Redtail Rise captive pursuit

@Cambria :)

Redd had gone, making her the third guardian in their life to leave them at still such a young age. They had long since stopped drinking milk, refusing any since the death of Raider and Riley. What little meat they did eat was only to sustain them just enough to stay alive. There was little in the way of puppy pudge on their slender, sickly body. Their eyes, while slowly changing from blue to lavender, were dull and lifeless. They held no joy for the world, and even their sense of experiencing new things had all but faded away into the nothingness.

Meat was brought to them, and they picked at it, often leaving much untouched and rotting. They did not leave the last spot they had seen Redd—near the borders—finding no reason to do so. Their body kept on going, but there was no sense or meaning to it. Any attempts to pull them away or engage were met with blank stares and/or resistance. They no longer spoke, which was made easy since nobody else seemed to speak here, either.

They mulled about their small world, then settled to the ground with their chin between their paws, still large in comparison to the rest of them.

He spent the first few days learning the lay of the land, often walking its perimeter to get a sense of the territory’s breadth. He studied the scents he found there, many of them familiar and fresh while others grew stale as the days passed. By his count, there were about half a dozen adult wolves, including himself.

There were pups too, he soon discovered when he ventured inward. Cambria figured they must be from the same litter as the child who’d been kidnapped. He followed their scent trail and caught sight of them in the distance, though the yearling did not approach at first. He observed for a while, then slipped back toward the fringes.

The next time he walked toward the heart of the territory, he saw a reddish figure slumped on the ground. Cambria halted, eyeing the cub from afar. He craned forward, trying to snatch its—his, the yearling’s nose told him—scent from the air. He smelled neither illness nor injury.

The other puppies were paler and, if he wasn’t mistaken, they were larger than this one too. Where is your mother? he caught himself thinking, two-toned eyes cutting left and right as if expecting her to emerge at any moment. Yet no one appeared.

He huffed out a breath and took a single step closer, then stopped again to see if the puppy would react.

Somebody they did not know approached, and Ruckus's eyes moved dully to the white figure. They did not move until the other was close. Then, with an explosive burst of energy from a place even Ruckus did not know they had, the small wolf thrust themself forward, teeth flashing and eyes burning bright with rage. Their hackles pricked up along their spine, and they emitted a low growl. Ruckus did everything in their power to make them appear large, menacing, threatening. They couldn't comprehend why they did this, but something deep inside their brain drove them to it.

The youngster only looked at him dully. Cambria looked back, enchanted by the color of the pup’s eyes in contrast to his gingery red fur. Lured further forward by these striking but unassuming eyes, he took yet another step.

Suddenly, the young wolf sprang at him with bared teeth and bristling fur. The yearling froze, not frightened but certainly perturbed by the wrathful display. He couldn’t imagine what provoked it, though the look on the child’s face stirred some instinct deep inside him.

After only a brief hesitation, Cambria lowered himself in front of the younger wolf. I’m no threat. The Dragonling even stretched out his neck and let his chin sink to his paws in a bid to further reassure and placate the little one. Behind him, his tail thumped once and then began a slow, noiseless sway.

His eyes remained fixed on the youth, partly out of self-preservation—he was small, though he still had sharp teeth and Cambria was deliberately making himself vulnerable—but mostly out of interest. Now what would the child do?

The other, older wolf gave off all the typical calming signals. He sank, his tail wagged, but it did nothing to quell the Redtail's desire to obliterate him. They lashed out again, this time aiming to sink teeth into the blurry interloper. There was a thirst in their eyes, something even Ruckus did not understand. It fueled them forward, as if thousands of years of evolution had gone awry somewhere down the road. With their small self, they sought to harm the other in whatever way they could.

The pup attacked again, aiming to sink his teeth into the Dragonling’s outstretched foreleg. He could’ve tried to avoid it, though instead Cambria held still to gauge the youngster’s intent. He pulled no punches, as it were, and it left the yearling wondering what on earth might be wrong with the little one.

Ow, that hurts, Cambria said, trying to hold still long enough to give the pup a chance to take his cue and, stop it.

When that didn’t happen, the Blod made to gently but firmly grasp at the child’s red scruff.

When teeth pressed against their scruff, Ruckus writhed. They loosened their grip, but now Ruckus was squealing something fierce, the ear-splitting sound surely alerting every creature in a ten mile radius of the outcry that was currently happening. Their front and back paws swiped aimlessly, desperately, as they attempted to free themselves from the stranger's teeth (who were plenty gentle, but you wouldn't know it by Ruckus's display of pure panic).

Assuming the stranger did finally release them, Ruckus backpedaled several steps, the fur along their spine sticking straight up, while they growled menacingly. They wouldn't approach again, and their posture and demeanor remained anything but friendly.

He should’ve anticipated the outcry, though the pup’s reaction startled him into almost immediately releasing his grip. Luckily, those little teeth were no longer needling at Cambria’s foreleg. He huffed a breath through his nostrils, staring speculatively at the beastly child.

Why are you like this? he mused aloud, expecting no answer. He found himself wondering, Are you hungry?

Do I look like game? he wanted to add, though he kept that one to himself. The biting might implicate an appetite, though maybe there was just something else wrong with the little guy.

"Why are you like this?" the other asked, then went on to question whether or not Ruckus was hungry. The Redtail had been weaned too early and hadn't eaten enough since then. Where they should have been round, they were gaunt. Where they should have been leggy, they were stunted. They would never live up to their full potential, having been robbed of that when Raider and Riley had succumbed to their own terrible fates.

Don't like eat, they seethed through bared teeth, their tongue slipping out like a serpent's.

He really wasn’t expecting the puppy to speak. Cambria’s head reared back as he stared in surprise at that tiny face wrinkled in fury. The words made sense, yet they didn’t.

How come? the yearling wanted to know, genuine interest sparking in his mismatched eyes.

The blod inquired further, and Ruckus was not fond of the needling. They continued to wrinkle their nose and lips at the older wolf, their brows funneled into an angry look. There were only two emotions Ruckus truly understood: anger and pain. Comfort, contentment, happiness, and joy were things they did not remember from their earliest days. As far as they were concerned, those emotions didn't exist.

Don't like eat, they repeated flatly.

The child repeated himself. Cambria didn’t know what to think. It was such a strange and nonsensical declaration. What wolf didn’t like to eat? It went against the most basic of survival instincts. Something must be terribly wrong with him, which sort of tracked with what Cambria knew of the Redtails…

Is there anything you do like? he wondered, though he didn’t bother voicing the question. He felt pity for the child, though he could think of nothing he could really do to help. Cambria would’ve happily hunted for him but if he didn’t want to eat, he couldn’t force him.

I can tell you’d rather be left alone, he said, slowly pushing onto all fours, and I can respect that. If you change your mind about the food—or need anything else—I won’t be far away.

He didn’t think to offer an introduction at this point. Instead, Cambria gave the angry red pup a long, speculative glance before giving him the space he so clearly wanted. The yearling didn’t go far, tucking himself out of sight but staying within earshot. Just in case.

They couldn't read whatever emotions flashed across the other wolf's face; they had never been able to. Instead, they remained on edge, listening to the words that spilled forth from the blod's mouth. There were many words, and not all of them Ruckus recognized. Just as their physical development had been stunted, so had their mental development. In fact, every aspect of Ruckus's development was dulled and delayed, all thanks to their chaotic early childhood.

What they did know was that they wanted Redd back. Nothing else seemed to matter, and nothing else likely would until she returned. For now, they watched as the other wolf retreated. Being alone was preferable to being around strangers, and that wolf was certainly a stranger. Only when the other wolf was completely out of sight did their teeth go back behind their lips and their hackles smooth along their spine. Several minutes passed before Ruckus finally settled onto their haunches, then elbows, their head eventually following suit to lay between their two front paws.