Post by Therdde on Jul 23, 2011 12:19:24 GMT -5
Characters:
Angard - Male Golden Eagle
Anoki - Male Juvenile Wolf
- Undisclosed Location -
Certain things about finishing their mission have proven harder rather than easier, and at times, Angard has found himself impatient. Although dedicated, he is also a very selfish creature, and he is finding it difficult to continue giving up food of his own for animals who will not need it into winter anyway. Or shouldn't. So help him, if they're still waiting for the right moment by the time winter comes along... These thoughts put the bird into a foul mood as he works, alongside Luscen, to move the logs from opening. At some point, someone decided a little compassion was in order, and that the cubs should be allowed to get out, move around a little bit, and get some air. Angard can't say who decided that. It might have even been him, but he would never admit it. Foul cubs.
Anoki has been faring much better since he gave up digging. His paws are feeling somewhat better, even if his spirits have sunk some. He still walks with a bit of a limp though; his paws are still tender and sore deep down, and some inner part of him, some instinctual, naughty bit tells him at the back of his mind that the weaker they see him ass, the more likely they may be to make a mistake around him. He lays sprawled to the middle of the cavern, forepaws ahead of him, back paws behind him, and head on the ground, tail barely curled against his rump as it usually was before the bird and the cat came.
Once the pile of logs is moves, Angard peers down into the den, then tells the pig behind him, "The girl is sleeping. Why don't you stay and keep an eye on her, while... hey, boy. Come on out here now." Nope. There is no mistaking the bird for a patient sort. He is confident, though, in his ability to keep one wolf under control for the duration of a small outing.
Ears perk, and eyes open, but the pup stays relatively put where he is for the moment, uttering a whine of non-compliant pain at the bird, as he curls one paw close and licks at it miserably. "Don't wanna. You're scary." he says, and yes, the boy is rather honest even if it's dangerous to be so.
"And you're stupid." There's two more words that can't be used to describe Angard, to go along with patient. He is also very much not polite nor kind. "So you think I'm scary, huh? How much scarier do you think I'm going to be if you make me angry by disobeying me, hmm? I /said/ come on out of there. Now."
A moment of defiance; and Anoki scowls at him angrilly. Yeah, just like to see a stupid bird come in there where he can't fly! .. But Anoki also knows that if the bird is on the ground it's a lot easier for it to hurt him, so. He siiighs, and makes a vague show of slowly slugging himself to his feet, and then limping for the hole. "Why you wanna let me out anyway? Ain't you 'fraid I go'an run away?" he asks, wincing with real pain as his paws hit a vague pebble on the way out. "Or that my mama'll come get me?"
"If you run away, you'll suffer for it. Oh, how you'll suffer for it. You think you're hurt now, but you're too young to really know what pain is. That, boy, is the sort of thing I will show you if you try to do something stupid." Perhaps Angard could tone it down a little, because he even gets a questioning look from Luscen as the pig lies outside of the den to keep an eye on the young cougar. Threat delivered, the bird's tone calms slight as he says, "You're out here because boys your age need to move about a bit in order to stay alive. Stay... healthy. No other reason."
Ears lay back in thought at those words, which the pup finds kinda odd, but. His eyes pass over the boar, which he hadn't seen before now, and he makes good practice to give that thing a wide berth; the bird is scary, but at least the bird doens't look like it could eat him on /one fell gulp/. He hobbles past the branches and into the morning mist, his nose wriggling faintly at the scents. The smells. He cannot, however, discern one thing from another here; far too many paws have tred, and ther eare dark things still lurking, that loom. He steps out into the light sun.. then plops himself promptly down. Something about the bird.. "If you're so worried about me bein' healthy why you also threatenin' to hurt me, huh?"
"Listen up, cub, because I'm only going to say this once. It is our job to keep you alive and well, and I intend to do my job well. But if you give me any excuse to, then yes. I will make you regret it, because I have to keep you from doing anything not in your best interest. Do you see? Now, unless you want to feel my talons on your nose, you will get up. Gah! You should be happy to run about some after being cooped up in there for so long, shouldn't you?!" Cubs! Pah! Getting them to do what they should be doing is a tiring task, and it is for this reason that Angard is glad he has no bird-cubs of his own.
Ears lay back. "You said if I run you'll hurt me more'n my paws do, so there." he says, with a contrary tone, though he does reflexivbely flinch at the thought of claws on his face. Yeah, that WOULD hurt. He snorts then, and once more staggers to his feet reluctantly, before he half trots half sluggs along, favoring paws, and trying to force himself to be excited for the bird. "I'm thirsty," he says, then, plopping into a sit once more. "There's no water down there, and it's gettin' smelly c'os we're runnin' outta places to poop an' pee."
Ah, yes. Water. "And how do you expect me to be able to just bring you water, huh? On your paws! We could be at a lake in just a little while if you'd move. And if you behave, and /don't/ make this take all day, I could even think about talking with the others about the possibility of letting you out to do your business instead of making you do it in there, and maybe even to drink every day. Doesn't that sound just lovely?" It will not, after all, do any of them any good to have the cubs dies of thirst or disease, though Angard is not patient enough to let the wolf pup stretch and get to water on his own time.
Ears flatten again, and the pup slowly stands again, head hung low as he starts walking. "Fine." But he's also thinking. Thinking, thinking. As they walk he lags behind the bird slightly, making obvious effort against his paws despite the limp. Occasionally he takes a snap or two at the grass as well.. But mostly.. he's trying his best to be descreet about dragging his paws. For every so occasionally in a mistep or two that comes with a whimper, he'll do just that.. drag his paw enough that claw marks from puppy toes can faintly be seen, but only if one knows what to look for.
Angard keeps an eye on Anoki just to make sure that the pup doesn't start trying to run, but besides that, he focuses on taking the wolf to the lake, where he can get a drink, for as long as the wolf is actually walking, no matter how slowly. Once they arrive, Angard lands on a rock to use it as a perch. Now that they're accomplishing something, the bird actually talks very little, despite his longwindedness of earlier.
And now, Anoki is confident hs has a trail he could follow to the lake if he needed to. He slowly limps his way up to the water, and looks into it, sniffing once more for some hint, some clue, some sign. Some wind. Where oh where could his friend the wind be? Where could his friends the spirits be? He frowns, and sighs, then sinks into a slump at the water's edge, before he dangles his paws into the water.. and laps at the wet crawling up into the fur of his legs. With the bird a bit more silent now, he considers things, ears alert. Listening for the voices he knows.
Not without his own form of compassion, Angard does not insist, now, that Anoki leave the water side too quickly. He gives the boy several long minutes to drink and play idly with the water. Sooner rather than later, though, Angard speaks up again. "It's time to get back." After all, though this is a long way away from Anoki's home, it would not do to have his parents wander by or some such. Not while Anoki is out here like this.
"W-wait," Anoki says, softly, before looking across the water. He looks to the eagle then, and gives him the most pitiful of looks. "Before we go, can.. can I do something? I wanna howl for my momma. She was real sick before I g-.. Before I came with the cat, and my sister said she wasn't going to be with us much longer. Daddy told me once that if you howl for someone the Wind has taken away, they can hear you and will know you're thinking of them. ... Please? I mean, I can't howl very loud, af'fer all, but maybe if she hears me, she won't be worried so much as a spirit." He says, giving the bird a furrowed pair of worried brows. In truth.. yes. he does hope his voice is heard by his mum... Maybe that it would give her the strength to hold on until he could come back.
The eagle's first instinct is to dig his talons into the boy's flesh for even daring to suggest such a thing. But this /is/ a long way from the boy's home. No wolf where Anoki was taken from is going to hear the boy. No living wolf, anyway. And, if what he's looking for is obediance, then giving in to this request... "Very well. Go on, but make it fast." After all, Angard is likely to be given trouble for this moment of weakness he displays, letting a captive child do something that could endanger the mission, no matter how slim that chance is.
A gulp, and a nod, as the pup quivers a little. He takes a breath, and then, slowly, with a few yips and a yap, lets out a high pitched puppy howl that would melt the heart of any adult wolf. I mean, really. It's obvious the boy hasn't done as much howling as other wolves his age might, likely because he hasn't been in a proper place TO howl. But he does it! .. And does it again a second later, eyes squinted closed, before he sniffles a bit, and slowly stands to his feet, muddy paws feeling a little better because of the cool dirt packing into the soreness, soothing the cracking skin. "K-Kay. Maybe Momma will come and visit me tonight. I hope so. I miss'er sumthin' aweful." he sniffs, "Stupid wind, shouldn'ta took her."
Even Angard is not quite so callous as to feel nothing for this child whose mother was dying right before he was kidnapped, and is almost certainly dead by now. Luckily, his inexpressive face gives nothing away, and after the boy speaks, Angard replies, "Right. Let's get going, then." So perhaps he isn't as sympathetic now, but at least he doesn't fill his speech with more threats to the boy.
The pup follows, slow, as before, but at least without painful whimpers. He snaps again at the grass as before-- and pauses about halfway back before he gulps. And whines. And then spins about in a circle a moment. "Ju-Jus a moment I gotta make a puddle, kay?" He gulps, before he begins snuffling at the grass about him, and looks for a good spot, before he leans aside and leaves his puddle.
Angard displays some patience in dealing with the wolf. More so than before, anyway, as he does not begins shouting for Anoki to hurry it up. He simply finds a perch, and then, once the boy appears to be finished, takes to the air again. And now that the boy /should/ have everything taken care of, Angard speaks. "Many more delays like that, and I'll carry you back to the den. Understand?" Ah, at least he has not changed so much. A little more compassionate, perhaps, but still impatient and selfish.
Ears lay back at that prospect. That would hurt, yeah, those claws look sharp. Sharp is always painful. He gulps, and nods, scuttling back onto the path as fast as he can before he resumes following the bird. Why is he going back anyway, he half asks to himself. He could just turn, and run, and try to shoot down the nearest hole. Of course, the bird could probably follow, and then that would be painful too. As they go along.. Anoki asks: "... You said you needed more once't. Why doesn't you have more? And what do you need us for anyway?"
Ah yes. Perfect. Remind Angard of things that irritate him, so that he does not have to cope with feelings of compassion. "I'm not sure any of that is for something as young as you to worry about." Because the eagle is not stupid, and isn't about to tell the pup that they intend to sacrifice him and the others. "Unless you think you could call some little friends of yours to join us. Do you think you can do that, cub?"
A thought, and the pup does say softly: "Maybe. I can see dead things you know. But only if there are spirits around for me to see. There aren't any here though for some reason. Nothin' but bad stuff." He frowns, and then says, astutely, "The bad stuff is going to happen again, inn'it. But... Maybe you need little friends like me to make it stop?" he aks, hopefully.
"That is precisely what we need you for, cub. To keep bad things from happening. You want to help us do that, don't you. So you go, and you behave with that friend of yours, and you let us adult animals worry about the adult things. Just be happy that you're helping us keep bad things from happening, all right?" It's actrually not a far stretch from the truth. Not the truth so far as Angard sees it, anyway. But he still avoids details.
... And yet somehow Anoki doesn't /quite/ believe it all. He frowns. And then nods. "Okay, I'll try and help make the bad thing not happen again." He says, thoughtfully. Then he says: "Y'know my sister might be really good at helpin' out, too. And Kachina's got a brother, I bet he could help. And my BIG sister could help, too. She's good at makin' scary things go away. Oh! and I met A Rackooom who might be good to help, too." He's trying to be helpful! Isn't it so ANNOYING?
"We'll keep that in mind," Angard says as he approaches the den once more. Luscen still lies at the entrance, and looks up at the two approach. He turns to the inside and says something to the girl, who appears a little sleepily as they approach. Apparently, it is time for the two to switch. "You get back down in there now, and your little friend and I are going to go on the same little trip, okay?"
A nod, as the pup slips into the den, but not before he passes a mumble at the cougar cub: "make a stinky somewhere between here and there." .. but he adds louder, "So it won't be stinky in here." He slips back into the hole, and then sits down, eying the entrance thoughtfully. The eagle was fast.. but that pig.. Hm.
Angard - Male Golden Eagle
Anoki - Male Juvenile Wolf
- Undisclosed Location -
Certain things about finishing their mission have proven harder rather than easier, and at times, Angard has found himself impatient. Although dedicated, he is also a very selfish creature, and he is finding it difficult to continue giving up food of his own for animals who will not need it into winter anyway. Or shouldn't. So help him, if they're still waiting for the right moment by the time winter comes along... These thoughts put the bird into a foul mood as he works, alongside Luscen, to move the logs from opening. At some point, someone decided a little compassion was in order, and that the cubs should be allowed to get out, move around a little bit, and get some air. Angard can't say who decided that. It might have even been him, but he would never admit it. Foul cubs.
Anoki has been faring much better since he gave up digging. His paws are feeling somewhat better, even if his spirits have sunk some. He still walks with a bit of a limp though; his paws are still tender and sore deep down, and some inner part of him, some instinctual, naughty bit tells him at the back of his mind that the weaker they see him ass, the more likely they may be to make a mistake around him. He lays sprawled to the middle of the cavern, forepaws ahead of him, back paws behind him, and head on the ground, tail barely curled against his rump as it usually was before the bird and the cat came.
Once the pile of logs is moves, Angard peers down into the den, then tells the pig behind him, "The girl is sleeping. Why don't you stay and keep an eye on her, while... hey, boy. Come on out here now." Nope. There is no mistaking the bird for a patient sort. He is confident, though, in his ability to keep one wolf under control for the duration of a small outing.
Ears perk, and eyes open, but the pup stays relatively put where he is for the moment, uttering a whine of non-compliant pain at the bird, as he curls one paw close and licks at it miserably. "Don't wanna. You're scary." he says, and yes, the boy is rather honest even if it's dangerous to be so.
"And you're stupid." There's two more words that can't be used to describe Angard, to go along with patient. He is also very much not polite nor kind. "So you think I'm scary, huh? How much scarier do you think I'm going to be if you make me angry by disobeying me, hmm? I /said/ come on out of there. Now."
A moment of defiance; and Anoki scowls at him angrilly. Yeah, just like to see a stupid bird come in there where he can't fly! .. But Anoki also knows that if the bird is on the ground it's a lot easier for it to hurt him, so. He siiighs, and makes a vague show of slowly slugging himself to his feet, and then limping for the hole. "Why you wanna let me out anyway? Ain't you 'fraid I go'an run away?" he asks, wincing with real pain as his paws hit a vague pebble on the way out. "Or that my mama'll come get me?"
"If you run away, you'll suffer for it. Oh, how you'll suffer for it. You think you're hurt now, but you're too young to really know what pain is. That, boy, is the sort of thing I will show you if you try to do something stupid." Perhaps Angard could tone it down a little, because he even gets a questioning look from Luscen as the pig lies outside of the den to keep an eye on the young cougar. Threat delivered, the bird's tone calms slight as he says, "You're out here because boys your age need to move about a bit in order to stay alive. Stay... healthy. No other reason."
Ears lay back in thought at those words, which the pup finds kinda odd, but. His eyes pass over the boar, which he hadn't seen before now, and he makes good practice to give that thing a wide berth; the bird is scary, but at least the bird doens't look like it could eat him on /one fell gulp/. He hobbles past the branches and into the morning mist, his nose wriggling faintly at the scents. The smells. He cannot, however, discern one thing from another here; far too many paws have tred, and ther eare dark things still lurking, that loom. He steps out into the light sun.. then plops himself promptly down. Something about the bird.. "If you're so worried about me bein' healthy why you also threatenin' to hurt me, huh?"
"Listen up, cub, because I'm only going to say this once. It is our job to keep you alive and well, and I intend to do my job well. But if you give me any excuse to, then yes. I will make you regret it, because I have to keep you from doing anything not in your best interest. Do you see? Now, unless you want to feel my talons on your nose, you will get up. Gah! You should be happy to run about some after being cooped up in there for so long, shouldn't you?!" Cubs! Pah! Getting them to do what they should be doing is a tiring task, and it is for this reason that Angard is glad he has no bird-cubs of his own.
Ears lay back. "You said if I run you'll hurt me more'n my paws do, so there." he says, with a contrary tone, though he does reflexivbely flinch at the thought of claws on his face. Yeah, that WOULD hurt. He snorts then, and once more staggers to his feet reluctantly, before he half trots half sluggs along, favoring paws, and trying to force himself to be excited for the bird. "I'm thirsty," he says, then, plopping into a sit once more. "There's no water down there, and it's gettin' smelly c'os we're runnin' outta places to poop an' pee."
Ah, yes. Water. "And how do you expect me to be able to just bring you water, huh? On your paws! We could be at a lake in just a little while if you'd move. And if you behave, and /don't/ make this take all day, I could even think about talking with the others about the possibility of letting you out to do your business instead of making you do it in there, and maybe even to drink every day. Doesn't that sound just lovely?" It will not, after all, do any of them any good to have the cubs dies of thirst or disease, though Angard is not patient enough to let the wolf pup stretch and get to water on his own time.
Ears flatten again, and the pup slowly stands again, head hung low as he starts walking. "Fine." But he's also thinking. Thinking, thinking. As they walk he lags behind the bird slightly, making obvious effort against his paws despite the limp. Occasionally he takes a snap or two at the grass as well.. But mostly.. he's trying his best to be descreet about dragging his paws. For every so occasionally in a mistep or two that comes with a whimper, he'll do just that.. drag his paw enough that claw marks from puppy toes can faintly be seen, but only if one knows what to look for.
Angard keeps an eye on Anoki just to make sure that the pup doesn't start trying to run, but besides that, he focuses on taking the wolf to the lake, where he can get a drink, for as long as the wolf is actually walking, no matter how slowly. Once they arrive, Angard lands on a rock to use it as a perch. Now that they're accomplishing something, the bird actually talks very little, despite his longwindedness of earlier.
And now, Anoki is confident hs has a trail he could follow to the lake if he needed to. He slowly limps his way up to the water, and looks into it, sniffing once more for some hint, some clue, some sign. Some wind. Where oh where could his friend the wind be? Where could his friends the spirits be? He frowns, and sighs, then sinks into a slump at the water's edge, before he dangles his paws into the water.. and laps at the wet crawling up into the fur of his legs. With the bird a bit more silent now, he considers things, ears alert. Listening for the voices he knows.
Not without his own form of compassion, Angard does not insist, now, that Anoki leave the water side too quickly. He gives the boy several long minutes to drink and play idly with the water. Sooner rather than later, though, Angard speaks up again. "It's time to get back." After all, though this is a long way away from Anoki's home, it would not do to have his parents wander by or some such. Not while Anoki is out here like this.
"W-wait," Anoki says, softly, before looking across the water. He looks to the eagle then, and gives him the most pitiful of looks. "Before we go, can.. can I do something? I wanna howl for my momma. She was real sick before I g-.. Before I came with the cat, and my sister said she wasn't going to be with us much longer. Daddy told me once that if you howl for someone the Wind has taken away, they can hear you and will know you're thinking of them. ... Please? I mean, I can't howl very loud, af'fer all, but maybe if she hears me, she won't be worried so much as a spirit." He says, giving the bird a furrowed pair of worried brows. In truth.. yes. he does hope his voice is heard by his mum... Maybe that it would give her the strength to hold on until he could come back.
The eagle's first instinct is to dig his talons into the boy's flesh for even daring to suggest such a thing. But this /is/ a long way from the boy's home. No wolf where Anoki was taken from is going to hear the boy. No living wolf, anyway. And, if what he's looking for is obediance, then giving in to this request... "Very well. Go on, but make it fast." After all, Angard is likely to be given trouble for this moment of weakness he displays, letting a captive child do something that could endanger the mission, no matter how slim that chance is.
A gulp, and a nod, as the pup quivers a little. He takes a breath, and then, slowly, with a few yips and a yap, lets out a high pitched puppy howl that would melt the heart of any adult wolf. I mean, really. It's obvious the boy hasn't done as much howling as other wolves his age might, likely because he hasn't been in a proper place TO howl. But he does it! .. And does it again a second later, eyes squinted closed, before he sniffles a bit, and slowly stands to his feet, muddy paws feeling a little better because of the cool dirt packing into the soreness, soothing the cracking skin. "K-Kay. Maybe Momma will come and visit me tonight. I hope so. I miss'er sumthin' aweful." he sniffs, "Stupid wind, shouldn'ta took her."
Even Angard is not quite so callous as to feel nothing for this child whose mother was dying right before he was kidnapped, and is almost certainly dead by now. Luckily, his inexpressive face gives nothing away, and after the boy speaks, Angard replies, "Right. Let's get going, then." So perhaps he isn't as sympathetic now, but at least he doesn't fill his speech with more threats to the boy.
The pup follows, slow, as before, but at least without painful whimpers. He snaps again at the grass as before-- and pauses about halfway back before he gulps. And whines. And then spins about in a circle a moment. "Ju-Jus a moment I gotta make a puddle, kay?" He gulps, before he begins snuffling at the grass about him, and looks for a good spot, before he leans aside and leaves his puddle.
Angard displays some patience in dealing with the wolf. More so than before, anyway, as he does not begins shouting for Anoki to hurry it up. He simply finds a perch, and then, once the boy appears to be finished, takes to the air again. And now that the boy /should/ have everything taken care of, Angard speaks. "Many more delays like that, and I'll carry you back to the den. Understand?" Ah, at least he has not changed so much. A little more compassionate, perhaps, but still impatient and selfish.
Ears lay back at that prospect. That would hurt, yeah, those claws look sharp. Sharp is always painful. He gulps, and nods, scuttling back onto the path as fast as he can before he resumes following the bird. Why is he going back anyway, he half asks to himself. He could just turn, and run, and try to shoot down the nearest hole. Of course, the bird could probably follow, and then that would be painful too. As they go along.. Anoki asks: "... You said you needed more once't. Why doesn't you have more? And what do you need us for anyway?"
Ah yes. Perfect. Remind Angard of things that irritate him, so that he does not have to cope with feelings of compassion. "I'm not sure any of that is for something as young as you to worry about." Because the eagle is not stupid, and isn't about to tell the pup that they intend to sacrifice him and the others. "Unless you think you could call some little friends of yours to join us. Do you think you can do that, cub?"
A thought, and the pup does say softly: "Maybe. I can see dead things you know. But only if there are spirits around for me to see. There aren't any here though for some reason. Nothin' but bad stuff." He frowns, and then says, astutely, "The bad stuff is going to happen again, inn'it. But... Maybe you need little friends like me to make it stop?" he aks, hopefully.
"That is precisely what we need you for, cub. To keep bad things from happening. You want to help us do that, don't you. So you go, and you behave with that friend of yours, and you let us adult animals worry about the adult things. Just be happy that you're helping us keep bad things from happening, all right?" It's actrually not a far stretch from the truth. Not the truth so far as Angard sees it, anyway. But he still avoids details.
... And yet somehow Anoki doesn't /quite/ believe it all. He frowns. And then nods. "Okay, I'll try and help make the bad thing not happen again." He says, thoughtfully. Then he says: "Y'know my sister might be really good at helpin' out, too. And Kachina's got a brother, I bet he could help. And my BIG sister could help, too. She's good at makin' scary things go away. Oh! and I met A Rackooom who might be good to help, too." He's trying to be helpful! Isn't it so ANNOYING?
"We'll keep that in mind," Angard says as he approaches the den once more. Luscen still lies at the entrance, and looks up at the two approach. He turns to the inside and says something to the girl, who appears a little sleepily as they approach. Apparently, it is time for the two to switch. "You get back down in there now, and your little friend and I are going to go on the same little trip, okay?"
A nod, as the pup slips into the den, but not before he passes a mumble at the cougar cub: "make a stinky somewhere between here and there." .. but he adds louder, "So it won't be stinky in here." He slips back into the hole, and then sits down, eying the entrance thoughtfully. The eagle was fast.. but that pig.. Hm.