Lost Creek Hollow A star is born

@Ibis

The plastic bottle Nunataq had found a month ago on the shores had become her most prized possession and treasured toy. It had lost it's initial shape and was criscrossed with teethmarks and there were some "feathered" edges, where the plastic had suffered greatly, but it was still in one piece. And the worse it looked, the greater it's value was. She took it with her everywhere, was obsessed by the myriad of crunching sounds it made and probably had annoyed 99% of her packmates in Lost Creek hollow by now.

But opinons of others had never mattered to Nuna and they did not do so now too. She had discovered music in her life and the symphony of the various plasticy sounds she could torture out of the object was the closest to nirvana that she had ever got. So, no wonder that on a moonlit evening, Nunataq had placed herself on one of the outposts (a large, flat rock) on the borders and was entertaining herself, by chewing the bottle at intervals and delighting in every sound she made happen.

Maybe they can form a band?

I am so sorry I missed this!!!

Life in the Hollow passed quickly for Ibis. She felt good to be among such an active community even if she was, mostly, on the outside of it; it didn't appear to matter that her father was the leader. Although she was welcomed among them, she still pined for the familiarity of her large family back at Elysium — specifically, she had begun to miss her brother Okeanos tremendously. The thought of returning there hadn't yet entered her mind, so instead she'd busied herself with finding pretty things for her collection. Maybe one day her brother would show up for a visit and Ibis could show it off?

The little wolf was on the prowl for something new, something extra special, with just such a moment in mind. The creek's edge sometimes had interesting new plants, most of which she'd added to her collection already, but she was roaming alongside the water's marshy fringe with hope that something new would surface. That was when she heard a bizarre sound — a crackling, a crunching, a squeaking of teeth against some sort of material that was alien to the wilderness. She thought, rather dumbly, it was a new kind of bird — and so the little bird went off in pursuit of the noises.

Lured through the forest by the crunching, Ibis had her head up and eyes fixed on the trees overhead (because in her childish logic she expected to find a bird in the trees --) and when she came upon an outpost of scattered stones, positioned almost like a natural set of tables, and the wolf sprawling across one such stone -- she was surprised, to be frank.

The appearance of audience made Nunataq pause in the sacred art of music making and take a careful look at the person, who was approaching. At the first glance she mistook Ibis for Treason, though aside from sharing a superficial likeness on the outside and from afar, the two had nothing in common. Upon a closer inspection, she recognized a foreign girl that had joined the group not too long ago and that Nuna had not cared to make acquaintance with. In their own way, both were alone and outsiders, except the mute girl preferred her loneliness and enjoyed most of the time.

She secured her toy between her paws, previous experience had taught her that people were inclined to steal stuff that weren't their own, then focussed her attention wholly to Ibis and waited for her next move.

The noises stopped almost as soon as she took notice of the wolf. Her ears pivoted atop her head; perhaps it had been a bird after all, and her arrival had spooked it? Her gaze trailed to the sky and she tried to scan her surroundings for any hints to where the bird might have gone — but she was not a hunter or tracker, and soon gave up the pursuit. She was more than happy to have company and approached the tableau of stone where the stranger lay — unaware of the object they possessed. 

Hello! She called to them when she was closer, and even raised up on her hind legs to try and get a good view over the stacks of smooth, weathered stone. Ibis was always such a tiny creature and even when angled in such a way as to stand like that, she couldn't quite see over the ledge to where the stranger sat. How'd you get up there...? She asked as she fell back to her four feet; then she began to search for an easy route up to where the wolf was laying. It looked like a nice place to nap.

Nunataq withdrew a little, showing dismay at the other girl's inclination to narrow the distance between them and go so far as to inspect the ledge of the stone throne she was lying on. She turned her head to the side and watched Ibis through corner of her eye and furrowed brow. Personal space was something that the mute girl was particularly sensitive about and she could no stand either physical contact or too much nearness. But around time she was about to growl and snap, the other had retreated. And Nunataq's expression and demeanor changed instantly from suspicious and slightly hostile to one with vivid curiousity about the other party.

She shuffled to the edge of the stone and leaned over it, sniffing the air, taking in the girl's scent and memorizing details of her looks. Her gaze was more that of an analyst's than a potential friend's, even though the tail was wagging to somewhat polite-ify her behaviour. When satisfied with the results of her inspection, she got to her feet and stretched thoroughly, then she fell back to her haunches and regarded the packmate with yet another expression set - that of a amused curiousity of a person, who tries to find a place for a nice, but impractical and silly toy on the working tool shelf.

In brief - Ibis had been deemed ordinary and not very interesting, until she proved to be otherwise.

Ibis made her way over to a smaller ledge, one that rose up like a small staircase of lopsided stone, leading towards the shelf where Nunataq was poised. She managed to climb part of the way. Being so small, Ibis wasn't exactly a creature of great strength or fitness; around the halway point (where most average-sized wolves might have to put a little bit of effort in to their climbing) she hit a snag. The ridge that she was trying to climb up was a little too high for her, even if she tried to balance on her hind limbs. She lifted herself up and teetered for a moment before falling back to all-fours with a pout.

The next time she tried, she did so at an angle. Her toes caught on the edge of the rock face and she managed to steady herself, even hop a little bit to try and get her ribcage clear of the obstacle, but there was no use in even trying. She caught some loose rocks that scattered beneath her agile little feet and felt herself falling backwards — and hit the stone surface of the smaller ledge against her back prior to stumbling tail-over-nose back to the dirt where she'd started. She landed on her belly with a sharp yelp, her whole body blooming with aches as tiny bruises began to span the length of her slim back.

Ordinary, but motivated. That much credit Nunataq could give, after she had watched Ibis's futile attempts to get on the spot, which she had claimed earlier. First with a visible discontent and a low, warning growl - a self-proclaimed queen did not wish to share her throne with anyone else. Then the frown eased to he same curious and amused expression of earlier. It was like a reality show for her and quite entertaining as well.

The yelp of pain right after a fall made Nuna cringe and then cast a look down to see, whether the little fool had not hurt herself excessively. But not so much out of pity or any inclination to help out than for the wonder, whether the other girl would be up to continue the performance.

Ibis wasn't ordinarily put-off from her activities, but the fall really curbed her desire to play or to investigate the girl on her perch. It didn't help that they had been growling at her - she hadn't realized it until she was on the level ground again but it offended her ears to hear such a low sound. She shot a glance up at the girl with her strange toy in time to see Nunataq's dark ears and the crown of her head peering over the ledge, and Ibis felt a distinct frustration bloom alongside her bruises. She shot a glare at the girl, then got up, turned, and sulked away from her to nurse her wounds privately.