Wapun Meadow [BWP] love is kind of crazy with a spooky little boy like you

BWP Post! Written by Lauren.

The rain that had been ransacking the valley the last two weeks had built up to the point Wapun was a floodland. Rivulets of water poured down from nearby vales and peaks, drawing with it the migration of those swept underfoot. Drowned earthworms. Stilled hares. The floating corpses of many woodchucks and marmots.

On the sluggish waters coursed, moving in a grim line towards Wapun's southern exit. The drowned bodies soldiered somberly on, silent save for the novel chorus of hundreds of frogs who now called Wapun home.

into the field of frogs comes a red menace, running haphazardly over the soggy ground and sending the squat creatures hopping away in all directions. Avicus had initially come to try and spot that indigo-eyed man, so much the twin of her mother, and had found a treasure trove instead. she gawks at the sodden corpses, at the bounding green creatures.

she knows it has been raining, but this—this!—is quite different from what she'd experienced when Ursus had gone to meet the other group of wolves here recently.

ignoring, for now, the scolding she'll get from leaving the valley without word, she sends up a howl for @Astara and @Aventus and @Merrick, and anyone else who might be interested in a bite to eat (and why wouldn't they be?!). then she seizes the still body of a squirrel floating in a puddle and runs off with it in an ungainly trot. it hangs limp and heavy from her jaws and tugs at her head until she stops and deposits it onto a dry-ish patch of ground.

there, she feasts. and as she eats, her eyes wander, already searching for more.

wapun meadow had, over the years, been an oft-frequented place for the blackbird -- yet never had it been so deeply underwater.

astara had noticed the ground at bearclaw's entrance was sodden; the longer she walked, the deeper the water appeared -- until at last she was wading pastern-high, and the ground under her feed responded to each trespass with little squish-shquelch-sqhisshh noises as she went.

tracking her daughter was impossible given the massive puddle that was wapun, but astara at last heard her daughter's howl. honing in on her russet daughter, astara watched for a moment as avicus seized a bloated squirrel and crawls to semi-dry ground, eating with a greedy gusto that had astara's muzzle upturn in a grin.

she had paid no heed so far to the frogs that parted from her path like dark ribbiting waves, but now, seeing the game and the opportunity it presented for her daughter, astara unfurled her fangs and lunged into the crowd with a grin.

she indeed polishes off the squirrel with gusto, licking the blood from her chops and lifting her head. oh, and there was her mother! Avicus lowers herself, tail tucking slightly, prepared for a rebuke. but Astara instead leaps into the hunt, going after the plump green creatures that are now in abundance here.

okay. . .perhaps the punishment would come later. for now, it seems she is in the clear.

the red girl exhales, relieved, through her nostrils, and leaves what's left of the squirrel to scavengers. she then mimics Astara, eyes locked upon a frog. it croaks once, twice, then hops away, maybe startled by a single flick of her tail.

she pursues, bounding gleefully over the soggy earth. if she stops, the mud may suck her in; she keeps moving, keeps chasing, gaining on her quarry with each ungainly stride.

     Her paws began to shlopped through the water and mud of Wapun the moment she reached it. It was a ghost of its former glory, once a beautiful meadow, lush with flowers, now a glorified wetland. Sad really...

     Must have been all the rain that's been coming down ...

     Not like she hadn't noticed with the many times her fur been soaked, though that didn't stop her widening eyes from noticing the corpses floating around the water. Unfortunate casualties of the flooding yet a presenting All-you-can-eat. A blessing. With a tail wag, she rushed forward through the water to grabbed a hare, it was a bit waterlogged but that wasn't gonna stop her from devouring it. She was about to bite in when she heard a splash in the distance. She raised her head slightly to see a whelp —  around two-three months old — making their way through the water snatching up food as they go. She was about to say something about the younging being a little bit too far from the den until she looked further back to see an older black-furred wolf, eating as well.

     It didn't take a genius to put one in one together, a whelp meant a Pack. That she-wolf must be one of them. Would more come? This meadow wasn't Pack territory, she would have smelt it, but they could still just chase her off if they felt entitled to this mound of free food. It was several mouths against one. She won't get another chance to get food like this.

    Quickly, Aeliana started gathering as much food she felt her jaws could carry and stacking them in a place that was dry enough. She kept an eye on the two and forest beyond them just in case, ready to run. After a moment, she relaxed a bit before digging into one of the carcasses, tearing away fur and getting into the meat, blood dancing on her tongue. Her ears and eyes on alert for movement.

maybe astara should have chastised her girl for wandering, but astara's eyes were elsewhere.

on the bounty of endless meat.

avicus -- little red flame -- darted after one to her right. astara pursued, feeling a sensation along her spine of being watched.

she paused and little ripples shimmered in the water around her. nearby a giant lurked; at first astara's hackles rifled in alarm, but then she saw the beast was not focused on them.

much like the bearclaw family, this wolf had come for the harvest.

astara did not care much for wolves in wapun, but this beast was significantly larger than her, and she had avicus to protect. wary of the hulking she-wolf, astara casually made her way to the creature, interested in the small collection of meat the stranger had stockpiled.

from carcasses to giantess astara glanced, mindful of her daughter but waiting first for the stranger's move.

a flash of brown sends her ears aloft. not Astara. she thinks briefly of Jaylen but it's not him, either, but a stranger. a woman large as the mother her own dam had felled. she lets the frog go, standing in place, staring at the newcomer.

how dare she? this bounty had obviously been meant for Ursus, brought right outside their borders. 

she was a thief. stealing their food.

Avicus starts to growl, but makes no move yet, instead flashing her indigo gaze toward Astara. she, too, is watchful. the woman is substantially larger than either of them, and the girl hasn't the slightest idea how they would take her down. 

but shall they suffer in silence?!

     Aliana made no move; no advances, no retreat. She stayed over in her little patch of the flooded meadow, a decent distance from the two, and ate. Tearing chunks of waterlogged meat off of the Hare’s body, several bites later and it was turned into gristle and bones. 

     It was … okay.

     A freshly killed Hare would taste much, much better, but she won’t complain right now. Meat was meat; something filling her belly is better than nothing, and she wasn’t going to be picky. It wasn’t until she heard a growl that she lifted her head slightly. Aliana thought it was coming from the ebony she-wolf… but, no, it was coming from the pup. Both were watching her, carefully but it seemed like the female was approaching. 

     Aliana can only assume the pup was ‘throwing a fit’ over her presence, and felt entitled to the pickings that were scattered around the meadow. Pack Entitlement, she knew the feeling.  Food was being taken and eaten by some Stranger. She would feel the same way. Somewhat. 

      But Aliana pays the pup no mind. In fact, she goes ahead and snatches up another hare and a few woodchucks then goes back to the spot she settled on to eat her meals. 

     Was this meant to be a ‘brazen’ act to annoy the whelp further? Perhaps.

     A display a tiny bit of dominance in the situation? Maybe. 

     Aliana wasn't going to be downright aggressive. After all, there were more than enough carcasses to go around, but she definitely wasn't going to look like some pushover. She planned on eating her full — or at least full enough that she could go a day or two without hunger gnawing at her — then leave; just like that. Nothing more, nothing less. Whether the pup accepted this or not, wasn't her problem … but the she-wolf was. 

     Aliana glances at her, ❝ May I ... help you?❞ She spoke while calmly hovering over her pile of carcasses, a nonverbal gesture that said `These are mine`.

her daughter growled besides her -- astara gave her a quick look that suggested silence, then her ears turned back to the giantess who stood atop her hoard like smaug atop gold.

astara might have paid the amazon little mind besides unpleasant looks, were it not for the outright disrespect the beast showed her daughter, coupled with the body language that was passively hostile. 

that earned the bald and hateful stare of the blackbird, who then began to stride towards aliana pantherine and blood-mad. she skulked forward and circled in hyaenid interest. no doubt, if this pompous beast had as much sense in her as arrogance, she might recognize that she was in danger.

astara lunged for aliana's hip in determined silence, aiming to brand the disrespectful bitch with her teeth.

her growl is instantly quelled by her mother's glance. obedient, she remains silent, brows knitting together as the woman gathers still more prey. surely she doesn't need to take that much?! stealing, stealing. . . why isn't her mother doing anything about it?

she shoots an ugly glare toward the stranger at her words, but before she can act further, Astara is moving forward with purpose. finally, a response.

as the matriarch of Ursus lunges for Aliana's flesh, she darts the other way, low to the ground. in an act of stealth that would do her brother proud, she sinks her teeth into one of the woodchucks, intending to seize it from the pile and scamper away.

stupid thief.

Oh, she noticed the gaze on the she-wolf’s face. Fierce and baleful. A wolf ready to pounce, ready to attack. Aliana watched with a narrowed, watchful eye, standing her ground, watching the she-wolf while she circled like a hungry cougar. 

She can see it coming; she knows its coming. Aliana keeps talking in her general tone, friendly but this time it was lace with stern seriousness, ❝Don’t do t—❞ The she-wolf lunged! Not a word was uttered between them. Instead of a tongue lashing, yelling, cursing. The she-wolf lashed out with fangs, aimed to tear into her hip. To maim and mark her. To HURT her. 

HEL NO.

With a guttural snarl that rumbled like a stampeding herd, she leaped, jerking her hips away from the fangs just in time that it merely caught air. Water splashed and rippled violently around Aliana while she turned to face the aggressing black she-wolf. Ears low, fangs bared, fur and hackles bristling with irritation that seemingly added more to her size. If the she-wolf was a blackbird, Aliana would be the night sky, all-encompassing, vast, and with no end.

The wet, muddy earth was not great for fighting. One could lose footing easily; slipping, falling, all left openings for attacks. Getting injured, tussling with a pack wolf. All were asking for trouble. Not worth it.

Snatch and run, Aliana..

She kept her focus solely on the female so she notices not the pup sneak up to snatch one of her meals, Aliana only snorted indignantly. If the aggressive female goes to circle her again, she will follow suit, ready to leap out of the way or counter. ❝This neutral land and there’s more than enough food in this meadow for all of us. You know that — yet your pup acts like a greedy brat. ❞ She sneers slightly, ❝Didn’t your Pack teach them that `Sharing is Caring`?❞ Funny statement coming from her, she was fairly food aggressive herself, but if there was more than enough food to go around, she wasn't going to hog it. Either way, Aliana knows that she most likely pissed off she-wolf into attacking again...

And that's just what she wanted.

Rolled a 1D5 for the dodge of the attack and noticing Avicus sneak to steal.

Odd=Fail
Even=Success

Success on the dodge
Fail on the notice.

her daughter faithful as a shadow besides her. astara smiled as she lunged, blood soaring to new heights, pounding red staccato into her skull.

there was but only one night sky, and it was reigned by ursus.

the blackbird ignored the snarl and subsequent splattering of mud. her daughter skirted around the outside, nimbly pulling woodchuck from the hoard.

in that moment astara sprung forward again with snapping white teeth, more interested in distracting the beast than hitting her.

she leapt back again, ready to circle once more. so far, she was enjoying the game.

this is delightful. Avicus catches the curve of her mother's smile from the corner of her eye and is suffused with pride. she doesn't even bother to eat the woodchuck she's taken, merely flinging it away and going in for more. it's a game, a cat-and-mouse game. 

she feels incredibly clever for it.

the red girl uses whatever distraction Astara provides to dive in again, aiming for another woodchuck. her nose burrows into the small pile of food and she grasps it, yanking it back. her indigo gaze flashes toward the woman, cruelly cajoling. 

come and get me, her face suggested. but she wouldn't dare—not with the shadow's teeth at her flesh.

      For a moment, Aliana caught a glimpse of red fur in the corner of her eyes. Before she could truly identify it, the ebony she-wolf lunged at her again. Ivory fangs arching towards her for a bite. Sapphire eyes narrowed, she leaped out of the way again before the two circled one another. 

     And in their dance, Aliana took a brief moment to look down at her pile, noticing that it was dwindling. That gremlin, that greedy little brat was plucking food out of her pile and they weren’t even eating it. No, the brat was flinging them away with a smug look on their face, trying to entice her into chasing.

     Her anger boiled up like a bubbly lake of liquid fire. The extent of her patience only went so far; being harassed by a selfish brat and unjustly attacked by their aggressive mother whittle down that patience pretty fast. 

     The she-wolf lunged for another bite. Another dodge. 

     Time to end this dance.
     When the she-wolf leaped back, Aliana immediately charged forward, going off of the move she saw her father did in the past. She tucked her head close her chest, looking like a charging buck as she barreled through the water and mud at the she-wolf.

     One bound; she narrowed the distance between her and the she-wolf instantly.

     Second bound; a mass of dark fur and muscle harshly collides into the black wolfess’ side, knocking her away.

     Wet, muddy footing plus an abrupt shove. You do the math.

     Even if the black wolfess doesn’t slip and topple into the muck and water...

     Something Aliana very much hoped she did; she undoubtedly deserved a hearty laugh out of this before leaving.

     There would nonetheless be enough space between the both of them that she can hastily grab up her pile and leave.

     Aliana quickly turned back to her pile. And if the greedy wretch attempts to cheekily snatch another piece, the whelp would promptly earn a mock charge and a snarling snap of her jaws. She wasn’t going to attack the pup. A pup only becomes a brat through their raising; they were nothing more than a by-product of being raised by a pack of savages. 

     With a snort and her clipped tail held high, Aliana scoops up as much as her mouth could carry and instantly runs. A full-on tactical retreat into the assured safety of the woods in the distance. They probably took her running as cowardly. She didn't care, she got some food with her, that's what matters.

     She glances back at the two for a moment before rolling her eyes and looking away, not stopping.
Eat till that belly pops, spoiled brat.

cunning avicus kept busy as astara distracted the giantess. it seemed the melonii-redleaf blood ran strong in her daughter after all (though astara had never once questioned it).

when she sprung back from her attack, the amazon was heavily approaching. astara had little time to leap out of the way before she was plowed aside by a juggernaut. aliana's skull drove into her ribs, evincing a sharp gasp as the ribs revui had bruised revolted in stunning pain. astara landed in a roughshod heap, but was still upright -- gathering her limbs under her she lunged forward, aiming snaps at the retreating form of the mudflinging goliath.

she would not chase aliana very far, or for very long. so long as she was out of the meadow, she was out of astara's wrathful periphery. slowing down and nursing her side, astara turned to avicus with a fond wave of her tail. well done.

the pair gathered their fill in the meadow, making for home with shoulders and jaws heavy with their yield.