Ouroboros Spine hallelujah

everyone here seemed to be hunters, and so chickadee applied herself with small game. she hunted around the edge of the lake and up to the tree called firemother. after that, she took a break, napping in the copse before trekking back up to where the ulax stood.
ulaq was one of the few words she had learned, but chickadee knew she'd pick up more. for now, she wandered up toward moonwoman's domain, looking around for anyone new.

Massaraq was enjoying the outside world, playing at the edge of where the ulaq was. He found the entire outside fascinating, there were interesting things within the dens as well but the outside was continually surprising him. And as his horizons expanded so too he met new wolves, at first the adults he had known best were his parents @Aiolos and @Kukutux, but then he had met others. But there was an intruder, someone he had not seen before. Surprise was an important element of an attack and he was defending his home. So Massaraq did his best to sneak up on this wolf, approaching from the edges of the clearing, unaware of his gait which was not quiet and quite obvious white-tipped ruff and back which stood out against the colors of spring. When he got close enough he let out as loud of a growl as he could and pounced at the stranger. "Who are you?!" He demanded upon reaching his target.

tags for reference

heda spooked a bit, jumping sideways and turning in quick surprise.
ah. right. there were like hundreds of kids here. "hi, massaraq," she said, trying his name slowly. kukutux had told her the names of the four born to her home, or hearth, but this was their first time meeting.
"i'm a friend. pack. moonglow?" she tried again, trying not to laugh at herself.

Massaraq stared up as the wolf startled to the side. His attack had been successful and obviously he was most fearsome if a wolf much bigger than him actually moved away from his pounce. Feeling very confident in himself he kept his gaze fixed on her face as she responded to his query. This wolf did not seem very sure, and though in a way she had answered what she was, at least in relation to him - another member of Moonglow, a friend (although he had never met her so how she was a friend he did not know), a part of the pack - she had not given her name, but she knew him.

Narrowing his eyes he rested back on his haunches so he could better see her. Though his expression was skeptical he had never truly been lied to by an adult, at least no lies that he had figured out, so he took her words at face value. "Who are you? Name?" He emphasized the first word, who, feeling that he had not received an answer that he would accept yet. Then the deluge of questions poured forth. "How are you friend? Did we meet? Are you friends with anaa?" But even if she was friends with Kukutux or any of his brothers or sisters or the rest of his family that did not mean they were friends. Massaraq felt very strongly that he had not yet made up his mind about this wolf. Even if she did have nice green eyes that reminded him of his mother.

Leaning forward he gave a tentative sniff but that did not help him at all. While there might be a few scents that an older and more experienced wolf could have picked up as familiar to the young pup they were all a jumble.

damn he was persistent, so the yearling sat down and opened her paws as if to assure the boy she was no threat. "i'm chickadee. kivaluk brought me here. i'm new. yes, i'm friends with — well, i know your anaa. she and your dad said i could stay. we haven't met, but your mom told me your names."
her tail beat out a little staccato drumming against the ground; in spite of herself and her unsurety around kids, massaraq was certainly very cute. "what are you doing today? can i help?"

Massaraq did his best to repeat her name. Sounding out the syllables, but there seemed to be a lot, as many as his sister had. "Chick-aaaaa-dee." For some reason it sounded familiar. Maybe it was a name that his mother had said before. He became excited at the mention of Kivaluk, feeling the need to explain their other mutual connection. "Kivaluk's my brother - but he's much bigger than me because he's older. Why did he bring you here? Did you not want to come? Where were you before?" It did not make sense, was she exploring too? But then why would be staying? Did she like or not like where she was before, or was she from nowhere and somewhere was better than nowhere.

But when she asked what he was up to he puffed up his chest proudly. "I'm defending the ulaq, but if anaa says you can stay I won't chase you off." He conceded, nodding his head sagely. After all she was hardly an intruder if she was a guest of his parents. Even if he had not seen her before. Realizing that he could not chase her very far even if he wanted to he added mullishly. "I can't go very far without an adult anyways." Even though it had only been a short while that he had been allowed out to the clearing it still felt like he wanted to explore further and further.

little massaraq kept up with his barrage of questions! she grinned when he tried out her name, then nodded. kivaluk was brother through marriage to these four, though she noted that massaraq did not make such a delineation, and only called the firsthunter his sibling. "you're a very good guardian," she chose to compliment. "maybe if your anaa says it's okay, we can go to the lake sometime. i like it there."
she paused. "well, i was out exploring the world with a friend. i left home to do it. but we got separated and we were hungry, and there was a big storm," chickadee rambled. "that's when kivaluk found me. he's very nice," she added, a flush climbing her cheeks.

His chest puffed up proudly and he smiled at the compliment. When she mentioned the lake Massaraq's body wriggled excitedly at the idea of going to a new place. He had heard of the lake before but he did not really understand what it was. "oooh yes yes!" Unable to contain his curiosity he yipped. "What is a lake? What is it like? Why do you like it?" His tail wagged excitedly and he wondered when he could ask his anaa. Maybe that night? Maybe later? A part of him wanted to invite all his siblings, but another part of him wanted to see the place himself and explore its secrets without too much distracion.

Nodding and approving of her description of his brother he grinned. "Kivaluk is nice. I hope you find your friend again. Maybe if the storm comes again you can ask it where your friend is. Do you think your friend would like it here?" He had no idea why anyone would not like it in Moonglow, but then again he did not know this friend Chickadee spoke of.

"a lake is a big um, like a big circle of water. it's deep and cold, and it has ducks on it and fish inside it. your mom calls it anik lake." she grinned. "she said it means brother. so i guess it's really called 'brother lake.'"
she hummed for a minute. "i like to go there because it's a nice place to sit and think about things." massaraq suggested she ask the storm, and chickadee grinned. "do storms talk? well. then i'll ask. and yeah, i do. he was looking for a new home."
the same way she had been looking for ani. her gaze grew pensive.

Massaraq listened intently, surprisingly quiet and patient int he explanation. He absorbed all of the description eagerly. Fish he thought he knew what those were, but he had never seen a duck before, except for his anaa. Shrugging his shoulder, he had never talked to storms, but he had heard them before and they sounded very loud. "Storms grumble." His own brother sometimes grumbled too if not as loud as the storm. Thinking on that he wondered if the lake helped Chickadee think. Maybe she talked to the lake. "If the lake is like water does it grumble too?" Rolling around the name in his mouth he wagged his tail, excitedly. "Anik Lake. Can we ask anaa now?" There was bright excitement in his eyes. He was sure that Kukutux was around somewhere....maybe?

Sorry for the wait I'm graduating this week and have school/family busy-ness so replies will probably be slow!

no worries at all! take ur time <33 and congrats!! gonna PP kuku here, we can continue to the lake in this thread or have another!

chickadee laughed a little. "i guess we'll have to go and see!" she stood up shook out her ruff. "come on. let's go find her."
the moon woman was not far from where massaraq had left her. chickadee spoke of what the boy wanted, glancing over to him as kukutux did the same.
gaining permission for a short visit, she glimmered back at the child. "okay! we can go! but we can't stay for too long, all right?"

Massaraq followed excitedly, bounding along. When Kukutux offered her approval he grinned widely, he was going to see more of the world. Chickadee said they could not stay long, but even if he only got to see the lake that would be more than yesterday. Granted Massaraq wanted to do much more than that. "okay okay!" He let out loudly. To both his anaa and Chickadee he let out an exclamation. "Thank you." He began bounding ahead and coming back, he did not know the direction of the lake but his legs refused to be still at the prospect of exploration. Even as they left camp he began seeing unfamiliar territory.

he frisked along beside her, and chickadee couldnt help a grin. "look! there's a girl, massaraq. and over there, rabbit poop!" the iota found she was thrilled to be given this responsibility, and as the boy explored, she kept diligent watch over him.
they would stay out a grand total of twenty minutes, enough to splash in the water and get covered in mud — both of them. and then chickadee would challenge him to a race, returning him to kukutux who exclaimed over their filthiness but was pleased and proud, to see her son so brave.