Sleepy Fox Hollow Stinkend

Clouds had shifted to cover the sun and the hollow was cast in a darker shade.

Emmerich had been relentless in his search of the borders. He had stood peering through the trees in hopes that he might catch the red-furred Reyes. It must have been too simple. If the lost wolf was in the area, he would have left a sign. It didn’t help that Emmerich wouldn’t journey too far outside of their home. He had found many paths, but none were fresh enough to be promising.

The sturdy young wolf prowled in search of food. He wanted to eat before he patrolled so that he could sustain the energy it took. All those trips to their borders had begun to shape him, to define the muscle beneath his coat.

As he walked, Emmerich wondered what his stinky sister @Isa was up to. He hoped he might bump into her.

Isa remained at the mouth of the den near where her father stored his herbs, gnawing on a deer bone that she had pulled off one of their kills, working out her frustrations over the lack of attention she was receiving at that very moment. She found her father’s lessons: fighting, hunting, healing… they gave her what she desperately sought: validation, security, love, and superiority over her brothers which was arguably the most important of those.
 
She was blind to her brother’s presence as she growled lightly at it, holding it between her paws as she went to town on the bone, her tail thumping fiercely against the ground as she did so. She was due for another healing lesson with her vader soon, so it was best to work out her irritations. It made it easier to sit still through his lessons and learn the best that he could.
 
A live subject would work better, but the bone was what she had with her at the moment.

Isa’s soft growl reached her bother’s ears and curled his features into a Grinch-like expression. As much as he had wanted to patrol the borders and report his findings back to his father, Emmerich believed that it had been far too long since he had harassed his uppity sister. She always made the taunting such fun with her indignance that he was easily swayed away from his goal.

Finding her gnawing on a bone, Emmerich prowled toward her quickly. He feigned a snap at her prize before pulling back and circling away from her. The light in his yellow gaze was full of mischief. He wanted to see if he could rile her up quick. The boy hoped he might get a good spar out of her, if she really had been serious about learning from their father.

Whatcha got, Isa? Wanna share? Emmerich asked her cheekily.

Isa let her nose twitch when she heard the irritatingly grating voice filter through the air, rolling her eyes as she pulled back. “What, are you blind, bruder?” She asked of him when he asked what she had there. Clearly, it was a bone. The foul-tempered girl saw an opportunity to take out her frustrations on a live specimen, but she did not move to actually cross him at the moment, instead letting him set up his own grave for her to stomp all over.
 
“No, you cannot. Vader gave it to me. It is mein.” She stressed each word with irritation, as her brother’s existence was something of an ever growing problem for her. She went back to working over her bone, certain that her brother would find some way to launch her into action, though she also had no intention of revealing that vader had been teaching her to fight until she was already on top of him showing him who the real boss was.

Wish I was so I wouldn’t have to look at yer butt all the time, he snickered.

Isa probably didn’t realize that she was the most fun to harass. Anselm was too soft, too tender. He kept to their family comforts. Emmerich had only seen his brother venture out into the hollow once or twice. Though that was fine, the white-hooded boy wanted someone who pushed him to do better in his own ventures. He wanted Isa to be the rival that kept him working, kept him proving himself.

Fine, ya don’t gotta share with me. But if ya do… maybe I’ll show you the coyote fang from the intruder papa and I killed, the boy looked at her from the corners of his eyes. It was a trophy that he had carefully guarded, waiting for the right day that he could reveal it to his siblings. That day had inspired Emmerich to pursue the path of a guardian.

She snorted softly at his words, rolling her eyes. She didn’t even see it as an insult. Her butt was quite sightly, just as the rest of her was, and he was lucky to be in her presence and the fact that he was so spiteful about it did not deign a response from the dignified princess.
 
She raised a brow and rolled her eyes when he brought up taking down a coyote. “You didn’t. Vader took down the coyote. You probably just watched and took the fang after.” She found it difficult to believe that her brother could do anything that suggested he was remotely worthy of her attention or even a good thought. At least Anselm kept things calm, but Emmer liked to pick on her.
 
She would not stand for it. If he wanted antagonism, she would give it to him. She continued to gnaw on the bone. “Not sharing… it’s mine. Vader gave it to me for doing a good job when he was teaching me about fighting.” She held her head up high at that.

You can ask him, he answered her snidely. Their father would not deny Emmerich’s part in defending their land. Beyond this, however… 

I have met several wolves at the border. I even helped get someone who wanted to join.

A devilish expression found his features. He’d show her the coyote fang later. She could pretend like she had her head on tighter than Emmerich did, but what had she really done except suck up information to keep in her head? Where was the practicality in that? The white-hooded boy didn’t believe there was any. Sure, Isa could probably win at a game of quizzing. The boy knew she hadn’t made as many trips to the borders as he had. 

How many have you met? came his next pointed query. Emmerich had lost interest in her toy. Only kids coveted their things like that, and he was above such petty selfishness. His tooth was different- that was a prize that he had won.

Once more, her nose would twitch in irritation, the sign of when her brother hit a nerve in her. So what if he had met wolves at the border. What good did that do? Perhaps she ought to try and slip some poppy into his food, teach him a lesson. She had learned from Mater that it had been used to help with pain… perhaps it could help him be less of a pain in her behind!
 
“Coyotes? None. They’re such ugly creatures.” She stated with the disgust clear in her voice. “Anyone can meet wolves at the border; it’s not special.” She stated back in a pointed manner, her eyes narrowing at him once more as her chest puffed out lightly. She had nothing to be jealous of; her brother was just stinky and she was clearly the favorite of the brood for both of their parents.

Not coyotes, Emmerich rolled his eyes at her misunderstanding. Joiners, other wolves on the borders. Even threats? Have you met anyone like that yet?

She might have thought that she had the upper hand in their parents’ eyes. Perhaps she did. Emmerich was more confident in his abilities. He’d done well to make the borders a familiar path. He had learned how to address several different things on the edges of their home. The white-hooded boy had a feeling that his sister hadn’t come close to those types of things. She was a mommy and daddy’s girl at heart and while that might have gotten her a doting eye from their parents, it did little for her skills outside of their home.

It was this that Emmerich hoped to exploit. Casually, of course. He didn’t want to be a complete jackass to his sister. She was a pain, yeah, but she was still his family. As much of a stuck-up brown-noser as Isa might have been, he would have made sure to fight anyone who threatened her. That was his purpose on the borders of the hollow.

Isa would not give him any satisfaction, instead rolling her eyes. “Have you met any threats at our borders?” She posed back pointedly, wondering just if he had. “Vader mentioned bringing me with him to visit Mereo, a military pack with actual fighters.” She supposed that said much about how much he valued his son’s attempts to keep their borders safe; Isa assumed that he would not be joining her…
 
There had also been no real timeframe given, but her brother needn’t know that information. It wasn’t relevant and worked against the point she was trying to make: her brother wasn’t shit. She, in time, would become a fighter, if only to prove her brother absolutely wrong and to claim her own victories that she could lord over him. She’d fight him and win if that was what was needed… maybe she would even protect him because when it came down to it, she was the only one allowed to fuck with him.

The coyote… duh.

Isa didn’t listen very well. It was probably why their dad was spending so much time with her. She needed the special classes – one-on-one time at a slower pace so that she could retain the information. Emmerich might have snickered at this internal thought if he wasn’t feeling particularly haughty. His sister might know how to irritate him, but he knew that his skills as a guardian were beyond hers.

I met a woman from another pack. She was seeking a man with a red coat. She said that if we found him, we would get a favor from their pack.

Emmerich sneered now. His sharp yellow eyes flashed toward his sister.

Makes sense that papa would want ya to learn from the best warriors. Yer pretty far behind, after all.

A haughty laugh sounded from his lips.