Redsand Canyon that took my breath away

It was a rare thing for Nanuq to be out in the heat of the day. He was lucky to have such a light coat that resisted the beating of the sun, but the black dappling on his back grew uncomfortably warm at times. Despite suffering less than darker-coated individuals, he preferred to keep away from direct sunlight. It hurt his eyes and gave him a headache.

Today was one of the rare days he came out in spite of it. He was sprawled on the packed earth outside his family’s den with his eyes trained on a hardy fern swaying in the hot breeze. On closer inspection, it was not the fern that interested Nanuq, but the four-winged, bright blue insect poised on the tip of a frond.

It bobbed up and down with the motion of the fern, but was undisturbed. He had seen them before, darting about so fast you hardly got a look at them before they were gone again. This was the first time he had seen one landed. Whenever his eyes began to water, Nanuq blinked as quickly as he could and resumed his staring, determined not to miss it when it took flight.

Katniss chucked to herself. She was a little white pup, with black dapples on his back, staring with such intent at a beetle. For a moment she just stood there and watched him. Then she padded up next to him and looked at the bug as well. "Interesting, aren't they?" she asked the pup. "I think their coloring is cool." She told him.

She had never had a chance to enjoy her own puphood, so she was glad to see this pup enjoying his.

The twins were getting old enough to be curious; he knew his time left keeping them hidden away in the den was quickly dissipating. As eager as he was to get them to the valley and to start teaching them how to be soldiers, he was just as afraid that something bad would happen to them. He knew that his job keeping them safe was about to get much more difficult. It didn't help that Aquene was taking in injured loners they knew nothing about. She probably thought he was just being overprotective, and maybe he was; it didn't mean he wasn't right about the danger associated with having a stranger staying in the tablinum. 

He rarely returned home at this time of the day, but his patrol brought him close to the married dens, and he couldn't resist dropping in to check on everyone. 

When he arrived, he was shocked to see Nanuq out and about in the middle of the day. Kallik also didn't like his son being outside without his or Aquene's supervision. It left him open for situations like these, where he was alone with a wolf Kallik had not met yet. He knew of her, that she was a new plebian, but he had yet to speak to her. 

He walked up to join them, looking over his son as he stared at a dragonfly. He accidentally startled the insect when he approached, causing it to lift up from the leaf and buzz away. Kallik nosed over Nanuq to check him, like he often did, and then sat so that he could get between the woman and his son if something were to happen. 

He greeted the woman with a dip of his head. Are you here to see Aquene? He asked her. He assumed that was why she was so close to their den. Another thing he was learning to accept was the fact that his wife was so accessible to anyone in the pack; she was the healer, and that was just how it was.

There might as well be cotton stuffed in the pup's ears, for all the notice he took of Katniss. It was a testament to just how sharp Nanuq's focus could be if he applied himself, and just how dangerous it was for a pup to be so wholly absorbed into something. Why, he would take as little notice if she was growling and snapping at him as he did now, so he should count his lucky stars Katniss wasn't a hostile enemy.

Kallik's proximity helped, and was what snapped Nanuq out of it. The damselfly darted away in a blur. Nanuq whipped his head after it to try and catch a glimpse of the wings in flight, but it was gone in an instant. The boy cast about for it in the gem-blue sky, but there was no spotting a damselfly that did not wish to be found.

The look he leveled at his father after his fur was ruffled was a tad less petulant than the look he gave Katniss next. Everyone present had seen it was Kallik who disturbed the damselfly's rest, but Nanuq blamed the stranger anyway. The subtler nuances passing between the adults did not concern him and passed him by, for he did not have a tangible concept of friends versus acquaintances versus strangers. He would regard Katniss the same way he regarded Towhee, or Germanicus, or any of the other, well-trusted individuals who frequented this part of the territory.

Anyway, even if he did know, he didn't care; he slumped there, glowering, bummed that his study of the damselfly had been interrupted.

“No” Katniss told the newcomer, seemingly the pups father. “I was just watching him watch the bug.” She said. “I never really got to enjoy my own childhood to I was intrigued by him being so interested in a bug.” She told him

“My names Katniss.” She added

Kallik was oblivious to the whole insect situation. He knew it was there and that his son had been staring at it, but he didn't pay much attention to the damselfly after his initial take on the scene. So when it flew away and Nanuq gave him a disgruntled look, his attention was already on the stranger he thought was too close to the den.

If the woman had needed his wife, then he would have kept quiet about his irritation. He was not happy to hear that she was here solely to interact with his son—his son that had no supervision when she approached. His expression remained as cold and blank as ever, though. Kallik would reach down and grasp the pup gently between his jaws if allowed, and unless Nanuq protested or tried to squirm away, he would place his firstborn back within the safety of the den. 

He sat so that he blocked the entrance. There are older pups that you can entertain, he told Katniss. Mine are young, and I don't like strangers around them. If she had been a new soldier, he would have met her overstep with teeth. But as a plebian, she was under his protection, and it wasn't his job to show her the ropes of Mereo.

Thank the lord of wolves for short attention spans.

He was moved into the den and blocked from going back out by his father's backside. Nanuq protested with a tiny growl at first, pressing his shoulder against Kallik's broad spine, but it was no use. He gave up without much fight and flopped to the floor.

With his eyes trained downward, he was in the perfect position to spot a darkling beetle right as it clambered over a rock. Like the damselfly, it captured the entirety of his attention. Nanuq was content to watch for a time, hearing but not processing adult voices from outside. When he grew bored of watching, which took no time at all, Nanuq lifted a paw and gave the beetle a gentle smack.

The way it stood up on its own head in response was interesting. Nanuq tilted his own, inquisitive, and considered trying the same thing when he was abruptly assaulted with a foul smell from the insect's rear end. It stung his nostrils and made his eyes water, eliciting a surprised cry.

"I'm sorry." Katniss said, genuinely. "I wasn't aware that I
wasn't able to play with the pup. He was outside the den so I
assumed he was ok around others and ok to be entertained."
She explained. "I'll go now, if you want." She added, sensing the tension.

Aquene had been taking a nap inside the den, awoken by the sound of her husband being grumpy just outside. Her eyes dragged open and she yawned as she stretched out and headed to see what all of the ruckus was about, finding a member of the pack, a plebian in the ranks, speaking about her not being allowed to play with the pup. It was Nanuq. “Nonsense, you’re more than allowed to.” She stated before she moved over and nuzzled her husband’s neck. “Play nice.” She pleaded softly, her voice dropped for his ears alone.
 
“It’s good for a pup’s development to see many faces and learn from a variety of characters. You’re Katniss, correct? The new Plebian?” She recalled hearing the name, and had still made an effort to keep up with the comings and goings of Mereo. “I’m Aquene, an Equestrian in Mereo, and this is my husband Kallik. You were playing with one of our twins, Nanuq.” She was the far more sociable and cheery one in the moment and she recognized that.

I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this one up! Thanks for playing!

More voices sounded from outside, but Kallik's rear continued to block Nanuq in. He was left alone to contend with the uncomfortable burning of eyes, nose and throat until the beetle's stench finally dissipated. It was a valuable lesson for Nanuq in observing an opponent's position and movement, if only he cared to learn it.

Instead, he went sulkily to the darkest corner of the den and eventually fell asleep.