Moonspear even if your hope has burned with time, anything that's dead shall be regrown

Life lately was a blur of developments and milestones. She had been through all of it before as Scion but she had no memory of it, so Galaxy rather enjoyed the ride. She could speak a little clearer now, not to mention manage soft bits of meat. And mama and pops (as she'd randomly come to think of and call them) even took her on little forays away from the den, introducing her to a bit of their mountainous terrain.

But today the family stuck close to the den, mostly because it was raining cats and dogs. Galaxy sat in the foyer, gazing out at the deluge. Her eyes grew glassy and she found herself looking inward, at a familiar image: Scion's wet, battered body slumped in the center of a circle of mourning wolves. She tilted her ears as if straining to hear the familiar sobs, yet there was no sound but the falling rain.

She blinked her blue eyes and the image faded to the back of her mind. Abruptly, she realized the shower was lessening. The sun was even peeking out from the gray clouds, almost bashfully. Galaxy sprang to her feet with a happy bark, tail wiggling as she anticipated going outside.

Hydra made her way toward the den her parents and her younger siblings loitered in. Since she was permitted to see the cubs now that they were a bit older, she did just that. Hydra was no caretaker—she was here to vet her siblings, to see which one was the best and would be her pupil. She moved the rain unbothered by it, and when the rain lessened she shook out her furs. Her ear twitched as she chuffed to alert her parents of her arrival, and then peered inside the den noting her sister who seemed filled with anticipation. Come on out, Axe, she summoned, withdrawing. The drizzle came to cease seconds later, but the earth was wet even still.

A shadow slipped into view and Galaxy's tail took off like an airplane propeller as she bounded forward to meet Hydra. She rocked back on her haunches to lick at her older sister's chin, then reared up a little to smear her tongue across the black wolf's cheeks and muzzle. She then plopped back onto slightly chubby haunches, tail still sweeping side to side through the soaking wet grass.

"Hi, Dwa!" she chirped, feeling rather clever for the wordplay even if the yearling would chalk it up to baby speak. "Go?" she queried in the next beat, her pale face hopeful. She rather enjoyed the forays away from the den and exploring their parents' extensive domain, so different than the flat Mexican deserts of yore.

Hydra returned the others gesture with a couple of swipes that extended to her sisters whole plump body. Axe was thicker than both Vela and Jarilo... and she did not think much of Ran. Hydra actively avoided the deformed cub; decidedly, Hydra did not like her. There was something wrong with it.

When verbally greeted, Hydra's tail waved. Hydra assumed her name to be spoken purely because she was Axe's favorite. Even if the girl wasn't as dark as her own littermates (in its own way a kind of stain), Hydra thus yet did not mind her paler siblings. Here, she pat the earth, inviting Axe to come before her.

When Hydra patted one dark forepaw against the ground, the puppy immediately pounced it. "Pyay!" she shouted, forgetting all about her desire to go on an adventure elsewhere. She punctuated her playful war cry by opening her mouth as wide as it would go and attempting to jam her sister's entire foot in there. It tasted like so many different things: earth, rain, wildness.

As she gnawed, Galaxy's eyes closed and she was back in Mexico, lapping water from the río. Then they opened again and the flashback faded into the ether as her blue eyes rolled upward and she grinned mischievously around her sister's slobbery toes.

Axe was upon her, and Hydra moved to attempt to nose the cub with her slender yet wedgelike muzzle, her motive to cause Galaxy to roll over onto her back. A movement in the corner of her eye and a quiet rustling diverted her attention elsewhere, and Hydra noted a grasshopper bounding between blades of wet grass. It was wet and its movements seemed distressed... and Hydra had an idea. 

Axe, Hydra moved her paw to (attempt to) maneuver her sister in the direction the grasshopper currently could be seen. It bounded upward again. ...get it, she encouraged, ears shifting minutely in a way that would always be for Axe—that likely only her mirror images would be able to read. A command. Get it! she encouraged in a bubbly, encouraging voice as it lept upward again.

Hydra shifted her paw away from the mouthy youngster. Galaxy made a halfhearted snap in its direction, though her elder sister quickly diverted her attention. She peered at the grasshopper, her rump already wiggling as she imagined pouncing it. She shifted her weight where she had come to rest on her belly, damp tail whipping once more through the rain-rinsed sod. Her white ears pricked excitedly, shifting and tilting as Hydra spoke to her, instructing her to go after the insect.

"Kay!" she cried even as she sprang suddenly onto all fours. Galaxy hadn't yet mastered her center of gravity or her other motor controls, for that matter. It had frustrated her at first—remembering how fleetly she had run as Scion—but she had since adjusted to her new reality. With each day came increased mobility and prowess, though she was easily outmaneuvered by the 'hopper as it anticipated her attack and went leaping away into the soaked green grass.

Galaxy was quick to understand, even without demonstration. But she was slow to move, which Hydra anticipated. She wondered when the movements of her siblings would become less... sluggish. Hydra moved 'round to confuse the grasshopper and alter its trajectory. Her own step on the earth would likely divert its movement, and it did; it hopped in a new direction. Hydra again placed a paw down to change its course... and soon, it hopped toward Galaxy. Her eyes gleamed and her tail waved over her hindquarters, eager to see how her sister would respond to this.

The child chewed the inside of her cheek and looked at Hydra, who didn't return her gaze. Instead, her sister maneuvered to cut off the fleeing grasshopper, deftly herding it back toward the pup. Galaxy was so surprised by this development that the insect flicked right past her nose. She gave a little roar and sprang after it rather thoughtlessly, her teeth snapping at empty air as she slipped in the wet grass. Her left foreleg buckled and she pitched forward, chin hitting the ground, soon after followed by the rest of her small body.

She lay there for a moment following impact, then slid her crumpled leg out from beneath her body and bounded back onto all fours like a champ. But when she resumed an upright position and flicked her head back and forth, she didn't see the grasshopper. Galaxy licked her lips and glanced at Hydra again, even while absently raising a paw to wipe at the rainwater clinging to her chin.

Galaxy was caught by surprise. No doubt she knew little of teamwork, yet. Hydra imagined that she and her own sisters knew of it at that age—really, the three girls were rarely apart and as kids, never... Hydra would teach her to be aware of things. There was always next time. Hydra watched as Galaxy fell and was relieved to see her rise without a cry, a proud smirk coming to her lips. When Galaxy surveyed for the grasshopper that Hydra herself had not lost sight of, she waited until the moment Galaxy looked to her. Hydra returned her sisters gaze and dramatically slid to slap her forelegs against the earth. The grasshopper lept upwards and Hydra, anticipating this, moved to catch it herself. Into her jaws it went, and Hydra felt the crunch of it as they snapped to a close. It had an overall earthy taste which Hydra did not prefer, but that wasn't the point of it. One day, Axe, you'll get it, Hydra lifted a paw to playfully noogie her little sister, today you did alright, but you can do better. We'll practice, she decided, wondering how much of this her sister understood.

She understood every word, even if Galaxy couldn't speak anywhere near as eloquently as her elder sister just yet. There was a flicker of frustration at that—she couldn't talk as well as she wanted, couldn't hunt with the same prowess as Scion—but it didn't linger. Soon, she would be able to prove herself, not as someone reclaiming prior skills but as an entirely new wolf, a she-wolf, with a bright future before her.

"Pwactice," she echoed in agreement, lips smacking together as she eyed Hydra's mouth. The grasshopper had gone down the hatch. It wouldn't have been much of a meal anyway but the thought of food made Galaxy hungry. "Snack?" she requested with a wave of her whip-white tail, bright blue eyes smiling up at her sister.

Glad that Galaxy seemed willing to learn, Hydra waved her tail to her younger sister. And at her sisters question, Hydra squinted. Uh, what do you eat now? Unsure if she still ate the after of what the pack ate, Hydra offered her muzzle for Galaxy to poke. But if Galaxy suggested other fare, Hydra would dig something up no problem. She was not much of a caretaker, but she had food to spare in her system.

"Food!" the pup supplied helpfully. Galaxy wasn't picky. She loved her mother's milk and she enjoyed soft meat just as much. She would happily take whatever Hydra wanted to give her. She whined and yipped, excited about the thought of eating and eager to put food in her belly, and began to weave in and out of her older sister's legs and nip at her chin.

Wanna fade this one for us? :D

'Kay, let's just find mom, Hydra offered at last. God forbid she killed one of her siblings. Hydra nosed Galaxy back toward the den with a wagging tail and a grin, she's got all the good food. Another bout of nosing directed Galaxy in the right direction, who got the message when "mom" and "food" were involved anyhow. But Hydra enjoyed harassing, and they'd need to get used to her tough love. Once Axe was inside, Hydra turned around and followed the trail of Alya which would surely lead to Lyra, too. 

DID IT