Neverwinter Forest welcome to neotokyo

Alright, so the birthing den had been pretty much all she'd ever known. It was nice. It was warm, and filled with her lovely squishy siblings, and mummy, who she adored. But the more and more she spent hiding out inside of the den, the less and less she liked it. Yes, it was warm and nice, but it was getting to be too small; her siblings were too loud and boisterous for her, so most of the time Eimear would hide out away from them, which was hard when they lived in this glorified hovel. She basked in contentment when they'd go venturing out in to the Big Wide World. Eimear would find some peace and quiet for a time, until their return anyway. 

Today, she'd given up any plans to nap, or to hide away, and was actively pacing about the mouth of the den. On a previous excursion Eimear had encountered not one, but two strangers, and she was loathe to do the same today — but the cramped nature of the den was getting on her very last nerve, and as resilient as the girl appeared to be, she just couldn't stand it anymore. And finally, when she thought she heard her siblings waking up from their impromptu naps behind her, she thought of fleeing the den entirely before they noticed her presence — because that would only lead to their playing, and their tugging, and their noise, of which the placid Eimear was not a fan.

She turned briefly to observe the motion at the back of the den, seeing someone reaching with their paws and hearing them squeak a yawn, and took it as her cue. She bolted from the den mouth and into the beams of summer light, her tawny body glimmering with warm golds and deep bronze, some of which were quite dark and new, as her guard hairs had begun to sprout finally. As Eimear bumbled away from the den and in to the forest proper, she let out a gleeful little gasp, and collapsed against a firmly rooted tree like some sort of escaped convict. It didn't occur to her just yet that home (the den) was very far away, nor that she didn't exactly know where she'd run off to. The fact that it was warm, and bright, and quiet, made up for any doubts that would later arise. Maybe.

Rannoch was very much unlike his cousin in the sense of liking the family den. Rannoch was a child that thrived outside and grew restless when he was confined. The favorable conditions lured him outside from the family den and into the open where he patrolled the clearing before their den. The only thing that would cause him to remain indoors would be rain. Today, thankfully, brought not rain to the forested lands. It was comfortable outside and Rannoch was sunning himself at the den’s opening. He had already scoured the nearby undergrowth for intruders and thankfully he had nothing to report on the matter. It was a quiet day, that is, before Rannoch caught the sound of tumbling.

The near-by sound caught his attention quickly and without a second thought he gathered himself to a stand before padding in the direction of the noise. Before long he caught sight of another puppy in the distance. Though he wasn’t too close, he could tell that she was close in size to him and Cypress than they were to their parents. But, he didn’t know there were other kids near their home! Waving his tail in greeting, he neared her swiftly and let out a low woof to catch her attention.

While naturally timid, she was also precocious, and was swift to pick up on things while her siblings were not. She had avoided the outside world for as long as she felt able; from time to time, venturing in to it, only to be frightened back into the dark and the safety of the den. For the time being such intelligence was beyond her. Eimear was quite happy to settle down in the sunlight, even to flop over and roll happily in the grass. The crunch of a few freshly fallen leaves - bleached and a bit dry because of the heat of summer - was a satisfying experience to her. But as she lulled with her wriggling and flipped back over to her belly, she thought she saw something. Movement? Maybe. A flicker between the trees — it might've been a bird, or maybe one of her siblings come to chase her down and rob her of serenity.

Eimear lifted her head and sniffed, but did not move. She wondered if it was another stranger, a big scary thing like before, and her ears slicked back. When a body came trundling towards her she thought, 'Szabala?' with the hope it was just her sister, or maybe --- no, there was no time. The creature made a noise and she, interested in the way a mouse might be interested in a cat, was abruptly made alert. It wasn't a big person, like the other strangers. But it also wasn't one of her siblings — so Eimear was a bit perplexed. She sniffed nervously at the air again, licked her lips, and sat back upon her haunches, lifting her chest as if to prep for an escape. If this wasn't a brother or a sister, then what was it?

He was a bit perplexed when the other wolf didn’t respond. This fact caused Rannoch to pause and to look in her general direction better. Though he could have sworn that it was another kid, perhaps he had been wrong. Curiously, he sniffed at the air between them. An array of smells hit him as he inhaled and he promptly went to work on figuring out if anything smelled odd. This was very interesting indeed.

“Hi!” He finally called out, taking a step in the direction of the other. He had no idea what was going on or who was in the distance, but he wanted to find out. A step turned into many as he tried to clear some distance between them so that he could get a better look. “What do?” He added quickly, hopeful for any sort of response from the other.

He seemed harmless enough, but she couldn't be certain. His gradual inching towards her made Eimear nervous, but she didn't think to stand up or to run yet, only to watch him. And then when he spoke, her ears pivoted up and around to catch his voice, and she went wide-eyed, then looked behind herself as if there was someone big and strong nearby to protect her. She thought briefly about returning to the den, but the boy was getting closer, and it would be rude to leave him hanging. 

Ahh, she squeaked at first, the pitch of her voice rising up and piercing the air like a startled bird's call, and she shrank down again, looking sheepish as she wallowed in her inadequacy. Neither mummy or dah were here to save her from this, and it was her own fault — so she'd better make the best of it. With a bit of a tremble to her lip she got to her paws and crept a step towards him, and with an extended nose she investigated his scent, but was careful not to touch him. Ahh, I is sun... Sunning.

Eimear didn't know if that was the right word, but, it worked for the time being. You wan' sun?

Rannoch was naive to all of the dangers that the world held. For the most part he only knew his parents, Cypress, and the select few that had visited them-- Eimear’s father included. The only evil that he had ever witnessed was the magpie that almost ate him, but his mother had been there to save him. He simply assumed that she would always be there to save him if he called because it was all he had ever experienced. Perhaps that was why he was so adventurous-- because he knew he always had backup even though they weren’t around.

Her bird-like call caught Rannoch off guard and in response he stopped abruptly. His heart began to race and his ears laid upon his crown. Was what he was seeing wrong? He started to doubt his eyes and drew a paw to rub at them quickly. When he realized that nothing changed and the figure lowered itself onto the ground he began to tiptoe forward-- the figure taking the shape of a puppy. He felt relief in that moment, glad that she really wasn’t a bird. He didn’t care that much for birds.

When she spoke again, Rannoch was a few steps before her. He offered her a smile and a wag of his tail as he listened on, but such positivity faded as confusion took over. “Sah?” he mimicked poorly, his head leaning heavily to the side. “Was dah?”

The concept of age was not something Eimear could grasp, so when the boy responded with words that were less than perfect, she did not give him the benefit of the doubt. Instead, she pouted, then frowned, then gave a little eye roll, and with a great big sigh she repeated, No, not sah, sunna! Sun-na! Hadn't she been clear before? (No.) Even now, as she tried to enunciate, Eimear gave the word a strange inflection; but it didn't matter. She just knew that what she said was right, and what he said was not!

She looked up at the sky, and tried to squint around the sunlight to see the big glowing orb through the tree branches. See? Sunna! Dere, she tried to lift up and point with her nose, then her toes, and reach for the sky. The girl's balance wasn't so great so instead of remaining up as she'd envisioned for herself, she came teetering backwards and flumped on to her tailbone, which made her squawk again.

Her actions that followed her confusion caused Rannoch to pout. He didn’t appreciate her reaction and was very much accustomed people kindly elaborating what they meant-- not rolling their eyes! But, regardless he listened on. Frustration grew into a demonstration and the other puppy signaled towards the sky towards the sun.  His eyes went skyward as she reached for the sky.

Oh, sun! He knew what that was! His expression brightened for a moment before growing dark with confusion once more. Though he knew what the sun was, he didn’t know just what sunning was-- despite the fact that he was just doing it. As he turned to her to question further he caught the other puppy falling back. Forgetting his rebuttal for a moment, he rushed to her side and nosed her shoulder lightly. “You kay?” He said a look of concern overcoming him. He had fallen back a few times and knew how much it hurt.

Falling was fun, but she'd never admit that. Landing was less fun, which was why she always squeaked like a chew toy every time she landed on something new and different. This time, having fallen back the way she did, Eimear was at first bothered by the ache present in her rear end from smacking her tail bone and, after a second to consider her injuries, there was a brief bloom of discomfort across her shoulders; but she forgot about all of that pretty quickly now that she had a new view of the world. The sun gleamed down from the heavens and caught upon her fur, and while she didn't like her landing, she soon found the sunlight to be more interesting, and reached up as if to grab it with her toes. By spreading them the sunlight could catch on the taupe-tinted fur between them, and she ooh-ed and aww-ed for a second, while the boy rushed to her aid.

When his face was in view, first nosing at her shoulder and then merely being close, Eimear should've been afraid. She hadn't played like this with anyone before; most of the time she was the target of her sibling's playful antics, which often was too much for her to handle. This boy wasn't really playing with her, but he was gentle, and she appreciated that. To reward him, Eimear reached out her glowing paws and smacked him in the mouth — she had been trying to grapple him and pull him down but, heh, kids suck. 

Down! Down! Come down, play -- dis sunna! She chortled happily to her new friend, not realizing her blunted claws and big puppy paws were more of a hindrance than an invitation. Eimear wanted to show him the sun and all the glowing! Then again, maybe there was a better way.

Eshe noticed Rannoch to be not where he was typically; she followed her ears swiftly, fearing the worst. Mongoose. Wolverine. Hungry bird. Venomous snake!!! The sound of tiny voices caused her heart to lurch in her throat--but no, she had checked. Cypress was safe and sound and snoozing in the den. They had been napping, together. That Rannoch had not spoken to her in the span of ten minutes was an immediate alarm to the mother. And now, she knew why.

There before her eyes were two cubs. One hers, and the others certainly not. Eshe had not yet met the babes of her sister-in-law, but knew this was likely one of them. While Rannoch was not too far from home, she was. She let out a howl to @Kaskara to let her know that her cub was safe...

Before she looked reproachfully at her son. Rannoch--Rannoch, you scared mama! You know you're not allowed out of mama and papa's sight! Sunning was permitted, because they at least spoke to one another when he did this and she (half) snoozed. Ah, well--he was alive, and well, and that was what mattered to her. Eshe moved to give him a little kiss on the forehead, more relieved than anything. Don't scare mama like that again! She whispered gently, and then she composed herself as well as she could. This is your little cousin, her name, though, she didn't know. We haven't met yet, little one. I'm auntie Eshe--this is Rannoch, she learned every day what cubs were capable of... but this one was a bit older than her own, so who knew what could be understood and articulated? Is your mama okay with you bein' so far from the den, sweetie? She paused, and then, I can take you home, if you'd like,

His own gentleness was met with a swat that landed directly in the snout. He backpedaled immediately to this, shaking his head in an attempt alleviate the pain that had come with her playful gesture. He blinked feverishly as tears spiked in his eyes and as this happened, he looked away. “Tha urt!” He admitted in a low whine as a frown trailed after his words. He wanted to play, but at the same time he wanted to also run back to the comfort of his mother and have her make him feel better. He was all too involved in his self-misery to pay any mind to his mother’s approach. It was only when she spoke his name that he looked up to her with watery eyes.

A wave of guilt overcame him as Eshe expressed her worry. Flattening his ear, he looked up to her with a frown. “I-I sowwy Momma!” he said, tears overcoming him as a few tears dropped from his watery eyes. “She falled and I w-went to see if she okay,” He explained knowing that it wasn’t an excuse for not talking to her, but he had to explain his motives! “A-An we talkeded an den I hurt…” He trailed before pushing his head into her foreleg only wanting her comfort in the moment. He stayed there until she spoke again.

Pulling back to look up at her and knowing well that he had to excuse himself when she was in the middle of another conversation, he tipped his head back. “Momma scuse,” he requested. “Wassa … couseen?”

She hadn't meant to hurt him; she hadn't meant to wander this far either, but there you go. He recoiled and Eimear was promptly distracted by the light left in his wake, at least until a shadow passed between the sun and the two kids. When her light had been diminshed, Eimear looked for the source of the block, and saw the really big adult, which prompted her to roll on to her belly and shrink down. What was worse, the stranger was talking at the two of them — comforting her new friend but admonishing her, for some reason. She was young enough to know what a mom voice sounded like; but it wasn't often used upon her, and Eimear instantly felt as if she had done something really really really really bad. So bad that she'd be punished for -- forever! Maybe! Golly.

With a pout (because Eimear was trying very hard to be a big girl and not cry, but it was very obvious she was going to fail), she murmured tiny responses when the stranger lady asked her questions. Most of what she said were useless little words, as she tried to answer but got cut off, and then her new friend was also talking over her — so she frowned at him, and then looked at her paws. I's... I's sorry... Was jus'... 'venture...

Her son was quick to explain, and Eshe, prepared to thrust the excuses lesson upon his shoulders, quickly forgot such a thing when he spoke of being hurt. Hurt, honey? Where? Her eyes were sharp, now, as she sniffed and scoured him for any sign of injuries. She swiped her tongue all over his body, knowing mama's kisses always did the trick. All better? She inquired, all sugar toward him. The other girl seemed to want to talk, but admittedly her attention and devotion was for her baby boy...

She felt bad, too, for that. She stepped over Rannoch and toward the girl, a cursory sniff given. Yes, certainly Kaskara's. Daddy's sister is this little ladies mama, she informed, looking to Rannoch and Eimear both, that makes you two cousins! Now, Rannoch, I want you to go back to the den this instant. I'll watch--daddy is there, she instructed. I'm going to take you home, sweet pea, Motherhood was new to Eshe; she supposed she could now be given some 'at this age, wandering is appropriate' tips.

My last post for this thread!

His mother’s magic had worked it’s magic upon him. Smiling up to his mother, he nodded. “Issa betta, Mawmee--” he reached up to tenderly nudge at her shoulder to show his appreciation. Quickly he added, “-- thank yew.” He always had to be on his best behavior!

As Eshe disclosed the fact that the wolf beside him was her cousin he quickly looked to the other pup with wide eyes. “Cuzeen!” Though Eshe’s brief explanation still didn’t make sense to him, he made a note to ask her a million and one questions when she came home. With her next instruction the boy frowned but held back any protest. “Okae Mawmee.” He murmured before turning to Eimear. “Bye, cuzeen!” and with that the child turned from the scene and bounded back to the den, anxious to tell Scimitar what had just happened.

Had Eimear been more extroverted, she might have tried to follow the exchange between the mother and boy; but as she was now, the girl simply couldn't focus. She was feeling quite bad about everything that had transpired — although her adventure out to this point had already faded from her mind, and soon the swat to the boy's muzzle would also evaporate from her memory — but currently, she felt as if something bad had happened, and she had been the reason. The voice of the woman served to make Eimear's head droop more and more, her ears to slick back with great worry, and then she was up and dragging her heels as Eshe mentioned being an escort. Mmkee, she murmured, and then began to scurry in an attempt to avoid further trouble.

escort post!

Now sweetie, you didn't do nothin' wrong, she hummed to the girl, watching her son go. Unless you didn't tell your mama or papa where you went off too, you need to always make them aware of your whereabouts! Eshe was a bit of a nervous nelly when it came to children; she wanted them to be safe and cared for and never in harms way. While danger had yet to strike the Forest, who was to say it never would? And if any of Kaskara's cubs were not near her and Kaskara and Keiran both did not know it, she could not imagine Kaskara or Keiran would be pleased. Perhaps they were searching and worrying now. You are always welcome to come over and play with the boys, Cypress and Rannoch... you just tell your mama first!