for @Xan, let me know if you want this AW or private or joining or ?!?!?!
she continued following him long after the otter had been devoured. she had intended on sticking around with him whether he wanted her company or not, until he got sick of her and chased her away, but lucky for her it seemed as if she was not unwelcome. at least not yet.
with her, she carried the largest bone she could take from the creature she had no name for, and every time they paused she had stopped to gnaw at it, working away the marrow inside.
she knew he was leading her somewhere. she did not know where but his path seemed deliberately cut, and the further they traveled the more the land smelled like him.
home? maybe not for her, she didn't have a concept of the word home (at least not yet), but she at least recognized it as the place-he-came-from, the place we return to.
and with that realization, excitement bubbled up in her and she wagged, doing jack-knife circles around the trees in an affectionate gesture known as the zoomies, darting in and out of the nearby trees before stopping next to the still-stranger, whimpering happily and wagging back and forth.
Joining is fine! ^^ And omg, her zoomies!!
The journey home was longer than the one to the creek, filled with stops and breaks to let the girl rest. Each and every time he had watched her, curious to see if she might wander away from him, but she never had—even after the otter was long gone she’d remained there with him, easily being steered in the direction of his home. Occasionally, he thought to himself and wondered why he was bringing her along, only to find the answer a simple one each time: she was easy to work with. Hunting and travelling with her weren’t too stressful or irritating of things, it just felt normal—hell, if he were familiar with the concept of friends, he might have considered her one right away. But he was not, too closed off to emotions to consider befriending anyone, and so the obvious remained unrecognised, at least by him.
When they finally reached the valley and he’d led her inside, something got into her. All of a sudden, she took off like a bat out of Hell, zipping around. He watched her with a furrowed brow, rightfully confused by her peculiar antics. And when she finally came to a stop, tail wagging, he stared at her in disbelief as if ask, what was that? He didn’t bother with waiting for an answer—he knew he’d never get one, no matter how long he waited—and instead shook his head before stealing a few steps closer to her. For a moment, all he did was stand there, before suddenly nipping gently at her cheek and then hopping a few steps away.
Although he’d already decided that she could stay with him and be a part of the pack, he was curious to learn more about her. She could hunt, she’d proved herself in that department, but what about fighting? Again, he darted towards her and mouthed at her muzzle, trying to engage her in a bit of puppy-like, play-fighting.
friendship was something alien to the feral woman; she'd had precious little contact with other individuals, lucky enough to understand body language lest she be entirely incapable of communication. but whatever was between them, this.. not wanting to leave, allowing herself to be led, she liked.
he seemed confused by her sudden burst of energy, and she so desperately wanted to express to him what she felt. good, happy! but maybe he understood it a bit because something seemed to click, as the large alabaster man initiates play.
it is a funny sight; he is twice her size and much more full than her angular, sculpted self. the second time he came close to her face, she bared her fangs in a mock-snarl, knocking him gently with her eye teeth.
then she darted out, doing more hairpin turns as she brushed herself against the trees — this is mine! my place! my trees! — before barreling towards his back, nipping at his hocks. she hoped she could confuse him, wear him out, because this was a game and she didn't like to lose, oh no.
The commotion quickly attracted another denizen of the valley. Not the bear, luckily, but Sif. She popped out of the bushes she'd been napping in to see what was the matter, ears standing tall atop her head. Burgundy eyes zeroed in on Xan and the stranger soon enough, and seeing the joyful mood of the pair, the dark girl hopped out of her bedroom and immediately dropped into a playful bow, tail whipping back-and-forth in an excited but bemused manner.
Rheia had tried to teach her, but Sif was still not too sure about how this play stuff worked. But it looked like Xan was having fun with his new friend, and Sif wanted to be having fun as well.
Woof! she called to the others, pleading for them to come closer and include her. She wanted also to ask them to be patient, to not be angry if she didn't get this right, but the words would come to her - instead, she simply implored them with her eyes, a desperately friendly expression splashed across her young face.
She seemed to catch on to what was happening, though the attempt to play-fight quickly lost the fight part and focused solely on play. Xan had never played much, his youth filled with rebellion and fighting, rather than the joyful antics of a true childhood. What he was doing was entirely unusual and just plain weird, but he didn’t stop. He kept at it, head whipping around to watch her, followed closely by his body when she started nipping at him. He took off towards her, romping around and smacking his forepaws against the ground.
When he took off towards her again, he slowed to a stop with his ears perked, swiveling in the direction of the commotion nearby. Out popped Sif, who called to them shortly after she appeared. Xan stood still, briefly, looking between the two of them—but it didn’t take long before he was leading Reigi towards the other girl, tail wagging all the while. And as he reached the newest addition to their game, he repeated what he’d done to the mute, lurching towards and nipping at her cheek.
Alexander didn’t know how to play, not really, and especially not with two others. But he would try, bouncing back and forth between them, woofing and nipping and being mouthy overall. And when that started to seem dull, he prodded the side of Sif’s neck with his nose and then took off, tail waving and encouraging her to chase me. Several barks were given to try and lure Reigi away from her, too, trying for a simple game of tag—or something similar enough that the three of them could manage.
reigi had grown up alone: first, there had been only mother, her siblings still bodies under the ground, and then there were none as soon as she might have been able to fend for herself.
it had led to a number of developmental issues. she'd never learn a primary language (though with time and patience, simple words or phrases were possible; just currently out of reach). she didn't know how to play, or form relationships. she knew how to fight, but that was about it and mostly out of necessity.
they were having fun together and then there was another, but instead of feeling annoyed by the intrusion as she would have outside of the valley, the smell and recognition of pack-mate (!!) causes her excitement to double over again.
the brown woman arches into a desperate play bow and reigi returns the gesture as her tail arches over her back, vocalizing loudly. they bounced back and forth before xan bounded away and instinctively she follows close on his trail. this was her favorite game. chase!! chase the thing!!
three children who didn't know how to play, but no matter what, she knew it felt right.
At Xan's invitation, Sif took off after the pair on her long, brown legs. Her head was thrown back in exhilaration as she tried to match her pace to the others. They were running, but she wasn't sure what else to do! There seemed to be some kind of game where they had to touch each other, which seemed risky to the banded girl. Usually, when she was running, the touch of others was met with teeth. But if they were all doing it, it would be okay to do it back, right?
The girl kept her tail tucked between her legs as she ran, hoping to broadcast that she was not hunting anyone at all, certainly not! She was playing, and she was definitely not trying to hurt anyone when she caught up to Xan's friend and rammed her nose into the other's hindquarters. Tickled and a bit concerned, Sif swung away at once and ran to try and shield her own body behind Xan's.
The game seemed well-received as they both ran in his direction, Reigi towards him and Sif hot on her trail. He watched with anticipation, muscles tensed and ready to take off if she turned off after him, instead, until contact was made. Shifting his weight back and forth was the closest he came to being still when the ruddy girl took cover behind him, leaving him exposed! Rather than running off immediately again, he dropped down into another play bow and stared forward almost daringly. Come on! his eyes all but screamed, come get me! And there he’d stay—
—until she got too close.
Just when Reigi would be close enough to get him, he’d take off in another direction, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. And in the process of doing so, he would realise that he’d left the other player exposed, taking away the shield that was his body.
if she could laugh, that beautiful sound would be ringing through the valley soft and hearty, eyes crinkled in a grin. but she couldn't so instead her tongue fell out of her thin, angled jaws and trailed behind her in the air, playful yips filling the air.
she had difficulty delegating her attention two different directions but did the best she could, teeth mock-snapping at sif as she rammed into reigi's hips and hid behind xan. and then he dipped at her, begging her to come forth so she did, but just as she drew close he ran from her so she turned her attention to the little brown girl once more. reigi dropped to the ground prone, revealing her soft tender underbelly, legs kicking out in the air as she pawed at sif's face.
this was fun!
She had not been simply cowering behind Xan, but observing her playmates as well. It was apparent that Xan's wife was launching another attack, but she'd not expect Xan - the treacherous knave! - to split away at the last second, leaving Sif open to attack. His wife was upon her before she could dart after him, and Sif wheeled back in alarm as the woman collapsed before her.
She wasn't sure about this sort of play, but Xan's wife still seemed keen, so she did her best to reciprocate, biting gently but firmly at wandering paws, and darting down to lip and nip at the woman's face as well.
Eventually, she realized she was being terribly rude, remaining upright while the game was going on there on the ground. The older woman clearly knew more about this than she did, so Sif flopped over as well, pushing her paws into the other's plush chest and craning her neck to continue jaw-wrestling, contented growls rumbling constantly from her throat.
Xan was forgotten almost entirely.
When he realised he couldn’t hear footfalls pursuing him, Alexander slowed to a stop and glanced over his shoulder, gaze falling onto the duo. For a moment, he felt annoyed by the fact that he’d been pushed out of the game, but the feeling was quick to evaporate and leave him just as content as before. As he proceeded forward, it seemed almost as if he might be leaving them altogether, only for him to loop around back towards them before he got very far.
The albino’s approach was slow, sides heaving as he panted. He never closed the distance between them, just got close enough to watch their interactions before plopping down on the ground; he was fine with leaving the two of them to carry on together, using the time to catch his breath and rest.
ready to wrap this one up whenever y'all are!
she noticed the alpha's departure from their play but did not mind it; it was much easier for her to remain focused on one play-partner than two.
she would continue her wrestling-and-chasing antics until she became tired, chest heaving in and out as she drooled fantastically, and eventually flopped down next to her other friend on the ground.
good job, guys. we're great at this.