When Eilidh woke up, it was to her surprise that her family was still asleep. With a little squeak, she immediately got to her feet, possibly disturbing the sleeping siblings on either side of her.
"Ousee!" She cried, running as fast as her stubby puppy feet could carry her. She tripped once, then twice, but got to her feet eagerly each time.
Before Blue Willow or Lasher could stop her, the amazing scents of outside washed over her as she stuck her head out of the den. Eilidh pulled the rest of herself out, plopping down on the frozen ground.
"Ousee!" She cried once more before trying - and failing - to chew on the ground.
It had got rather cold during the past few days. Osprey was a tough girl and she had survived worse, but this morning she had woken up feeling particularly uncomfortable by the freezing temperature outside and had been forced to leave her spot (a shallow pit, full of old leaves) to have a run around the plateau, in order to get some warmth in her stiff muscles. Lucky for her - additional motivation weren't too far to find. She caught sight of a hare and after a long chase and persistance from her side, the creature was caught and killed.
Osprey attacked it with a ravenous appetite and in no time there was hardly anything left of it. Let alone the head and ears. She studied it for a bit, then decided that it was too big to swallow and picked it up, carrying proudly like a trophy. Half-way she decided to bring the head to Blue's kids - if she was not mistaken they had to be old enough to appreciate this kind of object. So few minutes later she was not far from the den, just in time to see a tiny, cream colored figure emerging from the den.
It had been a long time since she had seen a puppy this small, therefore her heart was overcome with emotions. It melted. She approached the tiny being carefully, looking at it in a curious manner and wagged her tail. Not wanting to scare him/her (she couldn't remember, who was who, because she had only seen them in the darkness of the den), she plopped down on her stomach, resting her head between her paws (and putting the hare's head aside first), while her ears were perked up and she eyed the little puppy with fondness.
It took a few moments for Eilidh to notice her new audience. Chewing on flat ground turned out to be an impossible feat, but chewing on things scuttling across the ground was not. A small spider that moved into her line of site experienced this firsthand. It was after the spider was in her stomach that Eilidh turned around and spotted her audience.
Eilidh let out a happy squeal before moving as fast as her little paws could carry her to Osprey. "I!" Eilidh squealed in greeting as she threw herself to the ground in front of Osprey to stop herself from colliding with her. She wasn't down for long. Just as quickly as she had gone down, she popped back up with dirt speckling her gold fur.
Then, the exploration of Osprey began. The first step of the journey was sniffing her face.
It always amazed Osprey how very small the cubs were in their first months. To think that she had been this small once too! Impossible, but why would nature make exceptions? She remained still and quiet all the while the kid was paying it's attention to her surroundings. However, when the girl finally noticed her presence and approached her as fast as she possibly could, her heart melted.
She had forgotten, how adorable the kids were, while they were toddlers, and it took all her strength not to burst out in giggles, when the little girl - Eilidh - began to sniff her muzzle. Osprey sighed happily and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.
This wolf confused Eilidh. Almost everyone she met talked to her, even if she couldn't understand most of it. But besides the faint sound of breathing, this wolf was silent. Why was this one different? The very vocal girl found it unsettling. "Ta... Tak!" She whined pathetically.
As if her demands weren't enough, Eilidh added actions into the mix. She started to repeatedly slap her paws against Osprey's nose as if it was a set of bongos.
Even though Osprey was familiar with little children and enjoyed having them around, there was still a certain amount of awkwardness and lack of knowledge of what to do and how to act. The girl finished sniffing and regarded her with - what appeared to be - a slightly disappointed look. The gray wolf perked her ears up and looked back in a confused manner. Was there something she wanted? She studied her features carefully, but couldn't find a clue.
Then the situation resolved itself, because the girl began to slap her tiny paws against her nose. It didn't hurt, it tickled and made Osprey giggle. The girl was amazing and in order to join her game, the she-wolf woofed quietly.
It turned out that slapping on Osprey's nose harmlessly did make her be vocal. It wasn't exactly talking, but vocal sounds without words held their own meaning that could be compared to words. Thus, it was counted as success in Eilidh's eyes, and with success came her own cheerful giggles.
Once that subsided, Eilidh tried to make Osprey make a sound again. "Gute!" She first praised. Another fit of slapping Osprey's nose then occurred; if it had made the desired actions happen once, why wouldn't it not work again?
If Osprey assumed correctly then with all the "nose slaps" and sounds the little girl expressed, she wished to hear something in return too. Even if it was a woof without any meaning in particular. So, when Eilidh resumed to tap the older wolf's nose with her tiny paws, she responded with a curt bark, followed by a sneeze ("A-a-a-choo!") and lifted her head up to hold her muzzle out of the cub's reach. She brought one of her forepaws up to rub her nose, only to sneeze again.
Eilidh first smiled when Osprey obliged to her demands by first letting out a bark, then unintentionally sneezing twice. The little girl giggled at the sneezes, simply enjoying the sound that came with it. "A-oo! A-oo!" Eilidh tried to mimic, but was incapable of producing the funny sound herself. How in the world had the other wolf managed to do that? Not only was there the ch sound she couldn't make yet, but the way it sounded was different than a bark, whine, or growl.
Osprey laughed at the girl's attempt to mimic the sound of sneezing - probably the most difficult one to make on purpose. Yet the girl tried and she got bonus points for determination. Who knew - maybe in a week or two - she would succeed and surprise them all.
"So, eager to learn to talk, aren't you?" she looked down at the cub and offered her a sincere and loving smile. Somehow it was easy to feel affection for the little one, even if she had done nothing extraordinary apart from existing. Why was it so hard to be affectionate to people, when they were grown up?
"A-ooo - to you too," she finished with a sentence that hopefully would be easier for the girl to understand and repeat.
"Tak!" Eilidh readily confirmed when Osprey asked. Sounds and talking were fun! It was fun to do new things, and talking was a new thing for her. Talking would be Eilidh's favorite thing until she could do it flawlessly, and then it would get old. But, it was still new and exciting at the moment. So, when Osprey said her next sentence, Eilidh tried her best to repeat it.
"A-ooo..." What had come next? "Oo, oo, oo, oo, oo!" Eilidh finished, casting a hopeful look at Osprey. To her credit, that sound had come up in each of the words.
For a moment Osprey thought that she had understood at least one thing, what the little girl was telling her. Tak! - was used, when she was satisfied with something and to hear it for the second time made her feel very satisfied with herself.
"A job well done!" she praised the kid, leaning down, to touch it lightly on the forehead. "Want to howl more?" she asked and then lifted her muzzle to let out a long and melodic - Auoooooooh...
There was praise. A few words that she didn't recognize, but had good intonation, as well as her head being touched. Then, a question, followed by another sound. It was similar to the sounds sometimes made when talking, yet it was much louder. Surely everyone could hear the beautiful sound. Deciding that Eilidh wanted to make that sound too, - which she would've whether it was soft and ugly or loud and beautiful - she let out a small howl of her own.
It didn't last as nearly as long as Osprey's, and was a good deal quieter, but that was probably a good thing. The girl had some trouble controlling the sounds she made, and was seemingly tone-deaf to boot.
Eilidh mimicked Osprey's actions and managed to make a little howl of her own. It didn't match the grown wolf's in glory, but was soft and sweet. "Brilliant!" she told her and smiled. "I bet you will be a singing star one day," not that she knew many wolves, who were prone to sing or cant verses, but still. The girl didn't understand the meaning of her words either, so it didn't matter that much either.
She then remembered about the toy she had brought for the kids and went over to snatch the bloody head of the hare. She put it down and nudged it with her muzzle towards the girl - encouraging her to explore it.
Osprey's words made Eilidh happier, even if the meaning went over her head. It was then that she noticed the rabbit's head when Osprey put it next to her. Eilidh stared at if for a moment before stepping closer to sniff it. A good smell was on it, one that made her salivate, and instinctively she knew it was food. She licked one of the bloody areas, and the taste filled her mouth.
A predatory rumble emerged from her as she clumsily tried to find a spot where her mouth fit around it. When that didn't work, Eilidh resorted to grabbing one of the ears and shaking the head viciously.
Osprey had heard that snakes had the ability to unhinge their lower jaw in order to gobble down a prey that was larger than their mouth. She had never seen or tested this in the real life, but she was reminded of this, when the girl in her first attempt tried to gobble down the rabbit's head as whole. She chuckled - admittedly it was exciting to observe her efforts.
Eventually - like all little predators should - Eilidh grabbed one of the ears that was closest to her and began shaking it viciously. Osprey watched her and then leaned over to pick the other ear in her teeth and she pulled the head lightly by it, inviting the girl for a game of tug-o-war.
Eilidh saw the challenge when Osprey grabbed onto the other ear. As far as Eilidh was concerned, that rabbit head was hers. Letting go without a fight would be the same as forfeiting the gift, which she wasn't prepared to do. Sharing never crossed the young girl's mind; it was either hers, or it was Osprey's, not both.
She let out a growl and pulled backwards with all her might. Her paws fought for the best grip on the ground as she continued to pull backwards with the occasional jerk and shake.
Eilidh was a little fighter - that was for sure. She didn't let go her piece of the rabbit (the ear), while Osprey was gently tugging on the other side. Her strength could not be compared to the elder's - had Osprey wanted it, she would have taken the head with ease, but it was not the point of the game. It didn't matter, who won, as long as they kept playing.
Therefore she pretended to be surprised by the girl's attempts in getting the toy all to herself and let the part of the ear she was holding slip a bit, until she was holding it with her incisors by the very tip of the ear.
They played like this for the next hour or two, until the tiny girl grew weary of playing. Then Osprey guided her carefully back to the den and left to have another hunt before going to sleep herself.
ooc: editted an ending, because the player of the character is leaving the game.