Phoenix Maplewood all in comes the fury of love

@Aqablah (set 7/23ish)

Ever since the incident, someone has been keeping an extra eye on Currituck. Normally, she’d like the attention, but it certainly gets in the way when she wants to play. In the grove, she thought they’d settled. A few days in one place was the closest thing to normal she could remember but being picked up and carried anther long distance only confuses the small child. A night into the maplewood and she isn’t sure of anything anymore.
 
Regardless, Shivali is watching the puppies play together. Currituck tries to get some punches in but ultimately she’s on the outside, kicking at rocks and playing by herself. She hops a few place out of the greater clearing when she hears the tiny squeaks of something s that excites her all of a sudden. Floppy ears perk forward and she hobbles after a small fledgling, pushed from the nest to learn to fly. Fortunately for Currituck, however, she’s gained a brand new toy!
 
The bird bounces away a few paces and she follows after. One, two, three! Paws press down on either side of the bird, scooping the tiny thing into her mouth and carefully parading it back around.

Though she liked to keep herself busy, Aqakuktuq needed to rest just like any other wolf, especially in this heat. Plus, the group was traveling at night, so she needed to gather her energy for the cooler hours. She dozed in the shade of a towering tree, loosely curled into a white ball a fair distance from where the children played. Pesi slept on a branch high in the tree that shaded the wolfess, head resting over a shoulder.

A slender ear swiveled in the direction of soft, clumsy foosteps nearing her, and Aqakuktuq surfaced into consciousness, mind in a haze. She drowsily opened her eyes for a moment but soon closed them again, desiring to slip back into dreamland.

She doesn’t know exactly where she’s going or who she’s going to show off to. Several steps into her retreat, she wonders if she should show anyone at all. Whatever, she’ll figure that out when she gets there. In the meantime, she enjoys the squeaks it makes every time she gives it a little squeeze. It squirms in her mouth but not enough to be bothersome. 

Squeeze. Squeak. 

Prancing along without a care in the world, she spots one of the other wolves she doesn’t really know. She’s seen her, so she’s not bad, and that makes the easiest decision to close the distance. 

Squeeze! Squeak! 

She hops forward, suddenly tripping over a single exposed limb. She sputters out the tiny bird, haphazardly thrown to the ground and stunned too much to flee. Currituck’s eyes widen, scrambling to her feet over the northern wolf to get her toy.

The snowfield easily gave in to the allure of sleep again, too spent to be roused by one of many birds chirping in the woods. Aqakuktuq's ears remained attentive on their own accord, the only part of her floating above the dark waters of unconsciousness. Something collided with her foreleg, and that was enough to pull her mind to the surface. Her eyes shot open, head flinging itself upright and hackles raised in alarm. When the white woman's eyes recognized the cause of her awakening, though, she relaxed. It was just a pup, though her name was unknown to her, as she hadn't been allowed near any of them.

She bristled again upon remembering that fact; Aqakuktuq wasn't allowed near the children. But the pup had approached her, so it wasn't her fault for the close proximity. Still, she couldn't be sure if that would spare her from Shivali's wrath, as the mother was highly distrusting and prickly. Their last and only encounter still left a sour taste in Aqakuktuq's mouth. She could move and avoid the child like the plague, but that idea was silly (and implied the pup couldn't just follow her). If Shivali became upset with her, she'd be wrong for doing so, in the fisher's opinion. So be it.

Aqakuktuq sat up after the little one scrambled over her, hesitant to initiate an interaction. It seems she'd been playing with a young bird and intended to continue doing so. While Fisher didn't agree with the unnecessary torment of any creature―even prey―it wasn't her place to voice that opinion. For now, she just watched what the child would do.

Her scrambling comes to a halt when the other wolf bolts upright, startling the red-tinted girl. She hit the ground the moment she jerked and looked up pitifully in surprise. Unsure what she’s down wrong to get such a reaction, Currituck managed to pee a little on herself without realizing it. It’s not for several seconds after the adult has relaxed a little that she begins to do the same, heart beating heavy in her chest. Confusion writ across her features remains until the bird squeaks, finally able to gather its wits for escape. 

And just as if nothing had happened at all, Currituck pounced after the poor fledgling.

She'd startled the child with her abrupt awakening, her tiny reddish body slipping off of her own glacier like-one. Thankfully, it was not a long fall. Still, the girl wet herself, and Aqakuktuq expected the her to start crying. At that point, she'd just present her throat for Shivali to rip out. Surprisingly, though, this did not happen. As soon as the snowfield relaxed, the child did, too, and she shrugged off the experience to get back to tormenting the fledgeling again, which was now trying to make its escape.

Well, at least she was getting a head start with hunting practice, Aqakuktuq mused. The fisher slid back into a lying position and watched the red pesi bound after the bird with absolutely no grace. It drew a soft chuckle from the woman as she dwelt on how amusingly innocent her dangerous, predatory kind started off.

In the distance, Shivali bolts upright and scans the surrounding area for her children. Locating Currituck in the distance with one of the outsiders, she lingers her gaze for a moment but does not advance. If the bird-wolf were to look, she’d offer a warning look but otherwise doesn’t make any attempt to take her away.
 
Finally, finally, Currituck has managed to scoop it back up in her jaws. She’s careful not to press too hard but she gives it a gentle squeeze, finding the delightful squeak she enjoys so much. Since her toy isn’t broken, and she’s gathered hersef, she turns back around and looks up at the lounging wolf. It takes several seconds for her to realize it’s not one of the family (as far as she can tell) and instead one of those that just showed up one day. Through a mouthful of bird, however, she starts yappy barking up at the wolf in tune with squeaks and squawks from the bird.

The child managed to catch the unfortunate bird, scooping it up with surprising gentleness in her tiny jaws. She continued her assault on the creature, squeezing it just enough to make it cry out. Morbidly, this seemed to bring her joy. A weary smile formed on Aqakuktuq's face. The girl finally peered back up at her. Oddly, she started barking incessantly, despite the bird in her mouth, which was chirping fearfully. The fisher's ears flattened from the noise. Why would she suddenly react this way?

What's wrong, child? She asked over the ruckus, slowly lifting a paw to tentatively caress her. It'd either help or hurt the situation, but Aqakuktuq felt she had to try something. Meanwhile, Pesi had been awakened and now observed the situation from his perch but did not move.

Large, coyote ears flop over when she tilts her head. A strangle sound escapes the bird as she stops mid-squeak. There’s no acknowledgment of comprehension but a smile splits her muzzle, spitting out the bird. It falls into a heap on the ground, discarded and forgotten. With the adult’s attention, she doesn’t need the bird anymore. This is what she wanted all along.
 
She doesn’t know what to make of the touch, so she ignores it and bounces forward a few times. Her tail sways back and forth, rocking her hips as she tries to urge the other to play with her.

The girl ceased her barking and tilted her head, then dropped the bird as a smile forms on her face. It appeared attention was all she wanted. Energetically, she bounced forwards and wagged her little tail, hips swaying similarly. Play with me! She practically screamed. Chuckling, Aqakuktuq figured it couldn't hurt to humor her. She got to her feet to lower her weight on her elbows and bow her back, tail waving lightly above her. Lightly, she made to bat at the youngster―a light tap, really. Then, she'd leap backwards, encouraging the girl to follow.

The adult responded and Currituck laughed with all she had, jumping at the same moment as the other girl. Her rump lifts in the air and she thumps the ground again, a grin splitting her muzzle and long tongue hanging out the side. Even though the journey is exhausting, her pent up puppy energy hits in bursts and crashes just as quickly. For a while, they play, until she struggles to keep her eyes open. A grin never leaves her face and when her new friend is on the ground, instead of pouncing, she curls up close and drifts off to sleep.