Post by Pavane on Oct 16, 2011 23:19:37 GMT -5
Anoki - Male Juvenile Wolf
Niyt - Female Wolf
Winter, in it's hayday, has brought a faint scattering of snow to the river, which holds a layer of ice upon it thick enough to hold a wolf's weight, which is good; mostly because Anoki has finally gotten up the courage to inspect the river personally, and it's in the middle of the frozen ice that he stands, peering down into it, despite the clouded surface of the ice disallowing him to see anything beneath it. He's gotten larger, but not by much; that reddish tinge to his fur in prior days is mellowing to a sort of lighter brown, while the browns are darkening. But there's still that star-like mark on his temples of rusty orange-brown that always sets him aside, and identifies him. His head is dipped, ears erect, as he sniffs at the ice thoughtfully, his tail, with it's still slightly hairless tip is dipped just slightly between his feet.
The winter muffles scents, and brings a sharper wind. Niyt returns from the forest, her ears perked to the breeze as she pads toward the river's edge. It's quiet, today, and she doesn't break that silence just yet, though she lowers herself to a seat beside a straggly and leafless winter thicket.
Ears twitch slightly, as the sound of someone's approach isn't quite muffled by the snow, but more amplified because of the crisp crunch. Anoki glances hastily up in a faint panic-- but is happy to see it's just Niyt. He calls to her with a wuff of noise and breath, before he starts to trot her way slowly, slipping slightly on the ice, but otherwise having mastered it at least a little. The nip of the cold feels nice to his paws, which, despite healing, have continued to feel like they were burning raw; a psychological factor, most likely. "Niyt! Did you know water gets hard when it's cold? And I can't see any fish down there at-wuup! -at all!"
Niyt smiles at the sound of her brother's voice, and she wuffs back to him as she curls her tail around her feet. She nods. "It does," she agrees. "Every year." Huh. It's almost the end of her brother's first year; when this ice melts again, it'll be the time he was born again. Time does get on, doesn't it? So much has happened in this time, and yet it seems so short at the same time. "Some of the fish hide away in the mud at the bottom, I think. There's still water under there..." Way under, at least when the ice is thick enough that young wolves won't break through and freeze to death. Her little - well, not so little anymore - brother is still around, though. Even if there have been some too-close calls.
Departing the ice proper, and stepping into the show, Anoki tiptoes slightly at first, but then drops to a natural stance, letting out a whuff of breath as he shakes his thick fur. He's not got as thick as coat as his dad yet. he's still way too young. But some day, maybe. For now, he approaches Niyt, leaning in to lick at her face with the usual whines and whimpers of greeting, before he flops down at her side, laying his head on her shoulders. He's getting too big to crawl on her now, to his disappointment. "You seem happier than usual," he says, softly, with a smile. "That boy of yours you never got to show Momma come back?"
Niyt nuzzles down at her brother affectionately, and licks over his ears as he settles down against her. He certainly is growing big, as she can feel when he lies against her. Not full grown, not yet - but he's getting there. She lowers her head to her paws, relaxing, and then her ear perks at his observation. Happier? Has she? She gives a considering puff of breath. "No, Zuphi hasn't come back yet," she says. She sounds.. less unhappy about it than she once was. Not pleased, exactly, but somewhat at peace with it. "I'm not sure he ever will. We've still got our pack, though. Even if it's not quite the one it used to be." Old faces gone, new faces arrived... it's not the pack that once left Viridian's lands, or Lazuli's. But it is a pack.
"Aw," Murmurs Anoki, "I was hopin' to meet him too. He ain't very good if he's gone this long and left my best sister alone like this." He snorts, and then closes his eyes a little, basking in the warm closeness of his eldest sibling, and smiling at her presence. She's become a warm glow to him as far as spirits go; he doesn't think she'll ever become anything less. "Yeah, I guess we got our pack. New faces coming in.. old faces gone by.. I haven't seen uncle Tariro around, so I guess maybe he's off doing.. adult stuff.. But. But that's life, huh." He considers, then sighs. Before he ohs, "Oh, oh, hey, I almost caught a rabbit the other day! But It went into a hole and... And I didn't catch it." Holes are horrible places.
Niyt can't exactly disagree. "I'd like for you to meet him too," she says. "He's still my friend." More than that... Well, she didn't put it quite the same way as her brother, but she's been pondering too. If he's been gone so long... how could she build a life with him? Not that she doesn't still have fondness for him. She nods. "Uncle Taririo's been busy with the newcomers, too. Did you see that Helaku came? That wolf we met at Ute?" And if that's not a wolf that needs plenty of talking-to, she doesn't know who is. At the mention of a nearly-caught rabbit, her tail thumps at the ground. "Good!" she says. "Rabbits are good at getting away, but you'll get the trick of it soon."
"... Helaku.. Uh.. Okay," Anoki makes a faint grimace. He doesn't QUITE like that one, considering he tried to order around and stuff. But, eh, he supposes his uncle Tariro can set him right, right? He mmfs. "... He's nosy." He says, simply, before he grins, tail thumping too. "Yeah, I almost got it, but .. Uhm..." he's not quite sure he wants to admit it. "... But the hole was scary so I kinda.. left it alone after that." He frowns, and siiiighs. Holes are horrible problems. But then, could anyone blame him? He sniffs a little. "This snow stuff is awesome. it makes my feet feel wonderful, and it's fun to jump into the deep stuff." He grins.
"He can be," Niyt agrees with a little laugh. Maybe it'll be a good thing for him to pay attention to something that /isn't/ Ute. "We'll see what happens." Then she smiles about the rabbit. The smile grows a little sad as he talks about the scary hole, and she nods. "Even if you hadn't, it can be hard to reach a rabbit once it goes to ground. They can fit in smaller places than you can." She turns her head, and nuzzles gently at his side. Yeah, maybe he'll have to get over this fear of holes at some point, but... there's time yet. And fun things like snow in the meantime! "Dad used to roll around in it until he was practically white all over," she says with a laugh. "Like a giant snow-beast." She smiles at the memory.
"... I wish Dad would come back," Says Anoki after a moment of uncomfortable silence when his father is mentioned. Niyt may smile, but for Anoki, relying on only his uncle as far as 'guy stuff' is involved has kind of.. become hard. Not to mention much of his childhood being spent captured in a hole... He frowns though then says, amusedly, "Niyt.. what does snow look like to you?" With ears twitching. He knows his sister is 'blind' to everyone.. but he knows, he's figured out far beyond now, that she isn't 'blind' as much as she is.. differently sighted. Yes, that's it. Differently sighted. He smiles, as he nuzzles at the back of her head. "I mean, I know you can see the wind, and you can see my ghost friends.. but what does Snow look like?"
Niyt sighs now. She wishes dad would come back too. There's good memory, and then there's the reality of it being gone. Home is the pack, but home... isn't what it once was. She's kind of run out of assurances, or even hopes, though. Dad is... probably gone just as much as mom is, if not as definitively. At the question, she perks one ear, and then laughs. "Snow is cold," she says. Yeah, it kind of sounds like a lame little tautology, but it's an honest answer too. "It's coolness in the air, and against the body. It's not -there- the way living things are, just... part of the world, like a river or a stone."
"Huh," Anoki says, considering this, before he gets, what he thinks, anyway, is a good idea! "Hey, I wonder if hiding yourself in snow could make you harder to see for rabbits an' stuff." He grins proudly at himself for the ingeeeenius idea he's come up with. Of course, then, ears twitching and cupping forward, he looks to Niyt curiously. "... Niyt...? Why are your eyes funny looking anyway? I'm old enough to know now, ain't I?"
Niyt blinks consideringly. That actually seems like a fabulous idea. In fact... the way to hide in snow seems an awful lot like digging holes. Nice safe snow-holes, that don't have dirt and roots and stones. She nods. "I think you could. Maybe you should try that sometime, and tell me how it works." She gives his ears a lick, then hmms at his question. "I don't know all of it," she says honestly, and considers for a moment, regarding him sightlessly. Maybe it would be a good idea to tell him what she does know, though. "When I was a pup, I could see normally and see spirits, too. There were some... spirits, then. I haven't seen them since. Dark spirits, like... moving shadows on the ground. Dad was scared of them, but I was curious. They seemed... like they were hurting. Like they needed help."
Ears twitch, And Anoki considers it, murmuring, "So kind of like the cat that took me..? They seemed nice but they wasn't?" He asks, softly, the idea of Dark Spirits being friendly not lost on him as a lie, considering. He frowns, and shuffles a little, to listen to her. drawing his head from her shoulders to her paws so he cna sort of look up to her as she speaks.
Niyt nods slowly. "Something like that, yes. I went with them, one night. They said they needed my sight. They were begging, pleading." She lowers her head to rest on Anoki's back gently, and sighs. "They led me away from the pack. The further we got, the more of them there were, gathering up all around me. I asked them what they wanted me to see, but they wouldn't answer anymore. They just started getting closer and closer around me, reaching out and grabbing at me with those shadows." She closes those blind eyes. "They didn't want me to see something. They wanted to take my sight. To tear it away. It hurt. They would have killed me."
Ears flatten back as Anoki listens, his fur starting to bristle slightly about his shoulders, before he says, softly, "... They were not good at all. And they lied to you, like the cat lied to me." He grimaces, then adds softly, "If I'd been there I'da chased them away, and bite them all. I'm sorry I wasn't there." ...
"No. They weren't," says Niyt softly. "They lied, and they tried to do bad things. Just like the cat and the others." She sighs, and then smiles at his wanting to help. "I know. But you weren't even born yet." She's quiet for a moment, and then goes on. "I got away, but... not all the way. They didn't kill me, but they did get my sight, in a way. I started going blind after that. Not all at once, but... bit by bit. Like clouds coming in, or like there was a little bit of those shadows stuck in my eyes that just kept growing until it blocked everything."
A frown, and Anoki has to murmur, "... .. Maybe if I went and yelled at the shadows now, they'd give it back. I could force them to, I can be really feirce!" The nearly-adolescent youngin' makes a face and tries to be his growliest growl at the idea. "Grrrrrawl."
Niyt lifts up her head sharply. "No. I don't want you getting hurt," she says. There are some things brothers can help with, but that... no. That's something too big for anyone, so far as she can tell. Her voice softens as she adds, "Besides, they haven't been around for a long time. Maybe they got what they wanted from someone else."
A frown, and a murmur, "... I hope they didn't get what they want, I hope they got what they deserve." Anoki is very solumn about this, as he lays his head on her paws once more, and listens with one ear to the thud of her heart in her chest. It's a comfort noise, really. Reminds him of cuddling up to mom when he was still small enough that he needed her milk to survive. He sighs then, and whispers, "I'm still sorry I couldn't fix it, Niyt. If I could give you the moon I would. You're the best sister ever."
Niyt sighs, and nods. "I hope they did too. I don't know. If they come back..." She trails off, and just shakes her head. She doesn't entirely know what she'd do then. Try to stop them, she supposes. She lowers her head again, and gently nuzzles between her brother's shoulders and along the back of his neck. "I know, little moon. I'm just glad I've got _you_."
Niyt - Female Wolf
Winter, in it's hayday, has brought a faint scattering of snow to the river, which holds a layer of ice upon it thick enough to hold a wolf's weight, which is good; mostly because Anoki has finally gotten up the courage to inspect the river personally, and it's in the middle of the frozen ice that he stands, peering down into it, despite the clouded surface of the ice disallowing him to see anything beneath it. He's gotten larger, but not by much; that reddish tinge to his fur in prior days is mellowing to a sort of lighter brown, while the browns are darkening. But there's still that star-like mark on his temples of rusty orange-brown that always sets him aside, and identifies him. His head is dipped, ears erect, as he sniffs at the ice thoughtfully, his tail, with it's still slightly hairless tip is dipped just slightly between his feet.
The winter muffles scents, and brings a sharper wind. Niyt returns from the forest, her ears perked to the breeze as she pads toward the river's edge. It's quiet, today, and she doesn't break that silence just yet, though she lowers herself to a seat beside a straggly and leafless winter thicket.
Ears twitch slightly, as the sound of someone's approach isn't quite muffled by the snow, but more amplified because of the crisp crunch. Anoki glances hastily up in a faint panic-- but is happy to see it's just Niyt. He calls to her with a wuff of noise and breath, before he starts to trot her way slowly, slipping slightly on the ice, but otherwise having mastered it at least a little. The nip of the cold feels nice to his paws, which, despite healing, have continued to feel like they were burning raw; a psychological factor, most likely. "Niyt! Did you know water gets hard when it's cold? And I can't see any fish down there at-wuup! -at all!"
Niyt smiles at the sound of her brother's voice, and she wuffs back to him as she curls her tail around her feet. She nods. "It does," she agrees. "Every year." Huh. It's almost the end of her brother's first year; when this ice melts again, it'll be the time he was born again. Time does get on, doesn't it? So much has happened in this time, and yet it seems so short at the same time. "Some of the fish hide away in the mud at the bottom, I think. There's still water under there..." Way under, at least when the ice is thick enough that young wolves won't break through and freeze to death. Her little - well, not so little anymore - brother is still around, though. Even if there have been some too-close calls.
Departing the ice proper, and stepping into the show, Anoki tiptoes slightly at first, but then drops to a natural stance, letting out a whuff of breath as he shakes his thick fur. He's not got as thick as coat as his dad yet. he's still way too young. But some day, maybe. For now, he approaches Niyt, leaning in to lick at her face with the usual whines and whimpers of greeting, before he flops down at her side, laying his head on her shoulders. He's getting too big to crawl on her now, to his disappointment. "You seem happier than usual," he says, softly, with a smile. "That boy of yours you never got to show Momma come back?"
Niyt nuzzles down at her brother affectionately, and licks over his ears as he settles down against her. He certainly is growing big, as she can feel when he lies against her. Not full grown, not yet - but he's getting there. She lowers her head to her paws, relaxing, and then her ear perks at his observation. Happier? Has she? She gives a considering puff of breath. "No, Zuphi hasn't come back yet," she says. She sounds.. less unhappy about it than she once was. Not pleased, exactly, but somewhat at peace with it. "I'm not sure he ever will. We've still got our pack, though. Even if it's not quite the one it used to be." Old faces gone, new faces arrived... it's not the pack that once left Viridian's lands, or Lazuli's. But it is a pack.
"Aw," Murmurs Anoki, "I was hopin' to meet him too. He ain't very good if he's gone this long and left my best sister alone like this." He snorts, and then closes his eyes a little, basking in the warm closeness of his eldest sibling, and smiling at her presence. She's become a warm glow to him as far as spirits go; he doesn't think she'll ever become anything less. "Yeah, I guess we got our pack. New faces coming in.. old faces gone by.. I haven't seen uncle Tariro around, so I guess maybe he's off doing.. adult stuff.. But. But that's life, huh." He considers, then sighs. Before he ohs, "Oh, oh, hey, I almost caught a rabbit the other day! But It went into a hole and... And I didn't catch it." Holes are horrible places.
Niyt can't exactly disagree. "I'd like for you to meet him too," she says. "He's still my friend." More than that... Well, she didn't put it quite the same way as her brother, but she's been pondering too. If he's been gone so long... how could she build a life with him? Not that she doesn't still have fondness for him. She nods. "Uncle Taririo's been busy with the newcomers, too. Did you see that Helaku came? That wolf we met at Ute?" And if that's not a wolf that needs plenty of talking-to, she doesn't know who is. At the mention of a nearly-caught rabbit, her tail thumps at the ground. "Good!" she says. "Rabbits are good at getting away, but you'll get the trick of it soon."
"... Helaku.. Uh.. Okay," Anoki makes a faint grimace. He doesn't QUITE like that one, considering he tried to order around and stuff. But, eh, he supposes his uncle Tariro can set him right, right? He mmfs. "... He's nosy." He says, simply, before he grins, tail thumping too. "Yeah, I almost got it, but .. Uhm..." he's not quite sure he wants to admit it. "... But the hole was scary so I kinda.. left it alone after that." He frowns, and siiiighs. Holes are horrible problems. But then, could anyone blame him? He sniffs a little. "This snow stuff is awesome. it makes my feet feel wonderful, and it's fun to jump into the deep stuff." He grins.
"He can be," Niyt agrees with a little laugh. Maybe it'll be a good thing for him to pay attention to something that /isn't/ Ute. "We'll see what happens." Then she smiles about the rabbit. The smile grows a little sad as he talks about the scary hole, and she nods. "Even if you hadn't, it can be hard to reach a rabbit once it goes to ground. They can fit in smaller places than you can." She turns her head, and nuzzles gently at his side. Yeah, maybe he'll have to get over this fear of holes at some point, but... there's time yet. And fun things like snow in the meantime! "Dad used to roll around in it until he was practically white all over," she says with a laugh. "Like a giant snow-beast." She smiles at the memory.
"... I wish Dad would come back," Says Anoki after a moment of uncomfortable silence when his father is mentioned. Niyt may smile, but for Anoki, relying on only his uncle as far as 'guy stuff' is involved has kind of.. become hard. Not to mention much of his childhood being spent captured in a hole... He frowns though then says, amusedly, "Niyt.. what does snow look like to you?" With ears twitching. He knows his sister is 'blind' to everyone.. but he knows, he's figured out far beyond now, that she isn't 'blind' as much as she is.. differently sighted. Yes, that's it. Differently sighted. He smiles, as he nuzzles at the back of her head. "I mean, I know you can see the wind, and you can see my ghost friends.. but what does Snow look like?"
Niyt sighs now. She wishes dad would come back too. There's good memory, and then there's the reality of it being gone. Home is the pack, but home... isn't what it once was. She's kind of run out of assurances, or even hopes, though. Dad is... probably gone just as much as mom is, if not as definitively. At the question, she perks one ear, and then laughs. "Snow is cold," she says. Yeah, it kind of sounds like a lame little tautology, but it's an honest answer too. "It's coolness in the air, and against the body. It's not -there- the way living things are, just... part of the world, like a river or a stone."
"Huh," Anoki says, considering this, before he gets, what he thinks, anyway, is a good idea! "Hey, I wonder if hiding yourself in snow could make you harder to see for rabbits an' stuff." He grins proudly at himself for the ingeeeenius idea he's come up with. Of course, then, ears twitching and cupping forward, he looks to Niyt curiously. "... Niyt...? Why are your eyes funny looking anyway? I'm old enough to know now, ain't I?"
Niyt blinks consideringly. That actually seems like a fabulous idea. In fact... the way to hide in snow seems an awful lot like digging holes. Nice safe snow-holes, that don't have dirt and roots and stones. She nods. "I think you could. Maybe you should try that sometime, and tell me how it works." She gives his ears a lick, then hmms at his question. "I don't know all of it," she says honestly, and considers for a moment, regarding him sightlessly. Maybe it would be a good idea to tell him what she does know, though. "When I was a pup, I could see normally and see spirits, too. There were some... spirits, then. I haven't seen them since. Dark spirits, like... moving shadows on the ground. Dad was scared of them, but I was curious. They seemed... like they were hurting. Like they needed help."
Ears twitch, And Anoki considers it, murmuring, "So kind of like the cat that took me..? They seemed nice but they wasn't?" He asks, softly, the idea of Dark Spirits being friendly not lost on him as a lie, considering. He frowns, and shuffles a little, to listen to her. drawing his head from her shoulders to her paws so he cna sort of look up to her as she speaks.
Niyt nods slowly. "Something like that, yes. I went with them, one night. They said they needed my sight. They were begging, pleading." She lowers her head to rest on Anoki's back gently, and sighs. "They led me away from the pack. The further we got, the more of them there were, gathering up all around me. I asked them what they wanted me to see, but they wouldn't answer anymore. They just started getting closer and closer around me, reaching out and grabbing at me with those shadows." She closes those blind eyes. "They didn't want me to see something. They wanted to take my sight. To tear it away. It hurt. They would have killed me."
Ears flatten back as Anoki listens, his fur starting to bristle slightly about his shoulders, before he says, softly, "... They were not good at all. And they lied to you, like the cat lied to me." He grimaces, then adds softly, "If I'd been there I'da chased them away, and bite them all. I'm sorry I wasn't there." ...
"No. They weren't," says Niyt softly. "They lied, and they tried to do bad things. Just like the cat and the others." She sighs, and then smiles at his wanting to help. "I know. But you weren't even born yet." She's quiet for a moment, and then goes on. "I got away, but... not all the way. They didn't kill me, but they did get my sight, in a way. I started going blind after that. Not all at once, but... bit by bit. Like clouds coming in, or like there was a little bit of those shadows stuck in my eyes that just kept growing until it blocked everything."
A frown, and Anoki has to murmur, "... .. Maybe if I went and yelled at the shadows now, they'd give it back. I could force them to, I can be really feirce!" The nearly-adolescent youngin' makes a face and tries to be his growliest growl at the idea. "Grrrrrawl."
Niyt lifts up her head sharply. "No. I don't want you getting hurt," she says. There are some things brothers can help with, but that... no. That's something too big for anyone, so far as she can tell. Her voice softens as she adds, "Besides, they haven't been around for a long time. Maybe they got what they wanted from someone else."
A frown, and a murmur, "... I hope they didn't get what they want, I hope they got what they deserve." Anoki is very solumn about this, as he lays his head on her paws once more, and listens with one ear to the thud of her heart in her chest. It's a comfort noise, really. Reminds him of cuddling up to mom when he was still small enough that he needed her milk to survive. He sighs then, and whispers, "I'm still sorry I couldn't fix it, Niyt. If I could give you the moon I would. You're the best sister ever."
Niyt sighs, and nods. "I hope they did too. I don't know. If they come back..." She trails off, and just shakes her head. She doesn't entirely know what she'd do then. Try to stop them, she supposes. She lowers her head again, and gently nuzzles between her brother's shoulders and along the back of his neck. "I know, little moon. I'm just glad I've got _you_."