The Sunspire this is not the way that it should end.

Set after this thread. For anyone who stayed behind from the return party :)

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The return party had left a couple of hours ago, and yet Summer remained by the den where the girls had been held. For some reason, he was finding it difficult to leave. There was a tightness in his chest that was always there in truth, but the boy could tell by the way his thoughts kept dancing on the edge of the dark pit in his mind that he was soon to be lost inside. Something told him that if he moved, the process would only quicken. Usually Summer would take that route for it was better to get the panic attack over and done with so that he could move on faster, but today he felt the need to keep his head for as long as he could.

If he was being honest with himself, the Demonte-Ostrega would know without a doubt what was driving his slip into depression. He rolled from his stomach onto his side, his body remaining curled in a crescent moon shape, with his gaze drifting into the darkness of the den he laid at the mouth of. He knew that he really would not have been any use to Ferdie in returning the hostages to their pack. He was young and scrawny and awkward--probably not much use in a fight or in verbal negotiations. But still. It wasn't really for his pack that he had wanted to go in the first place.

Summer heaved a sigh and shut his eyes. He had no den to call his own, so this place was as good as any to let the pollution slowly fill up his lungs and throat and take over his head.

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Vienna was on her way out to gather some materials from the meadows on the mountainside when she walked past. She knew that Nightengale had the healing thing kinda covered but since she didn't do much offensive fighting she wasn't sure how else to help.

She almost didn't see him there, he was hidden in the mouth of the cave. When she did, it was from her periphery, and his unexpected presence startled her. She recognized him, though. Summer, the wolf with the antler.

"Hey!" She greeted him, friendly and bright. However, her tone turned concerned when she noted his posture. "Are you okay?"

keeping it vague, since we have another thread, but I couldn't resist <3

The small healer had recently filled the medical cache in her den, and cleaned it out a bit. She was walking aimlessly, deciding what to do, when her aimless meandering took her to the former captive's hold. She already saw two wolves there, and one didn't look like he was carefree.

The other juvenile padded over and wagged her tail in a silent hello. She smiled softly and eased into the beginning of a conversation.

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The boy kept his eyes shut even as he heard footsteps that signified another's approach. As he caught her scent, he remembered in an instant that he had met this one before. Vienna was her name. She had been kind. His eyelids peeled back to reveal orbs of bright sunlight that landed on her face as she began to speak. His ears lifted slightly from the back of his neck, then twisted out to the sides of his head at her question. There was concern in her voice--concern for him and his feelings. Summer felt his normal self begin to crawl desperately out from the darkness towards her, her friendly voice the lead that was tied to his waist.

Before the boy could answer, another joined. This one he did not know, however he recognized her from the day The Sunspire had captured the Creek wolves. The escape from his depression became an even more frantic struggle. He could not break down in front of one he knew little, and even less was he willing to do it before someone he knew not at all.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Summer lied. His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, prompting him to clear his throat before continuing, "Just.. Just a little worried about Ferdie and them. I hope the other pack doesn't cause them any trouble," He lifted his head from his paws as he spoke, his ears now twisting forward to attention. Summer thought himself a pretty good liar after spending his entire life trying to hide his illness from others. The only one who ever knew better was his father. With him gone went the only person in the world who knew Summer's struggle and the misery he shouldered day after day.

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As she was speaking, another female whom Vienna did not know also joined the scene. Vienna gave her a friendly smile, then turned her attention once more to the form lying in the mouth of the den. Her forehead creased with doubt as he responded, but she let it go. If he said he was fine, she was not going to argue.

He did look better as he spoke. Vienna smiled brightly at him, trying to lift his spirits. "I'm sure it will be fine! Ferdie seems to have everything under control and we have a peace worked out now. The other pack would have to be insane to break that, there really isn't any point." It was plain to see, at least in Vienna's sight. What could the Swiftcurrent wolves gain from an attack? They had no reason to desire the mountain and more than enough prey on their own lands. It would be beyond stupid for them to try and attack now. Pointless violence would bring them nothing.

I'm just gonna move this ahead since it's been a while, @Nightingale feel free to hop back in if you're free, otherwise I'll just play as those she's just chillin' quietly nearby :)

Summer listened quietly as Vienna addressed his imaginary worries. He had no doubt that Ferdie would manage just fine. How could the Creek rise up against him when he was returning their captives with no gain to himself? No, the boy wasn't much worried about how his packmates would fare in their venture. He worried only that he would never get to see those beautiful apple green eyes again.

"Yeah, you're right..." Summer said slowly, "It wouldn't make any sense for them to attack. I just.. I don't know, you never know what could happen." He raised slowly to a sitting position, readjusting his haunches to support his weight. He was still gawky and too tall for his body (or lack thereof), but he was at least beginning to fill out a little. He shifted his overly large ears and gave a little frown. "I can't stop thinking about them though... We should go do something, distract ourselves... or just me," he said with a brief, crooked smile. He usually wouldn't be so bold as to suggest such a thing, but Vienna was a friend and having a friend around made him feel more comfortable, even with Nightingale standing quietly nearby.

making up a game, woop! monkey in the middle with a pinecone, ahaha

She hadn't meant to make light of his worries, and she hoped that Summer knew that. Vienna understood where he was coming from. The whole situation was rather worrying and she silently wondered how it had exploded like this. Why couldn't wolves just be respectful of one another?

"Let's just hope they have some sense and know we mean them no ill will. At least we know we won't start anything." She sat down, sweeping her tail across the ground a couple of times as it waved. She liked the sound of his idea and thought for a moment, coming up blank.

"Definitely. But what? Hmm...." She cast her eyes around, looking for inspiration. Something to distract themselves from the current situation. Something fun. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I've got it! We could play 'chase the cone'!" Of course! But first they had to find one.... there had to be one around somewhere!

Lol I'm in! DICE ROLLS FOR THE CONE??? (I'm kidding)

It was a strange concept, wolves of different packs being so disrespectful of one another. After all, they were creatures whose societies were built on respect and balance within a family. Why was it so difficult then for them to extend that same courtesy to their neighbors? Summer shook his head. He was still rather young, and he supposed that understanding of these things would come to him one day. Dhani had always told him to have patience with those with whom he could not see eye to eye. Everyone walked upon their own paws. Dhani himself had been a terrible example of a wolf with patience, but Summer had learned his father's lessons anyway.

At Vienna's suggestion, he suddenly felt his heart clench. A game? Summer eyed her curiously, wondering what exactly she was suggesting. In his recommendation that they distract themselves, he really had been more referring to taking a walk or talking about the pack's latest hunt. He hadn't played a game since... He couldn't really even remember, actually. He supposed it must have been when he was a pup at some pack or another he and his father had spent some time with when he was only a couple of months old. Dhani had been too old to play with his son himself, and much of the boy's first few months had been spent solely in the company of his father.

"Yeah.. Okay," Summer responded slowly, smiling despite his trepidation. The more he got to know the silver girl, the more he found her enthusiasm to be contagious. He felt nervous at the prospect of playing as he was quite certain he was going to do it wrong somehow and make a fool of himself, but he wasn't about to tell her no.

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Haha if you want we can do rolls for catches! XDD My luck is awful so Vienna is gonna be terrible either way, lmao

She was delighted when she agreed despite his trepidation, bouncing on her paws as she turned to look for the necessary object for their game. A pinecone... a pinecone... now where........ AHA! "A pinecone!" She burst out, not caring at the moment that he hadn't been privy to her internal search nor did he probably know the rules of the game. That could come later.

Practically bouncing over, she picked it up, then looked back at him, smiling. Suddenly she paused. "The game," she began, then realized she'd be kind of hard to understand with a pinecone grasped in her teeth. So she dropped it and continued. "usually works better with three." It seemed, though, that Nightengale had other things to be tending to at the moment. "But no problem, catch is still fun!" Just because they had no keepaway target didn't mean they couldn't share a game of toss anyway. Lifting her tail playfully, she picked up the pinecone once more, then tossed it in his direction in a wide arc. She loved this game! She didn't catch so well, but just playing it was super fun!

[ooc] Lol I'll let you start with the dice rolls, I think it goes without saying that Summer was never going to catch the first xD

Summer watched quietly as his friend dug around to find a pinecone. He wasn't at all surprised when she returned moments later with one in tow. Her excitement brought a smile to his face--a rare thing, but Vienna seemed to have a knack for motivation. He pulled himself onto his paws as she returned, ears swiveling forward at attention to listen as she began to explain.

"Yeah, I think we've lost her," Summer replied as he glanced over at Nightingale, sleeping soundly nearby. He turned back just in time to see the pinecone flying towards his face. The boy made a wild snap at it, but missed entirely. It bounced harmlessly against his chest and fell onto the ground. He gave her a smirk. "You can't laugh at me if this doesn't even make it to you, okay?"

He leaned down and latched the pinecone in his jaws. With a flick of his head he tossed it into the air, clearly about to fall a couple of feet short of where Vienna was standing.

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ok, gonna do an 8 dice and say if it's seven or higher she catches it! she isn't so great but yay for enthusiasm XD

Catch: 7

Vienna had always been pretty bad at this game, her ability to catch the flying cone belying her grace at pretty much any other physical motion. For some reason the pinecone just never seemed to be within her grasp. This didn't lessen her joy in the game whatsoever, though. She had never been a competitive wolf when it came to games (races were a different matter) and was definitely not a sore loser. If others were having fun, she was having fun, and Summer seemed to be a similar good sport.

"Never, so long as the same for me!" She giggled, then watched as the throw caused the pinecone to arc towards her, obviously coming up pretty short. Immediately she put on a burst of speed, attempting to get beneath it for the catch.

Somehow, miraculously, she managed to grasp it between her teeth. Completely surprised, she stopped, then grinned. "Not bad, nice throw!!" She'd give him credit for her ability to get underneath it. Dancing back a few paces, she flung it back, watching it fly up and out. Hers had gone wide and long, but hopefully he would be able to make it and intercept!

I'll do the same! 1

Summer watched with trepidation, worried that she would miss due to his terrible throwing skills. Remarkably, she caught it though. He woofed gently in pleasure, his tail wagging at a quick pace. "I think your catch was nicer," he quipped back in response to her compliment. He was still wondering how she managed to do it, especially when the pinecone came sailing back towards him.

The boy bounced backwards sideways, keeping his eye on the pinecone as it flew through the air in a wide arc behind him. As he ran, his legs seemed to tangle themselves together and he stumbled, nearly falling. He caught himself, but that was about all of the catching he could do. The pinecone fell the ground and rolled away from him, eliciting a frown from the boy. It wasn't long lasting, for he bounded after it and snatched it up again in his jaws, flinging it backwards over his shoulder in a surprise attack against Vienna. See how she could handle that!

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4

She thought she was ready for it, but when the pinecone fell to the ground, Summer flung it back with a speed that took her by surprise. She stood still for a moment (possibly a moment too long) before reacting and attempting to outrace it's inevitable fall.

Unluckily she was unable to beat gravity, and the missile bounced to a stop a foot or two from her paws. Unfazed, she scooped it up and flipped it back in a single motion, impishly trying to return the favor and perhaps take him by surprise this time.

8

Summer gave a grin as Vienna sent the pinecone flying back towards him. Little did the girl know, be was ready for her. He sprang into action as the target went sailing through the air, swiftly aligning himself with the projected landing point to be waiting for it as it coasted down towards the ground. He shuffled his paws across the ground nervously as it fell, finally giving a little leap upwards to ensnare it between his teeth.

The young Ostrega gave his friend a cheeky grin as he turned back towards her. This time he was determined to throw her off. He slid down onto his elbows , his tail wagging like a flag in the air. First he darted to the left, then to the right, each time flicking his head as though about to send the pinecone flying back towards her. Finally, he darted for a split second to the right before leaping to the left and sending the prize flying through the air over Vienna's shoulder.

5

We can keep this going a while longer or fade whenever you want <3

With a matching devilish glint in her eye, she mirrored his position, shuffling her paws as Summer switched directions multiple times. This one she was convinced to capture, for he was so obviously trying to make her miss.

Her eyes were firmly trained on the pinecone, so when it left his jaws, she was ready with it -- or so she thought. Snapping at it as it flew past, her teeth clicked together on air. Instantly she let loose a laugh.

"So that's how it's gonna be?" She replied, still laughing. Running back she retrieved the plaything, then dropped back down, mind racing. Honestly if it had been her brother she was playing with she would have already pounced on him, forgoing the toss for a tussle after that last move. But she wasn't sure if that was the way Summer played and didn't want to scare him off. So instead she winked. "You can catch the pinecone, but can you catch me?" She challenged happily, then took off running, casting a quick glance back to see if he took the bait. She would take any chance to run she could, though she wasn't sure if he was so inclined.

Fadey fade! <3

Summer gave a triumphant grin as Vienna leaped and missed. The pine cone landed with a bounce across the grass, the young female dancing right along after it. But if Summer had thought himself clever with his antics, Vienna proved quickly to him that she could be just as creative. Just when he was preparing himself for another catch, she have him a devious grin, a quip, and was racing away across the land.

Summer stood there looking dumb for a moment before his brain kicked in and his heels kicked up. He shot after the silver blur as though he were her shadow trailing right along in her wake, laughing in a way he hardly realized that he still knew how to do, and hoping beyond hope he might forget that he ever didn't know he still could.