Her ears perked up when he said 'first mom'. "You had more than one mom?" Could Borlla have another mom? It was definitely something she wouldn't mind. She missed her mom, so having someone to curl up next to would be nice. Then she wouldn't have to worry her older siblings with helping her, and they could do their grown-up jobs. Steadily she leaned away from him as he closed in with what she assumed was his scary face. But she didn't break her stare, and screwed up her face in slight distaste. "Is that it? I guess it's a little scary." At that point, she broke her stare with a finishing blink that held disinterest.
"Actually I had 3!" he proclaimed, as if having three maternal figures was supposed to be a boast of some sorts as if they were collectible figures or something along those lines. At his supposedly scary face, Spooks was quite disappointed in Borlla's unfazed expression. What was wrong with this girl? Although admittedly Spooks was too immature and goofy to really be considered scary in the first place. "It's not like you can do any better," he replied with a dismissive snort, masking the fact that she had just bruised his ego slightly. </blockquote>
It was easier to have fun then to think about complicated things. She'd understand them later, one way or another, when she got older. For now, she was quite enjoying this scary contest. Yes. It was officially a contest. He'd challenged her back. Technically, Spooks had probably won by default, being older and, therefore, more threatening in general. She was little. Every sound she made would come out at a higher pitch, including her growls, but she had a way with her eyes, the deep dark pools they were. "Well, how about this?" Far from a glare, she angled her muzzle at the earth, and promptly stared up at him, doing what she tried to do to Junai on many occasions: burn a hole into his soul. Not literally, of course, it was more in the way she tried to put as much energy as she could into them. Her jowls twitched, and she growled a little, which probably caused her to lose a few points in the scary factor.
His tiny companion decided to take up his challenge, a prospect that amused him greatly. Judging from her personality so far Spooks didn't expect her to back down, but he also doubted that she could be scary due to her less-than-intimidating size and stature. Although Spooks did have to acknowledge that Borlla's stare was rather intense for her age. It reminded him of Shiver's glares when he attempted to dirty up her well-groomed fur. But Spooks was relatively accustomed to be subjected to a steely look. A small grin of amusement twitched on his face before he began to softly snicker at her high-pitched growl. After a few seconds passed where Spooks made a feeble attempt to quell his laughter, he finally spoke. "You call that scary?" he teased.
"Well, I guess it's an okay try since you're still little and all." </blockquote>
Her eyes flickered out to the rain, which was beginning to let up a bit. "...So, if you're not in a pack, where do you sleep?" She dropped her angry face, switching instead to one of minute interest. Inside, though, she was desperate to know the answer. Swift River was all she'd ever known, so what was it like without a home?
The light shower began to peter off, the smell of rain crisp in the air. It wouldn't be long until their overhang shelter was no longer needed. "I sleep wherever I want!" he boasted, as if the freedom to make a den anywhere was a source of pride. Realistically though often many days and nights went by when Spooks didn't have a very comfortable place to sleep, often settling for whatever was convenient. "Although sometimes it's kind of uncomfortable," he mused in afterthought. </blockquote>
"Wherever?" Borlla echoed, watching the male with a hard, curious stare. Wherever was a lot places. Except for in Swift River. He couldn't sleep there. "You can't sleep in Swift River." She grinned, finding a loophole in his words. Her curiosity turned to confusion, "Why don't you just pick one really comfortable place to sleep and just stay there?" It seemed easy enough. Why sleep everywhere uncomfortable when you could sleep in one place comfortably? A smile was offered along with what she presumed was a piece of good advice.
Borlla's next inquiry made him roll his eyes a little as if the answer was totally obvious. "Well I don't know this area very well to begin with. Besides right now I'm in the middle of exploring and it's kind of annoying to go back to the same den which might be far away!" he explained, tone matter-of-fact. Maybe when Spooks had explored the whole lay of Relic Lore then he would find a really good place to stay for a while until he got bored and went off to find something worthy of capturing his attention.</blockquote>
Hearing him out on her den suggestion, she rolled her skinny shoulders in a shrug. That was true. "I dun know what I'd do without a comfy place to sleep at night. Walking isn't so bad though, is it? Especially if it's comfy." Maybe her den was just comfortable because she had other bodies around her. Spooks certainly didn't...At least, it didn't look like he did.
Spooks merely scoffed at Borlla's reply at his bold claim. Clearly she underestimated him, but in a way he always felt that was better than being overestimated anyways. Despite his confidence in his ability to sneak onto Swift River territory he issued no challenge to his child companion because he didn't want to be goaded into actually entering her pack's lands just in case he got caught by a fellow pack member who was bound to be older, bigger, and much more of a threat than she was.
He gave a small chuckle of amusement at Borlla's next words as if he was a wise mentor and Borlla, his naive pupil, had said something foolish. "Pain and hardship builds character," he proclaimed loftily, "You'll become tougher that way. And it's kind of exciting trying to find a den to stay in for the night. You'll never know what you might find."