Duskfire Glacier they're all liars here

Developmental age: 2 months/4 human years. AW, maybe one of the healer types who might've been helping to treat Imaq/helping treat Siku's wounds? (@Lane @Eldritch)

Siku sat outside the caves, though not very far from the mouth of the communal denning area. It was only by Imaq's persistence -- insistent that they not coddle him but continue to give him a normal childhood after the incident with Makatza -- that they had moved from the whelping den to the rendezvous site and that he had been recently weaned. Liak had been a bit sullen with her at first, made even more grouchy by his various healing parts. 

This evening though, he was quiet and reserved as he lay bunched upon his legs for warmth -- not unlike the way a domestic cat might perch upon a counter. The fading rays of twilight still managed to reach between the trees and mountains, warm where they soaked into his spotted fur and damaged flesh. Soon enough one of his parents would come to fetch him, and he could be sure an adult or two milled somewhere nearby as was. 

Part of him was fearful of seeing Makazta again but he had not seen her since their fight. It hung heavy in the back of his mind even now but he had grown distracted with the first stars as they appeared in the lavender sky.

"Hey Siku," Veteran called softly, approaching Siku's perch with extra care. The kid seemed a little edgy since his run-in with Makatza, and Veteran didn't want to startle him. 

Veteran had suffered his own altercation with Makatza, as evidenced by the lingering, halfway-healed scarring on his forehead and scalp. She was a crazy bitch, but the scars looked cool and it was worth the pain to have had the opportunity to stand up for his smallest friend. 

Veteran's scars weren't terribly conspicuous in the the half-light of sunset, and it was possible that Siku wouldn't notice them. It was possible Siku didn't even know that Veteran had fought Makatza for him. Mom had really wanted Veteran to keep that a secret, for reasons entirely unknown to Veteran. It really burned him up, to have been in such a cool fight and then to not even be allowed to talk about it. 

"Can I sleepover with you?" he asked Siku. The young Qeya-Black was the only pup who wasn't yet entirely consumed by dominance-driven behavior, and as much as Veteran liked scuffling with his brothers and sisters, he could really use some bro time to just chill out. It might be kind of nice to just snuggle with Sikuliak and watch the stars come out.

The soft, familiar voice startled him only slightly, puppy blues flying to the source before a grin cracked the blue merle’s glacial features. ”Vet-win,” he chirped in hushed, though happy, tones. His scrawny tail — shorter than most, perhaps on account of Imaq lacking one — started up a swaying dance. 

”Yesss,” he crowed softly, voice still somewhat raspy, not even thinking that he should ask his mom and dad. But his mother was always encouraging him to make friends and not be scared of everyone — though he did give Wayfarer and Makatza both a wide berth. He wasn’t interested in the dynamic the older pups were going through, something that would likely ensure that he was placed at the bottom of their totem pole. That was fine with Siku, for now anyways. 

Besides, one pup in Duskfire with aspirations of world domination had to be enough right? 

”Okay?” the spotted tot asked in concern when Veteran had come closer, sitting up to sniff gently at his wounded head. 

Veteran's tail fluttered its own dance in response to the young Qeya-Black's assent. Apart from his low-swinging tail, he stood still as the other sniffed his face. His stance was a bit stiff, but only out of frustration with how the scars had been obtained. "Makatza," he explained the scars in one word, spitting out his half-sister's name as if it were poison. Siku would understand. He had also fallen victim to the viscous girl.  

It wasn't really the scars that bothered Veteran; he thought they looked kind of cool. All the best warriors had scars-- Wintersbane and Tzila to name a few. What bothered him most was that Makatza had beaten him, and she hadn't appeared to have learned any kind of lesson at all. It was maddening, knowing he was right but still emerging on the wrong side of justice. 

"I'm fine," Veteran reassured Siku, flopping onto the ground decidedly. Should Siku join him, Veteran would curl protectively around the slightly smaller boy. This was how Imaq or Rye would likely find them when one of them came to usher Sikuliak to bed. Perhaps Siku's parent would send Veteran on his way, or perhaps they would curl their own body around both children, joining them in their discussion of the stars and constellations, and assisting them make up names and stories to pair with the night sky's twinkling tapestry.

I wrote a fade since Siku is currently inactive, but I'll leave the thread open for a little while in case you bring him back and want to pick the thread back up.