Dead Empress Backwater fight for your life

For Viorel! Smoke BWP: General smoke pollution effects, such as falling ash and vibrant-red sunsets.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

Tori had found that certain colors simple called to her more… the violent reds that had streaked the sky around sunset had caught her attention, especially as the strange dust fell from the sky… it seemed so pretty, and yet so dangerous at the same time. She didn’t have the firmest understanding of either concept, but she knew that she was drawn to both, causing a growl to rip through her throat as she moved forward, tail lashing as her maw chomped away at the sky, as if she could fight it.

Of all of her siblings, she certainly had a penchant for violence, for fighting… though it was just a childish fight at this point and was far from raising too much confirm.

She would let out another harsh puppy growl, her tail lashing as she bounced back and forth, light on her feet. She was much more stable on them than she had been even a few weeks ago when she had a penchant for faceplanting over herself. Though she was still awkward as her paws and head began to grow without her body catching up… not that she had noticed, and it was far from similar size to her siblings.

Already she was showing signs of being tiny like her mother.

“RAWR!” She’d call out again with her teeth mashing.

The salt and pepper Valle continued to lurk around the pack, keeping a silent eye on all of the children from afar. He was slowly warming to them, but had a hard time directly interacting with them. But, he was kept awake with nightmares of what happened to Sephrina happening to the children of the pack, and so he watched them, did his best to keep them safe without getting too close to them.

Like wolf batman, only he obviously didn’t know who or what a batman was.

But, he couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath watching Torianna bounce around on her paws and growl at…nothing? All of Vayko’s children were feisty, not that he was surprised, and so far he had been able to avoid getting his ankles bitten. Maybe they just needed something to focus that energy in on. Approaching slowly he offered, ”You’re quick on your paws, I’ll give you that.” He didn’t get too close, ready to take off if she came out teeth first, but happy to tussle if she were willing to not draw blood.

Soon after he spoke he let out a cough, it had been bugging him for the last couple of days but he wasn't worried about it. As soon as the smoke cleared he was sure so would the annoying habit.

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2023, 02:12 AM by Viorel.)

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

What Tori had not expected in her conquest of the sky was the fact that an adult would appear to ruin her fun. She had come to associate adults with ruining her fun. Her father often came and scolded her for ‘harassing’ her siblings simply because they would not engage in the game of their lives with her. She had gotten quite the lecture about Euna a few weeks back as well, and she noticed her father keeping a particularly close eye on her.

There was despair lingering under the surface as he tore her plans of fighting the sky asunder… quick on her paws? It didn’t quite sound like a scold, causing her to pause for a moment, an inquisitive look on her features as she look at him more. She didn’t really see him around all that often, but she remembered when he ran from them all when they were introduced, no matter how foggy the memory. It was the scent that really sealed it, though it was faint through the smell of the smoke on the air.

“Quick.” She stated again with a measure of caution she had come to develop around adults, moving forward, lowering herself with her rump shaking as if she were stalking. Perhaps this adult would finally indulge her in ways her parents and siblings wouldn’t. All she wanted to do was tussle! To prove she was the best which she already knew she was!

“I’m bestest and quickest.” She stated rather boastfully, her chest puffing which just looked downright awkward with her crouched position, as if she were some kind of flamingo doing a weird dance while trying to drink water or something.

The Valle man felt an uncharacteristic grin growing across his muzzle. He felt lighter in this moment than he had in months even if he did not realize it yet. Viorel may have messed up his first few litters but he had always enjoyed this age when they were small and things were easy. He loved to tussle, team them how to fish, the walks outside the borders, the first hunt. It all felt new and special and he had loved every second of it.

So what if this wasn’t his cub and rather a hellion his cousin had produced, the genuine joy he currently felt was the same. He gripped his claws into the soft earth below him and then Viorel sunk down into a matching bow, butt in the air. Salt and pepper tail waved above his back in a way that he hoped was enticing as he drawled, ”You can’t possibly be better or quicker than me” After he spoke he hopped to the side and sunk down into a bow again as if to prove how quick he really was he goaded, ”I bet you can’t catch me.” Ready to feign to the left at her charge should it come, he would only hop away once or twice before letting her catch him of course.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

He challenged her, and it was met with a smirk on her features, bouncing back and forth between her paws as her rump wiggled and she prepared for her most dangerous hunt: hunting Viorel Valle. She had little doubt she could catch him! She caught her siblings all the time, just like she did her mother and father though in all reality they had decided to let her catch them. It was a win in her mind, and no one could take it from her. The small and pale girl stalked forward at the challenge. “Wanna bets!?” She would holler as she charged forward.

She would dive to the left after him, thinking that he would get there only to be met with her face in the mud. Immediately, it stirred a rage in her, which translated more to puppy irritation by the means of anyone else as she pushed to her paws, rushing at him again as she failed to learn from the first time… the same result would meet her as she was fairly certain she inhaled it, hissing as she spat, trying to get the mud off her tongue. It’s putrid taste was far from enjoyable.

And lastly, she would charge at him, instead this time charging for the opposite of the direction he appeared to go, not wanting to fall for his feign a third time. No! She could not let it stand.

The grin grew into an all out smile on the leader’s face as the child began to bounce back and forth. Her voice was loud and demanding, and full of the type of confidence only a cub who knew nothing of the harshness of the world could have. Unfortunately, the other litter in the Backwater could not say the same given they had no remaining parents, but the chaos quartet were fairly sheltered. Even if they did have Vayko for a father.

She charged and the man easily hopped out of the way, only feeling a little bad when she got a faceful of dirt the second time. It seemed like a small price to learn a valuable lesson. Chuckling he offered, ”you were closer that time,” not understanding how much anger his cousin’s truly had within them. Still, he was smart enough to know you could only taunt a child a few times before they got frustrated and he couldn’t keep this up much longer.

This time when she charged he only half moved out of the way, allowing her to collide with his forearm. Gasping dramatically as if this had been a near fatal hit, Viorel toppled to the ground himself, letting out an emphasized huff as he hit the dirt. Closing his eyes and lolling his tongue out as if he was dead, he waited for Torianna to get close so he could startle her.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

His words provided her with what she needed to hear to realize there was a strategy at play. He thought he was so smart pretending to go one way and then diving the other? Ha! She realized it after two simple attempts so clearly it wasn’t that smart! She felt confident in her own sheltered manner that she could take him down with her third charge, no understanding of the way others bowed to her simply because she was a child.

The feeling of her skull butting against the man’s forearm brought her a sense of triumph. She knew she could catch him! She was the bestest and fastest out there! The girl’s tail wagged back and forth as he fell to the ground, and she found herself besting him. She moved to place her paws upon his fallen form, her chest puffing out with pride as she postured her puppy form to lord her victory over him. Yes. That would teach him to question her or her speed ever again!

“I win! I win! I the bestest!” She would boast loudly, unaware of her uncle’s intentions to startle her until it was happening, causing her to nearly jump, her paws rearing back for a moment as she fell backwards onto her back with a thud and a huff as she was once more in the mud, looking up at the burning sky.

The Valle man kept his eyes closed even as Torianna placed her front paws upon him, declaring her victory loudly out into the world. Pulling his tongue back into his mouth and a sly smile crossing his features. He allowed her another moment or two to celebrate before he lurched forward and called out ”boo” Not aiming to knock her down necessarily, just aiming to give her a good natured startle.

Feeling a little bad that he had once again sent his niece tumbling down into the mud, he got to his paws and peered down at her little face. He smiled and goaded once more, ”Wanna race to the watering hole?” It was kind of a trap, hoping that once they were there he could convince her to swim and wash some of that mud off of her, but needing a fun way to get her there. He was sure that Clover would be none too happy if he returned her daughter to her filthy and dripping mud from her white coat.

He stepped away and sunk into a deep stretch, warming up his muscles and preparing to run. If she didn’t trip and fall again he might even let her win.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

As the man lurched, she reeled back in fright and shock, tumbling over as her heart beat against her tiny chest. What was that? A good startle that resulted in her losing balance, though he had not caused her to fall she would blame him anyway. “Rude! Rude!” She’d find herself hollering as a soft whine fell, a show of the childlike display. She could not be the queen of conquest all the time… there were rare and scattered moments of vulnerability, particularly around adults, and mostly for attention.

However, in an effort to make it up he offered her something she could not possibly refuse. A race to the watering hole? “Race!” She agreed happily as her tail wagged once more, the girl sending mud flying from it’s tip as it happened and her body contorted from side to side with it’s vigor of excitement. “Race!” She called out again as she took off, not waiting for a start as she raced towards the water’s edge, eager to find herself victorious once more so she could lord it over her uncle.

Viorel watched as the child began to run without even saying go, as expected, and began to run as quickly as she could. He followed at a gentle lop so as to not pass her, but was sure to act like he was out of breath and putting in a lot of effort when she looked back. It felt good to just let go and be a little bit silly for a while, though it would not last for long. Torianna reached the pond long before he did, and Viorel made a big show about gasping for air, ”Okay, okay, you win.” Punctuated only by sharp inhales. Then he set to work trying to convince her to get into the water.

FADE