Swift River The Light, Delight.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

"How about right now?" Aiyana gave a happy yip at these news, but found that, instead of bouncing upright as she had intended, she had to duck to not get Mother's elbow in the head. The moment she was free from the threat of hitting herself on bony limbs she sprang up on all four, and nearly overbalanced. She still didn't have the hang of exactly how much force to put into her motions, and her nose had a near brush with the ground before she righted herself, looking quite much like a cat with the expression of of course I intended for that to happen!. Murky blue eyes were glued onto Mother, tail wagging excitedly behind her. What was she doing? Listening? Smelling? Aiyana couldn't know, so she didn't know what to do either, except stand there and look at her with a worshipful look in her eyes, waiting for wisdom and knowledge to be imparted onto her hungry mind. And then Mother bounded off, little black shadow leaping after her, trying desperately to match her own shorter strides to the longer ones of Corinna.

They paused by a tree, and Mother tilted her head upwards with a question of hearing. Without replying, Aiyana reared up on her hind legs, large paws leaning against the trunk. The bark was rough and coarse under her still-soft pads, but beneath it, it was solid wood, holding her weight as if she was nothing but mere wind. Hear, Mother had said, and Aiyana's murky eyes fluttered close, as her ears strained and twitched to the noises of the world. The river whispered, the wind sang softly, branches rustled; birds sang or cried, frogs croaked, and squirrels chattered. She picked out that last sound from the melody the world wove, and her eyes opened again, sharpening on the many branches above. “Sqrl,” she said, uncharacteristically tripping over the word, but she didn't even notice. She just stared intently at the tree, wondering what would happen now. Would squirrels fall down dead, like leaves? Or was she just supposed to know what they sounded and smelled like? Or did wolves climb trees and bring down squirrels? She frowned.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

The excitement that had been bubbling beneath the surface was let free as soon as the words left Corinna's mouth. While the mother knew that they would only be hunting squirrels, she was caught up in it as well. This was the part of being a mother that she enjoyed most, passing on her knowledge and experience to her cubs. Their delight was what Corinna, as a mother, craved. Their success was her goal, and anything she could do, even if it meant scaring some squirrels down from their perches, was a step in the right direction for accomplishing that goal.

Looking down, Corinna saw Aiyana rise up, placing her paws against the bark of the tree, the bole supporting both of their weight just fine. It brought a smile to her face, watching the tiny ebony body mimic her own, larger tawny one. Aiyana remained quiet, and Corinna could almost see her black ears twitching with concentration as they tried to pick up on the sounds. After a moment, the somewhat butchered name of their quarry was uttered, and Corinna beamed proudly. "Yes, my love, squirrels. They're rather fast, and they can jump into trees to save themselves from predators like us." Falling back down to her paws, Corinna began to circle around the trunk, her gaze tilted upwards. "We can't climb up after them, but we can scare them to come down."

With a mischevous wink to her daughter, the leader threw herself up against the tree one more time, barking and snarling loudly up at the branches. The incessant chatter stopped almost immediately, but was replaced with the distinct sound of scurrying. Overhead, the branches began shake ever so slightly as the small mammals began to make their escape towards other trees. Tail wagging enthusiastically, Corinna fell back from the tree. "Now we follow them, they'll run down other trees where they think we aren't." Nudging Aiyana's ear briefly, Corinna bounded off once more, keeping both a careful eye on the escaping squirrels above and on her daughter behind her.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

Despite the fact that it often happened, Aiyana had been totally unprepared for the warm sensation sweeping through her at Corinna's warm-hearted praise. A shy, proud grin made her lips curl back and with an awkward yip-giggle she walked sideways, balancing with her forepaws on the trunk and pressing her small black body against Corinna's larger one. Her mother was too large for her to reach that far up on, but with unhidden devotion she cuddled up to her mother, for one moment forgetting to be serious about hunting, just wanting to bask in the warmth lapping across her body and spreading within. But Mother stepped down and Aiyana remembered her task. Playfully she nipped at the thick fur on Corinna's flank, before falling back on her haunches to watch Mother stalk the tree. Were they going to hunt trees now? Head flipped to the side, ears doing a puppy-flop as she watched and drank in what happened. Scare them down? She caught the wink and watched intently. Then Mother was flinging herself against the tree, barking and snarling, and a high-pitched one of Aiyana's own rung up towards the branches as her little black body mimicked the dance.

She could hear the rustle of tiny paws, how they scampered over branches, fleeing from one tree to the next; Corinna nuzzled her ears and Aiyana fell back on all four, stumbling for half a heartbeat before catching herself and dashing after her mother. She had no idea what they were doing, but it was fun! With her tongue lolling out between her jaws she made sure to keep up moderately with her mother, yet not too close should she suddenly stop. It hurt to run into someone else's hocks. Sometimes she looked up, straining to discern the squirrel bodies leaping above them, but her sight was not yet good enough. Perhaps if she had been standing still she would've been able to focus on them, but when running? Impossible. Listen, her mother had said, and she returned her gaze to the ground, allowing her twitching black ears to follow the critters' process. Would they get one? She found that she didn't care - what mattered was doing this with Mother.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Gone Tomorrow

Her small shadow followed obediently behind her, keeping up with the quick pace Corinna had set. A quick look behind her reassured the leader that Aiyana was still following along. She hadn't said anything, but her golden eyes seemed focused, and that was good enough for Cori. The sounds above them hadn't ceased, but the adult's pace began to slow ever so slightly. Ears twitching, she tried to focus on a particular squirrel, to figure out when one would appear on ground level. But the scurrying above continued, heading in a thousand different directions as the small mammals ran away to find ataraxia. Sooner or later, though, one would appear for them to find.

It took several minutes of a continued lope through the woods, with semi-frequent pauses to make sure they were still on the same track. It was the flicker of movement out of the corner of Corinna's eyes that brought a halt to the two-wolf hunting party. The movement was quick, just the faintest shift of brown fur against the dark bark of the tree. Twisting her head around to look at Aiyana, she made a "shhh" motion with her lips, accompanied with a mischievous smile to let her know that they were close.

Turning back around, the adult fell onto her belly, though they were still far enough away from the squirrel, who had slowly ventured down the tree trunk and was standing on the ground near by, that they would not be seen. With her ebony daughter by her side, Corinna began to creep forward slowly, closing the distance. Satisfied, she leaned into Aiyana. "Now all you have to do," she whispered, "is run at it from behind, so it can't see you. When you get close, jump on it and bite it." Green eyes held her gold ones, waiting for understanding to hit.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

Every once in a while Mother would pause, just a moment, and whenever she did Aiyana slowed too, wondering if they were to stop for good or set off again. They always did the latter, but after a few times she realized what Corinna was doing - listening, gauging the progress of those scurrying paws in the branches above. Once she had understood this, Aiyana didn't scowl when they stopped, but merely listened more intently. She could still hear them, the pitter-patter of their little feet. There were fewer of them now, most having taken off in different directions. For many minutes, though it felt like a lot longer to the excited girl, they finally stopped for real. Black ears flicked up, and without questioning she copied her mother, falling flat on her belly. Was this part of the hunting?

She hadn't crawled much since she'd grown large enough to walk, so it was rough going trying to do it. Concentration made her frown, her tail a stiff aid for balance behind her as she tried to imitate the way Corinna shuffled along. It was hard, though, but eventually whispered instructions came and she looked up, spotting a tiny, brown-and-tan creature which she guessed was the squirrel. Wordlessly Aiyana nodded, and began to crawl off on her own, feeling both a tad worried and proud at the same time. Would she do the right thing, even if Mother wasn't here to guide her?

Slowly she circled around the skittish critter, until she decided she was behind it. Half a heartbeat she waited, pulse pounding in her head, but then she leaped! And ran! And jumped, and missed. Or, more like, she'd done a pretty good job, except her small body wasn't fast and silent enough to surprise such a twitchy thing as a squirrel. It bounded off effortlessly to the nearest tree, Aiyana pursuing it and rising up against the trunk like before, barking viciously at it. She could hear its feet disappearing, and grew silent before looking back to her mother, paws still on the tree.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

If you'd like, we can wrap this up and start an up to date thread? <3 So sorry for being a miserable rp partner.

Gone Tomorrow

The tiny black wolf had imitated Corinna in all aspects, and it was curious how Corinna had gained a second shadow. But every time her daughter properly imitated her behavior, she offered a rewarding smile to encourage Aiyana. This was the primary way that growing wolves learned how to behave, by watching and imitating what they're older pack mates did. It was why Corinna was so concerned with who her young trio spent their time with - it would do no good to have them pick up bad habits that would be difficult for their parents to break. But Corinna was confident as Aiyana and she crawled through the grass, and she looked on in pride as the black shadow moved forward on her own to conquer her adversary.

Keeping herself low so as to not frighten the squirrel, Corinna remained where she was. She could follow Aiyana with her eyes, watching the young wolf circle around the squirrel. But failure was to be expected for such an inexperienced hunter, and as Aiyana shot up from the grass, the squirrel immediately fled to safety. But Corinna joined in the commotion, half rising from her crouch to add her louder and deeper barks to that of her daughter. The oldest Tainn had followed in pursuit of the furry brown creature, throwing herself up against the nearest tree as Corinna had originally done. But mother nature had not seen fit to give wolves the ability to climb trees, so that was where Corinna's daughter's journey ended.

But despite the fact that the squirrel had escaped, Corinna approached Aiyana beaming, with her tail wagging wildly. "That was very good! Squirrels are very fast, so it isn't easy to catch them." Cori lowered her muzzle to touch Aiyana's forehead. "We can try again tomorrow, and the day after that if we need to. You'll become an expert hunter in no time." That was the way of the world. Hunting was not an option for the life of a wolf, and Corinna would not fail her cubs by withholding that life-saving skill. Pulling backwards, Corinna gave a woof, indicating that Aiyana should follow. They could head back to the den, where no doubt Aiyana would brag to her siblings what she had accomplished today.

I am 100% miserable too. :| So, so sorry.

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

The deep voice of her mother shook the ground and air around her, comforting even as it spurred her on. Her voice sounded so tiny and foolish next to Corinna, the squeak of a frog compared to the thunder of a bear. She grew silent, watching the bark and her blunt claws. How could squirrels climb trees, and she not? Was it meant to be that way? Her mother wasn't trying to climb it either, and when her small, dark head came around, she saw none of the disappointment she'd expected - only a loving, warm smile and a wagging tail. Still doubtful - she hadn't caught it, after all - she watched her mother approach, to be showered in praise and a promise to try it again, tomorrow. Was that how it worked, then? You kept doing it, failing and failing, until it worked out, and you got the hang of it? For a few moments longer she was quiet, subdued, but then her tail started to sway, a small grin on her face. Some small, childish part of her wanted to ask, really?, but did she need that extra confirmation? No, her heart breathed. If Corinna said she would learn - then, by all things light and green, she would. She would not need to be coddled and assured. She was a wolf. She'd not earn it; she'd take it.

And so, Aiyana Tainn was determined to become the best squirrel hunter Swift River had seen. Ever. Thinking about what squirrels might taste like, Aiyana trailed after her mother towards the den.

[end.]

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill