Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

She was sitting just outside the den, and that was no unusual sight. She had little interest in going too far beyond where she was allowed, for it only resulted in yips and growls and possibly being confined to the den. The adventurer in her soul itched to see more of the world, but for now, she would have to make do with this. Until the day she was allowed further, she had this to explore, to get to know as intimately as she had the dark den - and out here, she occasionally found herself in the company of someone else from the pack. They were interesting, large, new, always smelling of something unknown. She could tell them apart by scent but knew not all their names and voices - and one, he never spoke. Their faces were clearer to her now, she could see further as her blue eyes slowly began to change to gold. Still far to go, but not as far as it once was. Aiyana liked it when her senses sharpened, for she found herself noticing many details she had previously missed.


She'd been lying on her back in the grass, flopped over like some fish, and stared at the world upside-down. Tiny black specks, creatures far below herself, had crawled on those emerald blades, and she'd watched them until she feared she'd go cross-eyed forever from focusing on something so small so near. With a large yawn she let her eyes travel away, up to the sky. It was gray and dreary, hiding her precious Light from her, but she could see its outline behind the cover. Some days, and some nights too, were like that. In the beginning, they'd made her sad, for she liked the Light, but now she found that it was sometimes easier on the eyes, at least when one turned them skywards. The Light had a way of biting you, but when it was all covered up like this in the sky's fur, it was possible to look at. Lazily, Aiyana waved a paw at it, stirring the grasses around her with her little black body. She liked being out of the den, but whenever something startled her, it was nice to run in there. It was nice to run in there and lie in a pile with her siblings too, now that she wasn't forced to do it all the time. Blinking a little sleepily, she decided that life was good. She had no experience of anything bad, so for once logic agreed with her heart, and it pleased the girl.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

Without a doubt, letting her cubs finally out into the world was both a blessing and a curse for the leader and mother. While Corinna could now count on the help of her pack mates directly, it also meant putting in their charge the most precious part of her world. While she and Indru had made clear to their cubs that they were to stay close to home, Corinna knew that the urge to explore would be incredibly strong, and there was no doubt in her mind that eventually the day would come when the enforced boundary would break. But that day would not be today - the lurking mother made sure of that.

Green eyes looked on as the ebony furred cub took in the day. Aiyana Tainn was so different from her rowdy brother Torrel, or her sister Rissa. She took in the world at a slower pace, but Corinna could see the little cogs turning in her daughter's head and knew that comprehension was growing. It seemed that in this moment, the girl was comprehending the steady progression of ants on a nearby plant. Watching, Corinna couldn't help but be made aware of her perspective - how odd to observe through the eyes of a newborn what she herself would never have?

Deciding it was time to abandon her perch, the mother lightly leaped to the ground. Prowling forward, Corinna stalked towards her daughter, tail wagging mischievously behind her. Waiting until she was only a few yards from Aiyana, she leaped forward, a playful woof echoing about in the hypethral clearing as she landed just short of her daughter. "Got you," she chuckled, head lowered in the attempt to give her daughter a lick on the forehead.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

She was, not surprising, unaware of her mother's watchful stare, and even if she had known, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Aiyana had no desire to explore further - yet - so her hawking mother was no interference, but rather it made her feel safer to know that she was out there, somewhere, protecting, watching. After all, she was a woman grown, she knew best. Perhaps the world had been bad before that day when they'd finally been let out in the Light? She yawned, and despite the nagging notion that sleeping out here mightn't be the best thing, she felt her mind drift. Her body grew more and more distant, but yet she was not asleep, just teetering on the edge of it. Little Aiyana yawned again, displaying all those small, sharp teeth to the world, and blinked, slowly, and each time it seemed like she'd not open her eyes again, but she did. Somewhere, at the back of her head, she registered a presence approaching, but it didn't startle her. Her nose told her it was Mother, so it was okay, but she was a bit too tired to get up and greet her properly. In the grass, her tail twitched all of its own, and she frowned, annoyed. It always did that, and ruined things. Now it had ruined her perfectly peaceful near-sleep. She loved that borderland between actual sleep and waking thoughts, and now it'd slid out of her grasp. Again. All because of that damn tail.


She was just about to give the world an annoyed pup-growl when she remembered Mother - which seemed to coincide with Mother jumping her. A woof met her ears as a shadow leaped in, and Aiyana gave a startled yelp, shooting upright and nearly smacking her head against Mother's jaws. Wide-eyed, she stared at her, feeling her tongue across her head. For a moment, she said nothing, but then she recovered from the surprise. With a puppy growl she clambered out of her awkward sit and onto all four, leaping up to try and grab Mother by the longer fur around her neck - try being the keyword. Behind her, her tail was wagging fiercely. No one got Aiyana Tainn! Not even when she slept! .. well, that wasn't the truth, but she pretended that that moment previously had never happened. Strangely enough, she didn't speak - she understood most words well enough, but so far, she felt quite uncomfortable using them except in greetings, and then it was customary of her to deliver only the first syllable of their name. And, well, Mother had hardly greeted her in a proper fashion, so now she had to suffer the vengeance of her daughter!


Because, yes, vengeance is always delivered with a tail that tries to wag itself off.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

As Corinna pounced over her daughter, the oldest Tainn girl seemed to become aware of her surroundings. With a start, Aiyana's head rose off the ground, almost smacking her head, in what would no doubt be a painful collision, against her mother's. But the collision was narrowly avoided, and instead, the young girl decided to seek her vengeance in a different way. Even as Cori had lowered her head to lick Aiyana's forehead, the cub had wiggled up, small black paws trying to catch the ruff of the leader's neck. The wagging tails on both females was a dead give away that this was merely a play session, but there would be no backing down. In Corinna's eyes, seeing spunk in her children was a very good thing, especially now that they were allowed out into the world and to interact with the other adults of the pack.

Shaking her head from side to side, Cori snapped her jaws playfully near Aiyana's ears. After a few minutes of this, Corinna tilted her head to the side, allowing her daughter to gain some purchase on the ruff of her neck. With a feigned "woof" of surprise, the mother fell over onto her side, bringing Aiyana with her. Laying on her side, with Aiyana laying on her chest and neck, Corinna's head fell backwards, tongue rolling out as she panted. "You win!"

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

Mother was a strong female, there was no dying that, and tall. When Aiyana grew up, she decided that she would be at least as tall as that, or even taller if she could. That way she could reach when she wanted to. Play-growling, little sounds that weren't frightening at all, rumbled in her tiny chest as her rump wagged. Her tail was a bother. It had a life of its own, and right now it was so ferocious that she nearly kept tipping herself over from the momentum of it. Mother's jaws kept snapping near her ears, her hot breath rushing out over the black girl's head in a comforting manner, and finally her own tiny jaws found purchase! Corinna's ruff became locked in the pup's grip, and when she tugged at it, her mother fell over. Surprised, Aiyana let go, but she was being dragged down too and ended up on top of the larger, tawny body. Hesitantly she wagged her tail, but it picked up again when Mother declared her daughter victor. Pushing off her soft body, she sat up in a proud sit, firing off a grin and yipped out her triumph. She'd bested Mother! That meant she was leader of the pack, right? .. at least, she should be able to beat her siblings. But Torrel was growing too fast, it was hard to keep up with him. Aiyana's eyes had shed most of their blueness by now, but they were still small, some transition shade between baby blue and the fierce orange they one day would become. A shy smile crept onto her maw as she sat there, balancing on her mother, and she looked down at her, at her pretty green eyes. "Forest," she said, voice young and high-pitched. It was unusual of her to speak of her own accord, but when she did, each word was pronounced with great care, but often she shortened sentences to make them more comfortable to say, or chopped them up in the middle and made it all backwards. "In your eyes." She'd always liked Mother's eyes - they were different. The copper-colored male, the one she'd first greeted of her pack, had had eyes like the overcast sky, and so had the large white one he always went around with. Most of the others had eyes that varied from warm brown to stark amber, and she and her siblings had had blue ones. Her older sister, who was scarce around them, had Mother's eyes, but Mother's were the beautifulest still. Captivated by them, she forgot the rest of the world as she stared with the innocence of a child, losing herself in a world of emerald.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

It seemed that the small appendage had a mind of its own. Throughout the entirety of the mock fight, it never stopped wagging, and now that Aiyana Tainn had been declared victor over her mother, the tiny tail smacking Corinna's stomach in a repetitive rhythm. She was growing at a rapid pace, and eventually her motor skills would develop enough that she would have better control over her body, wild tail included. It was saddening to the tawny female, actually. Looking up into the eyes of her daughter, become more and more striking as they faded from blue to orange, she was so very much aware of how short their cubhood would be. It seemed that every day they had grown another inch, bulked up a little more. The pack had worked so hard on the pack den, but the day was rapidly approaching when the four of them would no longer be able to fit next to one another. While in reality, she didn't see less of her cubs, the fact that others now could made her miss her exclusive access to them.

But all that was a mere thought in the clouds, and soon enough Cori's focus was drawn back to the ebony cub perched so proudly on her mother's stomach. A raised eyebrow met Aiyana's initial word, and instinctively, Corinna turned her head to the side to look at the forest around them, wondering if her daughter's perch had provided her the opportunity to see something she had not. But she wasn't able to see anything, and returned to look at her daughter's face as the oldest Tainn cub continued. A smile filled Corinna's face, and her own tail wagged against the grass. "I never thought of that," Cori admitted, having never made the comparison of her eyes to the forest she saw everyday. "Yours are blue, like the River," she continued, returning the compliment. "Or blue like the sky!"

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

It was comfortable on Mother's body. It felt safe, reminded her of other times, vague, half-remembered memories in which she'd been able to fit under her chin, or curled up in other ways... She'd been smaller, and more stupid. The memories were both fond and annoying. How could she have cared more about lying bundled up in the dark, close to the safety of her parent, all day, than devising ways to get out here? It was mind-boggling, and entirely stupid, but she'd taken a lot of good things with her from those days. One of them was a fondness of sitting on her parents (and her siblings, but mostly they tried to get her off when she did). It felt.. good. And that was why she happily took every opportunity to perch on them, like now, proud yet thoughtful. She was drowning in her mother's eyes but found that she didn't mind, for whenever her head moved, the light struck them differently - except, there was little light now. The sky was all gray, so the Light couldn't produce that dazzling display of highlights it did, making her mother's eyes glow beautifully with what she liked to think was some deep, hidden hints of gold that came out only in the sun. Strangely enough, the green always seemed to grow deeper and more vibrant when in the light... .. clearly, she spent too much time watching her mother's eyes, but she liked doing it. She liked to watch eyes in general, and the day when she realized how rude it was would surely be a sad day for Aiyana.


Her mother spoke words in return, and she contemplated them for some time. Her tail slowed to merely brushing from side to side, heedless of the body beneath, and she thought of Tor's and Rissa's eyes. They'd been much bluer before, like a summer sky, but they were darkening now, like a sunset. She liked that. She did like the river, the few times she'd been there, but the sky was more to her liking right now. The sky held her precious Light. "Sky," she decided happily after a moment, craning her head backwards to look at it. All gray... Why couldn't the gray go away? She liked it better without it, but that was just another thing she wasn't able to influence. Aiyana didn't know if she just wanted to accept that, or find a way to change it, but as long as she was this tiny she'd be powerless. Giving a pup's shrug, she looked down at her mother again. Father had different eyes, they were ferocious and fierce, but she wasn't afraid of them. They made her feel safe instead of threatened. "Fa," she said next; it was what she called her father, Indru. Then her head tilted. Her eldest other-brother looked a lot like their father, with the same kind of fierce golden eyes. "And Ri. Like light." And then she smiled proudly again, pointy little baby-teeth showing in her gums.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

It would not be long before the ebony furred Tainn would no longer be able to perch above her mother's breast so easily. The three cubs were growing at an incredibly rapid rate, which was both advantageous and not so. So this time was a precious one, and as the leader let her head fall back, green eyes closing against the muted light of the sun, she wanted only to freeze the moment. This would be a day that she would hold in her memory. While the specific words, or lack thereof, would eventually be forgotten, this moment of enjoyment would remain to be invoked, come a cloudy day when there was no Aiyana staring intently at a blade of grass.

Fa. The mention of Indru, in the adorable voice of his daughter opened Corinna's eyes once more. With a grin, she tilted her head forward so she could look at her daughter. Ri. That must be Rihael - interesting since his usual nickname was typically "Hael", but Aiyana's cub tongue hadn't quite mastered the art of speech just yet, though no doubt that would change soon enough. "Yes, just like the light," Corinna cooed in approval, tail smacking the ground once. "They're probably out hunting right now. So that little cubs like you can eat." While they were still nursing from her breast, it would not be long now before the cubs began eating meat, just like the adults of the pack.

Shifting, the bigger female rolled onto her side, letting Aiyana tumble where she may. "You'll learn how to hunt soon enough, once you're bigger. All that time you spend looking around and watching the world? That is going to make you a better hunter," Cori promised, looking to Aiyana to gauge her reaction to the possibility that she indeed had a strong skill set, despite her tiny body.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

To her, the world was largely unchanging - it grew, inch by inch, as her careful exploring took her further from the den, but it stayed the same. The grass was green, the moss even deeper in color, the earth smelled of some deep, rich secret, and the wind swayed the trees and made them sing little songs. Sometimes, it rained, and sometimes when it did, the world smelled of something she could only describe as wet stone. Even her pack smelled a bit differently in it - their scent was stronger, somehow. Aiyana liked the rain, and how the deep boom of thunder reminded her of the first time she'd been close to Father when he howled. The sound of it had shook her bones. But young as she was, she had no concept of changing seasons - no clue at all that soon the forest would mimic flames, the now so vibrantly green leaves turning orange and yellow, red and brown, before falling to the ground like a carpet to be covered in soft snow. Whether it would be a wonder that widened her eyes, or cause distress, remained to see.


Mother looked up at her when she spoke, and it sent a thrill of warm pride through the little girl's body. She liked it when her parents looked at her with that warmth in their eyes, and her tail thumped against Corinna's body with love. At her comment about hunting and eating, however, Aiyana frowned. She knew that her pack mates ate other things, things she wasn't allowed to eat yet. She still ate from Mother - did that mean that there was some secret ritual which involved hunting, and then putting something in Mother so she produced her milk? The confused thoughts overwhelmed her so completely that she didn't even complain when she was unceremoniously dumped on the ground between Corinna's forelegs. But, perhaps it was for the best that she didn't have enough time to try and make sense of the confusing thoughts. Her mother's voice caught her attention again, sky-blue eyes snapping to her green ones as she drowned in the comforting sound of her voice. So what she did now would help her in the future? Aiyana didn't even need to contemplate it to figure out that she liked that fact, and a pleased grin broke out across her muzzle and she righted herself from her cub-heap, shoving aside a leg to be able to sit up. Not that she sat like wolves normally did, as she was perching on her bottom with her hind legs sticking out. "Keep watching," she promised with pride, speaking so carefully and yet with a deep certainty. The eldest Tainn of this year's litter loved watching the world, and if she had a good reason to do it..? She'd never stop! But this hunting business, it sounded interesting too.. She tilted her head to the side, something thoughtful over her youthful face; despite the pup color of her eyes, her gaze seemed a little older than a few months. "When learn?"

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

Just like the mother hoped, the promise that the Aiyana's developing skills would come in handy in the future brought a smile to her daughter's face. Praise was something that all creatures liked, no matter of age or temperament. In particular, though, her cubs responded well to the praise of her their parents and older pack mates. All three of them had the innate desire to please their caretakers however they could, while all at the same time competing with each other for who could do it best. So there was little doubt in Corinna's mind that her second oldest daughter would soon run off to tell Rissa and Torrel what mother had just said. It was cute, and adorable, and all the more reason for Cori to share her compliments.

Leaning forward, the mother licked Aiyana's forehead just before the girl tilted her head to the side. The behavior made Corinna smile and her tail wagged ever so slightly behind her. The leader did that as well when she was curious or confused. While she could clearly see herself in her cub's appearance, it was always amusing when they mimicked (or inherited, she wasn't sure which) her behavior. "When? How about right now?"

With an encouraging woof, Corinna hoisted herself up onto her paws, looking down at the ebony furred cub. Tail wagging faster now, she rotated her head to check the nearby surroundings. There was nothing large in the nearby vicinity obviously, but she could hear the playful chatter of the squirrels and the singing of the birds in the trees. Bounding off, the leader targeted a nearby tree where the sounds of chatter was particularly noticeable. Stopping at the base, she tilted her head upwards. "Do you hear that?" She inquired at Aiyana, sparing a second to look down to see if her daughter had followed.