Moonspear WHere once was order

Tiki moved from one rock to the other. Soft eyes on the rising sun. She dare not say anything, for she did not wish to disturb the silence that danced with her. Silence her ever companion. What was it that she had wanted? Even she couldn't remember anymore. The girl she had been so many monthes ago. A wraith now. Wrapped in colors of brightness, but her soul lack luster. Dim.

She tilted her head forward, sniffing at the prey trail she was on. The least she could do was give her family a meal. Even if there wasn't much left.

Treepie trailed Tikaani without being intrusive about it. Surely her sister knew she was there, though she didn’t force her company upon her. Tiki was in a quiet mood lately and so was Pie, for that matter. Once the dam had broken, more memories had trickled in every day. She could now account for most of the days once lost to the black hole.

And she didn’t know how to feel about them. She could remember being with @Sobeille now, helping her birth and rear her three children. Part of her ached every time @Cairos, Chireille and @Mirelyn crossed her mind. Tiuttuk did not yet remember what had taken her away from the small family—those last few days before waking up in “Bramblepoint” still eluded her—but she supposed it didn’t matter. For one reason or another, she had abandoned them; she could never walk it back.

Wyvern swooped past with a small cry, pulling Pie from her thoughts. She watched the hawk a moment, then looked around to pinpoint Tiki’s location. She made a slight course correction accordingly, yellow eyes hovering on her sister’s familiar back.

Tiki had not asked her sister what she remembered and didn't. Had not wanted to add more to her sister's burden of remembrance. And she hadn't wanted to use her voice. She didn't know what her aversion was to speaking suddenly, but she simply didn't want too. At least she hadn't wanted to in sometime. 

A stop in motion as she lifted her head. She was being hunted, but her fur eased as she noticed her sister on her way towards her. She stood still, eyes on her. Kindly gently. Waiting.

Tiki met her gaze, the look on her face encouraging Pie to pad closer. She closed the distance with nary a hesitation, sliding her muzzle against her sister’s before nudging her beneath her eye. The slightly older of the two pulled back a few feet, honoring Tiki’s space.

She didn’t want to push her into speaking either, so Treepie said, I heard there’s a dog living here. I’d like to find them. You’re welcome to come with me if you like.

It did not necessitate a verbal response, nor any other action besides falling into step as Tiuttuk turned slightly, snout pointing downward. She didn’t know if @Haedwig’s predictions and prejudices were correct, though she assumed the dog might feel most comfortable at lower altitudes. Thus it made sense to start at the bottom of the mountain and work their way upward.

Unaware of just who she was looking for exactly, Pie nonetheless kept all her senses peeled as she began the search for @Cosmo.

Tiki felt her muscles involuntarily jump. When was the last time anyone had touched her? Treepie had been quiet and healing. Alaric was not a touchy guy unless asked or granted permission. So she had been a bit adrift. A soft little sigh left her lips. 

A nod. She hadn't seen it, but she smelled it. She pressed her nose downwards towards where the scent had been the strongest. There were quite a few new bodies in their pack lands. It was hard for the quiet wraith to take. 

A soft pattering of feet. She followed along. Tail moving about behind her. Comfort in the quiet.

Cosmo’s beginner's luck catching that first turkey looked like it was running thin. Compared to the wolves, he was out of practice, and it showed – he'd been practicing all day, trying to catch scents, following said scents, and then… failing to follow said scents. His steps were too heavy, or he'd lose track of them behind a tree, or something else would happen that would cause his attempts to be a bust. He tried not to let it get to him – hunting was easier in a group, and he hadn't learned how to do a proper group hunt yet, anyway. Teamwork was where he worked best. 

All that time he'd spent chasing prey around had really tired him out, though (which REALLY said something, with his seemingly boundless energy reserves), so Cosmo thought it wouldn't hurt to rest for a moment. Finding the perfect shady spot under a tree, he plopped down onto the ground, resting his chin on his front paws and curling up so that his tail covered his nose, forming a proper ball of fluff, and not yet aware of the two wolves currently searching for him.

Although Treepie remained in front, she moved per Tiki’s cues as they tracked the scent across the mountain’s face. Moving in tandem, they made their way toward one of Moonspear’s many plateaus, where little clusters of trees managed to grow among the crags. Pie padded among the trees, their trunks obscuring the view as she slowly moved toward the edge.

She froze when she saw what she initially considered a snowdrift piled at the foot of a Sitka spruce. Pie huffed quietly under her breath to capture and direct her sister’s attention, her own yellow eyes fixing on the strange heap of white. It took her a few seconds to realize it was a wolf—no, a dog. The dog.

As comprehension dawned, the Ostrega didn’t move. This creature looked nothing like Quail, though it was difficult to discern details. The dog—a male, at least by scent—was curled in a ball, making it hard to see his features. He just looked like an overgrown dandelion puff from where Treepie stood, eyebrows slowly inching up her face.

Tiki stopped at her sisters request. And she looked around. Quickly finding the creature that didn't quite belong. A pile of white on loam. Furry and smelled funny. A scent of wild but something underneath that made her know it wasn't wolf.

A tilt of her head. Ears perked forward. Then a silent look of question to Treepie. Do they wake it?

In his half-resting state, Cosmo found his ears parking up at the sound of footsteps nearing him, and though his eyes complained at being opened once again, he was far too curious to find the source of the noise.

He groggily lifted his head up, tired eyes scanning his surroundings, until he saw two wolves staring at him from a distance – well, he assumed they were wolves, but with very interesting fur patterns he hadn't seen before among his wolf-y friends.

“Hello!” Cosmo said in a chipper tone of voice, tinged with the beginnings of a yawn, which he paused to allow himself to complete. “Are you friends with Kindle and Katmai?”

The sisters exchanged inquisitive looks but did not yet speak. In the end, it was the dog who broke the silence. His ears pricked and his head lifted, revealing a decidedly canine face. He chirped a bright greeting to them, dropping the leaders’ names.

Pie gazed at him in silence for a beat, looking for any sign of a dreaded collar, but it was hard to see his neck with all that fur. She hesitated only a second before padding a little closer, trying to acquaint herself with his scent and other attributes. Haedwig’s words drifted in the back of her mind. “They’re cursed,” she’d said about dogs. “They carry diseases that bring danger to wolves.”

Greetings, she said with a flick of her tail. I’m Treepie and this is my sister, Tikaani. What’s your name?

He didn’t smell diseased and Pie didn’t know whether she believed in curses. As her yellow eyes roved back and forth across his face, she thought she saw kindness and intelligence looking back at her.

Tiki moved forward with her sister, but she hung back a little when Treepie sniffed the wolfdog thing. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable and it made her uncomfortable. So she simply hung back. Though she did offer a small smile. 

You can call me Tiki. She hadn't spoken in so long. Her words felt a little odd. Hoarse and funny on her tongue. She tilted an ear. And stepped back a step or two. And curled her tail around her leg. What else was she supposed to say? What did a dog do? Was it like a wolf? Could it take care of itself?

Cosmo pulled himself off of the ground, moving into a downward stretch with a big yawn, and then an upwards stretch, trying to force the sleepiness out of his body through sheer willpower. “Tiki and Treepie are cool names! Nice to meet'cha!”

He shook out his fur, ensuring it was at its proper maximum fluff levels, before stepping forward, sniffing at the two wolves from a more polite distance. “I'm Cosmo! I'm a dog, not a wolf, but Kindle says I shouldn't go around talking about it. Are you two from here?”

Her eyes followed his every movement as the dog stretched and rose to his full height. He was no bigger or smaller than an average wolf, though Tiuttuk quietly wondered whether he was mostly fur. She had never seen anyone or anything so fluffy. Despite the allegations against his species, she wondered if his coat made him hardier than his fellows.

Kindle said that? Pie said, though it was a fairly rhetorical question. Yes, we were both born here. And I can’t speak for anyone but myself, she said, glancing at her sister before facing Cosmo again, but I don’t mind if you talk about being a dog. In fact, I have a lot of questions, if you don’t mind…

A soft sound in Tiki's throat no quite a laugh, but amusement all the same at her sister. She shook her head and shifted. 

I don't mind.

She moved around and settled to her haunches, curling her tail around her paws. Then she gazed at him with yellow eyes and she waited. She did not know what he would say, but she was indeed curious. He was so fluffy. He looked like clouds. What would that fur feel like? A wolf's?

“Oh, okay! I can talk more about being a dog, then!” Cosmo replied excitedly, and it was as if all of his pre-nap energy had come rushing back into his body, hopping around in a circle in an attempt to get some of that restlessness out of him. He wouldn't help it – making friends was the quickest way to wake him up.

“Maybe I can ask you wolf questions, too! What dog questions do you have?”

His enthusiastic reaction cleared up any concern that she might be overstepping. If anything, Cosmo seemed rather excited to talk about himself. A frown threatened to pull at Treepie’s lips, though she carefully controlled her expression. He probably wouldn’t appreciate it, but she felt an intense wave of pity for him—not because he was a dog, but because so many seemed to treat that fact like a misfortune.

Of course, you may ask us anything, Pie said, once more making a point to glance at Tiki, in case she felt otherwise. Facing Cosmo again, she pondered where to start. What’s it like, being a dog? How is it different than being a wolf, I mean? You don’t look that different… though I’ve never seen a wolf so fluffy before, she said candidly. That reminded her to query, a slight wariness creeping into her tone, Are you wearing a collar under all that fur?

“Oh, this is one I've been figuring out!” Cosmo said, referring to the differences between wolves and dogs. “So, um, there's a lot of differences! A lot similar, too, but a lot different. Wolves are bigger than most dogs I've seen, but there's a lot of different kinds of dogs that look completely different from each other. Have you seen a chihuahua before? They can be smaller than rabbits, but they can also be meaner.” Cosmo shuddered at the memory of meeting a very rude chihuahua at a dog park.

“Wolves also usually live in the wild, but dogs usually live with humans! And yeah, I do have a collar!” He lifted his hind leg up, scratching at his neck, and purposefully scratched his claws at the loop a leash would be clipped into to make a jingling noise, to prove it was there. “I like that I still have it! My human was really nice, but he isn't around anymore, so it's something that reminds me of him! Oh, you know what a human is, right? You know what a collar is, so I assumed, but I've been trying to not assume!”

Tiki was horrified by the description of a creature called a chihuahuah. What was it a hairless rat? Did wolves breed with rats? Was that possible! 

I assume. It is because they are closer to hell. She quipped quietly. 

Tiki was surprised at teh sound that rang from his neck and her fur rose. She looked around, finally her gaze catching onto the strange bulky thing that hung there. He liked that? It looked incredibly uncomfortable. 

It looks uncomfortable.