Post by Pavane on May 22, 2012 14:31:14 GMT -5
Tala - female wolf
Ikuna - male wolf
Miakoda - female adolescent wolf
---Waterfall Pool---
Tala has spent the whole night out hunting, it was easier to do that then come back to the waterfall where she knew Ahiga wasn't going to be. The she-wolf is making her way back now, three hare's dangle from her jaws, yes she got hares but it took all night to find them which is not a good use of energy with such little food being found that has to be shared among mostly adult wolves. Her fur is ruffled and a mess, dirty clinging to her, a faint wheeze escapes her.
The sensation of dampness that pervades through her fur whenever she spends a lot of time by the pool is a large reason why she spends a fair amount of time away from it. Perhaps when summer is in full swing, and when the heat builds up to a more uncomfortable level by afternoon, she will change her mind; but for now Miakoda tends to keep away until later in the day. With the sun nearly down, the she-wolf arrives back at the pool not too far behind Tala. A shuffling sort of bark is made so that her identity can be known despite the heavy, clinging mist.
Ikuna has been keeping watch through the night from various positions. This rock. The other one. That bit of dirt. Sometimes he dozes while placed as a stumbling block, sometimes he sits up alert, but mostly, in one way or another, he guards. Ute feels different, today; Ahiga and Althaea gone. Askuwheteau and Skahla returned. Shawnee... still missing, perhaps forever. If there'd been a trail, Skahla surely wouldn't have given it up. So... here they are. As Tala returns, and Miakoda - another new face - arrives as well, he's sitting near the edge of the pool, staring across the surface as if he expects to find some answer in the mist. It's being unhelpful, and he sighs deeply before giving a low whurrf of acknowledgement and sitting up.
Tala ears perk as she hears the bark, she knows the wolf it belongs to so doesn't seem that worried. She pauses at the cave and drops her catch, a hacking cough escaping escaping her for a few moments, an once it is done she gives herself a good shake. "Hey." Is offered to both before one of the hare's is picked up and she moves on towards the cave, slipping within to take it to Chewy to make sure she has one for herself.
Miakoda is careful to watch the placement of her paws as she makes her way across the damp stone; the last thing she needs is to slip and fall and make a fool of herself. Drawing to a halt a short distance from Ikuna, for she is still mindful to give the pack members their own personal bubbles. Tala is looked after as she retreats into the mouth of the cavern, her ears pricking forward and then leaning back as she slowly sits herself down. Golden eyes returning to Ikuna, and taking note of what seems to be his rather melancholy mood, her head tips aside. "Is it anything you care to share or does it need to stay in storage a little while longer?" It was one of her mother's favorite questions.
Ikuna nods a greeting to Tala as she passes by with the hares and distributes them, then tilts his head to Miakoda. The question seems to catch him by surprise for a moment, but then he laughs. "There's a lot to be stored. Mostly on account of how it's not much use bringing it out," he says with a smile. "Wondering what Ahiga and Thaea are going to find of Cerulean, mostly. And... where we're going from here."
Tala makes her way back out from the cavern and gives herself a shake to get some water off. Another hare is picked up and brought over to the sleeping Skahla and then the last is taken with her as she goves over to where Ikuna and Miakoda is and she drops it in front of Ikuna while she flops down and sprawls out next to him. A yawn escapes her as she settles herself and then her head drops down to her forepaws. "There be alright.. as long Thaea keeps up her end of the deal."
The reply from Ikuna seems to both puzzle and intrigue her, and as much is expressed on her face by the crinkling of her brows. She looks to Tala as the other she-wolf joins them, but her remark does nothing to bring her any enlightenment. "What do you mean, what they're going to find of them?" She had assumed that the proper owners of this territory had already been consulted about their temporary occupation of their land; but maybe she was mistaken. However, even if she were mistaken, she would've thought that a member of the native pack would have shown up by now to ask who the interlopers are... Hmm.
Ikuna leans over to nuzzle his sister briefly, and nods to what she says before looking back to Miakoda. "We haven't seen them yet," he says. "Not even any reliable scents. This should be their territory, but... hasn't even been anyone to scare off the intruders." A half-smile, which then gives way to worry. "We saw a dog here recently. Maybe this problem is... more than just us. I don't know, really. That's what those two have gone to find out."
Tala ahs softly as she hears Miakoda. "Well.. No, not really. But we do know the pack that lives here." She offers and shakes her head a moment. "We're hoping everything will be alright. An that the dogs haven't gotten to them yet.
The look of puzzlement promptly gives way to one of much greater concern, even tipping into apprehension, as Ikuna mentions having seen a canine nearby lately. Miakoda hadn't come across any herself, or any scents that would indicate a group of dogs; but neither has she come across the smells of any other lupines. There are, of course, some scents that she cannot match to faces yet, but those are all mingled in with those that she knows to be Ute and they haven't caused her any worry. "You actually saw the dog? What was it doing?" A lot more questions have come to mind, but she knows there isn't any point in rapid-firing them all off back to back. Eyes moving between the siblings, she asks them one more question, "Only Ahiga and Althaea went?"
"It was... coming here. Not sneaking or anything, just... like it owned the place." Ikuna glances to his sister. "They saw it before. Tala and Ahiga did, last time they were visiting Cerulean. Before... everything." He wasn't there, so he doesn't have the details. "They chased it off, and... I didn't see any others, but..." he trails off, shaking his head. At that final question, he nods. "We can't leave Wachiwa and her pups alone. Ahiga was the best option... and Thaea wanted to go with him." A shrug; he's clearly not entirely comfortable with that, but he's not arguing. In fact, he argued for it, sorta.
Tala makes a face at the talk of the dog and snorts faintly. "It came when I was visitng Anoki before winter." She offers to Ikuna and takes in a breath before nodding. "Ahiga know Anoki as well." There is a pause at the talk of Altheae wanting to go. "i'm sure there be fine.." She is just tyring to think postive right now! Tala lets her head settle down to her frontpaws once more and ehs. "i'm gona get a nap." She murmurs out, an still think postive and have postive dreams.. Yes stuff like that! With a ear twitching to the pair she listens to there conversations for a bit longer before drifting on to sleep..
Miakoda listens to both of them but neither one of them seems to bring the she-wolf much relief. Her weight shifts a little where she is sitting, her front paws spreading wide on the rock for a second or two as she glances off and squints at the cascading water and then at the mists that curl lazily away from them. Still looking away, she says, "So it just lives here, in lands that are supposed to belong to another pack, without being chased off by that pack? Are you sure it is not a... a... " She struggles with the very idea. "A part of the Cerulean pack?"
Ikuna nods to what Tala says. "Yeah, he does." Maybe not as well as some of them, but then... he doesn't need to, not for this. Miakoda's suggestion just makes him go silent for a long moment. A dog. In a wolfpack. Yes, okay, he's heard of half-dogs, of... well, there are some in his pack right now, aren't there? But... He sighs. "I don't know." Then he's quiet again, for further long moments. "There was this... creature, back during winter. A lynx with a long tail, or a miniature sort of cougar. It said dog-packs sent out... spies. Pretty young dogs to lead others into traps. I didn't much want to believe it, then, but... it said that the dogs were coming, and it was right about that."
Miakoda walks her front paws out before her gradually, eventually enough to bring her belly to rest upon the rock. It's something she does with a mild grimace; she's not exactly a fan of the wet, somewhat slick feel of the stone on her underside. Later. Summertime. Maybe. "So do you think this dog that's here was some kind of scout, or whatever you want to call it, for the dog pack that attacked Ute? But... if that were the case, wouldn't she have gone back with the dogs once their attack finished?"
Ikuna sighs, and shakes his head. "I don't know." It's easy to see a dog and think threat, these days. Now, in the calm afterwards, with Miakoda saying the sensible things she can say because it wasn't /her/ pack that got attacked... Ikuna is uncertain. Tala must be asleep, because if she was at all conscious, she'd certainly have a thing or three to say at this point. At least! But... Ikuna is less vehement than his sister, in many regards. "If Cerulean's okay... we'll see what they say about it." A frown. "If she is with them, well, they'll be here to complain soon enough."
"She didn't say anything to you when she saw you? Or did she not see you because of all the mists?" Either one of these is possible, Miakoda supposes. The former because maybe the dog was wise enough to know that most wolves don't take kindly to canines; the latter because the Ute has done their best to try to keep themselves out of sight, for quite viable reasons. "Yes... You'll find out one way or the other soon enough." The she-wolf inhales a breath which is gradually released in a noise that is not quite a sigh. "How is your sister? And her pups? It... it looked like a few of them were stillborn?" She is only making a guess considering that was the first birth she has ever witnessed.
Ikuna thinks back on it, trying to come up with an accurate answer. "She... didn't say much at all, really." Of course, that might have had something to do with the growling wolves, and Tala flinging accusations and bites after the dog. Ikuna frowns, and at Miakoda's mention of his sister, the young wolf's gaze goes to Tala, then a blink at the mention of pups. Huh - oh. "Wachiwa's not my sister," he says with a smile. "She's... well, I guess she's not related at all, just always been part of Ute." The smile fades halfway as he continues on to discuss the pups. "Yeah. There were some that... didn't make it. She's doing okay, though. So're the two that lived." He's quiet a moment, then adds, "If you wanna see 'em... me or Tala can take you."
A flush comes to the inners of Miakoda's ears when Ikuna corrects her, the pinkish hue visible for only a moment before her ears turn themselves backward and fold down. "Oh... sorry. It's hard to keep track of everyone, especially when all I had to remember before was mom, dad, and my siblings." The news that some of the pups did not survive presses a frown onto her slender muzzle; but it does not last long at the prospect of seeing the little fuzzies brightens her. But then, that hesitation again. "Well... maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. Wachiwa doesn't even know me, and she might not appreciate a total stranger barging in to look at her newborns."
Ikuna smiles as Miakoda apologizes. "It's okay. She sorta acts like our big sister sometimes... she did a lot for us, after mom'n dad died." What is it with death and this pack? Never mind the dogs, they should meet death at the border with teeth bared. He chuckles softly at Mia's protest, and rises to his feet. "It's not barging in if you're with one of us. I can even go ask her first, if you'd rather."
Miakoda's eyes meander off to the side and she still looks quite uncertain even as he assures her that a visit won't be any sort of bother. But the prospect of seeing fluffballs, a bit of cuteness and softness amongst all the struggle lately, proves too tempting. "Well... alright. If you think it'll be okay. And only if she says it's okay!" The latter sentence is said with particular emphasis, and the she-wolf gives Ikuna a look, along with a sideways smirk, that she wouldn't put it past him to goad Wachiwa into saying that a visit is okay even if it really weren't.
Ikuna chuckles softly, and nods. "I'll go check," he says, and disappears into the cave. He's gone for a few moments, just long enough to create all sorts of false visions about what he might be up to, and then he returns with a gentle smile. "Well... it seems like you might have to wait," he says. "Wachiwa's asleep, and... I rather suspect you'd glare at me if I woke her up just to ask."
She waits, ears turning far forward in order to hear whatever she can... perhaps the annoyed voice of a she-wolf. But instead, Miakoda hears only the usual background noise that is the rushing and hissing of the waterfall. And then, Ikuna returns; and again, she grins. "Your suspicions are quite accurate," she admits with a nod and a mild wag of her tail where she lays.
"I will ask her, next time she's awake," he says with a grin. "And I don't think she'll mind." But, well, he can understand what would bring Miakoda to doubt it! After all, he's certainly not about to let her in there alone! In his or Tala's company, though... that, Ikuna doesn't see a problem with. After all, if she's still around in a moon or two, the pups'll be emerging from the den anyway, and she'll certainly meet them then.
Now that the subject of the pups has been brought up, she remembers some of the moments of enlightenment... or what she assumes was enlightenment... on the night of their birth. It's something her mind has been turning over since then, but Miakoda has neither had the nerve nor the appropriate setting in which to ask about the puzzle parts that she thinks she's put together. But now though, in the company of only Ikuna, perhaps she can ask. Her tongue runs out over her long muzzle and she peers down at her front feet for a moment before looking over to the male again. Deciding there is no delicate way around the matter, she says, " ...Those pups are the reason why you warned me about lone females around the dogs, aren't they?"
As ways to ask go, that's pretty delicate. Much more so than, 'Those pups are half-dog bastards, aren't they?' Ikuna sighs, but the matter is not exactly one he can avoid, not with a reminder every time he looks at those pups. "Yes."
Miakoda's ears fold back and she nods, her eyes falling away from Ikuna again and returning to her forepaws. She supposes that is why Wachiwa had such a difficult time during the birth... the dog who forced himself upon her was probably some oversized human creation, and so of course its offspring would be on the upper end of the scale as well. The entire train of thought is a rather downtrodden one, with Mia wondering just what sort of future those pups have in store for them. What kind of wolves will they make? Can a hybrid even really be a wolf, with human programming being passed on from its father? Realizing she's become as lost in thought as Ikuna was when she first arrived, she laughs; but it's not a sound of merriment. "I can see why your storage area must be getting full," she murmurs.
Ikuna flicks one ear back as the sound of that laugh comes up through his resumed thoughts, and he halfway smiles. "Yeah. There's not much I can /do/ about any of it, right now. Probably why I'm thinking about it so much instead."
"Not unless you have the gift of seeing into the future," she says with a small shake of her head. "I guess there really isn't much anyone can do until Ahiga and Althaea get back. Hopefully they have good news." Miakoda slouches her weight over onto her side a little bit. "I wish there was something I could do. I don't know, somehow take advantage of the fact that I'm not affiliated with anyone. Maybe go back and skirt the perimeter of your territory, see if the dogs are still there. I'm smaller, and quick. They'd have a hard time spotting me and a harder time catching me if they did."
Ikuna chuckles at the thought of seeing the future. "I'll stick with the present. ...and the past." He sighs softly. At her suggestion of scouting, he shakes his head firmly. "-and if they did catch you? No. You're small and quick, but you can't watch in every direction at once. If these were wolves... but they're not. They're going to think any wolf they see is part of our pack - or just not care what pack."
Miakoda squirms a little where she lies, clearly not pleased by what Ikuna has to say but unable to argue with the logic behind it. But still, it's hard for her; she is still young and she does not do well with being patient. So she says nothing, lapsing into silence and going back to staring at the waterfall. Maybe she'll go hunt again, and maybe a small miracle will occur and a young deer will decide to spontaneously die while she happens to be walking past.
Yeah, and when did Ikuna become the one counseling patience and waiting instead of squirming? A while ago, actually, because brashness was always more Ahiga's provenance, but still. The waiting doesn't entirely sit easily on him, either, and he glances to the waterfall, then back to Miakoda. A sigh, and his gaze lowers to one of the rabbits Tala brought. Rabbit, again. Sigh. ...huh, there's a thought. "Hey. Mia. Back with your family... did you learn how to hunt deer? Maybe you and Tala could go hunting together sometime soon..." His sister's going to need something to do as well, more than likely, what with her Ahiga being gone.
Miakoda blinks out of her reverie as the subject of hunting is brought up just as she had been thinking over it, and her head lifts as she hears Ikuna's suggestion. "My parents taught all of us how to hunt both alone and as a pack. It's been awhile since I've done any hunting with anyone else... especially since once my parents realized I was going to leave, they really cracked down on teaching the loner skills, for obvious reasons. I might need a little practice to refresh tactics, since I don't know what kind of methods your pack uses... but I'd be more than happy to give it a try!" Her eagerness shines through in her voice and in the wagging of her tail.
For obvious reasons, indeed! But it does sound like Miakoda has at least a general idea of the pack hunting techniques, and Ikuna grins with some of that infectious enthusiasm. "Good. It'd be nice to have some proper pack-hunting again. You, Tala... Maybe Asku. That's enough to bring down a deer and still have a guard here." Yeah, Ikuna's probably still stuck with self-appointed guard duty, but he can at least arrange to have himself deer to eat and keep everyone else happy. He smiles, and if his gaze drifts over the pool in thought again.... at least they're happier thoughts now!
When the name Asku is mentioned, Miakoda nearly blurts out 'who?'... but catches herself in time. More questions can wait for another day; right now, she is rather tired, and if she is to start re-learning how to hunt in a group tomorrow then she had better make sure she gets her rest. Glad to see that Ikuna's thoughts seem to have turned in a better direction, she she-wolf stretches out her front legs and then settles her head down onto them. Her golden eyes close, and a few moments later she is asleep.
Ikuna - male wolf
Miakoda - female adolescent wolf
---Waterfall Pool---
Tala has spent the whole night out hunting, it was easier to do that then come back to the waterfall where she knew Ahiga wasn't going to be. The she-wolf is making her way back now, three hare's dangle from her jaws, yes she got hares but it took all night to find them which is not a good use of energy with such little food being found that has to be shared among mostly adult wolves. Her fur is ruffled and a mess, dirty clinging to her, a faint wheeze escapes her.
The sensation of dampness that pervades through her fur whenever she spends a lot of time by the pool is a large reason why she spends a fair amount of time away from it. Perhaps when summer is in full swing, and when the heat builds up to a more uncomfortable level by afternoon, she will change her mind; but for now Miakoda tends to keep away until later in the day. With the sun nearly down, the she-wolf arrives back at the pool not too far behind Tala. A shuffling sort of bark is made so that her identity can be known despite the heavy, clinging mist.
Ikuna has been keeping watch through the night from various positions. This rock. The other one. That bit of dirt. Sometimes he dozes while placed as a stumbling block, sometimes he sits up alert, but mostly, in one way or another, he guards. Ute feels different, today; Ahiga and Althaea gone. Askuwheteau and Skahla returned. Shawnee... still missing, perhaps forever. If there'd been a trail, Skahla surely wouldn't have given it up. So... here they are. As Tala returns, and Miakoda - another new face - arrives as well, he's sitting near the edge of the pool, staring across the surface as if he expects to find some answer in the mist. It's being unhelpful, and he sighs deeply before giving a low whurrf of acknowledgement and sitting up.
Tala ears perk as she hears the bark, she knows the wolf it belongs to so doesn't seem that worried. She pauses at the cave and drops her catch, a hacking cough escaping escaping her for a few moments, an once it is done she gives herself a good shake. "Hey." Is offered to both before one of the hare's is picked up and she moves on towards the cave, slipping within to take it to Chewy to make sure she has one for herself.
Miakoda is careful to watch the placement of her paws as she makes her way across the damp stone; the last thing she needs is to slip and fall and make a fool of herself. Drawing to a halt a short distance from Ikuna, for she is still mindful to give the pack members their own personal bubbles. Tala is looked after as she retreats into the mouth of the cavern, her ears pricking forward and then leaning back as she slowly sits herself down. Golden eyes returning to Ikuna, and taking note of what seems to be his rather melancholy mood, her head tips aside. "Is it anything you care to share or does it need to stay in storage a little while longer?" It was one of her mother's favorite questions.
Ikuna nods a greeting to Tala as she passes by with the hares and distributes them, then tilts his head to Miakoda. The question seems to catch him by surprise for a moment, but then he laughs. "There's a lot to be stored. Mostly on account of how it's not much use bringing it out," he says with a smile. "Wondering what Ahiga and Thaea are going to find of Cerulean, mostly. And... where we're going from here."
Tala makes her way back out from the cavern and gives herself a shake to get some water off. Another hare is picked up and brought over to the sleeping Skahla and then the last is taken with her as she goves over to where Ikuna and Miakoda is and she drops it in front of Ikuna while she flops down and sprawls out next to him. A yawn escapes her as she settles herself and then her head drops down to her forepaws. "There be alright.. as long Thaea keeps up her end of the deal."
The reply from Ikuna seems to both puzzle and intrigue her, and as much is expressed on her face by the crinkling of her brows. She looks to Tala as the other she-wolf joins them, but her remark does nothing to bring her any enlightenment. "What do you mean, what they're going to find of them?" She had assumed that the proper owners of this territory had already been consulted about their temporary occupation of their land; but maybe she was mistaken. However, even if she were mistaken, she would've thought that a member of the native pack would have shown up by now to ask who the interlopers are... Hmm.
Ikuna leans over to nuzzle his sister briefly, and nods to what she says before looking back to Miakoda. "We haven't seen them yet," he says. "Not even any reliable scents. This should be their territory, but... hasn't even been anyone to scare off the intruders." A half-smile, which then gives way to worry. "We saw a dog here recently. Maybe this problem is... more than just us. I don't know, really. That's what those two have gone to find out."
Tala ahs softly as she hears Miakoda. "Well.. No, not really. But we do know the pack that lives here." She offers and shakes her head a moment. "We're hoping everything will be alright. An that the dogs haven't gotten to them yet.
The look of puzzlement promptly gives way to one of much greater concern, even tipping into apprehension, as Ikuna mentions having seen a canine nearby lately. Miakoda hadn't come across any herself, or any scents that would indicate a group of dogs; but neither has she come across the smells of any other lupines. There are, of course, some scents that she cannot match to faces yet, but those are all mingled in with those that she knows to be Ute and they haven't caused her any worry. "You actually saw the dog? What was it doing?" A lot more questions have come to mind, but she knows there isn't any point in rapid-firing them all off back to back. Eyes moving between the siblings, she asks them one more question, "Only Ahiga and Althaea went?"
"It was... coming here. Not sneaking or anything, just... like it owned the place." Ikuna glances to his sister. "They saw it before. Tala and Ahiga did, last time they were visiting Cerulean. Before... everything." He wasn't there, so he doesn't have the details. "They chased it off, and... I didn't see any others, but..." he trails off, shaking his head. At that final question, he nods. "We can't leave Wachiwa and her pups alone. Ahiga was the best option... and Thaea wanted to go with him." A shrug; he's clearly not entirely comfortable with that, but he's not arguing. In fact, he argued for it, sorta.
Tala makes a face at the talk of the dog and snorts faintly. "It came when I was visitng Anoki before winter." She offers to Ikuna and takes in a breath before nodding. "Ahiga know Anoki as well." There is a pause at the talk of Altheae wanting to go. "i'm sure there be fine.." She is just tyring to think postive right now! Tala lets her head settle down to her frontpaws once more and ehs. "i'm gona get a nap." She murmurs out, an still think postive and have postive dreams.. Yes stuff like that! With a ear twitching to the pair she listens to there conversations for a bit longer before drifting on to sleep..
Miakoda listens to both of them but neither one of them seems to bring the she-wolf much relief. Her weight shifts a little where she is sitting, her front paws spreading wide on the rock for a second or two as she glances off and squints at the cascading water and then at the mists that curl lazily away from them. Still looking away, she says, "So it just lives here, in lands that are supposed to belong to another pack, without being chased off by that pack? Are you sure it is not a... a... " She struggles with the very idea. "A part of the Cerulean pack?"
Ikuna nods to what Tala says. "Yeah, he does." Maybe not as well as some of them, but then... he doesn't need to, not for this. Miakoda's suggestion just makes him go silent for a long moment. A dog. In a wolfpack. Yes, okay, he's heard of half-dogs, of... well, there are some in his pack right now, aren't there? But... He sighs. "I don't know." Then he's quiet again, for further long moments. "There was this... creature, back during winter. A lynx with a long tail, or a miniature sort of cougar. It said dog-packs sent out... spies. Pretty young dogs to lead others into traps. I didn't much want to believe it, then, but... it said that the dogs were coming, and it was right about that."
Miakoda walks her front paws out before her gradually, eventually enough to bring her belly to rest upon the rock. It's something she does with a mild grimace; she's not exactly a fan of the wet, somewhat slick feel of the stone on her underside. Later. Summertime. Maybe. "So do you think this dog that's here was some kind of scout, or whatever you want to call it, for the dog pack that attacked Ute? But... if that were the case, wouldn't she have gone back with the dogs once their attack finished?"
Ikuna sighs, and shakes his head. "I don't know." It's easy to see a dog and think threat, these days. Now, in the calm afterwards, with Miakoda saying the sensible things she can say because it wasn't /her/ pack that got attacked... Ikuna is uncertain. Tala must be asleep, because if she was at all conscious, she'd certainly have a thing or three to say at this point. At least! But... Ikuna is less vehement than his sister, in many regards. "If Cerulean's okay... we'll see what they say about it." A frown. "If she is with them, well, they'll be here to complain soon enough."
"She didn't say anything to you when she saw you? Or did she not see you because of all the mists?" Either one of these is possible, Miakoda supposes. The former because maybe the dog was wise enough to know that most wolves don't take kindly to canines; the latter because the Ute has done their best to try to keep themselves out of sight, for quite viable reasons. "Yes... You'll find out one way or the other soon enough." The she-wolf inhales a breath which is gradually released in a noise that is not quite a sigh. "How is your sister? And her pups? It... it looked like a few of them were stillborn?" She is only making a guess considering that was the first birth she has ever witnessed.
Ikuna thinks back on it, trying to come up with an accurate answer. "She... didn't say much at all, really." Of course, that might have had something to do with the growling wolves, and Tala flinging accusations and bites after the dog. Ikuna frowns, and at Miakoda's mention of his sister, the young wolf's gaze goes to Tala, then a blink at the mention of pups. Huh - oh. "Wachiwa's not my sister," he says with a smile. "She's... well, I guess she's not related at all, just always been part of Ute." The smile fades halfway as he continues on to discuss the pups. "Yeah. There were some that... didn't make it. She's doing okay, though. So're the two that lived." He's quiet a moment, then adds, "If you wanna see 'em... me or Tala can take you."
A flush comes to the inners of Miakoda's ears when Ikuna corrects her, the pinkish hue visible for only a moment before her ears turn themselves backward and fold down. "Oh... sorry. It's hard to keep track of everyone, especially when all I had to remember before was mom, dad, and my siblings." The news that some of the pups did not survive presses a frown onto her slender muzzle; but it does not last long at the prospect of seeing the little fuzzies brightens her. But then, that hesitation again. "Well... maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. Wachiwa doesn't even know me, and she might not appreciate a total stranger barging in to look at her newborns."
Ikuna smiles as Miakoda apologizes. "It's okay. She sorta acts like our big sister sometimes... she did a lot for us, after mom'n dad died." What is it with death and this pack? Never mind the dogs, they should meet death at the border with teeth bared. He chuckles softly at Mia's protest, and rises to his feet. "It's not barging in if you're with one of us. I can even go ask her first, if you'd rather."
Miakoda's eyes meander off to the side and she still looks quite uncertain even as he assures her that a visit won't be any sort of bother. But the prospect of seeing fluffballs, a bit of cuteness and softness amongst all the struggle lately, proves too tempting. "Well... alright. If you think it'll be okay. And only if she says it's okay!" The latter sentence is said with particular emphasis, and the she-wolf gives Ikuna a look, along with a sideways smirk, that she wouldn't put it past him to goad Wachiwa into saying that a visit is okay even if it really weren't.
Ikuna chuckles softly, and nods. "I'll go check," he says, and disappears into the cave. He's gone for a few moments, just long enough to create all sorts of false visions about what he might be up to, and then he returns with a gentle smile. "Well... it seems like you might have to wait," he says. "Wachiwa's asleep, and... I rather suspect you'd glare at me if I woke her up just to ask."
She waits, ears turning far forward in order to hear whatever she can... perhaps the annoyed voice of a she-wolf. But instead, Miakoda hears only the usual background noise that is the rushing and hissing of the waterfall. And then, Ikuna returns; and again, she grins. "Your suspicions are quite accurate," she admits with a nod and a mild wag of her tail where she lays.
"I will ask her, next time she's awake," he says with a grin. "And I don't think she'll mind." But, well, he can understand what would bring Miakoda to doubt it! After all, he's certainly not about to let her in there alone! In his or Tala's company, though... that, Ikuna doesn't see a problem with. After all, if she's still around in a moon or two, the pups'll be emerging from the den anyway, and she'll certainly meet them then.
Now that the subject of the pups has been brought up, she remembers some of the moments of enlightenment... or what she assumes was enlightenment... on the night of their birth. It's something her mind has been turning over since then, but Miakoda has neither had the nerve nor the appropriate setting in which to ask about the puzzle parts that she thinks she's put together. But now though, in the company of only Ikuna, perhaps she can ask. Her tongue runs out over her long muzzle and she peers down at her front feet for a moment before looking over to the male again. Deciding there is no delicate way around the matter, she says, " ...Those pups are the reason why you warned me about lone females around the dogs, aren't they?"
As ways to ask go, that's pretty delicate. Much more so than, 'Those pups are half-dog bastards, aren't they?' Ikuna sighs, but the matter is not exactly one he can avoid, not with a reminder every time he looks at those pups. "Yes."
Miakoda's ears fold back and she nods, her eyes falling away from Ikuna again and returning to her forepaws. She supposes that is why Wachiwa had such a difficult time during the birth... the dog who forced himself upon her was probably some oversized human creation, and so of course its offspring would be on the upper end of the scale as well. The entire train of thought is a rather downtrodden one, with Mia wondering just what sort of future those pups have in store for them. What kind of wolves will they make? Can a hybrid even really be a wolf, with human programming being passed on from its father? Realizing she's become as lost in thought as Ikuna was when she first arrived, she laughs; but it's not a sound of merriment. "I can see why your storage area must be getting full," she murmurs.
Ikuna flicks one ear back as the sound of that laugh comes up through his resumed thoughts, and he halfway smiles. "Yeah. There's not much I can /do/ about any of it, right now. Probably why I'm thinking about it so much instead."
"Not unless you have the gift of seeing into the future," she says with a small shake of her head. "I guess there really isn't much anyone can do until Ahiga and Althaea get back. Hopefully they have good news." Miakoda slouches her weight over onto her side a little bit. "I wish there was something I could do. I don't know, somehow take advantage of the fact that I'm not affiliated with anyone. Maybe go back and skirt the perimeter of your territory, see if the dogs are still there. I'm smaller, and quick. They'd have a hard time spotting me and a harder time catching me if they did."
Ikuna chuckles at the thought of seeing the future. "I'll stick with the present. ...and the past." He sighs softly. At her suggestion of scouting, he shakes his head firmly. "-and if they did catch you? No. You're small and quick, but you can't watch in every direction at once. If these were wolves... but they're not. They're going to think any wolf they see is part of our pack - or just not care what pack."
Miakoda squirms a little where she lies, clearly not pleased by what Ikuna has to say but unable to argue with the logic behind it. But still, it's hard for her; she is still young and she does not do well with being patient. So she says nothing, lapsing into silence and going back to staring at the waterfall. Maybe she'll go hunt again, and maybe a small miracle will occur and a young deer will decide to spontaneously die while she happens to be walking past.
Yeah, and when did Ikuna become the one counseling patience and waiting instead of squirming? A while ago, actually, because brashness was always more Ahiga's provenance, but still. The waiting doesn't entirely sit easily on him, either, and he glances to the waterfall, then back to Miakoda. A sigh, and his gaze lowers to one of the rabbits Tala brought. Rabbit, again. Sigh. ...huh, there's a thought. "Hey. Mia. Back with your family... did you learn how to hunt deer? Maybe you and Tala could go hunting together sometime soon..." His sister's going to need something to do as well, more than likely, what with her Ahiga being gone.
Miakoda blinks out of her reverie as the subject of hunting is brought up just as she had been thinking over it, and her head lifts as she hears Ikuna's suggestion. "My parents taught all of us how to hunt both alone and as a pack. It's been awhile since I've done any hunting with anyone else... especially since once my parents realized I was going to leave, they really cracked down on teaching the loner skills, for obvious reasons. I might need a little practice to refresh tactics, since I don't know what kind of methods your pack uses... but I'd be more than happy to give it a try!" Her eagerness shines through in her voice and in the wagging of her tail.
For obvious reasons, indeed! But it does sound like Miakoda has at least a general idea of the pack hunting techniques, and Ikuna grins with some of that infectious enthusiasm. "Good. It'd be nice to have some proper pack-hunting again. You, Tala... Maybe Asku. That's enough to bring down a deer and still have a guard here." Yeah, Ikuna's probably still stuck with self-appointed guard duty, but he can at least arrange to have himself deer to eat and keep everyone else happy. He smiles, and if his gaze drifts over the pool in thought again.... at least they're happier thoughts now!
When the name Asku is mentioned, Miakoda nearly blurts out 'who?'... but catches herself in time. More questions can wait for another day; right now, she is rather tired, and if she is to start re-learning how to hunt in a group tomorrow then she had better make sure she gets her rest. Glad to see that Ikuna's thoughts seem to have turned in a better direction, she she-wolf stretches out her front legs and then settles her head down onto them. Her golden eyes close, and a few moments later she is asleep.