TP: Missing Pup - Pt. 3 "Landfall"

[tanniyn]

Characters:
Larkspur - juvenile female wolf (Lazuli)
Maulisho - adolescent female cougar

Tranquil Pond
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The turbulence of the river has been pacified, and swelled into a placid, amply sized bed of fluid. At times, the water is remarkably still, but even the slightest breeze or touch is enough to send ripples of movement for a foot or so at least. Clusters of duckweed, mottled lightly with water lilies, congregate around the fringes of the pond, and reach hopefully toward the middle. A barricade of less aquatic plants, such as cattails, encircle the perimeter. Hidden beneath this wall is a floor of rocky mud, no doubt home to countless insects and other such invertebrate. A peachleaf willow hangs out over the eastern most edge of the pond, sporting yellow flower clusters in the springtime. A pair of branches have fallen from the tree in its lifetime, one mostly sunken while the other sits atop it, providing a perch for any manner of creatures that would use it.
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On one of the sunken branches, a small body is sprawled out, barely breathing. Weak light from the sun is resting upon her form. She is unconscious and her wet fur is completely plastered to her body. Lark doesn't move at all, save for the barely perceptible movement of her ribcage as she breathes.

Above in the peachleaf willow, Maulisho is relaxing on one of the higher limbs, eyes closed and enjoying the peace and quiet. It's been a rather difficult past several days for her--although she's fully recovered physically from the fight with the wolves, her mind has once again shown its raw and vulnerable wounds.. but this time, to a male. A male that she barely even knows. At least he was nice enough to listen, though she wasn't really sure why he was so inquisitive. Ahh well.. what's done is done. Lazily shifting her weight to allow her to tilt her head down, she opens her eyes to gaze downward to see if Chesmu is even awake yet. Nope; she's not too surprised--he seemed very tired. Hmm. Is she feeling enough energy to take a quick drink before taking another nap? Ehhhh.. the water looks so far away. She'd have to climb down to--wait a minute. That's no.. what in the world? That's a BODY!

Larkspur's breathing catches for a moment and she coughs violently, a mouthful of water erupting from her muzzle. The girl's eyelids flutter for a moment, then close once more. Her respiration seems to be a little more regular now, but the pup remains almost completely still.

A flurry of images and thoughts that Maulisho remembers all-too-well come rushing to memory at the sight of the body. Her own sister's crumpled and bleeding form crashing into the pond next to her, throat ripped out. But as the body below her shows faint signs of life, the cougar realizes that this is no nightmare or flashback. This.. whatever it is, needs help! Fully wide awake now, Maulisho leaps down from branch to branch to ground, splashing out to where the body is resting. Without taking the time to examine it too closely, she gently picks it up by the scruff and, with some difficulty as she's still not fully an adult yet, carries it back toward the shore. Quick, a bed or.. or something! With a few deft motions, she has several cattails and leaves to provide at least somewhat of a comfortable resting spot, as she places the wet bundle of fur down. The poor thing.. what happened to it? Giving it a few licks on the face, she suddenly realizes that it's a young wolf. Ghostly remembrances of the pain issued by lupine teeth not that long ago cause her to pause and stare at it, wondering if she should really be doing this. Maybe better to let it die? She's never heard anything positive about these lupines, after all.

Larkspur makes a feeble sound of protest as she's moved. The tongue on her muzzle feels rougher than she's used too and she cringes slightly. The feeling is comforting, though, like her mother licks her face. Cracking open one eye, she sees not a member of the pack standing over her, but something BIG. Suddenly she's very awake and sits bolt upright with a yelp. The movement shoots pain throughout her exhausted muscles and her yelp quickly becomes a whine. The girl's ears splay and she gingerly lays back down on the make-shift bedding. "Are you...from Haze...too?" she croaks weakly.

And Paoro.. what would she do in a situation like this? Or Ahiga? Maulisho doesn't know if she can just kill a helpless young one like this, even if it is a wolf. Glancing over at where Chesmu and Armani are still sleeping, Maul makes up her mind. No, she won't be like the cougar that killed her sister. And if that means that she has to hide this wolf somewhere, then so be it. Looking back at the juvenile as it shows some reaction, she tries to appear as friendly as possible, though the girl seems scared to death already. A slow shake of the head is given to her question.. From haze? Where's that? "Are you hurt bad anywhere?" the cougar asks softly, trying to calm her down.

Not from Haze? Lark trembles and looks around anxiously. "Are you sure Haze hasn't told you nothin'?" He /said/ he'd come back. He /promised/. "D'you know where he is?" Adrenaline and fear make her words spill from her mouth, tumbling over each other in their haste to be said. Still shaking, she pauses before answering. "N-No, I don't think so. N-not real bad. Just sore." Another shudder ripples through her. "An' cold." she adds.

Hmm. Apparently this 'Haze' must be another wolf.. perhaps the girl's father? "Young one, this is.." the cougar begins, then pauses, feeling an odd sense of both amusement and amazement. Why is she feeling such a strong desire to protect and care for this.. this /wolf/? That she should feel some compassion doesn't surprise her, but the strength of it is something she wasn't expecting at all. "I don't know who Haze is, but you're safe from the river, at least. If you're cold and tired, I can carry you to a warm rock that I go to every once in a while." Would the wolf trust her? What can she do to.. oh, of course. "What's your name, little one?" That'll hopefully work.

Lark doesn't reply, staring at the still water for a few silent moments. This...thing...it doesn't know Haze. It isn't a wolf and is, therefore, dangerous. The girl paws the dirt indecisively. "I...I'm Larkspur. Let's go." Her shivering is starting to get worse. A loud growl emminates from her belly, startling the girl. "Guess I'm hungry, too." All the swimming probably worked up her appetite. A thought strikes her and she continues, "Who're- What /are/ you?" She still feels a little out of sorts.

As the young girl continues to shiver, Maulisho can't help but give it a reassuring nuzzle. "Larkspur? It's an honor to meet you." Giving her a deep--almost comically /too/ serious--headbow, she intones, "I am Maulisho.."-and in response to her question-"..and I am a cougar." The juvenile is deftly picked up again by the scruff, though Maulisho can't help but grinning through a mouthful of fur at the realization that even lupine youngsters apparently are often hungry as well.

Lark processes this information as she's carried, a little nervous- ok, /very/ nervous- to be in the jaws of such a large (in comparison to herself, anyway) and unknown creature. She's too weak to walk herself, so this is the only way. "Nice to meet you, Mauli...Maul..." The feline's name is a struggle and the girlpup attempts to work it out repeatedly. Hmmph.

[tanniyn]

Merging Tributary
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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.
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The cougar finally arrives at the destination she was seeking: a large, flat rock in the middle of the river, high enough out of the water for the top to remain dry, and hopefully still somewhat warm from the sun's rays. Maulisho leaps awkwardly from the riverbank toward the rock and almost doesn't make it; the added weight of carrying the wolf nearly makes her land in the cold water instead. Gently dropping the juvenile down on the rock, she takes a step back and drops down to her belly to appear less intimidating. Amber eyes look the juvenile over as she thinks about how this turn in events certainly will require lots of thought. At first, Maul wasn't sure if she was from the Durakh pack, as she lacked their packscent; however, any distinguishing scent /could/ be difficult--if not impossible--to detect after such a waterlogged journey. Could she be from somewhere even more distant, perhaps?

The girl cannot contain a yelp as the cougar leaps. Luckily she squeezes her eyes shut, and doesn't see how close they came to hitting the water. As Lark is set on the rock, she feels the warmth seeping up from the stone and curls into a ball immediately. She peers over the mini wall she's constructed out of her own paws, meticulously observing her new aquaintance. How different Maul's ears were, her muzzle, her colouring...what caught the pup's attention the most were the feline's eyes. The Lazuli child doesn't realize how intensely she is staring at them, captivated. After several minutes, she blinks and asks, "Are you the alpha of your pack?" Maul is certainly big enough, the girl thinks.

Maulisho is taken aback by the girl's question-- the /alpha/ of her /pack/? Whoa.. "No, little one," she says, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. "I am not part of a 'pack' or anything like that." The invitation to join Amaranth comes to mind, but she doesn't feel like trying to explain that to this juvenile. She isn't even really sure that /she/ understands her thoughts on that whole matter. Not sure if the girl's staring is out of curiosity or just outright fear, the cougar can't help but gaze back, also noting the many differences between them. The last time she saw wolves up close, it was only their teeth that concerned her.

Not part of a pack?! A look of confusion and horror crosses Lark's muzzle. "That's terrible! Don'tcher Mama or Daddy miss you? Don'tcha get lonely? Who looks after you if you get sick, or hurt, or need help with stuff?" The idea of not living in a pack is the scariest thing she can imagine- well, that, and a bear. But it's close. /Really/ close. The cougar doesn't seem to be /too/ badly off, though, despite the fact it lacks the single most important thing in the whole world. Now the girlpup casts a more intense gaze over the feline, trying to find physical evidence that living without a pack is dangerous to one's well being.

Maulisho gives the pup a sad smile in return. "I'm sure my mother misses me terribly, as I've missed her." Oh young Larkspur, why did you have to ask that? Turning away to gaze down into the flowing river water just a foot or so down beneath them, the cougar murmurs, more to herself than to the wolf, "Would she miss me more if she knew I was still alive? Or has she accepted my death and moved on?"

Larkspur cocks an eyebrow. "If you miss her so much, why don'tcha go see her?" Seems like common sense to the girl. Her ears cup forward as the cougar talks quietly, and she catches bits and pieces of what is said. Maul's expression is enough to give the pup the gist and she inches her muzzle out to nuzzle the feline. It's the only way she knows how to comfort, and her new companion seems in need of condolence.

Maulisho does indeed welcome the comfort, even coming from a young wolf. Leaning into the nuzzle, she says softly, "I don't know where she is, Larkspur. I was.. separated from her.. a long time ago." Has it really been that long? The past several months have seemed like an eternity. Knowing that Lark probably misses her own pack--not to mention whoever this Haze is--she drapes a paw over the juvenile's form, making well sure that her claws are retracted.

"Oh." Lark says softly. Separated? Like lightening, the girl realizes that she's just been separated from her own mother and looks utterly stricken. At that exact moment, she feels the warm weight of the cougar's paw on her drying fur. It's a mild comfort. However, the Lazuli girl feels a wave of panic approaching. "My Mama and Daddy- they don't know where I am. They don't know I snuck to see Haze, an', an'-" Tears flood her eyes and she chokes back a little sob. What if she never sees her mother again, separated like Maul?

The cougar swallows hard, trying to keep her own tears back. This poor girl needs someone strong to take comfort from, and Maulisho's earlier reservations about whether or not to help her have been all but dismissed. It wasn't Lark that fought her and left her to die, though.. it might have been wolves Lark was familiar with. Maybe even her parents. Feeling a surge of irritation at herself, Maulisho pulls the pup closer and whispers, "Don't think like that. We'll find your parents, and.. and Haze.. somehow."

Larkspur instinctively snuggles in closer to Maulisho, sniffling a little. "You mean it?" she asks hopefully. After a moment of thought, she adds, "Oh, they are going to be maaaaad." Sneaking around after dark to meet Haze along the Lazuli/Viridian border is not on the list of things she is allowed to do- especially when she's supposed to be grounded for the next week or so. The girl looks around the unfamiliar pond, sniffsniffing. She smells several unknown things, though she's becoming accustomed to the strong scent of the feline. Nothing smells like home. Nothing looks like home. She has no idea where home is from here.

Bits of the puzzle start to click together as Maulisho connects the pup's earlier confession of "sneaking to see Haze" and now her fear of parental anger. "I think your parents will be more interested in trying to find you, rather than be angry with you," is all she can offer as comfort. Feline eyes follow the lupine gaze to take in the surrounding area. Maulisho is more or less familiar with it, but she's sure it must be quite a shock to the younger girl to be in such strange territory. Later on she'll ask more questions about what kind of lands the girl came from, but now Maul is afraid that would just lead to her becoming more upset. Time for a change of subject. A mischievous grin is given as the cougar asks, "You said you were hungry?"

That grin makes Lark a tad suspicious, but she nods nonetheless. Her stomach rumbles in agreement. "Yeah, guess I am." What is Maul planning behind that smile, hmm? The girl's belly growls more insistently and she decides that the cougar has been trustworthy so far... Still, a flicker of doubt crosses her features.

"So what kind of prey do you normally like hunting?" Maulisho asks, slowly getting to her feet and stretching out; thankfully, the rock is big enough. Her head swivels to the side, looking toward the shore where she is pretty sure they'd be able to find some voles. Or, there's always the possibility of catching a squirrel or two for the girl. If Maul was really hungry herself, she'd go after something quite a bit larger, but she can wait until later on, once the wolf is satisfied.

"Uuuuhhhhhhh." Lark says helpfully. Shyly dipping her head, she continues, "Daddy hasn't taken me out hunting yet." Mostly because she keeps getting grounded for trying to sneak over to Viridian lands. "What do /you/ hunt?" she counters, hoping to direct attention away from herself. The girl stretches as well, enjoying the feel of her mostly dry fur.

Maulisho looks back over at the pup in surprise. She has never been out hunting before? Oh, great. This could be interesting. She lifts a paw up and extends her claws, examining them. "I hunt deer when I can, but smaller prey will suffice when I can't find anything bigger." Setting her paw back down on the rock, she glances at the shore again, then back at the pup. "So you haven't learned anything yet about hunting? Even some of the basic skills?"

Larkspur gasps as she sees the cougar's claws extend. WHOA. She doesn't know whether to be terrified or amazed and opts to be both. It takes most of her pack to kill a deer and she does it by /herself/? "Welll...I can track some stuff and Bodhi told me that if you bite it really hard on the neck, it dies," she surmises her hunting knowledge and blushes at how inexperienced she is.

Okay, so she's not a complete novice at this. "That's right," the cougar says encouragingly. "Biting right here at the base of the neck-" she taps the pup's neck, claws retracted again "-kills them quickly and efficiently. One rule you have to learn fast in hunting is that it's dangerous for you as well, even though you're the hunter.. so it's good to learn how to kill without it being drawn out into a lengthy battle. The longer the fight lasts, the more likely it is that you'll end up hurt."

Larkspur nods vigorously, trying not to get too creeped out by the feeling of Maul's giant paw on her neck. "Got it." she affirms. The girl remembers a few of her packmates coming home with wounds from hunts, so this information makes sense. "Uhm, the problem is, uhm, I'm not that big so I can't really reach anything's neck." The girl cranes up up up to demostrate. Not nearly as big and menacing as the cougar.

Maulisho laughs, then proceeds to explain that she obviously has some growing to do first before she can expect to be taking down large prey. "But for something you /can/ hunt at your size, say.. a squirrel or vole.. just remember that the neck is the best spot to latch on to." Giving a long hmmmmm, the cougar thinks for a moment. Finally, she asks, sounding a tad bit embarrassed, "Do.. do wolves use their claws at all for hunting?" She doesn't recall anything but teeth being used against her during the fight, but then again, she wasn't paying extreme attention to detail at the time.

Larkspur hmms as well. She doesn't know much. "Bodhi explained it to me once. He says that when they hunt big stuff like deers, then they use their paws to latch onto its head or whatever before they bite it. I think told me once that if you're chasin' small stuff, you can swat at it with your paw, like this-" she demostrates,"- to trip it or knock it over. I dunno if everyone does that." She shrugs and attempts to look confident.

Maulisho nods thoughtfully, trying to visualize a pack of wolves doing that. "Getting your prey to stop running and stay down on the ground is definitely an important step in the hunting process, as prey that's still running is either not in your claws or teeth or else is dragging you along with it." Thinking an illustration would serve well here, she extends her claws again and lightly taps a foreclaw to the back of the pup's leg. "If I slice here, your leg becomes useless for running on. Think now about how you might take down something bigger than yourself."

The girl is nodding once more when those wicked claws tap at her leg, causing her entire body to stiffen in fear. "Uh, uh, uh," she stammers, swallowing her terror. "Uh, go for its legs- get it to stop running?" she offers hopefully, still feeling very inept and a little scared.

The effect that her claws have on the pup isn't lost on Maulisho, and letting out a long-suffering sigh, she realizes that she needs to set something straight. Her claws are removed from touching the leg and retracted, and lowering herself down to her belly again, she looks straight across at the young wolf. "Larkspur, I want you to know something very important." Her voice is calm, yet carries a gentle firmness to it.

Larkspur tries not to cringe. Her father often says something along the same lines when she's in trouble. However, she simply nods, prompting Maul to speak. The girl can't help but be curious, though- if she /is/ in trouble, will the cougar ground her like her father?

Maulisho isn't really sure how to say this, as she's always had difficulty putting her deepest thoughts and emotions into words. After a brief moment of consideration, she decides to start by asking a question: "Why do my claws scare you, Larkspur?" She thinks she knows the answer, but she wants to be absolutely sure so there's no chance for the pup getting the wrong idea or impression.

Ears pinning back, Lark replies, "They're sharp an' I'm worried they'll hurt me." The idea that Maul might /purposely/ hurt her isn't stated, just implied by the pause after her words. She'll stick with honesty(for the most part) until she figures out how much trouble she's in.

Yep, it's as Maulisho thought. It doesn't take that much mental effort to figure out that the pup still doesn't trust her. Okay. That can be addressed. "Yes, they are sharp, and yes, they could hurt you very badly.. if I /wanted/ to hurt you." Letting that sink in, she then adds, "But Larkspur, you see.. I pulled you from the river because I wanted to /help/ you, not hurt you. I didn't have to, and I don't think most other cougars would have. I know you're lost and miss your pack-" here she sighs, acknowledging her own similar feelings "-but we /will/ try to find them." She holds out one of her forepaws in front of her, pad facing up, and extends her claws out to their full length. In the same comforting--yet firm--voice, Maulisho says, "Look at these claws carefully." and slowly turns her paw from side to side so that the pup can get a good look.

Larkspur's ears are completely flat on her skull and she nods, tail tucked between her legs. "OK," she says hoarsely, regarding the scythe-like claws nervously. Her submissive behavior is less out of fear now and more out of her own sheepishness for not trusting the cougar. Those claws are /big/. And /sharp/. Still, they intrigue her. They are so different from her own, from the claws of her parents and packmates.

Now that the girl has had a good look at them, Maulisho retracts her claws, giving the girl a warm smile. "See? They're still there, but just hidden now. Should you be any more or less afraid of me because you can't see my claws now?" That probably sounded more like philosophical rambling to the poor girl than anything Maul might have intended for it to be, so she decides to try more of the blunt and simple truth. "I want to help you, Larkspur. Whatever it takes." Paoro might have her head for this; Maul doesn't know what--if any--penalty exists for helping lupines, but she really doesn't care right now. She doesn't wear the red yet! Reaching her velveted paw toward the girl, she asks, "Do you trust this paw? Will you let me help you?"

Brow creasing, she thinks very hard on all the questions asked of her. Finally, resolutely, Lark steps forward and nuzzles Maul's paw. "I trust you. I trust that you'll keep me safe and help me find my parents. I...I'm sorry that I didn't before." The girl looks into the cougar's eyes as she apologizes, regret brimming in her own.

Maulisho grins and ruffles the girl's headfur. Okay! That being settled, back to getting this poor girl some food! "We can talk more about hunting strategies later, but I know you're starving, so let's go see if we can find something over on the river shore." On second thought.. "Although, if you're not feeling up for it, you can stay here and watch. I'll be hunting some of the small voles that live nearby."

Larkspur ponders. "Maybe I'll just watch for now. Maybe if I see you doing it, it'll be easier to pick up on the whole...hunting...thing." That, and she doesn't want to end up falling flat on her face just yet. It'll probably be faster and more efficient if Maul does it anyway. Lark's stomach gurgles helpfully.

"As you wish, then." Rising into a crouch, Maulisho leaps--much easier this time!--from the rock over to the river shore, landing gracefully. Flashing a smile over toward where the young wolf is watching from, she touches her eyes and nose with a paw and mimes sensing ahead for anything that might be there. Then it's down to the serious nature of hunting. From past experience, she knows exactly where voles and squirrels like to hang out here. The grass, very nice for cover, does make it a bit difficult to demonstrate hunting when the wolf can't see her either, but.. the most important thing here is to get her fed. And it's not too long before the cougar has caught and killed several voles; one of them ran for the burrow entrance by the river, and Maulisho made sure her killing was somewhat exaggerated to show how it was done--in this case, with a swift bite to the neck. Were she killing by herself, it might be easier to simply rake or slash her claws across their throats, but she at least is /trying/ to teach the pup something.

Larkspur watches the cougar intently, observing every movement of her paws, eyes, ears, tail- everything. The grass made it harder to see what was happening, but when she realized Maul's muzzle was snapping forward, almost faster than she could register, the girl knew that a rodent would be trapped in her jaws seconds later. It's thrilling and a couple excited yips escape from her. The more voles that were caught, the louder the Lazuli female's tail thumped on the rock- sometimes accompanied by an encouraging bellygrowl.

Maulisho has no idea how much the young wolf can eat, but surely these several voles should be enough. Several leaps back and forth between the rock and the shore, and soon there's a ready pile in front of Larkspur. Settling down on her haunches, the cougar nods at the food. "Go ahead and eat; I could hear your stomach growling all the way over there!"

Larkspur giggles and quickly snaps up a vole, tearing and swallowing rapidly. She manages to consume most of the pile before she is interrupted by a yawn. Her belly is full now, and her body is flooded with a warm sleepy sensation that tugs her eyelids closed. The girl fights to stay awake, yawning loudly. A couple rodents remain and she noses them toward her companion. "Thanks, Maul. I really-" Another gaping yawn forces her to pause-"appreciate it. You can have the rest...I think...I'ma sleep...now." Eyes drooping shut, the shewolf flops over on her side, dozing in the sun.

Maulisho will leave the leftovers for Lark to have when she awakes; after a rough day, she'll surely be hungry again soon. Bigger prey awaits for her in the forest, anyway. Giving the young wolf a comforting nuzzle as she drifts off into sleep, the cougar lets out a deep breath as her mind races. How in the /world/ is she going to be able to find out where this girl came from? Looking over at the river shore, off to the distant horizon, Maulisho starts planning.