The day had of course began as any other. An earlier riser with each and every sunrise, the lass was not to be held back by the sleepy confines of her family's den site. With the singing birds, the auroral girl was out and about determined to gather more knowledge. It was the purpose of any day's venture, to simply witness something that was new, to achieve some kind of learning. This was nearly an impossible thing to fail at her age, the world being a wide expanse of fresh experiences and uncovered information, and that was perhaps why it so raptly held her attention. Even if she hadn't been looking for knowledge, it came flooding in through all of her senses each time she stepped paw in a new nook of the pack's domain.



The heart of their home was already memorized by the girl, of course. For so long she and her siblings had been hoarded there, unable to go farther than their mother or father could see. Nearly suffocated by such restrictions, Nineva (most always while dragging @Korrin along for company) had traipsed every single inch of the central location, absorbing every single available detail. Therefor, this area now bored her, and she would not be found frequenting it. Instead she expanded as far outward as allowed, daring to push boundaries best she could without angering her parents. On this particular day, it brought her out of the small little woodland and to the base of the grassy hills which guarded their home.



She knew now what a border was, how Ash and Narime's scents were purposefully laid particularly thick in an irregular shape around their domain in order to scare away everything bad before it could even try to knock on their door. Thus as she ventured along, sniffing everything that could be sniffed and eyeing every flashing color, she began to realize that the smell of her parents were growing stronger and that she was approaching the outside world.



Dearly, Nineva wanted to break past this invisible wall and see what lay beyond it, but she knew better than to break that rule. Still, she stood there, vibrating with intrigue on the precipice of her world and the unknown, gazing wistfully at the peak of the knoll which so abruptly interrupted the horizon. A slow whine leaked past her lips before finally, she reluctantly pulled herself away.



She had only made it a few pawsteps when a large, dark shadow passed over her. Her gaze instantly shot upward, eyes narrowing against the glare of the sun, but try as she might the pup couldn't find whatever had cast such a large shade. Nineva stood utterly dumbfounded, as not even a single cloud drifted through the blue sky, and turned circles to witness as much of the scape as she could. Simultaneously she was fascinated and agitated, wanting desperately to know what had been above her.



Unfortunately, she found out all too soon.



There was not a single sound made as a full grown golden eagle cut through the air and wrapped her taloned toes around Nineva's small body. A startled yelp hiccupped out of her, before the air was gone from her lungs and fear gripped her chest, seizing her heart. With eyes so wide white could be seen clearly surrounding the black rim of her irises, Nineva watched the ground recoil from her, leaving her paws and continuously pulling away before, suddenly, lurching back at her.



It was the second dive that forced wind into her lungs and gave her ability to scream.



"Mommy! Daddy! HELP!" the girl screeched, making every kind of horrid sound she could in a desperate attempt to bring her guardians to her. All the while, the eagle was desperately trying to stay off the ground, determined to carry his catch off into the sky before it's racket could attract the aid of others.

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Narimé was hunting small game by her lonesome for a good portion of the day. She had been successful, bringing in two ground hogs from the meadow and a turkey from by the cedar forest back to Whisper Caverns territory. Those little creatures would feed her children well, but Nari was hungry herself; so the woman had gone back out to hunt after dropping her prey off at home. She noted Nineva's absence while passing by the den and sighed deeply before trailing after the gray princess's scent.

Narimé wasn't hugely afraid for her daughter, as the child had grown quite a bit despite still being so young. Plus Nineva seemed to follow the rules much more than her siblings. With a clear head and a watchful eye Nineva was much less likely to hurt herself than Korrin and Rose in particular. Of course Nari never truly stopped worrying about her pups, but with Nin the worry was lessened since she was such a good kid. So Nari did not sprint in haste to catch up to her eldest daughter. Instead the wolf slunk through the grasses and viburnum bushes casually since she had used so much energy up hunting earlier. Plus she figured that Nin was exploring and having fun, and the mother could recall the thrill of exploring the world on her own. So she didn't want to end it early for the eldest silver crowned princess. 

Then she heard the call. Nineva's voice echoed out from nearby. The queen had been close enough to Nineva after tracking the girl from the den to see some form of commotion in the pups direction. Energy hot and fast as electricity streaked through her body as Nari bunched her muscles and sprang towards the scene. Her eyes took in the flashing feathers of a huge bird trying to drag Nineva away into the sky. Nari's heart leaped in fear before a vicious snarl ripped out from her ugly wrinkled muzzle.

The gray she wolf used all of her hunting instinct and power to launch herself nearly ten feet into the air where the eagle hovered struggling to beat its giant wings and lift the pup and itself into the air. Her jaws found a purchase on the end of the eagles left wing, and down came all three creatures back to earth. A number of thick bushes and mud broke the fall for Nari, eagle, and pup helping to soften the landing. Then as soon as mud hit her body Nari began to try and tear into the eagle as it began to slash at her chest with its talons.

 
”Speech”

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Through all of her screaming and crying she could not see her mother come, but that fearsome snarl rendered the air so completely that it cut through her own commotion and straight into her heart. Just as she knew she would, through all of the terror that gripped her, her mother had come to save her.

"Mommy!" she cried out again, her voice raw with amplified use. Not a second later, all three beings were yanked out of the air, and once more she made contact with the blessed ground. The girl was stunningly lucky, not only to be have her rescuer here but also that she landed in a way which saved her from any severe harm. She would be feeling bruises in the morning, and there were cuts upon her nape where the eagle's claws had desperately tried to maintain their grip, but all things considered, she felt quite fine.

Reactively she rolled, distancing herself from the flurry of feathers and talons that erupted toward Narime. No longer was the bird concerned with its prey, now fighting for its life instead. Once out of the small thicket and onto firmer ground the child sprang to her paws once more, concerned eyes casting toward her mother. Streaks of red faded into view, and she felt bile rise up within her throat as she recognized it to be Narime's blood.

"Mommy!" she shrieked again as fear overtook her once more. What if it hurt her mother? What could she do to stop it? Nothing, was the answer, but still Nineva launched into the fray, attempting her own vicious snarl and snapping up feathers in hopes that she could help her mother win and stop the winged beast from hurting either of them further.

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It was all a blur, happening so incredibly fast that she could only register the feel of the monster's feathers upon her tongue. Thanks to her mother, she not once further had to feel the sting of injury, and with the adrenaline coursing through her body and the primal rage that filled her as she attacked, the wounds she had already sustained diminished into nothing but background noise. It wasn't until the beast ceased its flapping that she at last let go, jumping back to assess the situation. When she was certain that it was dead, her mother muttering words she did not catch, she at last began to focus on herself once more, panting heavily as she tried to regain herself from the cloud of fear and urgency.

Hearing her name, she looked up again, and nearly fainted as she witnessed so much of her own mother's blood soaking both the woman's fur and the ground beneath her. Terrified, she began to sob again, barely hearing what was instructed of her. Nineva did not want to leave her mother, but felt so gravely helpless that she could only heed the instructions given. Get daddy, she'd said, and Nineva knew that if anyone could help them, it would be her father, whom she'd never witnessed fail before in her life.

Spinning around, tears pouring down her dirtied face and her chest still heaving, she launched back toward the heart of the territory, searching desperately for @Ash while she screamed out his name.

"Daddy! Daddy!! Help us!"

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