The Sentinels as we walked i heard the laughter in the leaves

AW, multiple cameos answering his howl and free form post order welcome as well... maybe someone he hasn't met yet or hasn't interacted with lately?

in the cold night a hush descended and nothing moved save for the slow unfurl of clouds illuminated by a pale and fragile moonlight. even the trees bare in their complexion remained still. the hour crept slowly, the moon rose tiredly, and before long the shadow-shocked world was cast in a silver effulgence. tachyon broke from the cluster of trees that marked the sentinel's zenith -- here he cast back his muzzle and a gentle howl filtered forth into the hyperborean cold. the song reaffirmed his existence -- in the distance it resounded in the copse and informed all within earshot of donnelaith's reinforced claim. the soft croon rose in pitch and fervor until it was a trailing wail and all in the vicinity were reminded of the tenacity a wolf possessed.

COME N FIND ME

 

much had happened, and much confused the babe about these happenings. but she had emaleth, and mother, and father, and big(ger) sister and big brother, too. there was a strangeness to the world she was noting, but none had done her the favor of explaining what this was in thanks to. it altered her personage; she was quieter for it, which seemed like an impossible feat given the shy quietude that seemed to possess her. with emaleth she spoke quietly, and to mother and father, too. sometimes she would speak with her siblings, but others she was not truly introduced to, yet. she believed aria to be eilidh, and any other had never spoken with her at length... though that they would be permitted to seemed unlikely, unless they had proved they were wolves to be trusted. 

quiet and shy though she was, within the whelping den deirdre heard a song. she still had difficulty in translating them, and putting true meaning into her own. that would come in time. but whenever she heard a song, she was inspired to sing back. it had no lyrics, no words. it was only a small melody that lasted as long as her lungs would permit, and then when they filled again, she would sing once more. deirdre did not know who she sang to, only that someone was singing, and that she loved their voice, strange though it was. hers was the cry of a confounded child, and all the woods sang with her as she lent her voice to his song.

WAIT IS SHE NOT IN THE DEN?! cue heart attack

a small voice rose to the cold sky, embraced and carried by the fluttering wind. tachyon felt his heart grow cold -- the howl was distinctly juvenile -- distinctly, infantile. he froze and his golden gaze seared through the blue dark -- where was she?

he surged forward into a headlong gallop, his head bobbing as he pulled himself toward the den in enormous strides. leaves and sticks flew in his wake as he thundered towards the rendezvous with his heart cold and seized in his throat.

LOL no she is there !!!! oop sorry i meant find her as in.... come 2 den...

deirdre continued to sing until all her air was spent. and then she breathed and thought to listen. when no more of the others song could be heard, she mourned it with a pout and loped to the mouth of the whelping den. one ear flopped over, but the other stood tall and at attention as she...

it was a different song she heard, as a familiar face made headway through donnelaith. she could not yet hear him, but she could hear the snapping of twigs and the groaning of the wood as it was forced to shift so that tachyon could move through it. deirdre had heard the sound of others racing toward the den like this but once, and the solemnity of the time caused her to step backward so that she could blend into the darkness, a difficult feat with her pale fur. but she crouched in the shadows, her moon-eyes wide as she continued to move backward, seeking the comfort of emaleth's touch and presence or else that of who lay with them in the den at present.

as he blundered wildly through the forest, deirdre's song egged him on -- but as he grew closer to the den and her piping calls grew louder he realized how foolish he had been to fly into a panic. tachyon's expression was flushed with relief as he slowed into an exhausted trot, circling once around the perimeter of the den to ensure no trespassers had come in the dark of the night. finding no trace of any foul presence he looped back to the den -- with a gentle whuff he settled outside of it, his gaze peering inward in the hopes to disseminate from the darkness deirdre's pale fur.

she remained inside, and only when the cadence of his footfalls came to her ears in a manner familiar to her—as he came toward the hovel as her mother or father might—did she burst out from the womb of the darkness and sprint toward him. the cub zipped toward him, around him, and looped between his legs, shrieking delightedly as she did so. he did not know it, but he had made a fast friend out of deirdre when he had shared his meal with her. the cub positively adored him for it, and he had become the newest member of the 'friends i love' club. she yipped around him as she sprinted messily, nearly taking a spill but catching herself as she continued to run in circles and loops around the silver male, running what looked like a mile a minute as she did so.

omfg adorable

he had nosed the brim of the den, careful lest the mother wake with snapping teeth. but it was not the mother that broke the cover of darkness -- instead the pale form of deirdre spurted forward, wild and excited. tachyon dropped to the ground with an excited whine of his own, extending a forelimb out to gently bump the youth into the crook of his chest where he supplanted on her precious forehead a vigorous rubbing of kisses. *-*

the young babe was yet unscarred and unbothered and without a care in the world but for those she loved. the moment tachyon bowed to the earth deirdre 'rounded him and pranced right into his arms, accepting his gestures and sniffing him. he had no rabbit with him this time, but any disappointment she might have felt for that was replaced when the tongue of tachyon reached the very ticklish area of her neck; she let out a little cackle and bolted away, squinting at him and quite suspicious. you fickle me???? deirdre asked, and shook her head. i no like fickle! usually it resulted in her not being able to breathe, she laughed so hard.... something she did not enjoy.

omfg how do u pups o well

no sooner had he clasped the infant in his paws did she wildly dart away, whirling upon him with the most suspicious of expressions wrought across her round cheek. tachyon lowered his head to the ground, placing it on his paws as if giving up. without warning he rose with a grunt and heave, hauling towards her with a playbow before attempting to depart with a sly lick aimed at her cheek.

as his muzzle rest upon his paws, deirdre, the foolish girlcub, believed him for a minute. she turned to walk again toward him, and fell right into his trap! deirdre was doe-eyed as he moved toward her with the speed of light; she hadn't even the time to shriek! she knew nothing of cooties or the like, only of the horrors of being tickled, and that it was a fate likely worse than death—she would not know, really, and if ever she had there was no knowing that either. she looked very much like the grandchild avoiding their grandmothers lipsticked, slobbering kiss. she was in utter dread, ears splayed atop her crown and mouth aghast. his tongue hit its mark then, but this, fortunately, did not tickle her, and so she wheeled around and grinned in saucy triumph, a delighted HA HAAA, emitted, perhaps far too soon. deirdre pulled evasive maneuver 898 and dove beneath him, thinking herself effectively invisible. never mind that her tail whipped every leg of his as she spun around and looked up, or her heavy breathing.

wow thank !!!!! tach ~inspires~ 

deirdre looked spectacularly affronted by tachyon's sly kiss -- her little ears flattened, her muzzle crumpled -- her forehead creased in tyke-ish outrage. tachyon grinned stupidly, canting his muzzle to the side as she whirled around and crowed to the world her small triumph. gamely she ducked under his frame as if sliding under the aegis of a tent -- tachyon froze, his ears spinning wildly atop his head. "w-wait!" he called out, tail banding back in forth in amusement: "where'd you go?!" carefully (but ever so expertly placing his limbs away from deirdre) he spun from one position to the other, as if desperately seeking for the girl that had disappeared into thin air.

beneath him, she heard him holler. she squatted and giggled beneath him, not thinking to muffle the sound as her eyes flashed in impish delight. her own tail continued to thwap against him, and shifted as he did, her movements not as expert as his own—she felt her paw brush against his and perhaps even stepped on him with her insubstantial weight in her clumsiness—and as he begged of her the location she stood, her impatience caused her to spring heartily out from beneath him to spin and burst, HERE! and then bowed herself, bubbling, again!!

as she wriggled underneath him tachyon continued his feigned sightlessness -- a wide grin swung along his lips, his gums limp and tongue hanging out in playful excitement. the little cherub was quick to dash out underneath him and in a dramatic ruse tachyon spooked backwards, blinking in disbelief. "whoa!" he joked, recovering by executing a playbow towards her small form. with a faked stumble he stepped over her, his shadow swallowing her as he cast his head about frantically and called: "how are you doing that!?"

deirdre cackled at his reaction, thrilled by her success in surprising him. her eyes gleamed as he swooped into a bow, and as she moved to stand he stumbled right over her. deirdre sucked in her breath as though this would help her be undetected, and as soon as he asked how it was she did this deirdre exhaled loudly, giggling again. she slunk backward and bumped against his hind leg, and then made a mad dash for nearby bushes. it was quite obvious where she had crash-landed; the plants swayed and bobbed exactly where she hid behind. deirdre let out a shrill little giggle and, still-crouched but terribly impatient, revealed in a whispery sing-song voice: ova heeeya! her toes stuck out of the shrubbery, another clear as day indicator of where she 'hid'.

like a dimwitted oaf tachyon froze, ears pulled ahead as he feigned confusion. deirdre's little call was met with the snap of his head in the opposite direction -- in puppyish bounds he leapt forward away from her, his muzzle writ with high alert. even his tail masterfully enhanced the guise -- in hung at half mast, as if in tentative doubt.

the rustle of deirdre behind him caused him to whirl about and gallumph over to her in loud strides; with a nimble leap he was upon the bush, placing his head quickly on his paws in a sloppily executed bellyflop before her. they would play, and then at length they would rest -- as far as tachyon was concerned, there was no better place in the world to be at this moment.

last post for me, feel free to PP tachy for a conclusion :D