Ankyra Sound the feeling of guts in the brain

@Ephraim

"Play wit' me." Raleska demanded of her supine brother, who presently, seemed more interested in napping than providing amusement. She clambered over to him, a nip aimed at his vulnerable ears. Rhakios was too bitey for her to bully, and Illidan had thoroughly fended off her advances. Now it was Ephraim's time to revel in her demanding presence, and she saw to it she was extra demanding.

She wanted to go to the beach, but wanted company. No one wanted to play with her, and she was going to make them want to, one way or another.

Ugh. One eyelid peeled slowly back from a blue eye as it focused blurrily on the sharp face poised over Ephraim's. He had exactly one second of peace where he almost let the lid fall back to its downed position before Raleska began to poke and prod him, and then her teeth met his ear and he growled. The pup rolled to his side and clapped one overlarge paw onto the side of his face in search of a reprieve from her irritating ministrations.

All he wanted to do was laze around. When he was awake, Ephraim liked to watch the clouds drifting by, or the gentle ebb and flow of the sea as it lapped at the shore. And when he wasn't awake and daydreaming, then he was wandering through countless dreams in his sleep. One could say he lived more inside his own head than the real world, and they wouldn't be far from the truth. Raleska wasn't going to let him off that easy, though; he knew it, but still grumbled a sullen, "nooo," as if she would, by some miracle, respect his lazy desires this time.

All Ephraim wanted to do was laze about all day, and all Raleska wanted to do was explore. A wolf more inclined for critical examination might have found the enjoyable contrast between the two, but Raleska was neither mature enough nor introspective (that would come much later) to realize their personality's limits. All she knew was that she was frustrated he wouldn't play - that none of them would.

As Ephraim rolled over and brought a paw to his face to shield himself from her persistence, Raleska slumped to the ground with a loud hmmrrph. For a second, it almost looked as if she would indeed respect his wishes - that moment was as short-lived as a may-fly, and Raleska fell to her brother's face with small teeth bared and tiny growls of insistence: "LEGGO!"

It had been too much to hope that Raleska would leave him be and pester someone else. Rhakios and Illidan were both brutes with little interest in entertaining their sister's whims. Ephraim was less of a brute, but no less uninterested in pleasing her than the others. He was still too young to be completely selfish and to lack all empathy, though, so when she insisted with bared teeth and growls, he reluctantly dragged himself to his feet. Not without a warning snap in her direction, of course.

He yawned widely, tongue curling and then smacking against the roof of his mouth, and took his sweet time stretching each of his legs before he fixed her with an apathetic stare. "Fine," he conceded, but it was with an already bored countenance that he waited for her to lead the way. If he entertained her now then he would get to nap unmolested later, or at least that was the plan.

Ephraim had conceded to Raleska's urgings: whether it was her little needle teeth, or her adorable face that encouraged him to play,  it didn't matter to Raleska. All she cared about was play, now.

Proud of her accomplishment (motivating the world's laziest sibling was an impressive feat as any), Raleska trotted gayly off, but not before the snap of her brother's teeth caught tufts of hipfur and caused her to bolt like a spooked horse and entirely miss his stretching performance. She galloped a few strides and then stopped at a thick patch of kelp, turning around with an impish gleam in her eye. "Catch!" She instructed, and then flung a long strand of kelp at her brother before cackling and running away.

Raleska had far too much energy for the lazybones that was Ephraim, so as she scurried away he merely plodded after her, ponderous and as exciting as a damp sock. Even when she grasped a piece of kelp and flung it at him, the tired coywolf let it slap him in the face and slide slowly down his muzzle, leaving a trail of goo in its wake. It fluttered to the sand and he licked his lips, scowling at its sour taste.

"Catched," he informed her in a bored tone as he padded after her, but there existed in him the urge to chase. He was a predator even if he was a slow and lazy one. So he kicked his heels into a trotting run, trailing after his sister with no real motivation to catch her. She had successfully roused him to play, but it was only an accomplishment in the sense that he was marginally more interesting to play with than a brick wall.

With not much in the way of 'playing' involved, Raleska watched with disappointment as the toy she tossed slid down her brother's face like an unenthused slug. On that note, he looked equally unenthused -- and taking a page out of Illidan's book, Raleska looked for other avenues of amusement.

It never took long to find something to amuse her; after all, much of the world had yet to be discovered. Trawling along the sandy area, Raleska discovered a sea-shell and delightedly scooped it up and carried it off in the direction she had last seen her parents.