Moonspear ^_____^

Maybe @Alaric?

Tiuttuk found a small overhang within view of the ulaq and climbed up there to survey their surroundings. The stone shelf was sun-warm beneath their feet, inviting the puppy to sprawl with their pale belly pressed against it. Their forepaws crossed at the ankles and dangled off the ledge. They fought back a yawn as their yellow eyes panned from left to right.

Somebody had taught them about haiku the other day. For someone who had only begun to master language (and counting!), even such a simple verse presented a challenge. Treepie embraced it, their tongue poking out to rest on their lower lip as they composed the poem in their head.

When they were ready to unleash it on the world, Treepie soliloquized:

Blue sky and sunlight,
Green grass and puffy white clouds,
Make my heart smile.

Alaric was out and about. In his jaws was a cleaned fur that he had just taken to the water's edge and scrubbed out. Puppies made messes it was the way of things. He would hang it from a low hanging branch and let the sun warm it. 

A small movement, miniscule really caught his attention and he lifted his head to see Pie staring down atop a small overhang. They looked quite comfortable up there. He grinned. Placing the fur to the side as he perked his ears to catch their words. 

That was lovely, Pie!

Apparently, they had an audience! Tiuttuk grinned down at Alaric, their tail thumping soundly on the rock shelf. Part of them wanted to spring down at him, though they knew they could both get hurt. Instead, they wriggled to the very lip of the overhang, reached out their paws and flexed their little toes, effectively making grabby hands.

Thank you! they remembered to say, then in the very next breath invited, Now you do one!

Alaric was quite pleased with the little pie and their imagination. They had always seemed to love the songs and the poems when he would visit. He sort of hoped that there was a making of another bard, when he himself was thus far the only one in the packs that he knew of. Healers plenty.

Birds sang joy-ful-ly
Birds fly play-ful-ly in sky
Let the sun-light shine.

Did i do it right? He asked with gentle smile. 

I had to dig deep and I even did the clappy thing so hopefully it is correct lmao. I haven't written haikus in years.

LOL. *chef’s kiss*

Their eyes glowed like sunbeams when Alaric recited his own haiku. Treepie repeated it back in their mind, counting under their breath whilst holding out a paw to count their toes beans.

Yeah! Tiuttuk chirped brightly. And it was pretty too, they added, as ever unaware that they slipped in and out of their mother’s tongue. Do you have a favorite poem? they wondered in the next breath.

They gazed down at him in anticipation once more, certain that Alaric would not disappoint them. He was full of songs and stories. Even if he wasn’t, he would never come up short in Treepie’s eyes—except, of course, when he literally stood below them, as he did now. They giggled.

Poem credit Robert Frost "The Road Not Taken" it is my favorite

Pie enjoyed it, it seemed. And happy day he hadn't messed up too badly. It had been sometime since he had successfully spoken a haiku. He coughed to hide a small laugh as they counted their toe beans.

Alaric nodded. I do.

He settled to his haunches amd began. Voice rich from years of training it. Following the cadence of the poem perfectly.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

When Alaric took a seat, Pie settled down at the edge of the overhang again, forepaws crossed at the ankles and dangling slightly. Their ears cupped toward the euphonic rise and fall of the bard’s voice as images floated through their mind.

They sensed there was more to the story than simply the two paths he described, though Treepie couldn’t quite grasp such concepts yet. They still enjoyed the poem at face value, particularly the bits that rhymed. Was there anything more pleasant to the ears?

Why’s it your favorite? Pie questioned after taking a moment to digest the piece.

Alaric had a captive audience in pie. That was nice for the bard. They seemed to like music and the sound of the cadence. Perhaps they were like him, found it soothing and fit with the harder edges. Smoothed them out.

There was more to the poem. A poem Alaric deeply loved. That fit him he felt. 

Well because I suppose I Took a road less traveled and it brought me here to all of you.

He’d lived it. Curiosity sparkled in Treepie’s lemon-yellow gaze. They’d never given much thought to the past, particularly those things which had preceded their own existence. It was a concept slightly beyond their grasp, just like the hidden layers in Alaric’s poem. They thirsted for knowledge and understanding.

Tell me, Pie insisted, hoping the councilor would understand the oversimplified demand.

They uncrossed their forelegs and let their chin drift down to the stone between their paws. Tiuttuk’s gaze remained glued to Alaric’s face, their expression eager and ears pricked as they anticipated the bard’s tale.

Alaric smiled softly. There was more truth to that poem than a little bit. He had def been on a road most didn't travel.

He blinked a little surprised and yet not. Some of his story was not fit for little ears. No sir.

Well I left home qhen I was pretty young maybe 6 months old. I left with my sister Amalia. But ahe and I separated a little later because I wanted to hunt monsters.

He took a deep breath and continued. I went to all sorts of villages and told stories and learned new songs and poems and how to help others that got hurt.

Although they could count to six—it was the number between five and seven, of course!—Treepie wasn’t quite sure just what a month entailed. Or maybe they did know and they’d simply forgotten. Something about it niggled at them, anyway.

How old am I? they wondered, though this was only the first of several questions. Are monsters real? Did you miss her? Did you miss your home?

Pie couldn’t quite imagine leaving Moonspear, Sialuk and their siblings. The thought intrigued them, though. Maybe when they were six months old, they would follow in Alaric’s footsteps. That suited. He was, after all, a good role model.

Thinking upon it. Six months had been very young. Probably far too young for him to leave.

Alaric smiled. A little below 3 months.

A title of an ear. I think they are. I did I missed her very much. But she lives around here now too. So I can see her when I want. My family didn't really have a home. We moved about a lot. We were something you called Nomadic. Most of the time we stayed in a meadow in the woods, but sometimes we left.

Alaric smiled softly. You know something. I wish I had waited until I was a little older to leave. So that my family could teach me just a little more things. Cause sometimes I didn't know what to do and got scared.

Pie loved learning a new word. Hoping to commit “nomadic” and its meaning to memory, they listened to everything else Alaric had to say before reciting another haiku aloud.

Will I move a lot?
Maybe when I’m much older,
I’ll be nomadic.

They smiled gently at Alaric, sensing that he might appreciate the emphasis. Moving around a lot sounded like quite an adventurous lifestyle, though little Treepie was in no particular rush to leave the nest.

In fact, their yellow eyes glanced past the bard’s head, toward the nearby ulaq. They tucked a yawn behind a paw. As much as Tiuttuk enjoyed their newfound perch, they would still prefer to take a nap in the safety and warmth of the den. But not just yet.

Ever inquisitive, the babe queried, What things do you wish they teached you before you left?

Alaric chuckled and nodded his head. 

You do move a lot
Under trees, near rivers deep
Peaceful and so free

He made a soft hmm noise noticing their little eyes and the little yawn. Well for one I definitely would have loved to know all the best napping places. How about we go find one? Amd I tell you everything I wish they taught me. I'm getting older. I need naps to function. He nodded with small smile.

It took them a beat, though it delighted Tiuttuk when they realized Alaric had replied in verse. They sat up so they could clap their paws, their leathery paw pads coming together with a soft whump, whump, whump!

The next several words out of his mouth earned a playfully arched eyebrow. That wasn’t a real answer! Of course, Pie wouldn’t mind a nap. They glanced at the ulaq almost longingly but quickly returned their attention to Alaric. They nodded. It was usually fun to explore new things, particularly with a trusted friend.

Okay, but before we go to sleep, I wanna hear your real answer, they insisted with a trilling giggle as they carefully climbed down from the overhang.

Alaric was glad to make Tiuttuk happy. It was a delight to see the child's face transformed with such happiness. He hoped that they were always this happy. That nothing came for them.

Alright I guess I can tell you. He teased them gently.

He slowly went towards the overhang in case Pie needed help, but they seemed to do just fine without him. I wish they had shown me how to hunt better, and fish better. I also would have liked to know more about other wolves and different ways of thinking. I would have liked to know how to find water if there was none in the desert areas. How to stay warm in the cold areas.

They felt much smaller now as they stood at Alaric’s shoulder, prepared to go wherever he led them. They began walking in tandem, the bard’s voice setting a sedate rhythm as they headed to their unknown destination. Treepie’s ears pricked, taking in every word and developing the beginnings of a mental checklist.

I know how to keep warm in the cold, they told him with a sleepy smile, not bothering to tuck the yawn that followed. By snuggling.

They wouldn’t mind doing a bit of that in the very near future, even though it was rather warm outside now. Treepie tended to run cool and always felt most comfy bundled up close to another warm body when they slept.

Alaric always marveled at how little wolves were when they were born. Then eventually they grew up larger than life almost. It was a head swim everytime. To think once upon a time he had been that small. 

Snuggling is a great way to keep warm.  You can also dig into a snow drift. And build a make shift spot with big branches.

He tilted an ear downward. I always like to snuggle when i Sleep too.

Treepie scribbled down more notes on their mental notepad, even though some of these words they did not know. For instance, what was a desert? And what was snow? They wanted to ask, though all this talk of snuggling made them aware of how tired they felt.

Are we there yet? they asked with a cheeky look on their sleepy little face.

Alaric smiled as they made it to the little ones Ulaq. Of course we are.

He bent his head to look at the little tired eyes staring up at him. A gentle bump to the child's head a small smile. It was wonderful to see the world through a child's eyes.

The two of them paused beside the familiar ulaq. Treepie looked up at Alaric expectantly, smiling when his nose touched their forehead. But as he drew away, their little brow knotted. Did he really only mean to take them home? What about finding someplace new to nap?

As adventurous as they might one day feel, Pie considered for a moment and decided they were happiest in the den’s cozy familiarity anyway. They peeped at the bard, then strode inside with nary a complaint.

Yawning, Tiuttuk padded to the furthest interior wall and flopped to the ground beside their sister. They tucked their chin over her back and curled their body toward hers, murmuring one last haiku before they drifted off.

One day, I will go,
See new places and faces,
For now, home sweet home.