Moonspear to walk among the sleeping air

Trade thread with @Gannet

✴        It wasn't rare for the boy to be punted from whatever nest he'd made with one sibling or another, often because of his habit of kicking them in his sleep or biting them when he was awake. Today, having experienced an early start to his morning only to be promptly abandoned by the twins, he was wandering the grounds on his own. Revui wanted to find Arcturus for a good ol' playfight, but the dark boy had been spirited away by their older sister or somesuch adult. Being alone didn't usually bother him, but Revui was in a foul mood due to a lack of sleep, and needed to vent his aggression on something (or someone).

Thankfully the boy encountered the perfect target as he marched along. He sank low upon one of the mountain paths, creeping along a ridge that was much smaller than he realized, and believing he was being very sneaky (and forgetting he was quite shiny beneath the spring sun) he aimed for the first body he saw, and bolted at them with teeth snapping.

Just as before, Gannet was unsuspecting when the pup attacked him from behind... he'd actually been gazing over the ridge when it happened. Fortunately, he didn't scare so badly as to falter... the fall might have been nasty. But instead he spun and spotted Revui straightaway as he heard teeth and snarls. Oh!!

Not wanting to fight anywhere near the edge of anything, Gannet sprang sideways, away from the edge, before leaning down into a bow and eyeing the pup challengingly. Yes, come! Attack!

✴        Being caught out in the open was a pretty obvious fault in his attempt, but the boy wouldn't know that for a while. He tried his best to close the distance and grapple with whatever part of Gannt was close; however, the older wolf was spinning about and ducking in a way that surprised Revui. He didn't stop gnashing his teeth but he didn't go headlong into Gannet once he did his bow, and instead began to circle him, clearly uncertain as to what to do next. Every time he got close enough to actually grab him, he'd appear to grow skeptical, and dash backwards, like a puppy doing zoomies. His tail was going a mile a minute, spinning about like a helicopter blade.

Revui seemed tentative, darting in and out without ever really meeting a mark. Gannet watched warily, but never lost his smile, as he followed the boy's circling. His own tail was drilled, tense... waiting.

He wanted to show, so he lowered and started forward, aiming to nip lightly at the boy's flank. His teeth would barely catch fur if he touched, and would not close... he wanted to incite more forwardness.

✴        Revui wasn't usually a loud child but the more he played, the more he tried to growl, buzz, and snap his teeth. He didn't get too close to Gannet at first and would paw at the air in between lunges, and even with the wolf egging him on, Revui wasn't sure what to do. And then, rather abruptly, he just stopped. The curve of his aggressive stance became a neutral pose and he stared at Gannet for a second, almost bored, and huffed at him. Maybe he didn't have the attention span yet.

A split-second later, Gannet was too close. He was trying to get Revui to keep playing but the boy didn't like the little nips to his hips and nape, and was ducking and spiraling to keep himself away from the white terror. He was forced back in to play mode; it swiftly became something more though, as he felt harassed and under duress, so that when he did finally land a hit on Gannet, he wasn't about to let go.

In an instant, it seemed, the tone shifted. Revui stopped, and Gannet made a few well-intentioned attempts to further get him to play. Now Revui seemed harried, and Gannet backed off abruptly, spacing back and bowing playfully, but releasing an apologetic whine. Gannet was not a tasking caretaker... unlike Hydra or Charon or likely Amekaze, he did not care if the pups trained or not. He was here solely for play, and to perhaps give knowledge if they wanted. If they didn't, he wasn't about to push.

Revui seemed to be done, and Gannet's ears fell back, but he let the boy depart. The mercurial nature of pups was starting to become known to him... hopefully he'd make it up to the boy next time!