Redtail Rise She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe

Her guardian, Prophet, made sure she had everything she needed, and it took very little time for her to go from being weakened to the point of near death, to being a demanding menace, albeit a very scrawny one. Fortunately for the red-eyed man, she still had a long recovery to go before she had enough energy to be an absolute wretch- but she was definitely feeling well enough to pitch a tiny princess-sized tantrum. 

Naturally, he had to leave her to get food, get a drink, hunt, do whatever it was he did. She was too malnourished still to have the energy to leave the area designated for her, but that didn't mean her voice wouldn't carry. 

So the spindly child sat, having been left alone for just long enough to have decided that she was being neglected. "I'n hungwy." She declared to herself, and sniffed. She pulled in a breath. "IIIIIIII'n HUUUUUUNGWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!" She screamed. "HUNG! WEEEEEE!!!" She barked. Even that much of a fuss left her short of breath; but her voice was piercing enough she was certain someone would rush to her aid.

A great ruckus had infected the rise. There was a voice Requiem had not heard before - and the place was normally a very quiet one, which he liked very much - so that voice was something of an oddity. As it flared louder and louder, the boy spied a great many little birds flocking free of the trees as they made their own sort of protest. It was funny to see, but not in a laughing way - more strange than anything, which drew Requiem closer.

He was nearby when he heard the final shout of wee, and as he lacked context for what was going on, he began to laugh (or chuff, which was a more natural kind of laughter for a wolf). There was such a shrill pitch to the voice that even he could tell that the bearer was in distress. He was close enough to pop his head up from the shadows, inquisitive and unafraid of what lay waiting there.

Requiem didn't speak though - he much preferred the quiet at the moment. What if he wasn't supposed to be there? His nose wiggled as he searched the scents of this particular den, but he found nothing familiar, which made him wary.

there was a new girl here and boy was she loud! ancelin nearly fell over himself in his excitement to meet someone who wasn't completely off limits by his brother. there was a new boy too, and as he came around the bend to investigate the first, he almost collided with the second child.
he stared open-mouthed between them both, then shut his jaws. "hey. i'm ancelin." his ears were curious upon the girl now, tail waving. "what're you hungry for?"
he put his head to one side.

Someone was coming. She hoped it was Prophet, coming back with something hot and fresh for her to eat, preferably already de-feathered or torn open so she could eat all the good parts first. 

Instead, it was the ash-brown boy, whose head popped into view. He had nothing in his mouth, so she pouted. She inhaled and was about to boss him around for having come without a treat for her to eat, when another kid came into view, nearly thumping into Requiem which earned him a frosty glare. 

He was friendly, and polite, though. But his question made her sniff haughtily. "For food, duh," She said. "Wabbit. Fith. Biwd. Deeaw- I ain't picky, I'n jutht th-taawwved." She declared. "An' needer you bwought me nuffin. Hmmpf." She said, sinking to the ground and crossing her forepaws before her, neatly, at the ankle. She refused to look at either of them.

All at once there was the voice of the girl again. This time it wasn't a shriek and it could be made out as words, but it wasn't the only one. There was a boy here too - he was very pale, and had the look of someone who had just rolled in mud and food. Like he needed a bath. But when Reki shyly shifted closer to get a sniff of him, he smelled none of those things.

He withdrew before the boy's attention could linger long upon himself. The boy was focused on Lilia, which made Reki much more comfortable and he couldn't explain why. Lilia was being her usual demanding self; something Reki would learn to live with.

She was adamant that food be brought to her. How dare he not bring something? How could he have known?! He immediately felt overwhelmed by her soured mood and withdrew into himself a bit, pulling away from them both to hunker down and pout off to the side.

The clamor of loud, youthful voices intrigued Masquerade. As much as she preferred her own company, she was insatiably curious like anyone else her age. Quietly, she slunk toward the sound of the commotion, as always trying to approach the scene without being noticed.

She found Ancelin and Reki with another youngster, one she didn’t recognize. Did the rise have another castaway kid? Her eyes flicked from Reki to the newcomer, wondering if they were related. She folded to her haunches behind a screen of foliage, curious to see what was happening before she considered coming out of concealment.

If nobody spots her, you can skip me at will! :)

ancelin knew masquerade was there, though he certainly couldn't prove it. his senses twitched in that direction but he kept himself focused on the girl and the boy. "well, i didn't know you were hungry!" ancelin shot back, a little taken off guard.
despite the fact that augur and prophet were leaders, he was aware avicus was the head honcho. as it was, the boy was better positioned to submit to the feminine.
he glanced to the boy. "maybe uh, maybe we can get you something?" he frowned and cocked his head at the loud girl. "what's your name? an' what dya want most to eat?"

"Well..." Normally, she would have spat something back at him, but he was offering to fetch her food, so she'd have to play nice with him. "Now you know." She said, still slightly ruffled. She wasn't used to getting her way; normally, she'd have her sister to contend with, and her sister had always been such a pain.
          Ancelin seemed nice enough, but he was far too pretty. She felt jealous of him, and self-aware of her own ugliness when she was in his presence. It annoyed her. She needed to keep herself at the top of the pecking order somehow, as she wasn't able to do so by birthright or with her looks and grace.
           Lilia tried to bolt to her feet but stumbled slightly, brushing her shoulder against Reki as she moved abruptly to stand between the two boys. "You don't get ta bawth Wecki awound, he'th my fwiend," She said. "I'n Lee-Lee-A. I....I want thome fith." She said, tilting her chin up and peering down the bridge of her nose at Ancelin to see if he would simply obey her request. She remembered some of her charm though, and canted her head slightly, pulling a smile to her lips. She grinned. "Pweeeeath."

At first Reki was an observer. He wasn't sure what to make of the mottled boy and was too shy to initiate further conversation; thankfully (or perhaps unfortunately) Lilia was more talkative and took things on herself.

She moved to be closer to him. At her touch he looked briefly elated and smiled softly her way, which became a bigger smile when he heard her call him a friend.

Putting aside that it was Leelee's raucous voice that had so unsettled Reki, he was enamored; he didn't have many friends, and felt immediately possessive. If they were choosing sides, he had his picked for him.

The first words she actually caught were Ancelin’s. He sounded rather defensive, though he quickly changed his tune and offered to get the new kid some food. Masquerade craned forward, hoping to catch the stranger’s response. The way she spoke reminded Masque so much of Avicus, it caught her off guard. But she understood the answer: fish.

Without a word, the Toweard slunk away into the brush, headed toward the nearest cache. Would it contain fish? It wasn’t the most accessible food, especially in this terrain, but perhaps someone like Ashlar contributed such things. Her lips twitched faintly as she recalled the day he’d tried to teach her how to capture frogs.

She sniffed her way to a stockpile and quickly pawed through the layer of earth and leaves covering it. There was nothing but small game in there, all of it the furry kind. Masque’s brow furrowed, though she supposed beggars couldn’t be choosers. She selected the topmost carcass, a chubby squirrel, snatching it up in her teeth and turning to carry it back toward where the other youths were gathered.

This time, she popped right out of the underbrush. Masquerade glanced at each boy in turn, then stepped forward to place the squirrel at the smaller girl’s feet.

wekky, huh? ancelin thought it was a weird name but there was no need to be rude. he felt immediately left out by the way they stood together and leelee claimed him. "okay," ancelin said slowly. "fish."
but he wasn't good at fishing!
he frowned, then began to trot off, but then his cousin appeared! he was taken aback, then his tail began to wave, even harder as she approached leelee with something in her mouth.
"well! it's not fish!" he exulted, moving to nip the red-featured girl playfully. "but it's food." he looked pointedly at the new little she-wolf. "thanks, masque!" he bumped shoulders with avicus' daughter, then looked at wekky. "hey. maybe we could show leelee around a little."

Reki affirmed her declaration and seemed to be pleased with her claim. Of course, she wanted both of them in her entourage, especially given the fact that Ancelin seemed willing to provide for her needs. She chuffed quietly with satisfaction as he trotted off, and gave Reki a flattering smile. He might not have brought her food, but at least he’d helped her establish herself as being *popular* and she would reward such things with being amicable, for once. 

Before the handsome boy could return with an offering, another kid came out of the brush, and Lilia immediately bristled. A girl. And hence, a threat- especially given the chummy way Ancelin responded to her. Lilia boiled with jealousy, fanned by every beat of Ancelin’s tail. 

But her newest subject came with a peace offering. Not much of an offering, really- it was a dirty little mouse or shrew or mole or something, that’d been dug up. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, but Princesses could. Still- if Ancelin liked this girl, if she reacted with hostility, she’d lose his attention completely. 

Ancelin pronounced her name wrong- but she chose to overlook it and consider it a nickname.

She forced an appreciative smile. ”Awwwww! Thankth, Mathk,” It almost hurt to keep herself from screaming with disgust. Princesses needed poise. She could do this. ”Ekthellent idea, Anthlin. Tan you thow me to a thtweam? I’m thowwy, I jutht…Diwt upthet-th my thtomac…I’d like to wath thith off fiwtht.” She explained sweetly. To Reki, she gave the best puppy-dog eyes she could manage. ”Wecki, can you cawwy thith fow me, pweath?”

Pleased to be noticed and included, Reki was at once willing to do anything Lilia said; but he saw Red Face appear next, and she brought something for the princess to eat. He was thrilled to see another face he knew.

It struck him as he opened his mouth that he had forgotten her name, though. There were a few wags of his tail, and a happy glow around Reki, but he stumbled over some sounds and went quiet again.

Lilia wanted him to carry her meal. He snapped to it, gathering what Red had brought and passing her another friendly smile as he went.

The warm reception of her gift pleased Masquerade immensely. She smiled shyly and withdrew a few steps, glancing at Ancelin and Reki. She was the eldest pup present, yet as her tail wagged, it remained lower than everybody else’s.

Ancelin made a suggestion and Leelee accepted it, requesting to be escorted to a stream. She asked Reki to carry the fish for her. They didn’t exclude Masque from the invitation, yet neither did they specifically ask her to come along. That was just as well. She had provided sustenance for her pack mate, so her job here was done.

Enjoy, Masquerade said in her deep, quiet voice before nodding to the trio and slipping back into the brushwood.

the girl began to give orders, just like his aunt. ancelin looked curiously at her but nodded.
masque was leaving. he noted how she kept herself low and small, and wondered if she was afraid of leelee. "sure. come on, guys!"
the boy's tail wagged as he set a path for them through the rich forest. the stream itself was little more than an icy trickle, but as one followed it, the rivulet thickened into a proper causeway.
he looked at reki and leelee. "i don't wash anything before i eat it," he declared good-naturedly.

Lilia was surprised that Masque bounded off happily, abandoning the group. She huffed lightly, but followed along with Ancelin, pleased as pudding that Reki had agreed to carry her dirty little meal for her. She didn't want to eat that- she didn't want to eat anything that was old and dirty. It probably tasted like dirt too. For someone who was starving, she was certainly picky as well. 

Ancelin, however, seemed to have lower standards. She stepped toward the stream and sniffed it faintly before she smiled. "You mutht not be a pwinth, then," She said with a light laugh. "An' that'th okay. Not evewyone ith a pwinth owa pwintheth. But pwintheth an' pwinthetheth don't eat diwty food." She advised him good-naturedly, and lapped up some of the water from the stream. She looked to Reki with a sweet smile, batting her eyelashes. "Wecki, deaw, would you mind?" She asked, lifting a paw over the thin little stream. She wasn't going to ask him to wash it off for her- but she was keen to see if he could volunteer to do so himself.

Red Face left them quickly after that, which made Reki a little sad. He wanted all of his friends to get along and to spend the time together, although at the same time he was covetous of the princess, and would have been equally glad to be alone with her. She seemed set on this little adventure with Ancelin and so Reki followed, hanging back near Lilia's side because he knew her better than the mottled boy - although the boy seemed nice, too.

He had brought the food to the edge of the stream. Lilia had raised a paw over the water as if she was doing a magic spell, and Reki almost forgot he had the fish with him. It took Lilia's prompting for the boy to put the fish down by the water, and then he sniffled, and looked at her.

I can do it? He offered. There was a questioning lilt to the tail-end of his comment as he looked to Lilia for confirmation, feeling a little silly. If the other boy never washed his food, was it somehow abnormal to do so? Lilia seemed to know what was up, and she was the princess, so she must have known more than either boy. Reki trusted that logic.

Here— he moved to put the fish in the water again, moving hastily so that the girl would be impressed, but the flow of the water shot up his nose as he did it, and so he lost his grip and pulled away to snort and cough; the fish therefore, was taken by the stream.

of course he wasn't a prince! all that was for girls! but the way leelee said it made ancelin frustrated inside, like he wasn't good enough. like he was dirty or something. he was already dejected by this, but the complete dismissal of him for wecky was infuriating.
just as he was about to make a choice comment or two, his competition completely ate it in this first trial. ancelin snorted and leaped past both pups. "guess i'll get that," he snickered, then started after it, keeping speed along the bank as the waters flowed.

She saw Reki freeze up for a split second in horror as her meal slipped from his grasp and was carried away in the current. ”No!” she proclaimed in despair. She regretted demanding that her food be cleaned, now that it looked like it’d be swept away. 

But with a leap, Ancelin leapt into action. Reki spluttered and coughed, and she felt a slight burn of resentment tempered by pity to see him so uncomfortable. Because of that pity, she didn’t scream at him, but that was the only mercy he’d be given. She left him without scolding him and turned to follow after the heroic Ancelin who dashed after her meal. 

”Go, Anthlin! Cat-th it, pweathe!” she cheered.

emboldened by leelee's cries of support, ancelin ran faster. he almost tripped once, but hid it as well as he could by leaping into the edge of the water. he snapped for the grubby thing once, twice.
on the third time he caught it, and just before the current quickened too. ancelin set it down, shook out his coat, which stood in all spikes, and then grinned toward the girl.
"there ya go," he said nonchalantly when he had come back to her and returned the prize. "was easy."
he looked for wekky, but it looked like the boy had slunk off, knowing his betters, and so ancelin didn't spare him another thought. leelee held his full attention.

She bounded along the shoreline where the footing was easier. She was tired, and she fumbled a bit, trying to keep up with him. It was likely not wise for her to push herself so hard, not when she was so desperate for food anyway, but fortunately, Ancelin made the catch. By the time he brought it back to her, she was heaving and panting, and stumbling side to side. "Anthuh-" She said weakly, before she crumpled to the ground, still panting.

figured id could reply after u w augur and we could close w augur maybe taking her home to prophet? <3

he rushed to her, brow narrowed. "leelee! are you okay?" ancelin's tone was worried; he whined loudly, spun in a circle, and then called loudly for augur.
prophet was her guardian, but the big grey man was the only one he could picture right now.

works for me <3<3<3

She felt her head swimming with darkness, and felt herself grow cold. Bounding along the shores had been just a bit too much for her, as low on sugars as she was. She felt herself warm slightly under his concerned gaze, once she was able to catch her breath and give her heart some time to supply her with oxygen. The dizziness subsided slowly, and she wearily lifted her head a bit. Her apatite had faded suddenly with the dizzy spell, even though eating was likely what she needed the most. 

Ancelin called for the stone-faced man who had fed her. She panted slightly, licking her dry lips. "Ouf. Thawwy, I wath juth-t dithy." She said. "I don't feel tho good. I wanna go back to Poffit." Her bravado failed when she was faced with weakness; all she wanted now was to be snug, safe and warm so she wouldn't feel so nauseous again.

when the big grey man arrived, it was to the young boy's concern and flycatcher's weakness.

he snuffled over her, then, satisfied that she still breathed, augur moved her to her feet when able.

half-carrying, half-supporting her, the three of them would return to blood eyes.