Ouroboros Spine BWP: TSS There be treasure here

This prompt: Your character discovers a hidden gem.

Ajei didn't travel far from the pack lands on any given day and today was no different. But she was past the border line only a bit. She could still see the pack land and if she called for her mama she'd be there. She had faith. But something had drawn her out here. When she had been walking and the sun had hit a certain spot, it had seemed to glitter. But as she drew nearer, she saw nothing, but dirt and weeds. 

She leaned forward tiny nose twitching trying to seek out what she had seen. She huffed in disappointment when there was nothing. But determined she moved forward a little ways and on a whim decided to dig. She didn't often like to destroy the land, but today she was a bit frustrated and she found it was a bit fun. So dig she did. Little red and white paws churning up the dirt. Clods were sticking to the finer hairs of her face and neck and then her claws hit something hard and she yelped a little and then slowly began to dig it about.

A stone at first look it wasn't very pretty, but there were cracks in it and she could see a purple color inside and she gave a soft squeal of happiness as she continued to dig it up.

Ajei is so cute! I hope Shemesh doesn't make her too nervous.

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Shemesh rested comfortably amongst the wildflowers, the sweet-smelling clearing surrounded by towering conifers. She stretched her long legs out, toes spread wide, before rolling onto her back. When was the last time Shemesh felt so sated? Her stomach mostly full instead of growling with hunger? It must have been the last time her master filled her bowl. She sighed in contentment and admired the clear, blue sky.

If Noam could see her now, he’d be so proud that tears would come to his eyes — and Shemesh, being a very good and capable dog, would lick them away. He wouldn’t need to cry.

The coydog was pulled from her reverie by a little squeal nearby, and she tilted her head to hear better. Instinct told her it was a puppy, and her homesickness told her to investigate. Shemesh knew she was near the border of a pack; maybe the little guy or girl had gotten lost? Rolling back onto her stomach, she pushed herself to her feet and padded in the direction of the sound.

Shemesh stopped when she spotted its tiny maker. The red and white puppy was digging furiously in the dirt, her tail wagging in youthful excitement. She was alone, and maybe even lost, but thankfully unharmed. Shemesh breathed a sigh of relief; she wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a hurt puppy, except try and find their family.

With folded ears and a gently wagging tail, she tried to make herself look as unintimidating as possible. Then when she felt suitably puppy friendly, Shemesh gave a small bark in greeting: hello!

oh thank you <3

The scent of wildflowers would occasionally reach out to Ajei. So she wasn't particularly alarmed as it grew nearer. They smelled pretty and she was fine with the scent. Besides currenty she was kinda distracted.

A noise brought her head up and then the first sight of the other brought her body down and she tucked her tail. Ears to her skull. 

oh. she whispered. She felt no malice from this she wolf. But she looked different than mama and pop.

Ajei lifted a tiny, dainty paw and waved half heartedly.

Shemesh’s ears fanned out sympathetically as the puppy flattened like a little pancake, a soft oh leaving her tiny mouth. She hadn’t meant to scare her! She waved back, remembering her early life with her master. The world had been so big and confusing, and him a loud, out of place stranger; Shemesh had been just as shy at her age.

”I’m sorry if I scared you,” she said gently. ”My name is Shemesh, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Is that your pack over there?” Shemesh pointed past the scent border with her muzzle; she didn’t want to get any closer without permission, especially if the girl was so close to home.

As curious as Shemesh was about what the pup was digging up.

Ajei giggled softly and lifted her head. This one didn't seem to bad. But she was still wary. She leabed her head firward trying to get a scent off the stranger. Her tiny nose twitching.

Ajei lifted a small shoulder and nodded. She looked at the gem and back up at the female adult. Wondering if she would help her.

Yes. Moonglow. I'm Ajei.

Ajei shifted. I found shiny thing.

The giggle brightened Shemesh’s already glowing mood. She leaned forward as well, copying the little girl so her scent would be that much closer. Ajei from Moonglow. Shemesh committed the names to memory. ”Hi Ajei,” she said, before a thought struck her. She tilted her head to the side and hmmed to herself.

Shemesh understood pack borders to be a little bit like her fence at home, in that she wasn’t supposed to leave it without permission; what was such a young pup doing beyond her metaphorical fence?

Of course, Ajei didn’t seem worried about that. A shiny thing, huh? Shemesh smiled with closed lips, her tail still wagging. ”Do you want me to come closer so I can see it, or do you want me to stay over here?” As harmless as Shemesh was, she was still a stranger to little Ajei.

Ajei dipped her muzzle down. Little green eyes peering up at the shewolfdog in front of her. Much bigger than her. But most everyone was.

Hi Sheshemesh. it took her a few tries, but she got it. It was actually a bit like mama's language. 

Ajei sucked on her teeth and nodded. You can come closer, but you no try and snatch me. I bitey you. Yea? though she tried to be nrave like Chiteo her voice wavered and she looked at the woman.

Dat be mean
 You won't snatch me right?

Shemesh laughed lightly as Ajei tried to pronounce her name. It was a completely natural string of sounds to her, but surely very foreign to the pup. She was proud of Ajei for mostly getting it in the end.

Proud of her for being cautious and brave, too. Shemesh hoped that if she acted less trustworthy, the girl would act accordingly. ”That would be mean. I won’t snatch you, I promise — and you won’t have to bite,” Shemesh said, just in case Ajei thought of another reason to sink sharp, little teeth into her.

The coydog padded over to Ajei’s digging hole, and gasped at the little treasure inside. ”You found a geode!” she yipped, pawing at the dirt around the cracked stone. ”You see how it looks like a regular rock on the outside, but a crystal on the inside? That’s how you know it’s a geode.” At least that was what her master told her. Noam collected crystals of all shapes and sizes, and she even remembered some of their names.

Ajei didn't quite know the name. It was foreign, but she liked the way it formed in her mouth. The way it sounded like a lyric. Fairies and river song. Bright days. Warm nights. It invoked such lovely thoughts. 

Ajei visibly slumped down in relief. She nodded her head. That good. Cause I don't know if I could. Biting is mean.

A trill of giggle. I won't bite i promise. Cross my heart.

Ajei jumped when the other female made a noise and pawed at her treasure. But it was more curiosity than anger she looked to her face. 

A geode?

She didn't know this word and she nodded her head. I can only see little glitters. How do you make them come out?

Shemesh snorted, resisting the urge to ruffle the fuzzy fur on top of Ajei’s head. With promises made and one tiny heart crossed, they could focus on what really mattered: opening the geode so Ajei could see what was inside.

”That’s easy! You just crack open the rock the rest of the way,” Shemesh said, digging at the geode until it came loose from the dirt. She rolled it into position, its crystalline interior facing up, and began her search for a suitable bludgeoning stone. ”Can you help me find another rock, Ajei?” Shemesh asked. She didn’t have any tools — or the hands to use them — so dropping things on it would have to do.

Shemesh spotted loose earth under a nearby evergreen, the moss and pine needles already disturbed. Maybe they could start looking there first.

AJei probably would have sunk down low at first touch, but had leaned into it later. She was a skittish thing, but she loved love. It was good. They were good. Everyone was happy. No on to important things like shiny colors in rocks. 

Ajei's eyes got really big. She was just about to ask how you broke a rock, they were larger and sometimes sharp and definitely heavy and hard. she frowned in thought. There weren't many rocks at the surface of the mountain. You could find some if you dug, but Ajei wasn't exactly wanting to dig again, only because the prize was in front of her. But she would do as asked. Because one an adult asked her nicely and two they kinda needed it.

Ajei headed towards the spot she saw Shemesh looking and sniffed a bit. Until she found a spot she thought maybe good and slowly she started to dig. A rock came from beneath her ministrations and she had a little more to go and it would be in paw.

As Ajei sniffed out a good digging spot, Shemesh rounded the tree and found another patch of dirt to investigate. She pawed at the ground experimentally, the dry soil giving way easily under her claws, and started to dig. Each backward scoop revealed something — buried leaf litter, the side of a tree root, gravel — but no rocks large enough to break Ajei’s geode. Maybe she was having better luck.

Shemesh peered around the tree to watch Ajei’s progress, her tiny paws unearthing a rough-edged stone slowly and methodically. ”Do you want help digging?” She asked, resisting the urge to take over again. This was Ajei’s treasure; unless she asked for help, the coydog intended on standing back and watching.

There were some things the pup couldn’t do — like pick up the stone and use it as a makeshift rock hammer — and Shemesh knew she could help again then.

Ajei could hear the other digging just beyond her tree. It gave her small comfort to know ahe wasn't alone. Even if she'd only just met Shemesh.

Ajei nodded. You can help me. That's fine


Ajei moved to allow the other room to maneuver around her. It was nice to work with another. Just as she had with moonwoman that one day.

Can we smashing our paws if we do this?gotta be careful, yea?

Shemesh quirked a brief smile and gently nosed the top of Ajei’s head. She circled the hole to find the best angle, her ears twitching in thought. ”Yeah, we could. We definitely have to be careful when digging up rocks,” Shemesh said, shoving the stone with her paw. It didn’t budge; there was too much dirt around it.

She started digging, and slowly but surely unearthed the rest of the rock. It was longer than it was wide, but still small enough to comfortably carry in her mouth. ”You ready to crack open that geode?” Shemesh asked with a wag of her tail. She wrapped her teeth around the rock and pulled it out of the hole, before trotting over to the geode. The two stones were similarly sized; it might take a few drops before Ajei’s treasure revealed its hidden beauty.

Shemesh just hoped it wouldn’t smash into tiny, purple shards. That would be bad.

Ajei was surprised at first and she froze, but then her eyes closed gently and she gave a soft chuff to say it was alright and she had enjoyed it.

Ajei watched the adult shove the rock, and she placed a small paw on it and did the same. A soft whine in her throat. Then she glared at the offending piece of ground. We get it, yea.

Ajei's tail wagged and with it her whole entire body, still tiny and puppy enough that it did so. Yes!

The tiny moonglow girl watched with curiosity and mild concern as the other female went towards her geode with all the shiny things. She wondered exactly what she was going to do? Drop it? Smash? Though how she could smash it without dropping it, Ajei wasn't sure, but perhaps that is exactly what she was going to do.

The girl’s happy bark warmed Shemesh’s heart. She loved being helpful, and her opportunities seemed few and far between with no master to instruct her.

”Stay back, loud,” Shemesh mumbled, blocking Ajei with a rear paw in case she tried to come any closer. The depth of the hole should stop debris from flying up at them, but it would only amplify the sound — Shemesh would know, having barked into holes before. She didn’t want to hurt Ajei’s ears.

The makeshift rock hammer hit the geode with a resounding clack before settling in the dirt beside it. The fissure in the stone had spread from end to end, but no new crystal was visible. Shemesh huffed, picked up the rock by one end this time, and dropped it vertically on the center of the geode. With another clack of stone on stone, the treasure split across the middle and down one side into uneven thirds.

Shemesh yipped in excitement, before grabbing the rock hammer in her jaws and tossing it to the wind; the stone landed with a dull thud a few feet away. ”And that’s how you do it!” She barked, gesturing with a forepaw to the pointy, purple crystals she’d exposed to the air.

Ajei blinked in surprise when a hind foot caught her about the chest, but she stayed put and peered around the foot paw. Curious. And now a little wary. She wasn't not a fan of loud things. 

Ajei's ears hit her skull at the first crack. It was indeed loud. But it didn't do much. She was momentarily disappointed but she had to giggle at the huff from Shemesh. She wasn't happy either apparently. 

Suddenly there was another loud crack then a yip of excitement the rock was thrown and there the geode lay open to the sun. Ajei shuffled closer with wiggling nose. She touched them with her paw first and it was sharp and jagged, the little gems inside, but they were so pretty. When she bumped it one way or the other it made different shiny lights and she smiled. Though she took one of the pieces and pressed it close to Shemesh's footpaw. 

For you. Thank you for helping me. She looked up shyly with a small little smile on her face.

Smemesh’s jaws parted in a relaxed smile, happy to watch Ajei push the geode pieces back and forth to see all the ways they reflected the light. She’d never been given a crystal to play with — her master’s collection was too important to him — but she’d loved resting her head on his leg as he worked.

When Ajei offered Shemesh a part of her treasure, too many emotions swelled in her chest. She whined happily and turned the geode over so it would glint in the sun. ”Oh Ajei, pitzsele… You’re very, very welcome,” she said, tail wagging in appreciation. Then, after a few seconds of quiet: ”You’ve got shmutz on your face.” Shemesh leaned down to lick a smudge off the dirt-covered girl’s cheek; she’d probably need a bath whenever she got home to her family.

Speaking of getting home… Shemesh plucked the geode piece from its place in the earth and held it between her teeth. ”I have to go, Ajei,” she said, a sadness to her voice. ”My… Someone I love a lot is waiting for me, the one who taught me about geodes. Will you be safe getting home on your own?” Shemesh would wait with her if she had to, even though her paws itched to keep moving.

She’d only just met Ajei, but the red-furred girl would always be worth helping.

Ajei was preoccupied with the geode. She had almost, almost forgotten Shemesh was there, but she was still pretty aware of her surroundings despite  her preoccupation. 

Ajei heard a foreign word and lifted her head. What is pit..pit... Pitzsele?

A small giggle and she turned her face so the other had easier access as she would with any adult she trusted and knew. She liked this one. She was nice to her. And she had helped her.

Ajei lifted a tiny paw and waved it towards the border line. Yes I am right there. Thank you again!

Her tiny tail wagged and she lifted the other half into her maw and hurried towards the other side. Anxious to show her mama her toy. Though she stopped long enough to wave and yip at Shemesh.
.

Thanks for the super cute thread <3

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Bittersweet relief washed over her. Shemesh didn’t want to go, but she also couldn’t stay. ”You're very, very welcome, Ajei — and pitzsele means ‘little,’ but in a really, really sweet way,” the coydog explained, her ears folding back against her head, ”and that I care about you.” The thought made her homesick; in the Teekon wilds, she was no one’s pitzsele.

A low whine grew in Shemesh’s throat as Ajei bounded over the border, though she swallowed it long enough to wave back at the red-furred pup. Her paws felt heavy with sadness and uncertainty — almost too heavy for the journey ahead.

Shemesh shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had to move on.