Redsand Canyon olives

she moved with the same purpose as usual today.

there were still things to witness and learn before she headed home. today she found herself at the punishment grounds, yet was entirely unaware that was what it was.

she only saw it for what it appeared to be.

an empty space with a boulder.

she offered a thoughtful hum as she examined it, trying to make sense of it.

At three months old, Nanuq exhibited a burgeoning sense of independence. He accompanied @Aquene on a walk to the Tablinum today, asking quiet questions along the way and drinking in all his mother had to share about her work there. Learning was easy, but when Aquene set about examining and sorting her stores, in true lazy Nanuq manner, he declined her offer of hands on experience and left to explore the area outside the medicine den.

Explore was something of an exaggeration. He walked in a slow, meandering line, more inside his head than out, around the edge of the nearby punishing grounds. His training had yet to commence in earnest; truth be told, Nanuq hoped it never would. He wasn't made for all that work and duty stuff. He just wanted to watch the clouds, sniff the flowers, and enjoy each moment.

He snapped out of his thoughtful reverie when he spied another child ahead, older than him, with her eyes fixed on the boulder. Nanuq said nothing to break her concentration, but headed toward her with the same slow, languid stride.

for one reason or another, she turned her head.

there was a boy. younger than her, not as young as her newer half-siblings but not as old as her. this much was evident by looks along.

he was kinda...cute? she had never seen it before, the dappling of his fur. his eyes mismatched.

a thought she quickly banished, as she composed herself. eyes bright and now focused on the living thing before here instead of the mysterious boulder.

hello. i am princess makono of akashingo. i don't believe we've met yet.

Oh, she was a very formal speaker indeed!

How fortunate for Nanuq that his mother was also quite formal, although she had nothing on this Princess Makono of Akashingo. That name — Akashingo — was familiar to Nanuq. That was her pack, the one Mereo had some kind of relationship with. Knowing nothing of princesses or formal titles, he assumed the rest was her full name.

No one ever used his full name except when he was in trouble, so it felt pretty weird to mimic Makono in this. Nevertheless, he introduced himself as, I am Nanuq Ateneq of Mereo. I don't believe we've met yet. He gave his head a little tilt to the side, curious to know if he had done it correctly.

Then, dropping all pretense of formality, he lolled his tongue out the side of his mouth and asked, whatcha doin'?

it felt like a mimic, and she liked those children best. the ones who copied what she gave them.

Nanuq Ateneq of Mereo would be politely filed next to jack snipe. the rowdy boy who had seemed all too easy to lure with promises of akashingo's treats and soldiers.

well, i am trying to learn about mereo, nanuq. her tail offered a few tentative sways. would you like to teach me?

I let this get pretty outdated and I need to reset Nanuq's threadlog, so I hope you don't mind me fading this here. <3

On the tip of his tongue was the question of how she had come to Mereo in the first place, but he supposed that didn't matter. He didn't know how he had come to be here, either. His whole life had been spent within the confines of the canyon and he didn't remember anything prior to it, and did not understand entirely that that was because there had been nothing before.

Yeah, I can teach ya! he said with a rare show of exuberance. Nanuq told her what he knew of Mereo, which wasn't a whole lot, given his age. He knew it had something to do with soldiers and that one day he would be expected to be a soldier, but he glossed over that part. It wasn't interesting and didn't appeal to him. Instead, he talked about the canyon, his mom and what she did, and what living here was like.

Nothing Makono couldn't have gleaned on her own, but Nanuq thought it informative, and he was quite satisfied with himself by the time he left on Aquene's heels.