Lost Creek Hollow Don't be afraid of the dark? What are you kidding me?

When Bearclaw wolves had made their move to Lost Creek Hollow a stranger had joined them and kept close to Indra all the way. At that time, when Nunataq had been very hungry for her caretaker's attention, she had felt bitter jealously and anger for, what she considered, a treason. Some red-pelted wolf that no one knew anything about it was favoured above her - the favourite child. Being the moody teenager, who was going through the difficult phase of growing up and realizing that adults weren't perfect, she had refused to acquaint herself with Fire and shown her discontent in other ways.

Which had also been disregarded, since everyone had had more important matters at hand than to sooth someone's wounded ego. And now, when Nuna had stopped to care and taken the path of being self-sufficient and not needing others, she realized that there was no resentment left towards the stranger. And that she could afford to get to know her better, now that she was not competing for Indra's affection any longer. So, when she happened to stumble upon Fire's scent trail during her morning hunt, she decided to follow it and see, what the wolf, who had caused so much heartbreak for her weeks ago, was up to now. But soon the trail dwindled to nothing, as if the person in question had disappeared in thin air.

Nunataq—or "Nuna", as Rannoch knew her—had caught Rannoch's attention. He had noticed that she was tracking something and he had decided to follow along to examine her abilities.  Although Rannoch wasn't the best hunter, he was sure that he could give her some tips. 

The trail seemed to have dissipated into nothing and as Nunataq found the end, Rannoch stopped. "Nuna?" he called out, knowing that she wouldn't reply with her voice. "Everything okay?" he asked.

People did not sneak up on Nuna, it was always the other way around, therefore imagine her surprise and dismay, when someone addressed her and scared the hell out of her. She sprang forward like being shot in the hind and snapped around to eye the guilty party with as much annoyed distrust and anger as her features could possibly convey.

Not only was the guy big and tall, his appearance did not ring a bell to her, though it should have, because this fellow had greeted her and the Bearclaw family on the borders, when they had joined. Except he had been couped up in a den for a long time and she had not cared to make many acquaintances among the new packmates.

When the first shock had passed, she straightened herself and snorted, focusing her gaze on Rannoch's facial features, trying to read as much information as possible, before deciding, whether she wanted to establish any contact with him or not.

Rannoch instantly regretted calling out to Nunataq—he should have been more careful in his advance. In an attempt make up for his blunder, Rannoch flattened his ears and wagged his tail. "It's okay," his posture attempted to convey.

Rannoch apologized for his intrusion right away and, while Nunataq was a tomboy in every aspect, she was still a girl, who knew, when to accept an apology with an airs of a queen. A small smile appeared in her lips and she yawned, indicating that the deal was sealed. They were good.

With this established, she got to her feet and approached the sturdy leader of the hollow, sniffing at him curiously and tracing his features and forms with her gaze. She could see similarities between him and his son Breccan (not that she knew their exact relationship) and, since she kind of liked the latter, she decided that the bigger version of her puppy rank-mate was going to be just as good.

While being absorbed in her inspection, she was oblivious and quite uninteressed, if the other wolf did the same, but, when she was done, the liberties of the other party were cut off as well. She retreated, to avoid any physical contact and gave him a toothy grin. Now, what?

They were good—that much Rannoch understood. 

As Nunataq investigated, he watched her carefully. When she was done, she withdrew and flashed a toothy grin. Rannoch replicated her expression and tilted his head. "Do you want to continue tracking scents?" he asked. "I'm not sure what happened but, there's plenty of smells to follow."

Rannoch addressed the mute girl, making her furrow her brow and tilt her head and appear curious and interested just the same way dogs study their owner, when they are talking. You get an impression that they have understood everything, when in reality your stream of words have hardly any impression on them. Unless, there is something constantly reinforced and very well-known such as "time to eat", "want to go for a walk?", "let's wake up!" and other precious little nonesenses.

Since she sensed a suggestion in his tone, Nunataq got to her feet and wagged her tail a few times, clearly expecting for the big guy to take an initiative. If he was deemed worthy of the little princess's time, he was also granted a permission to choose an activity to entertain her.

Rannoch's questions didn't seem to have their intended effect on Nunataq. Although interested, she wasn't engaged; Nunae didn't fully understand what she had been asked. He couldn't help but wonder briefly if he should stop talking to her altogether, and instead, speak with his body. After all, it was how she was going about their exchange. 

Giving his isea a shot, Rannoch lowered his head, while keeping his eyes on the juvinile, and sniffed at the ground. After a whiff or two, Rannoch beckoned for her to come over with a lift of his snout.

"Come here!" his expression read.

Don't talk and act natural. Be yourself and by all means don't try to translate verbal cues into non-verbal. The last time Indra had tried a bit too hard to show Nuna, what she was supposed to do, had been an utter failure. 

After Rannoch had left the spot he had sniffed a moment ago and walked a little distance away, Nunataq slinked closer, to inspect the place herself, in case there really was something useful to pick up. There was not, at least according to her smell particle analysis and she looked up and over at the big guy to understand, what had been so exciting here.

Apparently not too much, if he was walking away. So, in a steady trot she went after him.

"Do you smell anything?" Rannoch prompted, almost immediately forgetting to communicate through body language. If Nuna's expression told him anything, it was that she had not found anything particularly interesting. His brow furrowed, and he looked at the spot again. 

"Like... squirrel?" Rannoch asked, "Rabbit? ... Fox...?" Anything?!

All was going well, until the big guy started talking again. Nunataq stopped her sly attempt to thin the guys tail, let her jaws click shut and looked at him with an innocent smile and a wagging tail. All is great on this side of fence. No need to bother. And waited for him to resume the search.

But he seemed to be expecting something from her. Hmmmm.... she searched for something to hook her attention on and found it. Not a squirrel,  not a rabbit. Not even a fox. Something better. A neat pile of quite esthetic looking turd, quite fresh too, passed only this morning, from what she could tell.

Nunataq moved over and after some initial inquisitive sniff, sat down next to her finding and regarded the guy with a bit of smugness in her eyes. And what have you got?

After some deliberation, Nunataq discovered a picturesque pile of poop. "Good job!" Rannoch praised; it was a start. He stepped closer to the mound and dropped his snout so he could sniff it. "I wonder what left this," he wondered, and looked at Nunataq inquisitively. 

"Or where it came from," Rannoch appended, hoping that she'd catch his drift.

Nunataq Jalapeño did not quite get Rannoch's Pepperoncini's excitement about the poop - it was frozen, had a considerable content of undigested fur and bones and not worth-bothering amount of stuff she could consume. Were it rich in protein like the occasional lynx or cougar treasures scattered in the wilds like candy in Halloween, she would not even alert the guy about it. Gobble it down in a matter of seconds.

She thought that maybe he was a bit of a fool and that she should treat him in a friendly and sympathizing manner. Like a baby. Be encouraging. 'cause really, what can you expect from a sweet pepper? Therefore she smiled at him broadly and nodded in agreement. Ain't you a little, sweet pepper? Oh, yes, you are, oh, yes, you are. And in a spur of a moment she sprang to her feet and bumped his cheek affectionately with her muzzle.

In time, Nunataq the Jalapeño responded—another accomplishment, in Rannoch the Pepperoncini's opinion."Yes!" he encouraged, mentally forgoing his previous questions, "Great job, Nunataq!" Her wordlessness had led him to believe that her mental capabilities were limited. As a member of the Hollow, Rannoch would treat her with nothing but love and respect; he'd be more careful in his interactions, and quick to praise her

"Now that we discovered that, what would you like to do?" he asked, tilting his head. Rannoch took a step back, and suddenly dropped himself to a bow—a position that they could both understand. "Play?"

Jalapeño picked up the tone of praise and wagged her tail excitedly - who did not like to be called a "good girl" for no apparent reason? And funny, how both of them regarded the other as the friendly neighbourhood idiot, who has to be treated nicely, but friendships have to be built on common foundations and funnily enough the mutual sentiment for the limited mental faculties was going to be theirs.

Her newly appointed Pepper cadet went to a simpler mode of communcitaion and his senior in command replied right away, by attacking the very deliciously looking, thick fur on the side of his neck and wanting to grab hold of it. This was the beginning of Nunataq's first proper sparring session with someone, who had had more scrapes in life than her.

Nunataq lept, aiming for Rannoch's neck; their practice spar began. With a low, playful growl, he shook his neck in an attempt to shake her off. When that seemed ineffective, Rannoch changed his tactic—he nudged his shoulder towards her. Nunataq let go and retreated suddenly, chocking on the fur she had collected in her mouth. Although it was not how he had anticipated getting rid of her, it had worked.  Rannoch studied her, wondering what her next move would be. 

Her recoil was calculated, and she moved to grab his nearest foot. When he felt her mouth close around his foot, he shook it again. Rannoch would not counteract with an attack—this was just practice, and he figured that this would be good enough for now. When Rannoch could not remove her, Nunataq moved to go for the other paw—and changed her mind mid-stride. Rearing, she pulled him into a hug and aimed for his ear. Thankfully, Rannoch was able to dodge at just the right moment. With an excited light in his eyes, Rannoch smiled at Nunataq and bumped her cheek with his nose. Seeing this show of affection as an opportunity, Nunataq tried to fit half of Rannoch's head in her jaws.

There was no way out, they both knew this. "Alright, alright," Rannoch said. "You win this time, Nuna." Accepting her victory, Nunataq dismounted and backed up a step, her expression inviting, and her tail wagging to and fro. Rannoch was well aware that she wanted to go again, everything about her body language told him this. But, unfortunately, Rannoch knew he'd get an earful from @Tarot he continued their spar.

"I wish I could," he replied with a frown. "I have to be careful about my shoulder," he explained,  "It's been hurt, and I can't risk getting it even more hurt." Despite Nunataq's understanding, she seemed disappointed. "Next time," he promised with a wag of his tail, and this promise seemed good enough for Nunataq. Seeing that they were done, for now, she nodded and turned tail. 

"See you around, Nunataq," Rannoch called after, watching as she went off to find something else to get into. Once she was out of site, Rannoch turned in the opposite direction set off. He'd go and find Tarto to see if he had done anything to his shoulder. Although it didn't feel like he had done anything, he wanted to make sure.