Hideaway Strath the prank was murder

The storm that beats the coast has not touched the strath in the same way. Some days have offered rain, a little gloomy, but for the most part they are far enough inland that they barely had a drizzle. The day is a tease where half the sky is bright and sunny and the other dark and threatening. Rain has not touched the ground, giving her motive for leaving the den and exploring a little more now that her legs have graduated to wandering. Having seen the borders and where her father had taken her brother, she’s curious to know what else the rest of the pack has to offer. 

Her attention is cut short when she stumbles over a large stick. She hadn’t noticed it upon approach but as she tangles up in it, hitting the ground at least once, she instantly latches her sharp teeth around the tip closest to her. Temporarily forgetting about her exploration, several yards away from the den, she’s nestled the other end of the stick between clumsy paws as she begins to destroy her prize.

This looked lonely! <3

Tapat was roaming through the area. He had a tough time getting to know what lands he needed to stay on. With his short-term memory loss, repetition was key. Plus the scents most of the time stayed the same. He was certain of it. The young wolf was glad that his family was back with him. He had feared he lost them. The small build youngster looked far younger than 7 months. He realized he would never be as large as his brother, and wouldn't be as good with fighting as him.

Tapat liked to follow scents. Now he was following another one. He was not sure what he was tracking as he could not really remember what he tracked before. He did stumble upon a child, younger than him, playing with a stick. He wanted to play too!!! He yipped excitedly and jumped forward with his tail wagging. The young boy instantly lowered his front as an invitation to play. He loved to play.

She’d shredded a lot of the stick by the time a stranger approached her. Paling eyes lift from their mark to see the other make a sound that causes her ears to flinch and she growled as he became dangerously close to her toy. Mallaidh freezes mid-chew with bits and pieces stabbing at her cheeks and gums. She doesn’t give the other a chance at what is hers as she grips the stick even tighter and then throws herself to all fours, taking off in the opposite direction to keep the other from what is hers.

Tapat jumped from side to side to invite her to play but he was only met with growls. He understood that she was protective of the stick but Tapat only wanted to play. He let out a whine and gave her another invitation to play. When he did he always kept some distance. Tapat was very impressionable and he wouldn't dare to take the other's stick as she seemed very intent to keep it.

Tapat realized that he missed his brother. He would always play with him. As he thought about his brother he forgot about the pup before him and what he was doing. He blinked awake from his thoughts. He looked around before his eyes fell on the youngster, who currently running away. OH! A chase!!! Tapat instantly look after her with an exciting yip. His tail wagging trying to catch her.

Mallaidh turns her head back, stick tight in her grasp, and her eyes widen when she sees the bigger wolf chase after her. Fuck, she curses to herself, recalling the emotion her father used just the day before. She grumbles to herself and turns back, circling back to the king sequoia where her family remains. However, she doesn’t quite want to lead him all the way there so she changes her path rather abruptly to spin on her heels and shooting off in another direction.

Tapat had the most fun while running after her. His body was bigger so he had an easier time trying to catch up with her. Though, after a short moment, he forgot why they were running. He slowed his pace. "Wait!," he barked. "Why are we running?," he called out. He would feel bad if he would forget about a game they were playing. The girl made a sharp turn like she was fleeing from him. Tapat's ears fell to the side of his head. How he was confused what he did wrong.

Just as she was sure he was going to catch up to her, he comes to a stop and shouts. Her ears twitch upon her head and she curves once, rounding the corner to make sure he’s still within sight. When she gets the chance and comes to a stop herself, several feet away, she knits her brows together in confusion. Mallaidh spits out the stick and promptly puts her paw on top of it. Mine, she postures. “You tryna take mine,” she tells him, narrowing her eyes over the distance to gauge his reaction.

Tapat looked so confused when the dominant pup stood on top of her stick. His ears flopped back and submissively lowered his head to the youngster. The pale male easily flopped over on his back looking at the darker colored female. His tail between his legs but wagging. "I only wanted to play," he returned still laying on his back and exposing his belly. Must have been a curious sight to see an almost adult submitting to a pup.

When she announces the crime he has committed, confusion is awash his face. Her own bout kicks in and she narrows her eyes, watching as he lowers more to the ground and, ultimately, over on to his back. The stranger is significantly larger and older than she is but there's something rumbling in her chest. Watching him submit to her causes her form to stiffen a little, her fluffy tail arched tight over her spine the same way she's seen both her parents.

Mallaidh inhales a sharp breath and holds it, blinking a few times before she even dares to open her mouth. "We can play," she states but doesn't move. 

"You stay," she demands of him as she picks up her stick and swiftly returns it near the sequoia where her other siblings are. Thankfully, they are sleeping and she can hide it without any of them seeing what she's doing. Satisfied with her work, she quickly returns to the older boy as a swagger forms in her last few steps. "Come on," she tells him with a swift gesture of her muzzle as she takes off in a random direction until she knows what to do with him.

Tapat looked at the other with innocent eyes. It seemed that his submission worked. Tapat was perhaps not good with remembering but he did have an instinct and could read body language. The pale teenager slowly turned on his tummy when the girl approved of him. His tail was slowly starting to wag. He liked to play.

The boy slowly pushed to himself into a sitting position when she told him to wait. He wanted to protest but could he really? She asserted her dominance over him. Tapat watched her go. A frown fell onto his face. He thought she said they would play. As soon as he wondered what he was doing here the pup returned. A pup!! Maybe she wanted to play with him! His mind focussed on that instead of remembering what happened a few minutes before. She then said that he should follow her. Tapat tipped his head cutely and then followed her.

When she returns, she sees the new excitement in his face and her brows burrow together. She offers him a slight head tilt as she tries to process it but she can’t put a reason behind it. No one has informed her of his disability (not that she’d really understand at this point) but he is still eager to follow.
 
Mallaidh doesn’t know where she’s going in particular, unable to remember the direction she’d found what she really wanted, so she glances over her shoulder every now and then to make sure he’s following. Eventually, she sees something familiar and she lights up, bouncing forward to a low hanging tree limb barely hanging on to the bigger branch. No matter how much she jumps or tries to climb the trunk, she’s much too small to reach it and perhaps he’s at a better height to get it for her.
 
“See that?” she asks with a point of her nose, then looking back at him. “Get it for me.”

Tapat followed the girl, his mind going blank as he just followed her shape. The male stopped when she did and looked up at the low-hanging branch. The young male looked at it skeptically. He already forgot that they were going to play so that wasn't the issue here. "Why do you want a branch?," he asked her.

He looked up. The pale boy wasn't even sure if he could reach it, as he was short of height himself. He hoped that the female wouldn't demand it from him. The male looked at the branch again. "I don't think I can reach it," he pointed out to her.

Why do you want a branch?
 
Mallaidh snorts loudly at the thought. What a stupid question. She slowly urns her gaze from the branch to the boy as she considers how to answer. With a snap of her teeth in his direction, she blurts out frustrated “because! I want it. It’s big.” Like me, she thought, but hushed the thought.
 
When he takes a moment to decide he can’t reach it, she huffs loudly and rolls her eyes. “You didn’t even try!” she shouts, pointing her nose in a way to encourage him forward and at least put some effort into it.

Tapat jumped aside when he saw a hint of teeth coming in his direction. The male let out a soft whine and made sure to keep his distance from the girl. He was not sure if he liked her. He wondered if he had disliked anyone before. When she also shouted at him Tapat's ears fell back. He didn't understand why she was shouting, what did he do wrong?

He looked so confused at the girl. He didn't understand. What didn't he try? Did he have to do something for her? "Why you mad?," he asked, the whole low hanging branch and its urgency were replaced by him questioning why the small girl was mad at him.

Tapat doesn’t do anything still and she stares at him for a long moment after he asks why she’s mad. Why doesn’t he understand? Her brows knit together and she huffs, blowing smoke right out her nose and ears in frustration. “Just go away!” she tells him as she turns, not waiting for him to make the first move. Mallaidh stomps off back the way they’d came to find some other way to get the branch down herself.