Moonspear Play-Play

@Hydra
Korei stumbled out of the den, tail wagging. Despite her ankle's dull pain, she was still energetic. She wanted to play more, to get out in the sun. Bound around like the little energetic pup she was. It was afternoon, and she planned to use the time left of the day to enjoy before it became night. Korei didn't venture too far from the den this time, since she did not want to get hurt too far from her parents this time. She walked slowly, batting her good paw in the snowy ground.

It was no secret that Hydra preferred her mirror images to the pale Korei. Her attentions toward the fair child had become more limited as they aged which was fortunate for the freckled Ostrega, as this meant she was surely harassed less by the three terrors. They were all maturing, and with their own hierarchy more or less established—Hydra thrusting herself into the role of top bitch of the brood—Hydra found less reason to snap at her. Korei was becoming something to protect, though perhaps would still from time to time find herself as the triplets scapegoat. As to that, who knew? 

Hydra sought, today, someone to teach her how to become a better warrior. This was what she wished to pursue. Hydra fought well enough without the training, though that was not enough for the youth. Her plans for the day were put on hold when she caught sight of the pale Korei, who blended well with the snowy landscape surrounding her, limping. Hydra marched toward her sister with a lifted head and expectant eyes, though they were not as hard as they typically could be. Did someone hurt you? She asked, getting straight to the point.

Korei turned her head to one of her darker-furred sisters. Korei shook her head, her ears lowering along with her tail at her read. "Accident. I slipped and fell...But it doesn't hurt! I can still play" she added, and rather defiantly, thinking she would be told by her sister that it wouldn't be smart. She went into a play pose, being careful about her sore fore paw. "Wanna play, sister?" Her tail wagged wildly behind her. She would play anything, she just wanted to play until she got tired.

When granted the proper hail Hydra respect the cub expected from her sisters, she seemed to calm further. Knowing no other wolf caused this pain to Korei eased her mind as well, though she fret for Korei nonetheless. Here, she supposed it did not matter. The weakness would surely be exploited, though only if Korei were to challenge Alya, or even likely Lyra who, despite being the sweetest and most softspoken of the three triplets, was no pushover. Though it depended, surely, on each of their interest.

At Korei's invitation to play, Hydra responded, How well can you run?

Korei tilted her head. How well could she run? With the bad paw, she was not sure. But with her energetic spirit, she wanted to. "With my paw, I don't know...I bet I could beat you if it didn't hurt" she challenged, with a proud smile on her maw. It was rather bold of her to think of herself that way, as she and Hydra had never run together before. How she wished the sprained ankle would be better. "How about we do something else! Won't run with this paw."

Hydra snorted at her sisters words. If you didn't slip and fall, she added on, perhaps a bit cruelly. Hydra desired to be the best at everything, and to be challenged at all bothered her a great deal. But knowing Korei did not mean anything by it, Hydra did not simultaneously attempt to bowl her over as she typically would. Maturing, indeed. 

Well, what can you do? She'd let Korei decide, as her own way of apologizing for the insensitive words. Not that she felt too terribly guilty for saying them. Competition brought out the ugly side of Hydra, and Korei was no stranger to that.

Korei pouted at her sister's words. It wasn't her fault. Even though technically it was, but she didn't want to admit to that. "Well I didn't see the frozen lake" she murmured, making swirling movements of her sore paw softly across the snow. 

Her ears perked at her sister's question. "Um...we can...play hide and seek!" She smiled at her own idea, tail wagging again. "I can go hide, you come find me! Please, please can we?" She put on her big eyes to try and convince her sister to go along with it.

Her sisters self-conscious remark was perhaps the only thing that could cause Hydra to feel any measure of guilt. And so she was about to say something to make Korei feel better when her sister perked up with an idea of a game. 

You don't have to beg, Korei, she reprimanded, though there was some measure of affection in her voice as she spoke the words. Hide, then, she spun on her heel, No extra time will be given for your injury, though, she added sharply, looking over her shoulder. Hydra thought she did Korei a favor in doing this—she wanted Korei to learn how to live with the limp she had while she had it, not to baby or coddle her. She felt Korei could handle it, and if Korei couldn't she imagined her freckled sister would tell her so. And so Hydra turned back around, beginning to count aloud.

Korei yipped excitedly, and then headed off as soon as she hide. She only just caught the last part as she headed off amongst bushes and trees. She decided to hide behind a tree, having gone through some bushes to try and lose her trail. Her tail swayed slowly behind her as she peeked around every now and then on either side, watching for the black fur of her sister. 

Behind the tree, she giggled to herself, feeling happy as ever. Her tail just couldn't stop thumping against the tree and the ground. She heard her sisters counting, having not gone too far away and closed her mouth, but her tail still went, occasionally sweeping out of cover.

Eventually, Hydra stopped counting. In fairness of the game, she didn't follow the scent trail that Korei had intentionally made confusing. In any case, there wasn't much need of that. Now and again there were imprints on the less compact snow—not from Korei herself but from the bushes she had moved throughout, causing their branches to sweep against the earth. 

Hydra squinted as she came close to the hiding spot. In the snow, Korei would do well with this game if she knew how to play her cards right... but a flash of waving white caught her attention as her sisters tail waved within her hiding place. Hydra's eyes turned toward that direction, not certain if it was just a trick of the light... she headed in that direction to make her inspection.

Korei glanced out, still not seeing the black fur of her sister. She started to think she might have hid too well. She giggled a little, and poked her head fully out. But she was looking the wrong direction of her sister, and didn't realise she was approching, and that her tail had been seen waving out of her hiding place.

It was not a trick of the light. She heard the rustling of brambles as Korei stuck her head out, facing where Hydra was not coming from. Hydra licked her chops before moving ever-so-quietly toward her fair sister, her strides panther-esque as she slunk forward, keeping her own body near to the foliage. But her own tail waved of its own accord, and Hydra paused, crouching low in the snow and near the dark, wet wood, hoping to be hidden herself in the tangle of shrubs her sister had moved through herself. Korei caused enough of a ruckus that she might not have been heard at all, but Hydra attempted to play it safe for a minute longer...

Korei pulled her head back, now with a confused look. Hydra would surely be close by now. The white pup thought in her mind, trying to think of where her sister could be. She peeked out the other side, just barely seeing a dark shape. A brow was raised, and she did not piece it together right away that it was in fact her sister she saw.

Hydra froze when her sister turned to face her direction. She did not move a single muscle, blending well with the soaked, dark woodland. She held her tongue. The moment Korei looked away, or turned, Hydra would "catch" her sister. Their game of hide and seek had hybridized itself into something else, and it thrilled the youngest Ostrega.

Korei looked hard, but she ended up oblivious to her sister's presence and pouted. She was starting to already get tired of waiting. She turned her head away, unaware what that action would lead to. She swore she could smell something, but the plants around gave off their own scent, and the wind was against her.

The insant Korei looked away, Hydra charged. The Xi was close enough, now, that Korei had little room to run any more, but if she did run Hydra would seek to catch her. Her tail waved behind her, blue eyes twinkling with delight. Hard work had brought this success upon her as much, she felt, as the wind in her favor had. Not once did she break her cover or alert Korei to her, and her stealth had at last paid off! Hydra learned the benefits of patience, and it was a fulfilling feeling—but what Hydra wanted to feel most of all was Korei, pinned, before Hydra herself got her chance to hide.

As soon as Hydra made her move, the pale sister looked right in her direction. She went to move, but her mildly-sore leg made her pause. That pause was what got her caught, her eyes on her sister. She screamed, although it was more of a surprised yell as her sister went for her. She braced herself, knowing there was no time to move.

Hydra landed upon her sister, using her weight to bowl over the lankier Korei and standing atop her. Her tail waved over her hindquarters triumphantly, and her eyes were aglow with her victory. You had a good spot, Korei—but you gave yourself away! Your tail kept waving, she informed readily. Hydra did have moments of kindness, and though she was undoubtedly Korei's biggest bully (and even was the cause of much of her harassment) Hydra did not see it as her being unkind. In any case, no one else would ever be permitted to pick on the pale Ostrega. Hydra would see to it that the gentle Korei was bothered by no other. My turn, Hydra hummed, sidestepping off of her sister and beginning to seek a good hiding place, ears fanning backward to listen for Korei's count.

Korei fell, carried over by her sister's weight and momentum of her movement. Her sore paw ached from the sudden motion, but she did her best to keep a smile on her face. She was starting to have fun. Even though she had been caught, it was a game, and her tail showed that in shaking side to side. She stopped it, and waited for Hydra to move away before looking over scoldingly at the tail. She kept it still as if it were some sort of punishment to it. Then, she began. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..." She continued on till she reached one.

By the time Korei did reach one, Hydra had secured herself a decent hiding spot. She was crouched low, a good distance away from her sister, nestled between two dead logs, soaked with snowmelt and old rain. Hydra blended well with her surroundings, her eyes closed. Her ears were perked, listening for her rambunctious sister; she hoped to not be found at all. There was a point to that—she wanted, instead, to hunt Korei when her sister drew nearer. Hydra managed to not wave her tail wildly at the thought, but her heart raced at the thrill.

Korei started her search as soon as her count got to one. She set out, her sore paw limping just a little. It would no doubt be fully healed in a day. It was still a little sore, but that didn't stop her seeking her sister out. She went straight to sniffing out, nose going down to the ground. The scent only gave her a direction. She decided to try her luck, and try drawing her sister out. "Sis, I found something pretty cool!" Of course, he voice would have only given away how close she was.

One eye opened as Korei spoke. Although her sisters location was indeed given away, Hydra was intrigued. What cool thing? It truly was the perfect lure for the possessive Hydra, who wanted the cool thing for herself. Hydra listened for Korei's movements, trying to attempt to discern if her sister was still on the move or if she was being tricked. Her eye closed, as though this would help her ears concentrate on the important matter at hand.

Korei heard no reply and pouted slightly, then went on her way. She ended up walking right by Hydra's spot, stopping for a moment as she thought she had caught her scent. Then moved on, taking her chance again. "Sis! Don't you want to see the thing?" She was starting to doubt her efforts, so kept on looking, nose to the ground.

Korei still moved. If the thing was all that cool, Hydra imagined that the thing would have been the object of her attention, not the game. And so Hydra waited until she was sure Korei was a little bit beyond her hiding spot so her movements would not catch Korei's attention. She slunk slowly, her movement a pantheric prowl as she crawled forward, catching sight of white. 

And then Hydra, playfully, raced forward to ambush Korei, silently rushing to (attempt to) pounce her from behind.

Korei moved forward, stopping for a moment. She thought she heard something behind her. But she ended up passing the thought by, until she saw a shadow behind her. She turned her head, mouth agape in surprise to yell out, but Hydra was already upon her. She had been caught unaware, again.