Sleepy Fox Hollow BWP: LEAVE NO TRACE

The documentary crew made sure to leave no trace as they packed up their gear and prepared to disembark via helicopter (five separate choppers to house all the equipment as well as the passengers). The pilots fired up the rotors, the noise throbbing through the wilderness as the team climbed onboard. Within moments, the flock of whirlybirds did one last sweep across the Teekon Wilds, speeding away from the taiga in a southwestern line.

As they passed over the mountains, a thick fog suddenly subsumed the quintet. While four emerged in the clear on the far side, the last chopper's young pilot became disoriented in the thick mist. A few rookie mistakes later and one of the rotor blade's had snapped against an outcropping, the shards careening through the air. The helicopter wasn't far behind it, swinging wildly through the air before striking the mountain and tumbling into the hollow below. There was a fiery explosion as shrapnel went flying, some of it traveling for more than a mile from the crash scene.

Thick, black smoke threaded into the white fog as the wreckage below burned furiously. The sound of it was like a rushing river, only much harsher. Over the noise of the furious inferno came a high-pitched scream as a single figure burst from the fireball, blood and soot covering every inch of her trembling body.

The woman is an NPC... and fair game. ;)

Tagging @Tree and possibly @Nikan if you want to come in too, though it would be neat to see any other SM wolves as well!

The noises pierced her ears and caused the startled flee of birds nestled in the trees but a few moments earlier. Burning flames engulfed the scene in a haze of fiery orange while clouds of ashen grey rose up like plumes into the sky - it was a taste that stung her nose when she inhaled the air, burned her eyes if she stared long enough, and an occurance of which she had never before witnessed. The great stone bird in the sky had fallen and from what she could gather, was dead, but from the depths of its belly and the haze of soot stumbled a strange figure that wobbled on two legs. It was a horrific looking creature, with a tall, bald body and fearful demeanor.

Ordinarily the Nightstalker might have fled the moment she caught sight of the ugly thing, but the blood overpowered her senses and she could not resist wandering closer to observe from the shade of the surroundings. She was out of sight for now, but that would soon change. Kelina assesssed the situation from where she was, vibrant gaze of amethyst searching the lumbering creature for anything that could be used against her. It appeared weak, blood dripping from various wounds upon the figure and teasing the dark woman of ink in the best way.

It was no threat. At least, not from what she could see. Perhaps approaching it would lead to another story entirely, but in her eyes it was only a free meal. She stalked closer like a panther, gaze zoned in on her target as she emerged from the trees as a shadow of the darkness of which she was born. Oh, the fear that she could sense, it was delicious already.

Nikan had been nearby when the helicopter went down, the shaking of the ground and loud explosion shaking him to his core. He gave a short bark of surprise and ran,hiding a good distance away before gaining his bearings. Then he became curious and approached, catching the scent of Kelina nearby and following it.


The acrid scent of smoke burned his nostrils but he pressed onward,stopping on scene and spotting the weird animal on the ground. He inched closer, the scent of blood and Kelina's own proximity urging him to move in. It was weak and injured and therefore it was food, so without any more hesitation he darted in and began to nip and bite at it's legs. Curious as to the reaction of this female thing he leaped back again and growled, her blood on his face.

It was so peculiar and intriguing to Forrest, watching @Seabreeze move. The girl had been ready to off herself only a week or so before, and now she was preparing for motherhood. Having someone else to care about, someone more vulnerable and with less of a gaurantee had a way of humbling even the coldest cases. You'll need to watch what you eat, Forrest warned as the two of them walked, 'else you might find yourself awfully sick.

Up ahead, the sounds of snarls and snaps were clear. For a moment, Forrest hesitated, unsure of what they were about to walk into, but curiosity got the better of her. The thing that the two wolves were fighting over, it wasn't like anything that she'd ever seen before. Was it already dead? No, because dead things didn't have the ability to be afraid.

Hey! she called, quickly speeding up to a trot, Hey!

she shared something with olive and forrest that she'd never had with anyone else.  a kind of secret and makeshift comraderie.  she was thankful they had not told anyone else about her little trip up the sunspire.

but forrest had caught onto something else and far earlier than she'd ever imagined.  seabreeze did not know how long a wolf's heat was supposed to last but apparently hers had ended early.  way early.  forrest's experience had led her to one conclusion.

and seabreeze was secretly delighted.  motherhood this year?  well, it was exactly what she had wanted!  not how she had wanted, and definitely not underneath the best of circumstances.  but oh, she had such a mother's heart.  

she felt guilty at forrest's instruction — after all, seabreeze did have a tendency to starve herself to oblivion.  but she'd have to be careful.  maybe she could get some more supervision...

but she does not get to dwell on this long before commotion up ahead stalls their conversation.  she rushes forward alongside forrest and takes in the situation and is appalled.  aren't these wolves curious?  this creature seemed to hold higher intelligence than a vole or an insect.  and it was hurt.

she had never been much of a fighter.  but terance's lessons, ha ha, had at least given her some idea of what she was supposed to do.  she took a defensive stance, a low growl settling in her throat.  (she didn't realize this was not intimidating at all because she was eighty pounds soaking wet.  oh no.  very terror.)

The two legged thing reacted by emitting loud shouts of incoherent noise, but the terror that was in it was easily understood and Nikan soaked it up. He snarled and snapped again, though he earned a weak kick to the muzzle. Just as he was recoiling and about to retaliate with rage the shouting of a female of his kind grabbed his attention. There was a second one close behind who growled at him and looked defensive of the first and Nikan responded by raising his tail and standing in front of his prey. Their prey...it took him a moment to remember that Nightstalker was there too.


With a menacing curl of his lips to reveal his fangs he snapped in the direction of the two females. He then turned and nipped and bit at the strange female beast, sending it weakly crawling backwards toward Kelina. "This is ours. We were here first."He growled and turned to face them directly. His multihued eyes fell upon the female growling and he scoffed and began to laugh though the sound was low and nasty. This small girl thought she would be of use here? He towered over her by far and held more mass too, mostly muscle. "Cute. Little girl wants to play big bad wolf."he snarked, not taking her threats with a grain of salt.

---

she'd been confined to the mountain for the most part, the ugly gash on her throat slowly knitting together, yet certainly taking its time in doing so. the inky girl, nonetheless, had taken to wandering the borders in the past day. she'd wandered a bit further from them than she'd intended when the great roaring filled the sky, and her head snapped up (with no small burst of protest from her neck) to see them pass. 

it had been the blast, however, that'd drawn her, the great thunderous sound and the alien lights. her hackles were already raised when she chanced upon the smoldering wreckage, gaze falling first to her packmates and then to the male as he spoke. her lips pulled back, ugly snarl building in her chest as she stalked near to stand beside the packmates she hardly knew. "you'll find you're outnumbered." her gaze settled briefly on the woman, and in truth, she knew numbers mattered little when the two before her were obvious fighters, and the packmates at her side, well - seemed less so. still, she could at least try for some form of intimidation. "fuck off." 

---

Following their successful relocation to the Vale, she had a lot of new ground to cover and took the opportunities to do so when she could. In the entire expanse of the mountains surrounding the Sunspire, there was much to see. Despite the fog and persisting chill of wintertime, the ambar had been out ranging on the eastern edge of the peaks when the loud crash sounded from somewhere within. Without a more enticing trail underfoot, and since she considered herself near enough to investigate further, she soon went for it to seek it out.

Not knowing the best paths exactly, she tried to make the best haste she could until she scented trails of Sunspire wolves. From her distance far-flung behind them, and with the acrid smell of smoke growing stronger already, she kept on their trail until it brought her to this hidden meadow where it all went down. The sounds of snarls on the wind kept her from making any type of forward approach, and already, she suspected there were several already gathered--likely lured by the bizarre occurrences too. The Sunspire wolves she wasn't concerned about; the word back from her packmates were all favorable towards their ilk so they were tentative allies at best. Anyone else, any unfamiliar sorts, and Jomyo couldn't even hazard a good guess.

Deciding to play it safe, she hung back on the outermost fringes of the hollow for now to observe. She stepped carefully, and attempted to fade into the scenery as she prowled the outskirts.

she's just lurkin' from away a bit

two characters in one thread sign me up

The smokey odor was attractive, but it was the blood that pulled her in. There were other wolves there already to claim the prize, but Queenie wanted it for herself. It would have been incredibly stupid for her to try and stake a claim on her own, but because @Jomyo was there, she was given an extra sense of confidence.

Ready to jump in and pull the strange piece of meat away from its current captors, Queenie looked around to assess the situation, only then noticing Cass to her left, seemingly on the opposite side of the battle. Wait, she thought, unsure of which Queenie this situation called for. Did she try to take the thing for herself, or did she team up with Sunspire? Either way, she would get a taste, right?

It wasn't clear whether Jomyo had seen her or not, so assuming that the other scout didn't want to be seen, Queenie chose to slink away and draw as little attention as possible. She drew up beside Cass, matching her snarl with a popping growl of her own.

She had assumed at first that the prize would be all hers to claim - but the appearance of the Skullchaser proved otherwise. He darted in like a viper to strike the creature's legs, a dark red staining the fur around his muzzle and a violent glint in his gaze. The males jaws snapped and after a few moments he leaped back, allowing the Nightstalker herself to creep in and land blows of her own so that thick blood cursed the dark hues of her own muzzle and the white that rested on her chin was coated in red. 

It seemed that they would not be alone for long. The scents and sounds had attracted curious passers-by, and not all had the same ideas as she. Though some had similar, they would likely not allow her to steal the meal herself. If they were in for a fight, Kelina would not give in so quickly. The snarled threats did not cause sparks of fear in her heart, but rather a surge of possessiveness over the stumbling two-legged creature, a desire to keep the thing for herself and her own wolves. With Nikan at her side, she stood defensively in front of the bleeding person and allowed a snarl to rip from the depths of her chest. 

"Ours." She hissed, tail lashing at her rear. Of course, she would share the thing with her Skullchaser if they proved successful in this endeavor, but when it came to the other wolves gathering, it was hers and she would defend it.

Serem heard the commotion as well as Kelina's howl and decided to answer it with one of her own. Making her way towards her, the blood overwhelmed her senses as she breathed it in. From the looks of it, she noticed that a fight might happen, though Kelina caught her eye and Serem was quick to join her by her side and help.

Nikan's eyes moved toward the inky furred woman who appeared and began to defend the two women. Recognition glinted in his gaze and he chuckled, lips curling into a sneer. "I get a second chance to tear out your throat then."he said unphased by the threats and displays of aggression all around. He didn't understand what the big deal was here, the damned female prey was big enough for everyone and there wasn't a true need for bloodshed. 

Then a fourth wolf strode forward,yet another female and snarled beside the woman he'd fought before at the edges of their territory. He returned the snarl, standing tall and lifting his tail though keeping it below Kelina's, his fangs snspping together a few times. As Kelina joined his side and another shadow mountain wolf appeared he grinned. "Three against four and I'd bet we win. Kelina, shall we?"he voiced and turned toward his leader, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.

I think perhaps it's a good idea to do a dice roll.thread for who fights who and  what hits make their mark. Or we could go off realism (Nikan is massive and burly and could probably take on all of them unless two attack him at once for example)

dice rolls would be best, but that isn't incredibly realistic.  agility and stamina also have an effect in battle; being big and burly actually can work against a wolf, especially in a multi-target fight.  taking two wolves is quite the feat, especially after as many recent fights / injuries as nikan has had.  i also think we should enforce a posting order now?

this took a turn for the worse — flashbacks to the wolves who had captured her came to her but she forced them down because if she let them incapacitate her now, she was somehow sure that these wolves would be no different.  they would take her and they would hurt her.

confidently, dangerously, she strode forward. little girl is capable of more than you know, she crooned, placing herself between the nightstalker and her toy.  i'd hate for you to have to find out the hard way.

totally a bluff, and probably not a very convincing one.

frantically shoves terance in here

terance wasn't very far behind his packmates. the sounds and the smells of the crash were intriguing at the least, and the fact that three of sunspire's wolves were headed towards it... well, terance felt he should accompany them. it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that seabreeze was going and that since their nights together he worried constantly for her wellbeing. nothing to do with that. it had more to do with the fact that cass was going-- since he felt a sense of responsibility(for some reason?) over the raven-furred girl-- especially after her return from shadow mountain. 

nothing to do with seabreeze.

the three girls lacked size and, seabreeze at least, lacked skill. but terance's appearance in the crowd gave them an advantage, for he was built like a boulder and a skilled fighter. he spoke no words, but joined the three women with his fur bristling and tail high in the air. his teeth were bared, snarling. his posture was clear-- get lost. he only hoped the tindome wolves would join their cause... they were allies, after all, weren't they?

PP'ng @Moonshadow with permission cause well she's my character XD and she went back to shadow mountain.

The dark pelted male had been resting with his sister when he heard the call of Serem, a female whom he had noticed at the sacrifice. The male shot a look of concern at his sister. As if they both knew what to do, the male soon stands up and runs to the aid of his pack mates; looking back to see his sister following close behind. Which makes him stop. "You stay here okay." The male makes himself clear and runs off. However, when he arrived his senses are filled with the scent of blood. Nightstar sees the other male and notices his posture.

She trailed after Queenie always, since that was their arrangement. She only left her for short bursts of time, and when the dappled girl came upon the wreckage, it was not long before the inkstain girl followed. She kept to herself; there were too many wolves already present and Kratha was no warrior (not to mention Java doesn't wanna read through all of this right now). She followed at a wolf-length behind, keeping her ears pivoting for clues from the others just in case. She was the shadow. She was here to learn from Queenie, always, but Kratha knew how to keep herself safe. The strange object which had careened in to the mountains was obviously alien to her - but she wasn't interested in the blackened ruins of the helicopter; she smelled blood, and she was intent on protecting her friend.

The pale devil was a wary one.  She'd had half a mind to hold her ground, to guard the lands from the creatures that roared in the mist, that burned in the fog like distant dragons.  An acrid smell cut through the air, the burning of fuel and the melting of plastic components over the normal smell of wood burning.  Why wouldn't she stay home and guard?

Then there was a howl.  It was close.  Too close, in her opinion, from the den of the putrid dragons.  Treason was also not the sort to enjoy wandering, but after Redshank, it seemed like this would be worth investigating.  She started trotting in that direction, but as she noticed the scents of her packmates, it became far more urgent to catch up with whatever group was forming over there.  Despite having questionable morals in comparison to some, her job was to protect things that were hers, was it not?

And lo, so appeared Treason on the scene, her strides slowing to appear in Terance's shadow.  Ears forward, lip twitching upward as she surveyed the attitudes of everyone around.  It was certainly no friendly chat, so perhaps it was a good thing she appeared -- and notably, neither of the alphas was here (yet?), so perhaps they could do things right and not worry about pitying idiots.  Some of the scents in the area obviously belonged to those that were their more friendly neighbors -- she hadn't met them, but the other group that were definitely by themselves?  They were the enemy in this, right?  A bristle ran through her fur and a low grow exited her maw.  Then to Terance, or whoever even bothered to answer, What's all this then? but delivered in a far more ugly way than the Monty Python skit the writer is quoting.

Honestly, Treason did not give a hoot about the human, and to some point was counting it in there with the destroyed machine as something maybe worth avoiding.  She just wanted to keep the uppity quasi-neighbors from getting any ideas that they would ever be allowed to encroach on anything even remotely near the Sunspire if they were to come with hackles raised and fangs bared, as the rest of the pack certainly didn't seem like the type to start fights.  She was probably the most likely to do that.

Bodies began to fall in, filling the space on either side of the rope. Looking around, Queenie could tell that their force was a strong one; it was six versus four, and the ball was definitely in their court. Had she known that two of their fighters weren't actually trained, then her confidence might not have been so high. Lucky for them, she didn't know any better than to be over the moon with pride. 

Mimicking the dominant behavior of the male at her flank, Queenie raised her tail high and sent it at a warning twitch over her back. You don't want any of this, I promise you. The only wolf that she'd ever seen go to battle was Cass, but if all of the Sunspire wolves fought the way that she did, then Queenie thought that they'd already won.

There hadn't been one ounce of regret. Immediately after the initial call to their opponents, wolves from Sunspire and Tindómë were taking their positions. Although she had never been a fighter herself, Forrest knew how to protect herself when need be; the added help of the flanking soldiers was just a booster.

Terance and another mottled wolf who she hadn't before seen took up more dominant approaches, and while Forrest might have liked to do the same, it felt too unnatural. Instead, she figured that they ought to try and handle this as diplomats before any further violence ensued. 

That being said, she wasn't about to be the one making suggestions.

Permission to PP a big hit on Seabreeze from Stray!

More and more opponents began to fill in and he gave a low growl, ears flattening and hackles rising along his back. This was an obvious challenge.They were here first, the human was at their jaws first and therefore it was they're claim by right. Before he could speak this fact the littlest of the group stalked forward and placed herself between them and the human.

All thought of verbally ending the oncoming fight left his mind and he snarled, the sound ripping through the air quite suddenly as he lunged for the small girl. Immediately his jaws sank into her scruff and through the flesh as he grabbed hold and using his weight he slung her around and tossed her back at the paws of her friends, teeth ripping a chunk from her scruff as he released her.


He then stood tall and growled again, slowly licking the blood from his lips and teeth while staring them down. "We will fight for what is rightfully ours. We stood here first, we had her blood in our jaws, therefore she is our food."

She had just begun to fan out wide around this curious scene when she spotted Queenie's arrival, and Kratha's following just behind her. Instantly bolstered with this information, one top of noticing more Sunspire fellows keen to rally too, she didn't close in on her pack mate but instead attempted to flash her a meaningful look at the distance they maintained. After, she went disappearing in full while her comrade headed for the front lines alongside the mountain folk. Jomyo wanted to fly underneath radar for now to give her side that advantage, should it be necessary for her support to become more obvious in the later stages of a fight.

The unnamed group seemed to stake an aggressive claim over the oddity and source of blood.. but Jomyo, from her vantage on the fringes, saw them looking disadvantaged if Tindómë and Sunspire explored their brand new alliance to its fullest; she was keen enough to come to their aid, should it call for it, and it looked like the others shared the sentiments as events began to unfold with Sunspire and Tindómë's support there right alongside them.

The ambar had no stake in the lives of the others besides finding out more about them, and, perhaps, this was a good way to establish themselves as good neighbors to Rannoch's pack. But, now was less the time and place for that, especially as this looked to be getting heated and blows began to fly in the next instant. She turned her icy eyes skyward only briefly to the smoke, then back to the budding conflict as her hackles gave a slow, responsive rise.

PPing seabreeze scrambling back, timing wise terance would not have let nikan get out his words. posting order is Sunspire, Shadow Mountain, Tindome. please let every participating member of that pack post before you do. wolves not involved in the actual fight just let the next pack know if you won't be posting! rounds every FOUR days.

terance didn't have time to answer treason, because suddenly there were teeth in seabreeze's scruff and there was wolf blood among the carnage, and it wasn't just any wolf:

it was seabreeze.

before she'd even hit the ground, terance was lunging for the indigo-eyed man-- his own gaze a forest fire, emerald iris' ablaze. teeth connected with his scruff-- though he was aiming for the throat-- and he held tight and hard, teeth digging into flesh.

This is Treason giving folks an out so that if in the end SM doesn't actually want this to be a giant war-ish thread lasting 982374 rounds other than the Nikan vs Terance fight...

There were only a few instances where Treason would seem like the diplomatic one.  As Terance dove on in, she was going to see if she could put a cap on the rest of it.  The devil drew herself up to full height -- none of that prowling stance nonsense she usually existed in, ears forward, tail starting to arch above her back.  She was a pretty impressive beast when she tried, even if she did have a bit to fill out still over the coming year.

Her voice, for once, was loud to be heard over the din of whatever squabbles were going on, and she spoke sternly to the foreign group, You are outnumbered.  We are seven, you are four, she hadn't spotted the last Tindome member lurking about, and was literally counting everyone, including Seabreeze who was a bit worse for wear now.  This is not a fight in your advantage.  If you like getting yourselves injured, then feel free to stay, but I would suggest leaving and finding other food instead of taking the risk.  Don't be like that idiot. She was referring to Nikan, who she was confident would be swiftly dealt with by Terance -- and Seabreeze could probably get a few revenge pops in too if she wanted.  Or at least, that was what she was assuming.

There was only the issue if they weren't this side of logic and reason.  Then no matter what was said, they were probably gonna get all riotous and obnoxious.  But so, the yearling tried.  If they desired to be fools, perhaps they would be dead fools before the next sun rose.  --- No, better, they could be dead in a few weeks, after their broken bones left them crippled and unable to hunt.  They could have that time to think about their life choices and how they went wrong.

The attack was too quick and thoughtless for anyone to have done anything to prevent it, and that left Forrest to work on damage control. As Seabreese scurried off of the scene, the midwife dutifully followed, beckoning the girl down onto her side so that a full inspection might be easier. There was nothing around for her to use to stop the bleeding, so, with little regard for her otherwise untouched white pelt, Forrest knelt down on Seabreeze’s scruff with all of her weight in an attempt to slow it, at the very least. The conflict behind them was still high and roaring, and Forrest could tell that that first strike had begun a brew too bitter for any of them to handle.

One and done here!  ;P  The AW spinoff thread I’m antisocially splitting off into otoh is right HERE.
 
Anyone who has something specific or additional they would like Nynka to have whispered in their ear as she whisked about should feel perfectly free to powerplay her having done so in your upcoming posts. :) Anyone who would like to eat popcorn and place bets should report in to your local weasel bookkeepers, off to the left…

 
Nynka licked the last few drops of mouse blood from her whiskers as she darted her head into a nearby tuft of grass. Her hunger sated, for the moment, her curiosity had instead come to the fore, and she had ventured far and wide today in her continued explorations of this vast new land, so empty of weasels and so overflowing with canines. But already she had made up her mind that she liked this place much better than her childhood dwelling, or the first barren, rocky incline she had initially made her home. Pikas were all good and well but as real estate agents they sucked.
 
Featuring in Better Weasel Homes and Garden Magazine was quickly shoved from her mind, however, by the enormous racket none too far away. With a leap and a bound Nynka ran to investigate, and as she reached the smoking clearing sat up on her hindlegs and looked about, drinking it all in. The trees looked a little worse for the wear, the strange giant metal birdcontraption having done in more than a few of their flindered fresh-budded limbs on its way to a less-than-perfect landing. But the wolves were the ones looking worse-off yet; the whirlybird had done its most spectacular damage, but (despite the much-thicker local aroma of fox, which looked to have wisely cleared the area) the largest canids looked like they were puffing themselves up ever-more and just getting going on the worst of it. Nynka’s little black eyes flickered to the nearly-as-blackened shape of some twolegger who had also gotten involved, eyes that then just as quickly dismissed it. Nynka had seen a two-legs before and was not impressed. Despite the horror stories other woodlanders had shared, the furless twoleggers seemed even louder and more inept than these wolves as they lurched numb-nosedly about, and this one looked even more stupidly useless than the last. Half-charcoaled as it was anyhow, Nynka could not for the life of her fathom why the stupid wolves would actually fight over such a catch—though maybe it was the whirlybird, rather, that one of them had somehow taken down and was now defending from the rest? Or the stupid two-legs who’d tried to take it from them.
 
Whatever the case, however such a scenario had come about, Nynka didn’t know and didn’t much care. What was most important was that this was the most excitement she’d had all day, and she danced gleefully from foot to foot as she watched the wolves really start lighting into each other. The brangling knot of canines seemed much more interested in and attentive to each other than anything else around them— enough so that Nynka decided to have a little more fun. She whipped past one edge of the brawl, hissing loudly at the first brute close enough, Yes, yes, that’s the way, fight! Eeling along, to the next she murmured, in as sinister a voice as her tiny throat could muster: You’re not going to let her get away with that, now are you? Ghosting ‘round to the other side, she added to the next ones, Go for his tail! ...Now poke her in the eye! and Hey wait a moment, that’s one’s actually kind of cute, isn’t he? A pregnant pause. But not as cute as he’d look without that ear, I’d bet! Or a tree branch in his face! Breathy sniggers of unsuppressable laughter floated in Nynka’s wake as she circled the bunch, careful to keep clear of any flailing blows that might stray outside the intended combatants. Then she stopped, and eyed the wolf that she had overlooked. This one fluffed itself up just as much as the others, but stood outside the battle regally observing the rest as she held aloof. Nynka stared boldly at the creature, then bared her glittering teeth for just a moment from the safety of the far side of the clearing and the brawl. Then another more interesting thing caught her eye… a mysterious gleam half-buried in the grass, still well out of reach of the other animals. Nynka’s eyes lit up and, keeping half an eye on the observer wolf, the little weasel bounced over to check it out.
 
Its hard shell near-covered it, and had plowed a long furrow into the earth on its way in. It smelled of two-legs and strangeness, but unlike the unmoving twolegger in the other corner no one had even attempted to claim it. Gleefully, Nynka seized upon the prize herself, grabbing it by its spindly rubber leg that stuck uselessly up into the air. For all that its bulk outdid her own, it took only a moment of determined tugging to free it from the dirt, and then Nynka with upjutted tail was bounding off with it in a flash, awkward and heavy though it might be. Mine now!, she might have yelled, had her mouth not been so otherwise preoccupied.