Mother was gone again, and the tiny creek pup's taste for adventure was insatiable. Every day his pudgy legs worked a little bit better, and crawling was a thing of the past. Jumping, cajoling, skipping, and galloping were now all apart of the boy's skill set, though he tumbled more often than not. Yet, the taste of dirt could not dissuade Valtýr. He knew no fear or danger - the world was his oyster.
Waking in the dewy hours after dawn, the boy nudged his sisters playfully, trying to rose them before a shiny beetle caught his eye. Attention distracted, Valtýr marched after the busy bug, slapping the ground with his broad paw as he made his way to the mouth of the den.
Out of the abilities listed, none was Maera's favorite. While she enjoyed jumping more than skipping,and skipping more than walking the red babe's favorite pastime was to nap. That was exactly what she had been doing when something poked her side.
With a groan, the little girl flicked her tail and buried her nose between her paws. But as hard as she tried to just close her eyes and ignore her brother, his careless footsteps woke her again. So she turned with a muffled whine stuck in her throat, a call for mommy who strangely wasn't there.
Her eyes fell upon Valtýr now, as he waddled to the exit. With every step he took, the girl's mouth gaped wider. Where was he going? Where was mommy? There were too many questions unanswered.
Too many for her comfort. Fueled by her curiosity, the lazy Sveijarn got to her paws and followed her older brother.
![[Image: girl_gang.png]](https://image.ibb.co/b82KNa/girl_gang.png)
The beetle's iridescent shell was so shiny, so entrancing; a brightly colored jewel among the earthen hues of their home. A curious sparkle in Valtýr's indigo eyes traced the insect's path carefully as he tried to seize the creature between his knobby paws, but each time it evaded capture. It did not deter the tireless pup, however; but the sound of stirring inside the den temporarily ceased his adventure.
He turned to see his smallest sister awakening, rising to her feet with a rather incredulous expression plastered on her fire-red face. Valtýr could barely contain himself, wanting to share with Maera the new treasure he had found. "Laa!," he called to her, dancing around the bug, looking back and forth from his sister to the beetle. But when one paw landed too close, the beetle's wings opened and it took to the air with a violent BUZZZZ.
"BWAA!" Valtýr shrieked as he toppled over backwards, completely startled by the noise the bug had made.
When the Sveijarn self-proclaimed queen --Jokull-- wasn't around Maera liked to think she was in charge. She hadn't engaged in many squabbles, not like Jokull who since she was in the womb was already a warrior. Aside from the occasional growl to Larus when he didn't stay still --as a pillow should-- Maera was not the fighting type, though she had proved her patience had a limit, even with Jokull.
"Mmm" she yelled back with her ears perked and her tail swaying behind her, Maera approached her older brother with her eyes wide as plates searching in the ground the thing that had him mesmerized. Yet she did not get the chance to see the critter, as soon as she stepped in front of him the bug spread its wings and like a rocket took off into the air.
It wasn't the beetle's sudden blast-off what scared the little redhead but her brother's shriek. She hadn't even spotted the thing when she came along. Backing up a couple of steps and falling on her rump Maera flattened her ears on her skull. "Whaa!" she demanded, shifting to every single spot on the den.
It was then when she saw it. A glimmering rock different from the ones scattered around the den's floor. And it moved! Maera watched in awe as the tiny gem crawled away. Oh no it wasn't going anywhere! After rousing Valtýr with her nose she staggered forward her eyes set on the creepy crawler than lurked around their house.
Valtyr's little heart thrummed as he recovered from the shock, his sister arriving swiftly at his side with little nudges of encouragement. His quick breaths were shallow whispering "wha?!" as he tried to make sense of what just happened. The agitated beetle buzzed around the air before landing a few feet away, hoping he had taught those pesky pups a lesson.
But Maera's curiosity was piqued when she caught sight of the insect's rainbow shell. Bolder than her brother, she approached with vim, and Valtyr at her flank. Emboldened, but passive, he started to hop - all the while making little grrr noises with his chest puffed up for show; yet never did he go beyond his sisters lead. Rrrrrwoof! he barked and bayed as if to say yeah sis! get 'em! to egg her on, wanting so badly to make the beetle theirs.
Mr.Beetle continued to crawl on the dusty flooring of the Sveijarn's home, unsuspecting of the ambitious eyes that rested on him. The thirdborn tried to walk silently, her paws falling lightly upon the ground; but Valtyr's ruffs and woofs made it impossible for them to use the element of surprise.
As they got closer, Maera felt a bit jittery, what if the thing was bad? Her instinct told her to be cautious, thankfully his older bro was by her side. Her little meatball of a nose hovered over the beetle, who continued to creep away. Seeing no bad reaction from the beetle the red girl decided to take a closer look.
"Va", she called to her brother, wanting to have reassure he'd have her back if things turned sour. After sharing a last and dramatic glance with her brother she turned her head back to the tiny gemstone that lulled her like a bee to honey, and ever so heroically stretched her neck to poke the iridescent shell with the tip of her nose.
What she intended to be only a nudge ended up turning over the poor critter. The beetle probably as scared as the little girl who had pushed him over, flailed hit spindly legs until one brushed against the fuzzy fur on Maera's snout, who was still sniffing at him. He clinged to her for dear life, but when she realized the thing was now on her she freaked. She shook her oversized head from side to side with fear climbing up her legs as she realized the bug wouldn't fall off!
"VAAAAAA-AAAAH", she cried while trying to push it off with a jab of her paw.
![[Image: tumblr_n1l3vzQoEL1sn19dmo1_400.gif]](http://33.media.tumblr.com/5f46577a52985a45980962a2d99e5ece/tumblr_n1l3vzQoEL1sn19dmo1_400.gif)
Maera stalked their prey with as much still as a month-old puppy could muster, far outmaneuvering her rambunctious brother who jumped to-and-fro behind the fiery redhead. Though he fancied his growls quite thunderous, the littles rrrrrrrrr were quite unimpressive the stalwart beetle, who remained stuck to the ground despite the two youngsters.
Va, Maera whispered, transfixed on her quarry. His sister's summons kept him alert, and he mosied to her side with faux-confidence and a nervous swagger. His neck outstretched to sniff Maera's whither nervously as she booped the beetle's shell with the blunt of her muzzle. Valtýr's tail stood erect in the air, quivering with excitement, until his sister shrieked - the poor beetle clinging to her face. 'VAAAAAA-AAAAH!!' she hollared, shaking wildly to remove it. Valtýr had no idea what was going on, and he screamed... because his sister screamed. "MMMMAAAAEEEEEEEEEE," he howled, tumbling backward in a fit of bewilderment, all four jacinthe-colored paws waving in the air.
Suddenly, the beetle's shiny shell caught the light and he finally realized it was velcroed to Maera's face. "Mae Mae!" he screeched as he jumped to her aid, puffed up like a bold kitten. His broad paws slapped her, unabated, in the face in an attempt to remove the insect... because, clearly, it was some foul and evil beast... and he was a shining knight who needed to rescue the damsel in distress.
Clearly.
![[Image: 1276852744_puppy-vs-bug.gif]](http://gifs.gifbin.com/062010/1276852744_puppy-vs-bug.gif)
Though the beetle was roughly the size of her eye, to Maera it felt like it was eating her face. The faint feeling of it's legs on her snout was enough to make her lose it. She trashed her head from side to side, making herself dizzy in the process. While she had been eager to touch it she was not comfortable being so up and personal with Mr.beetle. Another agonizing cry left from her mouth. She could hear Valtýr screaming too, but why wasn't he helping!
Desperate beyond limits the fiery girl dragged her face on the ground. Her snout was left completely covered with dust, some of which entered through her nosetrils as she inhaled. Perfect. Now, as if being scared to death wasn't enough her nose was itching terribly. Lifting her snout from the ground Maera sneezed as loud as a pup her size possibly could, sending a mix of dust and snot flying through the air. Little did she now the beetle had been catapulted from her nose too.
Her soft pink tongue lashed over her nose, which she now realized was clear of beetles! Hurra! , she thought while turning just in time to see Valtýr lunging at her. She couldn't stop her brother in time, the first blow landed squarely on her nose, his paw squashing her nose like a doorbell.
Ring, riiiiing, riiing. No answer.
RIIIING! Finally the girl managed to jerk her face away from his flying punches. "Vaa noo" she barked while taking another step back for good measure. His intention had been good, as well as his aim. Ouch.
He shuffled along the ground, dirt covering his nose, as he hunted for the beetle. A sun ray highlighted its shiny shell at the cusp of the burrow and - without waiting for Maera's backup - Valtýr charged like a kamikaze straight for it. "RAHHHHH!!!" he hollered, squeaking as he became a fuzzy blitzkrieg... an uncultured barbarian with a thirst for vengeance. "BEEEEEE," he shrieked as he gave a final hop with surprising agility, both paws landing square on the bug. Squish.
Uh oh.
The concept of destruction and death was new to Valtýr, who had never seen a living, breathing creature turn into pieces. He still drank milk, and sometimes ate the meat the adults retched for him... but never had he made the connection that the dead bird he often played with had once been alive. He paused, breathing a bit heavy, and lifted one paw to reveal the insect's juicy innards smeared along his pads. What... what had he done? Instantly, streams of crocodile tears ran down his sooty face and he sobbed.
She sniffled and twitched her nose just to make sure it still worked. Breathe in. Breathe out. Yes it was fine, it'd stay sore for a while but it'd survive, just like her. The whole thing had been frightening but once it was over she felt her heart's pace slow back down. She shot a crooked smile to her dear sibling he had been her hero, even if he had beat her up in the process of the rescue. But he didn't want to celebrate she had survive the horrible ordeal. No, he had already turned around, searching frantically for the girl's attacker.
Honestly Maera didn't want anything to do with the creeping jewel anymore. As long as it didn't touch her again she was content with leaving it alone. Val didn't agreed with that though, he had already begun an exhaustive hunt for the attacker. Maera knew she could not leave him to battle the monster alone, as icky as she thought the bug was she owed it to Val to guard his back.
Quickly she bounded to his side, arriving as he dived for revenge. With her heart's rythym beginning to pick up again, she flattened her ears and pulled away her nose just in case the beetle tried to go for a second round. Then it all happened. It was too fast for her taste. One second Valtyr was lunging for the shiny creature --that despite being a vicious attacker still was beautiful-- and the next second the pretty jewel was replaced by a piece of goo. Maera frowned as she inspected the mush stuck to her brother's foot.
Sadly there would be no survival-party celebrations. "BLEEH", she cried with disgust as she eyes Val for his reaction.
Slowly he waddled over to her, one front paw outstretched to show Maera exactly what he had done.
A piece of the beetle's antenna twitched between its guts.
Huge, copper eyes welled with waterworks, snot dribbling from his nose. "MAEEEEE, maeeeee.... I-.... I--.....da beeee! I din...." he choked between gasps, hoping his sister would console him despite his slimy foot.
Tears were not what she had expected. Though what would she know she wasn't the one with gooey entrails smeared across her paw. Yes, she had been victim of a brutal attack but she had gotten out of it with a little shake of her head. But Valtyr, he could not rid himself of the sticky substance by just shaking his paw.
Unsure of what to make of her brother's cry and pleads she twitched her nose with dislike. His slurred words earned no effect from the fire-born girl, she barely understood adults so her weepings brother's sentence was lost-- just like the beetle's beauty.
He came to her, exposing to her the --almost-- lifeless body that was stuck to his foot. She looked at his toes as if they were a murder scene --because they were-- and felt a little piece of her breakfast slide up her throat again. Still the sight of her borther spilling tears over the gooey corpse was enough too move her towards her bro.
Between the repulsion she felt crawling in her belly, she forced herself to nibble soflty at Valtyr's cheeks. Baths had never been an option in Maera's mind, though in this case the rules could bend a little...ew
Despite the bile yellow innards strewn against Valtýr's blazing paw, Maera found it within herself to overcome disgust and soothe her brother. He hiccuped a quiet sob as little lungs heaved with melodrama, eyes now painfully dry after they had spilled all the tears they could. "MmmMae-Mae," he said in an unsteady and hushed voice; especially broken by the sinister act he had just accidentally committed. Little sisters were the best... often bolder and far wiser than he; they seemed to think before acting while Valtýr was driven by impulse alone. Tiny nibbles helped the infant find solace, and he gave his sibling a weak smile as he wiped the bug's remains in the dirt. Maera was the best sister a brother could ask for.
The damage had been done now, no matter how much he cried or how strongly they wished to undo the tragic event the beetle would never shine with the same light. Though it still glimmered in Valtyr's paw it was mostly due to the scattered guts and juices that had been squashed out of the shell.
Maera didn't say anything else, simply because she feared that when she opened her mouth nothing but slimy goo that resembled the one smeared on her brother's paw would slide from her lips. She did, however, prod her brother's shoulder with her little nose.
Justice was cruel. The bug had attacked her, and while Valtyr had simply tried to stand up for her he had ended up taking the bug's life. He was probably not the best hero, but he was the greatest gladiator. Did you see how he just lunged at the shiny jewel --like no fear? wow.