Hushed Willows but it was gone just as fast as it came

A strange series of events brought him here to this just-as-strange territory. With a furrowed brow-line, Silas wished he could will it all away and return to the cozy comfort of the Hollow just as it had been before. Now, on the back-end of practical whiplash in being introduced to the pack and their communal quarters right after wandering lost, hungry, and misplacing his father, the dark Ostrega was overwhelmed.

It was meant to be for their best interest, or so it was said, but the influence of it had not set in fully. He missed his father's presence and his birthplace, meanwhile had only a limited understanding of the greater picture here and how he was supposed to fit into it. Without certain pillars, he was uncertain.. but he only wanted to feel safe and comfortable while his family could do the same with him, happy.

Exhaustion from the road had not left him, either, and his growing body was ravaged by famine in a way that a few days of rest wouldn't mend. But, he had grown oddly accustomed to it in a defeated coping mechanism developed somewhere between here and there. 

Anyway, he had been determined to creep further away from the Crook to get to know the area better, but his motivation abruptly waned only a stone's throw away. Around there beneath a few of the strange-looking trees, he loitered tiredly -- all but dragging his paws as he sniffed the earth below them halfheartedly. Most things were unfamiliar to him still, thus translating into quick nervousness.. if only he had the energy for it.

Hi. :D

Once a very independent young thing, so much so that it'd get him into trouble, these days Little Voice had become dependant on Harlyn. Not necessarily for food or anything like that, but for instruction. Direction. He had gone straight from a horrifyingly prolonged trauma with a cougar to a sustained and painful journey with the wolves of Lost Creek Hollow. During this time he had lost his independence completely, and had relied entirely on Mordecai and Harlyn to live his life for him. It had still not settled in that he could have independence here at Marauder's Keep.

So he wandered with little aim but to sniff out non-existant food, and felt a warm flutter of welcome familiarity when he set eyes upon Silas. At this point the puppy was roughly the same size as the petite Arctic Wolf, but Little Voice had known him since he was very small, and automatically walked over to him to see if he was okay. Such things had made up his role ever since they left Lost Creek Hollow. Staying with the puppies had been his purpose.

Larkspur found a spot near the entrance of The Crook, where she could hide in the shadows and observe the goings-on near its entry. She was wedged there now, big blue eyes following the various wolves' movements in and out of the communal den over the course of the day. As shy as she was, Spur rather enjoyed this "people" watching. It allowed her to get to know her pack mates without actually having to interact with them. One day, of course, she might warm to them like she had with Deirdre, but with everything else going on in her life, behaving like the proverbial fly on the wall was her current comfort zone.

She occasionally thought of her pale friend, her only friend, and wondered when they would meet again. Mostly, however, the marauders captured Spur's attention. That included those that were more familiar than the others: her original pack mates. From her hiding place, the young she-wolf watched Silas trundling around the area just outside the large den. Spur considered stepping out to join him but then a familiar white figure approached her brother instead. Larkspur hunched down lower, staying put. Although she was fairly familiar with Little Voice, the pup quite frankly found his silence disconcerting bordering on creepy and was in no hurry to go near him.

Here and there, he sniffed at the dirt and tiny grasses trying to regrow. Mostly, it seemed pretty aimless. He wanted to do more, see more -- and feel up to doing it most of all. That was currently his biggest issue and the darkest of the Ostrega brood gave a tired huff, almost lowering his rump to the ground in uninterested defeat.

But, Little Voice's approach pulled his focus and Silas lifted his orange eyes to watch him. His ears splayed and he wriggled his tail, although otherwise said nothing as he approached. He did make it clear that he was relieved this was a familiar presence, though, and once closer, the youth reached to lick his fellow's chin. It only vaguely occurred to him that he no longer had to reach so far to do it. Meanwhile, he was largely unaware of Larkspur's observation of them.

Although he was subconsciously aware that Larkspur had come to linger nearby, Little Voice didn't really notice her on a conscious level right now. This was was because he was so used to the young girl being around. Her not being around... now that was something that would grab his attention.

For now his eyes, big and gold, were on Silas, who moved to greet him. Little Voice regarded the puppy and followed his instinct — with a shy smile he ducked the front of his body low to the ground and wagged his white tail in an invitation to play.

You may skip me (unless one of your characters approaches Spur). :)

Silas and Little Voice interacted amiably enough under Larkspur's watchful eye. She should have been heartened by her brother's willingness to embrace the small, mute wolf. But she still found him disquieting. She made a conscious choice to avoid going outside, instead hunching more tightly against the cool stone wall. Much of her attention she continued to direct at the pair of them, though occasionally her eyes flitted to the other goings-on in and around The Crook.

Silas accepted the invitation for play and bowed his front half down before a mighty jump forward, and with the quiet companion, he romped gently beneath the summer's sun. It was easy for him, and comfortable too. For perhaps a split second, he was reminded of simple times back in the Hollow -- nostalgic, almost, although he didn't know it by that title and instead just by the fuzziness it left in his head.

When their exchange culminated, the dark pup backed off, panting softly and they parted ways soon after. It had been brief, but frankly, he didn't have excess energy for much else but what mattered was the satisfaction he felt warm in his chest. He went plodding back towards the Crook in decent enough spirits (all things considered) and it was on his way there that had noticed his sister. He chirped a small greeting, and moved towards her spot curiously.

After a while, she grew bored of observing the playful wrestling match. Something else captured her attention anyway. The pack's dominant female had stepped out about fifteen minutes prior, leaving her young lookalike to bumble around The Crook. For a few moments, he just stayed plopped right where his mother had left him and Spur cocked her head, curious at this motionlessness. But the puppy eventually leaped to his feet and began to zoom around the cavern, occasionally shouting and pouncing at things she couldn't see.

When his erratic movements brought him closer to her little corner, Larkspur shrank back. She was admittedly intrigued by the smaller cub, yet her curiosity did not overrule her shyness. Despite her attempt to look inconspicuous, he spotted her, grinned and barked. When she did not react other than to twitch and drop her eyes, she heard him scoot back the way he had come, likely searching for someone more interesting. Larkspur let out a low sigh, then jumped again at a nearby chirping sound.

But it was only Silas. Spur's mouth curled into an easy, relieved smile at his familiar face. "Hi, Si," she said quietly, big eyes glancing over his shoulder. She saw no sign of Little Voice but opted not to question it. Instead, she patted the stone beside her in the hopes her litter mate would come sit beside her.

Despite him being the son of the silver alpha female, he generally did what he could to ignore the existence of the smaller puppy (although he did not make it easy sometimes) here in the Keep, so Silas didn't readily notice anything about him having been here recently. His focus was on Larkspur while he slowly jogged over to her, and for family, he was decidedly tunnel-visioned.

"Spur," he peeped when he got closer, accepting her invitation for a spot beside her by plunking his rump down there, then sighing with relief to get off his feet now that he wasn't panting anymore. He looked around, trying to see what she may be involved in here. "Anything good?" he asked, squinting further into the Crook's darkness.

She squinted at his question, smiling thinly before replying, "Not really," with a gentle shake of her head. Larkspur sighed softly. She wanted to like the Keep and was making an honest effort here, yet she was still far from settled in or comfortable with her surroundings. Slowly but surely, she was getting to know this place and its wolves, yet Spur didn't yet know how she felt about any of them.

Except the obnoxious gray pup, who ran past again, barking so loudly that it bounced off the rock walls and hurt Spur's ears. She winced, then breathed a sigh of relief when he scrambled outdoors. "I don't like him," Spur admitted quietly to Silas, gazing at him with her wide, honest eyes, wondering how he felt about their odious peer.

He accepted her answer with a slow nod. Sounded normal enough for the typical time here, he supposed.

Speaking of sounds, his ears pinned back at their sudden assault. Silas grimaced. That, too, was also becoming too typical for his liking. To his memory, none of his siblings had ever been such a consistent barrage on his ears or maybe he was more easily peeved because he was younger than them. Either way, Silas wasn't very pleased about it all but begrudgingly trying to accept it. "Yeah. Too noisy," he grumbled and licked his lips uneasily, hoping it would end soon or that the younger puppy would go away. An adult probably wanted something to do with him by now, right? "He needs to stop," he complained back with a huff.

Silas seemed to be in agreement with her. She favored him with a small smile and a nod. There was not a violent bone in the little girl's body, else Spur might have joked about getting rid of him somehow. But she didn't wish harm on the little boy, no matter how obnoxious. With that said, she wouldn't have complained if he happened to vanish one day. She just wanted peace and quiet.

Little Tambourine—at least, she thought that was his name—had left them in peace but only for a moment. Suddenly he was back, louder than ever, his tinny voice bouncing off the rock walls and causing Larkspur to cringe. "Let's get out of here?" she said to Silas. She was reluctant to leave her safe little spot and venture out into the territory, yet if her brother came with her, she would be all right.

He would do whatever he could to ignore what bothered him, strange little puppy noise-maker included. There was a limit, of course, but the dark pup had yet to feel very strongly about any of it and neither did he ever intend to act on it.. it was not his place. However he would carry that vague 'I kinda don't want this' feeling that was sometimes second nature for him, especially concerning a puppy with a disposition very unlike his own -- or so he perceived it to be. He hadn't exactly bothered to get to know Tambourine and did intend to keep it that way.

And it seemed that as soon as a cozy, comfortable silence settled around them, it was stolen away. Silas' ears folded back and he grunted. "Yeah." Without thinking about it, he was rising back to his paws and getting ready to get out. He didn't really care where they went, he had no plans. Just not where they could hear that puppy's noise. Silas only paused long enough to see that Larkspur was going to be alongside him, and aimed out for the willows.