Lost Creek Hollow when the neighbors shout, turn it up some more
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Ooc — Kat
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#1
All Welcome 
Bat didn't consider herself a proper member of the pack; she was more of a freelancer or hireling. Accordingly, she slept near the borders and didn't venture too deep into the territory or for too long. Mostly, she hunted near the fringes or just outside them, then ventured across to make her deposits only to head out again.

After a few days, the loneliness hit her. She really missed @Tegan and wondered if he was back home, quietly seething at her... or possibly convincing himself he really didn't care. But Bat couldn't dwell on him. She'd somehow gotten over her crush, now she just needed to work on developing new friendships and hobbies outside of her favorite Blackthorn. There was more to Bat than being Tegan's sidepiece.

From somewhere near the northern outskirts of the hollow, Bat raised her head and howled, asking if anyone needed a hand with anything. She was happy to be of service, especially if it included having some company.
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#2


Ibis heard someone calling at the edge of the territory (not knowing it was the edge; she wasn't very good at this stuff), and as it wasn't too far from her chosen clover field, she thought she'd take a chance and go investigate. Along the way she was distracted by some shafts of light passing through the trees, but she eventually wisened up enough to reach the spot the stranger waited. The act of meeting strangers on the borders was always a job for an adult - she was feeling particularly bold at the moment, vivified by a mix of curiosity and anxiety.

As soon as she noticed the stranger she thought: 'Wow, what big ears they have!' and her gaze was fixed to them on her approach. After a second or two she realized she hadn't said anything, so she awkwardly blurted, Um, hi. Your voice was pretty so I thought I'd come -- um, and say hi. Hello! Her little tail whipped behind her, oblivious to how vapid she sounded. Ibis was happy to see someone around her own age - and a lady! Or, she looked -- she was a girl, right? Oh, it would be rude to ask.
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#3
A pale, svelte figure materialized a few moments later and Bat beamed at the new arrival, pleased that someone had answered her call. "Hey!" she greeted, oblivious to the other girl's awkwardness. "My voice?" she queried, head tilting slightly. She'd never received that particular compliment, though she would take it. "Hey, thanks. I'm Bat. What's your name? And how can I be of service?" she added with a playful flourish of her paw.
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The stranger seemed taken aback by her compliment, which Ibis read as modesty and found appealing; she smiled and her tail swayed behind her, believing she had made a fast friend. It was nice to have friends. Having left all of her friends back at Elysium, little Ibis was sad with their absence. Granted that her only true friend was her own brother - but she wouldn't think of him now, or she'd really lose herself to her emotions.

The wolf introduced themselves as Bat which was a cute name; but she didn't know what a bat actually was, so that's all it was. A name. The big ears on her new friend were of interest to her for all of two seconds, and she never would make the connection between this girl and their namesake — oh well.

Ibis nodded when they spoke. I'm Ibis, she cheerfully responded, but then paused, because she didn't know what Bat meant by her next statement - the little flourish made her smile though. Was it like a game? Service? I don't need anything -- unless you wanna play a game. Or maybe help me find some presents for my -- she almost said mom, but Treason wasn't that.

Cue an awkward little pause. For my little brothers and sisters -- they'll be here soon! That was better; as weird as it was to consider her dad having more kids with someone that wasn't her own mother, it was nice to think that she wouldn't be the only kid for long.
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#5
Ibis introduced herself. She seemed a little confused by Bat's offer, though she threw out a few leads. Bat's tail waved as the other girl's words stirred a few different thoughts and feelings.

"Oh, that's exciting. I have little sibs on the way too," she said, ignoring the jab of guilt over leaving just in time to miss their birth. Maybe they were here already? She would find out when she went back, not far from now.

"How many mothers are in this pack?" she wondered next, thinking of the she-wolf who had aggressively chased her away the other day. She'd already had her litter, so that meant there were at least two...

Anyway, "I'd love to help find some gifts for mom and babies!" Even though it hadn't been particularly pleasant getting snarled at by the one mother, that didn't stop Bat from wanting to contribute to the mothers and their pups.
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The thought of having more kids around was exciting but Ibis wasn't sure how she felt about them being half-related to her, and didn't respond to Bat's commentary until she heard something about many mothers. Ibis wasn't exactly up to speed on the realm her father ruled, but if she had met another woman set to have kids — maybe that was another wife of her father? Maybe he had a whole bunch of them and was just keeping them secret! Ibis opened her mouth to say something but found her voice had fled, and it was fine that it did - Bat moved on rather quickly, and Ibis was left to catch up.

I'd love to help find some gifts for mom and babies! She said.
But how many moms, how many babies?
Oh, okay! Lets --- I, um, Ibis wasn't sure where to start and she was still flummoxed by her thoughts.

I brought them flowers for the den but dad said other things would be good too. I dunno what else is good? What do moms need? They could probably find toys for when the kids were older; maybe food, but the adults always had that covered...
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Ibis didn't answer her question, which gave Bat pause momentary. Then she inwardly shrugged and moved on with her life. Her new acquaintance wasn't sure what types of gifts new mothers might find helpful. Bat wasn't an expert but she had some ideas.

"Food. Nesting materials. Maybe toys," she suggested. "If we hunt something like a rabbit, we could cover all the bases: we could skin it and offer the hide as a blanket, then of course there's the meat for eating and the bones for chewing."
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Hunting? That wasn't part of her repetoire. Maybe because she had grown up with a bunch of hippie-dippie pacifists, or more than likely she just hadn't had the need to hunt with so many adults around to do it for her. She never wondered where her own food came from and that was definitely a problem she'd have to confront later in life. Or maybe today, depending on what they gathered together.

Nesting? Like — like birds nests? Ibis frowned. She didn't want to take any nesting material from the cute birds in the area just for Treason; that would take a lot of nests! What did wolves need nests for anyway? But toys would be good. I had a toy when I was really little, she meant when she was much younger obviously since she would always be one of the smallest wolves on record, oops, but I found it when I was diggin' one day. I dunno what we could find now. I'm... I'm too new to this place, and I don't think a pile of sticks would be a good thing to give as a gift. It was the only thing she could think of.

That left the last option - hunting. But the concept of animal skin was too strange, so she didn't even bring it up.
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#9
"Same concept, yeah," replied Bat. But Ibis seemed more interested in collecting items to be used as toys. She (Ibis) wasn't sure where to start, though that's exactly why she (Bat) was here: she wanted to help!

"I've got some ideas. Come on, follow me," she invited, waving a white-cuffed foreleg in the air. "Even stuff that seems boring—like sticks—can actually make good toys," she added as they began to walk, "but I'd love to try to find something more unique, like..." Bat tilted her head as she tried to come up with an example. "...a turtle shell, for instance!"
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Sorry for the hold-up! I'll squish on a quickie.


The girl had so many ideas for her but Ibis was mostly curious about that last one, which sounded exotic and special (mostly because she had no idea what it was). Her ears flipped forwards like little radar discs at the mention of the - Turtle shell? Maybe it was some kind of special flower? No, that didn't seem right... Can we get a few of them? So the babies don't have to fight if they like the toy. The last thing she wanted to do was gift something to the new mother and have it blow back in her face; not that she was doing it to try and earn favor with Treason, but... Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. They weren't exactly friends, just awkward allies who both loved her dad. Where do we find those?
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#11
I'ma wrap! :D

Bat bobbed her head, unaware that the question wasn't meant rhetorically. "Yeah," she replied, then pressed her lips together at the next question. Finding even one was going to be tough, much less more than one. "Possibly!" she said, deciding to go the optimistic route. "If we can't find any, we'll come up with something else. We won't leave those pups wanting for any playthings. Promise."

Ibis wanted to know where to go about finding these objects. "Follow me," Bat repeated with her most winsome grin, waving a paw and then pivoting to lead the way on this quest. As she went, she couldn't help but observe how happy she felt, helping others out like this. There was nothing personal at stake, yet somehow it was so fulfilling. She made a note of it for the future.