The Sunspire the country way

For @Summer only, please!

She had been amongst the wolves of the Sunspire almost as long as she had been with the wolves of Swiftcurrent Creek, but this little clearing felt much less like home. Although she had isolated herself from her pack mates as a member of the creek, it was different here. Here, she had no choice. She could not come and go as she pleased; she could not meet the wolves that held her captive on her own terms. They were always coming and going, always urging her to eat, always picking at her. In any other situation, Magpie would have been rejuvenated by the company... but this, it seemed to her, was all negative.

If anything good could come of this, it was that she was growing closer to Leaf. Even if they didn't converse much, and even if Magpie avoided her as much as she could in the small space, the yearling was becoming familiar. The juvenile was learning her quirks and behaviors. In a strange way, their silent relationship was a comfort. Even when Leaf was dozing, as she was now, Magpie found a comfort in her presence. If she had been captured all alone, she would have cracked long ago.

There wasn't much else to do but sleep, anyway, and the little black-and-white wolf was about ready to join her fellow captive when a sparkle caught her green eyes. Curiosity took hold, and any wave of drowsiness was suddenly replaced with alertness. Her body crouch, and she stalked the glinting object like she might a fawn; only when she was moderately certain that the thing couldn't hurt her did the girl pounce, attempting to capture it between her forepaws.

I was so about to start one for us too :o <33

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Summer's confrontation with the girl from the Creek hadn't exactly gone the way he had planned. With his packmate there, he hadn't exactly been able to say what he had wanted to. He had debated returning for a long while before he had actually gotten up the courage to do it. He spent the entire journey to their little den trying to talk himself into taking the next step. He had approached the place once before, had even spoken in her presence. I mean, no apology was involved, which was kinda the whole point... But nevertheless, he had done it once and he could do it again.

Sort of. As Summer came within sight of the den, he sort of felt like falling over. He knew Ferdie was standing vigilant nearby, but the male apparently had decided to give them their space for he was only within scent and not sight. What was within sight was the young Creek wolf, pouncing at something outside of her den. He watched for a moment, scarcely breathing until he finally remembered that he had to do that to live. Her presence, though what he sought, threw him completely off guard.

For a moment, he considered running from it. But then again, Dhani would not have been pleased with his son for his cowardice, so still Summer remained. He watched her for a moment, in an innocently stalker-like fashion. Finally, it occurred to him that his paws were moving him again. Horrifyingly enough, it seemed they were moving him towards the spring-eyed female.

When he finally stood before her, Summer found he had absolutely nothing to say. He glanced to the side, then back at her, his tongue in knots and stuffed down his throat. It was probably for the better because sitting in his jaws was an impressively sized pine cone. It wasn't food, but Little Levi was smart enough to have figured out that this girl had no interest in eating. But... maybe she had an interest in something different.

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The object between her paws was smooth, hard and cold — it was clearly something nonliving, and as she lifted her paws to take a closer look, Magpie saw that she had caught a black, glassy rock. Still, it had been fun to sort of hunt, given that there wasn't a whole lot she could do in the clearing that was her new home. Besides, it was pretty to look at; she decided to keep it. It was then that she heard the footfalls of another, and her ears swiveled to catch the noise. It was probably Ferdie again, or the girl her age that kept wanting to heal her, and Magpie opted to ignore them both until she had no choice but to respond. The routine was getting old.

But moments later, a different wolf stood before her, and Magpie's green eyes moved from the rock between her paws to his face. A burst of giggles escaped her before she could stop it — he looked so silly with a mouth filled with pinecone, she couldn't help it — but her stoic expression returned as soon as she was able to rein it in. Truthfully, she hadn't thought much of the juvenile since her capture. They had locked eyes for only a moment before the rest of his pack had closed in on her, and her panic did not afford her the capacity to truly evaluate him.

Like the others, he had come to check in on her here and there, but he had always stood in the shadow of a chaperone. While her feelings towards the rest of her captors were bitter and hate-filled, towards him she only felt neutral. He had defended her, once, from the gawking and mocking of an older male, and she didn't know whether to like him or be angry at him for it. And though it had only been a moment, she had seen the apology in his eyes, even through her panic and through the chaos of the night that she had been captured. That meant something, though she didn't know what.

She peered around for whoever might be attending the clearing with him, but Magpie saw no one. Her gaze returned to him, curious about his intentions, particularly how they related to the pine cone he carried.

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When the girl laughed at him, there was only a small part of him that felt so ashamed he wanted to drop his treasure and run for it. Instead, he found her giggles to be infectious, and he allowed himself an embarrassed laugh in response. He ducked his eyes as he chuckled, glancing around to see if there were any other eyes around to witness whatever it was he was doing. Satisfied it was only her, Summer turned back, dropped the pinecone to the ground before her, and took a few steps back to give her a respectful amount of space.

"I.. I thought you might like it..." Summer said hesitantly, feeling more and more like a fool as the words slipped out of his mouth. For a moment he parted his lips to explain more, but awkwardness reached out and ensnared the sentiment before it could escape his lips. Instead, he trained his eyes of bright sunlight onto her face, wondering what was going through her mind about this skinny, nervous boy who brought her silly gifts in the cover of twilight.

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Her stoic visage gave way, and she grinned sideways at him as her laughter seemed to bubble over to him. She hadn't meant to shame him; her laughter wasn't mocking, simply a startled reaction... and, well, because she liked that he looked so silly. It was a joyful thing in a place she considered depressing and confining. When they both settled, the boy offered her a pine cone— he was shy, she could hear in his voice as he offered it as a gift. Her green eyes moved to the object, lashes fluttering, and for a moment she didn't move.

But Magpie loved trophies, and like the rock she had pounced on, this was a perfect addition to her collection. A light in the dark place of captivity. She carefully picked it up in her jaws, placing it delicately next to her rock, then focused her green eyes back upon him. She tried to convey her gratitude through her body language, and for the rest of the magical twilight, the two wordlessly bonded— innocently pouncing and playing as juveniles do, careful not to make a sound lest they be caught.