Swiftcurrent Creek Peanut butter and jealous

This morning, the recovered Relonikiv sat in the den's mouth, simply basking in the winter sunshine. He found that when he closed his eyes, the sun warmed his eyelids. It was pleasant. When he reopened them, he always had to squint against the bright glare. This little game kept him busy for a solid ten minutes and might have gone on a lot longer if a bright red cardinal hadn't suddenly landed on the ground perhaps ten feet from him.

The puppy immediately sat up a little straighter, then froze, watching as the little red bird hopped around in the snow. It kept dipping its beak, which the pup found fascinating. It also caused a stirring deep within him: the first true inklings of a predator. Relonikiv wanted to pounce on the pretty bird, catch it and play with it. On some even baser level, he also wanted to kill and eat it.

Tapping into these first hunting instincts, the youngster slid forward and began slinking toward the cardinal. Stealth was not his forte at this point in his young life, however, and he had hardly gone a foot when the bird took wing. Relonikiv abruptly bounced onto his feet and barked at it, then began to run with his head tipped skyward. With no real grasp on such concepts as space, he truly thought there was still a chance of capturing it, even when it rose higher and eventually disappeared.

The runty pup slowed, then stopped, still staring up at the bright blue winter sky. He pouted for a moment, then dropped his gaze to a more earthward level again. His pout faded into a curious expression when he failed to recognize his surroundings. Relonikiv swallowed and turned slowly in a circle. The den lay about one hundred yards over yonder, yet having never been anywhere near this far from it, he simply didn't recognize it even when he was looking right at it.

He felt a brief sense of panic, though two more birds—a pair of chickadees this time—flitted by overhead and Relonikiv's curiosity took precedence over his fear of being lost. Resuming his usual smile, the pup once more gave chase, running even further from his family's den and unknowingly making a beeline for the territory's namesake creek.

Dapper had done his best to fly under the radar after feasting upon Honey Badger; he knew it was likely that he would be hunted for that, or that word would spread and the inhabitants of the Wilds would be on high alert. But thus far, he had escaped unscathed, and the packs in the area seemed no more territorial than usual— and he typically avoided them anyway. Although the unexpected reunion with Supernova had momentarily brought back his conscience, it eventually lost the battle against hunger, and he reverted to his deranged ways.

He traveled away from the coast, exploring the lands on the other side of the mountain— perhaps that would be enough barrier against the plateau, and perhaps the north had yet to hear of the news... Dapper explored the wide plains of the valley for discarded carrion, and luck seemed to continue in his favor. The lands were flat and provided little shelter for prey, and he came across the discarded carcesses of several ungulates. The meat was old, but it would still strengthen him.

After spending the night in the sheltered crevices of the mountainside, Dapper moved northwards, following a river that flowed into lake— and was startled to see a small form just ahead, near its bend. He paused, tasting the air, ears going alert at the faint smell of wolves. A pack— but where were they, and why would they allow one of their young to wander so far on its own? His mind analyzed, worked through a multitude of options... drawing nearer meant certain death, but if he could lure the youth away...

His dull, grey eyes searched his immediate vicinity, and he found a squirrel's discarded tail. There were telltale signs that the squirrel had met its demise at the jaws of another predator, though fox or wolf it was difficult to say— but either way, the fluffy tail was mostly hair and no meat, thus not worthy of consumption. It was, however, an excellent toy.

And so Dapper made an excellent show of playing with the fluffy tail, batting and kicking it around, far enough away from the pack's edges that it was unlikely he would be chased away... but close enough that he could perhaps pique the child's curiosity and beckon it closer.

The pack's little Rho didn't even realize he was nearing the creek until he splashed right into it. Startled and sputtering, he flailed his limbs in a spastic fashion for a moment when instincts took over. Like most young animals, he possessed a built-in knowledge about how to swim. Keeping his head above the waterline, he kicked. Fortunately, the water was not deep here. Unfortunately, he could only see the far bank and not the much nearer one behind him. The puppy paddled the only direction he knew to go: forward.

He made it to the other side no worse for wear, though he looked a lot like a drowned rat. He trembled, the water's chill already sinking into his tiny bones. Once again paying mind to instinct, Relonikiv shook himself, ridding his pelt of moisture. He was still very cold, however, and continued to shiver and shake even as he took a few absent steps away from the water and, as it were, his pack's territory.

A flicker of movement caught his attention then. Thinking it the chickadees, he momentarily forgot his wet fur and smiled. The expression became quizzical when he saw it was a wolf, not a pair of birds, some distance away. The whelp froze, watching curiously. Not knowing that some wolves did not belong to his family and with no clue that he might be in danger, the overly trusting pup began to bound toward the stranger with the plaything.

"Ayuh!" he chirped even as he ground to a halt and peered up at the unfamiliar adult. A shiver shook his little frame but he grinned up at the wolf, his wiggling tail held submissively low and his blue eyes fixing on the scruffy squirrel's tail in his mouth. "P... pay?" he asked, trying to say: Play?

His show had distracted him from the youth momentarily; enough time for the child to submerge himself and swim further away from what Dapper presumed to be the pack's edged. All at once, the sopping child was standing nearby, shivering but eager to play. Dapper grinned disarmingly, playing back on the charm that had been his namesake prior to his starvation. The tail now dangling from his teeth, the thin male shook it playfully and tossed it nearer to the child, but a few steps further away from the scent of wolves...

"We can play," the male agreed readily, grey eyes alight with mischief. "But you'll freeze if you stay out in the open after your swim," he warned, knowing all too well the dangers of polar swims. "Should we find someplace warmer, first?" Having no experience with puppies of his own, there was no way for Dapper to tell how much the child understood— but if it came to it, he could always grasp it by the scruff and carry it away.

The adult repeated the word back to him and even tossed the tail on the ground. Relonikiv's face lit up like the sun as he pounced on it, then gazed up at the older wolf again, his expression almost worshipful. "Pay, pay!" he warbled, his entire rump wiggling now.

He took a moment to snatch the tail off the ground and shake it. Still holding ont it, he then bounced closer to the gray-furred stranger, though he paused, cinnamon ears twitching, as the adult addressed him. Some of the words were familiar, though he was too young to quite piece together their meaning.

He opened his mouth to say something, dropping the toy in the process. Relonikiv blinked down at it in surprise, then decided it was safe there for the moment. He looked up again and smilingly repeated, "Pay, pay!" He shivered again, yet paid no mind to it.

He had his answer when the pup responded, and Dapper's grin widened. The child's limited communication skills suited him just fine— if a search began or if the pup was able to get away, there wouldn't be much for it to relay back to its parents or pack. It wasn't yet time to steal the child away and run, though that optioned continued to play in the back of the grey male's mind... For now, he would keep playing with the youth and lure him further into a false sense of security, all the while directing him further and further away from safety.

He picked the tail back up from where the child had dropped it, once again shaking it in the pup's face, before flinging it as far as he could away from the territory. With any luck, the youth would instinctively follow it— and Dapper trotted in the direction of the tail, so when the pup did bring it back, they'd both be well outside pack boundaries...

I'm going to hold off on posting again until someone else has a chance to pop in here. If no one shows up within the next day or so, all bets are off, though. ;)

The stranger suddenly snatched the tail from atop his paws. Another child might have been indignant, yet Relonikiv only saw it as further invitation to play this joyful game. He giggled, admiring the adult's cleverness and speed, then pounced toward him in an effort to reach up and grab the dangling tail. That was when the older wolf tossed it out of both their reaches.

Without giving it a single thought, the pup raced after it, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste. He was beginning to forget his cold, wet coat. Playing like this was helping keep him warm. With a yip of triumph, he pounced on the fluffy object. Relonikiv swung his head up into the air and began to dance around with it clutched in his mouth, though he paused when he saw his new playmate coming toward him.

He ducked into a playful bow, only to rise again a split second later and begin dancing out of reach. His blue eyes glowed with mirth and he laughed, the sound muffled by the tail. Now he was luring the adult away from the dangers Swiftcurrent Creek posed and putting himself further and further out of reach of his pack's protection.

He was far too young to know any of that. There was absolutely no fear or suspicion in Relonikiv's innocent little heart as he tossed the tail into the air and tried to catch it, only for it to hit him right in the face. He laughed and laughed.

Dapper couldn't believe his luck, now, and he glanced suspiciously over his shoulder to make sure he was still in the clear. But as the child pranced away, squirrel tail in tow, he returned his gaze to the youth and trotted after him. They were slowly but surely putting distance between themselves and the pack lands, just on the cusp of being too far away for Dapper to explain the situation as anything other than, well, treacherous... as soon as they were further out of bounds, he would make his move to steal the pup away; provided they weren't halted, first.

He had not seen the pups since Blackfeather Woods had spanked the Creek's ass like misbehaved children. The bruises on his ribs were more pronounced in their pain as time went past, and the wound on his chest might have been closed now, but the scab revealed no means of disappearing anytime soon. One tattered ear would flick uncomfortably, and for now, the cinnamon wolf avoided looking upon his reflection in the water.

He thirsted for revenge, and he did not know how to take it this time -- not without putting his pack mates in further danger.

So for now, he rested -- avoiding Paarthurnax's puppies in fear that his new appearance would terrify them.. or worse, peak their interest, and they would want to inspect his wounds closer. His plans to move the pack increased tenfold.. but it was simply a waiting game.

The day did find him out stretching his legs. Thirst called him to graze upon untouched snow upon the ground, though something about the air was different. Something did not belong, and unsettled, the Alpha stiffly moved forward, hoping to gage what feeling it was that tickled at his senses so.

The scent of the stranger would soon hit him like a ton of bricks, and in the close distance, he could hear Relonikiv's enthusiastic chant: pay! pay! It was all the certainty he needed, and with an adrenaline that fueled him further and much quicker now, the regal came upon the scene, his eyes locking upon the silver male as he seemed to encourage his playmate further and further from his mother.

His movements were not as smooth as they normally were -- but the ferocity of his intentions could not be mistaken as a snarling roar escaped his gaping jaws. The agouti male made to close the distance between him and the silver wolf, hoping to jut in to the space between him and the cub -- his one good ear slid easily back, and with another gutteral snarl, Scimitar aimed a snap to the wolf's side, seeking to grasp flesh and wildly realizing how slow his movements must be because of his injuries.

The continuous burbles of laughter died instantly in his throat when a flash of fur and fangs came leaping onto the scene. Startled, the young puppy dropped his toy and cringed close to the ground. Warm urine soaked his leg even as he rolled onto his side, then his back, displaying total submission. Relonikiv's blue eyes squeezed shut in fear, so he didn't know the identity of the attacker. He trembled.

When no one fell upon him and he experienced no pain, the quivering little pup cracked open one eye. He slowly sat up a little straighter when he saw someone attacking his new friend. Due to his age, the Alpha's altered state and the speed at which the adults moved, Relonikiv did not immediately recognize Scimitar. His little heart still thumped in terror, yet he slowly rose back onto all fours.

"Th... thtop!" he croaked, taking a tentative step toward the dueling pair. He wanted to help the gray male, yet he was so afraid. "Non't!" he wailed, a portmanteau of no! and don't! He was trying hard not to cry when something finally clicked in his head and he suddenly recognized the leader. Relonikiv froze, eyes wide and shining.

Effin' fail from me, I know. To make this interesting, and since I didn't plan on playing Dapper for very long anyway... Feel free to power-play some devastating attacks, Rachel! We can traumatize Relonikiv for Kat in a different way. ;P

He had planned to feign innocence if trouble were to arrive, but the primal and gutteral snarl of the other male shattered Dapper's plan— before he had time to submit, to explain away the guilty scene, the other was attacking. Dapper pulled his lips back in a snarl, features darkening as the desperate need for survival once more began to flood his body with adrenline. Play time was over– he hardly gave the child another thought as the lumbering beast thrust itself between them. Dapper snapped at the other, not aiming, as a pain tore through his side. If his own attack connected, he hardly noticed, for he was then pulling away, attempting to dance his way around the larger male towards the pup.

If he couldn't eat the child, he could at least slaughter it before its presumed father.

Kiv's cries rang clearly across the lands, and had the moment not been so dire, he would have fell to the demand of the child, for it pained him even more than any attack he could receive to hear him so scared. Yet the intruder tried to dance around him, seeing his game was finished, and rather than attack back or flee.. he seemed to be aiming once more for the pup.

A guttural snarl erupted from his jaws at the mere thought of this -- the audacity. His own paws would dance wildly, his shoulder rolling forward to try to connect fully with his opponent and bring him downward, though it was his jaws that did the true work. Gaping open, his teeth were aiming for tender flesh -- and as his opponent tried to side dance him, Scimitar's muzzle jutted forward, his own form not quick enough to fully block the rival, but hopefully, his teeth would meet their aim -- the stranger's tender and unprotected neck.

He stared in horror and bewilderment as Scimitar proceeded to violently attack his playmate. Relonikiv didn't understand why the Alpha was going after his larger friend and it pained him to see Scimitar's teeth snapping so dangerously close to the gray male's ear. "No..." he muttered again, his lower lip beginning to quiver.

Then his playmate snarled savagely at Scimitar, snapped at him and then lunged in Relonikiv's direction. An instinctive understanding shot through him, taking root with startling clarity. The child screamed, then dropped to the ground again. He didn't roll this time but clapped his ivory paws over his snout and hid himself. If he couldn't see the bad guy—and he understood now that's what his playmate really was—then the bad guy couldn't see him... right?

last post.

He made a strangled noise as teeth met his neck; so focused on his own goal that he made the fatal mistake of ignoring his opponent. Desperation to survive had given way to delusion, his once-handsome soul twisting into a dark and unfathomable creature. Dapper craved the taste of blood, craved suffering— and sought to inflict it where he could. His hunger was left unsatisfied. His murder of the female had only made him yearn for more; more blood, more suffering.

Dapper received both with the teeth of the pup's guardian. He felt pain, then tasted blood. It burbled at the corners of his lips, then spilled from him muzzle as his legs gave way. Left like this, he would not die quickly— he would slowly drown in his own blood. Even as life slowly fled him, the male was excited by the suffering... and perhaps that he would still have the chance to exact it. As his body crumbled to the earth, he loose a final snarl— a terrible, wet sound— and lunged once more toward the youth.

He would not make it.

And as darkness came do claim him, sucking him down and down, Dapper could see her and smell her in the shrinking light— her laugh mocking and bitter as she watched his downfall. Bitch.

Dapper's mistake was fatal -- the blood on Scimitar's muzzle was justified, in his opinion, and as the pale stranger fell to the wrath of the Alpha, his eyes would sweep instantly over to Relonikiv, who was now pressed closer to the ground, his paws pressed to his eyes as if he could unsee everything that had just happened.
 
Guilt washed over him -- but it did not override the satisfaction that the trespasser who had attempted to lure away one of his children had not only failed, but would never be able to attempt this to another.
 
Sidestepping past the fallen wolf, his tongue smoothed across his lips as he attempted to clean the blood from his muzzle. Ushering Kiv up, he would gently scoop the boy up and return him home to his mother, where he silently explained what had happened. After he was reassured that the family was fine, Scimitar returned to the body.. pulling it to the outskirts of their home where he would leave it for the fauna of the wild to feast upon -- a fitting end to such a creature.