Redsand Canyon redarguo

maybe puppies? @Jack Snipe/@Siku/@Aquillius <3

he had brought his own to the sparring arena, cornelius and valiria.

now he called for the others, ordering them into a line before his sights.

shoulder to shoulder. germanicus mean to guide them into formation as they came.

he often did everything he could to miss these things.

but with mother busy and brother somewhere, siku found he was thin on excuses for why he couldn't attend this one.

so when he arrived, it was more akin to a slinking fox. uncertain of every move he made and fearful of a misstep. but he had been meaning to talk to the head man.

im-imperator? he peeped up, softly as his ears splayed.

The Imperator had called the young ones to join him. Jack had followed because he’d seen there wasn’t anything better to occupy his time.

The boy’s steps were lively. He was directed to stand in a line, but Jack didn’t think that sounded like something he wanted to do. When the boy with grey freckles peeped up with a timid voice, the young Redhawk turned sharply toward him and grinned a brat’s grin. Without waiting to see if Germanicus would direct them to do something, Jack Snipe lunged playfully toward Siku and aimed a small bite at his pointy ear.

Like his twin, Nanuq was inclined to avoid these gatherings. While Siku did so because he was more interested in Aquene's craft, Nanuq simply found the whole affair boring. It wasn't that he was bad at sparring or following orders. In fact, he was naturally good at most things he attempted in spite of his reedy figure.

Which is precisely why he was always bored, and therefore rarely bothered.

Like Siku, Nanuq had no excuse this time and reluctantly fell in line with the other pups. At least until Jack Snipe arrived, strutting and throwing Germanicus' command back in his face when he targeted Siku instead of lining up. Hey! he said indignantly, breaking formation and lurching toward Jack Snipe's side with the intent of shoving him away from his twin.

germanicus went for jack snipe, intending to scruff the boy before his peers.

it was not the first time the little wolf had shown great spirit. but now it was time for the youngest to show discipline.

"back into formation," he ordered when he had released jack snipe. his eyes bored toward nanuq and then returned to siku. "you may ask your questions later." 

the eagle eyed them all, willing them to stay in place now.

he didn't want to be here.

he wanted nothing to do with all this stupid soldier fanfare from the very man who had sent his father away. his gangly legs crouched beneath him as his ear was clipped. the whole offer harshened by siku's attempt to free it and his brother's response to the attacker.

it had been notched.

but the sting of it was lost in a fit of boyish rebellion.

no.

he turned his back on the imperator and stormed off at once, only sparing a glance to his brother. wondering if he'd follow along or stay back.

Several things happened in the moments that led to Jack lunging at the other boy. One was the sharp clasp of teeth on his scruff, preventing him from moving forward. The boy’s paws churned at the air. Confusion had settled into his eyes. The other freckled boy had tried to shove Jack away before he’d been scooped up by the Imperator.

When Germanicus had released his hold, Jack Snipe swung around and fixed him with a burning stare. What a rude guy! He totally destroyed the vibe. There Jack was, finding new friends and trying to wrestle… and stinkface, lord of the stinkfaces wanted them to stand in a formation.

The boy that Jack had tried to wrestle with told the Imperator off with a single word. He turned to leave them. The young Redhawk stared after him, pleading with his eyes. He wanted to play with the freckled boys. He wanted to see if they’d go on an adventure with him. It didn’t make sense that they might not want to play with him.

Frowning at Germanicus, feeling that it was the Imperator’s fault that he had missed out on a new friendship, Jack stuck his snout into the air and huffed a spoiled sigh.

I don’t wanna… I wanted to wrestle! You ruined it. You made him leave! And the other freckled boy would be soon to follow, he was sure of that. What a drag…

The intended impact never came. The great grey Imperator grabbed Jack Snipe and held him back, but not before the other boy's teeth clipped Siku's ear. Nanuq failed to withhold a quiet gasp of shock, of outrage, and of fear.

Never in his life had he been so unsure. He wanted nothing to do with Jack, of course, but the Imperator gave an order and Siku boldly refused it. Nanuq had a fleeting moment of panic where his feet rooted themselves to the red clay and he could not move. Not to follow Siku, nor to heed the Imperator.

At the end of the day, though, Nanuq knew loyalty in the form of his family.

The Imperator did not factor into that.

Turning quickly, Nanuq sprinted after his twin with his tail pressed between his legs, anticipating that Germanicus might seek to intercept them.

it was chaos.

siku and nanuq disobeyed almost at once. little jack snipe was wild and his voice rose sharply.

disheveled children, all of them.

he eyed the two retreating pups and took three heavy steps that were followed by a loud bark.

there was a warning light in his eyes. he was their leader.

This'll be my last post here. Sorry! <3 I'm cool to assume behind the scenes there was some kind of punishment for Nanuq, maybe grounding / child house arrest? That would work best for me since I've lost track of him since this thread but let me know if you have a different idea and I'll roll with that!

The boy snatched his ears down and back when the Imperator barked, steps faltering. He cast a sullen look over his shoulder. He knew Germanicus was the leader of Mereo and he was expected to listen.

But he also knew Germanicus had sent Kallik away.

And Germanicus had failed to earn the boy's respect by declining Siku's softly spoken question for what Nanuq deemed no good reason.

It was not hate or spite, but a complete lack of respect for this man who demanded obedience without doing anything to earn it in the eyes of the children that made Nanuq cry out, leave us alone! before breaking into a flat-out gallop that carried him and Siku both home.

Last for me, too! <33

One of the bothers shouted back over his shoulder as he retreated – a warning for the Imperator to leave them alone. The young Redhawk boy glanced toward their imposing leader with a scowl. His eyes glared upon Germanicus’ face without a hint of respect in the light of his orange eyes. As young as he might have been, Jack was no stranger to defiance. He knew well enough that he did not like this man, anyway.

You suck, he said clearly to the silver-muzzled leader.

With a nose aimed for the air, Jack Snipe turned his body away from the meeting place. He would take zero accountability for the disappearance of the two brothers. As far as he was concerned, it had been the Imperator who had caused them both to run away. This roughly translated to Germanicus being enemy number one. Jack wanted nothing to do with the man.

With a snooty trot in the opposite direction, Jack ignored any warning sounds that came from their “leader.” If he had any idea of the thoughts Nanuq had, he would have likely agreed – respect was not given blindly, even by children.