The Sentinels If you don't care for it

@Casmir or any of the girls (@Emaleth , @Deirdre ), or all, if you wish so. :)

Luck had smiled upon Osprey that day - she had brought down two hares. There had been one in the morning, which she had managed to corner after a wild race through the forest. Then the second had stupidly stumbled upon her and were finished off, before it had even realized, what was going on. As it turned out the latter was a sickly one, so the hunter ate it herself, choosing to bring the first one to Blue willow. It had been a while, since she had spoken to the woman and with - now three mouths to feed (she counted the wounded Casmir in the equation) - this kind of gift would be appreciated. 

The early spring days had had a rejuvenating effect on the elder, who had felt under the weather - so to say - for most of the long winter months. Just as the nature was about to be reborn from the "ashes" she too felt way younger and happier than it had been. Had her mouth not been "occupied" by the kill, she would have hummed on her way to her friend's den. It didn't take long to find the "palace" and, once she was close enough for her presence to be noticed, she put down the hare and sniffed the ground curiously, trying to read the comings and goings of the inhabitants.

deirdre herself lingered within, as she had not yet been guided or permitted out yet. the only times she had been to The Otherworld were so brief and [what she perceived as] long ago that she had forgotten them. the babe was glad for her brothers additional company as she did not comprehend the premise of it. something was amiss, she sensed, but she and emaleth could only wonder at what exactly that something was, being unable to translate or interpret yet; she and her sister spoke without knowing the meaning of words (with few exceptions), when they spoke at all. as time passed by these things changed; she was beginning to understand more and more as the sands of time drifted.

she smelled the perfume of food; the babe popped her head outdoors, only to withdraw it inward as though she were a turtle upon not recognizing the wolf at the doorstep. she did not go too far, only out of sight.

There was silence, making Osprey wonder, whether no one was around or Blue willow had decided to move the "nest" elsewhere. Yet the smells around the den spoke a different story - fresh and strong - and the footprints that criscrossed the area meant that this was the busiest part of the whole pack. 

When she least expected it, a tiny face belonging to a child peeked through the den mouth. Osprey stared back, until the puppy withdrew to the safety. She spent a few moments, trying to decide, what would the best route of action be, and sticking to the idea of coming closer. So she picked up the hare and made her way to the doorstep, then put it on the ground and lied down herself too, putting her head between the outstretched forepaws. 

With ears perked curiously forwards she waited and hoped that the girl would appear again.

she lingered inside in silence for some time. she was the epitome of patience, which was a feat for so young a child but a necessary tool for her survival. the babe was waiting for her fathers return; she remembered the day of protest vaguely, but did not interpret that he would be gone or why it was he would be gone. deirdre knew the words she was taught; none included violence, or anger, or anything else. her ever-increasing vocabulary gave her some sense of awareness, but not enough to connect one thing to the other.

deirdre thought of the food she had smelled, and leaned toward the entrance again. for a moment, her face was illuminated by a shaft of sunlight, but she took to darkness when her eyes caught the frame of osprey. the babe was simply particularly shy to those she had never seen and interacted with, but there was a succulent familiarity in the odor osprey herself wore that brought a sense of security over deirdre.

for a little while longer she remained within, and still did when her youthful soprano piped out of the darkness: who you? she bore the accent of her father, who spoke to she and emaleth at every instance he could, and who sang to them of donnelaith of old and the stone circles. the little witch did not peek at the Otherworld again, feeling safe and unknown in the mound of the mayfair's.

Somehow Osprey found the girl's shyness adorably amusing and she chuckled, when she a momentarily sight of the puppy's face. She was truly a beautiful thing and she understood, why Lasher took pride in his daughters. And though she had felt a bit bad for not visitting both girls earlier, she thought that seeing them now had been the righ decision after all. You could see more of the lines and expressions the little person would grow into. All the more exciting. 

"I am Osprey," she replied to the request, suddenly realizing that she did not exactly know, how to communicate with the kid. How much the girl understood already and, how simple her expressions should be. "I am a friend," she added, although she noted that this sounded like just the thing a wolf would tell to a red-riding-hood before eating her.

deirdre waited for a response, and the other wolf introduced herself as 'osprey'. the name was one her father and her mother had recited many a time; old friends were beings that were introduced in stories to date, wolves appreciated and liked and perhaps family, too, except that this was family that she had not seen and so could not, herself, acknowledge and love as she had known for her Alltime.

osprey further went on to speak more, and deirdre understood, but was given pause. not my fend, came her soft and gentle response; the babe had not a bad bone in her body, and so spoke only with the open honesty of the young, not considering that the words might cause the other any semblance of pain. also like any child, deirdre would be quick to desire to make the friend... but her shyness prohibited her from asking the question, and so she only inched toward the mouth of the den so that one eye was revealed to osprey that glittered with curiosity and wonderment. there was a simple way for her to trust the other implicitly at this young age; osprey need only mention her mother, or her father, and she would be won.

The girl pointed out that Osprey was not specifically her friend and rather than feeling offended or hurt, the elder had to agree to the child's logic. No, she was not and had not made an attempt to change the situation either up until now. The term "friend" in general could mean two different things - as if friendly to pack members or sharing a deeper bond, based on mutual liking and trust. The Epsilon was very eager to step over that line of the first category and enter the second. The more time she spent in the girl's company, the more she liked her and wished to be liked in return. 

When the girl took the courage to draw a little nearer, Osprey lowered her head again, to give the cub a sense of "superiority" (even if the size difference was still remarkable) and with her tail wagging in a playful manner, she asked: "Do you want me to become your friend?"

she was watchful of the other before her, flinching minuetly at the sudden movement but warming to it soon enough. while the cub had not yet been taught of hierarchy and would not be able to understand it or the implications behind gestures except for in play, she felt comforted by the gesture she had seen done by many others. its meaning was beyond her grasp, but put a feeling of normalcy to the cherubic beauty. there seemed to be a foretelling that she would bear loveliness even in the grips of the awkward phase to come, but she herself had never thought for a moment about appearance. it was ever unimportant to her, who would love a spider for its many eyes as she would love a fly for its interesting whiskers.

the question asked gave her pause; deirdre had not known it, but she had taken another step toward osprey, though only a quarter of her was exposed. into the shadows she once more went as she thought on an answer, but it hardly needed any real thought. her shyness made her resistant, but her heart lent her the courage to at least whisper a, ...ah... f-hink so, from the curtain of darkness. you wan? you wan be fend?

The kid was cute without a doubt and Osprey noted that this short conversation they were having now, had been one of the best in a long while. Sometimes you didn't have to talk much at all, in order to enjoy your time with another person. This was a good sign and she hoped that as the girl grew up, there were more nice talking on the way. 

"I can't say "no" to such a generous offer," she replied to the girl's question, realizing that once again she had used terms that could be too complex for the child to grasp. "I mean, yes - of course," she added quickly and lifted her head to have a better look at the cub, who had now taken the courage to show herself. Even if it was just one quarter, it still counted.

her sweet reply deposited more sugar into deirdre's filled-to-the-brim repository, and her tail waved rapidly so that, from where osprey stood, she might appear to be quivering. but it was simply excitement and safety showering itself upon her, for the very minute osprey had said 'yes' deirdre understood she had a new friend. so the rest of her was revealed, and she moved to bop noses with osprey with a giddy grin upon her lips that simply sealed the deal. she noted the rabbit with her then, and looked wide-eyed at it. bunny!! my favorite snack, how did you know! her eyes smiled with her as she moved to press against her new friend, very much so a smitten kitten and pleased with her latest life accomplishment.

Osprey was both surprised and also envied a little the ease kids seemed to make new friends. You just went ahead and asked and if the answer was positive, then the deal was sealed. Bumping with the noses and wagging tail were the adult equivalents of shaking hands and quite a long process deciding, whether you wanted to step up from acquaintance level and upgrade to being friends.

The kid overcame (or rather jumped over) her initial shyness and after acknowledging and approving of the gift, she came to lean against the older wolf, who looked down at the girl and then reached down to give an affectionate lick on her forehead. "What's your name?"

sorry sorry for the delay!

life was simply black for deirdre; there was no other shade, not even white, that she knew in her days of naivety. the answers truly were as simple as 'yes' or 'no' and to lie was not even a concept she was aware existed. if the other wished to be her friend, she must have meant it in earnest; the young witch knew no other way! the affection was accepted from the other as she moved to gnaw at the gift; with a harmless growl, the babe flopped to her side and tugged the like-sized thing toward her. only when osprey spoke again did she stop her assault on the long-eared critter, and she smiled upward at her newfound friend and happily introduced herself: deirdre! it was one of the few things she could pronounce to perfection, and her tail thudded against the earth in happy beats, shifting excitedly on her side now as though expecting some sort of praise for her success in it. deirdre expected no such thing, only wanting to please the other at all.

"Deirdre - how lovely," Osprey repeated the girl's name and peered into the darkness of the den-mouth, wondering, if the other girl was around and maybe wanted to join the party outside. Neither sound, nor a smell that would tell of the other's presence came her direction, therefore she shook her head and turned her attention back to the kid, who had happily lied down next to her.

"You can call me Oss for short," she had introduced herself before, but figured that the shorter version of her name would be easier for the kid to remember. "Do you like it?" she asked, nosing the dead animal. Maybe she should open it up so that kid would have something to eat? Did cubs this small even eat for themselves?"

her sister must have slumbered; emaleth was less shy than she herself was, but deirdre's affections had been won by the woman with the gift of sustenance that had been brought and the patience proffered. the moniker given caused deirdre to tilt her head, who knew she was referred to by many other things by all. her fathers witch, her agemates deedee, stella—each thing she had been called, among a plethora of other endearing sobriquets. deirdre tilted her head and skeptically spoke in her gentle voice: ahshhhh? before she mimicked osprey, nodding her head: 'ike it! she used her puppy teeth to bite and tug, but could do little else with the things that acted more as pincers than anything else.

"Glad you do," Osprey replied, falling silent and watching the kid's effort to break the skin of the hare and felt mildly amused. It was hard to imagine that once she had been this little, so vulnerable and unable to do many things that seemed so natural and obvious now. Such as the ease she could snap the prey's neck and break it's bones, the speed she could run and chase, the long distances she could cover without ever feeling tired. And to think that all of them had begun this way...

"Let me help you," she told the kid, getting to her feet, picking up the hare and then lying down with the kill between her outstretched forepaws. She did a well-aimed bite - her teeth pierced the skin and flesh, where the neck connected to the head. Then she put it back down, the smell of the fresh meat and blood raising up in the air, filling her nostrils and making her salivate. However the kid was the priority, therefore she gulped and pushed the hare towards the girl, saying: "Here you go!"

osprey soon stepped in to assist her, and deirdre took a step back to observe. when osprey finished, deirdre hopped upon the thing and mimicked ospreys movement as though she herself had accomplished this feat. but she withdrew, her blood-lacquered lips parted to emit a well-mannered fanks ospee!! ahs, she corrected herself and then moved to dig in, tail whipping wildly behind her.

ooc: flet's finish this and have a more recent one? 

The girl had been quite observant and repeated Osprey's actions effortlessly. Of course, her jaws and teeth were not strong enough to do the actual job, but it would not be long before she would be following adults around and learning the skill-set, tricks and secrets of the hunter's trade. And, while the girl was busy eating and the elder was watching over her, she realized that she was looking forward to the moment, when she would be able to pass on some of the knowledge her own mother had taught her. She yawned and leaned down to pick one of the hare's hind-legs, snapping it easily in half, and eating it.

sure!! last post from me!

deirdre continued to eat the thing, and did not budge as her friend partook in the bounty herself. deirdre was happy to share and continued to eat what she could, until she was quite exhausted from the endeavor and how full she was. it took nothing at all to fill her presently small stomach, and she had eaten herself into a sleepy stupor. one minute she was chewing, and the next she was not, rabbitflesh between her lips and eyes closed. her breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep, feeling safe, as osprey was her friend.