Post by Althaea on May 6, 2013 14:27:55 GMT -5
Strife, female Wolf Pup
Hassler, male Wolf Pup
Underground Den
Not too far below ground, a small but comfortable den has been hollowed out. The place itself is old; the original owner unknown and long since gone. A few tangled roots can be seen weaving across the walls, but for the most part the place has been smoothed down by years of brushing by paws and fur. Old smells linger underground -- the remaining scent trails of a number of wolves, likely from a pack that has since passed on.
Mother asleep and father out hunting, or at least that's whats thought, what an opportune moment to do what runs through every pups head- cause trouble. Course it wouldn't be an extreme case of trouble, just enough to send their mother into a loop when she wakes. The dirt walls a barrier to the outside and the entrance just a jump-skip-hope away but how to get there without getting caught. Simple in Strife's mind, just walk. Now how does one do that again? Bracing herself against the unruly form of her brother and a soft pile of foliage, the young pup pulls her legs beneath her and pushes upward. Tadah! Step one complete. Giving her brother a very childish smirk, she steps right on and over him on purpose. Stumbles of course over his over sized body, she grrs. "You did that on purpose." Even though he likely didn't. Getting back up she focus her next task on making it to that exit.
Gone are the days of grunting and crawling blindly around on his belly, when discontent could be appeased with a nuzzle from mom or better yet, a comforting hour of suckling. No, those times have been replaced with a insatiable curiosity for the world and a quick development of his mind. Bored now with his surroundings, the aptly named child has explored near every corner of the den, chewed on every twig, leaf, and root, and harassed each and every occupant that dare steps into the dim light of his underground domain! The latter is about the only thing he still enjoys, but its becoming more of a challenge these days. His parents have become more evasive when in reach of his teeth and his sister..well...she's getting good at giving it right back. "Umph! Ugh." Grunt. He had been trying to sleep, since there wasn't much else to do, but now that he's been so rudely disturbed, the white pup raises his big head to venture a little snarl at her, "Can't you walk right?". Afterwards he sneers a brotherly sneer, clamoring to his own over-sized paws where he teeters for a precarious moment, then toddles towards her with obvious ill intent. Well, if ear chewing accounts as a evil deed.
Strife coily smirks at her brothers remark. Yes, she can walk just fine, but wheres the fun in that. Paws carrying her closer to the world outside, she tries to inch her way past their sleeping mother but such attempts are more than easily if not so rudely interrupted by Hasslers ill noted chewing. Ears splayed, the best they can be with one held captive, her head turns to meet her brothers nipping at he hairs there. Take that you evil doer! Raising a paw to try and subdue her attacker, balance is lost and she's sent face first to the ground, or at least that's what would have happened had she not reached and attempted to bring her pale coated sibling down with her.
Hassler didn't earn his name by default. Even at a very young age his tenacity to annoy those around him -more often than not with the application of his teeth- is what ultimately gained the boy his alias. And while Brutal, in moments of disgruntled irritation, had a few other names in mind for the unruly cub, Hassler was the only name that any mother could sensibly approve of. Strife, on the other paw, earned her name outright and from the very beginning. And just like the strength that no doubt was was found out by her mother in the struggle of her birth and the toil through a hard winter in the battle to see to her survival by her father, Strife too has come to embody the very essence of her name; not that either puppy retains even the remotest concept of this, for it is all lost in the wake of youthful frivolity. Told by the very snarls and growls that rise up between the two now, with Hassler clinging to his sister's ear like it were a thing to be scorned and rid of, while he himself gets toppled by a stout blow of his sibling's giant paw. Down they both go, with Hassler snarling all the more in his tenacity to keep his prize. Its all fun and games of course, though if he keeps this habit of such violent ear molesting, it will be a wonder if either of Strife's appendages managed to upright themselves with age.
Strife would likely lose her ears before anything less happened to them. A wolf with no ears is a thing of shame of course but better than ones that flop. And so to prevent a life of humiliation, she does what any sister does bests and defends herself. Tail whipping out behind her, hitting the ground with a force that kicks up dirt from the den floor, she yips in dispute trying to turn herself about and give her hassle of a brother a well deserved bat to the face. Anything to dislodge him and bring this strife to an end.
YIPE! A sharp yelp escapes the tiny muzzle of the pup when he's waylaid by a hurtful smash of his sister's paw to his face, in turn, so too does Strife's ear find freedom. With no more reason to struggle with his sibling, Hassler reigns in his whimper to instead just growl his complaint, shoving at her dominant position above him with with his own large puppy paws, indignant in his defeat, "Eff. Git off me, sis..". But the hurt pride of the youthful mends quickly and in only a matter of seconds does Hassler forgive his sibling her trespass, twisting around beneath her and seemingly oblivious to the fact she's practically laying on him. "Hey..wanna go..up there?" His question is poised with a tone of dare, bright blue eyes cast up toward the wall of white. The great and mysterious portal for which Hassler has witnessed both adults coming and going through, but which seems forbidden from himself and his other siblings, as enforced by mom's reprimanding nips and puppy-bowling paws.
Relief finds Strife when the tension of her ear is found no more to be pulling her a direction she'd rather not go. A chance to act more freely now, laying her ears flat against her head for further protection , she motions to do a standing pounce but the whimper sends mixed signals and puts the black pup to a halt. A quick tilt of her head brings smile, lifting herself from his defeated frame. Its then that she turns to the exit once more, reminded of the whole reason she had gotten up to start. "I waassss." She says as it was her plan the whole time. "No attacking this time, kay?" She looks down to him with squinted eyes, meaning it this time.
Well, how was he suppose to know! Pfft! Girls are silly! With renewed deviations of another kind, the sort that doesn't involve heckling his older sister, Hassler comes to mirror something of her smile. Though upon his face, that particular expression just ends up looking like trouble. "Why didn't ya say so?" he protest as he twist beneath her in the effort to upright himself, shouldering her off of him with a lip curling grin. However, the sincerity of her question draws his attention, requiring him to consider the terms of her proposed agreement. Deciding the promise of adventure outweighs the usual pleasure of an assault, Hassler grins toothily up at his sister , "'kay." At least not until they get outside, right?
Strife didn't think she had to say anything, but apparently doing something and saying something are two different things when it comes to her brother. Still she says nothing to to appease the question, leaving it unanswered since he wouldn't of matter one lick to him anyway. Shuffling herself to a stable stance, nearly falling once more as she's shouldered, she waits just long enough for Hassler to gain his barrings before stepping it around their mother, as quietly as a clumsy big-paws pup can, and closer to the source of light outside.
The question was indeed rhetoric, though not that Hassler would have recognized this. And not that he would have opposed a reply, but much in the same manner that Strife dismisses a proper answer, so too does her brother seem content to move on without on. Besides, there are more important matters at hand; such as sneaking past mother, whom Hassler chooses to carefully skirt around, rather than take the same bold approach as his sister and risk stumbling over one of mom's giant legs. It takes him a bit longer to gain the distance that Strife achieves in a few steps, but it isn't long before the alabaster colored pup is lumbering up close to her, his blue eyes turned upon the wall of light, which has already begun to loose some of it's brightness as the world beyond dims in shadow and dusk. And while something in his guts churns and bids him to be cautious, if not fearful, Hassler isn't about to let his sister know he's feeling a bit scared about this whole idea. And so, being the brave coward that he is, he puts the pressure on his sibling instead. "You first. Since it's your idea."
Strife's rather straight on approach of the white wall is one she isn't afraid to take, finding if their mother were to catch them she would have during the scuffle. Since she did not, she continues on her way till her brother brings pause and she stops to look at him. He wants her to go first.. what a coward. Weren't boys supposed to be all brave and stuff, go in front of the girls to make sure there's nothing mean and ugly out there. A silent chuckles marks her face in smile and the shake of her head. Head held high her demonour is one that says, 'don't mind if I do', passing ahead of her brother to the unknown beyond the fading white wall.
One would think that they're in the clear, wouldn't they? But mothers seem to have that uncanny knack to sleep through the utmost, ungodly of noises. That is, until it is the lack of noise that awakes them in alarm. Thus so, this point of observation has not escaped the deviant and calculating Hassler, who after giving a exploratory glance over his shoulder toward good old fun-killing mum, he smirks at his sister and throttles a growl in his throat, just for the sake of this little running experiment. And what? He's brave! He's just smart enough to know its better her than him, right? Not that he wouldn't give his best impression of an angry, rabid badger if trouble should seriously befall them. With as much cruelty as he exerts in the tormenting of her, Hassler would equally demonstrate upon his enemy should Strife come to face such real harm. As it stand now, the ridiculously large pup just lets her blaze the way, ambling along with his large head near her flank, poising another question that this time, does require her thoughts. "Whatcha think is out there?"
Strife has found their mother to be rather quite resilient, in fact she doesn't even blame her if she sleeps right through all the commotion that are her children. Althaea's got every right in the world to sleep after having given birth to two monstrous pups, not to mention one as lazy as their sister. If she does wake up though, she'd just as easily blame it on her brother, pinning the idea on him. Taking a few steps forward now once they've settled that girls are way braver than boys, not that it mattered. They both had each others back.. right? Regardless of the fact, she takes yet another few steps forward and stops. What did she think was out there.. in truth she had on idea. But to guess she's say'd say some big ol' monster. "Dad wasn't wif mommy, so maybe him." He was in a way a monster of sorts. Big and scary.
Hassler is indeed swimming in a pool of estrogen! He'd point this misery out if he had the knowledge to do so, but instead, the poor out-numbered male will just have endure the punishment until he learns better. For now, escaping the girly emotional hell for which he's been cast is the furthest from his mind, with his interest focused more upon the imaginary monsters that must lurk in the unknown beyond- the type that in this moment, is suggested by Strife. Daddy is scary! Through experience, what knowledge Hassler has gleaned about his father came through rough nuzzles and over zealous swats from dark massive paws, which protruded from a equally hulking form of darkness and a face of gleaning. yellow eyes. Big and scary, indeed. So now, when his sister ventures such a remark, Hassler pauses in his own eagerness to see the beyond, his white brows suddenly coming to together in a puzzling look that he bestows to his sibling, clearly seeking her guidance. "But if he's out there..why do we want go again?"
Did he forget already? Strife head shakes at how pathetic her brother is. "You want to stay in here forever." She spouts, turning around and giving her brother one of those looks. Who cares of daddy was out there, as big and scary as he was. He would harm them. Besides she's just as tried as he was about being stuck inside with the same old boring stuff. "We wont go far." she says turning back to the outside. "We stay were mamma can see us and if any ting scary comes we run back in." A big grin appears on her face. "Not scared are you."
Hassler hasn't forgotten, he's just a bit unsure. So, willing to sacrifice his older sister, the male pulls a face when she calls him out, "No.". With his courage bolstered by her provoking, he resolves his courage and snorts defiantly, even taking a bold step forward now that a backup plan has been introduced. Accusation is met with a indignant curl of his lip, "As if!" he proclaims in a lie, bumping a shoulder into her and pressing close, both egging her on and seeking refuge in the same motion. It's a lie of course. Not that Hassler is truly a coward by nature, but he is apprehensive, though he, himself, would mistake this self-perseverance of instinct as a moment of weakness.
Strife doesn't believe him one bit, but she doesn't say so. "Then lets gooo." Paws planted to the ground she waits.. for what? Well her brother of course, to make his move. No way was she going to go out there alone, not with their father lurking about. If she was getting in trouble so was he. Holding firm against Hassler's shoulder bump, she presses back taking a step forward to promote further advancement into his own.
The voiced encouragement is only enough to send the boy stalking a few steps forward, craning his neck out as if seeking to touch the wall of fading light with the tip of his nose. Though when nothing tangible is felt and only raw earth is scented, he blinks a few times and straitens up, squaring his shoulders and looking at this portal with renewed curiosity, but equally enforced apprehension. If Strife wasn't going to go out there alone, well, neither was he! It has become a sibling stalemate, it would seem. Parents one and children zero, with the award being announced in the suddenly decisive and stalwart proclamation of the pup, as he reneges in his former backing. "I'm not going out there, first!" Call him a coward if she'd like, Hassler promptly retreats back to the warmth of his mother, already feeling the cold of spring creeping in on his little body in her absence.
That moment Strife is left there alone. How could he just leave here like that.. what if something came up from behind just that second and ate her? He'd feel bad. Or maybe not. Its only after a few moments that she truly realizes that she is alone so close to the outside and she looks a tad frightened. "Hass! Don't leave me." That said she scampers after him back into the den. She'd so get him next time but right now it was mommy-snugging time.
Hey, he may have left her facing the unknown, but her back was to the familiar! In here, in this warm and safe domain that has so far existed as the world they know, Hassler knew that there is nothing that could harm her. Well, save for the occasional frightful spider of creepy centipede that must be trampled into the dirt. But out there..well, that place was a place Hassler was not quite ready brave, regardless of his boasting. After all, what is a pup to do in the face of his massive father, leering down at him with so much expectancy? No no, mother's were much easier to appease and it is to her for which he seeks refuge, welcoming his older sister's return with a gleeful bark and playful toppling. Though this time, he abandons his ear nomming habits, settling for a few warm licks across Strife's own muzzle as he snuggles deep and comfortably into the heat of her long learned presence. His little maw cracks with a quivering yawn, almost all of a sudden, so it would seem to him. Smiling to his sibling, he squirms himself into a pocket between her fat belly and their mother, "Next time.." he promises, as if some prisoner procrastinating his own escape.
Strife reaches their mother in due regard of her warmth and protection. She knew of thing else, and that's the way it was going to be for time to come. Till she was able to leave the den without s much a fear to hold her back. About to settles within her mothers paws, her slow and steady drop is met in toppling fashion bringing her to the ground faster than she had hoped. Giggling, she returns the licks only to catch the contagiousness of his yawn. Curling up, she reaches in to pull her brother in close once he has squirmed himself in between her and mom. Next time..