Moonspear for the life i took from you, my king

 
it didn't take much to rouse arcturus these days - while his first ventures outside the world had been fraught with particularly intimidating things (the skitter of leaves in the wind were one of those particularly intimidating things) day by day, arcturus grew bolder. his jaunts were still often curtailed by a watchful relative - an incredibly frustrating inconvenience when all arcturus wanted to do was explore.

today, his mother had left him under the imposing and watchful eye of his sister, @Hydra. he had yet to exhaust the wellspring that was her patience for childish play, and with a babble traisped through a vernal-spring puddle before bounding sloppily and muddily towards the arms of his long-suffering older sister.

She had been employed to watch her siblings, but nearby was her other shadow, @Lyra. Hydra was no matronly woman, and most of the time she blatantly ignored her siblings. When they acted like battering rams, she would smile and attempt to literally sweep them off their feet, though she was far more gentle with them and far more forgiving than she would be with those not of her blood, who, to be honest, she might have disposed of. 

Hydra stood several feet before her blue-eyed, black-of-fur brother, and as he charged Hydra lingered in place, every bit the expert matador until—just before he could make any impact—she sidestepped and snapped cheekily at his rear. Hydra's ears flicked as she feinted a lunge toward him, making sure she was not close so as to accidentally have him caught beneath her stiff forelegs, and stood still again, leaning ever-so-slightly forward, her eyes not moving from him as she anticipated his next move.

She had been employed to watch her siblings, but nearby was her other shadow, @Lyra. Hydra was no matronly woman, and most of the time she blatantly ignored her siblings. When they acted like battering rams, she would smile and attempt to literally sweep them off their feet, though she was far more gentle with them and far more forgiving than she would be with those not of her blood, who, to be honest, she might have disposed of. 

Hydra stood several feet before her blue-eyed, black-of-fur brother, and as he charged Hydra lingered in place, every bit the expert matador until—just before he could make any impact—she sidestepped and snapped cheekily at his rear. Hydra's ears flicked as she feinted a lunge toward him, making sure she was not close so as to accidentally have him caught beneath her stiff forelegs, and stood still again, leaning ever-so-slightly forward, her eyes not moving from him as she anticipated his next move.

arcturus continued his ddisastrously messy approach, gallumphing towards his sister with mud and water wringing behind him. he was already preparing for the collision, a little sneer of triumph on his face -- only to have his expression crumple as hydra neatly and deftly avoided him.

arcturus stood a moment, positively bewildered by the disconcerting act of being in one place one moment, and in another place a second after. whatever ruminations he had over this blatant sorcery was upended as hydra sent a cheeky nip to his quarters.

his little ears pinned and he turned around, fixing her with a dark scowl and a rumbly growl that bobbed with each step he took towards her. his gaze fixed on her paw and he made for it in a clumsy, easily predictable lunge.

She was amused at how dumb children could be. It seemed to be a common trait in each cub she had known, and at least by now Hydra recognized that they needed to be taught. In any case, when he had recognized where she had gone, he seemed less than pleased. Hydra's expression did not shift, and when his eyes locked onto their target her tail twitched idly behind her. 

There was a time that she must have been this predictable. 

When he lunged, Hydra lifted her leg from the earth so that he would miss entirely. Then, she turned to face him and attempted to, while he was busy recovering, topple him over with a gentle but firm swipe of a foreleg. She did not know when children began to retain knowledge, but with him she would find out.

what arturus believed was a sure thing, and what reality saw befit to address as a sure thing, were two very contrasing matters. arcturus, carried by the wings of sure victory, sailed plumb by the spot hydra had previously occupied, his devillish grin swept away by surprise.

it was not the only thing swept away -- his feet, of their own seeming accord, were out from under him as hydra's dark arm slid past. he landed on his back in a silently stunned heap, blue eyes fixing wildly on the dark shade that had bested him.

Hydra bested him swiftly, though there was little pride to be had in this victory against a child. She stood over him and grinned toothily at him from above, before moving to nip near one of his whiskers. Snorting, she withdrew from her position above him and shook out her furs. Noticing foxfur in the corner of her eye, Hydra moved to pick it up and trotted haughtily toward her brother, hoping to entice him in a healthy game of tug-of-war. It was a favorite of hers, and she was eager to introduce the way she played this game with her brother. It would take time to get him to the level she and Gannet had reached, but, she would instruct him. For now, simply playing would have to suffice for her.

it took the child a moment to collect his senses -- he did so slowly, carefully -- a squint in his gaze as he registered what had happened. how it had happened.

the dark sibling had done it -- he was sure of it -- while he could not say how, he could say for certain she had. more of that sorcery bullshit, if you asked him.

yet, any scorn or resentment he might have harbored was as flitting as the dropping in of a butterfly -- particularly as he saw her whimsically rise and prance off, presenting him with the well-worn, tattered, and treasured hide of some bygone creature. delighted by the prospect of play arcturus instantly rose to attention and stalked after her with a little growl. he clamped his thin teeth on the dried membrane and tugged with as much force as his body could provide -- which, in all retrospect, was not very hard at all.

Hydra watched as he latched on, and as he began to tug she stepped with him to give him a taste of what winning might feel like. The Beta then gave a rough tug of her own, utilizing only the slightest bit of her strength in knowing who it was she played this game with. Hydra let out a low growl as she pulled again, shaking her head a little to encourage him to get into it. Her ears pricked as she observed him, watching how he moved.

arcturus took to this new game with delightful gusto, his dark form bracing taut against his larger sister. her growls, deep and perfunctory and clear, were imitated -- sadly, his voice had yet to mature, and all that sprung from his rumbling throats were pale imitations of the original sound - squeaky, high pitched, and off-tune.

for a moment there was give in the hide, as if he were winning. hah! arcturus' eyes lit up and he issued a victorious growl, readying himself for his imminently expected victory. he wormed back and forth, shaking his head with what he imagined was positively tremendous force -- and perhaps mulishly, he dug deep of his reserves and tugged left in the hopes to loosen the hide from his indomitable sister's teeth.