Swift River picking up pieces

<b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;"> Apparently Borlla didn’t know how to howl which seemed a little farfetched considering that it was pure wolf instinct to know how to do it. So when the little pup got a little closer to Inkheart, he began to feel a little less comfortable with this meeting but didn’t show it on his face due to the other wolf who might take that as an aggressive hint. Even though he was socially challenged, he wasn’t aggressive when it came to his neighbors—or even aggressive at all for stupid reasons. Consequentially, while he was thinking about what the other might think if he had shown his unease the little one let one rip and he couldn’t help but squint one of his eyes at the high-pitched frequency.
Unfortunately, Inkheart had been thinking that the yearling might offer some nice words and tell him that it would get more mature as he aged but all he had said was ‘too bad for you’. Shocked, Inkheart rolled his eyes and concentrated on Borlla. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">“You just haven’t hit the age yet to where it’ll sound like everyone else’s,” he swallowed and looked to Spooks with a solid gaze that said that he’d better take care of her because one day she would probably not take pity on him. Besides, you never knew when you would lose the ones who were close to you—with that, he returned his eyes back to Borlla and managed a smile, <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">“keep working on it and you’ll be better in no time.” Ink then departed without another word.

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Borlla wasn't sure how much longer she could take this whole "being little" business. Every time she was faced with something she couldn't do because of her "size", the feeling was foudroyant! She wanted to be angry and cry all at the same time. Mom would have been there to tell her she was big, and keep her going. She wouldn't have minded being followed everywhere by her mom...Not one bit. No one followed her now though, and she wandered, only to be caught and scolded. It wasn't their fault though. They had grown up things to do...

At Spooks's words she shot a look, lips curling. But then this Ink guy said the same thing...Admittedly a bit nicer, but...It was all because she was little. Borlla huffed, watching as the black wolf got up and disappeared. "Well that wasn't very nice." The girl commented, her voice sounding a bit shaky. What was the use in being upset? She was little, but one day, she'd be big, right? It still bothered her. Borlla twisted around, looking at Spooks, not bothered by the black wolf's exit, "So what are you doing here?" She moved towards him, sniffling. He smelled like Swift River. Woah. He must have been hiding for a long time...

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Faced with Inkheart's solid stare, Spooks merely gazed back, confused at why this random stranger was giving him such an intense look. He didn't get it. His confusion was interrupted when the loner abruptly rose to his paws and disappeared back into free territory without another word, leaving the two River wolves staring after him. That was kind of unexpected. Spooks wondered why he had been in such a hurry to leave and shrugged, supposing that the stranger probably had places to be and things to do.

Borlla's voice shook him out of his reverie and he turned his gaze towards her, rather glad that he was the one looking down at her rather than looking up. Hopefully she wouldn't grow up to be a giant like her elder brother Indru, because that would be just terrible. Spooks hated being smaller than everyone else, privately thinking that the nature took some perverse pleasure at restricting his growth to be less-than-normal. "I'm part of Swift River now!" he explained proudly. Technically, he had fulfilled the challenge of 'sneaking' onto River territory, right? There weren't any stipulations that said he had to be a loner to do so.

That news throughly surprised the girl. Spooks was apart of Swift River? She wondered if that meant that he'd sneaked in and gotten caught and this was sort of like his punishment, even though he didn't seem all that unhappy about it. Or maybe he was lying, just in case someone was listening. Borlla peered up at him, highly suspicious.

"Really?" Her gaze was lupine as she tried to find out the truth, even though he had just said it out loud. "You talked to my brother and everything?" Her stare broke, and she sat, looking slightly befuddled. "Hey! That means you have a place to sleep now!" She brightened up quickly. "Swift River has lots of comfy places to sleep." Her tail began to wag, and she looked up at him again. "So...Do I still call you Spooks?"

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Judging from the expression on Borlla's face, it didn't look like she believed his words as she questioned his claim. Spooks gave a wild bob of excitement to her query, punctuating the action with a very loud "Yep!" of affirmation. At her next sentence, the monochrome yearling tilted his head to the side slightly in question. A place to sleep? Although he had spent a few days exploring the lands of Swift River, he hadn't actually selected a den sight just yet. "Oh. I haven't chosen a spot yet. But I will!"

Well, it would be done all in good time once he scoped out the territory a bit more to select a good spot. It would be a nice change from forever searching out a place to stay for the night when he was a loner. Not to mention that one had to be careful of some of the more lupine creatures that roamed the woods at night. The Swift River puppy's next question confused Spooks slightly. "Well what else would you call me anyways?" he asked, a perplexed expression on his face.

Borlla was less than pleased to hear that he hadn't chosen a place to sleep yet. "It's not that hard." She gave him an odd look. That was easy enough for her to say, seeing as her den had basically been picked out for her. She nearly offered him a place with her, but she was sure Indru wouldn't like to share his den, since he already was bunking with three pups. When she got bigger though, she'd have to pick her own den. She simply could not wait for that day to come. "I'll be big enough soon, that I'll get to pick out my own den. It'll be the best." She gave a confirming nod, and ended it.

"Well, I've heard other wolves call my brother 'alpha'. I don't call him that, but...I dunno, maybe you got a fancy name too. But I guess not." Junai didn't get a different name either, so maybe it was just Indru that got special treatment. "Sometimes Ruiko calls me 'smallteeth', but that's a different kinda name." It was as close to a nickname as the girl was going to get.

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Spooks merely scowled slightly at the hint of demeaning attitude at her flippant comment, kneading the dirt beneath his paws. "I know that. Just haven't gotten around to finding one yet," he replied, a note of defensiveness creeping into his tone, being an individual predisposed in finding a challenge in the most innocuous words. Besides, he wanted to find a really good spot, just to compensate all those long nights spent in uncomfortable conditions. "I bet mine will be better than yours though!"

Alpha Indru? So that's what Borlla meant. Spooks curled a lip at the title. It just sounded so . . archaic and dull, more fitting for someone older than Swift River's leader was. "Alpha? That's such a boring title!" he exclaimed, indignant. "We should call him The Boss (capitals intended) instead. That sounds cooler!" he went on to say, nodding sagely. It was much more hardcore than just being called a plain-old Alpha. Smallteeth? Well, Borlla did have small teeth after all. But Spooks was more interested in another matter. "Who's Ruiko?"

"What kind of challenge is that?" Borlla peered at him, shoulders hunched. "You don't even have a den, so I win! And even if you did, mine is still the best." She got to share the big rock den with Indru and Kinis and Triell. He'd have to sleep by himself. Nothing could beat the big rock den. At least until she got big enough to find her own den. Then it could easily be beaten.

The Boss? The pup took a moment to consider this new title for her brother. It was definitely better than 'Alpha', but..."Why don't they just call him Indru? That's his name." Borlla shrugged, and cast a minute glance over her shoulder, wondering if the other wolf had come back, but he hadn't. At Spooks's question, she nearly gasped. "Ruiko's my other brother! He and Indru are the same age and stuff." The only difference between them was that Ruiko wasn't as nice as Indru...Except Borlla didn't say that out loud.

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He huffed noisily at her assertion in protest. Saying she had already won wasn't fair! No, not at all. "No it's not!" Just watch, when he finally found a good place for his den it would be 100000x better than Borlla's, so nice that everyone in Swift River would just be begging him to stay a night in his den! Once that happened, Spooks couldn't wait to see the look on Borlla's face!

At Borlla's question, he peered down at her, pensive as he considered the query. Although granted, Spooks wasn't know for his flawless ability to navigate social situations, especially with superiors, with grace and respect, he knew the basics at least. And some leaders didn't appreciate being called their first names. Although the yearling didn't know Indru's take on forms of address, he didn't want to end up getting in trouble for 'lack of respect.' "It's to show respect!" he explained, ignoring the fact that most of his actions went contrary to what he was saying. Ruiko is Indru's brother? How many siblings did Borlla have exactly? "Oh."

His adamant behavior only irritated her, and she disregarded his words. It was perfectly fair, she'd won, and he'd just had to accept that fact. If he decided to pursue the challenge further once he'd gotten a den, then she'd humor him to see what his den looked like. Borlla didn't understand what being biased was, obviously. She'd always be the winner.

Respect? Well, she supposed that made sense. She'd still call him Indru, though. Calling him anything else would be funny-sounding. "I guess you haven't met Ruiko yet." Her brows furrowed, wondering if he'd met her other siblings either. "I have lots of siblings other than Indru. There's Niija, Kinis, Triell, Ioni, Kenai, Junai, and..." Hotei and Torla were still missing, but she was sure they were okay. But there wasn't much point in adding them to her list, since Spooks couldn't meet them if they weren't here. "I have another brother and sister, but they didn't come back after the fire...They're okay though, I bet!" Her skinny tail wagged hopefully. Mommy and Daddy were found after the fire...But Hotei and Torla weren't. They'd probably just gotten lost.

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