Post by Ahiga on Oct 7, 2012 10:42:08 GMT -5
Characters: Ahiga (Ute Wolf), Nonkene (Ute Juvenile Wolfdog)
Setting: Woodland Clearing
Scene:
The sun is hidden away behind the clouds, but the day is still bright from diffuse light reflecting off the snow and ice. A few fat snowflakes drift down through the air, tugged at by the breezes and chased by a red-furred young wolfdog who leaps and snaps at them as they fall. Nonkene has grown, these past months, but she's still rather small for her age. Not that she's letting that stop her, lunging for snowflakes with her curly tail wagging.
Ahiga wishes he could find a bit of happiness. These last few days...or has it been weeks now? Time has lost meaning and purpose, and thus he's lost track. Days have blurred. Hours go by like seconds. Days or weeks, whatever it has been, it has been a dark time for him. He's given up his attempt at tracking down the white dog. For now. Tracking, especially in this cold, snowy season, requires far more than his mind is willing to give. And thus, he's left sitting. Sitting and watching the days or weeks pass on the fringes of the pack. Much like now. He sits, eyes settled upon the antics of the half dog female. It didn't seem /that/ long ago when he was doing the same with his two best friends. Not a care in the world. Where'd all that time go? His ears press back a little.
There's another snowflake! A big one, ooooh, she definitely wants to pounce this one! Nonkene trots forward, keeping her eyes fixed on it. Stay on target, stay on target, crouch down and- gasp! A gust of wind sends it flying past her! The wolfdog scrambles back, twisting and leaping! She'll get you snowflake! Just watch- oops. She missed. Nonkene snorts, and looks up to see Ahiga sitting there. Her head tilts, and that curly tail stops. A moment, and she trots toward him.
If he were someone else, he'd probably laugh at her antics. If he were himself, he might at least smirk. But Kale is neither someone else or himself at the moment, and he can only watch on with an expression that is lacking any detectible emotion. But then...oh no. Here it comes his way! His flattened ears lift as he's spotted, then fold back again as she starts walking towards him. He remembers her. She was the confusing one. Rather, the one that made him feel a confusing sort of way. The boy is easy. The boy he dislikes largely. But this one? Hm. "You don't have to come here. Go finish ... doin' what you were doin'."
"I know," Nonkene says. "But I'm done with that game now." She gives herself a shake, then plops her rump down in the snow. She's quiet for a moment, watching Ahiga, then tilts her head. "My mama doesn't like winter, but I think it's neat. What about you? Do you like winter?"
Ahiga watches one like one would watch a hornet's nest. Wary. Not quite sure just what's going to come out of it. Though knowing, no matter what, it's a dangerous thing. He contemplates her question with faintly raised brows that gently lower. "..I used to," he replies with a glance up to the snowy sky, nose wrinkling after. "Not so much anymore." He flicks an ear as golden eyes return to the pup. "What's your name?" He really doesn't know or remember. Coming back to the Ute wasn't a planned thing, and he hadn't bothered spending time with the half breeds. Not that he wanted to then. Or now, for that matter.
Who knew one undersized halfbreed could be so dangerous? Nonkene keeps her head tilted as she listens to Ahiga's answer, and frowns a little as she too peers up at the sky. "Oh," she says, and frowns a moment longer before smiling again as she's asked a question. "Nonkene," she answers. "Mama says it means deer, but that's silly. I'm a wolf, not a deer!"
That's right. Nonkene. Ahiga vaguely remembers that and nods as if he did this whole time. "Right. Nonkene..." he echoes, ears flicking forward a little as he repeats the name. "You're right about one thing. You're not a deer. S'a stupid name for someone that's not a deer. Your mother..." He stops himself there, feeling acid on his tongue. Whatever he has to say about Wachiwa is nothing close to kind. Not at all. And a look to the pup's eyes has him holding his tongue. At least in that regard. "Did your mother tell you that you're a wolf?"
Nonkene nods her agreement, then smiles as Ahiga calls her right. The smile fades a little, and she tilts her head to the side as he continues. Her mother, indeed - but those young eyes keep certain things being said, for now. Certain other things, though... Nonkene shrugs. "I asked mama about my father. She said he was a dog. He's dead now." Her tone is matter-of-fact as only a child's can be. "Mama's a wolf."
"Should've been dead a long time ago," replies Ahiga. Is it weird to be talking about death to a pup? Probably. But this pup isn't a normal pup. Not really. Not at all. This pup shouldn't even be here. But that point is moot. She's here. And so is that snotty brother of hers. "Your dad was a dog, right. I wasn't here, but I know the dogs came back. You saw what dogs do, didn't you?" he asks with a vague tilt of his head. "The dogs came back to kill you. To kill this pack. Do you understand that?"
"I saw," says Nonkene. Pup or not, she doesn't seem to be upset by this conversation. Perhaps the fact that she did see has something to do with that. She was there when the dogs attacked the second time, and she saw them killed. What does it do to a child to see that? What has it done to Nonkene, or to her brother? Nature or nurture, either way, there's reason to wonder about these wolfdogs. "They were bad. Kurux wants to be a dog, but that's stupid." She stands up, and gives herself a shake. "I'm not a dog. I guess I'm not a wolf either, but mama's a wolf, and Kuna's a wolf, and Olathe and Haiza are wolves, so I'd rather be a wolf than a dog."
Heh, Kurux wants to be a dog? Ahiga snorts as his eyes are given an exaggerated roll. "Of course he does. And he'll make a perfect dog." He shifts now, sliding down to lay onto his stomach with a forepaw gently curling towards his chest. "You're not a wolf. I guess you're not a dog. I don't know what you are," he admits. "I don't know if you will be like them or if you will be like us... Or if you will be something different and new. There's a lot of things I don't know, and I guess that's what I don't like about you." He pauses, watching her consideringly. "I don't know what that says about me. Not liking someone like you when you're just a pup. Do you think that makes me bad?"
Nonkene pauses in her shake, with her fur still all askew, and listens with serious puppy face to Ahiga. The statement that he doesn't like her doesn't seem to startle the youngster. Kids are sometimes more observant than adults like to give them credit for, after all. Nonkene considers for a long moment. "I don't think you're bad," she says. "I think you're scared," she says, and sits herself down again. "I'm scared sometimes, but I'm not scared of you." And there's a smile, and... yep... the puppy eyes.
Scared? Ahiga snorts at the word and gives his eyes a roll, shifting his gaze away from her after. "I'm not scared..." It's the usual male answer to that sort of comment. At least, males like Ahiga. Males who think of fear as a weakness or fault. Is he scared? Terrified is more like it. Terrified of things he wouldn't discuss with a pup, for although talking about death and murder is apparently acceptable, his own fears are not. His eyes flit back to hers after a moment, and he's met with .... oh no. Not those. Puppy eyes?!? Sigh. He can feel his resolve of hating her 'just because' already beginning to melt. "Meh. Whatever. If you need to be scared of me I'll make sure you are." Apparently, right now is not one of those times! "You been hunting yet?"
A fear more terrible than murderdeath! Nonkene doesn't try to argue, just shrugging and smiling a little, with a wiggle of that curly tail of hers. And what's this? He'll frighten her as-needed? "Okay," she says with a giggle. Definitely not scared right now. This isn't going to do anything for Ahiga's tough and terrible reputation, it really isn't. She tilts her head at the question, then shakes it. "Mama can't hunt, and Kuna's always busy."
Sigh. Yes, his tough and terrible reputation is going down, down, down the drain now isn't it? At least talking to her is keeping his mind off other thingsthat can't really be helped anymore. Maybe that's all he needs to do. Keep himself busy. "By my first winter, I was already hunting," he says in a matter of fact way. Who cares if the things he was hunting were mostly things in his imagination, other than the occasional half frozen morsel that Asku would bring for them to practice on. "I'll teach you how. Everybody in this pack has to do something to show they're worth something. You'll hunt. No more free rides." He lays his head on his paws. "Ok?"
"Okay," agrees Nonkene, with a smile and a wag of her tail. "I'll learn how to hunt, and then I can bring everyone food." She stands up, and spins around in place once, then laughs. "Even deer! And then when I bring it back, it'll be the deer's deer! Nonkene Nene!" She laughs, because apparently, this is a joke and also funny, then drops her forequarters and then hindquarters, one after the other. Thud thud, and she's lying on the snow. "Hey Ahiga?" she asks after a moment, and her laugh's gone now. "What's wrong with Tala?"
Ahiga lifts his ears at her cheer. Such a joyful little thing, isn't she? "At least then your name would make more sense.." he's willing to try. Willing to try to go along with her and not be such a gloomy cloud. "If nothing else, that's reason enough to get you started. Winter's not the best time to start, but it's better than waiting for spring. By then, you'll be older and just as useless." See? He's giving her a skill and a purpose! And then there's the question of Tala, and the silver lining is shrouded again. His expression both darkens and saddens at the same time, and he glances in the direction of the bush that the injured female had hidden herself in earlier. "A dog hurt her," he answers simply. "A dog hurt her ... very badly."
Life can't all be bright cheerful moments, for all Nonkene giggles as Ahiga joins in. She even grins as he calls her useless! Good joke, Ahiga! But, well, sometimes the world needs dark truth to go with the brightness. Nonkene nods to Ahiga's explanation, watching his face as he gives it more than Tala's hiding spot. She's already seen the female wolf, after all. She hasn't seen Ahiga's reaction as much. He's rather kept himself apart, after all... and she's still a pup. There's a lot she doesn't know. That's why she asks questions. Hard questions, sometimes. Questions like, "Why?"
The hardest question of all. Why? It's a question Ahiga has asked himself since that fateful day. Why? Why did he leave her that day? Why didn't he have more sense than to leave her unattended? Unprotected? Why couldn't .. didn't he keep this from happening? His ears slowly begin to fold back as the questions that he has burdened himself with begin to press down with renewed force. A weight that he just can't seem to shake for more than a few moments at a time. "Because.." he begins, but his words truncate there for a while, letting that 'because' hang heavily in the frosted air. A frigid breath is exhaled in near silence, and the wolf soon pushes himself up onto his paws to stand. "Because I didn't do my job," he answers, voice quiet. "Stay here, Nonkene. I have to patrol." To walk. To run from his thoughts that always catch back up with him.
Nonkene is silent, listening. Waiting for the answer. For the because that goes with her why - for Ahiga's an adult, and the adults always have the answers, even if sometimes they aren't willing to share them with pups. Her head lifts as he rises, following him with her eyes, and her ears perk to attention. She tilts her head - another question, doubtless, bubbling up to the surface - but then he continues, and she nods. "Okay. And after, you can show me how to hunt." She wags her tail briefly, stirring the snow. Ahiga may run away, but puppy eyes expect him to come back again.
"Yeah ... I will." And he even means it, too. He will come back. And he will continue to come back, if not only for Tala's sake, for now. And likely, eventually, for the sake of others as well. To keep his promise to teach a youngster to hunt. For now, he nods to her, though managing a smile is more than one could ask of him. And so it's without one that he turns, heading off to the surrounding trees, bare as they are, leaving behind only pawprints that show that he was here.
Setting: Woodland Clearing
Scene:
The sun is hidden away behind the clouds, but the day is still bright from diffuse light reflecting off the snow and ice. A few fat snowflakes drift down through the air, tugged at by the breezes and chased by a red-furred young wolfdog who leaps and snaps at them as they fall. Nonkene has grown, these past months, but she's still rather small for her age. Not that she's letting that stop her, lunging for snowflakes with her curly tail wagging.
Ahiga wishes he could find a bit of happiness. These last few days...or has it been weeks now? Time has lost meaning and purpose, and thus he's lost track. Days have blurred. Hours go by like seconds. Days or weeks, whatever it has been, it has been a dark time for him. He's given up his attempt at tracking down the white dog. For now. Tracking, especially in this cold, snowy season, requires far more than his mind is willing to give. And thus, he's left sitting. Sitting and watching the days or weeks pass on the fringes of the pack. Much like now. He sits, eyes settled upon the antics of the half dog female. It didn't seem /that/ long ago when he was doing the same with his two best friends. Not a care in the world. Where'd all that time go? His ears press back a little.
There's another snowflake! A big one, ooooh, she definitely wants to pounce this one! Nonkene trots forward, keeping her eyes fixed on it. Stay on target, stay on target, crouch down and- gasp! A gust of wind sends it flying past her! The wolfdog scrambles back, twisting and leaping! She'll get you snowflake! Just watch- oops. She missed. Nonkene snorts, and looks up to see Ahiga sitting there. Her head tilts, and that curly tail stops. A moment, and she trots toward him.
If he were someone else, he'd probably laugh at her antics. If he were himself, he might at least smirk. But Kale is neither someone else or himself at the moment, and he can only watch on with an expression that is lacking any detectible emotion. But then...oh no. Here it comes his way! His flattened ears lift as he's spotted, then fold back again as she starts walking towards him. He remembers her. She was the confusing one. Rather, the one that made him feel a confusing sort of way. The boy is easy. The boy he dislikes largely. But this one? Hm. "You don't have to come here. Go finish ... doin' what you were doin'."
"I know," Nonkene says. "But I'm done with that game now." She gives herself a shake, then plops her rump down in the snow. She's quiet for a moment, watching Ahiga, then tilts her head. "My mama doesn't like winter, but I think it's neat. What about you? Do you like winter?"
Ahiga watches one like one would watch a hornet's nest. Wary. Not quite sure just what's going to come out of it. Though knowing, no matter what, it's a dangerous thing. He contemplates her question with faintly raised brows that gently lower. "..I used to," he replies with a glance up to the snowy sky, nose wrinkling after. "Not so much anymore." He flicks an ear as golden eyes return to the pup. "What's your name?" He really doesn't know or remember. Coming back to the Ute wasn't a planned thing, and he hadn't bothered spending time with the half breeds. Not that he wanted to then. Or now, for that matter.
Who knew one undersized halfbreed could be so dangerous? Nonkene keeps her head tilted as she listens to Ahiga's answer, and frowns a little as she too peers up at the sky. "Oh," she says, and frowns a moment longer before smiling again as she's asked a question. "Nonkene," she answers. "Mama says it means deer, but that's silly. I'm a wolf, not a deer!"
That's right. Nonkene. Ahiga vaguely remembers that and nods as if he did this whole time. "Right. Nonkene..." he echoes, ears flicking forward a little as he repeats the name. "You're right about one thing. You're not a deer. S'a stupid name for someone that's not a deer. Your mother..." He stops himself there, feeling acid on his tongue. Whatever he has to say about Wachiwa is nothing close to kind. Not at all. And a look to the pup's eyes has him holding his tongue. At least in that regard. "Did your mother tell you that you're a wolf?"
Nonkene nods her agreement, then smiles as Ahiga calls her right. The smile fades a little, and she tilts her head to the side as he continues. Her mother, indeed - but those young eyes keep certain things being said, for now. Certain other things, though... Nonkene shrugs. "I asked mama about my father. She said he was a dog. He's dead now." Her tone is matter-of-fact as only a child's can be. "Mama's a wolf."
"Should've been dead a long time ago," replies Ahiga. Is it weird to be talking about death to a pup? Probably. But this pup isn't a normal pup. Not really. Not at all. This pup shouldn't even be here. But that point is moot. She's here. And so is that snotty brother of hers. "Your dad was a dog, right. I wasn't here, but I know the dogs came back. You saw what dogs do, didn't you?" he asks with a vague tilt of his head. "The dogs came back to kill you. To kill this pack. Do you understand that?"
"I saw," says Nonkene. Pup or not, she doesn't seem to be upset by this conversation. Perhaps the fact that she did see has something to do with that. She was there when the dogs attacked the second time, and she saw them killed. What does it do to a child to see that? What has it done to Nonkene, or to her brother? Nature or nurture, either way, there's reason to wonder about these wolfdogs. "They were bad. Kurux wants to be a dog, but that's stupid." She stands up, and gives herself a shake. "I'm not a dog. I guess I'm not a wolf either, but mama's a wolf, and Kuna's a wolf, and Olathe and Haiza are wolves, so I'd rather be a wolf than a dog."
Heh, Kurux wants to be a dog? Ahiga snorts as his eyes are given an exaggerated roll. "Of course he does. And he'll make a perfect dog." He shifts now, sliding down to lay onto his stomach with a forepaw gently curling towards his chest. "You're not a wolf. I guess you're not a dog. I don't know what you are," he admits. "I don't know if you will be like them or if you will be like us... Or if you will be something different and new. There's a lot of things I don't know, and I guess that's what I don't like about you." He pauses, watching her consideringly. "I don't know what that says about me. Not liking someone like you when you're just a pup. Do you think that makes me bad?"
Nonkene pauses in her shake, with her fur still all askew, and listens with serious puppy face to Ahiga. The statement that he doesn't like her doesn't seem to startle the youngster. Kids are sometimes more observant than adults like to give them credit for, after all. Nonkene considers for a long moment. "I don't think you're bad," she says. "I think you're scared," she says, and sits herself down again. "I'm scared sometimes, but I'm not scared of you." And there's a smile, and... yep... the puppy eyes.
Scared? Ahiga snorts at the word and gives his eyes a roll, shifting his gaze away from her after. "I'm not scared..." It's the usual male answer to that sort of comment. At least, males like Ahiga. Males who think of fear as a weakness or fault. Is he scared? Terrified is more like it. Terrified of things he wouldn't discuss with a pup, for although talking about death and murder is apparently acceptable, his own fears are not. His eyes flit back to hers after a moment, and he's met with .... oh no. Not those. Puppy eyes?!? Sigh. He can feel his resolve of hating her 'just because' already beginning to melt. "Meh. Whatever. If you need to be scared of me I'll make sure you are." Apparently, right now is not one of those times! "You been hunting yet?"
A fear more terrible than murderdeath! Nonkene doesn't try to argue, just shrugging and smiling a little, with a wiggle of that curly tail of hers. And what's this? He'll frighten her as-needed? "Okay," she says with a giggle. Definitely not scared right now. This isn't going to do anything for Ahiga's tough and terrible reputation, it really isn't. She tilts her head at the question, then shakes it. "Mama can't hunt, and Kuna's always busy."
Sigh. Yes, his tough and terrible reputation is going down, down, down the drain now isn't it? At least talking to her is keeping his mind off other thingsthat can't really be helped anymore. Maybe that's all he needs to do. Keep himself busy. "By my first winter, I was already hunting," he says in a matter of fact way. Who cares if the things he was hunting were mostly things in his imagination, other than the occasional half frozen morsel that Asku would bring for them to practice on. "I'll teach you how. Everybody in this pack has to do something to show they're worth something. You'll hunt. No more free rides." He lays his head on his paws. "Ok?"
"Okay," agrees Nonkene, with a smile and a wag of her tail. "I'll learn how to hunt, and then I can bring everyone food." She stands up, and spins around in place once, then laughs. "Even deer! And then when I bring it back, it'll be the deer's deer! Nonkene Nene!" She laughs, because apparently, this is a joke and also funny, then drops her forequarters and then hindquarters, one after the other. Thud thud, and she's lying on the snow. "Hey Ahiga?" she asks after a moment, and her laugh's gone now. "What's wrong with Tala?"
Ahiga lifts his ears at her cheer. Such a joyful little thing, isn't she? "At least then your name would make more sense.." he's willing to try. Willing to try to go along with her and not be such a gloomy cloud. "If nothing else, that's reason enough to get you started. Winter's not the best time to start, but it's better than waiting for spring. By then, you'll be older and just as useless." See? He's giving her a skill and a purpose! And then there's the question of Tala, and the silver lining is shrouded again. His expression both darkens and saddens at the same time, and he glances in the direction of the bush that the injured female had hidden herself in earlier. "A dog hurt her," he answers simply. "A dog hurt her ... very badly."
Life can't all be bright cheerful moments, for all Nonkene giggles as Ahiga joins in. She even grins as he calls her useless! Good joke, Ahiga! But, well, sometimes the world needs dark truth to go with the brightness. Nonkene nods to Ahiga's explanation, watching his face as he gives it more than Tala's hiding spot. She's already seen the female wolf, after all. She hasn't seen Ahiga's reaction as much. He's rather kept himself apart, after all... and she's still a pup. There's a lot she doesn't know. That's why she asks questions. Hard questions, sometimes. Questions like, "Why?"
The hardest question of all. Why? It's a question Ahiga has asked himself since that fateful day. Why? Why did he leave her that day? Why didn't he have more sense than to leave her unattended? Unprotected? Why couldn't .. didn't he keep this from happening? His ears slowly begin to fold back as the questions that he has burdened himself with begin to press down with renewed force. A weight that he just can't seem to shake for more than a few moments at a time. "Because.." he begins, but his words truncate there for a while, letting that 'because' hang heavily in the frosted air. A frigid breath is exhaled in near silence, and the wolf soon pushes himself up onto his paws to stand. "Because I didn't do my job," he answers, voice quiet. "Stay here, Nonkene. I have to patrol." To walk. To run from his thoughts that always catch back up with him.
Nonkene is silent, listening. Waiting for the answer. For the because that goes with her why - for Ahiga's an adult, and the adults always have the answers, even if sometimes they aren't willing to share them with pups. Her head lifts as he rises, following him with her eyes, and her ears perk to attention. She tilts her head - another question, doubtless, bubbling up to the surface - but then he continues, and she nods. "Okay. And after, you can show me how to hunt." She wags her tail briefly, stirring the snow. Ahiga may run away, but puppy eyes expect him to come back again.
"Yeah ... I will." And he even means it, too. He will come back. And he will continue to come back, if not only for Tala's sake, for now. And likely, eventually, for the sake of others as well. To keep his promise to teach a youngster to hunt. For now, he nods to her, though managing a smile is more than one could ask of him. And so it's without one that he turns, heading off to the surrounding trees, bare as they are, leaving behind only pawprints that show that he was here.