Sawtooth Spire higher ground

For @Tatsuya <3

One step. Two. Three. Hesitantly, the boy made his way out of the den. Tonravik had left earlier that morning to hunt, leaving Iqniq in charge of the bear cubs. Currently, he was asleep, curled up with the rest of his siblings taking a mid-morning nap. They had had breakfast and playtime and, while Sitamat was tired too, his stomach refused to cease it's grumbling. All this activity lately...it left him rather hungry.

After unsuccessfully trying to rouse his father awake to feed him again (to which the only response was a low growl and a brief lick to his forehead), the youngest decided on trying to find his own meal. Tonravik had showed him the caches a few days before...so if he could just make it there.

However, as soon as the boy left the confines of the den and appeared at the entrance, blinking against the harsh light of the world, all traces of confidence and determination left him. He shrunk back, idling where shadow hit sunlight, face scrunched in a look of indecision.

Patrols were geared toward the den. The wolverine liked to stop by every couple of hours just to say hello to the cuties before continuing on. Was it odd he wanted to spend an inordinate amount of time with them more than his other pack mates? Tatsuya did not know. What he did know was his love and fascination for the cubs grew each time he met them. He gleaned pleasure from seeing their small, plump faces, their outrageously adorable tails. Okay. Time to go see them. Right now. It's been some odd or so hours since his last visit. Admittedly, he was going to check up on them forty-five minutes early.
Strolling up the dip between Sawtooth Spire and Shadow Mountain, the Delta announced himself with his bustling approach. Just to be safe, he barked his identification. Don't wanna alarm the current babysitter. Who seems to be Iqniq, currently. Is that snoring? Was that the Alpha or the pups? Curious, he crept over to the den entrance...only to spot the glassy sheen of eyes staring out at him. Recognition was instantaneous. As was his joy.
“Sitamat.” Voice a gentle croon meant to lull the pup out into the open. Perhaps not wholly. Not at first. He knew the boy was not as brave as his fox-furred brother. The wonder was evidently there. It simply needed to be coaxed. Tatsuya's heart swelled at the thought of Sitamat's adventurous bout, not knowing the boy was looking for food. “Sitamat,” he repeated in the same tenor. The wolverine was impatient but also understanding. To rush this momentous occurrence could backfire.

Something was out there. Loud rustling of the undergrowth surrounding the den announced the thing's presence first, and Sitamat nervously hunched himself low to the ground. He thought of turning back, either to alert his father to the threat or simply curl up with the rest of his siblings and join them in their nap, forgoing his excursion entirely. However, before he could move, a bark sounded. Sitamat's stubby ears pricked, and his tail began to wiggle as Tatsuya crept into view.

While he didn't know many of his pack mates yet, the dark male with the odd markings was one he was more familiar with. He was the one that came with playthings before! When he softly called his name — for Sitamat was one of the words he recognised now — the boy glanced back to his dozing family before rising to his paws. The second summon spurred him into action — quicker perhaps than Tatsuya had intended — slowly waddling out into the open towards the much larger wolf. He gave his tail a few wiggles before blinking up at him with a shy smile.

"Sit?" he tried, attempting to say the word siutit, the word his mother had taught him for ears. To him, it was simply a word that once got him food and was one of the more easier sounds to pronounce currently.

Sitamat did not come running like his zippy fox of a brother. He suspected it would be a while before the bear cub of the bunch galloped out into the open. And yet he wasted no time in greeting him, pencil tail wiggling blithely. Tatsuya's own appendage responded in kind, lazily sweeping against his hocks. Sitamat's shy smile was met with a comely grin from the Delta. Maybe Sitamat's fearfulness was a passing phase borne of innate caution. Whatever the reason, the wolverine was pleased to see him taking the initiative.
Ears jerked atop his crown. The whelp was full of surprises today! To bear witness to the pup's first (to his knowledge) word caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach. Tatsuya was all too happy to do as Sitamat asked, sitting on his haunches. “Sit,” he echoed to express the meaning behind the word. Wait. What if he was trying to say his name? The boy already knew his name, having come when beckoned. Tatsuya knew very little Inuit. In retrospect, he could definitely see Tonravik trying to teach her children the tongue. How she went about this process the wolverine did not know, though he had a sneaking suspicion the payoff was food.
“What. Do. You. Want. Sitamat.” Ever hopeful to acquire the pup's involvement, he spoke slowly and emphatically. Saying it all in one go might confound him. Or the Delta could be underestimating him. Tatsuya decided to put that theory to test. “What do you want Sitamat?”

To his surprise, the man reclined as if on command. He had no idea that his attempt at speaking the word could mean many things, and so furrowed his brows in confusion as Tatsuya echoed the sound. Maybe he needed more encouragement? Did he understand himself? Sitamat vaguely recalled the man spoke a very different sounding language when he and Pingasut had encountered him a second time.

Although, the boy's ears perked at the mention of his name. First slow, and then faster as he repeated the question. He understood it as a question from Tatsuya's tone, though what he was asking of him was lost to the young cub. His head quirked to one side, and then to the other before he leapt forward with a yip. "Sit!" he repeated eagerly, before his brow furrowed as he tried to remember the other word Tonravik had taught him.

"Uhh...sit...uuk? Uukaluk!" He butchered the pronunciation, but at least this time he got the word right — rabbit. That was what he wanted.

The boy's eyes glinted with understanding. Beyond that, he made no attempt to answer his question. A sigh whistled past his lips. Did the pup know a lick of English? Tatsuya has only just scratched the surface of this odd, mysterious tongue. Sitamat likely knew more words than he did! Nonetheless, the wolverine wasn't about to back off from this perplexity. His curiosity waxed as Sitamat leapt with a cry. “Sit!” The Delta was beginning to think that the boy was attempting to convey his desires in Inuit. But what that could be, Tatsuya had no idea. Sitamat's frustration was tangible; proving to be a barrier between provider and the provided. This could go on for a while. I can't stay here, much as I would like. Got stuff to do.
The cogs started to manifestly turn in four's head. Syllabic verses dribbled from the youth's maw, ending with a conclusive term. Uukaluk. What in the world did uukaluk mean? Frowning, he looked upon Sitamat with a quirked head. He expressed confusion just as the pup did moments ago. Leaning down, he tried to bop his nose against Sitamat's forehead. While doing this, the Delta tried to think of what he could possibly want. What does a pup usually want? Play? If Sitamat wanted to play, words wouldn't have been needed, so that was a no. The other shot in the dark was...food? Why else would the boy be raring to accost him?
“Food. Is that what you want?” His tone betrayed his hurt at being used. Was that all he was to these guys? A dispenser of yummies? I should have known better. There's always an ulterior motive. “Well?” Glacial impatience, the word alone enough to make anyone cringe. Unbeknownst to Tatsuya, his muzzle was well within the pup's range. Who knows what could happen if four licks and nips at his elder's maw...

The barrier between them was painfully obvious. As Tatsuya stared at him with his golden eyes, Sitamat stared back unblinkingly, hoping he would understand. Any second now. Tonravik and Iqniq seemed to have no trouble discerning their boy's desires, so the youngest was perplexed as to why this other adult couldn't. Instead of heeding his request for rabbit, Sitamat received a gentle prod against his forehead. He accepted it with a happy wag of his tail, but quickly reverted back to pouting impatiently.

Until Tatsuya suddenly had his muzzle in his reach.

The word food was mentioned — a word he was all too familiar with. The pudgy boy heard the upset in his words but gave no indication that he realised he had offended the poor man. He quickly focused all his attention on receiving a meal from the adult, who he assumed would be all too happy to provide a meal, like his parents usually were. He made to lick at the beast's mouth, but a single, icy word caused him to back-peddal, his ears laying flat. His blue eyes looked up to Tatsuya, confused by the firmness of his tone.

Four's concentration was enough to confirm his hunch. Then he had to go and muck up the moment with his temperamental mood. Tatsuya did not know why he was so stingy with the contents in his stomach. He is part of a bigger whole here – has been for a couple of months. Could it be...he still clung to that instinctual need to hoard sustenance? Old habits die hard, my ass. Here he was, getting all huffy about food when there's plenty around for everyone. Then again, he has only ever come across two litters in his entire life. Never were they as young as Sitamat.
Ears sweeping back, the wolverine whimpered. Tatsuya wanted nothing to come between him and his fondness for the she-bear's young. Seeing as he was prone to err, he was bound to come across some hiccups along the way. “Sorry,” he whispered, tail swishing behind him. To show just how regretful he was, the Delta began to heave. The first three were dry until the fourth. Out came the food, slipping from his maw in a wet clod. It fell with a splat! before the hungry pup; a scrumptious pink morsel waiting to be consumed. Not rabbit meat, but it'll do. Tatsuya laid down whilst loudly licking his lips, wondering if the process of regurgitation will ever stop tasting so grotty.

The man was quick to display something akin to an apology, ears falling backwards and a whine slipping from his throat. Sitamat tilted his head slightly, still puzzled by the adult's responses. One moment he was scolding him, the next...oh! The boy visibly perked up as the man then heaved and released a fresh pile of partially-digested meat. His tail wiggled happily and he quickly ran forward to claim the meal, eating as fast as he possibly could before his brothers caught onto the fact that there was free food outside.

It was reduced to only a single scrap in mere minutes and, with a satisfied burp, the cub licked his lips and woofed a happy thank you to Tatsuya. The remaining piece was quickly scooped up and the boy then trotted past the kind male, ears alert as he scanned the area. The habit of caching food was already starting to form thanks to Tonravik's teachings — even for prey that had, technically, already been eaten. However, exactly where to cache it, that was still a skill that he was working on.

"Uh...sit..." he mumbled to himself as he wandered slowly, nose to the ground, trying to remember where his mother had led him the first time she showed him the caches.