Stone Circle Be prepared

@Murdock

Steph sat outside the entrance of the den, looking around. To any outside creature, it might look like she was literaly looking for trouble. Well, she was looking for someone: the male that she had met last week. For some reason, he was at the forefront of her mind today, so much so that she thought maybe she could will him into the clearing. 

After an hour, when he didn't appear, Steph decided she would go looking for him. With a grin and a wag of her tail, she set off in no particular direction, assuming she would simply run into him again. After all, that's how they met. His baby voice had excited her, and she had no notion that he might not like her coming to look for him. 

She bounded through the brush, making no effort to be quiet. She tried to pick up his scent, though she was young and had zero training in tracking at all. But, maybe it was instinct, maybe it was a genetic trait passed down from her Mother, an expert in tracking and hunting. Whatever it was, Steph found Murdock's scent and followed it straight to him. A happy bark announced her presence when he came into view.

It seemed prudent, after last time, to increase his proximity to the den. When he took his daily naps, he took them as close to the pupscent as he could without actually setting eyes on the den. It was not the most comfortable place for Murdock to be, but it seemed safer.

No matter how he felt about the little beasts, he would never allow another one to perish if it was in his power to prevent such a thing.

But they were still little beasts, and when one of their ghastly little voices interrupted his slumber again, the irritable man didn't bother biting back his tired groan. It was the same little girl from last time, looking pleased as punch to have disturbed him once more.

"Stephie," he grumbled, half in chatisement and half in greeting. "What are you doing out here?"

He laid his head back down on his paws and watched her, waiting to see what adorable things she would do this time. He would have to shepherd her back to Valette at some point, but he had not been napping long, and still felt a need to lie still and rest his hurt paw - a souvenir of his last encounter from the horrid little monster.

Steph did not notice the chatism in his voice, she was much too excited to see him, and she assumed he would feel the same way. She bounded over to him, her intent to pounce upon his neck in greeting and then attempting to cover his muzzle in kisses as the back half of her wagged back and forth, her excitment evident in every move she made. 

At almost seven weeks old, Steph was beginning to understand the words that were coming out of the adults' mouths, even if she hadn't yet said her first word. In response to his question, she got down in a play bow and growled playfully. She came for fun, and she had no reason to think he wasn't full of it!

Heedless of his broadcasted mood, the girl bounded right up to him on her springy little legs. She had no qualms about personal space, and force Murdock to lift his head once more in order to keep his face from being soiled by her ungodly affection. He let out a tiny growl of warning, but his heart wasn't in the sound.

"Begone, little shedevil," he commanded, giving her a gentle poke with his muzzle. "Crawl back into the dark hole from whence you came!"

His growl, nor his shove, did anything to suade the girl that he didn't want her company. In fact, his touch only fueled her on. She let out a yap, and then raced a few feet away from him, her legs much more sound under her body. She came to a sliding hault and looked back at the male, expecting him to chase her. 

In the next moment, however, she was racing back to him, yapping happily. She lifted a front leg towards his shoulder in an attempt to tag him "it" in the game she was playing. Then, she was off again.

Heedless. Insolent. Unthinking. The girl continued to pester him despite harsh words and being physically repelled. She seemed to think this was some sort of game, but Murdock was certainly not going to partake.

Except that, when she came close again, the male's tail lashed in happy mischief. Long jaws snapped after her ankles as she beat her quick retreat, encouraging her to come back and test her mettle once more. Murdock smiled a crocodile smile, his pink tongue lolling out in an unconscious display of harmlessness.

She felt the air shift by her back legs, and knew that he had attempted to tag her, but failed. When she turned, she spotted his smile, and it only edged her on more. She ran back to him, but this time it was an attempt to pounce on his back, with no intent of running away. 

Suddenly, her energy levels depleted, not accustomed to exerting so much energy in such a short amount of time. She began to pant, laying down next to her new best friend. The smile remained on her face as she attempted to lean against him.

These tiny actions, it seemed, had unleashed whatever demon lurked in Stephie's tiny little body. She came back at him in a frenzy of playfully aggressive sounds and seriously sharp little teeth. He let out a startled shout as she leapt upon him and only narrowly stopped himself from rolling onto his back to squish the hateful creature attacking his person.

Instead, he tore her (gently) from his hide and attempted to pin the squirming terror with a paw to the chest, ready to berate her within an inch of her life.

"Stephie!" he scolded, his voice going high and babyish again. "Bless you and your adorable little paws! I'm going to eat them, Stephie, I really am. They look like little beans! Look at those beans! They're so cute, yes they are!"

The male could not help but mouth at her tiny black paws, his tongue raspy against the baby-soft pads. She was so tiny and fluffy!

Stephie found herself lifted gently from the male, and on her back between his front legs. One of his paws was placed on her chest, but Steph knew no fear at being held in place. She made happy gibberish sounds in response to his voice. When he began to lick her paws, she squealed with delight, half-heartedly squirming in an attempt to get her paws away from his seeking tongue. 

She attempted to mouth at his nose, unaware that her puppy teeth were sharp and could do damage. She was attempting to mimick was he was doing with her paws.

"Ow," Murdock complained, his ears pressing forward at the feeling of tiny teeth in his nose. For once, though, he did not pull away, and simply enjoyed the strange, skunky aroma of puppybreath. It'd been years since he'd last smelled it, and the high intensity of the scent made him want to huddle protectively over little Stephie.

"I've eaten puppies, you know," he told her conversationally, extracting his nose from her grip. He freed her from under his paw and nudged her into the thick fur of his chest, where she would be safe forever and no one would ever hurt her. "Not ones that would've lived, mind, but still. They taste different than they smell. Like any meat, I suppose." He remembered, suddenly, that kids could often understand words before they could speak, and a look of dawning horror passed over his face. "Oh, shit! I gotta watch what I say around you little bastards," he realized, finding another reason to dislike children, all of the sudden.

Steph wasn't much paying attention to what Murdock was saying, too busy squirming around playfully. She liked playing with him, as she did her siblings, as well. She was shuffled to his chest, and she happily snuggled in, her head propped up on one of his forelegs.

She caught the last bit of his words, but her lids were already becoming heavy, as her brain went  from play mode to sleep mode. Her tail did give a few light thumps before it settled, curled around her haunches. For a few moments, she fought sleep. But, between the chilled air and Murdock's warm body, she lost the battle in no time.

Despite being the one to have initiated contact, this time, the male had to force himself not to fight against the feeling of Stephie snuggling into his chest. It felt strange and unnatural to have the child so close - he didn't know where to rest his head, or if she would be able to breathe if he laid it on his paws.

But he took a deep breath and tried to relax, and gradually, seemed to acclimate to the girl's weight on his forelegs. He shifted around for a few minutes, trying to figure out where she would fit if he tried to go back to his nap, and eventually found he could lay his head down in a way that both kept her safe and covered and that was only mildly - rather than awfully - uncomfortable for him.

Eventually, his eyes were closed and his breaths came deep and easy. Murdock slept, and dreamed sweet, pleasant dreams.