Heron Lake Plateau sometimes I can't even see the reason why
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#1
All Welcome 
AW, tag for reference!

Most puppies Raleska's age might have taken to their new digs with great enthusiasm; Raleska did not. The travel, the trauma, the disappearance of more than half of her family all had made her a dull and despondent child. Not even @Svalinn chased away the clouds that seemed to constantly shuffle behind her.

Raleska might have survived the painful loss of her siblings, if her father hadn't gone with them. Loneliness had set in, and then hurt, and then abandonment and anger, and eventually grief: these were complex emotions for a child, and Raleska lacked the capabilities and the foresight to process each individually as they came. Instead she compartmentalized them, turning into an angry ball of stormy grey and black fluff that dragged her claws ominously around the den and issued a great many sighs and grunts so that all within earshot could share her misery.

Having been chased out of the den because of her sour groaning, Raleska slumped at the mouth and stared in at her mother and Svalinn. She had already been scolded once for being too noisy, and feeling particularly foul she grabbed a stick, placed it between her teeth, and chewed its flaky surface with the most obnoxious crunches she could manage.
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.
Sapphique
Sandstone
hold the dark
155 Posts
Ooc — Van
Offline
#2
Potentially behind Caiaphas' current demand for quiet was little bundle of  "joy": Svalinn. He was fast asleep at present, and therefore rendered inert. It was his most attractive state of being, and the one of least resistance these days -- for their time on the plateau had strengthened his puppy tenacity to unprecedented levels and it was (to put it lightly) simply easier for everyone involved when he was in one of his micro-hibernations.

But if it was Raleska's intention to disturb the peace, then she succeeded in her bout by rousing the very definition of disturbance from his slumber. At first, the vandal was groggy -- trying with marginal success to identify the crunching noise that stirred him -- but it wasn't long before he'd spotted the moody gremlin that was Raleska, and with half-sleep limbs he began to drag and clamor towards her prone figure.

At the lip of their den, Svalinn gathered what energy he'd earned in his sleep and made a spectacular, full-extension leap at their resident stick-chewer, intent on debuting a WWE SmackDown on his somber pseudo-sis.
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#3
Raleska clapped her teeth together hard, and relished the snap that it made; it was volatile, and invasive - and it earned her the disapproving look of her mother. She glowered back, and then turned her back entirely away from the sea-witch and resumed her earnest twig-snapping.

Dozens of twigs would have seen their demise that day, were it not for the golden blur that hurtled towards the unsuspecting girl. Something had impacted the back of her shoulders and she yelped, flipping over onto her back in a surprised growl. She expected it was yet another cruel ministration of her mother, yet the contact was too light to be the heavy hand of Caiaphas. Not entirely disappointed by this discovery, Raleska stayed on her back and issued a few soft slaps in Svalinn's direction, low growls sounding from her throat in invitation to play.
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.
Sapphique
Sandstone
hold the dark
155 Posts
Ooc — Van
Offline
#4
Svalinn had closed his eyes on impact, expecting to wind up on his side, as he always did. But much to his bug-eyed surprise, he found that Raleska had melted beneath him, having mistook his pounce for their mother's ire. The boy only saw this as submission, and he growled delightedly over his first triumph -- a feeling that quickly turned to frantic squeaks when his surrogate sister realized who her opponent was. He now had to fight to keep his position, snapping playfully at her pushy forepaws, and it was only through Raleska's good graces that he was allowed to remain astride her... for now.

Some day this wouldn't be the case -- some day she'd have to struggle to keep her slobbering, bully of a young brother from winning these bouts of strength -- but even then it might not be so hard to outwit him. She had the added gift of having Caiaphas' cunning ingenuity ingrained in her own DNA; if Svalinn was lucky, it was something he could learn, but those odds weren't looking too high. Not with the forward-way he tended to approach things.
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#5
Raleska vibrated in invitation to play, a little growl resonating in her chest as she fended herself from her golden attacker. His advances were full of gusto, but not cleverly contrived; he approached things in the same delicate manner a battering ram approached a door: blunt, and full of heft.

Presently the light caramel form of Svalinn sat atop her, a reign that would be ill-fated and short in its rule. With a great heave the girl flipped onto her elbows, pulled herself up, and darted quite quickly away. It was a mean-spirited and unapologetic thing to do, but if Svalinn had four legs in which to start, Raleska was confident in his ability to land without too much injury.

Not one to allow her opponent the chance of graceful recovery, Raleska turned back around and opened her jaws invitingly -- a tempting taunt designed to elicit his full attention, and hopefully force him to jawspar with her.
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.
Sapphique
Sandstone
hold the dark
155 Posts
Ooc — Van
Offline
#6
The experience that is the act of power slipping away faster than it can be grasped, left Svalinn with a yawning pit of new emotions he'd yet to experience in this context before. Despair was chief among these feelings -- an unhealthy side effect of a competitive nature: taking loss twice as negatively as the average wolf. So far everyone had only been lucky he'd yet to have a taste of victory. His tenacity was already bordering on intolerable; to what lengths would his desire to win take him? To what depths?

With Raleska's escape and his subsequent fumbling (both physically and mentally), Svalinn was ill-prepared for his sister's counterattack and met her rather clumsily for their toothy dance. He recovered mid-action, trying to meet her raptor-like swiftness while  using what he had of his weight and toleration for abuse to shove her back. He wasn't quite strong enough to be successful in overpowering his sable sibling, but nor did she seem to have the strength still to send him reeling as easily as in weeks previous. He growl-laughed, finding this game more fun now that winning seemed to be in his view.
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#7
Raleska gave little quarter to her smaller brother. Someday he would outman her and outrank her. For now she enjoyed the small dominion her larger form enabled, and grappled with the Golden child’s fangs with little held back. 

He heaved and pushed against her; at that moment Raleska took advantage of Svalinn’s efforts and sprung back with a wide grin. Lowering her head she glared at him intensely, as if challenging him to come forward.
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.
Sapphique
Sandstone
hold the dark
155 Posts
Ooc — Van
Offline
#8
With the use of her superior brainpower (an advantage over him that would have less to do with their age in the coming years) Raleska served the tyrant boy a muzzle full of dirt by simply jumping back. The sudden lack of support for his furious fronthalf had sent him crashing, his chin smacking the ground hard enough to jar his tongue into the path of clenching teeth. He yelped, bolting upright as blood welled from his tongue and several baby teeth were loosed.

Pain radiated throughout his mouth, causing him to shake his head vigorously, but the only thing that came of this was bloody spittle flying and an odd sensation as he swallowed one of his milk teeth.
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#9
Raleska had been busy scampering around when she heard Svalinn cry. She halted, ears pricked in concern and alarm creeping into her features. Nosing towards him at an apologetic pace, she nudged him and then nosed along the ground where bubbles of bloody spit had fallen.

The foam was a pinkish white; Raleska sniffed the ground and then looked to her wheat-hued brother. In the coming years it was possible Raleska might not be so tender, but in that moment she inched closer and gave him a reassuring lick across his wounded muzzle. He would be okay, right?
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.
Sapphique
Sandstone
hold the dark
155 Posts
Ooc — Van
Offline
#10
With repetitive, aching flaps of his tongue, Svalinn looked helplessly towards Raleska, who reassured him— without being sure herself— that he would survive the pain. Her heartfelt gesture, just a small lick, reminded him that he could feel other things, and that the damage and pain he'd clumsily dealt himself was within his power to overcome. He didn't realize before that he had been whimpering, but he quieted now, meeting his cauldron-sprite of a sister's lighthouse eyes.

Though of a softer shade, he found himself noticing for the first time that her eyes reminded him of their mother's... her mother's.

He recalled this fact without any bitterness, having only needed to be reassured once that he was just as special to Caiaphas as her own blood; and as he had no evidence to make the presumption otherwise, he had no worries about it. This, coupled with the fact that her "affections" seemed dictated by the other's ability and usefulness anyway, made him less concerned that he wasn't seen as important as her natural-born daughter, and more concerned that he would under-perform and therefore potentially disappoint the only wolf he presently wanted to impress.

A bloody mouth wouldn't do— but Raleska made him feel better about it. He licked her back, bloody mouth and all, and huffed as their game ended with his mouth throbbing and his sister standing as the (unfair) victor.

1 more from you to fade?
what's a little sweetheart like you
doing with a bloody nose?
576 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#11
NO!

Raleska's actions, particularly towards Svalinn, wouldn't always be so kind. Today was different - she had no idea of the wolf she would grow into, and therefore, had no idea of the cruelty she was capable of: but she did know Svalinn was upset, and an old instinct stirred its head in her. She might not ever be maternal, but she comforted him just the same, sneezing her disapproval as he returned her prim lick with an all-together unsavory and sloppy lick of his own.

Wiping the blood from her muzzle she grinned, and then flounced on the floor limp as a dog. Her tail beat small percussive raps into the earth, but she didn't stir any further. After such a vigorous play (and blood was drawn! Mother would be so proud!) it was time to sleep.
all of which makes me anxious,
at times unbearably so.