Sleeping Dragon I found you, somewhere out there

She was on a mission. After her expedition with Thuringwethil and hunting practices with Wildfire, the silver-coated cub was feeling more and more involved in both trades. She made it a priority each day to either scout, stalk, or hunt bugs. Today was a bug hunting day. She didn’t particularly have a schedule on which trade she practiced and she merely choose depending on her mood.

Sunset was upon the mountain terrain as the child slithered upon the ground, her eyes set on a firefly a few paces ahead. Pausing, the child readied herself to pounce. Her body tensed and her rear wriggled as she watched the insect. As quickly as she had paused, the Goufa pushed herself against the ground and leapt. She reached forward with her limbs and reached for the bug with her tiny paws. They clapped together as she made her descent and soon she landed with a light thud onto her belly.

Her heart drummed as she looked to her paws. Pulling them apart slowly a smile soon flashed upon her lips as she saw what she had been expecting-- a smashed firefly. Her tail wagged madly as she leaned forward to take a bite out of her prize, feeling quite proud in that moment-- she had done it!

Hush hadn't seen much of the pups as they grew, but as they wandered freely throughout the territory he saw more and more of the children, or Goufa as they were called.

At sunset, he, like most of the others, was returning to his den. Except, as he saw pouncing in the distance, for one of Gyda's children. He chuffed with amusement, walking towards the gray and blue-eyed girl, a smirk on his face as he sat some distance away from her, watching as she successfully caught her quarry: a firefly.

She reaching down to take her first bite of her kill as she noticed another approaching. With half of the bug placed between her paws and the other half in her mouth, the Goufa started. She had never seen the wolf before but a simple sniff told her that he was of their pack. Keeping watch, Freyja chewed the morsel in her mouth and swallowed. Once her mouth was free, Freyja tilted her head and called out to the other.

“Hey! Whossit?!”

He watched, an amused smirk gracing his face as she chewed. He wasn't sure if fireflies were that nutritious, or even that well-tasting, but the girl seemed to be enjoying herself. He let her continue on, at least until she swallowed and greeted him.

His eyes widened slightly, knowing that his muteness hadn't been explained to her, or her siblings. Would they even understand? They were just learning how to speak themselves. He choked out his name, garbling it as he was used to, wondering if she would even understand him.

Her innocence was met with a garbled response and to that the child looked to the adult with a tilt of her head. “You kay?” Abandoning the last half of the firefly she gathered herself onto her paws and stepped towards the stranger with a wave of her tail, as if inviting him to step closer.

Hush coughed, then nodded. He wouldn't try to rely on what little "words" he could produce to communicate to the girl. She needed practice in body language as well as speech. He crawled forward on his belly, meeting her halfway, his head canted slightly, wondering if she was concerned for his wellbeing.

He was all right. Though she was relieved to learn this, she still was quite confused by this individual. Why wasn’t he speaking? Watching carefully, she studied him as he approached and hesitated once he met her halfway. “Why you no speek?” Crouching down, she looked to his muzzle. It looked like nothing was wrong with his mouth, but she was unaware of what lingered beneath the surface.”Issa scared?” This thought came after a moment, lifting her head so that she could look him in the eyes. She rationalized that whenever she was scared, she did not like talking. So that was the most logical thought she could conjure in that moment.

The girl looked confused at his predicament, and rightly so. For someone just learning to speak, the concept of someone not speaking was totally foreign. He furiously shook his head at her question. No, he was not.

She found out quickly that Hush was not afraid. To this, her brows rose and confusion coursed through her being. Why was this wolf so quiet then? She took a seat then, looking up to this wolf curiously. “So… no talk,” she concluded then, but another through brought her intentions in another direction. “Buh… play?” She looked to the wolf hopefully.

He was not able to speak, but playing was something he was very familiar with. He rose to his feet, nodding. A smile alighted his face as his tail began to wag. He could and would play with her. It would be an honor to do so.

The other wolf had reacted favorably to the idea of playing. Her face brightened considerably to this. Dropping herself into a bow, the child wagged her tail as she looked to Hush. “Less see... “ she trailed, the wheels of her mind churning as she thought about what they could play. “Play…” she paused, standing once more. “Tag?!” Without any warning, the puppy jumped towards the other and nudged his foreleg.

Once he had been tagged, the girl quickly turned around and bounded off, throwing a glance over her shoulder as she continued to distance the both of them from each other.

The girl quickly jabbed his forelimb, running away in an attempt to flee. His longer legs and stronger muscles would end this game quickly, so he held himself back, slightly, as he chased after her, tongue lolling comedically.

She was oblivious to Hush’s holding back and believed that she was truly outspeeding him. Giggles burbled out of her throat as she loped along, her paws hastily scraping against the earth as she ran. Her confidence in being able to outpace him only grew as she ran along and with it came a playful, “You can’t catch me!” from over her shoulder.

Satisfied that he had let her win for now, the mute pushed forward, his limbs tearing up the ground beneath him. He closed the gap between the two of them, close to touching her and winning the game. But he did not get that close, not yet. No game should be cut this short. And he was enjoying himself, wasn't he? A wide smile was stretched across his face, even as he breathed heavily through his nose. He hadn't had this much fun in a long while.

Freyja had felt that much time had passed since she had started running and she was beginning to feel tired. Her gallop turned into a lope as her breathing turned heavy. A sudden sense of impulse drove the child to halt. Turning around quickly, Freyja dropped into a bow with a playful expression that seemed to suggest “I’m going to get you!”

He watched her slowing pace and matching it with his own. The girl turned around, bowing, inviting play. He mirrored her, his tail wagging in anticipation for her move. He bluffed, his body moving forward as he psyched her out.

Mind if we wrap this up in the next few posts? :)

 

Her eyes shone as he mirrored her and giggles fell from her smile. Her entire body tensed as she waited for him to make the first move. When he lurched forward, the child jumped back as she anticipated his strike. And yet, it didn’t come. When she realized that it was all a trick, the child let out a hearty, “HEY!” and launched herself forward, hoping to strike one of his forelegs.

Sure!

His mouth opened in a silent, triumphant laugh, only to be quickly countered with a stern hit on his foreleg. Hush stumbled dramatically, falling over onto his back, his legs splayed in the air; she had tripped him!

When her hit had landed, Freyja quickly turned her attention to Hush as he tumbled down, her feature growing apologetic. Though she had meant to tackle him, she hadn’t wanted him to fall as he had! Picking herself up quickly, she scrambled to his side and looked at him apologetically as her tail hesitantly swayed behind her as he waited on for his next move.

His dramatic fall didn't have the effect he desired, though he played it to his advantage. The girl, instead of giggling, ran over to him with concern upon her face. He waited for her to draw even closer before springing up to his feet, booping her face with his nose, his tail wagging behind him and a proud smile upon his face.

It was as she examined Hush that he sprang suddenly back to life to bop her on the nose. A look of surprise quickly came upon her, freezing her momentarily, but that was soon replaced with a sense of amusement. Springing back a step, Freyja beckoned so that he could get up and continue playing. When that happened, the pair played for quite some time until Freyja got tired and was returned to the family den.