Pedestal Rock There's a Place I'm Going

For @Niles
Have Cottongrass being a dork on top of Pedestal Rock~
Partly cloudy — -1 ° F, -18 ° C

It was starting to feel like he was about to lose to a rock, one very big and hard to climb rock. And maybe that was part of the problem. That the rock, the rock somehow knew he was being disrespectful by calling it a rock instead of a boulder like it really was. Could rocks even know things? Could boulders know things? If either of those two formations had anything that was like sentient thought, he had a whole lot of explaining and apologizing to do. Which would be really awkward and uncomfortable because he swallowed so many pebbles when he was a puppy.

He gave the rock's peak another careful frown, eyes squinted and mouth pressed into a neutral line. It shouldn't have been hard trying to climb a big random rock. And really, he wasn't too sure why he was trying in the first place. All he knew was that he laid eyes on the boulder in the clearing and his brain said you gotta climb that. When he asked why, his brain helpfully answered with a mental shrug and you just gotta. His impulse control was nonexistent and it wouldn't be the first time he stumbled into an all around bad situation. Like climbing a tree and then falling out of said tree. But that's how he met Sahalie and that's how he got a rabbit, which probably just encouraged him if anything. He was stuck in a loop of poor decisions and bad luck.

Like how so far while trying to hop onto the rock's first ledge, he banged his chin and bit his tongue. He also stubbed his toes and paws too many times for him to keep count. It was starting to feel like he was getting bullied by a big dumb boulder. But he wouldn't give up, and he promised himself that this would be his last attempt before he went and found Reyes or something. (That was a lie but the sentiment counted for something. Probably.)

His butt and tail wagged as he readied himself for the umpteenth time. He just had to squat down some, tense up his hind legs under him like a spring, and hope for the best. But it was so much more easier said than done. He was doing it anyway. And this was it, this was his chance, the one moment of truth he was waiting for—

He jumped and just about scared himself to death when his front paws actually touched down flat on the boulder. His short nails made a horrible sound against the stone but like hell was he going to let himself fall back down again. He wiggled, he strained, he kicked his back paws until finally he got his footing. And the rest was history because hey hey hey, he did it! He reached the rock's peak and nobody was going to take that away from him! Maybe it wasn't anything like slaying a dragon or the qalupalik, but he considered it a personal achievement anyway.

His tail wagged and his jaws fell open, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. He didn't think far ahead enough to actually figure out what he'd do once he climbed the rock.

NILES ARCHER LYALL

Like several times over the past few days, Niles had separated himself from @Castel. Whether it was because he needed that alone time or if he volunteered to hunt or if she needed time to rest a little bit longer, he (reluctantly) left her side. Today, he thought to explore a little more of what laid in the east... find the path that possibly cut through the timbers and spared their paws of the rather sharp river pebbles underfoot. He had just spotted a little wood mouse pop its head up out of the snow when he heard it: the scratching of claws.

It set him on edge and any whims of chasing the mouse for a decent snack was quickly forgotten. Whatever, whoever, was scrambling so much along the rocks out of sight had set his curiosity aflame. On one side of reasoning, perhaps the individual was in trouble; on the other, it could have been something much larger than a mouse. Either way, he yearned to see what the ruckus was all about.

Head set low and tail level with his spine, he prowled through the woodlands he had sought refuge under. Ears forward and eyes wide open, he kept testing the air for any hints of what the struggling creature might be. Upon first impression, it smelled... wolfish. The characteristic scent of them all sorts of musky and highlighted with all the emotions that seemed akin to the thrill of the hunt. When he finally came upon a clearing, he was puzzled to find not just a wolf but a wolf upon a boulder!

His dark head tilted to one side, standing at a good distance from the white-coated stranger. For a while, he just made a face... like he had seen something utterly ridiculous. Then, eventually, his crown leveled and he took a few more steps forward. Frankly, it looked like fun... being up there for all the world to see. But, then he remembered that he was meant to be in hiding. His conscience hissed at him to return to Castel.

Warily, his tail rose in a gentle arch in greeting. To take it a bit further, he gave it a sweeping wag, wondering if the rogue would take to him as a friendly presence. Niles simply couldn't help it, he actually just wanted to know how the view was from up there.

better an honest enemy than a false friend

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

He waddled on the spot atop his newfound and well-earned perch, taking a good look at the clearing around him. And honestly, there wasn't much to look at. Nothing but trees upon trees upon trees, and maybe there was a bush or something here or there. But otherwise? Nothing. He frowned because the ground was more interesting. As if to prove a point he looked down, and right away he could spot all the tracks he'd made in the snow around the boulder's base. That's where he tripped before he came even close to the boulder. Over there was where he fell onto his back. And yep, the ground was definitely more interesting than anything else he could see from his vantage point.

Just to complete the comparison he gave another waddle, this time counter-clockwise for fun. Tree, tree, wolf, tree. There was nothing—and wait. Did he just see a wolf? He was pretty sure he just saw a wolf. Either way he scrambled on the spot, head snapping to where he last saw the canine form under the trees. And while he might have missed them once or twice in his search, he eventually found the boy. They were sort of just... there? Standing in front of all the brush that surrounded the clearing, their dark tail wagging a friendly wag behind them. He blinked.

Were they always there? He was pretty sure they weren't. And oh geez, how much of his flailing and failed attempts did they see? He licked his lips, ears flickering backwards and then forward as he silently panicked. Did they expect something? Did he not hear them when they said something? Or maybe they saw something he didn't and that's why they didn't say anything. He twisted to peer over his shoulder and then his other. There was nothing behind him and he gave a blank blink when he looked back towards the stranger. Was he—was he not supposed to have seen them? Well he definitely saw them now, and he couldn't exactly just go back to pretending he didn't see them.

His head cocked in utter confusion and he took a bold step forward, towards the edge of the boulder. He gave a friendly woof and his tail wagged, soft and slow. Just a little sign of friendly acknowledgement for the other boy. Really, he wasn't used to starting encounters and if they weren't going to talk he wasn't going to talk either. Just for good measure.

NILES ARCHER LYALL

He watched the other yearling with an intrigued stare, seeing as those paws scrabbled about high up on the boulder. Though, as that head tilt came, Niles did the same. He tried to imagine what it might have been like to be up there, staring down at himself where he stood just before the tree line. His head righted and he took another step forward. He gave an open-mouthed smile, his tongue almost lolling over his teeth as he beamed up at the other youth.

The other lad, however, said nothing, at least thus far, and for a split second the Lyall considered if they were the same. Prone to being tripped up by words and awkward and, most importantly, believing in the capacity of doing versus saying.

He let out an eager whine through his nose then slid his forepaws forward in a play bow. Though his tail naturally arched over his back, it waved and wiggled. PLAY?! his body language seemed to call out. "Erf?" he sounded out further in question. While it wasn't particularly a word, the utterance might have been similar to that of a human toddler, pointing and babbling or vocalizing what they wanted while pointing with their finger.

A deep bark then emitted from him, another wordless sound. He stood up again, his gray eyes never leaving the white-coated yearling in hopes they might, well, play somehow. If his age-mate sisters had taught him anything, it was that there was a lot to learn about someone by the way they played or took to the idea of a game. In this way, it would also give him the chance to see if he might introduce Castel to him, too, or avoid them altogether.

better an honest enemy than a false friend

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

@Niles :D

He watched the stranger carefully, head cocked and tail wagging a friendly beat behind him. Waiting for their reaction to his bark, anything to solidify his initial opinion of friendly. And he didn't have to wait long for his suspicions to be confirmed. His ears twisted forward and his expression lit up the moment he heard the eager whine and saw their play-bow. Because hey hey hey, they were just like Tumblebelly! If Tumblebelly was taller than him and darkly-furred with grey eyes... And maybe they weren't anything like Tumbles.

But they were playful, and that's all that really mattered to Cottongrass.

His tail started up an obnoxious sway behind him, and he play-bowed right back at the other boy. He pranced about on the spot, darting left and right while edging closer towards the edge of the rock. His rump wiggled about in the air. If they wanted him to play, he would play. He paused when a thought struck him, but he kept on bowing. His yellow eyes flashed with mischief and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, jaws parting in a goofy grin.

"You gotta—you gotta come a little closer." He called out to them, unable to explain himself in a nonverbal way. Behind him in the air, his rump and tail gave an unmistakable quiver of giddy joy. The other wolf had to come closer if he wanted his plan to work. He also wasn't entirely sure he could hop off the rock to play with them on the ground without crippling himself again, but he didn't pay that any mind.

NILES ARCHER LYALL

"You gotta—you gotta come a little closer."

Alas, the other boy did speak. Niles seemed to be taken aback, shocked to hear such a sound. His mouth closed but his tail still wagged with as much enthusiasm as before. The other youth's tail continued to also wave. It encouraged Niles.

For a minute, he considered what the white-coat had said, then with not even a bit of hesitance, Niles came forward. He stopped at the base of the boulder, eyes still trained on the edge where he could see his potential friend peer over it. If they were just gonna play peek-a-boo, then the Lyall decided he was going to skip out. Even if it was just for cubs, he surely could have thought of a better game... if only he could convince the other boy to come down.

Another tilt of his head told the rogue he was thinking but when he was through, he gave another play bow. His dark tail curled over his rump. He had an answer, and a mighty good one, too. His teeth grit in a coy smile before his tongue spilled out of the right side of his jaw in a rather silly expression. He took a deep breath. Then, after turning in one frivolous circle he looked up at the boy. "YOU!" As in, you come closer... on the ground.

better an honest enemy than a false friend

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

@Niles!

He considered his options very carefully. Because the way he saw it, he could pull the risky move of staying atop the rock and demanding that the other boy come even closer in hopes of pulling off what he had planned. But that ran the risk of his newfound friend storming off in frustration or boredom, and he really didn't want that to happen one bit. Which left him with one other option—he would do as the boy on the ground wanted, cutting to the chase so they could play and romp together however they pleased. It wasn't much, but Cottongrass found that he didn't mind the simplicity in the end.

Behind him his white tail wagged about and he crept closer towards the rock's edge, paws tensing and nails scraping. Owlishly his head titled to the side, ears swiveling forward while he leaned some more over the edge. From where he was standing, it looked like a long drop down. His tail wagged hard enough to have his rear swinging and swaying with the movement. And bunching his stocky legs under him, he gave one bark to his new friend. That was the only warning the other boy got before Cottongrass pounced, leaping down from what was once his perch.

He landed hard on the ground, a jarring thud vibrating all the way from his paws to his jaws. But Cottongrass paid it no mind, his attention focused solely on the other youth. Because nuh-uh, he didn't jump down just for his original plan to be forgotten. It was a good plan and it was going to happen! With a mischievous smirk, he play-bowed while darting left and right with his rear shaking about in the air. And finally—he darted forward to clumsily press the tip of his muzzle to theirs.

Aha! Take that!

He jumped back, jaws falling open and his tongue lolling out in a grin that could only be described as victorious. Because he did it, his plan worked even if it wasn't the exact way he originally wanted it to. He gave a giddy little woof, back to play-bowing and with his tail wagging while he wondered what they might do in retaliation.

COTTONGRASS