Grizzly Hollow Try Everything

Pip, you come across a squirrel that’s been startled out of its torpor. (Ace) @Hocus Pocus. Hope this is okay! <3

Growing more accustomed to Grizzly Hollow, Pip no longer spent as much time hiding in @Veho's medical den or pressed against @Yvly's side. While those things were still very much daily occurrences, the little female felt encouraged enough by her packmates' continued support enough to explore more. The recent cold snap had her feeling restless. With her leg aching sorely from inactivity, the yearling had a yearning to stretch her legs some without  wandering out of pack territory.

Peeking her head out of the den, Pip found the lack of activity curious. Was everyone out on a hunt? Patrolling maybe? As much as she would have liked to try her paw at fishing again, she was far too nervous to try so recently after her attack. She limped her way over lichen-padded ground, nose uplifted for any sign of company. While she preferred Yvly, Pip would have readily settled for anyone so long as they were fine with her silent presence. But finding no one, the yearling nearly turned around dejectedly to head back to the medical den.

However, a rather interesting scent caught at her nose. Curious, her ears flicked forward to catch a soft chattering sound. Pip frowned and gave a chirp of her own, wagging her tail when she was rewarded with more chattering in response. Limping onward, placing more weight on her leg than she likely should have, the agouti female tilted her head when she spotted a squirrel wobbling drowsily on a branch. As loud as she could manage, Pip chirped at it.

Gracelessly, the squirrel tumbled from its branch and landed directly on the head of a sleeping Hocus. Having only just seen the male, Pip pinned her ears back anxiously and lowered herself towards the ground. Oops...

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These days sleep was his only friend. It gave him small gifts here and there: whisper's of God's wisdom, glimpses of his family and pack back home, his sons, his daughters. Though, the occasional nightmare of his poor Piety, lost and alone surfaced on the banks of his subconsciousness like an unceasing tide. He was thus engaged in the middle of this winter afternoon. Were it a good dream he would have been lounging in a stately pose: more or less up right, his tail fanned out behind him, his face resting on his paws. In the throes of nightmares, however, Hocus unknowingly curled up in a feline manner, his bushy tail draped over his nose as he huddled in fear of his own worries. This was how the squirrel found him, landing neatly on his head. If perhaps the impact was not enough to rip him from the horrid visions dancing behind his eyelids, the frantic scampering and frightened squeals of the critter as it tore through his fur in attempt to escape was more than enough.

His head shot up, green eyes wide. Otherwise, though, his shock was surprisingly wordless. As he turned about, looking for the vermin who had disturbed him, his gaze landed upon a familiar face. It was the little brown yearling from that nasty debacle. Hocus blinked, unsure of putting the blame on her. Truly he hadn't much of an idea how the squirrel had landed on his head, and yearlings could be particularly mischievous. On top of it, the girl was in such a sorry state lying on the ground that it was hard not to assume she had been somehow causally involved.

"You didn't throw the squirrel at me, just now, did you?" His voice was even, but he had a frighteningly deep tone all the same. As he spoke he wracked his brain for the girl's name. There were too many names in Grizzly Hollow. Twice as many as there should have been, and it made it hard for him to associate any of them with a face.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Earnestly, the little female shook her head, her chin brushing the thin dusting of snow that covered a mixture of pine needles and dead leaves. Her eyes flickered towards the confused vermin who scrambled awkwardly along the ground, still suffering from its fall from the nest in the tree above Hocus. Should she...try to catch it? Offer it as an apology to the white male? Or would he take offense to her even going after it? Were there rules to forest prey that she didn't know about?

At a loss, Pip's orange eyes returned to the soft green gaze of her packmate. She held it for only a heartbeat before her eyes dropped to the foliage directly in front of her nose so as not to make him think she was in any way attempting a challenge. His deep, guttural voice sounded cross enough as it was. The last thing she wanted to do was get him riled enough to come after her for disturbing his sleep.

Should she try to explain? The yearling then cast her muzzle skyward, hoping he would follow her muzzle to peer at the nest stuffed in the crux of two branches above him. Pip let out a little chirp in encouragement before returning her head to its position against the ground. The tip of her tail wagged just a little in an effort to dissolve any animosity he might harbor towards her for being in the wrong place and the wrong time.

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As he watched her head twitch and wiggle in the snow her identity started to come back to him. Right. This girl was the silent one, with some name that was onomatopoetic or something of the sort. Though most of the Grizzly Hollow wolves were not particularly verbose to begin with, he felt reassured knowing he had encountered what he would consider the least bothersome one by virtue of mutism. The white patriarch shifted on his elbows, lifting his head as he watched her. She seemed very uncomfortable. His eyebrows climbed ever higher.

Despite her inability to form words, she looked as though she was trying very hard to communicate something to him. The girl was pointing up at the naked canopy with her snout, and his eyes lazily ascended to the branches. There was a cluster of twigs resting in a fork of limbs. The girl was making some sort of chirping noise. Hocus was not sure if she was trying to mimic the birds sounds or if this was in fact the only noise she could make, having not spent much time around her. Her repertoire could really be anything, and he was in fact surprise she could produce anything at all. Perhaps he had to reevaluate her annoyance coefficient. Peering back at her, he noticed that her muzzle was moving back downwards. Tracing a trajectory of the squirrel or something? Really it was unclear.

He shrugged, "Well, I suppose that settles it then, doesn't it." Except nothing was really settled because Hocus could make neither heads nor tails of what she was trying to say. But not being entirely conversational, Hocus was now at a loss as he stared at the girl on the ground before him. He had nothing particular to say, and she could barely say anything.

"It's.....Squawk ..right?"

The young wolf sighed dejectedly when it seemed he couldn't comprehend her meaning. It wasn't the first time, and wouldn't be the last. She offered a small smile anyway, though found her mind drifting to other such instances back in Bella Coola.

It was there. Scarcely hidden behind an algae covered volcanic rock in the sand, Pip spotted the missing herbs Tallulah had been hunting for. The young fisher tapped a paw hard against the sand, hoping to earn the healer's attention. She could smell her older siblings all over the bundle and knew they must be playing a trick on the older wolf. It wasn't a very kind trick, in her opinion. What if one of the pack became injured and needed those supplies?Pip frowned when her summoning was ignored. Perhaps the older wolf simply hadn't heard her. She hopped up and down in the sand, and continued to go on ignored. Frustrated, Pip let out a series of chirps."Stop that racket!" Tallulah snapped, teeth bared angrily at the pup. "I don't have time for your useless tweeting!" The little one had immediately fallen to her back in the face of such aggression, her chest rising and falling quickly with rising anxiety. When the healer stalked away, Pip skittered off fearfully. She was really thinking of biting her! Pip could tell by the furious look in her Aunt's eyes. But I didn't steal it! Pip thought miserably. It seemed no matter how helpful she tried to be, the adults only saw her as a useless burden.The yearling was pulled forth from the upsetting reverie as Hocus addressed her. She blinked blankly at the male, caught off guard. And then her eyes crinkled merrily and she dipped her muzzle to laugh silently at him. Squawk. It was fairly close to Squeak, she supposed. If it was what he wanted to call her, she was fine with that considering it didn't come from a cruel place as some other names she had earned in her life. Being unable to speak apparently made her unintelligent to some. But she didn't have to deal with daily insults anymore when her siblings weren't around to defend her. Now she had decent packmates. Good wolves with strong hearts.Amused by the pale wolf in front of her, Pip rolled to her side playfully before turning to her back and squirming as if to scratch it against the ground. All the while, she smiled at Hocus, even from her upside down position.

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:c i apologize for the wait <33 pip so cuteeeee

Well, she was mute but she wasn't dumb, and Hocus realized he needed to remember that as she sighed. It was a gentle, lonely sounding sigh that Hocus recognized well, having sung such a note often in these past months. Clearly she understood that he could not understand her. Perhaps, of the two of them, Squawk was the more perceptive one. No doubt her whole life was just one collection of shooken muzzles and sighs like these. His mouth twisted uncomfortably, feeling, for the first time in awhile, pity for another one of God's creatures. But as he brought his religion into the forefront, the ministerial thoughts began to return to him. He wondered if her mutism was some sort of punishment, for God always had a reason. A punishment for her, or her parents, he wondered? The mysterious ways of his deity were so unclear, and yet Hocus was not worthy to know them. But he had enough worth to discover the trappings of the Lord's reasons.

Apparently, her name was not 'Squawk,' or else she would not have moved through surprise, bewilderment, and laughter so quickly. His ears flattened with mild embarrassment, though she did not seem so bothered by the fact that she was rolling merrily on the ground in front of him. "Well, come on," he said attempting to reason with her, "Don't look at me like that, I barely know you." The pleading was, for once, not marked by his stormy nature. If anything, he clearly felt bad for getting her name wrong, but had no idea what could be done about it. "What am I supposed to call you?" However, he wasn't sure if she could even answer him.

Amused by his seeming helplessness, Pip's tail thumped against the ground. It wasn't that big of a deal in her opinion. A name was a fleeting thing to the young sea wolf and she was used to hers being as flexible and giving as water. In response to his question, she rolled back into a sternal position and shrugged his shoulders, head tilting to one side in an effort to communicate that it really didn't matter to her what he called her. Squawk was silly and suited her just fine. Hoping to add weight to the posture, she reached out with a forepaw and tapped it against the ground. He was worrying too much. That would have to be changed.

In a way only the truly submissive could pull off, Pip thought to get his mind off of it through play. Of course, she wasn't exactly the place partner to have in that aspect considering her injury, but she would be careful not to let @Veho know that she'd been overdoing it. As long as she wasn't too active, she was certain her wound would remain closed.

Keeping most of her weight off the bad leg, Pip raised her rear into a clear play bow before bouncing forward to tap her superior's nose lightly with a paw, chirping as she did so before flopping to the ground once more. Her mouth opened as she nipped at the air, invitation for him to wrestle as long as he was gentle. The squirrel really should count its lucky stars that @Hocus had been so focused on her that he didn't seem intent on making a meal of it! She could hear it scamper to safety up a nearby tree and out of reach.

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/feels bad for pip because hokey won't play

Apparently she was joking around with him, her tail bouncing amicably on the ground. Further confirmation: she rolled over so that she could shrug a few times. Hocus easily gave up his concern though, not wishing to ever bother with something that was a futile effort. It was easier not to care about anything, anyway. Hocus shrugged as well.

He was unprepared for her sudden display, having forgotten that she was little more than a cub at this point in her life. His eyes were wide. At first, he couldn't even remember what this pose was supposed to mean, but something instinctively told him it was iconic. Play. He tried to think of the last time he had played with anything. His children had played amongst themselves, or with their mother. It probably had to be years and years, back when he and Trisden had been less than a year old. The man frowned slowly, shaking his head a little when her paw started to hover in front of his face and finally came down with a soft Boop! upon his dark nose.

He blinked.

She flopped down on her side, biting at nothing. Confused and rather exhausted from all the mental acrobatics of translating for her, the man, too, flopped over onto his side. He stared back at her, blinking. "Looks like you killed me, Squawk." This was sort of play, right? He was not sure.

Pip blinked for a moment at @Hocus's comment before her eyes closed merrily and the skin along her muzzle crinkled with amusement. Silent laughter shook her chest. What a funny man he was! It sounded an awful lot like he was playing along. As he'd not made a single move of threat against her despite her rather unfortunate {word}contretemps[/ooc] with alarming the nesting squirrel, Pip thought it would be safe to continue encouraging him.

Pip rolled until she could readily stand before flopping back down beside Hocus, her back flush against his before she rolled. With her legs up above her, she stretched them towards the sky as if she could reach the very clouds. The little wolf took a chance to reach around and gently grab one of Hocus's ears, giving it a playful tug. Clearly, he needed more instruction on how to play! To be honest, she didn't have a lot of experience herself...but they could learn together. All the young sea wolf could hope for was that he wouldn't take her playful attempts as rude or aggressive. The last thing she hoped to do was offend him! But he seemed such a nice male; Pip was half convinced he wouldn't be offended by much of anything at all.

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