Bramblepoint the great hereafter

@Titmouse!

"Kid! Kid, get back here! Bastard!"

He ran. Away from the man with the scarred face. Away from his gruelling training. Away. His legs were no match for the adult wolf's longer ones, though Redshank was small and cunning. He hid within foul-smelling bushes and travelled along lake edges to hide his scent. He didn't stop until he was certain the man had either lost his trail completely or had given up the search. He intended to never see the male — Sol — again. He had already stolen him away before; Redshank would not go back.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time the boy arrived upon a dark forest, the fruity smell that emanated from it causing him to scrunch up his nose in disgust. He would have to deal with it, though; his main task now was finding a place to rest for the night. His legs ached, breath coming out in laboured pants as he trailed sluggishly through the brambles and bushes. Golden eyes that gleamed in the darkness focused on spots below the trees, keeping an eye out for any hollows in amongst the gnarled and twisted roots. Surely there was some den here he could nestle in for the night.

It was the furthest any of the kids had gotten so far - or so he thought, being the intrepid explorer that he was. He didn't know where he was, only that it didn't smell like home anymore, and there were no more signs of his siblings. This was a fact that made him nervous but also, in a way, excited. That nervous energy was translated through each step that Titmouse took; his path was erratic as it led away from the rendezvous site and over the rocky terrain, until he found a forest that seemed familiar enough for him to let down his guard.

He hadn't noticed if anyone followed him; however, having spent the bulk of the daylight hours playing with (harassing) his siblings and sitter, they were probably all puddled together for a good long snooze. It had been the perfect time to escape!

Except now, with the shadows growing long and thick around him and the trees creaking ominously, the little Titmouse wasn't sure about anything. He was happy to have found a copse of trees to squirrel himself away in, but at the same time, it smelled musky and weird - not good weird - and so the boy couldn't fall asleep quite yet. His imagination was working overtime as the mood of the situation settled in: he was nervous, afraid, and without any support that he was aware of.

So when he heard the rustling of bushes and the familiar sound of claws raking the forest floor, Titmouse bolted upright and peeked over a cluster of twisting roots, trying to spot the creature in the dark.

Over the stench of the plants and berries he could just make out the scent of another, though he had no idea where it came from. The boy wandered, nosing past the low-lying branches, growling in annoyance as rogue thorns snagged on his fur. One in particular caught on his hind leg, and Redshank let out a yelp as it dug in deep as he tried to pull himself away from it. With a sharp curse, he spun, violently grabbing the offending twig with his teeth and yanking it out before squinting back into the darkness.

"I know you're out there!" he yelled as if blaming the stranger for all this trouble, his already paper thin patience almost worn. "Show yourself!"

All he could see were a pair of eyes, and even that was fleeting. Upon initially discovering them Titmouse ducked and hid. He was startled and thought if I can see it, it can see me. However, the thing did not bee-line for him, so he gradually felt more and more at ease with its presence. Until it started screaming words that is! The shrieking commands made him cower at first, but as he adapted to it (which was quick considering Titmouse could be just as loud, perhaps louder), he became less afraid and more curious.

When silence resumed, he was the one to break it this time with his own cacophonous screech of: NNNNOOOO!
This boomed from his position and swept through the dark — but Titmouse hadn't considered the aftermath, seeing as how he was making himself an easy target by shouting.

His words echoed into the depths of the forest, and Redshank scowled at the silence that followed. Whatever was there was a coward, he determined, and took a deep breath as he readied to verbally assault the stranger again. He was interrupted however by a sudden ear-splitting shriek that caused him to duck in surprise. With a snarl (seemingly out of embarrassment from showing a brief moment of fear), he quickly leapt back up and stared pointedly at the undergrowth nearby where the sound seemed to have resonated from.

"I know where you are!" Redshank taunted, prowling towards the bushes with a predatory flick of his tail. He spied a shock of reddish-gold in amongst the darkness of the foliage, and it was that spot he aimed his jaws at as he made to grab at the offender to yank them out of hiding.

I know where you are! The voice carried easily to the hidden boy, and more-so out of curiosity than anything, he poked his head into view so he could spy on the dark figure. As soon as he did, he felt the dark boy's eyes bore in to him. Titmouse ducked again, thinking something like 'he can't see me if I can't see him!'

This was circumvented by his next act, as Titmouse chose to refute such claims with another scratchy-sounding, NO YOU DON'T! catching among the roots of his hideaway.

There! A small head peeked out from the bushes and Redshank immediately made eye contact with the other boy's own blue and gold ones. He narrowed his gaze with a growl, irritated by both the stranger's refusal to obey him and his grating shrieks. His jaws clicked shut on thin air as he missed his mark while leaping at the boy, which only served to fuel Redshank's anger. "YEAH, I DO!" he yelled just as loudly, finally coming upon the infuriating stranger in amongst the foliage and lunging to nip at his neck.

For all his rough-housing Titmouse was a pansy when compared to the much more aggressive, practiced lunge of his opponent. It didn't help that little Titty was -- well -- little. The dark figure missed the first time, but upon lunging a second, Titmouse felt a pinch on his neck that made him shriek a girlish note and pull away; however the other boy was older and bigger and stronger, and despite his best efforts Redshank would succeed in yanking the gray child from his hiding place.

Uggo'ff'mee! He squeal-slurred, fighting the instinctive urge to curl and escape when it became clear he couldn't stop the inevitable. Titmouse was pulled from the dark and, with surprising ease, charged out of it towards the dark boy's nearby body in an attempt to bowl him over and, hopefully, escape.

This time, his hit landed, causing a pig like squeal to erupt from the other. Redshank's ears fell back against his skull and he snarled in annoyance through a mouthful of silvery fur. Thankfully, the boy was smaller than himself and easy to drag out from his hiding place — however his screeching and wriggling wasn't helping. His garbled demand went ignored by the older boy but, when the flighty kid spun and crashed into his side, Redshank was taken by surprise. He stumbled, releasing his grip on his scruff. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other take off like a rocket. "NO!"

This wasn't the kind of fun he was used to. This wasn't even a little fun - it was scary! He was scared! And as the boy filled with adrenaline and felt his pain receptors alerting him to the obvious danger of a wolf holding his neck, he managed to barrell free and go careening through the wood. Titmouse did not look back; he sought out Lagan as quickly as he could - or planned to - and headed in the totally wrong direction.

It was clear the other had an advantage when it came to speed — both from his natural build and adrenaline. Redshank, however, was halfway through a growth spurt and his legs refused to cooperate at the best of times. He scrambled to his oversized paws but, by the time he was upright, the other boy had disappeared into the wood leaving a trail of broken twigs and tufts of silver fur in his wake. With an enraged snarl, Redshank quickly took off after him, intending to chase him until either he or the other boy collapsed.