Willow Ridge teeth and ambitions bared

@Morganna
Idk how hot it actually gets in Canada but this is what I'm writing.

It was a heated day, one that encouraged Sven to lay low and expend as little energy as possible. Unfortunately, this also met that spending time with his mother in the shelter of their earthly home was out of the question, as the woman radiated far too much warmth to be acceptable in this kind of weather. Occassionaly, a cooling breeze would grace them, combing through his molting fur and causing the young boy to cease his gnawing and appreciate the relief it brought. However, these blessings were few and far between, as the sun seemed intent to slowly kill the creatures of earth with its unrelenting rays.

The object of his fixation was a pinecone, the one that had been with him for most of his life, and certainly for the length that he could recall. By now it was quite ragged, and most of the scales had either been bent at an unnatural angle or sheared off completely by his determined teeth. It made for an ugly little thing, bare in patches and smelling of spit, but it was his favorite toy and his only prized possession to date. From time to time he had carried it with him on sojourns with his parents, but most often he kept it at home where he knew it would be waiting safely for him.

It was the only thing he truly felt like doing today given the temperature, and only so that his mind did not short circuit from boredom. It didn't do for a mind like Sven's to be at rest for long, and as he grew so did the demands of his attention span. A day like this, he wished dearly for someone to come keep them company, though it was an unlikely scenario. Way out here on the edge of the kingdom, Skoll's sinful little family didn't receive many visitors.

don't need reason

Morganna Archer

don't need rhyme

She wouldn’t admit it to anyone else but she often snuck by the thicket that made up her brother’s small hovel on the edges of the manor estate, if only to spy on the quickly growing bundle that was her nephew. Today, she had been drawn to the area by the squealing of a fledgling sparrow that had fallen from its nest. It didn’t take much to track the offending creature. Gently grasping it in her jaws was enough to quiet the bird but she wouldn’t deal her final blow just yet. It still had plenty of life in it and she could think of three young pups that would love a new plaything.

 

It was almost accidental that she passed so close, peach eyes falling on the pale pup that lay well outside of the entrance of his den unmoving. Unmoving. With neither parent in sight her heart leapt into her throat as she moved closer, his head twitching as the pinecone escaped the vice like grip of his teeth, yet another scale shed, was enough to slow her frantically beating heart. So close to the edges of their realm however, she wasn’t entirely comfortable with him being out here alone.

 

Her shadow fell over the boy first, the small bird placed to quiver between her paws, its small cheeps sure to rouse the young child, his pinecone almost as tattered as Skoll’s white maouse. At least this child wouldn’t endure the torment of having his favourite toy stolen by rambunctious siblings. “Hey Accident.” she said, still unsure of the child’s name. “What’re yer doin’ out here alone?”

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Eyes squinted nearly shut against the sun he continued to gnaw, a clear lack of drool a sign of the heat and his own impending dehydration if one of his guardians did not soon come to guide him to water. The child himself was completely unaware of such a necessity, at least he would be until the headache hit him and even then, dizzy and lethargic he wouldn't know exactly what it was that had him in it's grip. With such a doting mother, however, Sven didn't need to worry about such things. She had left him alone for now, but surely she would be back in at any moment, wouldn't she?

Suddenly the sun's harsh glare was lifted from his eyes as a blessed shadow fell over him. The boy's head snapped up to see what so abruptly loomed over him, and found yet another shade-black being watching over him. This one was different though, with eyes pale but sandy and while he wouldn't describe her appearance as soft like his mother, it was certainly more curved than lanky. The bird's pitiful crying caught his gaze for only a second before this adult's words filled the air and the nature of their sound confirmed his suspicions; this one was female. His word made all that much more wider, the child was thoroughly intrigued, nose quivering and wan eyes staring directly into Morganna's.

Until those words registered, and then his optics narrowed and he puzzled over what exactly she had called him. Accident? He knew what it met, having heard Piety defend his childish actions against his father multiple times by claiming that 'it was only an accident, he's just a child.' He didn't much like it, and regardless of what it meant, it sure as hell wasn't his name.

"M'name's Sven," he corrected her. "n' I'm old 'nuff to be out on my own now, s'dun worry 'bout it."

As he spoke, he could still hear the near-dead animal at her paws beg for mercy, and his eyes slowly dropped to stare at it. His instincts urged him to stand and approach, to pounce and to finish it off, but doing so would mean leaving his pinecone unguarded, and he wasn't so sure he trusted it with this stranger, regardless of how faintly familiar her appearance and scent was. This was made clear by the way he pulled it closer to himself, against his chest with his forelimbs wrapped around it.

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

don't need reason

Morganna Archer

don't need rhyme

”M’name’s Sven.” The correction stated so boldly bought a smirk to her silver and ginger flecked face. For a moment it would seem as though the bird had caught his attention but much like his own father at that age, he pulled his pinecone close as though he was worried she was going to steal it (and two years ago she probably would have tried her luck). Now she simply leaned back, allowing her rump to connect with the ground before sliding forward so her chest connected with the earth. Her nose nudged the little bird forward where it squeaked in terror.

Heavy footfalls somewhere behind her betrayed the presence of a deer herd and she took a moment to wonder if @“Enoki” might be nearby. As much as she might want to call on the hunter to take advantage of the opportunity she couldn’t very well bring herself to leave her nephew alone, nor run the risk of accidentally driving the herd towards him, leaving her brother with a rather flattened son. “So where’r yer parents then?” she questioned, absent mindedly lifting her paw and thumping it next to the sparrow, slowly herding it towards her nephew.

It didn’t even cross her mind that she should perhaps introduce herself. Instead she looked to the trees surrounding them, assessing for any other potential threats, only daring to peek at the boy and see if he had taken an interest in the bird yet or if he was still guarding his tattered pine cone.

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SVEN ARCHER

& the night is closing in

She enticed the winged creature to make another sound, and Sven's gaze couldn't help but dart to it, soaking it in with rampant curiosity. He had seen plenty of birds before, knew in general what they were though had yet to be taught their differing names, but never had one been presented to him so closely and so very nearly at his disposal. It became more and more tempting to the boy, urged on by his instincts, to momentarily abandon his treasured toy so that he may investigate this strange creature, but he resisted. It was @Morganna 's bodily motion that distracted him once more, pulling his pale gaze up to her face. She was so casual, so confident, as though she belonged here despite to her perceived novelty to his life. He couldn't decide if he liked it or not, for he very much felt that was did not belong here. She was a guest, but she also reminded him greatly of his father, inching her closer to his favor.

His still being on the fence about her presence was clear upon his tiny face, and as her gaze wandered he gave his pinecone a few licks and nibbles, though his gaze never left her dial. When she spoke again, he had to consider whether to answer her at all. What business was it of her's where his parents were? Did she even know them? The boy was reminded suddenly of Greer, and he had to wonder... was this another of his father's relatives? Was that why she seemed so relaxed, so welcomed when Sven hadn't asked her to join him?

"Ya gotta tell me who you are first," he decided aloud. "You an Archer?"

I'm not a choice, I'm a natural selection

The child still seemed uncertain but she didn't let that deter her. Quite to the contrary, it only enforced her convictions to stay until he was comfortable with her presence. He was after all, a member of her mothers pack and would need to learn to be tolerant of its other members, regardless of whatever misplaced perception of superiority her brother had installed in the young child's head. When he spoke up again a casual ear flicked in his direction, another 'whomp' of her paw sending the bird hopping (she hoped) closer to its doom. "Yes." she answered to the second half of his question, wondering if she should bother to answer the first half if her own flesh and blood hadn't even bothered to mention her name to the boy.

Finally she came to the conclusion that the young child's lack of knowledge could only be blamed on his mother (because @Skoll would never neglect to teach his son about such an important blood relative surely). "I'm yer father's sister." she spoke slowly, amd quietly as if it were just a secret for the two of them to share, just in case @Piety was within earshot and decided to take offence to her presence. "Yer Aunt Morganna Archer." she finished with a small smile, he was surely too young to pick up on the absence of Lyall attached to the end of it yet, but one day soon she was sure he would pick up on it, and realise what separated them from the rest of their mothers children.

SVEN ARCHER

& the night is closing in

Morganna. That was indeed a name that was roughly familiar to the boy, a faceless figure that had been spoken of fondly by his father, praised as the Queen of the mauka pack herself had been. The boy's suspicions fell away as an easy grin overtook his maw, tongue lolling in the heat as his tail thumped the ground. Entirely his disposition changed, though still his forelimbs remained securely wrapped around the pinecone. Sometimes, even Skoll tried taking it from him, and so he had learned that his toy was only safe around Piety and no one else.

The bird had continued to be ignored in light of the information, but as her words dissipated from the air and the small creature chirruped pitifully, Sven's eyes were drawn to it once more. He licked his black lips before sealing his jaws back together, a concentrated and wanting look sweeping over his features. As instinct dictated, he wanted to play with this lively new toy instead, but still could not bring himself to abandon his pinecone. A whine struggled to make it out of his throat before he finally decided, turning his eyes back up to his aunt.

"Mom went to get lunch, and dad is out workin'," he told her to complete their deal, before his gaze narrowed; clearly what was to be said next was very serious business. "Don't touch my cone okay? It's mine."

The familiar seriousness of such a simple phrase It's mine, bought a smirk to her face. "I know. I got it for yer. From the heights ter the east o' here. It was a long climb." she said, keeping her voice level as she rose a paw to swat at the bird again. Its feeble peeping was little more than an annoyance to her but it seemed to entice her nephew, thankfully. "Yer don' have ter worry about me takin' it, I'll go fer a walk an' get yer a new one later if yer want."


She wondered if he would kill the bird, or simply chase it around the clearing. Would he know how to eat it? Being so small was such a distant memory that Morganna wasn't quite sure what to expect. She could have children of her own the same age as he was but it wasn't to be (although she couldn't comprehend the how or why). She could not deny though it had all worked out for the best. "Yer gonna get it or what?" she goaded the child. If Piety had just gone to get lunch she would need to make herself scarce before the mother returned. Just in case.

Feel free to fade & archive with your next post. c:

SVEN ARCHER

& the night is closing in

Sven's features emptied to hold nothing but awe as the woman revealed that it was she who had bestowed upon him his absolute favorite toy. As she mentioned the direction, his pale eyes followed, slowly scaling the mountainside. All the way there? his imaginative mind thought, picturing the reddish black aunt of his climbing to the very tip top of those snowy peaks to pluck the pine cone from its pedestal atop them. Immediately he gained even more respect for the woman, the affection earned not from anything shown to him by her but rather all the connections she already held to all of his most treasured things.

She offered to get him a new one then, and his gaze returned to her as he hugged the chew toy to him for the final time.

"Dun' wan' a new one," he affirmed. His father often seemed disgusted by how tattered the thing was, and his mother herself had offered to him a time or two to replace it with a newer model, but Sven personally did not care how bare or slobbery the thing became. That it was different helped to keep his interest, and anyways, it meant something to the only child.

At last, though, he felt comfortable to leave it alone unguarded in @Morganna's presence, and the boy stood to step over it and draw closer to the dying prisoner chirping between them at his aunt's prompting. His gaze fell upon it with transfixion, and he lowered himself steadily to the ground with a slow waggling of his rear as he prepared to pounce upon the prey. Tentatively, he reached a paw out and batted at it, eliciting sound and distressed movement from the creature. He vividly recalled the mice brought to him by @Skoll, and all the ways he had played, expressing his power over them with glee. It would be the same here, though the tiny beastie's wings were especially curious to him.