Redtail Rise XXI

for reqiuem! other tags for ref!

when he was not with his children or hunting for @Sunday Morning, he let @Requiem tag along with him so long as they kept from the borders. and he did often lead or otherwise drive the boy back into the packlands, often.

today he chuffed to the child and set off through the fresh mud that evening. he wanted to find a fat woodpigeon for new snow, and the eggs would also be a treat for the new pup.

blue-eyed and darkfurred, he reminded augur of the sleek animals which took to the water. thus he became otter to the hunting wolf.

The little otter moved with high-steps after Augur, alert should the man's decision shift and he be driven back to the sleeping place where Requiem spent most of his time.

He enjoyed the feeling of the mud as it squelched underpaw. His legs, already beginning to lighten with the tell-tale markings of his maturation, were streaked with muck and made to match the rest of him for a time.

Sometimes Requiem would shovel his face in to the mud and make mounds, using his snout as a spade, and more than one occasion was left to snort like a bull to try and clear his nostrils.

augur watched otter. his tongue lolled in approval. the boy was like a buffalo calf, though he lacked the build.

maybe he would be a coursing-hunter, those who ran down the prey while wolves such as augur waited to deal the crushing blows.

he bent and shoved his own dove-grey muzzle into the muck, caking his face in a comfortable layer.

He watched the man play in the same way, and laughed with a wolfish chuff, cavorting closer with heels dragging so that mud flung everywhere.

The boy ducked when he closed in and pretended to lunge for the big messy face, and managed to do a somersault, missing Augur entirely as he slipped in the mud and covered himself over again with it.

Requiem sprawled on his back a moment and wriggled until he was over again, and got to his feet, plunging at Augur's nearest ear even if it meant eating dirt.

augur was amused and rumbled, a long sound of delight.

as the boy belonged to the rise, he had found no difficulty in accepting otter as one of his own, too old to nurse but young enough to be fed by him and to learn.

the child tumbled in the mud. augur let the little teeth close around his ear and growled, swinging otter to and fro rather playfully despite the pain.

Moments like this made him forget all of his troubles, in so far as a boy his age had troubles; he had adapted well enough to his new friend-siblings, and while he was not an outgoing sort, Requiem was fond of Augur.

He tugged and laughed through his needle-teeth, and tried to mimic the man's rumble: RRRRrrr! which made him sound like a little motorboat.

the boy growled. augur returned the sound and raised a massive paw to tip otter back into the muck.

then he leapt, landing gracefully in an arc of mud to snap at the air with diverting intent.

augur's tail waved furiously; he devoted himself completely to their play.

And so their game would go: Requiem trying his best to mimic the much larger wolf, and Augur acting the child, to and fro. Mud spraying, paws slipping.

On more than one occasion Requiem lost his footing entirely but he would bounce back from the cold earth and laugh, or growl in his juvenile way. He'd taken a few rough dives and been unbothered by the wetness of the mud, or how roughly he'd at times planted himself within it.

All the while he'd return to grappling with one mighty foot of Augur's, or seek an ear, and smudging brown throughout the white wolf's coat.

they wrestled! the great wolf chuffed a bark and sent mud toward the boy.

he allowed otter to capture him, to throw him into the muck.

his tongue lolled with the good humour of it all, ears and chest dirtied with their play.

They played a while; the boy relented only when he could no longer focus enough to swipe at the man, or keep firm hold.

He was muddy and damp, and cold as the time passed. Requiem's coat was drab and his skin twitched with shivering.

He loosed a little yawn which pitched like a whine, eventually, and became slow to respond to Augur's game by the end of it.

fading! <3

in time their game ended. augur gathered the boy close and cleaned him with long swipes of salmon tongue.

and then he would lead otter off, into the foliage, to find a cache and be fed.

the children of the rise were also his to tend.