Wolf RPG

Osprey Jr. liked rain; she liked to play in it when she was awake and she liked to listen to its soothing rush as she fell asleep. As night swept into the wilds, bringing with it a rainstorm, she sat in the den's doorway, watching the world turn liquid black. Her small black ears pricked at the sound of distant thundering, yet she remained motionless, unperturbed by the inexplicable noise.

Slowly but surely, she spilled to the floor like a puddle of ink and fell fast asleep. She looked so sleepy and comfortable than no one had the heart to move her, even after they all assumed their usual sleeping positions. Thusly, Osprey still lay in the doorway as the storm moved overhead and announced its looming presence with a clap of thunder louder than cannon fire.

Jarred awake, Osprey felt the vibration down in the roots of her teeth. Her ears flattened and tail dipped uncertainly between her legs as the sky suddenly lit up like day, only to darken a second later. Another loud burst of thunder sounded, causing her to slink backward. She did not cower in fear, per se, yet her posture and her wide blue eyes spoke of her very healthy respect for this natural marvel.

She eventually backed into something, turning halfway to see what (or who) it was while keeping the rest of her senses fixed on the sights, sounds and even sensations (it was breezy in the den, not to mention the way the thunder shook the ground) of the spring storm.

Pura and Saēna Virtúte had progressed well beyond the deaf, blind lumps that at they had once been, and with that came certain sensory drawbacks. The almighty crash jolted the little boy into a state of high alert - he was on his feet in an instant, bristling and snarling uncertainly in the direction of the wild outdoors.

Osprey seemed to have it more together - Pura was visibly afraid. It was obvious in his shrunken posture, wildly quivering limbs, and slicked-back ears; the snarl was the result of a strong instinct to stand between Saēna, who presumably lingered behind him, and 'badness' - an entirely involuntary reaction. That duty weighed heavily on him now. "Happ-ing?" the freckled pup mewled at the younger Osprey, whose bum connected softly with his nose. "Bad?"

Saēna's transformations from sickly newborn to rambunctious babe to shy toddler had been rapid, leaving little time for the adults to react to her changes. Her personality had settled somewhere in the middle of these extremes, with Pied's daughter being loud and rambunctious in the presence of known individuals and quiet and easily spooked around strangers.

She had a healthy energy level for her age, but some peculiarities in her behaviour. The girl was potty shy and, even at her young age, would only poo when nobody was watching. She hated the mud and went to great extremes to avoid getting it on herself. Similarly, she hated grass stains from rolling in the grass and, when she caught sight of them on her flawless white coat, would promptly throw a diva-sized tantrum about it. She was terrified of small, skittery black things, and she was very, very obedient.

A goody two shoes, no doubt about it.

But when it came to the thunderstorm, Saēna acted uncharacteristically. Perhaps it was because the bodies around her dulled the booming of the thunder, or maybe it was just some weird quirk, but when the storm jarred her awake, the young Virtúte stared out past the furry pile with excitement dancing in her eyes.

Junior and Pura reacted promptly to the new sounds in their own ways. She couldn't identify Osprey's reaction but her learning brain knew that Pura was scared. He bravely shielded her from the storm, but she was too young to comprehend this act of selflessness, so she couldn't be grateful. Instead, she shoved past him, meeting a new clap of thunder with a loudly, excitedly hollered greeting of, “OooooooOoooooOooooo!”

"I'no," Osprey replied to Pura's worried question, her way of saying, I don't know, man. Her eyes flicked between his frightened face and Saēna's much more intrigued expression when the littlest pup's pale face surfaced out of the breezy gloom. "Ooooo?" she repeated questioningly, blue eyes narrowing slightly. Could she trust the smallest, weakest pup to know about these things?

Then a deep voice rose up in the back of the den. "When you hear the sound of thunder, don't get scared," Peregrine rumbled lowly. "Just grab your thunder buddy and say these magic words: 'Fuck you, thunder! You can suck my dick! You can't get me, thunder, because you're just gods' farts!'" This song was followed by a very quiet thump and a laughing, "Hey!" as his mate presumably boxed him about the ears.

The Alpha male fell silent, leaving the puppies to ascertain the storm on their own again. Comforted by her father's silly song, Osprey now nudged Pura's cheek, then tugged at one of Saēna's rust-colored ears. "T'undaw," she told them sagely, as it was one of the words repeated several times in Peregrine's little ditty. "T'undaaaw fawt's fuck dick!"

For someone so pale, Saēna was a dark little thing. Pura watched his sisters rush to welcome the next clap of thunder with as much enthusiasm as he would greet food. The freckled Virtúte remained where he was, cowering alone and unsmiling until Peregrine rumbled something undoubtedly wise and wonderful from the rear of the den. The only boy turned to listen, flicking his entire head to open the ear that refused to stand on its own accord.

"T'undaaaw fawt's fuck dick!" Osprey repeated, touching her nose to the frightened pup's cheek. Pura nodded importantly at her, glancing between Saēna and the weather outside. She clearly didn't understand, he decided, bracing himself against the unpredictability of the next rumble. Whatever lurked outside the safety of the den was obviously dangerous, and it was tricking his sister with its bright lights and interesting smell. Either that, or she was deaf - either way, Pura Virtúte was duty-bound to save his sister from herself.

"Na-na!" he hollered authoritatively at her, scrambling onto all fours and puffing out his little chest. "No!"

Peregrine's voice broke the quiet in the den, commanding the attention of all three of the presently awake puppies. Osprey Jr. took the opportunity to make more noise, but Saēna's attention was almost instantly drawn back to the outdoors. The sound of rain striking the ground made her ears twitch uncontrollably. Each dazzling flash from the thunderstorm made her flatten her ears, which popped back up immediately when the rumbling began. The sheer power of nature's growling seemed to thrum through her, although it was really just the natural bass.

She had begun to take tiny steps toward the den's entrance, but stopped at a growl from Hawkeye, which was suddenly drowned out by Pura's frightened cry. Her brother was always trying to protect her, but this time something in his tone struck a chord in the young Virtúte. Rather than slinking back behind him like she often did, she whirled around when he yelled “no” and, baring her tiny milk teeth, screamed, “NO!” right back at him.

Perhaps it was the thunder putting courage into her breast, or perhaps it was a latent instinct awakening in her a few weeks later than it had in the other pups. Whatever it was, Saēna turned on her brother now, craning her neck back to stare as defiantly as possible at his larger, pudgier self and stretching to the very tips of her toes.

Neither Saēna nor Pura paid her much attention. Osprey herself was having trouble dividing her attention between her couslings and the sights, sounds and sensations of the storm. Thusly, her small black head swiveled on her short—one day, it would be swanlike but, for now, it was about as long and graceful as a soup can—neck. She goggled at the standoff between the two biological siblings and then stared out at the storm in wide-eyed, open-eared wonder. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually, the sight of Saēna disregarding the established hierarchy won over Osprey's attention span. Turning her back on the stormy doorway, she narrowed her eyes at the defiant girl. "Bad," she said, lifting her head and tail in an effort to intimidate Saēna into submission, unaware that the younger girl was somehow harnessing the thunderstorm's power. "NO," she added even more emphatically, as it was the only other word of rebuke Osprey could understand and pronounce.

For the moment, she didn't attempt to exert her authority physically, leaving that to Pura. Perhaps it was also a byproduct of the thunderous noises at her back; unlike with Saēna, the tempest did not empower young Osprey. It shook her confidence, if anything, even as a particularly loud clap of thunder made the floor quake beneath their tiny paws.

Pura loved his sister. Or rather, he felt an attachment to her that was deeper than his attachment to food, or bad smells. By that standard, he also loved Hawkeye, Peregrine, Kisu - and the two brats they shared their childhood with. But there was something special about Saēna. They shared something more, though he would not understand what until he was older.

But in that moment, Pura Virtúte thought she a total poo-face. What did she mean, 'no'? The freckled boy's face fell, and he took a step back, unsure what to do next. Discipline her, the way Junior did? Bring her back by force? Neither were his style, but she was challenging his ability to decide what was best for her and that was both hurtful and embarrassing.

Thankfully, Junior decided to back him up - it was the two of them versus Saēna and her invisible friend outside. Said buddy was making an awful racket, and Pura did not want to venture any further out than he absolutely had to. With a long, sad look at his sister, Pura planted his chubby rear and raised his head to holler. "Awkai! Do-pee! Na-na owsai!" A tattletale. The very worst sort of animal - but he had no other alternative! Saēna was making terrible choices, and the honourable weapons in his arsenal were powerless against the lure thunder.

There were two outcomes to Saēna's attempt to stick up for herself, and neither of them was in her favour.

Firstly, Osprey Jr. responded with her typical attitude, chiding Saēna for, in her opinion, existing. She had one fleeting moment of sheer defiance as she turned her glare on the largest of the puppies, but it was brief. Maybe it would have lasted longer had Pura not instantly plopped his bum down and began screaming for the adults' attention.

She was too young to argue that she wasn't outside, and the thunder was less vocal than it had been before, so her courage was gone again. She deflated from Osprey's sternness, feeling again a rush of over-dramatic hatred for Hawkeye's hellspawn daughter. But it was Pura's tattling that stung the most. We're supposed to be buddies! said her anguished glare as she slunk quietly past the two pups, her tail flagging at her heels. So much for you! Clearly Osprey Jr. and Pura were in league and she could never trust him again.

She slunk all the way to the back of the den and slumped against the wall, huffing and sighing her exasperation in a clear attention-grabbing manner.

Osprey gave witness as the standoff ended as quickly as it had started. Outed by her brother, Saēna slunk past both of the older pups and slumped against the back wall with a dramatic sigh. Junior's blue eyes followed her, though she didn't move from where she stood just yet. She peered over her shoulder, her blue eyes plumbing the stormy darkness, wondering as the sounds of the storm began to recede.

Finally gathering her courage, she padded toward the rear of the den, brushing past Pura's silvered shoulder. She stopped to stand over Saēna, peering down at the pale, moody pup in the den's gloom. With a sigh, Osprey then flopped down beside Saēna and rolled over onto her back, using her cousling's dainty hindquarters as a personal pillow. It was still rather pushy, though relatively low on the scale of abuse.

Smacking her lips and sighing, Osprey Jr. made herself comfortable, assuming (perhaps incorrectly...) that things inside the den would settle down now that the storm seemed to be passing.

Tattling had the desired effect - Saēna wilted under Junior's glare and skulked to the back of the den, flashing her brother a venomous glare as she went. The look turned the air Pura had gathered for use in a sigh of relief into a loud burp. Was she pissed? But I saved you! Junior brushed past to torment Saēna further and the freckled pup followed, eyes hopeful and whip-like tail lashing the cool air. His sister had collapsed like a sack, Junior's head on her bum, and the look on her face wasn't what Pura would have classed as 'inviting'.

The older pups - or perhaps just Junior - would smack him around a bit by way of revenge and that would be that; they would be friends again 30 seconds later. But Saēna wasn't so easy. She held on to things - like the spider, whose bite had taken her a puppy age to get over. She was difficult to understand and harder still to empathize with; Pura tried, but he was the sort that regularly forgot which way was up and which end was meant for eating. Mimicking the girls' sighs, the only boy flopped onto his belly and laid his head on his fore-paws to stare at his den-mates. Eventually, she would see that his intentions had been good, and forgive.

Wrapped in a cloud of melodramatic misery, Saēna didn't notice Osprey Jr. until the larger pup's head connected with her hindquarters. The cub put up with this for a time, but there was only so much that even the most submissive pup of a litter could accept, and eventually she wriggled and struggled and pulled herself free, uncaring whether or not she kicked Osprey in the side of the head in the process.

Assuming she was allowed more than a few steps without rebuttal from her older cousin, Saēna would find her way in between Hawkeye's forearms, where presumably, none of the pups would dare pursue her.

Saēna's paw did clip her in the face, hard enough to rouse the drowsy pup and her temper. Huffing indignantly at her cousling's gall, Junior stood up and prepared to smack the pale pup to the floor. Before she could take such action, however, Saēna sought amnesty in Hawkeye's arms. It was a wise move on her part, though one Junior obviously saw as cowardly.

I'll get you later, her glowing eyes, slicked-back ears and twitch of tail seemed to say. Then, with the last bright flashes of lightning pulsing in the distance beyond the den, she fell back to the cool den floor and fell into the swift, untroubled sleep of the (not so) innocent.