Swift River Swift River Pack Thread

<i>sunny late morning</i>

Stout, awkward legs pulled Rissa from the comfort of the den and into the late morning sun. Sleeping was so nice. But it seemed that she was the only one out so late. Oh no! What if her siblings were already out learning things? Why hadn't anyone woken her up? Scrabbling out, she kicked up dust as she skidding into a clear spot outside of the den. Her eyes squinted against the harsh sun, and she looked around desperately. After standing there for a moment, she dropped to her haunches, and took a few deep breaths.

It would be okay. Someone would be around, and they'd help her out. Besides, Torrel and Aiyana were probably just wandering around Sacred Grove. They wouldn't have left her behind if they were doing something important. Although, she did feel a little lonely.

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<blockquote>Sunlight slanted down through the trees, and Aiyana was just wandering around, drinking in the morning. After all, no morning was like the other, so there was also reason to relax and drink the new day in every day. The air was crisper than it had been when she was younger, but still the sun was pleasantly warm upon her black back. Soft moss cushioned her large paws, bowing down under her slim weight and slowly bouncing up again when she passed. The sound of birds filled her ears, and the faint tinkling of the river.

She liked the river.

She happened to pass by the area near the den again, and stopped. Rissa was out now, sitting there looking forlorn. While her sister could be terribly annoying, Aiyana <i>did</i> like her - most of the time. Grunting to herself, the black pup wriggled her way over, now through grass instead of moss. She yipped, once, then remained silent as she approached, coming up close enough to give her shoulder a rather rough nudge before, playfully, trying to stick her cold nose in her ear.</blockquote>

Small jaws parted in a yawn, and she stretched, head turning to the side to take a peek at the boulders that made up the den. Maybe she could try to climb that. Her patience had worn thin waiting for someone to show up and play with her, so she'd have to take this into her own paws. She could entertain herself. She was a big girl! Pulling out of her stretch, Rissa turned towards the rocks, before spotting the black form of her sister coming through the grass. Instantly, the tawny girl smiled, and bumbled up to the slightly older pup.

She was greeted with a nudge and a nose in the ear. Rissa responded with a playful growl, and reared up to try and pat at her sister's ears. "What'd you dos today, Ai?" Her skinny tail wagged, hind end following suit in a playful wiggle. "Wanna climbs on the den? You can help me up and then I pulls you up, and we be queens of the Rivers!"

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<blockquote>Well, for once her tardy sister had been on the way somewhere! (No, Rissa would never escape the fact that she'd been last out of the den.) She mock growled and the black pup gave her a wolfish grin, shaking her head but still receiving a bat of paws on her head, but it was all in good spirit and her black tail was wagging. The damn thing ruined her stealth all the time - if she'd wanted to pretend to be angry at Rissa... well, she could've fooled a blind badger, but not her sister, so she didn't even bother trying. Instead, she just nipped after the retreating paws, drinking in her sister's garbled babble. Why did she always talk so much, and why couldn't she took properly like the pack? It was hard to understand her sometimes!

But she did pick out the thing Rissa wanted to do: climb the den. And, what? Help her up! Pff, fat chance, sister! <b>"Race,"</b> she chirped in her customary fashion - and then she was off, short, stout legs carrying her across the uneven terrain as her tail wagged behind her. At one point she nearly faceplanted, but she recovered from disaster and kept on running, until she reached the base of the den. For a moment she paused and scrunched up her face, but then she reared up on her tiny hind legs and placed her large front paws on a fairly flat rock surface. She grunted under her breath and heaved herself up on her belly on it, and awkwardly crawled up until she was standing on it. Now just the rest of the way...</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Aug 11, 2012, 05:14 PM by Aiyana.)

Rissa always found it off that Aiyana didn't talk. Talking was the best! It was a good way to express how you felt and make jokes and laugh! Did laughing count as talking? Sure, why not? Rissa couldn't help but get excited when her sister did talk, though. It was nice to hear a voice, especially from someone who had a brain like yours. Maybe their eye levels were completely equal, but they could certainly understand each other better than adults did.

Of course, Rissa didn't know her sister well enough yet that she'd know what was coming. The black pup ran off towards the den, and Rissa nearly tripped turning to beat her. She was up for a friendly race. Because, obviously, she didn't intend to lose this race. Awkward legs ate up the dirt, though, unfortunately Aiyana was a bit faster than her. Mixed with the head start she'd gotten, Aiyana did make it to the den first, though Rissa didn't allow more than a second to pass before she was there too. It was hardly a loss. Besides, it wasn't a fair start, right? She'd just have to run faster and faster. You could learn how to run, right? Rissa would do it.

Aiyana was already heading up the pile, and Rissa was on her tail. Rear end wiggling, Rissa balanced on her hindlegs, and grabbed the rock Aiyana had pulled herself up onto. Scrabbling with her hindlegs, Rissa was up too. "So big! We must be just as talls as Mother." She smiled triumphantly. "I bet Torrel will be so jealous when we tells him." Looking around, she tried to find their next perch. Ah. "Follow mes." She said, crouching slightly, tail waving as she launched herself awkwardly towards another flat point. Half of her body lay upon the flat spot, while her back legs flailed wildly. Rissa had clearly forgotten that they were canines, not cats. Jumping was easy, but no amazing feat for them. At least not vertically. With a bit of a struggle, she managed to get up, and let out a happy laugh. They were definitely taller than all the wolves now. Maybe than any animal. "We queens, Aiyana." She said again.

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<blockquote>She'd won that one.

Aiyana was, perhaps, a tad leggier, and when it came down to it, not really as strong as Rissa. Pin fights meant, most often, a loss, but sometimes Rissa got tired faster, and then the black girl could pin her little sister. And she never wasted her chances. With a little growl she stood upon her rock, wagging her tail and watching as Rissa, on her tail basically, clambered up beside her. She considered herself the winner then, because her sister started talking again, so the race was off. Curiously, she tilted her head. <b>"Tor,"</b> she hummed under her breath, wondering where their brother was - perhaps off exploring the Grove with one of the adults. He could handle himself, and so she wasn't worried. Rissa was moving on, though, and she would not let herself be left behind.

A small yip of a laugh escaped her when Rissa got stuck on the flat rock, but she also found that it meant having to <i>wait</i> while her awkward, clumsy sister scrambled up. Not that she was much better, when it was her turn... She really hoped Rissa was too preoccupied with the view, for the first time, Aiyana didn't put enough strength into her leap and just bonked her nose on the rock's edge. The second time she crouched properly, and sprang up, landing about halfway again. Unceremoniously she wriggled onto it, and came to her feet. Queens? She frowned. She didn't want to be a queen! She.. she.. she wanted to be a big wolf. That was what she wanted to be. Nodding to herself, she peered at the edge of the next rock to possibly get to. It looked to be too far to be able to jump it... Without saying a word, she walked in the other direction, careful of falling down. Perhaps there was a way higher, around here?</blockquote>

Something about her sister's silence was incredibly calming. She wondered how Aiyana felt about Rissa talking all the time? If she didn't like, wouldn't she say something?...or maybe that was why Aiyana didn't tell Rissa she was annoying. Because Aiyana didn't talk. Oh well. On their high perch, Rissa tipped her head back, letting out a triumphant puppy howl. Aiyana didn't talk, but she at least had to do that right? This was their spot, and they were going to claim it.

"Go higher?" She asked Aiyana, tail wagging. It was fun to have fun with siblings. Even if there was always the underlying tension of competition. Rissa turned in the opposite direction to get a look at their options. There was a few more feet above them, but getting up those few feet would be the hard part. And then it hit her. "Down. How do we gets down?" The child wasn't scared, but rather...intimidated. They'd had to exert a bit of effort to get up, and getting down...Well, one wrong step and they could break a leg.

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<blockquote>Rissa's howl caught her attention, and her black head snapped around. Well, she could hardly let her sister claim the spot alone! Such non-verbal communication - growls, howls, yips and yaps - were all part of Aiyana's natural vocabulary, and after a moment, her own head tipped back and a high-pitched, fluctuating sound piped out of her throat. It still didn't shake the soul and earth the way her father's did, but she was getting somewhat steadier. The sound died out into silence, and Rissa began to assess the heap, too. Go up? Of course. Aiy's tail wagged once in approval and she peered at the ledge. Just maybe...

But then Rissa broke in again, and the black girl frowned, and turned around. Down? D'uh, stupid question. <b>"Same way,"</b> she said with a child's arrogant certainty. How hard could it be, really? She wasn't concerned about getting down. Instead, she went to place where the next semi-flat platform was, and gauged the distance. Unless she'd slide when coming up... She crouched, then took off, flexing her muscles and surging into the air. This time she actually had enough excess energy to land on all paws, and nearly into the face of the rock in front of her. With her tail trying to aid her balance she braced herself against the angled surface, blunt claws scrabbling against it. Finally she stilled, and looked down at Rissa.

<b>"Careful,"</b> she wandered, before gingerly walking up the small slope to make room for her sister to get up behind her. And just in case Rissa would be a klutz, she kept an eye on her, ready to interfere...</blockquote>

odd question: after today is over, does that mean this interaction is over, despite the fact that we kept it active? since it follows real time more strictly than other threads.

They made a good team. Their howls sounded good together and they were really good at climbing this pile of rocks. Wriggling her hind end as the silence took over again, she turned back to Aiyana as another word came out. Her brows furrowed, and she shrugged. Made sense. She didn't know what she was worrying about. Now she just had to focus on getting up to the next ledge. Aiyana went first, and Rissa prepped herself to go up as well. This was the last leg, she supposed. They'd be on top of the world!

On Aiyana's cautious word, Rissa nodded, and put as much energy into her leap as possible. She didn't want to embarrass herself again. Thankfully she landed quite well, though did slip a bit, surprised by the slight slope. Thankfully there was no fall, and there they were. "We did it! Good team." Lifting a paw, she aimed a playful pat at Aiyana's ear. This was call for celebration. Though there wasn't much room to celebrate up here.

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I think the time frame is three real life days before it's assumed to be past?

<blockquote>Her caution was perhaps good, but she had no need to intervene. It seemed that the warm-up on the way up plus Aiy's warning had made Rissa put a real effort into the jump, though her bigger sister <i>did</i> flinch when she nearly slipped, ready to leap to the rescue. Before she could, Rissa had righted herself, and Aiyana gave her a milk-teeth grin. As her sister joined her on the highest perch of the pile, Aiy peered out at the woods. What if someone disapproved? But why would they? For a moment she frowned, then got caught up in her sister's joy.

<b>"Up, up, up!"</b> she chirped for no real reason at all, joy in her voice as she ducked her sister's paw. While that was a great offense in itself, she had enough brains not to start a brawl up here. It'd be a long fall, so she settled for another nose-in-the-ear, grinning from ear to ear. Well, if they'd found cause for howling to the world down there... So much better up here! With mischief in her murky eyes, Aiyana tossed her little head back again, and this time her voice was slightly stronger, carrying further; high-pitched and wobbly as always, but there was something proud in it as she announced to all of Swift River that <i>they were on top of the world and everyone had to come and submit to them, this instant!</i> With her eyes half-lidded she still stole a glance at Rissa, hoping she'd join in.</blockquote>