Firefly Glen and i was born with a healthy appetite

After much harassment, his father had taken him down to the borders of the glen and set him loose. Altair reveled in his success, though it would more than likely come with a cost later—he wasn’t concerned with the later, of course. But set loose and free to run, he made long, easy strides through the forest to take in all he could see.

Though he had only been there a handful of times, he took to their trails like they were his own; it was easy to follow the scents he recognized—@Osiris, @Atlas, @Antares, all of them had gone long what was becoming a main path to somewhere relatively unknown to the boy, but he blazed along the path in hopes that perhaps he would find them.

There were other new faces he was bound to encounter here too, even if he didn’t quite know much about them. It was basically nothing, only a clipped comment from his father that there were bound to be new faces that had rallied to the effort, or however he had put it. Seeing how those faces hadn’t found him yet, nor his siblings, he continued his venture with a pace that began to slow to an even stride; he would need his energy.

tags are for reference, open thread!

Antares' business had been covering ground today and honestly, he was making good progress on it so far. Along this route, as he cruised an easy trot, he noticed his younger brother's scent trailing on the breezes. Though he did intend to keep up his streak, he could stand a brief pause to see what he was doing here. That gradually eased him into an ever-sharpening stalk mode, a thought encouraged by being pretty sure that said brother was alone for now. Maybe it was a good thing he decided to be nosy about it.

He did not yet have the expertise of every inch of the Glen, but he liked to think he was pretty good--and good enough to potentially outwit the less experienced--keeping on his quietest steps, the yearling swung as wide as he hopefully could to angle in from behind Altair. Maybe he'd notice less of him that way.. and once he was comfortable with that placement, he stalked after him intently and gained ground stride by stride. Tilting his muzzle just so, the ugly little grin he took with him was barely hidden.

Once he hopefully got close enough to warrant more, he dropped from the shadows with a pounce aiming right for his brother's hind end.

He was oblivious, his guard down in the safety of the glen just as it would have been along the sloping sides of the mountain. Yet unlike the mountain there was more here to see than Altair expected; the forests were thick, the land not quite worn in like the familiar pathways of the home he had always known. Being able to explore it freely was a bonus, though the unique experience was relatively lost on him.

Here the chill on the air was not as bitter and he reveled in the warmth of it, and of the sun and its broken, dappled pattern on the trail ahead of him. Winter was soon to be an experience that would be very new for him, and the loss of color around him was intriguing. He wondered what it would be like to hunt in woods such as these and thought perhaps he could try… if he found someone else to come along.

Little did he know… he was actually being hunted.

When Antares sprang from the brush behind him, it gave him a start much in the way it had when Alya had recently done the same to him. He half-expected her, even though he knew she was on a trip now, and deftly spun to face the dark face behind him with bared teeth and prickled guard hairs. But it wasn’t his aunt and her lookalike features to his mother.

“Antares!” he hissed with a growl, all in playful banter. His tail swung a wide arc behind him as he dropped to guard himself, already engaging his elder sibling in a bout of play. He reached for his scruff, not quite noticing how much more evenly matched they were this time than the last.

294 words

Any rise out of his brother was what he was after. Startle him, irritate, pester, whatever. If his efforts made contact, then even better. He did seem to get what he wanted as his brother spun to met him, teeth-shown, and surprise all too evident. Antares met it with a small smirk and kept on going for more after, satisfied, but a little greedy.

He met the reach for his own scruff by simply swinging his side against his brother a bit, letting Altair have at him, but not without the side-effect of his momentum--at least a nice piece of it, but of course, he didn't have to be as careful now that his siblings were getting bigger, and could offer more contention of their own. Oh noo.. he droned, flipping his nose up to the air dramatically. Who let you out down here anyway? he asked as he righted, then growled playfully as he'd try to bump against his brother again. There was no actual threat behind any of it of course, but they weren't really raised as.. gentle sorts.

Regardless, Antares was glad to see him, and happy for his younger brother that he got to come prowl in the glen too. Maybe it could be the start of more.

Their shoulders collided together, the force of such knocking a grunt out of Altair as he held his ground against Antares. That trick used to knock him clean out of the way, but he had been learning bits and pieces over the last few weeks on how to defend himself. His mother had thought it pertinent and his father hadn’t advised against it, and Altair had been all the more eager to soak up whatever information his mother could impart to him. He pressed back against Antares as he mockingly droned on, pulling gently at the skin of his shoulder in a mock wrestle.

“Dad did,” he said, finding a mischievous grin lighting his features. “I pestered him until he took me down here. Wasn’t too difficult to do,” because honestly, it wasn’t difficult at all for Altair to pester anyone if he put his mind to it. Antares knocked into him again and his time, the hooded Ostrega teetered a bit. But it was momentum to bash himself right back into his much darker sibling, and he pushed his head against his rib cage to try and push him around with a growl.

“What are you doing? Stalking everyone like always?” An unseen sneer flitted by this time; he buried his face against the wintry coat he found next. Still smaller but perhaps not by much or for long, his head dipped to scoop beneath Antares. Bullying tactics, worrying at resolve that he knew would not wane so easily when all was in jest.

When he got his answers despite the bodily jostling, he rumbled his approval low in his throat first. Good, he commended with a gust of breath, glad to hear their father let him go on without much difficulty. So maybe the boundaries were starting to slacken now that the glen was getting more secure. Also just as likely was the effectiveness of Altair's pestering to expedite the process a little. Maybe soon there won't be any harassment needed, he baited a bit, hopeful for him, but looking then to see what his brother's response to it would be. Did the glen interest him enough to warrant more?

Antares was forced to be aware of how much heavier he was now. He couldn't just topple him with lazy swipes, and when Altair mowed into his side head first, there was some oomf there. The older Ostrega really had to dig in his paws, and work to have to shove back against him, snaking into a crescent shape around impact. Yeah, of course. You happened to be the best target for now, he grinned, and swung around with a nip for his brother's shoulders, then tried to create a little distance between them with a tight circle. Though, his tail wagged, hinting at mischief while aiming to sidestep out of reach. Besides that, the usual things really. Patrol, hunts--lately for badger trail. We've had a few, and not sure if that's it. he detailed his recent news, having caught wind of the one his littermates had found on top of what he had found Bronco battling before.

He wasn't sure if he could mention his own personal stalker to his brother just yet but maybe.. it occurred because he'd been mulling over it lately after finding her again. Badgers, boundaries, and that odd fact, mostly. He'd feel it out, mostly because he didn't want to flag their parents on it somehow. No thank you. He figured Altair would rather hear about badger stuff anyway.

He longed already for the days when pestering wouldn’t be necessary. Of course, he knew it wouldn’t take too long because if anyone knew what they were doing, it was certainly his brothers. But patience was something that he was still learning, little by little. He may have had it down when it came to hunting, but life in general was another story altogether.

“I can’t wait,” he said with a wave of his tail. “Then I can come and hang out with you guys all the time.” A smirk graced him, but it was fleeting and an unknown saving grace for Antares as he pressed ahead.

“Tell me about the badgers? I’ve only seen the dead ones that mom and dad chase once in a while. Never seen one alive but I hear they’re real mean.” Long claws, sharp teeth, nothing more than low to the ground ankle biters that could do a lot more damage in the right scenario.

He was familiar with the impatience of youth, so he spared telling his brother that it would come soon enough when he suspected it might just go in one ear, and gust right out the other. Oh lucky us then, he drawled, exaggerating a notch by his standards as his smirk stayed toothy. Despite some good-natured sarcasm, he would wholeheartedly welcome his brother among them when the time came.

As for badgers, he nodded slow--Mhm, they do come pretty feisty, he began. It felt best to arm his brother with what he had learned, especially if his prospects for the Glen were looking good and the mustelids did somehow continue to be an ongoing situation (hopefully not though). They're not very big for as nasty as they can get.. like good sized but still stronger than you'd think. Faster than they look, too, all short like that. Antares detailed, remembering the way it wrenched its neck muscles beneath his pull. That above all had apparently stuck with him. This one got a decent little bite on Bronco, even. Antares said, wondering if he hadn't come, if it could've been worse. Point being, badgers were fully armed and not to underestimated. Hopefully we'll keep them off the Glen before long but you never know, they seem stubborn. Best not to underestimate, he added on.

He wouldn't take much goading to say more, but depending on how interesting Altair was--he'd go on, or, return to bodying each other sooner or later. They had plenty to see.