Swiftcurrent Creek Pulcinella

Crawling forward with careful little ant-steps, Cygnet stepped out into the hazy, tepid morning. Mist left a sparkling coat of sheer gloss on the leaves which donned an amber hue as the days grew shorter. Blinking her eyes, she noted the changes which to her, seemed ominous. Every morning the chill in the air grew, and the glistening of mist threatened to turn to the silver of frost. Something about the cold reminded her of her earliest moments of life- moments she recalled every day, mindfully, so she might not forget them. 

A leaf fell near her, golden to its very core. It had been early to bud, perhaps, but now fell before the others of its kind. Cygnet moved to sniff it, and something about its dry, musty smell triggered a feeling of nostalgia.

Arric wasn't sure if the little she wolf liked him as much as Mae Mae or Nico or Jakub. Though a sharp pain reminder that they weren't all here. He had failed as an uncle and best friend.

Today though his shadow fell over the tiny little pup that he had carried in her earliest moments and maw curled up into a smile. 

A soft chuff for she was not like Mae who was loud and boisterous.

Blinking, she looked up to see a face that was relatively familiar. The faint circle around one eye made him easily recognizable, though she wouldn't associate him with her earliest traumas. As if looking up at a tree she did not recognize, though, she tilted her head back to watch him approach. The stub of her tail gave no indication it would wriggle, and her eyes were focused but expression plain. 

He had drawn near, and she expected something from him, but was not sure what to expect. Life had only ever been tumultuous; she'd simply learned to accept whatever came her way and showed the same steadfast calm her mother had had.

Grace beyond what one would expect from wolf his size he bent to nudge the top of the girls head if she'd allow.

Heya baby girl. Wanna go on an adventure?

She wasn't so small that she couldn't enjoy a small walk and he had buried a small piece of deer hoof nearby that her small teeth could chew on. Really just a few feet away.

The sensation of touch made her uncomfortable. Before she had learned love she had learned pain. Her mother's kiss would have pushed her into the murk and mire of the bloody bog had things gone as Moss had planned, so in the end, she was fortunate to have made an acquaintance with pain before ever experiencing pleasure. Her gaze broadened but she remained rooted in place as the man touched the crown of her head. She wondered if he would grab her by her scalp and carry her somewhere else; her surrogate had been gentle and sweet but even she could not erase Cygnet's earliest memories. 

Like a colt broken with cruelty, she'd learned not to fight back though she had to fight off the white noise coming from somewhere deep within her ears. The touch ended soon enough though she remained still for a few moments, as though she hadn't heard his suggestion at all. The spell only lifted when the breeze tickled her nose and she narrowed her gaze to see a dandelion seed danced across the bridge of her muzzle. It flew up, and away- and she looked back to Arric as if with light surprise he was still there.

Arric notcied the small stiffening and his heart broke. Jesus what had happened before wren and them got there. And could they fix it. Well, he didn't know but he was gonna try.

He nodded as she looked and with careful steps went around her and pulled the treat from the dirt himself. He lay it in front of her and pointed at it.

Chew it little one. Make teeth fill better.

Then he settled first to his haunches and then his belly so he wasn't towering and he waited.

From the earth, something was procured. Were such things buried everywhere? Was it some kind of plant that had yet to push up through the earth and reveal its flower? She tilted her head to regard him with serene confusion for a moment, before she bent to sniff the hoof. 

With its ankle bone still in tact, the cloven hoof sported two toes and smelled musty, earthy. She liked the scent of it, though it didn't appeal at all to her apatite. What appealed to her were the sharp, pointed toes. Little fangs, she thought, and she wondered how sharp they were. She reached out with a paw, and began to press her pawpad down onto the tines, blinking as she felt the prick of the sharp edge. She hesitated. The sensation was unpleasant, but familiar. She paused. 

Then, with no warning, she slammed her paw down onto the hoof as hard as she could. Fortunately for her, her large pawpads were clumsy and the hoof skittered away rather than piercing her foot. She watched as it eventually slid to a halt, spinning, and then looked at her overturned paw as it smarted slightly. 

No blood, just the familiar feeling of pain.

Had he known what ahe was thinking he'd have explained, but he was no mind reader and she no speaker.


Arric watched her and thought she was playing. Well that was good at least though she looked confused after. And it probably had hurt. 

With long legs and paws he retrieved it and spoke softly. No Cygnet look.

He bent and chewed at the one edge, but only teeth. You chew he said as he lifted his head. or gentlesoft so you dont hurt yourself.

He batted the ankle bone to her, but softly. gently baby gently. he reiterated

He fetched it, which was curious. For a moment he chewed it, and she watched with sparkling eyes as he gritted his teeth against the bone. She looked at the glisten of saliva on his long canines, enviously. The sound of tooth against bone made the downy fur along her shoulders prickle slightly. Glistening now, the bone was pushed toward her again, and it rolled over twice before coming to a stop in front of her. 

She looked up to Arric with unblinking eyes, and considered what he was asking for for a moment, before she smacked the bone away with her paw again. She uttered a soft chuff; encouragement, for him to go and fetch it for her again.

She watched him and it seemed perhaps she'd do rhe same. But instead she studied him and it again. He was unsure how else to make his point known.

Her stare was unnerving much as her mothers had been. It was amazing a woman who had carried her and only knew her briefly had such a profound impact.

He was currently thinking of what else to do when she chuffed softly and smacked it again. He raised a wolfish brow and then chuckled. So this was a game was it. Well why the hell not. He reached for the bone and pushed it back towards her.

She watched as he retrieved the object, placing it before her obediently. The concept of power stoked her conviction, and while her eyes remained somewhat vacant, she considered her next move carefully. She lifted a foot, watched Arric's reaction with a fixed gaze, and then batted the bone away with a deft swing of her paw, sending it bouncing and tumbling. 

the little hairs along the back of her neck stood up as she barked, bidding him to fetch it for her again.

Oh she was enjoying this too much. He could see it. Though he was reluctant to quit playing with her. Because she seemed so vacant and lost. IT actually made him quite sad if he was honest. She didn't have the personality of a child. No she was far too old for her little body, and already soul tired. IT was frightening.

He fetched it one more time and then settled down to his belly again. Chew it. He said quietly and if she were to try and throw it again, he'd not fetch it. Only because he knew that it would make her teeth feel better if she would just try.

Her eyes hungry with power, she watched him retrieve the bone obediently. She stood, finally eager to exercise this profound new ability and lifted her foot to smack the hoof away again when she was smacked with a gentle, but firm command. She froze, giving him a bald stare for a moment as if in disbelief that he would dare deny her the pleasure of the game she had concocted. The minute flicker of selfish glee faded from her gaze, but her eye contact did not waver. 

The girl did not so much as blink before she wound back and smacked the bone away again, this time defiantly. Yet again she barked, but this time her voice was lower as she stared the blue-eyed man down, baring her gums which flared red in the advent of her teething phase.

Arrics eyes narrowed, but he did nothing yet. She was still young and he would need to tread carefully with her. Especially given the trauma of her young life. However, she alao could not go about actung this way either.

Arric barred hia teeth in return, but didn't move from his spot prone. He didn't want to scare her just warn. He gave a booming bark in return.

As if a switch had been flipped, a different face was suddenly revealed. The portrait of a man kind and playful switched suddenly to one she had never been shown before. The yawning gap of a mouth full of long, discolored teeth suddenly transformed the man into a monster and the stink of carrion-eater breath blew across her as he barked loudly enough to make her startle and wince. 

She would remember this as her first impression of the man- all teeth, eyes burning. 

Her heart gave an odd flutter within her chest, stuttering for a moment. With no warning, the girl pitched forward, lips peeling back in agony before she fell to the ground, limp.

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He blinked and sighed. Well fuck me. he mumbled. 

This time he stood and slowly ran a nose along her side. Feeling for breath.

He let a desperate call to @Arlette. Because frankly he liked Eshe,  but didn't think she could handle this one. Her want for children somwtimes overode her brain.

feel free to skip Cygnet for a couple rounds if someone shows up <3

Her heart beat faintly, fluttering like the wings of a butterfly caught in a web, tired from trying to free itself. Slowly, Cygnet's lips and gums began to turn blue from lack of oxygen, though she still sipped oxygen with shallow little puffs of air. Her eyes remained partially open, rarely blinking save for the moments where her heart gave a shudder and she twitched lightly, swallowing a mouthful of saliva and blinking before she faded again, teetering on the thin ledge between unconsciousness and the everlasting.

Arlette came sprinting when she head the cry of help coming her way. She had dropped everything and made it as quickly as possible to Arric. Arlette came to his side, and saw a young child. She looked at the man, wondering how it could be that always when children were injured he was there as well. "What happened," she urged. "All the details," she demanded and instantly moved to the pup. She sniffed it and bumped it with her nose to get some life back in it again.

She came quickly qnd he breathed a sigh of relief. Had she voiced her concern that he was always near when children got hurt. He really may have balked and lost it. Instead she looked at him intensely and barked out a demand for what happened.

we were playing. She started to get a little heated, behaviorwise and she bared her teeth in anger and barked at me. So in an effort just to correct the behavior. I was laying down over there. he motioned how far he was.

i bared my teeth and barked too. The same correctness i would have done with any of the kids if they got an attitide and she just froze up and pitched foward. Her mom used to do shit like that. There was something wrong inside with her mom i mean. But i thought it was age with moss.

Arric shuddered.I. his voice gave out and he moved away. Just help her. Tell me what you need.

With each nudge, life crept back into the little girl. A heart, too weak to beat on its own for a moment or two, began to fight again, and as oxygen was pushed back into her lungs with each compression, she grew stronger. She lurched when Arlette's insistent nudging caught her in the ribs, and she inhaled with an awful gasp, eyes blinking open and mouth dry, but agape. She flopped back to her side a moment later, but had begun to breathe independently. Her heart settled into a quick, but thundering patter. The girl shivered as adrenaline surged through her. 

She blinked again, and her eyes shifted back, spotting Arric hovering nearby. In his features, she saw no concern- only resentment. She whimpered and feebly tried to scramble closer to Arlette, trembling like a leaf.

Arlette listened to the man. It all sounded rather logical. She would discipline the pup as well if it behaved like this. Arlette frowned. Her... mom. "Moss. Yes. I didn't know she was pregnant," Arlette admitted. "She did come to me with some kind of curse. I didn't understand it." Perhaps the little one had the same, hearing from Arric it might be.

The thing was... that the pup was still out of it. Arlette started to nudge and trying to wake the girl. Because she would need to wake up, soon. The healer knew that that was a first. She nudged and pressed against the pup for any sign of life. Luckily, when she was about the give up, the girl seemed to stir and breathe. Arlette let out a relieved sigh. The girl seemed to make it, or at least, have a will to live.

The pup scrambled to her. Arlette licked over the top of her head. "There. You are alright," she spoke calmly. She studied the pup. Wild breathing and clearly quite shaken. "Try to breath calmly." Arlette would have to try several things. "Who looks after her now? Only you?," Arlette asked. "She might need more supervision. To see what triggers it. I don't think it was your fault, Arric."

Arric sighed and twitched an ear. Realizing he'd have to explain. And he hated it.

we had two wolves in our pack for a time. Lestan and Reverie. Though they're both sweet, they are also mentally unwell and their relationship was so dependent on one another it was frightening. I don't know how to explain it.

He blew out a breath. reverie tried to end a pregnancy between the two or she got sick. I would have thought she was way to young for such things, but i don't know her real age. Anyway she left and then came back with a baby that could be her twin and another wolf followed, an apparent witch. Rwverie was comvinced she wanted Blossom the baby so we all went in search of her to chase her away. Including Moss who found her and was convinced this witch cursed her.

He twisted his mouth up unsure. Then the heart stuff started. She died at a meeting except a healer named Ash Paw restarted her heart if i understand it all. Then she got real reclusive well you know. And honestly none of us knew.

All of is look after her, but yea i usually have the pups with me. Because everyone else leaves so much.

He looked down instant regret at having said such a thing.

Arlette listened. She nodded, as she heard this also from Moss. She thought she was cursed and that was why this was happening to her. But now seeing that her daughter had it too, and she definitely had not been around this witch.... it couldn't be a curse. Maybe it was an illness. She would have to research it. Maybe if she spend more time with the pup she could work it out.

Arlette nodded at Arric. "Well, I can look after her, take some of that load of your back. I don't really leave the pack lands," she told him. The female looked down at the white ball of fur. She looked unhappy with Arric. "I will watch her and see if it happens again." Arlette nudged the pup. "Come, want something to eat? Can you follow me?," she asked Cygnet.

The child's gaze soured like milk left out in the sunshine as she regarded the man when he spoke. Unwilling servant! She bared her gums at him, wild-eyed. 

The word witch drew a small hiss from the child, who knew nothing of the word's meaning, a mere coincidence. The man's lowered gaze stirred her to growl softly. Gentle words from the woman caused Cygnet to huff a soft breath, and looked up when the woman spoke down to her. 

This one was not who she chose, but she was a better alternative than the other wolf. She glanced once toward the pale woman, noting the hue of her eyes. She dropped her gaze to the woman's belly, and moved to nudge her chest. Hunger made her belly growl, but she did not think that this woman could feed her milk. Still- it didn't stop her from headbutting her, gently.

Arric eyed the child and frowned. Something was off and he didn't know what. He imsgined it was simply that she was different than the other babies and had a traumatic birth.

She didn't have to like him, but that wouldn't stop him from caring.

He watched them go. Dipped his head to Arlette.