by the joking and the laughing which had eased the tension from his body, and now a lullaby. It was more a wonder that Askuwheteau didn't melt into a giant puddle of warm, fuzzy, comfort right there, as it was his eyes drifted closed and in moments his thick chest rose and fell in peaceful sleep. His face slack and looking as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Adult Female Wolf: Wachiwa
Hilltop Vista
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In the midst of the grassy fields, a high hill rises smoothly above the ground, about a hundred feet tall at its peak. The climb to the top is an easy one, affording a breathtaking view of the local scenery. The hill is a verdant green year-round, though in the spring and summer a myriad of vibrantly-colored wildflower blooms cover its expanse. At the base of the mound, the entrance to a den can be seen, a start contrast of brown dirt against the green grass covering the hill and its surroundings.
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The days just seem to run into each other as late summer reigns over the forest; the leaves are at the faintest hint of turning colors, the grass has dried to a fine greenish yellow, and Chewy has once again found a nice patch of grass to sprawl in as if the dead, though located in front of the den in the hilltop area. Must keep close to the pups, especially with a nasty fox around, and that /really/ weird wolf trying to lure them into games they shouldn't play.
Askuwheteau has been running himself ragged lately, doing patrols, even ranging outside the packs borders to try and cut off potential intruders before they arrive, and despite his attempts at lightening up the strain on the male is starting to tell. He isn't /looking/ bad but his fur is disheveled and he has an increasingly unfriendly look about his eyes lately. Un friendly too strangers that is, those lovely hazel orbs still light up with delight when they find themselves lighting on a packmate with the exception of Mori or Lupin. And so with a slightly weary lope to his gait comes Asku now, ranging closer to the pack's holdings proper with three fat hares in his maw, it was a nice size meal for a single wolf with enough to spare in case he should find someone to share it with, and low and behold who does he find but his best friend! How fortuitous! He turns and gives a rather gruff sounding wuff around the hares as he trots in her direction, now was as good a time as any for a chat and a bit of something to eat. "Heya Chew...want some lunch? My treat?"
Ears twitch, and the tired, yet still somehow cheerful wolfess lifts her head from the grass to look at Asku. She utters a chuff of noise at him in return, tail wagging slightly, before she mmfs. "I dunnoooo," she murmurs, looking back at the den warily. "I mean, like, they're asleep /now/, but that never lasts very long, and there's been this weird wolf running around who shows up and tries to get them to play with him and stuff, but if you try to tell him he's on pack land, he gets angry and stalks off, and stuff.." She hmfs. Then she slowly stands, stretching, before she sighs, "I suppose I got time to eat something, sure.." a pause, "As long as we stay within sight of the den." A slight frown and grimace follows.
Askuwheteau sighs at this news and he drops the hares at the she-wolf's feet in order to give her a proper nosing in greeting. There is an uncharacteristic snarl in Asku's voice as he for a moment lets his temper flare, "If I catch him around here they'll be one less wolf in this world, no questions asked." Then he shakes his head and lets the temper fit pass with a grunt, "I'm sorry Chewy, I'm just frustrated. I work and I work to keep these intruders off our lands but they just keep slipping through. And now to hear they've been getting all the way up to the den and playing with the pups and causing worry to my best buddy." He tries to make it into a joke, hip-bumping her before he lays down to begin gnawing on the stomach of one of the rabbits, pointedly saving the ears for Wachiwa, he knew they were her favorite parts. "If you need a break from pup-sitting I could take a shift, you could hunt, stretch your legs, or take a nap without having to keep one eye open for wandering puppies."
"Oh, no no, it's okay, Asku, you don't need to do that," Chewy says, smiling at him, leaning in to lick at his ears carefully as he lays down. Truth be told, the slight growl is also felt by her; she's frustrated that she's having such trouble keeping the pups safe; having heard first about the one-eyed male, and then the run-in with Rafe. She sighs. Then pulls a rabbit close, and begins picking lazily at the legs as she, too, lays down. "The pups have a point, though. It's not fair to them to be kept cooped up in the den all the time. You and me were always running around, but for some reason this summer just seems to be.. worse than any I can remember. Maybe it's because we're finally adults, and now we have to see what's going on, instead of just playing all the time. But I've done my best to try and make things good.. I've got hidey holes full of food everywhere in case the winter is as bad as the summer was.." She sighs. And eats a bit of rabbit thoughtfully, and truth be told she probably needed it, looking lean from a summer of doing naut but critter catchin' and pupsitting. "... I just wish mom and dad were here to tell me if I was doing things right."
Askuwheteau pauses in his eating and glares at his rabbit as if it had suddenly insulted him, but really he's just thinking, "I keep wondering the same thing myself, I remember the adults going without food our first winter so we could eat, but I was just a pup and my mind was on playing and having fun. Adult cares seemed so far away, I just assumed the grown ups would make everything alright...." He begins to eat again pulling at the hare and sighing, "It's not just me then...I've been wishing for simpler times lately, for my Mom and dad and yours to be back. Wishing I were the puppy being protected from all the bad in the world. Back when I wasn't having to growl all the time and sticking all four of my paws in my mouth around the she-wolves." He cast in another little joke, trying to keep the mood from growing too heavy with a little smile Chewy's direction.
"Asku, you were sticking your paws in your mouth back then, too." Teases Chewy softly, looking at him with a smirk, and a light wag of the tail. "Unfortunately.. there's no going back now. They've gone to be with the spirits, and we've got to watch out for the pack now. We've got to be the grown ups.. And I guess we're the ones who have to make everything alright." She sighs, and tucks into the rabbit's belly with a crunchy chompy sigh. She shakes her head a little, then says, "And I can't help but think we're doing a bad job of it.. but at least we're trying, and that's the most we can do." She sighs, ears drooping some, chomping again.
Askuwheteau laughs a bit and leans over too roguishly smear some rabbit blood in Wachiwa's fur, "No Chewy you are thinking of yourself.../you/ were always sticking my paws in your mouth. But yes, I think our lack of experience is showing, I can't help but feel as if we are doing a bad job of things. Like Dad and Mom and Quidel would have already had everything sorted out and done with already. But you are right also about trying. There is no use in fretting about things, we can only do as much as we can do and no more then that. Worry, sorrow, fear, frustration...none of those feelings ever improve a situation. In most cases they only make things worse, I'm just glad we are getting some things right, The pups are not hurt, they are well fed thanks to you, Skahla and I have patched things up, the pack is drawing together, I'm just losing sleep over all these "visitors" we've been having and the bear and all."
"I haven't smelled any bear in a while," murmurs Chewy, "Maybe it's moved on and we can finally stop worrying about it." She shakes her head at the smear of blood, and then playfully turns to nip at his ear. "Watch it, you, if I get stuff on my face I can't lick off, I might have to sit on you!" She says, amused. She turns back to her own rabbit, and gnaws on the legs, crunching the bones, and licking at the meat. "As for the visitors... I dunno what we can do about those. Skahla needs to mark the lands again, I guess, so that the visitors know they're coming on pack land.. And we /all/ need to watch for them, not just you." She shakes her head. Then, bored with the meal, she starts tugging at the ears, pinning the head with a paw as she does so. "Grrff.." she mutters, before she considers. "Just think, next year it might be Shawnee and Skahla's pups I'm watching," she chuckles.
Askuwheteau chuckles softly and wrinkles his muzzle at his best friend, whispering conspiratorially, "/My/ brother and /Your/ sister having pups? Ancestors preserve us all...the pack would be doomed." He laughs as she threatens to sit on him, "Yeah just try it Chewy, and You'll find me being the one sitting on you. I ain't scured."
"Nuh-uhn, I'd be sitting on you," She smirks, before she perks her ears, and peers at him. "Well you don't think I'll be having pups, do you? I mean... It's not like anyone wants to have pups with me." She gives him a nudge with a paw, before she hmms softly. "Maybe they'll wait though, a year, so that the pups we have now are more growed up and able to take care of themselves before we have more. Might be like, a good idea ,so that we don't get overwhelmed or something." She hmms softly, and then starts licking her paws to clean the blood from her paws.
Askuwheteau smirks as he is nudged and then outrageously he reaches over to grab her with both paws, "Oh I dunno about that.... I was little more then a pup myself when I said that. I'm a grown male now..." He lowers his voice as he moves towards her as if to mount her. "If a certain female would forgive me my past insecurities that is..." He was definitely trying to make her blush now.
"... Askuuuu!" Squeals Wachiwa, as he makes his motions, and she scoots away from him, whirling to scold, "Not in front of the deeeen! Do /you/ want to be the one to explain /that/ to your little sister and brother?" she asks, playfully, before she chuckles, and nudges at his shoulder in a muzzle. "If /anything/ we should ask permission of the Alphas before we even /think/ of that kind of thing, and most certainly shouldn't even think of doing it around the pups! ... Besides." She does, indeed blush a bit, "Besides, I'm sure there's girls around here plenty who are more worthy of you than me."
Askuwheteau grins impishly as Wachiwa scoots away from him, "Well Maybe you're right...about asking for permission that is. And /NO/ I don't want to have to explain that to the pups...Just imagine me trying to tell them about that sort of thing while Tala is sitting there looking so cute and innocent? I'd die! But No Chewy, there may be other girls around but none more worthy or less worthy of my affection then you. Besides you make it sound like I'm something special." He grows tender then and gently brushes his nose against her cheek, daring to hint at planning on kissing her, "I'm just a wolf Chewy...no better or worse then any other wolf..."
"You're one of Wya's, Asku. You're one of her last. That does make you special. In a way," Chewy says, with a weak smile, but then she turns her head a little at the light 'kiss', and murmurs, "If you believe that Helaku fellow I'm too good for /you/," she chuckles softly, shaking her head. "Last of the line of Old Ute blood he told me. Not that I care. Like you said. You're a wolf, I'm a wolf." She chuckles softly, and then smiles, nuzzling at his cheek. "I'm honored if you'd have me anyway." Chewy mmfs softly, then says, "... Really, though, shouldn't the Alphas have the first litter?" She asks, softly, looking at the den again with a sigh, "And we should wait till they've at least seen their way through a winter.."
Askuwheteau laughs softly and nods, "True, you are too good for me Chewy, I've a mean spiteful streak in me that I think you don't have. So even if it wasn't for your bloodline you'd be a real catch for me. I'm surprised you haven't told me to take a long walk off a short overhang already." He snuffles into her fur and wruffs, "Yeah, And like we've been saying all along, we have all the time in the world. No need to rush. Plus I'd prefer us to have a more stable environment before we brought our pups into the world, wouldn't you? Oh and before I forget...." He then seemed to remember something and with a lopsided grin broke the mood by picking up his half eaten hare and hitting Wachiwa with it, "/That/ was for the wet beaver upside the head last week. Payback is a female wolf isn't it?"
Whap! Splutter. Chewy blinks a bit, then grrs. "Heeey, you deserved that. You were going to take the pups to a dangerous place," she says, chuckling, before she considers him.. and pounces for him. "C'mere, I'm gonna sit on your head, and then we'll be even," she giggles, trying to wrap forepaws about his neck to wrassle him down.
Askuwheteau laughs when she pounces for him and he rises slightly to meet her pounce, he wasn't backing down, oh he might let her win in the end, but it was more fun if there was a struggle first. He started to try to push her back with his chest nipping and mock growling, "You better bring your A game Chewy. I'm no pushover!"
"Oh, my A game, huh? Why don't I bring my B game and win over you anyway," she teases. Chewy pounces for him again, paws shoving for his shoulder as she attempts to catch his ear in the very wachiwa-esque manner of tugging at it; though as usual she's more careful about things than a puppy might be. "C'mere, you," she half growls through her teeth, playfully, before he also gets a giggly comment of, "You'll never beat me at ear tugging, I've always been the chewy queen."
Askuwheteau laughs and when his ear is caught between her teeth he rolls his paws under her, attempting to trip her up, of course this slides him beneath her so that if she falls she falls on his side but at least it takes the pressure off his tugged-on ear, "Well maybe you are the ear tugging queen, But I am the master of tactics, It's how I beat Skahla even though he's bigger then me, and It's how I'll beat you...ya big bully.!" He teases back playfully making out as if Chewy was at all mean.
And lo she slides and slips, falling on top of him with a hoof of noise. She blinks, and releases his ear, paws sprawling across his shoulder. "Oh, I'm the bully, huh?" She says, with a light wag of tail, grinning, before she grrrs, "Then I'll bully all over you!" She ducks her head in and begins tucking at his fur slightly, nipping here and there, before she breaks into giggles. She'd never do good at a real severely mean person, not the way just trying to play a bully causes her to laugh.
Askuwheteau wiggles under her as he is tugged at here and there, It more tickled then anything else, He does sing out in a falsetto however, "Oh no! Someone save me! The evil she-wolf is tearing me apaaaaarrrrrtttt!" His tail however was beating the ground happily, it had been a long time since Asku had let go and had a real good wrasslin match.
"Yeah, you better call for help, only it's never gonna come, HA HAH HAH HAH!" Chewy announces, head lifting a bit, before she then paws at his face and attempts to reach his belly for fur tugging and slurpity belly raspberries. "Oooh I'mma getcha, I'mmma getcha!" she says, giggling 'evilly' even with her tail wagging so much her backside is starting to wave, too.
Askuwheteau actually howls with laughter now, apparently his belly is very sensitive, he pushes at Chewys head with both forepaws while cackling like a mad thing, "No! Stop! Bwahahahahhahahahaha!!!!" Asku begins to wheeze after a moment or two of the belly torture.
"Nooo!" Giggles Wachiwa, as she moves from pawing at his head, to wrapping forepaws about his chest to anchor herself against his paws, as she starts to shake her snout against his belly, giggling madly, as she sluurps, then raspberries, then tickles. Although eventually, she lets go and falls over on her side, gasping from her giggles, grinning, tongue lolling. "You might win this time... But I'll win next time, I swear!" she giggles, between breaths, before pawing at his hip.
Askuwheteau lays on his side panting fro breath, his tail weakly flopping now but a huge grin on his muzzle, "You almost won this time....I can barely breathe right now from laughing so hard." He looks down at her and lightly pawed her ears, "Wicked she-wolf..." he remarked with good humor.
"Well," she giggles, snorting slightly, "I did learn from the best." She grins, before rolling over to look at him, and grinning. "Man, I missed playing like that, Asku.. let's never forget we can always have fun if we want, promise?" She says, grinning at him, waving a paw about. "We should never forget how to have fun even if we gotta be grown ups." She giggles softly, then lays her head on the ground, trying to catch her breath, and slowly succeeding.
Askuwheteau smiles and nods holding up one paw, "It's a promise, high paw! An official promise between best friends to always remember to have fun no matter how stressful things get. And I do feel better about things now. More relaxed. Thanks for the match Chewy, it's been awhile for me. I guess I kinda got scared after having that fight with Skahla, worried that if I scuffled with anyone it might get out of paw again yanno?"
A laugh, as Chewy slaps her paw to his. "You know I could never get serious in a fight, Asku. I'm like, more a lover than a fighter." She grins, tail wagging a bit, before she rolls over and sits up a bit, grass clinging everywhere. She grins over at him then says, "And I really did mean it. There's got to be girls here more deserving of you. Maybe that Snow girl. And Tala seems pretty caught up on you, I'd hate to steal her favorite brother." She giggles.
Askuwheteau closes his eyes and sighs contentedly, "Snow is gone Chewy, she's been gone for a long time now. If you truly feel that way I won't force myself on you, or I could do what my father did and have you and another attend me. But I love you Chewy, always will." He then chortles, "Oh Tala has me wrapped around her little paw and she knows it. Ikuna too. I adore my little brother and sister. In fact I think all the pups really like me, dunno why though. Maybe it's my stories."
"It's definitely your stories, my sun," Murmurs Chewy, as she slowly stands, slips over toward him, and lays down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "And I dunno about that whole, 'keeping more wommins' thing. Your dad was... weird about that. I kinda like the idea of being someone's only girl," she chuckles a little, then siiighs. "I love the pups, too. I guess really that's why I want some of my own some day. Puppy breath is like heaven.. and to think I could teach someone something all my own.. something that came from me, and will always have a part of me in them.. it's kinda.. I dunno. Cool."
Askuwheteau turns as Wachiwa lays beside him and he lightly noses her chest, "Well, to be honest I don't think I could manage more then one wolfess at a time. Not sure I'd want to anyway. I've always liked that story I told you about the sun and the moon, Of Alpha being so totally devoted to Beta that he would run across the sky after her. So intent on saving the she-wolf he loved he didn't even look back once, even though that very lack of looking back was what caused their tragic state. And for me it's not so much the smell of a puppy's breath as more the innocence in them, I wanna protect that, keep them small and cute and unhurt for as long as I possibly can even if I have to get hurt in the process. That’s why I....why I haven't told Ahiga yet." Asku's admission comes after a brief pause, but that pause held meaning.
Ears perk. Chewy's features become slightly serious. "You found his mother's remains then, Asku?" She asks, frowning at him, before she sighs. "That's.. probably the best thing then, not to tell him. He's so happy here, I'd hate to see him cry."
Askuwheteau looks even more pained as Chewy figures it out, "Her name is Donoma..." He says, but how could Asku know her name? Not even Ahiga knew what other adults called his mother. The only answer could be that Ahiga's mother was in fact not dead, and Asku had spoken to her. His next words confirm this assumption, "She spoke with me some time ago. She...can't be with Ahiga, but I don't want him to think she is dead. If her situation changes in the future it maybe that they will be able to be reunited, but at the same time I don't want to get his hopes up or have him go running off to find her. I'm not sure what to tell him, except that he lives with us now. Maybe he'll forget about her. But I just keep thinking...my parents are dead, but how much more horrible would it be to know your mother is alive...somewhere, but you just can't be with her?" Asku suddenly looked very world weary, he had been carrying this burden alone for some time now.
Ears twitch, and Chewy thinks about it. She's not the wisest wolf in the pack, and lord help them if she ever becomes the wisest wolf in the pack. But she does have her thoughts and opinions. "It's simple, Asku. You should tell him the truth. That he lives with us, and that maybe some day he will see his mother again. And that in the meantime, she will always be a part of him in his heart." She looks to her friend, then smiles warmly. "That's the truth, isn't it? Even if she's not here, even if she's far away but isn't dead, she's still a part of him inside his heart, the same as your parents and mine will always be a part of us in our hearts. And even if we can't see them with our eyes.. we can see them with our memories and our thoughts." She reaches out to nuzzle at his cheek, adding: "It is a terrible thing to have to keep the actual truth from him. And when he is older, we should tell him the whole truth. But right now.. he's young. Let him be young. Let him handle this the way the young do."
Askuwheteau lays there looking thoughtful, until finally after a moment or two he remarks, "You know Chewy, for all my pride in my tactical mind...sometimes you shame me with your practical wisdom. I've struggled with this for at least two weeks, and in a matter of moments you simply hand me the answer. Maybe oldwolf Hinto is right and I /do/ think too much. Maybe I should start leaving it up to others to do more of the thinking. I seem to overlook so much while trying to keep everything under control. and the more I tighten my control the more things seem to slip away out of my control. I guess I should try being a bit more chaotic. See if that doesn't render better results."
"... I dunno, Asku. Chaotic is so... Chaosy! You could stand to be less /serious/ about things, though." smirks Chewy, leaning in to nudge his cheek with her snout, "I mean, you're always so... Serious. Like.. like frowny frowny serious. Not growly serious like your brother but..." Chewy chuckles, then sighs. "I mean, I'm not like, the smartest wolf there is, but.. Sometimes, if I don't think about things, I get answers." He gets a smile, and a wag of tail, before she adds: "So yeah, maybe you could stop thinking /sooo/ much.. but.. sometimes thinking is good, too. Thinking gives you a... edge, on some things. Like, I'd never know what to do if like, we had a bunch of angry people here. But you would! And that's like so good!"
Askuwheteau chuckles in spite of himself and as he is nudged his tail wags a bit, "Well It's good to know that I'm only frowny serious and not growly serious." He lightly teases his friend with a wink. I think us stupid boys tend to be really serious, it's a flaw built in when we are born that doesn't appear until we get older usually, then we get really old like Hinto and it either gets worse or it goes away. I think we trade that flaw for not being able to make puppies anymore and having rickety hips....or maybe it's the making puppies earlier in life that give us rickety hips, I'm not sure." He rolls over and partially leans on Chewy then, "But I'm glad to know we have all the bases covered between the two of us."
".... I dunno anything about your rickety old man hips, Asku," snorts Chewy, smirking, "And I'll thank you kindly not to tell me anything about them either. The less I know about the noises your body makes when you're hunting the better!" She grins though, pawing at his nose a little playfully, then lays her head down again on the grass with a whuff of noise. "Some day, when we're old and gray, the world will be different, and on that day, we'll look back and wish we could have stayed young for ever."
Askuwheteau rolls over onto his back suddenly, looking up at the sky and seeming to wax wistful, "Probably, but that’s the way of the world isn't it? We are already doing it. Remembering the days of our puppyhood fondly, nothing is ever as good as it once was no matter how bad it used to be..."
"I think that's the way it's meant to be. It's one of the punishments Alpha and Beta were given when they betrayed The Great Spirits when tricked by Raven," Wachiwa says thoughtfully, "That we will always long for what has already been, and what can never be again, that we will always wish for what cannot be, and when we have what we want, we don't know what to do." Chuckles Chewy softly. "When they first tasted the blood of the Great Protector, they learned that we are not as perfect as the spirits are, and that being only mortal, our time is limited. But that's the beauty of puppies, y'know?" She chuckles softly. "When we make our children, we put bits of ourselves in them, so even when we are gone, they remain behind and we thus are never forgotten."
Askuwheteau nods and smiles with a dreamy murmuring, "The only true immortality...." It seemed Asku was starting to doze off there beside his friend.
Looking over at Asku, Chewy smiles faintly. She claims not to be the wisest.. but somehow she has wisdom of a different sort. Watching him, she starts to sing softly as she might to a puppy: "Love, it seems like only yesterday, you were just a child at play. Now you're all grown up inside of me, and oh, how fast those moments flee. Once we watched a lazy world go by, now the days seem to fly. Life is brief, but when it's gone, love goes on and on.."
The male is helpless before the onslaught of his dearest friend, the warm day, the food which he had only partially eaten, the play followed by the joking and the laughing which had eased the tension from his body, and now a lullaby. It was more a wonder that Askuwheteau didn't melt into a giant puddle of warm, fuzzy, comfort right there, as it was his eyes drifted closed and in moments his thick chest rose and fell in peaceful sleep. His face slack and looking as if he hadn't a care in the world.