Redhawk Caldera Pack

Eljay felt embarrassed when she spoke, and were it not for his fuzzy face he'd have looked like a raspberry about now. "Oh, no, I meant... Like, at your old home... In general." He just decided to keep his eyes on the road rather than give in to his embarrassment and stumble over more words. Keeping a move on kept the lingering panic attacks at bay, and so he kept walking forward.

Nadie then suggested doing something more fun (or rather, said she'd have expected him to suggest something more fun) and he stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "What d'you want to do, then?" he asked. "I'm not super good at games. I guess 'cause I didn't have any siblings to practise with." Eljay grinned awkwardly after his half-sort-of-maybe-joke, and waited for her to suggest anything else, since he didn't really feel like patrolling in the first place, either.

"Oh.." Well didn't she feel silly now. "Nah I was a little younger than you when I left. Not much time to learn,"she admitted. She didn't have much of a chance to learn much of anything. Now she wanted to be mercenary so she could protect her pack and never lose her family again.

She stopped, pretending to think about it. Then suddenly she tapped his side with her paw. She bolted off as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast admittedly. "You're it!"

"Oh!" said Eljay, surprised to hear that Nadie had been younger than he when she had left home. He wondered how she'd survived, especially if she hadn't caught her first own food until she was ten months of age. It was admirable and kind of scary all at once to think about. "That's really young to leave home, isn't it?" He wasn't actually sure, as he had little reference to go by. He knew that Wifi and Raven had left when they weren't much older than he was now, too, but Nightjar was still around so Eljay figured he was still safe to stay home.

Eljay halted when Nadie stopped, too. He looked at her think, but then suddenly she batted a paw at him and dashed off. Eljay was surprised and a little scared at first, his instincts raging inside, but when she called out 'you're it' he realised that it was a game. He'd played this sometimes, but never properly, because everyone he had ever played with had been a whole lot bigger than he. Eljay galloped after Nadie, shouting, "No fair!" (though the comment was supported by a laugh) and started the chase.

She hadn't heard his question, even if she had she probably would have brushed it off. She didn't like talking about her mom, it was uncomfortable for all those involved. Most people didn't know how to respond to the info. Some were wary of her, thinking she might bring bad luck. Others were even afraid that she might be unstable like her mother. 

In all truth she was too slow to beat Eljay at the game but she would be damned if she wasn't trying. She was always slow though, no one was perfect. She may have more muscle mass than your average female but she was bulkier and slower because of it. She ignored this though and laughed at Eljay's comment.

The laugh was returned and Eljay continued on after Nadie. He wasn't all that fast himself (though mostly because he wasn't used to utilising his speed in the right ways yet and had a lot to learn) and bounded after Nadie, surprised to see himself catching up to her.

Just when he almost reached Nadie, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he ran after her, and wanted to reach out his paw to 'tag' her, Eljay tripped over some loose stones. His "You're —" got stuck halfway through and with an "oomf!" sound Eljay made a somersault and ended up on his butt, looking dizzy.

He was gaining even though she was running as fast as she could. Be had reached out to tag her as she tried her best to dodge it. Before she could be tagged though he tripped over some rocks. 

She loped back to him in a wide arc to make sure he was okay. She sniffed him over, no blood. He just looked a little dizzy. She poked his shoulder with her nose Before giving his chin a playful lick. "You're fine," She assured him. Her actions were platonic although to some they may have seemed flirtatious.

The world tumbled upside down, and Eljay dizzily looked around while he tried to make the world stop spinning. Soon Nadie came into full focus again and he shook his head to rid himself of the last dizziness. He looked at Nadie as she bumped his shoulder and then licked his chin. This last move was a bit of a surprise, but since Eljay had so far had no experience nor urges in the sexual department he didn't take it any different than he would've had any of his relatives done this (except that he trusted them more and so felt more comfortable with their touches).

"Sorry," he offered with a sheepish grin. "I guess I tripped, huh... I'm kinda clumsy." Eljay hoped that Nadie wasn't too disappointed that their game had come to such an abrupt ending. After a brief pause he couldn't help but ask Nadie, "Do you — does that sorta stuff ever happen to you?" Because everyone around him seemed so sure-footed and mature and Eljay sometimes felt like he was the only clumsy goose in the entire pack, surrounded by a flock of elegant swans.

She cocked her head to the side thinking, for real this time. She hadn't ever fallen over a rock but there were plenty of times she had accidents that had seemed idiotic. The time she nearly broke her ankle from stepping in a hole for example or the time she froze while on a pack hunt and nearly got squished by a moose.

She nodded, finding an example that would make him less embarrased. "There was this one time I fell down a hill and landed right in a big bush of thorns," by the end of the sentence she was chortling. It was painful at the time but now it was funny to her.

It made Eljay feel better to know that others were clumsy at times, too. He smiled softly as Nadie shared her own story, squinting slightly when she mentioned falling into thorny bush. "oooh, that must've hurt!" he said compassionately, though he already looked a lot less embarrassed about his own flop-over.

I think I'm gonna wrap it up

She smiled at Eljay, before noting how late it was getting. "I should probably go. Your parents are probably looking for you," she reminded him. He was only a pup after all, they would probably be expecting him. And She still had to find somewhere else to sleep. With a small smile She told him," It was nice to meet you." She gave him a friendly nudge, always one for physical contact, and then trotted off to find a den.

"Nah," said Eljay when Nadie said that his parents were looking for him. Usually Eljay was looking for his parents, but never really the other way around. They were probably happy that he was gone for a little while, anyway, 'cause it'd give them some time alone and they would think he was out polishing his social skills.

But he respected that Nadie had to go, of course, and he had gotten quite tired from the play and their long conversation himself. "I had a nice time," he said softly and he returned the friendly nudge and then started to wander back home, feeling happy for a change.