Akela was finally back from his trip to Rising Sun Valley. He had brought back some interesting and vital information for Burke and Meldresi. However, for now, he would not bother him. He was out hunting deer, so Akela took the opportunity to rest. The nap had done him well, and now he was looking quite childish running after jumping frogs. They were really just a delicatessen, but he enjoyed them. Easy catch and it was crunchy under his teeth. He had just gotten one when he picked the scent of one of the pups. He turned his head, a frog leg still sticking out of his mouth and smiled.
"Hello Peridot" he greeted the little girl and swallowed the amphibian.
She's been wondering around more freely now. Perhaps mother was a bit more relaxed about letting her pups go free for a while. Chev seem to have things to do so she decided to just wonder about with no goal in mind.
It didn't take long to come across something and someone. She encountered some jumpy things and a wolf. It was Akela! and he seems to be doing great. He was chasing.. frogs right? Peridot wasn't used to seeing frogs but whenever she found one she would play with it for a while until she got bored and then would leave it alone. But what she just witnessed kinda shocked her. Akela was eating a frog! "Eeeww, Aky that's gross." She said as stuck her tongue out with mild disgust. The nickname Aky was just something she came up with on the spot. She liked giving short names, they seem easier to remember.
She looked around noticing that there are plently of frogs here and asked. "Are you going to eat alllll of them?" She looked at Akela like he was a weirdo. She couldn't believe someone would eat these jumping things. They were just too weird to eat.
The wolf chuckled. "And have you tasted one to say they are gross, little missy ? " he asked her , then nudged her playfully. "They are actually quite tasty, but no I will not eat them all, or your old Aky will not be able to move anymore , cause he will be soooooooooooooo big. " he replied and pointed at his belly. He liked that kid. She was brave, curious and like most puppies, just a ball of positive energy and innocence. He had noticed the nickname she gave him, but did not correct her, he liked it, and as a nickname giver himself, he really could not tell her to say his whole name. Even his friends did not do that. "Have you already tried to catch a frog ? Little Damsel "
She still couldn't imagine that frogs actually taste good. To say they were bad was just a guess, like just looking at them says that they aren't good to eat. Frogs aren't tasty! Yet Akela is eating them. What do they taste like? She wondered but her attention was on Akela for now. He said if he ate them all he'd get so big. She tilted her head as she looked at him while she imagined. She saw an image of him having a belly so large that none of his legs could touch the ground. Picturing his legs wiggling around just made her giggle. That would be funny.
Peridot has chased frogs before but never to eat them. "I do catch them but they are too gross to eat." She said with her head down a bit. She was kind of admitting she never eaten one before. She wasn't very motivated to try it.
A frog hopped in front of her distracting her. She couldn't help but jump at it to catch it. She missed and the frog continued but faster and jumped farther. Peridot was in hot pursuit. It took a few tries before she got lucky enough to hold it down with her paws before it could jumped again. "It's easy to catch them!" She said proudly enough though she had trouble.
Akela frowned at the little cub. She made him smile until it ached with that innocent behavior. The way she went after that frog to catch it with her little paws, it was too cute to go unnoticed. He nodded at her, not wanting to break her spirit. She was tenacious , it was a great quality to have for a wolf, may you be after warrior or gamekeeping. He looked down at her and made an impressed expression. "I see. " he spoke and licked his lips.
A pang of pain went through his heart as he realized that Peridot could have been his daughter, 2 years ago. Him sharing frog digusting ew conversation with a daughter he could have had. His eyes got more sad as he thought of this wasted chance, and of course, the vision of horror he had to live with came rather quick to his mind, he chased it away, not wanting to think about death now. He joined little Peridot and grabbed the frog from her, ripping a leg, he handed it to her. " Taste that. If you don't like it, you'll know that Aki is a very strange wolf"
Akela killed the frog and offered a leg piece to Peridot. She looked at it for a while hesitating in even putting it in her mouth. Frogs didn't look at all like things she usually eats. It was just too different that in her mind it was just set up as something that may taste bad. She stared at the leg for a couple moments. Then it suddenly twitched and that triggered the rejection. She whacked it away with her paw. "It moved!" She said in surprise. She never imagined that a leg could move on it's own.
It distracted her from eating but when she realised that she decided to change the subject so she could avoid this difficult task. "I got a better idea! I want to see you get a big big BIG belly. You'll have to eat them all." She said as she pushed the frog leg towards him. "Eat it!" She insisted. She really wanted to see him get real big and see his legs hanging because his belly would be so big.
The wolf watched as she almost put it in her mouth, but it twitched. Well that was unfortunate, and he was not going to explain why it was still moving. He wasn't sure himself, it just happened sometimes. But that was enough to gross her enough for good. He could understand why. What came next out of her mouth made him look like a deer in headlights for a second.
Akela chuckled fondly and nudged her affectionately. "You, my lady, have a really funny imagination. " he praised her. His tail waved happily. To make this a meal, he needed to eat quite a lot of frogs. For a child that young, it would look like enough, he hoped. That's when he got an idea. Not wanting to get that good spirit out of her by telling out straight no, he thought this would be a good exercise for her for her coordination and her instincts to hunt ( or fight depending on what character she developed) "How about you hunt them , and I'll eat them"
She had a grin on her face. She wanted to see him get large no matter what. Akela didn't seem to be against it but she didn't exactly hear a yes either, not yet anyway. He nudged her but she wasn't sure if that was an answer of some sort. She was happily observing him until finally he proposed that he'll eat what she catches. Yes! She is going to see him get big!
"I'll catch them all!" She said excitedly and instantly jumped after a frog. Everytime she jumped at it the frog would jump right after. The scene was repeated six times before Peridot decided to use a different approach. She needed to catch them now. She thought maybe she would catch it if she got in front of it. She lowered herself and tried to be a little silent while trying to get ahead of the frog. Her target jumped a two times before she finally got ahead. Lacking the patiences she jumped at it at the same time it jumped. The wolf and the frog bump into each other but right after that she cought the frog with her jaws by reflex as it fell.
She proceded to present her catch to Akela. Her tail rised and waving proudly, she got one! She placed the frog down in front of him and quickly pinned it with her paws. She didn't kill it but now wanted him to eat it. "I got one! Now you have to eat it!" She said expecting him to take it. She used quite a bit of energy just trying to catch one. She still had plently of energy but would it be enough for the rest?
Relaxing, appreciating to be served, Akela enjoyed the show of the pup who was trying and catching the frogs. There were many indeed, and Peridot seemed hellbound on catching enough to make him big and unable to walk. Who knew what went on in the vivid mind of that child. She seemed to have a precise idea in mind and he was not going to burst her bubble. When she finally caught one, he bend his head down and took it from her. Bones cracking, chewy sounds being made, he swallowed it completely after two three bites.
"Another...come on, that one had barely something of value to eat. " he encouraged her to go on.
One frog isn't enough for sure so quickly she needed to go after another one. This time a bigger one! Peridot searched around, the frogs appeared to be leaving or gone in hiding. Luckily a big one stood out. Upon noticing it she dashed towards it as fast as she could. The large frog did she her coming and attempted to jump into the nearby waters. She manage to catch it within her jaws before it landed. However as she turned she lost her grip and the frog was tossed, atleast closer to Akela.
Peridot wasn't going to let it get away so easily. She didn't want give it any time to recover so again she dashed then pounced at it to make sure it didn't jump. "This is one is a big one!" She said, happy to have cought it. She never realised how exhausted she was from all the running she did up until now. Being tired she was discouraged to continue. "I don't think I can catch enough of them." She said with disappointment. She wasn't going to be able to see Aky get big. Not today atleast. This was much harder than she thought, would she ever be able to catch enough of them?
The older male complied to eat the other frog. Once he did, he smiled tenderly at Peridot. " next time kid" he spoke and licked over her head to praise her. He stood up. "Come on , I'll get you home, it's getting dark and you're getting tired. " he told her, and shoved her with his muzzle.
He had to admit, the little girl was fun to be around. Curious and easy going. And she seemed to like him enough to be that alive around him. He missed those days when he was a puppy. No problems, no worries. No pain. He brought the girl safely to her mother and gave a sound to say goodbye. He did not stay longer, not wishing to upset Lusa furthermore. He then went his way, to get a last round around the territory before retreating for the night.
- End -