Tagging
@Saucy but this is open to anyone.
The landscape wasn't so different from place to place, but even the inexperienced cinnamon roll could recognize the changing of the season; a darkening to the sky, the gradual glow of the trees as they ignited with shades of yellow, orange, and mottled red.
He'd found a ridge with a thick forest in the late evening the night before — Sweet, the poor boy, had been so tired that he'd fallen asleep as soon as he'd fashioned himself a little crevice among the roots. Upon waking he was overwhelmed by the glorious sight of the sunlight glittering off of the faceted leaves; he watched with wonder as the dust drifted in the beams, felt his eyes gloss with tears at the beauty of the nameless woodland, and was captivated.
Sweet mindlessly followed the shapes of tiny birds between the branches. He listened to their sweet songs, even tried to mimic them with some lazy humming, but as soon as his deep voice penetrated the still morning air the rest of the forest seemed to quiet. He felt a great sadness fill his chest upon realizing he had frightened the pretty little birds, and promptly stopped his attempt to keep a tune.
<3
Saucy loved the valley, it was the liveliest land she’d come across and she felt so happy here. She still wandered far, randomly deciding to stray from the valley for day trips or sometime entire weeks, but she kept finding herself back here. Today she’d left the meadow that she usually planted herself in and gone to a forest where the leaves began to take their autumnal tones of fire, and the radiance was energizing.
She wandered through the warm forest at varying paces, sometimes with invigorating speed and sometimes at wearily slow. She had just finished a sprint through a more open section when she heard a low hum ringing through the trees. She stopped in her tracks, completely frozen at attention, the only movement was from her heavy breaths. She recognized that voice, she was almost sure, and a sudden urgency spread across her face. She followed it until it stopped, but by then she’d caught his scent and was positive it was him.
When at last she found him, the creamy toned male whom she called brother, she let out a loud, SWEET!!!!
and bounded towards him. She leapt circles around him and showered him in affection, which manifested as a mixture of licks and head butts. What’re you doing here?!!
she said in an enthusiastic tone, her tail wagging madly.
Once he'd stopped humming, the birds slowly regained their composure and began to sing. He listened for a quick minute before they took flight again, startled by something he couldn't see. Sweet sat up and turned his head in the opposite direction from where the birds fled, and right on cue too. The crunching of autumn leaves was one indication he wasn't alone, but the most prominent was the obvious: his sister bounding between the trees and hollering with that too-loud voice of her's, all but tackling him where he sat. She was weaving around him and showering him with affection, all of which was so loud and so busy and so totally not okay right now oh my god would you take a percocet please ---!
What're you doing here?!!
She hollered (more or less right in his face).
Woah woah woah,
his voice paled in comparison to his sister's, but he grew more insistent as he competed for control of the situation; she won out due to volume and exuberance, naturally. But whether she calmed or not he continued: I should ask you that. Have you been following me? Why aren't you with mom and dad?
Out of the trio of kids, Sweet was probably the last one they'd expect to break away in search of independence but that was exactly what he had been after. Now Saucy was here — which made him wonder, was everyone else hot on her trail?
Saucy’s unbounded, in your face personality was met with an all to familiar wall of ‘stop’, which she completely and utterly ignored. She’d almost forgotten that Sweet was so sensitive, and she chalked his reaction up to him being so, rather than her being too much. She wasn’t the most self aware of wolves, but she also didn’t give a crap. Even as he spoke she nuzzled his cheek, just so glad to see him again. Why aren’t you with mom and dad? he asked, as Saucy scoffed, giving him a raised eyebrows look.
I left a while ago, I got bored I guess so I went exploring. Mom and dad are totally fine, they got Spicy to take care of them,
she said as though that meant mom and dad were fine, but both siblings knew that having Spicy to take care of them wasn’t the most reassuring of things. And I was following you just now, following your stank ass singing!
she said with a playful grin, teasing him as usual, meant in the most loving way. How long have you been in this valley?
Wait -- she just left? Meaning that mom and dad had to rely on Spicy to get anything done? That was a terrifying thought. Sweet's belly dropped out as soon as his sister mentioned all of this, twisting and churning, and he thought he was going to be sick. But she changed the topic - sort of - and the tumult of his stormy sister's endless tirade finally came to pause.
I — I — uh, well, I don't really know,
he admitted. If she'd let him get more words out, he'd explain that in the following months since he'd left the family he'd found little to keep him occupied. Living alone was harder than mom and dad made it out to be - and well, they tried to prepare their kids as much as possible. It had always been too hard for Sweet. Come to think of it, seeing Saucy out here on her own wasn't that strange at all.I've been hanging out in this forest for a few hours and before that, um, I'm not sure. Just been roaming I guess.
Her brother said he didn’t know how long he’d been here, he’d been in the forest a few hours and before that; roaming. Saucy nodded, kind of surprised honestly that Sweet hadn’t yet found a pack. She’d thought that’d be the first thing he’d do after he left, find a new place to call home. It was hard to believe that he’d been out here so long on his own, since before even she left their little family unit. She was honestly proud of him, it showed in the fondness in her pale blues.
I can’t believe you’re here! You look great by the way,
she said with a jovial hum, offering him a rare, no strings attached compliment.
She was her typical self, and it seemed like no amount of distance or time would change that. It was refreshing to be among family again but Sweet was still overwhelmed; having reunited with his sister was great but he was reminded of their parents, of their ever-changing home, of their father's attitude. He wanted to say he was glad to see her but a part of him wasn't really, and so instead of saying anything he just sank in to his guilt.
Her comments made him smile though. That same shy little expression he'd carried since childhood, bashful and innocent. Except that Sweet had been out here on his own longer than his littermate, and there was a sharpness to his eye regardless of how he felt. A gaunt quality to his face and body, a hunger.
Thanks, sis. You too.
And, typical of the boy, he fell in to a comfortable silence — waiting for the inevitable break in the quiet by his vivacious sibling.
Saucy smiled, something in Sweet’s words and that timid smile just made her feel warm. And young, and unlike she had since leaving her family. She really did miss them, she hadn’t thought about how much she did until now but they truly were some of her favorite wolves. His return of the compliment was met with a confident, I know,
along with another circular prance around her brother, her tail wagging like a flag.
This time she didn’t stop, she felt energized, so she just kept moving- in circles around him, from one side of the clearing to the other, up and down, wherever felt right. As she did she spoke, Since you’ve been out here longer than me, I’m sure you got a good story or something. Spill the beans,
she said, flashing him a cavalier grin.
Sweet didn't know what to say when his sister began to interrogate him; she wasn't really interrogating him, but it sure felt that way. Her attention drifted from the shy compliment he'd made and soon she was demanding answers. Really, he hadn't been up to much at all - survival was hard work! But he couldn't let her down.
First uh, I ran in to another family. A mom and some kids, no dad. They weren't super friendly but they let me tag along for a few weeks.
Okay, that was true. The lady had been very resistant but the kids were around his age at the time, and they were excited to meet someone not related to them; it made Sweet wonder just how sheltered they were. By comparison, his own family seemed idyllic.
After a while I decided to move on and it was a lot easier than... Well, than leaving home that first time. You know? And I wandered a little bit. Ran in to a big cat, got lost a lot of the time — didn't see many friendly faces until you showed up again.
The cat part was a fib but he couldn't really leave Saucy hanging, could he? She wanted his story and he'd give her the best story he could think of.
Saucy regarded his story with interest and amusement, her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and concern when he mentioned a cat. Like a big one? Or like a littler one?
she asked, looking him over quickly to see if he had any scars she hadn’t yet noticed. There was nothing to indicate a fight that she could see, so he either meant he ran into a kitten, or he was just way more able than she’d originally thought. Either way she was proud of all he’d done, it shone in the sparkle of her eyes.
I’ve done a lot too, I went across a whole mountain range and met a ‘dog’, he was a little bitch so I bit him,
that whole encounter was still raw in her memories, how the dog had set her off with a phrase and brought out a seldom seen truly angry side of her. She figured if she played it off like everything was chill as usual, it wouldn’t matter. And it didn’t really, she hadn’t changed any since then. But sometimes she still felt a twinge of guilt, and found herself with her head hung and her mother’s words playing in her head.
None of this showed on her face, Saucy was very good at being happy so that’s what she stuck to. She continued on with a light swing of her hips, mostly I’ve been hanging out in this valley. I thought about settling down here, but I don’t know. I love exploring.
I guess it was pretty big, I didn't get a good look—
he quickly added when she asked her question, hoping she wouldn't notice the wavering nature of his voice. Then again, Sweet was typically soft-spoken and often didn't speak at all, so it wouldn't surprise him if she missed his lie entirely. Thankfully, she seems to not notice his fibbing.
Settle down?
He quirks his head to one side, finding the concept totally foreign, especially for his sister. Why in the world would she settle anywhere? They came from wild stock; their parents never taught them to avoid packs nor did they warn against them, but they never seemed too keen on making friends when the kids were growing up. Sweet thought they were meant to live a different way as a result. To think of his fireball of a sister settling anywhere - well, it just didn't mesh.
You're not making sense. How can you enjoy exploring but also want to settle down? It sounds like to me you haven't made up your mind at all.
He was being a little hasty in his judgement, but could you blame him? If she settled somewhere then maybe she'd drag him along, or something. Sweet like to think of himself as being above all that.
Pretty big? Well shit! Was Sweet finally getting some of her badassness!? She was impressed! If only she could see past his fib, however this unsure tone he took was common with the shy Soleil, so it didn’t cross her mind. What reason would he have to lie anyway? she thought at least. He seemed surprised when she mentioned settling down, yeah what?
she replied. He elaborated further, having come to the conclusion that she hadn’t made up her mind. Well... yeah but that’s not the point homie!
No like- not forever I mean. I meant just for maybe winter. I like it here but I’m gonna keep exploring for now. I was just thinkin like pack wise you know? There was one pack that invited me to join nearby and they were pretty tight,
she explained with a nod of self approval. Sometimes she had to think back on what she just said, to make sure it made sense; she didn’t usually think before she spoke.
He nodded as she explained further, but it was the kind of "smile and agree" expression that often got him through lessons with their father. Sure, yeah, whatever, that still didn't make sense to him but he wasn't going to press the issue. Mom and dad had never pressed them to join any packs, and Sweet was quite content with his life at the moment. Joining another family felt like a betrayal, sort of. Or maybe he was just telling himself these things to justify the lifestyle perpetuated by their parents.
Well, if it makes you happy, go for it.
But he made no indication that he'd follow her. Sweet would love to be with his sister one day, but he had become fixated on doing things his own way; it was nice to live alone, where nobody could question you or fight you, or make you do things you didn't want to. The boy was thinking of their father now, and fell back in to his usual silence, filled with fleeting memories of arguments and struggles he'd had growing up. No, living under the rule of some power-hungry asshole didn't sound like fun to Sweet.
Saucy’s long explanation was met with a simple but sweet response, that so suited him. Her train of thought drifted to her childhood, all the good and bad times she’d had with her family. Seeing him again was just the thing she needed to boost her mood, it eased her guilt about separating from them, to know that even without her at least one Soleil was thriving. Eww was she feeling sentimental? Grodies.
Thanks bro, I will,
she said, then finally stopped her restless circling. The white lioness then dropped into a play bow shaking her tail which curled up above her. Enough of this talking stuff, Saucy much preferred the physical aspects of life. She let out a low grumble, coaxing him to join in. Hopefully he hadn’t outgrown this! But if there was one in the family who would Sweet would be it.
Before long Saucy was doing her usual thing, being saucy, stirring up shit. But not literal shit. A game of — shit? Okay Sweet, stop thinking about it for a second.
She play bows, signifying the end of a conversation; the ensuing game of tag would bolster his spirits in some ways, but also make him homesick (in the sense that he missed his siblings, and sometimes their mother, but as soon as thoughts drifted to their dad — nope nope nope).
He drew back and then dropped, mirroring her with a less enthusiastic bow, tail frisking above his raised hips like a feather boa; then, taking the initiative (which Sweet rarely ever did), he hoped to get the upper hand with a surprisingly fast lunge towards her face and shoulder.