“
@Pupper” wasn’t feeling well today. Masquerade wished Ashlar was still around and wondered if they might need to study more about medicine. But who could teach them? They mulled this as they nudged “
@Fifth” to come with them, traipsing into the neighboring grotto.
We’ll hunt,
they assured their younger sister,
but I’d also like to bring back something else. I don’t know what yet. I’ll know it when I see it.
The Caru motioned for her to run ahead if she liked, then loped after her through the small forest. It was dark here, and loud. Masque’s ears flicked constantly as the birdsong trilled from the leafy treetops. It would provide good cover for hunting.
Louis had had a similar idea. He'd followed the coastline north, until cooler winds prevailed, and reluctantly parted with a view of the sea in order to find more familiar prey. Crabs were tasty, but not all the time, and his nose and tongue couldn't abide much more pinching. Seagulls didn't taste particularly good, either.
Turning his nose into a fresh breeze, Louis' ears pricked with curiosity at the scent of - not a deer, but a wolf. Maybe several. Having had little reason to doubt the friendliness of strangers in these parts, he made a careful, but not particularly stealthy lope toward them. And let out a low bark, to avoid surprising anyone in the brush. Hopefully.
The instant Masquerade detected another canine presence in the woods, they silently loped to their sister’s side and with unspoken commands, made her take cover in a nearby thicket. The Caru then pivoted on a heel and walked stiffly back toward the source of the sounds, meeting the stranger in the middle when he stepped into view.
The sunlight slanted through the trees, dappling his features and making them particularly striking. Masque stared for a beat, then caught themself. They shook their head a little and schooled their expression as well as their posture, standing their ground as neutrally as possible.
Normally, they would not have said a word, instead waiting for the other wolf to say something. But Masque’s eyes briefly connected with his bright blue gaze and they felt an unfamiliar compulsion: they must know this wolf’s name.
Who are you?
they asked, angling for inquisition not interrogation but, in their ham-fisted attempt at cordial curiosity, coming across rather demanding.
Stopping short at the stranger's appearance, Louis pricked his ears and wagged his tail - raised aloft in confident excitement. It wasn't... the friendliest sounding way he'd ever been invited to share his name. But they weren't growling at him, and he felt no compulsion to appear more submissive, regardless.
Louis' nose twitched with a curious sniff and he offered a smile, "Louis the Blue. Roving wanderer of unseen horizons and bane of crabs." His voice lilted playfully and he lifted a paw to his chest, hoping the slapdash attempt at humor might ease any outstanding tension. "But uh, just Louis will do fine. And you?"
He observed what he could. Grey but for a striking red mask, he'd at first thought clay was painted across her muzzle. She smelled female, though he wouldn't exactly say they carried themself as such. And she was younger than him, though maybe not by much. From smell, she appeared to claim kinship with a pack. How interesting!
He provided a rather theatric introduction. Masquerade took in every word with a faint twitch at the corners of their mouth. Otherwise, they remained stoic, waiting for him to finish and inevitably ask for their own name.
I’m Masque,
they offered, shifting their weight and pausing to listen to the thicket behind them before continuing, and I don’t have any fancy titles to share.
They were Caru of Redtail Rise, of course, and the offspring of Avicus, former Wealda. But these weren’t things they would readily share with a stranger, no matter how appealing he looked nor how friendly. Maybe if they became better acquainted, the yearling would offer him more details.
But, they decided, their sister’s whereabouts would not be among them.
What exactly is a ‘bane of crabs’?
they wondered with a twitch of their long tail.
"No titles at all? You should make one up. That's what I did." Louis giggled. Giggled, like some pup at playtime.
His tail kept wagging, and he took a step back to duck half into a bow. He hadn't won Masque over yet, but surely it was just a matter of time? His gaze flicked briefly toward their surroundings, wondering if she was really as alone as she looked, with the scent of a pack so strong on her.
But surely if an ambush was waiting, they'd have sprung it by now. So he was... probably safe.
"Bane of crabs, like..." He struggled for a minute to put it into proper words, brow scrunching, "Like the creature they fear. A great hunter of them. Scourge of the crab-clans." His tongue lolled. "I've eaten a lot of crabs the last few days."
"So?" He prompted, "What are you the bane of?"
His giggle intrigued them more than the idea of fabricating titles. Masque tilted their head, strangely endeared by such a noise coming from what appeared to be a full-grown man. He surprised them even further by dipping into a curtsy.
They weren’t sure what to make any of this, though they focused on his words for the moment. Masquerade tipped their chin and made an “ah” sort of sound in their throat. Now that the meaning of the word was understood, Louis challenged Masque to appoint themself the bane of something or other.
Pigs, I suppose, and other large game,
they allowed with a slight roll of a silver shoulder. I wouldn’t call myself a great hunter, just a reasonably good one,
they added, perhaps taking the matter a bit too seriously.
“What’re you guys talking about? I’m bored!” came a small voice from behind them, prompting Masque to start and then swing their body in between Louis’s and their younger sister’s.
You were told to stay hidden,
they said brusquely to the whelp, who looked appropriately abashed at the rebuke even if another, “But I’m bored…” protest left her lips.
Legs still stiff, Masque swung their head toward Louis. He seemed good-natured, though the Caru was far from trusting him. As much as they wanted to continue the conversation with him, they took their sibling’s safety much more seriously than any idle prattling.
I must take my sister back to the rise,
they said a little crisply before thinking on it a moment and saying, I was enjoying our conversation,
in a tone that betrayed the peculiarity of this circumstance. If you want to wait here, I will return. If you’d rather not, I understand.
Louis' lip quirked at their chosen title. Pigs were no easy prey, and he had to be a little impressed by the claim, especially given how seriously they seemed to take it.
Any further banter was interrupted by the appearance of the cub, and suddenly the standoffish-ness made a lot more sense. Louis wagged his tail, starting to take a step forward before thinking better of it, and holding still. Ish. He hadn't seen pups in an awfully long while, and there was something inherently exciting about the notion. It made him wiggly. "Hello." He greeted, regardless of Masque's reprimand to the youngster.
He wondered, briefly, how Tauris fared. She'd been with child when they parted. Were hers healthy like this? Were her mate and pack helping her? He supposed it was no use wondering. He had no way of finding out.
"I can wait." He answered. The truth was he'd been getting terribly lonely again, and the idea of parting from company to be on his own so soon again didn't appeal overmuch.
He said he would wait. Masquerade said nothing, their face similarly giving away nothing despite the way their heart skipped a beat. They merely acknowledged his words with a dip of their snout, which they swung around to prod their sister in the ribs none too gently.
After safely delivering her to the rendezvous site, Masquerade hastened back to where Louis stood waiting. They paused as if surprised he really had stayed, then trotted closer. They stopped about a yard away, stretching their neck a little to sniff noses.
Where were we?
Masque asked, a little out of breath. Without waiting for a reply, they added, I need to hunt for my younger siblings, if you’d like to join me. You wouldn’t happen to know of anything that would help an upset stomach, would you?
They raised their eyebrows inquisitively, then motioned for him to come along as Masquerade assumed a slow trot deeper into the grotto.