TP: Missing Pup - Pt. 4.5 "Friendship"

[tanniyn]

This scene takes place (obviously) between parts 4 & 5, and gives some background to the scene where Swiftwings visits the Lazuli pack. Probably my favorite scene from the whole TP. <3!!

Characters:
Maulisho - adolescent female cougar
Larkspur - juvenile female wolf (Lazuli)
Swiftwings - adult male golden eagle

Merging Tributary
================================================================================
Here, the water merges in a somewhat rough manner, tumbling over a pile of rocks as it goes. The grass here is plain, with some cattails along the running river banks. The sky is open here, and a small bump in the grass makes for a fine stargazing spot at night. There are a few vole burrows along the banks, but for the most part this place is uninhabited by larger things.
================================================================================

It's hard to believe it's already been two days since the lynx attack. And only three since Maulisho first found Larkspur. It's gone by fast. Trotting alongside the girl, Maul is in high spirits, hoping that it won't be long now before they reach the valley... and Viridian lands. An occassional glance is given in Lark's direction to make sure that she's keeping up okay. The cougar would have preferred to stay at the riverbank for another day or so, but she knows that Lark's getting really impatient to get moving again, and as her injuries seem to be healing okay, she decided to start out toward the valley once more.

Loping along behind Maul, Lark's mind is on their destination and, more importantly, who she'll see there. Not paying attention to the ground before her, the pup strays ever so slightly to the right. Noticing a large rock suddenly in her path, she yips and swerves to avoid it. Narrowly missing the obstacle, she watches the stone over her shoulder, not believing how close she was. As she watches behind her, she trips over a stick laying in her path. Yelping, the shewolf lands unceremoniously in a heap. "Ow..." she groans.

Above the tops of trees and the weaving rivers, Swiftwings soars, wings spread wide as he glides along with the breeze effortlessly. Despite his name, he seems in no true hurry to get wherever he's aiming to go, and his eyes are set downward, perhaps in hopes of spying some unfortunate creature worthy enough of a hunt. Mmm, there's something moving down there. A large cat and a small canine. Well such a pair is queer enough to grant further investigation, and his body turns so that he begins to circle, descending for a closer look.

Maulisho stops when she hears the wolf pup trip and fall, barely suppressing an amused sigh. "Are you watching where you're going, Larkspur?" Probably only seeing Haze. Trying not to smile /too/ much, the cougar turns back and leans down toward the girl. "If you're tired--and that's perfectly okay--then I don't mind carrying you for a little while." Her maw opens and gently picks up the wolf pup by the scruff, being careful to avoid the almost-healed slashes down her side.

Dazed, the girl gives an 'mmhmm' in agreement. Lark's side is a little sore still and she grimaces. "I'll be ok in a little bit, Maul," the wolf assures. "Are we close?" As she asks, she scents the air, straining for Haze's smell. Nothing around here smells like him, so they can't be /that/ close. The thought of seeing her friend again makes her tail start to sway happily. She tries not to squirm /too/ much in the cougar's jaws, but she can't help wriggling a little with excitement.

Ah, it is a little wolf. Swiftwing's eyes lightly narrow as he gets a better look at the smaller of the two creatures. Injured. Young. He's never tasted wolf before as they, much like himself, reside on the top of some complicated food chain, and it's rare to find them so alone and so young. It'd be a fortunate day for the taloned predator. But alas. A beat of his wings brings him higher again as the large cat takes the opportunity. Cougar. Like those in the mountains he's seen. Silently he ascends again, leaving the larger predator to its catch. Unlucky wolf. But where there's one straggler, there may be others. And so Swiftwings directs his flight in the direction in which he knows wolves reside. The forest.

Maulisho does the best shrug she can without dropping the pup, indicating her uncertainty about just how close they are. She'd /like/ to say they're close, but.. having never been there before, she's not entirely sure. As the pup squirms, Maul pauses, setting her down. "Are you all right?" she asks, mouth tasting of wolf fur. "I really don't mind if you want to be carried.. just so we can be moving along." The presence of the eagle is never noticed, as Maul's attention is focused on Larkspur.

Larkspur shrugs as well. "Yeah, sorry, just got a little excited. I mean, it can't be /that/ much further, right?" The girl glances around and sniffs again. No Haze here. Rejuvinated by all the anxious energy, she moves restlessly from paw to paw, tail still wagging. "I'm ok to run by myself now. I promise I'll be more careful this time." Grinning sheepishly, the wolf doesn't see the avian either, too focused on reaching Viridian lands.

Swiftwings is gone! Flying back towards the forest to, likely, cause a little unintentional mayhem.

The cougar isn't entirely convinced, but if the girl insists... "Okay, okay," she conceeds with a smile. "Just don't fall into a fox den or I might let it eat ya!" Wow. Maulisho hasn't felt this mischievous and happy in quite some time. Once again, she starts forward, ever onward toward the forest. "We should reach it before too much longer, and if we really need, I'll try and ask one of the local inhabitants." Maulisho rolls her eyes. /If/ she can convince it that she's not going to eat it.

[tanniyn]

Waterfall Ledge
================================================================================
Moving forward onto the ledge affords a beautiful view of the landscape: grasses stretching for miles, the mountains seeming to encase certain areas, and river from the lake to the south leading into a waterfall that plummets off the edge of the cliff. A watery mist hangs in the air, and sounds are drowned out by the thundering voice of the waterfall itself. The mists coat the rocks with a slickness that seems to threaten a traveler's step, and the slick moss on the rocks doesn't help. If one can avoid falling, then this place can be considered a good spot for observation or other things that require solitude.
================================================================================

They've run a long way, but Lark has managed to keep up fairly well. The girl peers around the cougar and exclaims loudly, "Whoa!", though the thundering of the waterfall may drown her out. She slows and stops, craning her neck to look at absolutely everything around her. The wolf's mouth is agape as she surveys the landscape. Her gaze lingers on the waterfall. Part of her is scared by it, but she's fascinated by it more than anything. The endless torrent of water free falling mesmorizes her. Her ears are perked up and rotating, her eyes dart everywhere, trying to absorb the absolute wonder of what's around her. Delicately, the shewolf's nose sniffsniffs and /finally/, she's detected a faint whiff of Haze's smell. "Maul! Maul, we're getting closer!" The wolf presses her nose to the ground, snuffling. "It's nearly faded now, but he was here."

Finally, they've reached it. Maulisho had been wondering for some time what the growing roar up ahead meant. Having never seen a waterfall either, she likewise stares in amazement at it -- all that /water/! It's.. incredible. The noise, the spray, the sheer ferocity of it. "It's... wow," she murmurs softly. If it wasn't for Lark's sudden attention to detecting scents, the cougar could've stayed there for hours, watching the endless cascades. With a start, she snaps out of the near trance-like state. "He was here? Who? Haze?" She intakes a deep breath, trying to find what the wolf pup is searching after.

"Yes! Haze! He was here, I'm sure of it." Lark snorts some dust out of her nose. The girl's tail thrashes excitedly as she resumes following the scent. Meandering a little as she tracks it, she straightens with a nod. "Yup! It's sorta hard to tell now, cause it's old, but he was here." The wolf's voice is raised almost to a shout to be heard over the crashing water. Grinning widely, she looks up at the cougar, "We're so close!"

Maulisho returns the grin, knowing that Larkspur might only be a day or two away from seeing her own pack again. The hard part will be making contact without putting her in danger; she has some ideas as to how to go about doing that, but first she needs to make sure that Larkspur will be safe. Sleeping, preferably. "Do you think Haze ever comes here to play in the waterfall?" she asks, with a hint of mischief in her tone. "I'd imagine it's quite a fun place to play in..."

Larkspur's brow creases in thought. "I dunno, he never really mentioned it. I mean, it's possible, cause he knew what to do when I was being pulled away by the river..." She trails off, but clears her throat after a moment and continues, "So that means he's played in water before. And he was here a while ago, so I guess yeah! Yeah, he could play here!" Tail thumping on the ground as she sits, the wolf surveys the waterfall with interest. "It /would/ be pretty fun, so long as you didn't get too close to that waterfall." The girl flashes another smile at Maul.

"Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaa!" and the cougar leaps off the rock! A few seconds of freefall and.. SPLASH! At least this time she's prepared for the water, and hadn't had the wind knocked out of her by ramming into another feline beforehand. Wow... the waterfall looks really weird from underneath the water's surface. Maulisho allows herself a few seconds of staring in amazement of it before swimming back to the surface. Blinking the water out of her amber eyes, she looks up, smiling, toward where she last saw the pup.

"Maul!" Lark yelps loudly, watching wide-eyed as the cougar hits the water. Is she /crazy/?! Rushing forward, she nervously watches the surface, looking for her friend. When Maul reappears, the girl sighs with relief. "You scared me!" The wolf can't hide a grin, grateful that her companion is ok. After a second of hesitation, and a suspicious eye at the water before her, the pup hops forward and lands with slightly muted splash. She's quickly immersed and fights like mad to get back toward air. After what seems like a lifetime, she emmerges. Gasping and spluttering, she cranes to keep her head up. "This is sorta-" coughchoke "-fun, once you get used to it!"

Maulisho keeps a close eye out on the young wolf. If she hasn't learned how to swim well yet, then the cougar will be ready in case a quick rescue is needed. But Maul is hoping that her lupine instincts will take over and allow her to learn quick enough -- especially in a nice and quiet body of water like this, rather than the swift river that Lark had a bad experience in. Demonstrating, she paddles over to her, smiling as she watches the young girl. "It sure is fun, and it's not that hard to learn either! Just work on keeping your head above the water, and you'll figure the rest out." Like... moving around, for example. And then the really fun part: underwater!

Just for a moment, the girl's ears flatten. 'Keep your head above water' is the advice Haze gave her. Lark pushes the thoughts from her head and works on paddling just like Maul. A couple times, the pup's head dips dangerously close to the surface, but she always manages to right herself with some vigorous leg flailing. After a few moments, the Lazuli shewolf has the basics. "Look, Maul!" With a few strained grunts, she spins in a quick circle. "Heh! This isn't so tough!"

"And just think.. with a little more practice, when you do see Haze again, you might be able to swim ever better than he can!" Assuming, of course, that he can swim at all. Maulisho has /no/ idea when wolves typically learn that particular skill; she's basing her assumption solely on the fact that it was Lark who got swept away in the river, not Haze. Giving the lupine girl a mischievous grin, she takes a deep breath... and then dives underneath the surface of the water, disappearing from sight.

Larkspur grins proudly as she treads water, dreaming of Haze's look of surprise if he were to see her now. The girl is about to boast to the cougar about her obvious natural talent (besides the whole getting pulled down river ordeal), when she sees Maul dive. "Maul!" she shrieks. It reminds her too much of the lynx incident and she looks around fearfully, trying to locate her friend.

Wow. Maulisho didn't even realize that she had such a mischievous streak! Unable to resist, she manuevers herself underneath of the pup, then reaches up to tug on one of Lark's legs. Not hard enough to pull her under, of course.. only hard enough to... to what? The cougar has /no/ idea how Lark will respond. Hopefully she'll be brave and try and venture under the water's surface. But then again, she /is/ just beginning at this, and Maul wouldn't really expect her to be that courageous for some time yet.

A high pitched yelp errupts from Lark as she feels some unseen monster pulling at her paws. Did it get Maul too? She surges forward, trying to escape. The girl peers at the water, seeing a large cougar shaped mass beneath the surface. Treading in an uneasy circle, she hesitates. What if it's /not/ Maul? What if it's really dangerous- deadly enough to kill a cougar, perhaps? The wolf decided that if something that powerful was lurking below her, it wouldn't have just tugged on her paws and let her be. After one more moment of cautious watching, she takes a huge gulp of air and pushes her head below the surface. Almost with dread, she peels open her eyes one at a time.

And there, waiting for her under the water, amber eyes bright and flashing her a big smile, is the cougar. In seeming slow-motion, she reaches over to ruffle the girl's headfur, nevermind how soaked through it is. And then it's back to the surface to take a welcome breath of air. If only she could stay down for hours at a time! Not that she wants to be a fish or anything, but to be able to swim down deeper and deeper and not have to worry about being tied to the surface... ahh well. A subject for wishful thinking at another time. Blinking her eyes to clear the water from them, she awaits the surfacing of her friend.

Giggling under water, a torrent of bubbles issue from the girl's mouth. Following Maul's example, she also returns to fill her lungs with air. Lark emerges beaming and giggling, shaking water from her face. Her tail is wagging, kicking up little waves and pushing her forward ever so slightly. Peals of laughter pouring from her, she can't stop smiling at her friend. With a devious glint in her eye, she copies the cougar's previous actions by swallowing a mouthful of air and submerging herself. The wolf powers toward the adolescent, aimed for her belly. Not really on purpose, it just sort of ended up that way and she's not sure how to steer that well while beneath the surface.

Laughing at the young wolf's antics, Maulisho watches her dive under the water, and after a brief moment of making sure she's still doing okay, the cougaress rotates her head around to gaze cautiously at the surrounding ledge. She's not going to take her safety--and /especially/ Lark's safety--for granted while they enjoy this time together. But.. best not to alarm the girl. Nothing immediately dangerous is seen, so Maul's gaze goes back down to the water's surface to try and see where Lark decided to swim off to. Whoa.. she's /right/ there!

Grinning, Lark surges forward and headbumps the cougar a little harder than she intended. Disoriented, she blinks groggily. Oof. Maul is a sturdier than she looks. Her lungs start to feel a strained, running out of air. Which way is up, again? The girl swims half heartedly, lost.

Oooh, she has an idea! A mischievous grin appears for the half-second Maulisho's head is still visible before she ducks under the water as well, searching for the young wolf. Paddling herself through the water, she manuevers herself this time underneath the girl, then rises to the surface, trying to raise Lark up on the cougaress' head. At least enough out of the water to get some air, hopefully!

Whoa! The girl's paws scramble wildly in the water, frightened by the new sensation of being forced upwards. After a moment, Lark realizes that it's just Maul, guiding her back to the air. Her tail wags in the water, making little splashes as she surfaces. The wolf chuffs and places an awkward nuzzle on the feline's head. "Thanks!" she giggles before sliding back into the water, ready to try again.

The cougaress chuffs in amusement, amber eyes rolled upward as if trying to see the young lupine on top of her head. "Are you having fun, Larkspur?" She'd imagine that the answer is /probably/ yes! As Lark slides off, Maul thrusts her paws out in the girl's direction, splashing water at her. "Y'know," she says off-handedly, "I've fought with my teeth and my claws... but I don't think I've ever fought someone with water before!" She narrows her eyes into a mock-fierce expression.

Is she having fun?! A peal of laughter is her response. Ack! Lark splutters, spitting most of the splash back at the cougar. She fights to tread water, inhaling more water than is prudent. "Well," Cough! "/I/ could beat up Bodhi-" The wolf pauses to snort some water from her nose, "- with two paws tied together!" The girl can't stifle a grin as she boasts. "I betcha I could beatcha!" A playgrowl rumbles from her as she returns the fierce look.

Maulisho blinks water from her eyes as retaliatory splashes come from the young wolf. "Bodhi?" she asks, quickly raising a paw to shield her muzzle from a arc of water. She peeks out from under her paw. "Who's Bodhi?" A giggle follows as she covers her muzzle again to protect from another splash. The cougaress' ears twitch briefly as her hearing goes muffled and echoing--apparently some water made it through her shield!--but then clears up as the water is shaken out. Oho, the girl's going to growl at her, is she? Hackles raise to display the full length of Maulisho's fangs, though the corners of her maw are still indicative of a thoroughly-enjoying-herself smile--not much she can do about that, darn it!

Lark aims another wave at the cougar before replying, "Bodhi's from back home. We-" She's interrupted by a splash from Maul, "-We usedta playfight all the time!" The girl temporarily submerges herself, returning to spout a fountain of water at her friend. It's then she sees the teeth. With a playful yelp, she sends a desperate splash toward the cougar and tries to motor away as fast as her paws will take her. Unfortunately, her fur is completely soaked through, pulling her down from the start. Still, a girl can try.

"Ohh.. you think you can escape from me, do you?" The cougaress' voice combines both heartfelt amusement and as much ferocity as she can muster. It's a weird combination. Letting her own big paws propel her through the water, Maulisho swims in a somewhat shallow dive, angling to try and get under the wolf girl and come back up... with the lupine on her back. Hey, a free ride! Plus, Maul imagines that she must be getting somewhat tired from all the swimming around, not being used to it and all. And lastly, the cougaress is getting just a tad bit edgy. The fact that they're in strange wolf territory is not lost on her, and she knows she needs to make contact with the Viridian wolves as soon as possible. She also knows that she most certainly cannot take Lark with her, for the girl's own protection.

Yip! The clear expanse beneath her paws is suddenly eclipsed by the cougar. Lark lightly bites at Maul's fur, tail lashing the air happily. Unable to move quickly enough, she ends up on the cat's back. "Maul!" she yelps, not necessairly scared, juuuuust a little unsure. This doesn't happen to the girl every day, you know!

Maulisho continues her strong pawstrokes as the rocky edge of the pool grows ever-closer. Her lupine passenger is given a cougarish meow when Maul feels the nip--wait just a minute.. does this girl think that she's going to steer Maul or something? But apparently no.. the mrowl turns into an affectionate and reassuring nuzzle as Lark voices her uncertainty. "Just hang on, Larkspur.. you'll be fine." Finally her forepaws grasp ahold of stone and pull her body from the water, dropping the young wolf off in the process. After a very brisk shake, Maulisho turns back to face the water, just in case the girl requires any assistance getting out of the pool.

"Aaahh!" Lark can't help but cry out as she slides off Maul's back. She sputters in the water, giggling. The girl copies the cougar's movements, albeit a little less successfully. Her hind legs keep slipping back into the water, but on her third or fourth attempt she manages to haul herself up onto shore. Shakeshaking the copious amounts of water from her fur, she can't stop laughing.

...and the girl's laughing seems to be infectious, as Maulisho quickly finds that she can't seem to stop either. Oh.. wow... that was /so/ much fun! She hasn't had that much fun since.. since the times she spent with her sister. Faint memories of games they played together quickly sobers Maulisho's expression, as she contemplates yet again why she's going through all this for a young wolf. Larkspur isn't her sister, and could never possibly replace her. She's not even a /cougar/, let alone family! But yet.. still..

Larkspur chuffs, "I /told/ you I'd beat you." A wide grin splays in her muzzle, tail a blur, spraying water everywhere. Giving her fur another shake, she asks, "What now?", though her question is a little drawn out as she asks through a yawn. She half heartedly attempts to scent the air for Haze, but her nose is still a clogged with water.

Even in her now-somber mood, the girl's outrageous exultation results in an amused snort from the female cougar. Oh, puh-/lease/! But the cheerfulness is brief, quickly replaced by the serious and contemplative expression again. "Let's go find a place to rest for the evening," she suggests, padding slowly up the rocky ledge. Even the normal cautious glances around in different directions seem to have been forgotten as Maulisho seems to be focused entirely inward on her thoughts--which... /could/ also be considered normal, too, for that matter.

Larkspur's laughter slowly dwindles, her ears flattening for a moment. Wasn't Maul giggling along just a moment ago? She quickly lopes up beside her friend and nuzzles the cougar's foreleg as they walk. The girl won't ask...if the feline feels like talking about what's changed her mood so abruptly, she'll listen. However, instead of prompting any thoughts, the pup yawns in agreement to the suggestion of finding a place to sleep.

Perfect. It's a niche in the rock, just big enough for the two of them, with a large piece of rock jutting out overhead that provides both shelter from the elements... and a good bit of privacy. In addition, it also allows for a full, unobstructed view of both the waterfall and the pool below. With a satisfied smile creeping onto her muzzle, Maulisho squeezes into the niche and immediately flops into a relaxed position on her belly, a paw pulling the young wolf down next to her. "We'll spend the night in here." She won't say it, but she fears this will be their last night together. If the Viridian wolves are as close as she's been detecting them, then Lark will undoubtedly be leaving Maul the next day. A sudden lump in her throat causes her to hesitate in what she was about to say. "Larkspur, I..." A difficult swallow. "I want to thank you for being.. for becoming such a close friend to me." The cougaress' head lowers to rest on top of the girl. Voice dropping into a whisper, Maulisho adds, rubbing her chin against Lark's headfur, "I'm really going to miss you."

Snuggling in close, Lark's fur is still a little damp, the smell seemingly amplified in the enclosed space. As her friend pauses, the girl cranes her head back to look the cougar in the eyes. For a moment, she doesn't know how to respond. Her tail thumps in the dirt, the only sound for a minute. The girl affectionately nuzzles Maul and replies, "It was my pleasure. I mean, you /saved/ me. More than once, and even though you coulda kept me away from home or gobbled me up, you /didn't/. You're helpin' me get back to my Mama and Daddy and there's no way I can ever thank you enough." Tears spring into her eyes and she tries to fend them off while continuing, "I'm gonna miss you too." Her muzzle becomes wet with tears spilling over as she burries her face into Maul's side. Eventually, her tears halt enough for her to speak again. She asks hoarsely, "I'll see you again, right? I mean you'll visit me till I'm old enough to come see you by myself, won't you?"

Maulisho doesn't even try to stop her own tears from falling, as they run down her muzzle into the damp fur of the young wolf immediately under her head. "Of.. of /course/ we'll see each other.. again.."-sniffle-"..I.. I just don't know when." Another hard swallow. The hard truth is--and Maulisho feels the heartache already wrenching at her--that the two of them very possibly, and even probably, will never see each other again. They live far away. Larkspur has a family to go back to, and a boyfriend, and.. her life that's already waiting for her. Maulisho has Paoro and the Amaranth awaiting her return. She knows that any future contact with Larkspur would require a great deal of effort and difficulty, bordering on impossible. Especially if Maulisho's never able to actually learn of the entire way to get to Lazuli lands. "Oh, Larkspur.." she says, voice shaking as she gives the girl as tight a squeeze as possible without actually hurting her, "Promise me that you'll remember me? No matter what you might be told about cougars? No matter what your father, or other wolves might do to me?"

The cougar's tears are barely felt on Lark's head. She feels a sob trying to fight its way out, but she repeatedly swallows it. "Of, of course I will, Maul! I'll /always/ remember this!" The girl pauses, wrestling with her tears again. "I won't let Daddy hurt you, or anyone else." Hey, it's the least she can do, right? "I don't care if Daddy grounds me for a whole month, I won't let nothing hurt you, not even my Daddy, ok?" That's the greatest promise she can think of. After all, what's scarier than her father handing out punishments? Surely even a bear would quake under such discipline! At last, the lump of emotion trapped in her throat breaks free. The pup is crying uncontrollably, just at the thought of not having Maul around.

As the young wolf sobs beneath her, Maulisho does her best to regain control of her own emotions, so she can be strong for Lark. It doesn't really work, as she's crying right along with the girl. For what seems like an eternity, the cougaress lies there, pouring out her sorrow along with her lupine friend, but yet somehow, it brings a sense of... almost complete peace. She's brought the hope of life back to a young heart, and made a dear friend in the process. She's learned a great deal about wolves, and can't wait to tell Paoro about this adventure. And while this farewell might seem bitter and sad, Maulisho knows that she should really be happy, as Lark is hopefully going to see Haze now before too long, and finally travel the last stretch of the journey home. And best of all, the girl said that she would remember Maulisho! Though the tears keep flowing, Maul can't help but smile. She'll fall asleep, dreaming of the young wolf she's clinging to, and despite the tears, her dream will be a remembrance of the times they've shared together.