Moonspear the puppet show

Two other participants welcome. Takes place at the rendezvous site.

The little raindrop wasn't so little anymore, although she would likely continue to refer to herself as such. While her brother spoke, she remained silent. She listened, of course, even if they did not know it. Sialuk soaked up everything everybody said, but she was still digesting it. She was still trying to figure it all out. Language was so complicated and her young brain hadn't quite figured out how it was going to approach it yet, so it simply had not. She barked, yipped, and howled when appropriate, meaning she did not lack the appropriate vocal cords. It was the words and the babbling she had never picked up on.

Skies above were pouring down rain, and the child blinked at it from under a small patch of trees on the edge of the rendezvous site. Her parents and Saviguk were likely around somewhere, although she could not spot them right now. The torrential rains weren't helping matters. She shifted closer to the truck of the tree where she sat, trying to keep herself as much out of the rain as possible.

Caelum, meanwhile, walked straight through the rain. It had been light at first, but it got harder and harder and slowly it was beginning to soak through his fur. He hadn't realised it, not before; experience taught him that he could withstand the rain... At first. With a grunt the black boy realised that he was starting to get wet on his skin, a sensation that he didn't remember having before. He saw a tree in the distance, and decided that he would go there for some shelter.

Upon arrival at the tree, Caelum saw there was another there; one of his relatives. He noticed this very late because he was not looking for someone else -- probably far past when Sialuk noticed his approach -- though Caelum did not show his surprise very much, his face stoic and calm. He chuffed in greeting, even though by that time he was maybe two meters away from Sialuk -- an automatic response, and the only off thing that might betray that he was startled at all.

One of Hydra's children approached, and Sialuk tensed reflexively. Mira had been out for blood when they'd met, and she assumed that all of her cousins were the same in that regard. However, when he merely chuffed at her, Sialuk let herself relax a bit more, although who knew what he would do next? Maybe he was just doing that so she would let her guard down. With that thought, Sialuk resolved that she would relax, but she would be ready to fight him if she needed to.

Blinking away another raindrop that fell on her eyelashes, she wondered if he would speak. Maybe not. Would that make it easier or more difficult? Sialuk honestly didn't know. Her parents and brother talked to her regularly, and she'd met Osiris briefly, but this felt different. Neither of her parents were in the immediate vicinity to help her along the way.

If he couoldn't do patrols, and wasn't quite ship-shape for hunting either, Bronco decided he might take a trip to the Rendez-vous site for the first time, feeling now that since he was an established member of the pack, he'd be welcome there. He'd waited for a bit- and had spent time meeting other pack members in preparation for the day when he would eventually start meeting the youth of the pack, so that he didn't risk invoking the ire of any propective parents who didn't know who the bourbon-eyed yearling was yet. 

Hoping to catch some of the kids at play, he brought a stick with him- one that'd washed up on the bank of the stream, and had been stripped completely of its bark so that it was nice and smoothe to the touch. Somewhat waterlogged still- but at least that meant less splinters, if the pups chose to chew on it. And if no one was there, he decided he'd do what he could to find other fun, chewable things for the kids- and simply decorate the Rendez-vous site with child-friendly chewtoys. 

It was perhaps a surprise that he'd have to plan for later, though, given the fact that there were two children currently inhabiting the safe, sheltered area. If he had to make a guess, he would've assumed that the two were not littermates, though they were close in age...From what he could tell there was a sort of 'first meeting' wariness between the two of them, and he assumed due to their colouring and build that the pale one might belong to Kukutux, and the dark one would likely be one of Hydra's. 

He didn't want to interrupt their meeting, but he strode casually into the clearing with the stick held high- swinging it about slightly, just to catch their attention. There was a droll smile to his lips as he gave each of the pups a cheeky side-eye before he flopped down to the ground, and began to noisily chew on the stick, making hapy little grunts of satisfaction as his teeth crunched through the wood.

Though alike Mira in coloration, Caelum's body remained neutral as he approached and landed himself underneath the protection of the trees. He looked out at the weather in silence as he squished close to his cousin -- a bit too close for comfort, perhaps, though Caelum himself did not seem discomforted by the physical closeness, or aware of it at all -- and said nothing, almost as if she wasn't there at all. He shivered lightly and pressed a bit closer to his personal heater as he realised that it was warmer (for him, at least) to be closer, all the way saying nothing, eyes outward.

After a small while an adult strode onto the clearing in front of their hiding place. He did seem to notice them right away, and he was swinging a stick. Caelum merely observed for a moment as he remained close to his cousin for the warmth. He stood looking in interest for maybe thirty seconds (or however long until Sialuk was interested; in that case he would immediately catch on and try to beat her to the stick) as his interest in the stick grew and he forgot how cold he was. Then Caelum burst forward from the shelter and started towards the stick, fully intending to grab it and wrestle the adult for it.

She tensed as her cousin drew in close (really close, in fact), but she relaxed once again when she felt he meant no harm. There was something pleasant about being close to somebody, and she likened it to being close to her parents and brother back in the den. And yet... it was decidedly different. She did not know his name, but he was part of her pack. That much she could sniff out on her own.

Sialuk blinked when the other, even older wolf arrived, chewing loudly on a stick. She did not know him, either, but she watched intently as he snapped the stick into smaller pieces. The warm wolf bolted forward for the stick, and Sialuk felt a sense of loss that he was gone from her side. It had been comforting. She stayed where she was, content to watch them fight over the stick while she observed.

Bronco's attention was focused mainly on the stick he was chewing, purposefully crunching through it as loudly as he possibly could so that he could entire the two kids out from under the tree they huddled beneath. They looked a bit chilly, pressed together there, but he figured if he could get them engaged they'd forget how cold and miserable the rain was and come out to play with him. They'd have to learn eventually that movement meant warmth- winter would be upon them before long, and they'd have a whole new concept of what it meant to be cold and miserable. 

He could feel the stare he was being given by the kids, who regarded the stick with envy, and he was surprised when the darker child burst forth from his hiding spot, making a beeline for the stick that Bronco was chewing on. He grinned, but kept his grip on the stick, lifting it up so that it was just within reach, and so that he could use his height and weight to more or less drag the kid around. He uttered a soft, inviting growl and crouched, giving a tug on the stick to see how much gumption the boy had, his tail waving in a friendly sway behind him.

He paid his cousin little mind as he left, fully expecting her to join the stick fighting fun. She was forgotten the moment Caelum entered the arena. He lunged for the stick but it was pulled up. However, it was just within reach, and Caelum managed to grab the end of it, thinking himself quite the superstar for managing to grab it nonetheless.

The idea sort of backfired as he was easily dragged around by the stronger, bigger adult and at Bronco's tug, a low growl sounded in Caelum's throat as he dug his paws into the earth and pulled back with his full might -- which, of course, wasn't near enough to take the stick from an adult.

Sialuk watched intently, although she had no desire to join the game of tug o' war. Her cousin grabbed the stick, but Bronco did not let go of it. In fact, Bronco proceeded to drag her cousin by the stick, making for a rather amusing watching party. Sialuk found herself enjoying the show, her ears pricked forward as she silently urged them on. Who would end up with the stick in the end? Surely Bronco was stronger, but perhaps her cousin had a plan in mind.

It would've been easy enough for Bronco just to drag the dark boy around without having to put too much energy into the game- but he figured it wouldn't be terribly gratifying for Caelum if he did that. So, when the boy squared up his stance and pulled back on the stick, Bronco shifted forward with a growl, as though drawn by a forceful tug. There was a give and take to a game like this- so once he'd adjusted his grip on the stick, he gave another playful growl, and jerked it backwards, hoping to gain back the bit of ground he'd just lost.

When he managed to tug the stick away from Bronco for a bit Caelum visibly swelled in his stance, proud and happy that he would be able to do such a thing. When Bronco pulled again, Caelum held on tight, a growl sounding in his throat much like the one Bronco had given before, as he was pulled forward across the dirt back to his former position. Caelum didn't seem to have much of a plan; he just tugged, and anyone watching with a keen eye might notice that he was copying a lot of what he saw in Bronco.

Sialuk was certain that Bronco would win this round, but instead, he continued to give and take, seemingly uninterested in actually acquiring the stick for himself. The raindrop found this odd, watching from the outside. Then again, play was about learning what to do as they grew older, so maybe he was teaching her cousin something. The growling between the two continued, and Sialuk continued to sit on the sidelines, tensing her muscles when there was a particularly ferocious growl. Observation was one of many ways of learning, she found.

If there was another thing Bronco could teach the young boy, it was how to literally shake off a competitor. It was a skill used in brawls over food, and also as a technique to get rid of someone who might've caught hold during a fight. So, once the stick became still for a moment or two, he gave Caelum a soft grown as a warning- and then began shaking the stick from side to side, to try and dislodge the young boy that way.

The stick was still but for a moment before his opponent started to growl and then shook like never before. Caelum tried to shake back, but he was both smaller and his opponent had more momentum than him. His efforts thwarted, Caelum simply held on as firmly as he could... Until he eventually lost grip at the edge of a shake and was catapulted into a nearby shrubbery with an oomph.

When Bronco began to shake his opponent, Sialuk tensed, nearly stepping forward as Caelum was thrown into a nearby bush. Her jaw clenched, and she worried that he may have been hurt, but she did not interfere just yet. The raindrop did not want to appear overeager, and she certainly didn't want to get in the way of whatever lessons her cousin was learning from Bronco. And if he was hurt, she would go find Kukumama and have her help.

"Whoops!" Bronco let go of the stick, dropping it to the ground as soon as he realized he'd accidentally shaken the stick too hard, sending the kid tumbling into a bush. He laughed softly, assuming that the kid was alright- though he didn't know his own strength well enough to know if he'd actually launched the kid too hard- and strode toward the bush with Sialuk to have a look. "It's alright," He said to her, reassuringly. 

But this, too, could be turned into a game. So he hunkered down near the bush, and began to bait the child. "Heeeeey kiddo, where aaaaaare you?" He called enticingly, trying to gaze through the bush and making himself perfectly available for a tackle, should the child come running out.

Caelum's world tumbled upside down, but he quickly straightened himself into laying position and shook his head; he wasn't hurt. He heard a laugh, he thought, and he heard Bronco say it's alright to presumably his cousin. Caelum got up, causing the shrubbery he fell into to rustle a bit but not show himself yet. His small ears perked up when he heard Bronco call where he was.

It didn't instantly connect to Caelum that this was a game, because he wasn't very good at reading tone. So instead of answering, he chuffed with a Here! and his head popped up from the bushes he'd fallen into, some leaves and twigs comically sticking to his fur.

Sialuk out! Thanks for having me. <3

Her cousin appeared unhurt, and Sialuk relaxed. Satisfied that the two of them would be fine on their own (and feeling her stomach growl), she slipped away and left them to their play fighting without a word. There was no feeling of neglect from either of them, but she was hungry, and neither of them were likely to provide her with a fix for that.

This is a wee bit out-of-date now, heh; for timeline's sake, I'll tidy this up and put wee ending on it.

Bronco leapt back in surprise when Caelum burst forth from the bush unharmed, causing the playful puppysitter to laugh. Sialuk wandered off quietly, the very silent child choosing to perhaps find a peaceful place to rest or a bite of food to eat, while the two boys continued to play, chase, and quarrel over the stick until they were both thoroughly tired out.