At a month old, she only knew a new kind of hunger. Mother's milk wasn't quite enough to satiate her now; teething greedily upon Abel helped somewhat, but it was the tantalizing smell of something outside of the den that called to her. Ears unfurled, eyes bright - Indra stepped triumphantly in to the open (read: tumbled) and tried to follow her nose.
Druid loved spending time near the water, fishing, frogging or wading to escape the last vestiges of the summer heat. But she had never really ventured beyond the shallows. When she spotted a large fish swimming slowly past and realized she might actually be able to catch it, she leaped without thinking, splashing into the deeps.
She didn’t manage to snag the fish, though fortunately for her, she surfaced with a gasp of breath and instinctively began to paddle. At first, she swam away from shore, though Druid quickly figured out how to steer herself and began to make her way back toward dry land. Only she realized just how much fun she was having and circled back toward deeper water again.
An hour or two later, she finally set foot back on the shore. Soaking wet, limbs trembling from exhaustion, she couldn’t stop grinning. She gathered up the single fish she
had managed to snatch and decided to go looking for her mother, sisters or anyone else who wanted to hear about her newfound passion.
She followed
@Witch’s scent for a while but did not find the girl herself. Hunger gnawed at her belly but Druid felt too tired to eat, much less keep walking. She slowed to a stop, fish still dangling loosely in her jaws, unaware of her proximity to Laurel’s den until something bright red tumbled out of it.
As one day dragged after another, Abel became less and less chatty. His voice just wasn’t what it used to be. Once his other senses grew stronger and he became somewhat steady on his feet, there was no need to cry to get what he wanted. He could just stand up and get it himself. Most times that is. He wasn’t exactly an expert walker just yet.
The vibrations his voice provided weren’t all that entertaining either. Abel found himself way more fascinated with the world that lay beyond the den. He’d admired it from afar, but had never stepped into it as he desires to. So when he spotted his sister tumbling outside, he took that as an opportunity to tumble along after her.
Abel squealed with delight as sunlight pooled down on him and furiously wagged his tail. Overstimulated by the bombardment of sights and smells, the boy began to prance in circles (as best he could anyhow) and nudge at Indra’s side to get her too play.
He was just barely able to decipher the fresh meat from the rest of the smells. When he did he straightened up stared into its direction, transfixed by this alluring scent. Among the shrubbery he spotted another wolf, a stranger, with something strange in her jaws. Abel watched her with owl-eyed curiosity.
Indra’s a PPC but I was hoping we could continue this,
@Abel Redleaf? :)
She stared at the small puppy, shrinking backward a little when a second emerged, a more muted palette. Druid stayed motionless, marveling at them. They were so unbelievably tiny! She didn’t know what to do, so she remained very still, watching, even as the little girl wriggled back into the den.
That left Druid alone with the little boy, who looked right at her, nose wriggling as he presumably sniffed at the fish. She blinked slowly, then gingerly assumed a crouch. Belly slung low to the earth, she crept tentatively toward the puppy. When she came within a few feet of him, she dropped the fish and nosed it toward him.
Indra retreated back to the den, but Abel was too interested in what the stranger held to follow her. He took a couple steps closer but didn’t go any further. There was no need to. She was already approaching.
Abel’s smile grew wide when she dropped the fish. He bounced forward with a giggle and began to nose at it. It smelled even more delicious now that it was up close. He couldn’t help but gnaw on it. Of course, with little teeth like his, he couldn’t tear into it.
Wow,
Druid breathed when he bounced toward the proffered fish and began to nibble at it, you’re so little. What’s your name?
she wondered, unsure if he would be able to talk or even understand. Is Laurel your mama?
she guessed, eyes lifting to the nearby den’s mouth, nose quivering. The woman’s scent was heavy here.
Poking her nose out of the den and taking a big, emphatic sniff, as if the air was suddenly ripe with the aroma of apple pie or something tasty - Indra half emerged and surveyed her kingdom (to the limited extent that she could)
The stranger among them looked nothing like mama, and smelled rotten. Indra didn't know what rotten smelled like; but one look at this wolf and their spooky eyes and that was enough to cast judgement.
They said mama's name and Indra puffed up indignantly, stomping a little bit, throwing a look of surprise at her brother and then contempt at the stranger, before declaring with all her might: Aboo! Gawayaboo!
So as to deter them from her brother. Only Indra and Mama were allowed to play with Abel! Who are you?
He stopped chewing on the fish when the stranger mentioned his mother’s name. How’d she know about her? Abel gave a couple questioning blinks before getting back to his ineffective gnawing.
He was interrupted when his sister came stomping back out. Unlike him, she didn’t seemed to pleased about the visitor.
Aaay!
He nudged the fish in an attempt to direct Indra’s attention towards it.
Suddenly the red pup reappeared in the den’s doorway, sniffing quite enthusiastically. Druid glanced at her, smiling when she realized the fishy smell must have lured her. She raised a paw to motion her nearer when the puppy’s fur bristled and she began to shout.
Taken aback by the reaction, Druid’s expression fell and she backed up a few paces. She didn’t want to upset Laurel’s babies, nor the mother herself. She also found the sound of the little girl’s indignant shouting quite shrill. Druid’s ears folded.
Perhaps it was best if she left them with their gift, especially considering how tired she felt. Throwing an uncertain smile to the brother and sister, Druid awkwardly waved a paw and whispered to the swarthy boy in particular, Enjoy.
She then swiveled and departed.
Abel said something, and kicked at something on the ground.
Wha?
Indra didn't know what the heck it was. It looked shiny so for a moment, with the light catching on those scales, she was tranfixed and quiet; but whether the fish moved or remained limp, it wasn't enough to a novelty to hold Indra's attention for very long.
The stranger spoke and Indra looked over, startled by the sound of their voice, and then frowned, stomped, and sank to her bottom beside her brother.
Eh-sh-oo!
Indra called out. She didn't understand what the other child had said nor how to say it herself, and struggled with the sounds. But they were moving off a little bit, so Indra felt a touch prideful at her ability to command the way mother commanded.