a lot of things happened in a short amount of time for the child. how long has it been since her mother left? replaced by some other family with some other puppies? she’d gotten sick and only remembers her mother ever being mad at her, no matter what she did. she’d eat when told and be quiet when told and if she was too loud in play, she’d stop with one sour look.
one day, queenie didn’t come home, and there was some mix of relief and anxiety battling against one another.
and one day turned into two. and three. and four. and eventually, two other women moved in with another set of puppies she’s never seen before (of course, she’s only ever seen her siblings, but still) and they were supposed to be okay with that? what was even going on?
ugh, she thinks, my stomach hurts.
“solo?” she calls as she comes to the opening of the den, scenting the air before backing out. “mali?”
Mali had no interest in the strangers. As far as he was concerned, they didn't belong here. Mom had disappeared and then they showed up. And yeah, it was like someone was trying to replace Queenie and that just wouldn't do. As ill-suited of a parent as she was, she was still their mom and he didn't know any better than to want her back. Delight -- obviously -- and the other long-time Sanctuary members were okay though. At every opportunity, he ran away from the strangers. And given his proclivity for being loud, he wasn't afraid to scream at them and throw a fit about it too.
He was lurking a distance from the den, trying to figure out scents and stuff on his own. There was still a lot to learn about the world. His sister's call drew him from the reverie, jauntily wandering back towards her voice, Whasup?
Warily, he eyed the den a second -- well, as long as they didn't have to go in it when there might be more of them in there...
so much has changed since mama left. although she was young enough that given time, she likely would not remember her mother at all, it was still too soon for her to forget. two women and their many brats had swept in the place that mama had once filled, and they had tried to love on queenie's brood like they did their own.
it seemed as if none of them were too happy about that. solomon spent her time tucked against the corners of the den, away from the puppy pile in the middle, and whenever she was approached she was not afraid to pull her lips back and bare her teeth, although it looked more like a grimace than a real threat.
at the sound of her siblings' voices she uncurled and walked towards them, casting a mean glare back at the happy family that had occupied their space. she pressed herself up against brilliance, puffed up, and then cast her an inquisitive look.
mali pops outta nowhere and she spins on her heels, quickly coming face to face with him. gently, she boops his nose with hers. this is their pack. they were the only puppies here before they came along. it should stay that way.
getting rid of them is an idea not too far off, if she weren’t interrupted by her sister. “hey,” she says, leaning into solomon as she presses against her. “i don’t feel good,” she tells them with a frown, lowering her rump to her ground while her abdomen hollows.
At least the three of them were still together even if Mali was feeling particularly rejected when it came to the adults. They just didn't get them. If they actually did understand they'd have gone and found Queenie! And not let these interlopers actually be here, let alone force the trio to cohabitate with them. Totally an awful idea.
Aw. Bet it's them. 'S gotta be.
They were the source of everything bad as far as Mali was concerned. Easy scapegoats! But after saying that, Mali turned and wandered back kind of where he'd appeared from, sniffing around. Before showing his face, he'd been looking for something to chew on, but now he concluded his search and grabbed a stick and wandered back.
her face scrunches as she frowns. she isn't sure that mali is right, but she doesn't automatically assume him to be wrong, either. she watches mali as he then turns to (presumably) leave and then leans against her sister. wha's wrong?
she says, just as mali returns from the void with a stick. if she were in a better mood, she might have fought him for it. but she is too occupied with her worry for brilliance.
brilliance is quick to believe mali. of course it’s the children. they showed up not too long after their mother disappeared and frequent stomach aches have plagued her since. having to worry about all the others around her, and keeping away, and now her belly churns with displeasure. it rumbles loudly as if battling an alien fleet.
her sister steps up while mali disappears and she watches after him, turning back to her with an indifferent shrug. “it rumbles a lot and makes my mouth water, but not like… when i want food. s’different,” she mumbles, glancing back up as her brother returns.
when she opens her mouth to speak to him, she immediately ejects everything from her stomach to the ground in front of her. lucky, inches away from missing her brother (though she can’t account for splattered particles). ugh.
There were certain things he was just not expecting, and that was one of them. No, Mali was just figuring he could sit down with his stick, have a good chew, they could gripe about how dumb the interfering wolves were and then figure out how to make them go away and all would be well! Except... Not. Instead, he expelled the stick from his mouth with a loud yipe, pinwheeling backwards to get away from the startlingly sudden barf. He skittered a few feet away before spinning around, staring with eyes and tail on alert as his brain started to catch up. Yeah, Queenie would have been just so proud of the little tyke -- startled by a bit of vomit.
His eyes boggled, Oh maaaan, did you catch a monster disease from them?!
After all, they were from outside the territory. Who knew what they brought in with them besides a bunch of annoying kids and adults that didn't know they weren't wanted.
she listens to what brilliance has to say, but she has no clue what it means. maybe alarian will know, or zamael, or — well, that was kind of gross. but then mali is going on about some kind of disease and, no,
she interjects sharply, taking a panicked and demanding step towards him. brilliance couldn't have a monster disease, right? she falters, ears falling to the sides as she looks back towards her sister. right?
brilliance doesn’t really catch mali’s reaction to her spewing chunks. she’s too focused on the acrid taste in her mouth and solomon’s sudden presence next to her. if she had seen it, it would have gone something like this: you big BABY, it’s just a little puke, you’ve had worse on you fartknocker.
or maybe it wouldn’t.
who knows.
anyway, “i don’t have some monster disease. if i did, i’d be a monsta, wouldn’t’i?” if she had any more in her stomach, she’d probably aim it right for mali to teach him a lesson.
His nose twitched. Ok, so both his sisters disagreed. But that didn't temper his wild ideas too much, Um. Maybe. But maybe it's gonna turn you into a monster! But you gotta get sick first!
Okay, it didn't make too much sense, but hey, those two dots could totally be connected, right? Certainly! He just wanted to blame the others.
Of course, little kids (and especially brothers) weren't always the best at realizing the true depths of what they were saying so he hadn't realized that maybe he didn't want his sister to become a monster. Mali was still just totally set in the fact that he had totally pieced together it was monsters, the end.
no,
she protested vehemently, making to press herself annoyingly against her sister. she didn't stop to think that maybe the girl who'd just blown chunks everywhere didn't want someone so close. you don' see anyone else turnin' into a monster, do you?
jeez, where did he even get these ideas? what kind of monster would she even turn into? maybe it's not the same thing everyone else has, anyway. i don't see any of them throwing up.
solomon defends her. that’s right. she doesn’t have some disease. she just… did that. she grumbles to herself and shuffles away but the persistence is met with an annoyed “move” before she glares at mali.
the girl licks her lips a few times, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. she makes a weird face as her tongue tries to pick up the pieces. yuck. “i don’ feel sick now, jus’ my mouth is gross,” she tells them, heaves a sigh. “lesgo get some water,” she demands of the two of them and begins to trot to whatever water is closest because cruz is bad at geography in all forms.
And neither of them believed him! He frowned right back and answered with a bit of a huff. If ya turn into a monster, I'mma tell you so. Monsters can turn into anything!
Including wolves, he was sure. The other weird family combo pack thing was totally a bunch of monsters. It was the only excuse he could think of for why they would show up and invade their space.
He let them leave first, pausing a moment to take a sniff at the barf before following after them. He kept a fair distance though, in case they did have monster cooties or something. The world may never know.
she doesn't get why brilliance is upset with her, but at least the situation seems to be rectified soon enough when brilliance suggests they get some water. yeah, she is kind of parched now that she thinks about it. she moves with her sister until mali starts talking about monsters again, and she feels her temper flare up in a rare fit of outrage. BRILLIANCE is NOT a MONSTER,
she shouts as she wheels around, marching on stiff fat legs to meet her brother face-to-face, and you'd better STOP IT! Before.. before YOU turn into one!
before they get very far, mali has to say something. and solomon has to argue. all she wants is to clean out the nasty taste in her mouth and her brother and sister are fighting. instead, she decides to ignore them and keep going regardless of them following. she can hear solomon shouting over it and she feels a little puff in her chest at being defended, but she doesn’t say anything.
when she finds somewhere to drink, she lowers her mouth and laps and laps until the taste is gone in her mouth and her stomach is uncomfortably full of water. she lets her siblings argue for a while, eventually spitting up all the water she’d taken in. looking back, they hadn’t noticed, and this time she only drinks a little and turns, leaving them to fuss with one another.