Round Stone Crest Look, Ma!

Just to post Kova so that he is around. Maybe I'll post again since it's no posting order.

Kova would be very late to the party he hadn't even known about. His jaws, usually filled with a fish or rabbit, were shamefully empty as he trod up the slope. A very disappointed slope of his back and tail could clearly be seen from the boy who had just had the worst hunting day ever. His mood perked up a bit though when Kova scented a number of the pack out and about. They even all seemed to be in the same general area, and so he began trotting towards their smells.

The gray youth didn't realize what he was stepping into. All he heard was the last words of Draven as Kova finally spies the forms of his pack mates through the underbrush.  “You were sneakier than what?” Kova asks as he stops before Draven then smells the mouse. His head drifts downwards to sniff at the creature covered in his dark little brothers drool.  Then a bright smile filtered onto Kova's face. “Did you catch this Draven? That's so great!” Kova grinned madly over to Draven as his tail began to wag quickly striking at the air behind him.

Kova had never been quite as good as his mother at catching animals on the land. Though he always tried his best, land animals had never been his specialty. Fish on the other paw, he could catch. In reality his first kill had been a fish, which had then been brought to his father as a gift. The young wolf still remembered that day well. He remembered how proud he was and how his father looked at him. A shiver went up Kova's spine as he looked at Gent then back to Draven. He sighed, wishing things were different for a moment, then tried to refocus onto Draven. The sile worn on his muzzle now was as real as it had been only a minute ago. However now Kova was truly trying to make Draven feel as proud of his accomplishment as he had when he'd caught his first prey.

Calanthe acknowledged Gent's arrival with a respectful dip of her head, but her focus was quickly riveted back to little Prince Draven's excited retelling of his first hunt. The pale woman spared only a quick, smiling glance at Kino - and another up at Raela - before refocusing on the dark Crest prince's tale...

...And then wincing involuntarily at Kino's grumbling. She sympathized with the silvery pup; she remembered feeling left out, too, as a yearling confined to the den of her first pack. Like Kino, she had said things at times that had been unkind - but Kino's words seemed to be the genesis of what looked as though it would be a furious brawl between himself and a now righteously enraged Draven. The black pup looked all too eager to defend the honor of his first successful hunt with tooth and claw, and Calanthe found herself at a loss as to how she should respond. Should she break them up? They were princes, and Gent was not moving to stop them - but to let them fight over such a little thing, especially when Kino hadn't really meant any harm by his comment, surely...Fortunately Raela didn't seem anywhere nearly as conflicted, and immediately stepped between the boys, calming one before turning her gentle but firm attention on the other. Calanthe couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief as she watched Draven slowly calm down again, although some of the fur along his spine still stuck up in little tufts here and there as he dragged his mouse closer to him. The poor creature's body was beginning to resemble a dust clot more than a mouse...

Kova's timely arrival brought another bit of relief; hopefully he would distract Draven enough that the boy would completely forget his ire with his littermate. On that note, hopefully Raela's words would help soothe Kino, too, so that the two younger princes wouldn't stay upset with each other for very long...

You were sneakier than what? Draven whipped around at the sound of his big brother's voice, his grin widening even more as he happily answered, “Sneakier than my mouse, of course! I caught it all by myself, see?” He bent down and nosed at it, pushing it a little ways forward again so that Kova could see it properly. At this rate, his mouse was getting a little beat up and dusty and probably wouldn't make a very tasty snack, but Draven wouldn't care even if it wound up tasting like sour mud. The boy practically glowed with his big brother's praise, his little chest puffing out again in clear pride as he let his bruised ego swell up even more than it had before. “It was tricky at first, but Raela showed me how to do it before, so I knew what to do,” Draven explained with another happy wiggle. He could repeat this story forever - or at least as many times as he needed to before everybody knew about it! “It was trying to hide in a bunch of leaves, but then it moved and I saw it. It couldn't run away before I pounced on it!” And that wasn't even the exciting part of the whole thing! He whipped around again to look at Gent as he added, “But after I pounced it, it bit me on the paw and tried to run away, and I almost lost it! But I slapped it with my paw--” and here he pantomimed the motion for visual effect, “--and knocked it over so it couldn't get away again before I bit it!”

It seemed that his comment had struck a nerve in his dear brother, words dousing the dark boy in cold water. He allowed a small smirk of triumph to show in his grin as his strikingly blue gaze stared his younger sibling down as Draven’s pelt fluffed up in agitation. “It's my first mouse, and I killed it all by myself, and I killed it before you or Ari got any of your own mice and you're just jealous because I got one first and I did it all on my own!” he said, and this time Kino was the one to get agitated. The smirk dropped off his face and instead turned to a glare, head lifting indignantly. In the back of his mind he knew that the words were true, but the lad’s pride and spirit would simply not allow for him to admit that. Raela came forward hurriedly, as if to stall the tiff that the two were getting into. But, the match had already been struck and heat had come with the friction. “I'm sure Kino didn't mean it.” she said, and his frown deepened. Then, things seemed to happen even quicker. Everyone was showing up and congratulating Draven, his presence practically dropped off the map and his silver tipped ears laid back and he looked around. His heart dropped in his chest and he swallowed, and his gaze traveled back to Draven as he took in all the praise. A fire finally erupted within him, slowly eating away at the meager energy he had stored up from his illness and at the short string of patience.

”Hey! I did mean it, don’t go putting words into my mouth. I wouldn’t say something I didn’t mean.” he said, words finally coming from his mouth with a surprising chill to them. ”I don’t care that you caught a stupid mouse, everyone else catches a million of them a day. That one was probably too stupid to even know how to run away. You probably got its nasty stupid germs too, probably infecting your brain right now. You can have your stupid mouse, let it affect everyone around you too for all I care. I’m not going near that thing,” he bit out, his own pelt fluffing out as he stared down his sibling. A slight tickle could be felt in his chest as if he needed to cough, but he pushed it down and ignored it determined to stand his ground in this.

Delphi the Oracle, Designs.  

(This post was last modified: Sep 18, 2015, 04:38 AM by Datura.)

Figured we could wrap this up here, if you'd all like to post exit posts?

Clearly, Raela's words hadn't been entirely successful in calming either of the two brothers, but it was only to be accepted. They were just children, after all, greedy and clingy with their emotions and unattentive to the logic that guided the adults' world. Draven would be sure to hold a grudge about the dismissive insult for a time longer than just this moment, and Kino likewise would probably feed the little green monster within his head just a few more morsels to keep it alive. Yet still, Gent saw no harm in this. Draven was merely taking pride in his accomplishments, and Kino's resentment would only drive the child to succeed and grow himself. Sibling rivalry was healthy to an extent, and if Gent were to be honest with himself, he would acknowledge that he truly didn't know where the boundary line lie. Rivalry, though the end goal had been a little bit skewed for each of them, had been what drove he and his siblings through their youngest years. It didn't matter the blood that had been shed between them all, as the whelps he reared with Minka were still far away from the childhood he had lived. The adoptive father wouldn't be able to see the crossover from idealized competition to harboring resentment until it was too late.

Ears pressed forward and pale eyes lighting with renewed interest, Gent focused solely upon Draven as the child turned to him, intent that everyone else listen to and be impressed with his story. He even reclined, rooting himself to the occasion. In the middle of his prideful descriptions, Kova hit the scene, enough to take the king's attention away once again. He threw a smile the heir's way and winked, before once more transferring his focus upon the proud hunter. It occurred to him that perhaps the child would take after his mother and become a fine hunter for the pack, and he thought to voice this idea to Draven. Yet before the words could build within his throat, Kino suddenly interjected with a sharp 'Hey!,' and the king's pale eyes locked onto his indignant young face.

His muscles tense, the boy's tone being the first thing to register with the man. For the first time, his instincts implored him to step in and correct the child, not for upsetting his brother but for disrespecting Raela. Yet as his words continued to flow with such confidence and icey self-righteousness, the affront was swiftly smoothed over by a trickle of pride. His jabs might have been childish, and his jealousy unnecessary, but the child had stood up for himself and stuck to his guns all the same. I wouldn't say something I didn't mean, he had claimed, and Gent found this statement to be not just bold but more acceptable than a heartless apology.

"Alright," Gent spoke up at last, hoisting himself back up onto his feet. "You know who would really love to see your kill, Draven?" he asked the boy, lowering his head so as to see eye to eye with the lad. "Your mother.

With that, he regained his posture and turned his face toward Raela and Calanthe, asking them both "Could you take Draven to find @Minka?" In truth, it was just as much a command as a request, though the patriarch wasn't expecting resistance. He licked Draven's crown once in goodbye before congratulating him with, "Excellent job sneaking, son."

He stepped forward then to Kino's side, lowering his head to touch the boy's bristled nape with the end of his snout, a low growl of affection seeping from his jaws. They would talk about this, but Gent wanted it very much to be between the two of them, with no one else to interfere nor distract the boy from what he wanted to teach him.

"Let's go for a patrol, Kino."

(This post was last modified: Sep 18, 2015, 02:23 AM by Gent.)

Her eyes only left the silver pup once or twice to take in the arrival and praise of the others. It seemed despite his brother's rude comment that Draven would still get the praise he deserved. Unfortunately, however, no response was offered up by Kino, and she watched as he only seemed to grow more and more angry. While his eruption was sudden, and she had been hoping for better, it wasn't surprising either. Her yellow eyes locked onto the pup's in an instant as his defiant tone registered loud and clear. Her tail and ears rose reflexively as if her place was being openly challenged, but she would refrain from any snarls, growls or otherwise. Raela only stared at him with an icy vexation until his little outburst was finished, immediately placing herself between the boys and facing Kino head on. It took conscious effort to keep from reacting out of anger; it would do absolutely nothing good for the boy and she'd committed herself against it long ago. She would not be them.  It was as if the prince hadn't heard a word that had been offered him. He was reacting out of jealousy and that much was plain for them all to see. His first statement was easily dismissable as false, as there was not a wolf alive who hadn't said or done something they hadn't truly meant before, and Kino would learn that in time. He was only reacting as his juvenile emotions got the better of him. As long as she could remind herself of this her own mind would stay level. Oh how small and sweet he had been. That was the Kino she had to remember despite her irritation. That was still the same precious child before her now. A multitude of responses picked at her clenched teeth as she watched him before something much more productive hit, and she choked the rest down. Hopefully Draven would see her own irritation with his brother as enough and avoid rushing back into attack mode so quickly. And so, her tongue was swift.  “You might think you mean it now,” she replied; every bit as cold as he had been at first as her bright eyes drilled down at the youth; but it was her tone that softened the slightest amount only a moment after as the all-too-necessary words fell. “but I know you're a better person than this.” The subordinate kept her gaze on him just long enough for it to sink in. Yes, she was disappointed, but she also knew that he could hardly raise his voice against a statement like that. If nothing else it would give the lad something to chew on. She could force no apologies; no. Only true remorse for his actions would bring Kino to where he needed to be, and that could only come from himself. What an awful tragedy it would be for his relationship with Draven to be stained by rash behavior like this. While it might have seemed a simple tiff to some, it was quarrels like these that bred resentment between siblings, and it was poisonous. With no further ceremony she returned to the rightful center of attention.  It was just as important to keep Draven from feeling neglected, and she openly agreed with Gent's words. A smile returned easily as she took in her little pupil and his trophy once more. “Oh she would,” Raela cooed, twitching her tail in a wag. “I'll bet she isn't vary far, probably headed up here right now.” Her eyes glanced off down the mountain and she nodded to Calanthe while Gent adorned his adoptive son with one more ounce of approval. She beamed. As Gent turned back for Kino she felt a pang of worry, but the patriarch had remained cool throughout the ordeal and he was anything but shaken now. Still, she hoped there would be some form of correction in order; the pup needed someone to explain why acting like that wasn't okay and she could only hope her dear friend would.  Playfully, and in an attempt to tear the dark child's mind away from what had occurred, Raela abruptly bumped his shoulder with her nose. “C'mon Draven, your mom will love it! ” She stuttered forward a few steps with half a play bow. “Let's go show her that trophy of yours.” Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

Yet again, @Kino's icy tirade left Calanthe reeling with shock - but this time she pushed beyond it, shouldered past the worry that she was overstepping her bounds, and similarly to Raela stepped between the two princes before a brawl could break out - and, judging by the tone of Kino's voice and the way Draven had reacted the first time, if there wasn't a good, solid wall of wolf between the pair there would soon be more than just a few speckles of mouse blood on the floor of the den.

Raela had her attention turned for the moment to Kino; in the interest of keeping either of the princes from feeling favored over the other, Calanthe turned instead to Draven, dipping her head low (and in the process creating a stronger barrier of herself) as she murmured, "Kino is disappointed in himself, Draven, not angry with you. Don't take it too badly." Whether or not what she said was truly the case here, Calanthe couldn't be entirely sure; Kino had sounded incredibly venomous, and in her experience that came more from dislike than a blow to one's ego. But she was desperate to say something to calm Draven down before his day could be completely ruined.

The pale woman stepped back as Gent spoke up again, grateful for the King's interjection. She dipped her head again in acquiescence at the man's order; that was probably for the best. Showing off his mouse again would help Draven forget about Kino's angry words, and surely Minka would be thrilled with the boy's catch... though it was a rather sorry-looking bundle of fur and dust, now.

Calanthe moved to let Gent get to Kino, but was quick to return to Draven's side (and carefully between him and his brother again) as she joined Raela in herding the boy away to find Minka. "Let's go, Draven. I'm sure Minka will be thrilled!"

Draven Lagina
I won't stay small forever

Actually, Cade, that's not a bad idea. If Kino and Kova can all go ahead and fade out in your next posts, I will archive this thread as soon as the last participant has exited.

Again @Kino's words sparked absolute fury in Draven, and in spite of @Kova's praises and Calanthe's rapt attention, the Crest pup tore around again and glared murderously at his litter mate. All right; if it was a fight Kino wanted, then he was going to get one! The pup crouched low, ready to tackle the grey pup to the ground and wrestle an apology out of him if it was the last thing he--

Raela and then Calanthe got in front of him, completely blocking his path to Kino. NO amount of dancing back and forth gave the dark pup any clearer a path to his dumb brother - there were eight legs in the way. all placed to close together for him to squeeze through. He could race around them, either, because no matter which direction he went, one or the other of them would be facing him well enough to grab him before he got close enough to do any damage! Frustrated, Draven sat down with a plop instead, dismissing Calanthe's words with a snort and an irritable flick of his little ears. Whatever Kino's problem was, he was dumb and ought to get beat up for it.

Gent's words and the lick on top of his head helped Draven cool off just a little bit, but now not even the promise of getting to show off for Minka was enough to completely erase his bad mood. Even as he got up to follow Raela and Calanthe away, the pup couldn't help casting a final, angry look over his shoulder at Kino. The adults could all pretend this was just some harmless misunderstanding, but Draven couldn't. He wouldn't, not for a long, long time, and that was a promise, even if it was one made silently to himself.

{EXIT}

Cranky Kova is cranky

Kova stood there with a goofy grin on his face as Draven grinned upwards at him. Kova couldn't help but let his tail wag enthusiastically for his little brother. A first kill was something to be proud of, something that he hoped all of his siblings would get to feel. At the thought of that though Kino's voice piped up. Kova smoothly turned to gaze down at his silver brothers face. As Kino continued to speak loudly Kova's tail stopped and began to raise parallel to his back. He took a step forward and allowed a low growl to thrum past his lips to correct and educate his little brother, but Gent got there first. Kova pauses in his tense position as Gent looks down at Kino and Draven then speaks.

For some reason Kova did not know, when Gent regarded the dark pup as "son" he felt a very fierce reaction of anger splinter up from his chest. Kova pushed it down knowing that the black wolf meant well, but he couldn't help feeling like everything going on right now was totally wrong. The young male tried to think of that respectful and trusted black alpha wolf he'd know while training with Gent on various subjects. However, the odd rushing feeling would not leave Kova. Especially when Gent suggested that Draven go to see their mother Minka then asked Kino to come on a patrol with him. Kova himself wanted to speak to Kino, and a large part of him wanted to budge between Gent and Kino to teach Kino a lesson himself. Struggling with these feelings Kova stayed rooted to the spot as Raela, Draven, and Calanthe disappeared. He tossed an unenthusiastic farewell ove rhis shoulder to the other wolves while gazing at Kino and Gent.

Just get what you want to say out of your head already or it'll be too late... Kova pressed himself forward to stand over Kino with a disappointed look in his gaze. “A noble prince, which is what you are, should not show his annoyance and anger so plainly to everyone.” Kova forced himself to look calm once more despite knowing that Gent wanted to leave. “To be a good prince and king you must contain your anger. If you don't like that Draven got all the praise then work hard and gain the praise of everyone around you. Do not strike out in anger at your family. That is wrong... ” Kova let the last word come out as a growl as he stared down at Kino then whipped around and loped after the rest of the pack. He gave a bitter but understanding glance to Gent before turning to Calanthe and Raela's trail to chase after them.

(EXIT KOVA)

Kino was not a bad child, not in the slightest. Truly, he had a good heart that was typically in the right place but for the moment it was shrouded in a cramped and slightly feverish body. He still felt a little sickly and sore, which had caused his aggravation. Draven had stepped toward Kino, and the boy lifted his chin, muscles tensing in preparation for a brawl between the two brothers. He would win, he knew he would. While Draven was all book smarts, Kino was a boy of action. When he’d been younger they may have been able to best him, but now he was starting to come into himself. Maybe Ari would still be a challenge, but he knew that he could deal with Draven if needed. However, before it could burst into violence both Calanthe and Raela firmly planted themselves between them. Kino gave a snort and plopped himself back down, knowing that he couldn’t get past them even if he tried. Of course, gotta have everyone else fight his battles for him, he boy thought sourly, looking away. He knew some of the words were aimed at him, especially Raela’s but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Upon Gent’s calling him to a patrol, he brought himself to his paws begrudgingly. As he was heading toward him, he was stopped by Kova. He looked up at the older boy with a dull expression, brows creasing in confusion. What could he want?

“A noble prince, which is what you are, should not show his annoyance and anger so plainly to everyone. To be a good prince and king you must contain your anger. If you don't like that Draven got all the praise then work hard and gain the praise of everyone around you. Do not strike out in anger at your family. That is wrong... ” he said, the last bit coming out in a growl. The boy’s ears lowered, head dipping at the words as they landed on him like a slap to the face. He looked up to his brother, admired him even for their similarities. While the other’s words didn’t affect him, Kova’s words did. He looked away hastily with a huff, claws digging into the soil beneath him before he pushed forward expression steely. If Kova wanted him to stop showing his feelings, that was exactly what he’d do. He didn’t need praise from others, didn’t even need them to know he existed. From that moment on, Kino would truly be a ghost.

Exit Kino.

Delphi the Oracle, Designs.