"Ohhh," The little boy groaned piteously as he wandered, "Ohhh I don't like this." He complained to nobody in particular, as he tried to find a path through this uncharted valley. Every twist and turn brought him up against something new, and Posie didn't like new things. He wasn't like his siblings - true blood or adoptive - and so when he caught new scents of creatures, or found himself standing beneath giant foreign trees, he could only gasp and cower.
That was precisely his method for dealing with these brand new, strange things. It was not the ideal way to.. Well, deal, but the boy wasn't exactly well-adjusted. "What is that smell?" He proclaimed (probably a little bit too loud), as he sniffed and snuffed at a great big hole in the ground. It seemed to go on forever and ever - snaking beneath a collection of thick roots. The smell was acidic, but at the same time very musty, like a bathroom that needed to be cleaned but hadn't been aired out for weeks. It was a very bad smell, and made his nose crinkle. With a pout and a tiny whine of dismay, Posie chose to take his face out of this strange hole and abandon it entirely - but when he did that and was standing astride the roots, he thought he heard something. A hissing, or a very low, very deep growl - so he looked down between his legs, where the hole sat undisturbed, and saw a set of bright beady eyes staring up at him - and then the badger gave a roar, like a mighty dragon, and Posie shrieked in terror. He fell backwards in his surprise, and rolled off of the tree's roots, to land on his back with his legs flailing.
Scarlett let out a loud grunt as she pulled herself from her den. The red eyed female liked to have her daily walk. She knew that she would need to keep her rest since that would do her well, but she couldn't lie around all day! She would have to keep her muscles at least a bit trained and supple. The quite queen walked through the maple forest of her valley, knowing that Arthur might be lurking around. He was a good bear to have as a friend. She hadn't seen him in awhile though, so Scarlett might go and look for him. It would give her a nice task to do instead of roaming mindlessly.
As she covered the river that ran through the middle of the forest she heard a loud yelp echo. The high and steep walls caused that to happen. Scarlett frowned. Not recognizing this type of shriek. She tried to more into a trot, it was a bit uncomfortable, especially with her big belly swaying from left to right. Scarlett was a small female, so the pups in her belly made her look more expanded belly than wolf currently. And to think that she had about 2 weeks left! Soon the scent of stranger came in her nose. Instantly she grew protected of her lands.
Once she reached the scene she saw a ... young girl.. no boy?.. and a badger. Scarlett growled loudly and bit down into the badger yet not killing it. After her bite she let the grey critter go and rush down back into its home, with a bloody wound. Her blood red eyed then turned towards the youngster. "I hope you know you are on pack's lands, which means you are trespassing," Scarlett spoke to the small wolf. Her voice didn't sound mean but rather warm and motherly, with a hint of scolding. "Are you looking for a home?," she then asked.
The badger hadn't chased after him, but in his current situation Posie couldn't have known that. He struggled to return to his feet (mostly because the more he struggled, the harder it was to get up; but with his belly exposed he didn't know what to do). He managed to roll on to one side, and then was about to get up - but there was a crashing noise, and some growling, so he flinched and squatted as low to the ground as he could. Was it another badger? It sounded bigger, and meaner. And then a faint nasty smell (worse than the badger's den) filled the air. Posie didn't know that it was the smell of blood. And had he seen any blood, he might very well have fainted on the spot, the poor lad. Everything was over very quickly. The badger fled, leaving Primrose in the care of... Whatever, whoever his rescuer was.
He got up and moseyed towards the roots. When his head popped over-top of them (his ears slicked back at first, then erect and pivoting towards the den as if expecting something), he saw the pale wolf. She didn't seem that mean at all - her voice was sweet, even though the words themselves were a bit defensive. Posie shook his head and recoiled a step initially, but then put his own words behind the action. "No! No I don't think I'm looking for anything. I was just walking." But maybe walking around without paying attention was a bad thing to do? Clearly he was an accident prone little guy, drawing the attention of all sorts of things to him. Hawks, badgers, probably a bear or two at some point - how was he still alive? "I'm just a little hungry. But I.. I can go! I didn't mean to break any rules."
Posie pouted at first, but then seemed to grow bold with enthusiasm, and his voice carried over the tree roots - although he was hidden behind them now, having withdrawn. "Thank you for saving me from that thing."
Scarlett looked over the timid boy, he looked terrified and so... innocent. The kind female stood where she was, she still could be fooled by the stranger. The stranger was not that intimidating though, but still Scarlett was heavily pregnant and she couldn't really afford to be attacked. She wanted her young to be healthy after all. "You did break some rules. It is rather rude to walk into someone's home," she explained. "Didn't your parents teach you that?,' Scarlett wondered. Maybe this pup had been all alone which could explain why he was so small and ... clueless.
"I guess you are forgiven then. Do you know how to hunt? Or get food?," she then asked. Scarlett couldn't really hunt anymore but she could give tips as a gamekeeper. The red eyed female let out a kind chuckle. "That was a badger. They are very protective of their home and if you intrude they bite. Just like wolves. You are lucky I am not that vicious. So be careful next time, pay attention with your nose to pack border lines." Scarlett wasn't really sure what to do with the youngster. She would probably have to feed it if she wanted to let him go with a good conscious. Maybe she could offer Bearclaw Valley as a home to the young male. Give him a home and lessons.
She seemed angry with him, but her words were the opposite of angry. Actually, while the pale woman appeared irritated to some degree, her words were sweet and kind; except that they spoke down to him in the manner of a parent to a child. He became suitably pouty at this, but said nothing - until she mentioned his parents. A fleeting, "They did - !" Slipped out of him as a response, but the pale wolf was going beyond that, not really allowing time for a response. And then, more questions - about hunting of all things. He just shook his head quickly at that, mouth hanging ajar.
"- so be careful next time, pay attention with your nose to pack border lines."
"Y.. yes. Yes ma'am! I will." More nodding, and this time he shrank down and away from her - ducking his head in a way that made his shoulders jut up from his back, and he began to snake away. "S-sorry. I'll go and I won't come back. You won't have to save me again, and... I'll.. I'll just go. Sorry."
Unless she tried to stop him this time, he'd skeedaddle before any more stern conversation could occur. Ohh, he didn't like making people angry!
Scarlett raised one of her eyebrows. "Right. Well.. Next time..," she mumbled. The red eyed female then frowned as the pup just excuse himself. She would feel guilty if something happened to the little one. Plus Scarlett didn't want him to be scared of her. She was a nice wolf. She would become a mother soon after all!! "Hey wait!," she called out and then waddled forward. Her big belly was swaying from left to right. Scarlett was feeling the weight on her back again. A soft huff mixed with a wince came from the female.
"Why are you all alone? Don't you want home with other wolves?," she asked. She wasn't sure why this child was alone wandering around these wilds. Maybe something happened or maybe it was just.... She didn't know any good reason other than his parents might be dead. She wondered how he could survive on his own. "How do you find meals?," she asked.