hide and seek

Pups? :D

Desperate for a break from the dramas that insisted on harassing Swiftcurrent Creek, Bazi turned to the pups. They were growing up faster than she could ever have imagined, and required more than the combined wits of their mum and step-aunt to keep them in check.

When Bazi eased herself out of the den that morning, she couldn't see further than a few feet ahead of her. The few surrounding trees were all but invisible, and every breath was damp.

An idea struck her. "Kids!" Bazi whispered over her shoulder. "Want to play a game with me?"

Aunt Bazi was considered family to Julius. Even if she wasn't blood related, her constant presence in the den had made him forge a similar bond to the bonds he shared with his siblings and mother. So when she suggested a game, she got Julius' full attention. "Bahi! Bahi!" He chirruped at her, unable to pronounce the 'z' yet.

"Ya! Play!" He agreed with her, his little tail wagging at the thought.

Bahi. Bazi's heart glowed in her chest like a piece of hot coal. "That's right - we're going to play ghosts," she told the toddling whelp, giving the pup's rear a little nudge to encourage him.

"See that outside? That's called fog, and it'll make you totally invisible," Bazi whispered conspiratorially, lowering her head to the child's level. "I'm going to count to ten, you hide, and then you have to find me and scare me with a big BOO, alright?"

Most of the instructions were lost to the young pup. The only words he actually understood were the you's, me's, play, and outside. However, that was enough to get the main gist. They were going to play outside! The nudge helped to enforce that idea. With a small yip, he darted into the fog outside.

It didn't seem like such a good idea once he was a few feet into the fog. When Julius turned around to see if Aunt Bazi was coming, he was startled to see that the ominous fog had replaced the den. Confused, Julius started slowly spinning in a circle, trying to locate the den entrance that had been there moments before.

Just as Bazi had predicted, Julius and his bright-white coat disappeared from view after only a few steps. She could hear his scuttling steps ahead of her, sensed his distress levels rising.

"Be calm," she told him, her voice no more than a couple of meters away. To make herself an easier target, she sat, staring into the wispy whiteness. "I'm here." To help guide him, she began to hum - a soft, high tune that even her own cold, Arctic mother had used to soothe the children during particularly nasty snowstorms.

The voice of Bazi calmed him. Julius spun one more circle before stopping to face where Bazi should be. The humming lured him closer, and a few small steps later the outline of her figure could be seen. Giving a sharp bark, he charged. He collided with Bazi's chest with a headbutt, but was quick to entwine himself around one of her front legs.

Then, curious as to the sound she was making, Julius tried to replicate it. "Ooooo." He tried with his mouth gaping open.

He paused, used his ears, and began to stalk. Bazi could just about make out the soft pat of puppy feet against the ground. She squinted into the fog, and... BAM! A white shadow flew out of mist, colliding with her middle. Bazi pretend to be spooked. "Oh my!" she beamed down at him - they would make a winter stalker out of this one yet. Life wasn't easy for a white wolf in summer, and winter would not last forever.

She sought to finish her tune with the pup at her knees, but Julius had other ideas. He raised his head and parted his wolfish lips, imitating her sound with neither tune nor beauty. Bazi stared at him, but quickly caught on. She raised her head high, bumped the boy's chin with her paw to encourage him to do the same, and loosed a high, undulating howl into the opaque sky.

With his tiny tail wagging furiously, Julius mimicked Bazi. Pointing his snout upwards, he began to make the sound again. It started quietly, but quickly grew louder. His howl wasn't as loud as Aunt Bazi's, but it was definitely the loudest sound he had ever made. Being nosy with Aunt Bazi was enjoyable.

His howl died down as he started to run out of breath. After taking a quick breath in, Julius looked up at Aunt Bazi with a smile on his face.

It didn't take long for Julius to catch on. He joined his voice to hers, and together they sang for as long as the pup's limited lung capacity would allow. Considering this was his very first attempt at a duet, the snowy pup did remarkably well - but perhaps that was because Bazi suffered from selective deafness when it came to the pups, for whom she harboured a fierce and all-consuming love. In the tragic weeks to come, they would need it.

"Oh my stars, did you make that noise?" she exclaimed, staring down at the proud little face angled up at her. "That's almost a big-boy howl, like Scimitar or Kieran!"

Julius beamed up at Bazi as she praised him. He also puffed out his chest in a proud fashion, his ego rising without realizing it. He was a big boy that could make Aunt Bazi happy! If doing it once got this effect, wouldn't doing it again achieve the same effect?

Without waiting for Aunt Bazi this time, he looked up at the sky again as he took a deep breath. Then - "Aurooooooooooooo!" That was his loud - and also tone-deaf - voice!

Ah. Too far. Julius took Bazi's encouragement to mean more, firing another round of shrill, broken song into the air. Better than his first attempt, but still - not Chopin, or even Weird Al. His sitter winced inwardly, brows tenting over her eyes in concern for her own auditory health. Of course, she could not remember that her own voice at Julius' age had held the power to shatter sheet ice - never mind ear drums. "Very good!" she forced herself to say, responding to the boy's second howl with another of her own, varying tone and speed for Julius to copy as best he could.

There it was! There was the praise and her own howl! The tones and speed varied slightly for Julius. In the places where Bazi varied a lot he would vary slightly, but the rest was the same bland notes at the same pace. He might not have been a professional singer yet, but no one was born with that ability! Singing lessons with Aunt Bazi would help him on that road, should he ever decide to pursue a career of howling. At the very least, it would make howls he had to make in the future less excruciatingly ear-splitting.

When that howl was over with, Julius looked up at Aunt Bazi one again. "Goo... Good?" He questioned her. "Me good?"

Julius tried, and though progress was slow, he was improving (at a very normal pace for a child, actually, but Bazi was an impatient carer with high expectations). She allowed him the final note, and nodded sagely when he sought her praise. "Yes, very good. Much better than the first one. You keep practising. I think you should call for Kieran and Kaskara, and show them just how good you are - for several hours." Bazi suppressed a snort of laughter, masking it as a cough. "Come on - let's go find them together so you can show off."

Fade? :D

Sure! :D

Once again, he was praised. "Good!" Julius barked in reply. He didn't actually understand what Aunt Bazi was telling him, but by the tone it was good things. He was ready to follow Aunt Bazi off the edge of the earth, so when she set out to lead him to his pack-mates, he followed eagerly. That was until they found them - if they found them at all. If confronted with two unknown pack-mates, he would scuttle under Aunt Bazi and watch shyly with his mouth clamped shut. That much was certain.