Northstar Vale When you say something you can't take back

For up to 2 other Duskvalers!

After meeting with Minna and taking her to Warbone for his judgment, when all was said and done and the pack had decided her fate, Saena returned to the site where she'd left the dried squirrel. She was relieved to find it hadn't been stolen. She stooped to pick it up, then did an about-face and headed right back the way she came, dangling the pitiful carcass from her jowls. It swayed with every step, scattering its decrepit smell about the air, that the breeze would gather its aroma and carry it to others in the area.

When she was back in the vicinity of the pack, the lead bitch picked her way toward the two closest pack mates. She stopped a hundred yards from them, uttered a playful chuff around the dried bit of meat in her mouth, and dropped her fore to the ground. Her rear waved enticingly, inviting the two to play, as she shook her head back and forth and dragged the squirrel across the dirt. First one turned toward her, then the other, and it wasn't long before both wolves were galloping toward Saena, who playfully turned and fled, trailing the squirrel like a flag to capture.

Warbone watched in silent annoyance when Saena traipsed off again, his perpetual frown deepening into a full-on scowl as he propped himself up on one elbow and watched her go. Even though her trips always seemed fruitful, it was always an unsettling feeling for him to pass his eye over their collective, and to not spot her among them. It was unnatural, he felt, and she wouldn't be able to go like this many more times before he verbalized his opinion on the matter. For now, he was content to just look grumpy about it, his irritation not yet evolved into a simmering anger.

She returned far quicker than he expected -- a decrepit squirrel in tow -- and in maybe sensing his mood, goaded him and the next nearest packmate into a game of keep-away. The large wolf barked, booming and fully riled as he trounced after her, his sheer size and weight attributing to a clear disadvantage for him in this rather dexterous game. He forgot his ire, trading in the useless emotion for something much lighter, much younger feeling.

That being said, despite the element of fun, Warbone was naturally aggressive and he obviously played to win.

Warbone soon led the charge, with their fellow pack mate falling back a few paces to permit the first male to take his turn at snatching the prize from Saena's jaws. Normally subservient to him, Saena's eyes twinkled mischievously as she let him get close, drawing him in with jovially slapping paws, only to spin and dart away when he closed the distance. The lead bitch misjudged her ability to take on two opponents at once, however, and within moments of escaping Warbone, the pack mate who had been behind lunged and grasped the squirrel deftly with a growl and shake of their head.

Saena clamped down on the dried carcass, snarling playfully around it as she attempted to pull it back, but at the last moment she let go. She chortled as her pack mate stumbled backward, the unwitting possessor of the toy that Warbone wanted to get for himself, and she fell back to give Warbone the opportunity to wrestle for the squirrel now. Brute strength would not win her the game, not against pack mates larger than herself. She would need to be clever if she hoped to win, and for now, the clever thing to do was to let them wear each other out for a little while.

Minna was still new! and exciting! but Dag was a gentleman enough to try and give her some space - and also, he had kind of been edging toward Warbone, wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to try and get him to play. Dag wasn't sure if the other like to roughouse for fun, but it'd been a long time since the young male had had his siblings around to do such things with.

He missed it.

Before he could truly decided, though, Saena entered the scene. While not very new anymore, she was still very cool! and exciting! - Dag was happy to reciprocate when she offered a game of keep-away with the dried-up... thing. Didn't matter. It was smelly! and fun! and he wanted it. And, it was only surprise that stopped him from getting it - the First Wolf stood and joined the fray, and Dag couldn't keep himself from leaping for joy as Warbone's playful side seemed to come out.

The game was a blurr, and soon enough, Dag had the thing in his jaws and was... all alone? What gives? he wondered, looking toward the retreating Saena with a confused look on his face - leaving himself open to attacks from other angles.

With only one eye to speak of, it made sense that he would focus entirely on the carcass as opposed to monitoring his opponents. He soon found that his target was no longer possessed by the petite jaws of his partner, but rather, had been transferred unto the body of their resident youngster, who Warbone rounded on immediately. He shifted more agilely than his size should have permitted, lunging at the surprised shadow with a playful growl and a less-than-courteous drive of his weight, seeking to tackle Dagfinn and forcefully retrieve his prize.

The first female bounded to the left, making way for a singularly focused Warbone to get in on the action. Tongue lolling, the first female planted her paws and swayed in place a moment, merely observing, before she made to round Dagfinn's backside. Her movements were quick and deft, carrying her silently around the pair, but there was naught she could do at the moment. Both Warbone and the younger Dagfinn were larger than she and carried more force in their frames. Short of snatching it from them, Saena could not wrest it from them.

Now there was an idea. Without warning, Saena darted in from Dagfinn's left side and made a cheeky grab for the dead squirrel, only to dart away just as quickly, not quite registering whether her snatch had been successful or not.

The shock of being bowled into by another wolf was enough to force thoughts of the Cool Thing out of Dag's mind. He reeled for an instant - the moment between his impact with Warbone and his impact with the ground - but by the time his shoulder hit the dust, the grin was back on his face.

Dag abandoned the prize he'd won from Saena and turned open-mouthed toward Warbone, intending to gnaw on his face as he twisted around. The young male was an expert at getting out of dogpiles; having so many boisterous siblings had made sure of that. And although Warbone was quite a bit bulkier than Lotte, he was not bulkier than Lotte and Laerke together, or any other combination of his siblings. Dag tore himself out from under the other and dove right back in, intending to tickle mercilessly for as long as he could hold his own. (Perhaps not the best strategy, considering his adversary.)

Attentions otherwise involved, he did not notice Saena snatching the Cool Thing right out from underneath them.

Warbone felt the young third topple beneath him, his jaws eagerly stretching forward to catch the half-ejected dead squirrel, but he instead found himself buffeted by the quick jaw-sparring of the black and blue-eyed imp. He lost all leverage completely, finding himself both without a warm body to crush and without the prize that had been snatched away by the slyly darting Saena.

His eye followed the pale blur, but was almost immediately distracted by the return of Dagfinn, who threw around his paws and teeth like free candy. Warbone barked out a laugh, tossing himself sideways in an attempt to free himself from the playful onslaught, but the younger male was far too spirited to just let him escape.

The copper brute fell willingly to his side, wriggling against the lightly powdered earth as he flailed his limbs to fend off his "attacker." He would never purposely do such a thing in a real fight, but he trusted these two wolves implicitly, and he was not in the least bit concerned that being on his back would damage his reputation as a very powerful wolf.

Chortling, the first female trotted several paces away with the dried squirrel dangling from between her teeth. She gave it a light toss into the air, watching it with bright blue eyes as it fell limply to the ground, but instead of going for it, she turned sidelong to watch the boys tussle. She'd have thought in both her bias and experience that Warbone would have a very easy upper hand, with Dagfinn being both smaller and younger, but the fleet black bard proved otherwise. Soon enough it was the goliath between them that fell to the ground, and though Saena knew it was likely purposeful, she bark-cheered Dagfinn on nonetheless.

The fresh powder that Warbone kicked up with his wriggling soon clouded the two, and Saena retreated some steps to retrieve the squirrel. She planted her elbows on the ground and gnawed on it, rump upright and legs ready for the inevitable moment when one or both men would come for her dead toy again.

Dag doesn't think much of the alpha rolling over - not beyond Yes! and Fun! and Raaaar! 

He continues to badger the older man until Saena and her dried squirrel catch his eye once more. His gnawing turns quickly to excited thrashing as he places on last lick on the older man's chin before pouncing over him and dashing toward mom Saena, jaws open to receive the squirrel.