Lost Creek Hollow We will stare at the stars and think what life could be
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#1
All Welcome 
Slowly, Gannet was learning. And his world was changed when he'd broadened his horizon on where that learning could come from.

The first was an accident. A downed bird could have made an easy meal, but instead, Gannet watched it. He looked at the plants it browsed, the seeds it was seeking, and after a time he remained back but spoke. Frightened and unable to fly away, it had taken some time, but eventually the bird realized he was no threat. It had then shared what it knew of pain relieving remedies. The application... and the dangers.

The second was more by design. Gannet caught a piece of prey and waited with it, watching a burrow just outside their claim. Before long a long, silvery snout appeared... an old badger. The wolf had offered a trade, and through him learned remedies for nausea, for infection, and for other pains.

Some perhaps would not translate, but it was knowledge he hadn't known before and now held closely. Perhaps it was strange to seek wisdom from those he otherwise might have just eaten, or fought, or chased away. But it would become a practice now.... a part of the oddness that was him. There was no knowledge he would not take, and no source he would not accept it from.

He was telling @Ashlar about the badger, and how large it had been. At first it was mad, but the trade was enough. I think he liked telling. Some creatures did like telling, he found. It made them feel important to know and to share.

Gannet stretched, and smiled at Ashlar. Have you made any new friends?

aw also, anyone can drop in
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
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Ashlar listened with vivid attention as Gannet described his meeting with the badger, and his little eyes widened as he imagined how big and scary it was.  Not for Gannet, of course, but compared to Ashlar himself.  There wasn't anything that was too big or too bad for he or for momma.

Bajur big n teef. He was slowly learning to talk in complete thoughts, but his little mouth had yet to fully realize how to form words exactly right.  He bared his teeth to demonstrate and gave a little growl.

He had made friends!  Ashlar wriggled and nodded with a cheerful beaming smile.  Sina! Wif wadda!  He slapped his paws like they had when they played, then spun a little circle before he stared up at Gannet again.
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#3
The way Ashlar saw and described the world, simple and wonderful, appealed to Gannet immensely. He shook a bit with a small, silent laugh as Ashlar growled at him in a fair approximation of a grumpy badger. Big teeth, he answered, nodding. When you are big maybe you can meet one. But not when you are small. He did not talk down to him, but stated as it was, as usual.

Sina? It took him a moment to know what he had said, but he sorted it. One of Liffey's pups. Unaware of her enmity towards him (luckily), he was simply glad Ashlar was making friends. If he'd known... well. He didn't.

Water like with mom? he asked, a little alarmed to think that the puppy might have found the creek alone. It was highly unlikely, especially since Liffey's weren't quite old enough to go so far. But he felt his fear quicken as he remembered being forced along beneath the surface of the ice.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
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Biiig.  Big, big, big... He began to sing it quietly as Gannet continued to talk.  It was a good word.

He did not stop until Gannet asked him a question, and the slight tone that he had behind it made the boy duck his head questioningly.  Did he do something wrong?  Sina n wadda.  Not momma.  He explained with a little stamp of his paw, and his own voice rose a bit defensively at the end.

Wadda n Sina n spshhh.  Baba spshhh?  Ashlar looked at Gannet hopefully.
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#5
Gannet's desire for more details being thwarted was poetically funny; it was too bad that he didn't draw the connection. Ashlar apparently did not understand that he was asking about the river. He instead just reiterated what he had essentially said before.

The pale wolf was still ill at ease at the idea of Ashlar being by the water, but he couldn't help but smile as the pup referred to him by what was apparently the title he'd been given. Baba doesn't, he said softly, thinking of the rushing water and feeling a shiver down the length of his spine.

Well, that was enough of that anyway. Enough talk too. Gannet nipped at Ashlar's ear and then sprang to his feet, hopping back a step to duck into a bow. Time for a game instead.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
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Ashlar sensed a whiff of Baba's mood change but before he could truly register that Gannet was upset, that whiff had disappated.  They played often like this and Ashlar immediately responded with a yell.  The pup's bright golden eyes caught Gannet's for a moment as he crouched and spun, and his little tail kicked out like a flagstaff as he took off running.

It was hard to laugh and run but somehow Ashlar usually managed it.  His childish giggles pealed out as he zigged and zagged.  He could not let Baba catch him.  He did not like being "it" very much.
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Instead of wrestling, Ashlar introduced a different game, and Gannet ran after him with exaggerated enthusiasm. His stiff leg made running at a stilted pace a bit awkward, surprisingly, but he managed it for the sake of the game and the fun.

Better run fast, he challenged, but as he did he circled to ensure the pup would remain in the confines of the clearing. It wouldn't do to have him stumble somewhere he should not.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
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As baba's challenge met his ears, Ashlar squealed with delight in response, and he did not stop.  Fortunately Gannet allowed him a lead for a time because alone there was no way his small legs could outpace the adult.

They played that way for a time until eventually Ashlar tired himself out.  When that time came he flopped down and cuddled close to Gannet for a wonderful and well deserved nap.