summer turned out to be as good as her little heart could have ever hoped for, it grew harder to keep track of the little free spirit as the days grew longer and hotter and best of all- filled to the absolute brim with life! she'd pay no heed to protestant paws whilst tottering about the place, eyes never seeming to have a chance to focus on one single thing before her attention was whisked away to something equally beautiful and deserving of her attention.
her current location had her in a position that a wandering eye would need to be pretty keen to actually realise a whole wolf as little as she was, resided in the whispy grass just a little ways from the centre of the territory. polaris was currently on her stomach, nimble body pressed hard against the ground so she looked like nothing more than a little grey cloud that had fallen right outta the sky. despite the somewhat comical appearance that would have some presuming she was simply playing a little game of hide-n-seek the young girl's features were scrunched into one of serious determination.
you see, a bird had made its unlikely home on the concerningly low branches of a large bush thing and she had taken full responsibility over these babies safety since clearly their momma didn't know how to if she had them in such an easy to snatch position to any of the greedy gobs living here. as well as that, she really wanted to see them and after a whole lot of failed attempts of trying to get close without scaring them she had come to realise that as hard as it went on her short lived patience, being quiet and hidden was the only way to achieve getting to spot them peeking out tentatively after their mother went in search of food. so there she lay, eyes bright with uncontained joy as she listened to their little chirps and waited- trying hard to ignore the buzz in her paws just begging her to inch forward. it would be worth it.
aditya was nearby, but he'd be damned if he was going to spoil the girl's game. she was far too patient and dedicated for that to happen.
so he lingered by the brush several paces away, pelt camouflaged well enough, watching. he had been out on patrol but finished rounds relatively quickly, and was on his way back to the rendezvous when he spotted her. one of kavik's and alessia's brood, the rambunctious quartet growing bigger day by day. there was another litter, but they were far younger.
and soon, there would be three. . .
he smiled at her obvious excitement, eyes glowing. aditya loved to watch children play. they lost themselves completely. . .and, in turn, he was able to capture a sense of childlike wonder by osmosis.
when momma bird returned, polaris felt a slight tang of disappointment under the assumption that this would mean the babies would be ushered away quite like they'd been when they were babies and their mamas found them too close to the edge of the den. not now of course, because they weren't babies anymore they'd be as big as their parents soon! well okay, maybe not papa, he was really big. but anyhow, she was quite wrong with her assumptions for it seemed birds did not make it their mission to hinder curious minds as much as wolves did. for when the small feathered creature arrived back with a beak stuffed with worms, she allowed smaller little beaks to rise from the darkness and dropped each worm in turn into their hungry mouths.
it was so exciting! although her nose did wrinkle slightly at the sight because seriously, worms? even comapred to other bugs they seemed gross! imagine how slimy, nope nope, let's actually not. but still, that did little to hinder the absolute awe alight in big eyes as her little tail began to swish with uncontained excitement. unfortunately this sudden movement had the long grass behind her swaying like crazy which with a panicked chireeep! had the little bird disappearing from view along with her babies. with that polaris would spring up, finally letting the anticipation free but not before exclaiming a quick "noo come back!" in the native language her mamas tended to use around them. yet clearly not satisfied with that she'd continue to huff out a; "bam it!" a phrase she'd definitely heard adults use when something didn't go right for them and was very proud to announce it now with the belief that it was quite forward for someone her age. of course, completely unaware that 'bam it' wasn't what she was aiming for at all and it was 'damn it'. she'd most likely not even believe anyone who tried to tell her otherwise though.
like polaris, he watched the feeding with delight. he was so engrossed in the sight that he didn't notice her sudden tail movement, and thus was just as shocked as she was when the bird and her young took off in alarm. the girl uttered something foreign, something he didn't recognize, and then—
bam it! he gritted his teeth, hard, in a desperate effort not to laugh. luckily, all that came out was a muffled gasp, and then he stepped forward, cloaking the sound with his paws across the grass.
sorry, bachchi,
aditya said, voice warm, sympathetic. birds are frightful little creatures; they'll take off at the slightest breeze.
he kept a respectful distance from her, given that they hadn't officially met yet. instead, he cocked his head, smiling. i'm aditya. what's your name?
"sorry, bachchi,"
she jumped a mile at the unfamiliar voice a little ways off to her side and like a little cat she'd go all spiky, whirling around to face the thing that had uttered that noise. big eyes would narrow with exaggerated suspicion as with her little chest puffed out, she'd move to put her small body between the man and her birds, whom she'd sworn to protect like the brave wolf she was. still it was hard to stay serious for long especially when he seemed so nice! and with a little twitch of her button nose she knew he was from her home which meant he was good, her parents would never let someone bad past their borders, apparently they only existed outside of the pack hence why she wasn't even supposed to go too near to the edge of the territory- not that that tended to really stop her or anything.
however she still remained dubious, even 'good wolves' liked to eat birds and she hated it! they were way too cute for that. her mouth opened, about to respond in french as it was the language she had grown most used to slipping in to and had to let her little jaw fall shut once more as her brow scrunched up in concentration. she'd come to learn that only her mama's and her siblings spoke french which was annoying but also made her feel very smart, so with a concious effort she'd speak words he'd actually understand. "you not going to eat my birds?" despite the doubtful tone in her sweet little voice, her tail still instinctively wagged, happy to have found company despite the possibility of him being a threat to her buddies.
she remained nameless for now, instead lobbing him a question that melted his heart. no, of course not,
adi promised. he sat down, tail swishing slowly, friendly, behind him. i like to watch them, too. they don't make the greatest of meals.
all bones and feathers, little meat. only for dire circumstances.
do you have a favorite bird?
he asked, lifting his brows in query. he nodded toward the tree, where a male cardinal had settled, preening. i like those. the color is so vibrant, especially in the winter, when it's snowing.
had she seen snow? probably; she was old enough to have been born in late winter, and this far north. . .
he fell silent, quieting his rambling thoughts and awaiting her reply. after a conversation, perhaps short, perhaps long, he departed, smiling at the thought of the girl and her birds.