the mighty fall

Light rain shower — Current Temperature: 61° F/16° C (afternoon)
looking for @Sceral and/or @Serach, and/or any OTB adult that might wanna keep an eye on Merlin the newbie!

Life since joining Oak Tree Bend had been better since he'd been allowed past their borders, but he wouldn't necessarily say it was perfect. He slept outside, and as it had recently decided to start raining on a daily basis, that had been less than enjoyable. Merlin kept himself within the borders and tried to remain near the densite. He hunted when he could, trying to make an effort. Food was always important, though he'd severely limited his food intake. It was more than he'd eaten when he'd been a loner, but there were times where he still felt on the fringes of hunger, but decided that grabbing that extra tidbit from the cache was probably less than wise.

Merlin hadn't wanted to make any unnecessary clangor, but a few days in, and he figured he'd make something of an attempt to do what Ice had initially told him to do. Chew toy. He'd be weary at first. Perhaps a new recruit would have been friendly to the mother, said their quiet hellos to the bundles, and kept their space for a bit. But Merlin was at the bottom of the pile. He shouldn't have laid his eyes on them ever, let alone get in their airspace. But he would do as he was told. It wasn't as though he wasn't expecting a bit more roughing up before he'd earned some trust from the silvery man.

Keeping a safe distance from the den's mouth, he eyed the mossy clearing. A light rain trickled down through the trees, occasionally plopping Merlin on the nose. After being exposed to the rain for a few days, he'd come to be rather indifferent to it and could only hope that the rain wouldn't keep his packmates within their holds. Perhaps the children would find it curious and he could learn something about babysitting. <b style="color:#a59f32">

Sceral stared up and out of the den mouth. For quite some time now, something fell from the sky, something smaller than anything he’d ever seen. Was the sky falling? Had a cloud broken? He had no idea. With his curiosity growing to be something fierce daily, the youngest Aesir boy puffed his chest out; Sceral, Explorer Extraordinaire, was going to investigate the falling sky. Without a care in the world (and with a loud cry of “roo-roo-roo”) he charged out of the den and into the rain. Immediately he was met with a wide variety of new experiences. The falling sky was wet, like mum’s kisses, and occasionally plonked him on the nose. The ground was kind of mushy and wet and he took great pleasure in stomping around in it and having it squelch between his toes.

Puddles lay dotted around and Sceral yapped as he curiously approached the small body of water. Raising his paw, he flicked the water with a tilted head. Splish. Water sprayed and he gasped before giggling. Tromping into it, Sceral wagged his butt happily. Looking behind him to see his Serach was following him, the second born instead spotted his tail. Releasing a baby growl, he was suddenly twisting around: the mighty hunter had spotted his prey. Clicking his tiny teeth together and dancing in circles, sending water all over the place—and himself—, Sceral found that this wet stuff was really, really fun. Finally managing to catch onto his tail, the Aesir boy inevitably tipped to one side. Splash. He was now covered in mucky water and thoroughly enjoying it. He rolled around, laughing ecstatically the entire time and becoming very much drenched, before he halted his game. His wide eyes had fallen upon a red beast beneath a tree: Merlin.

Immediately on his feet, Sceral wagged his butt gain. He was near home, so he had to be a friend! He trotted forward, straight to the male, with a grin on his face and his tongue lolling out to the side. “Hi!” He bowed in front of the male, eager to know who this person was. “’m Sceral! Who’s yoooou?” And now, for the most important question. “Wan’ play?”

Safe did not imply that he couldn't see. Or hear, for that matter. The rain was plopping down, one drip after another, and the sound was of a pleasant sort. But the sound of pleasant rainfall was overcome by the cry of a child. Perhaps if it had belonged to an adult, it would have been a warcry, but it was childish enough and caused Merlin to drop his eyes to the den's entrance, watching intently as a single child burst forth into the rain. It was amusing enough to watch the child romp around, obviously finding great delight in all the rain and the puddles it had made. The child's obvious delight only increased as much fun was found in muddy puddles and hunting invisible creatures. Merlin found himself smiling a bit. The children didn't seem so harsh as their father, as justified as that stone form was.

The boy didn't seem to need the rain at all. He seemed capable of becoming very much soaked simply by rolling all over the ground, which probably would have been damp regardless of what fell from the sky. His play seemed to reach a peak before Merlin was spotted: a play thing. Merlin stretched down to his belly to be more on the level of the child he would have otherwise towered over. His heart seemed to beat a little bit faster every foot closer the boy got until Merlin felt it right up in his throat when the child bowed before him. There was the faintest of pauses, Merlin listened for any signs of incoming attack, but there were none. His steel blue eyes fell to the child's own dainty blue gaze. So this was Sceral.

<b style="color:#a59f32">"Bonjour, petit monsieur Sceral." The man said, his accent thick, as usual. The child was unlikely to know any word of what he just said, as he probably hardly knew much of his own common language. <b style="color:#a59f32">"I am Merlin, the...wizard." The ruddy man cracked a wider smile. Perhaps it would be easier to make fun with the child if he played a bit of pretend. <b style="color:#a59f32">"I'd love to play with you." His tail beat a little against the earth and he eyed the den area cautiously. <b style="color:#a59f32">"How about you..." His eyes lingered for a second longer before falling back to the muddy pup. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Find me a rock. I can show you a trick." His ears tipped forward, curious if the boy would obey, or if he would command another game. Regardless, Merlin was a clever man. But while within the confines of Oak Tree Bend and in the company of his packmates, his cleverness would be used for their benefit. <b style="color:#a59f32">

kind of small; sorry it took so long!

Bonjour petite monsieur Sceral? What? He only knew one of those words and that was his name. What did the other ones mean? Frowning, feeling more than a little bit silly for not knowing what the weird sounding words meant, he opened his mouth to ask though was cut short the potential embarrassment of fumbling over the French. The red man introduced himself as Merlin the wizard. A wizard? Really? In his home?! Sceral’s open mouth hung wide and his entire butt wagged. Oh wow, a real life wizard who wanted to play with him! Hopping from paw to paw he grinned happily. Find a rock? For a trick? A magic trick? Oh boy, Sceral was absolutely over the moon with excitement. “Yeppers, I can do thats!” His voice quivered excitedly and off he shot, running to the mouth of his den to paw around for a decent sized pebble.

It didn’t take long for him to grab a small-ish rock in his little mouth. It tasted dirty but it’s okay, the magician was gonna show him a really neat trick and it would be totally worth it, right? Trotting over, he dropped the rock on the ground and eyed the ‘wizard’ as if he were doubting he’d pull off a trick, though his wagging tail betrayed him. “You’re not gonna trick me, is you?” That’s right, Sceral, give him the old stink eye, pressure him with all your puppyish intimidation. Oh, if only @Serach was here to see the really cool trick, he’d totally be excited too. He silently wished his brother would pop his head out of the den and wander over to see what Sceral’s fuss was over but he also hoped he didn’t. Sceral wanted to be able to say he was magic and Serach wouldn’t. So torn ...

Perhaps he would teach the child a few words of French, but that could come later when he had a better handle on the common tongue. The embarrassment and confusion was clear enough on the pup's face, but the word "wizard" seemed to strike a chord with the young boy. Excellent. He knew what a wizard was. The child's excitement was so great, in fact, that it was contagious. Merlin had to laugh, his own tail wagging a steady beat. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Excellent, little prince. I'll be waiting." Forgoing the French words, Merlin hardly got his words out before the child was off. He was glad that the child was small. He could not have done such a trick as the one he planned with an adult, who would, undoubtedly, come back with a rock far too large. With a child, it was more likely to be a pebble. That was all he needed.

And when the child returned, Merlin was glad to see that the stone was just the perfect size for his trick. His tail wagged as he overdramatically eyed the rock. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Excellent choice, Sceral." The Lowest complimented his Leader's child. <b style="color:#a59f32">"I am going to eat this rock," He said, pausing for effect, his blue eyes locked upon the child's own blue watchers. <b style="color:#a59f32">"and then I will make it reappear! How about that?" He wondered if the child would be amused by such things. Merlin chuckled and shook his head. <b style="color:#a59f32">"I won't trick you, little sir. Only the rock." It was obvious enough that his parents hadn't yet taught him that magic wasn't real. So Merlin could only hope that his trick went to plan, for he didn't want to be the one to break the boy's heart. An eye for an eye, he could only assume, and Merlin didn't want to be under Ice's attack again.<b style="color:#a59f32">

The praise Merlin gave Sceral made the boy beam. He liked to be praised for things he did, he liked to be right and liked that other wolves acknowledged it. Perhaps that was what pushed him to want to learn and know more, so he could be called smart more often and make his mother and father proud. That was all he really wanted at this point in his life: to show he could and he would and that nothing was going to stop him.

Sceral’s little jaw fell as Merlin the wizard explained what he was going to do. Eat a rock and make it reappear? The Aesir boy sat and his little tail swept at the dirt beneath him. Little sir. Sceral puffed his chest out a bit. Darn straight he was a sir! Son of the leader, little sir seemed to fit him just right. One day he’d be a big sir, just like his dad and just like the magician who was about to provide Sceral with a private show. Of course, he had no idea magic wasn’t real and that it was all to do with sleight of hand. Well, paw. Merlin had Sceral’s full attention. He was absolutely ready to see this rock be eaten.

“Okay, if you ain’t gonna trick me then yeah! I wanna see!” That was that. Sceral wanted to see magic right here and right now. Depending on whether or not the trick would work, Merlin might find himself a little praiser. He’d be so excited to tell Serach that magic trick. Maybe mum and dad, too! The second born wasn’t aware of what Lowest of the Pack even meant but Merlin would be so cool. Sceral’s excitement was rarefied. Magic magic magicmagicmagic!

Perhaps if he'd been performing this trick for Ice, Merlin would have been suffering from a bit of hyperhidrosis. It was an innocent bit of trickery, but he could only imagine that Ice would somehow find a reason to be cross with it. The thought of it was exhausting. But it was why he wouldn't be doing little piddling magic tricks in front of his leader. Instead, he'd need to find something useful to do in front of Ice...Well, technically, he was doing what he was told now. Certainly that would please the silver man. But all he feared from the boy was having his little trick found out, and perhaps even then he could redeem himself. The child could, possibly, then go around showing people the little trick he'd learned!

A grin on his face, Merlin bowed his head to the prince, and took the little stone in his jaws. Capturing the rock behind his little front teeth, he opened his mouth wide to show the boy. It was a bit of showmanship, for his jaws were quite wide and he had quite a few pointy teeth. But he quickly snapped them shut again, and began to chew, faint reddish brows rising and falling. In reality, he was only pretending to chew. Occasionally, he'd let the little pebble run across his teeth which made a very convincing sound, and didn't really hurt. Before he opened his mouth again, he hid the stone beneath his tongue, and made quite a big deal out of swallowing, even letting a blue eye twitch as if it was a little painful.

When the little act was complete, Merlin opened his mouth to show the boy that the rock wasn't there. <b style="color:#a59f32">"And now, I will make it reappear!" He spoke carefully to make sure the rock would not be dislodged from its hiding place. Shutting his mouth again, he squinted his eyes, and made a few throaty noises. Shifting his tongue, he let the rock free and opened his mouth again, balancing the rock upon his tongue. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Tah dah!" Merlin announced, letting the rock fall to the ground. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Is little sir pleased?" <b style="color:#a59f32">

The Aesir boy watched as Merlin picked the rock up himself. He displayed the pebble in his mouth and Sceral leaned forward a little, peering inside. There was the rock surrounded by lots of sharp, pointy teeth. The russet wolf’s jaw suddenly snapped shut and the pale pup jumped backwards with a little yip, surprised by the sudden click the teeth made. What Sceral viewed next made his mouth fall open again. Merlin the wizard began to chew the rock. He could hear it click against the slightly yellowing teeth of the much larger wolf. Sceral yapped loudly, shifting on his feet. “You eatin’ a rock!” And suddenly, the red brute swallowed. The pitch of the pup’s voice hitched up into a squeak of disbelief. “And you jus’ swallowed it!” It was as if Merlin had no idea what he was doing with the way the Aesir boy seemed to give a running commentary. He peered into the red wolf’s mouth. No rock seen.

Now he was going to make it reappear? Sceral continued to fidget, eager to see the little rock again. The big wolf’s blue eyes shut along with his mouth and he made a few almost uncomfortable noises. With a bold ‘ta-dah’ and the opening of his mouth again, the Aesir boy yapped over and over with excitement. There it was! The rock! Not chewed up and very much identical. It plopped onto the ground and the youngest was all over it, nose quivering as he sniffed it and his paws nudging it around. How was it not broken up into tiny little pieces from Merlin’s chomps? Had he put it back together with magic too? Delight was plastered on Sceral’s face, his tail wagging at, what could only be described as, a mile per minute. This had to be the coolest thing he had seen yet.

Grinning up at the big wolf, each little milk tooth visible, Sceral tilted his head. “How you do it, Mer?” With a habit of shortening names for ease, the boy had dubbed Merlin with the little nickname ‘Mer’. “Can you show me how to do the magic?”

And Merlin very nearly swallowed the rock for real, a bubble of amusement in this throat at Sceral's outburst. Thankfully he didn't swallow the rock. It definitely would have ruined his trick. Or uh...The Magic. Merlin nodded, smiling at the boy's amazement, and then even more so once he'd made the rock reappear. It was very strange, making another smile. He'd remembered the smiles of Arlette, before she'd left. He could only hope he'd see her lovely smile again. But Sceral's would do in the meantime. The boy questioned his methods, and Merlin...Mer, only could chuckle. Would he divulge his secrets? It would likely ruin the illusion, but at the same time, the boy, should he be able to find a smaller pebble, could amaze his family. His tail gave a few wags as he passed his paw over the pebble, and gave a shrug of defeat.

<b style="color:#a59f32">"I don't see why not. But you can't tell anyone else, ok? This is just for you and me." He eyed the boy with dark blue eyes, blue to blue, and nodded seriously, hoping the child would conform. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Besides, little sir, if you go about telling everyone, it won't be very magic anymore, will it?" With a chuckle, he carefully picked the pebble back up. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Now make sure you get a smaller pebble than this for yourself. Don't wanna choke on it." Balancing the pebble on his tongue, he ran through the steps quickly in his mind, before conveying them forward. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Make sure your mouth is shut nice and tight after everyone has seen the pebble. Then you wanna make sure you don't really swallow it or bite down." Merlin spoke in hushed tones as if it were a delicate secret.

He made an example of the instructions, his lips pulling back as he showed the boy how tightly his jaws were closed. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Then, let the pebble bump against your teeth and pretend to chew!" Another example was displayed as he filled his cheeks with a bit of air to mimic the chewing and swallowing. He opened his jaws once more, showing Sceral that the rock was still in his mouth. <b style="color:#a59f32">And then you have to hide it under your tongue like this..." His eyes rolled up, as his tongue shifted about in his open mouth to let the pebble disappear beneath the strong pink muscle. His eyes dropped again, hoping the boy understood. <b style="color:#a59f32">"After that, you just have to pretend to bring the rock back up! It's very simple, little sir." He reenacted what he'd done a moment ago, by making uncomfortable noises and then spitting the rock out onto the ground. <b style="color:#a59f32">"Very simple, oui?" <b style="color:#a59f32">

It seemed Sceral’s desire to understand the magic would be quelled as Merlin gave in to his question. The young Aesir was going to learn how to perform magic! Merlin had some guidelines about it though, things that were understandable. Magic was a pretty secretive thing. Truthfully, Sceral was just ecstatic the wizard before him had shown him the trick in the first place, being handed the knowledge to actually do it himself was just a bonus. Like a thousand cherries on top of a delicious sundae. The boy nodded profusely. “I won’t tell nobody, Mer. Not even Serach!” With his tail wagging at a mile per minute, the pale youth grinned toothily at the older, red brute.

For what could have been the first time in all of his life, Sceral was still as he sucked up the knowledge of magic like a sponge, nodding every few seconds as Merlin explained the trick to him. Hushed words barely audible, the Aesir boy grinned a little wider. Whilst he was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t really magic in any way, he was also pretty impressed that the red man had tricked him (to be honest, though, it wasn’t hard to do that anyway). “Yeah, it’s cool! Uh, wee!” He furrowed his brow a little as the strange ‘wee’ word rolled off his tongue. Still, very excited with his newfound knowledge, the Aesir boy grinned wildly. “Thanks! ‘m gonna go practice now! You’re the best!” And off he shot, letting out a quick bark of ‘bye’ over his shoulder as he scampered off, eager to perfect what he had just learnt.

{ Exit Sceral }

(This post was last modified: Aug 29, 2013, 12:25 AM by Sceral.)