Secret Falls Half Shell

Put here because I'm not sure how much of the falls are within BTP borders, but assume she's as close to the territory as possible. ^^;
@Bracken?? :3

RE: Nalda, you discover a turtle sunbathing on a rock near the water.
- Midday, Sunny - 75 ° F/24 ° C

'The falls are dangerous' so she had been told, 'Not a place for puppies'. But they were so interesting! The crashing water was loud and wild, foaming at the base of the cliffs and evaporating into thin, tingly mist. It wasn't the first time Nalda had gone there in secret, she simply couldn't stay away. The sun stood high in the sky, shining brightly down through the pine trees, lighting the well travelled path to Secret Falls. Up ahead, the timbers parted, opening up to a vast clearing, bordered on the far edge by mighty cliffs and a wall of water. The falls were quiet this time of year, most of the melt water from the mountains having washed through long ago, but to a young pup who had never experienced the flash floods of spring, it looked plenty wild. At the base of the waterfalls was a vast pond, stretching throughout the clearing, leaving only a small, grassy area opposite the cliff wall; And otherwise bordered by trees all the way to the water's edge. Nada Zamora walked out into the lush grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun against her dark fur. She loved this place for so many reasons: there was the lure of the water, its cold clarity and curious clouds of mist; And there was a myriad of life too, frogs, salamanders, fish, as well as larger mammals, who came to the water to drink - if she was very still, the young explorer might catch a glimpse of one, and otherwise there was always plenty of tracks to study. And other  tell tale signs. 'Droppings!' she remembered from that afternoon with Iopah, sniffing a small pile that seemed to have been left long ago. And there was yet another advantage to this place, it was quiet! Not in the sense that there was no sound, in addition to the rush of the water, there was birds singing, frogs croaking, insects buzzing and the wind in the trees. But one sound was delightfully absent: other wolves! Living so close with others was a constant challenge to the young Zamora, never having her own space to just do as she wanted. At the falls she had found that though, and simply strolling through the tall grass towards the water released a freeing sigh from her russet muzzle, a joyous smile setting her face aglow. She was still so small that she almost completely disappeared in the sea of green, a happily wagging tail and large, perked ears the only things to expose her. Upon reaching the edge of the pond, she bowed her head and eagerly lapped at the cold water, while her diet still consisted mainly of milk, she had developed an affinity for the cool, clear liquid, especially on warm days like today. When she lifted her head though, licking her lips in satisfaction, her pale blue eyes landed on something in the grass close by. The dark pup froze in place, ears still perked, but tail curling between her legs as she stared at the unfamiliar creature. Resting on a small, flat rock in the sunlight, only a few steps from the water's edge, lay a... well something, dark-green with lighter stripes, head and tail looking a bit like a snake, but with the middle part covered by something round and hard-looking, and four legs poking out at the front and back. Curious but wary, the pup stretched out her head, sniffing intently, trying to identify the animal that she so far thought of as some sort of cross between a snake and a frog, without getting too close. Word count: 606 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

Bracken was an adventure junkie. She would tag along after anyone if she thought it would be worthwhile. It didn't even matter if they didn't want her bouncing along. In fact, it often made it more fun if they didn't want the youngest Pines daughter underfoot. How many games of tag with her mother was actually Iopah trying to corral her younger daughter back to the den? Not nearly enough according to Bracken. Mother was constantly trying to teach her something, a prospect Bracken found painfully boring.

The girl scrambled through the timbers, ears and tongue flopping with excitement. Where was that other pup going? She clawed over the fallen pines, leaving a trail of bark and tufts of gray fluff in her wake. Everyone one else had managed to give the tag-along of a puppy the slip, Ember out on her own adventure and Iopah and Koda having snuck away without notice. Bracken had quickly defaulted to Nalda and had discovered, to her great delight, that the Zamora puppy was searching for an adventure of her own. The temptation was simply too much to ignore!

Unfortunately the younger girl was having a hard time keeping up with her older age-mate. Short puppy legs and wild excitement were not a very graceful mix, but she was in too much of a hurry to care. Bracken was studded with bark and disheveled by the time she pranced up to Nalda. It didn't matter that she'd never really met Nalda before. She threw a grin to the other girl as if they'd played together a million times and inched into the water to inspect the turtle. "You founded somethin'!"

It didn't move, even as the imp drew close enough to tap a paw against the shell. Only inches away from contact the turtle turned a reptilian head and met Bracken's gaze. The pup gasped in shock and splashed away in the shallow water. "Don't!" She scolded it emphatically from the shore, leaning as close as she dared. The girl spared a look at Nalda as if to ask, 'Did you see what it did?!'

The creature was strange and wonderful, like all new things to the curious pup. She was soon stretched as far as she could, to get the best possible look on the animal, without getting her paws wet. That was when she heard the sound of someone crashing through the grass behind her. The dark pup spun around, teetering on the bank, stubby tail and bat-like ears waving manically to try and regain her balance. The wondrous smile on her face morphed into a grimace, darkening eyes zeroing in on the other pup as it came to a holt on front of her. Nalda recognized the girl, one of aunty Io's daughter's, Bracken, but this didn't make her any happier with this disturbance. A pawful of days younger than herself, Bracken was a little smaller, grey and tawny coat a few shades lighter than Nalda's own, and her eyes had the same, dark-blue shade, just starting to change from clear baby-blue to their adult hue. The quick grin was not reciprocated, as Nalda focused on reestablishing her balance, eyes flicking down at her dark, muddy paws for a second. When she looked back up, she found that the other girl was no longer standing in front of her, and turning, she was rather horrified to see her splashing out into the water, towards the snake-frog. "What'you doing?!" The older pup cried, eyes wide as they followed Bracken's approach of the strange creature. Fearlessly, the young Reinier made her way out to the rock, lifting a wet paw to touch the reptile's shell. Nalda gasped, tail slipping between her legs, but her ears stayed upright, eyes impossible to tear away from the scene. The animal's movement was slow, but looked fully controlled, when it turned its head to stare down the unruly pup with stoic, dark eyes. Bracken was quick to retreat, resolving to bark at the snake-frog from a safe place on the shore. Then she turned to look at the darker pup, eyes wide, and Nalda shook her head lightly; "Stupid." She announced lowly, glancing back out at the creature who was now watching the wolves closely, though it made no other move from its sunny resting spot. "'t'could've hurt'ya." Her eyes returned to the lighter girl, her shocked face unexpectedly inciting a tiny smile on the Zamora's lips; "D'you even know what't is?" Word count: 394 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

Bracken wasn't particularly bothered by what Nalda had called her. Still alarmed by the turtle's bizarre and impassive eyes, she didn't even look over at its utterance. Her mother was forever calling her 'wild' or 'crazy' and it didn't seem any different. It was a familiar tone of voice, reserved for when she was extraordinarily exuberant. When the young Reinier did glance back over her expression was far from contrite. Whatever she'd done must have been very exciting to cause that sort of reaction. In Bracken Reinier's world 'exciting' was always a good thing. Her tiny chest puffed out with pride and stubby tail flailed in the grass.

The alarm soon faded -as it often did with her. The... thing was still there, just begging to be investigated further. She was already moving along the shore's edge -trying to get a better view of it- when the other girl spoke back up. Instantly she stopped, stumbling a little bit in shock at that possibility. Her feet itched to keep going, but.... well, Bracken liked to hurt as much as any other wolf pup. "Really fink so?" Her water-splattered face turned around to ask the older girl.

The desire to get closer was quelched (for the moment anyways). Bracken sat where she'd stumbled to a stop, curiously watching the turtle. It was unlike anything she'd seen before. In all likelihood, if Nalda hadn't been watching it already, Bracken might never have noticed the silent and still creature. "I dunno. Bet my momma would." She thought back to everything that Iopah had told her about the other animals in the forest. Admittedly, she didn't remember much. It was the sights and smells that stuck with her better. A tiny nose wrinkled up. "It smelled like mud."

(This post was last modified: Sep 03, 2015, 04:32 AM by Bracken.)

The rambunctious pup didn't seem to sit still for more than a second, already back on the move before Nalda had even finished her berating comment. Pale eyes, just starting to change from their clear blue into a much more yellow shade, trailed the scruffy, younger girl as she trotted along the bank, attention focused on the snake-frog. At least her words seemed to have gotten through, the paler lass stopping short in her tracks, turning to look back with a rather horrified expression. Nalda met her eyes, mouth squeezed into a line to form a very serious expression, and nodded solemnly; "Y'saw what'd did." She reasoned, lancing back out at the odd creature. The beast had still made no move to leave its rock, only its head seeming to have moved, in order to keep one, circular eye on the smaller pup. But the older girls comments appeared to have pacified the wilder child, at least temporarily, as she planted her butt in the wet grass, eyes though still fixed on the reptile. Nalda slowly trotted over to her, taking a seat by her side before she too turned her gaze back on the creature. It could have evolved into quite an epic staring contest, the curious pups determined to study the strange animal, though Nalda was no-where near considering getting any closer, and the reptile apparently content with watching back. The earthy girl was not about to be still though, while her body might be momentarily stationary, her mouth kept moving. Nalda minded this less though, talking she could do. At her companion's comment she widened her eyes slightly, then nodded in agreement; Yes, aunty Io would know, she was sure. That didn't help them now though, Iopah was nowhere nearby, and if they left to fetch her, the snake-frog might slip away. The darker child looked back out at the creature, still eerily still on its sunny rock, only a light rise and fall at its larynx showing that it was breathing. Nalda felt the itch too, to investigate, to learn everything she could about this new thing that had been plopped into her ever expanding world. But she was nowhere near as brazen as the pup beside her, and after seeing the result of her initial approach, the more careful youth was less than eager to make her own attempt. The boisterous lass had apparently been thinking though, and at her next comment, Nalda looked at her again, eyes widening and head tilting. "Mud?" She asked incredulously, eyes shining with wonder. Her muzzle turned again, snout rising into the air as she sniffed intently, trying to catch a whiff of the animal's scent. She couldn't smell much other than water though, water and plants and sludge, which was something in between, dirty and vile. Her own snout was crinkled up, tongue sticking out slightly in a show of her disgust; "Doesn't smell'ike 'nything 'ave smelled b'fore." She announced, wrinkling her brows; "Doesn't smell'ike food." All the other animals she had ever smelled were eatable, and she had learned to recognize the specific cent of warm blooded creatures, known to her merely as food. This wasn't it though. Word count: 531 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

The snake-frog is watching:

(This post was last modified: Sep 08, 2015, 04:03 PM by Nalda.)

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

There is a rabbit\'s nest nearby. +1 Health

hehe, not sure if Bracken suffers from a lack of impulse control or short attention span

They sat and watched for a long time. In that time Bracken made two discovery's: that it must be very slow and that it was horribly boring to just watch something. She glanced sidelong, wondering just how much longer they were going to continue doing this. This wasn't something she was good at... mostly because she didn't have the patience for it. It was too much like studying, like the lessons her mother tried to give. Bracken's tiny nose wrinkled up again, she'd druther have the mud and muck!

Bracken looked at the turtle and the turtle just looked right back. Bracken frowned at the turtle and the turtle just looked right back. It was verging on painfully boring when Nalda spoke back up. Her ears perked instantly, the picture of hopefulness. She looked over brightly, butt even rising ever so slightly at the advancement of the stalled investigation. Oh... Her ears fell to the side, the boredom too heavy for her to fight against. She sighed in acknowledgement, gazing longingly back at the turtle. Mother had once told her a wolf could eat almost anything."It'd prolly taste like mud, 'nyways." She muttered.

"Maybe..." She started, little voice low as the idea grew. "... iffen it moved?" The next time her gaze wandered back to the turtle it was staring directly at Bracken, as if it knew what scheme the little pup was hatching. "And iffen it moved, we could figures it out!" It sounded like a great idea to her! They just needed it moving. With a hopeful little smile, Bracken's butt started to leave the ground again. "You fink it can swim?"

@Bracken - It's hilarious how different these pups are! xD

The studious pup was already settling in for the long haul, content to send her afternoon silently observing the creature as it went around its business at its own pace. But Bracken seemed to have other ideas. Even the few moments of study before Nalda responded to her had the younger girl bopping up and down in the spot, every hair seemingly standing on end when they finally talked again. It took all her strength not to sigh, and she mentally rolled her eyes, this was the problem with others, they didn't know how to appreciate quiet observation. Turning her muddy eyes to the paler pup, Nalda watched as her eyes travelled between herself and the snake-frog, her entire body practically vibrating. It was astonishing really, that she could find it that hard to sit still. Finally, Bracken seemed to remember her ability of speech, slowly piecing together some kind of sentence. The older pup tilted her head, trying to follow her companion's line of thinking. She couldn't see how it moving would make any difference, but Bracken appeared utterly taken by the idea. To Nalda it didn't change anything, if it wanted to move, it would, and she was ready to wait for it. Whether the other child mastered the same kind of patience was more doubtful. While Bracken readied herself to move again, Nalda made herself more comfortable in the grass, tail curled carefully around her hocks, ears and eyes turning back to the strange creature. It continued to watch them suspiciously, and the pup looked away again, knowing that it would not act naturally as long as it was fixated on her and perceiving her as a threat. Instead she looked over at Braken again, realizing with a quiet sigh that, unless the younger girl learned to sit still, her presence would continue to upset the snake-frog. She was about to make a comment on it when the paler lass spoke again, her question making Nalda's brows furrow thoughtfully. Glancing back to the creature briefly, she considered it, ears twitching in her concentration. It seemed unlikely, with the large shell around its body, wouldn't it sink like a stone? Snake's couldn't swim. But frogs could, and if it couldn't, how and why would it have ended up on the stone out in the water? With a decided little nod, she looked back at Bracken, pursing her lips. "Prob'ly," She answered, voice confident; "Else it wouldn't be'n th' water." She sought to meet the other pups eyes, wondering what had made her ask the question and curious to see if she had any more. For the first time, she felt like they might have something in common. Word count: 449 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

hehe, I feel like Bracken's one of those wind-up toys and goes in whatever direction you aim her in!

Oh... The once hopeful idea seemed sunk even before it started. Bracken stopped, now up to her ankles in water, and considered the revised situation. For a second she watched the turtle - now worried it would swim and launch some sort of attack on her water-logged self. It didn't move, but it was most certainly staring the Reinier pup down. Oh, crud!

Bracken forced her gaze away to look for the other pup still safely on the shore. She felt a little embarrassed and more than a bit worried, ears having flopped sideways when her misty-blue eyes met Nalda's. But it was a challenge now and Bracken had never been truly injured before; she turned back quickly to the turtle, making sure it had not moved.

Sure enough, it had not so much as budged. Bracken leaned left and then right, giggling as its head turned sedately to follow. Even if it could swim, it was probably slow - right? Bracken tucked her head under the surface, squinting to see through the murky water. Her head bobbed back up with a splutter and a laugh. "Nalda! I don't think it gots any feet!" If only she'd know the turtle had pulled his clawed feet inside his shell. "I guess it floats..." She mused, using a foreleg to send a wave in its direction. Perhaps she could knock the turtle from it's perch and it would just... float away?

@Bracken Didn't want this to die after all, figured we could wrap it up with another post or two <3

The moment of sympathy was short lived. Barely had their eyes locked, before Bracken was back to her amateur way of investigating. She was laughing as she moved around, dangerously close to the unknown creature, which was watching her intently. Nalda remained in her spot, rolling her eyes desperately while the slightly younger pup continued to fool about, even shoving her head underwater. She did crack a smile at that sight, ears waving in exasperation as part of her wondered if the other girl would reemerge. But her head soon resurfaced, a splutter of laughter erupting as she called back in excitement. Now the quieter girl's attention was stirred, ears perked and eyes wide as she leaned forwards, trying to discern whether Bracken could be right. It seemed improbable, how would it move around then, if it didn't have any legs to swim with. Then again, Snakes didn't have any legs. Finally, Nalda gave in to her curiosity, carefully stepping out into the shallow water, coming to the lively pups side to study their subject closer. Meanwhile, Bracken had taken to shoving the water into waves, trying to disturb the snake-frog and make it leave its perch. Again, the reticent child was frustrated, halfway considering pushing her companion aside to stop the assault. This was no way to learn about a creature, they should wait and see what happened once the animal decided to leave of its own will. But it was too late now, as a mini tsunami was already surging towards the rock. The strange reptile turned its bulging eyes from Bracken to watch the water, seeming almost indifferent to the approaching danger. Once the wave hit, the creature was washed from its sunny spot and carried off, much like Bracken had supposed. Only after apparently floating on surface for a few moments, the shelled animal transformed, legs popping out from previously invisible holes at its sides, and, without further ceremony, it dove, disappearing in the murky water. Nalda simply stared, mouth open, small ripples on the disturbed water lapping against her legs. Then she turned to the lighter girl by her side, a distinct frown on her russet face; "Look what ya'did!" Word count: 365 ”Speech”

Starna @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile