Grizzly Hollow the ox and lamb kept time

For @Deacon and @Ophelia.
Takes place immediately after Oula's return.

It had not surprised her that @Oula's children were hesitant to come greet her. That Ophelia would be so openly upset was not unexpected either. When the girl had chosen to join her on the outskirts rather than run to her mother, Nineva had set her muzzle atop the growing pup's crown momentarily in a silent show of solidarity. It was good that the Whitebark matriarch had returned, rather than disappear altogether. It was more than several other mothers had managed to do. But it was also alright that the children were still upset; they had a right to be angry, mistrusting, uncomfortable. It was not an easy situation. Whatever happened, however, she would be here for them, just as their brother would be.

When the event settled down and the pack agreed on returning to the den, Nineva had other plans. She chuffed at Ophelia, an open invitation to follow her if she didn't want to be alone or tolerate her family, before heading off in the opposite direction. Deacon was most likely on his typical patrol route, and with her nose to the wind she tracked him down. When the dark young man came into sight, she barked to get his attention before padding to his side.

"Deacon, we need to talk."

@Deacon - you're up. c: This takes place before the one with Pip timeline-wise.

Bitterness clung to her like sap. Mama hadn't given so much as a goodbye. And now she wanted her to sidle up to her and give her all the kinds of love she used to? No way! And the last thing she'd done before leaving was snap at her. Ophelia's pride still stung from that day. She refused to forgive as easily as Felix. Honestly, Ophie couldn't understand how he could at all. That look on his face when he saw her was...dumb, she settled on. It was dumb.

But she wished she felt like that just a little.

Maybe if she was mystified by her Mama's return, it wouldn't hurt so much that she hadn't charged right over and given kisses and apologies for leaving.

The pale princess swept her tail across the frozen ground when @Nineva set her chin upon her head. Warmth filled her and she turned to lick at her big sister's muzzle affectionately. It wasn't often Ophie would show love, but when she did, it was exuberantly.

Everyone started dispersing back towards the den and when her big sis turned away, she fully expected to be shooed along to join the others. Instead, her pale green eyes lit with delight when instead she was invited along. Excitement thrummed through her and Ophie danced after the grey yearling. For once, the pup kept quiet, not wanting to give a reason to be turned away from whatever it was Nineva was doing.

Spotting the dark male who had recently joined the pack, Ophie wagged her tail. This felt like a secret meeting. A secret meeting she'd been invited to! Oh, she couldn't wait to tell Joannie and Felix!

short, sorry. brain is all over rn

He wanted nothing to do with whatever commotion was happening so he stuck to himself. If everyone was gonna go race to greet someone then he needed to at least watch the rest of the borders. He mosied along on his usual patrol, minding his business and figuring he could possibly try to gather some food.

There were steps behind him. Not of one wolf but of two. He spun around to face them. One of the children, @Ophelia, and Nineva. Her voice seemed a bit urgent. His facial expression grew slightly worried but his voice was solid and serious. "Nineva and Ophelia." He nodded to both of them before continuing to speak. "What's the issue?" Shouldn't they be mingling with everyone else? Had something awful happened? The dark male suddenly felt almost bad about not being there.

His ears stayed perked, alert and waiting for her words. Whatever they needed to talk about must have been civil, though. Otherwise he trusted that the silver Hervok wouldn't have brought one of the children.

have you checked out my player preferences?

Given Ophelia's unusually quiet presence, Nineva felt free to focus on Deacon. Still, she was mindful of her choice in words. There was no need to upset or alarm the child, even though everything that she intended to discuss was just the truthful nature of things. She might be angry at her mother now, but that didn't mean that fire wouldn't burn out sooner than Ophelia'd like to admit nor that she couldn't still worry for Oula. Despite Narime's disappearing acts, Nineva would never wish hard times upon the woman.

With this in mind did she attempt to assail Deacon's concern.

"Not quite an issue; Oula's back," she clarified, "Veho's... mate."

Yeah, that probably wasn't exactly the right word, but what ever. It made the point.

"Yvly was tense, and I doubt the female ranks are gonna be restful for much longer. It just... reminded me, that I'll be in that mix come Spring."

And she was damned excited about it, though she tried not to be. It felt certain that once an adult, she would rise above Pip in rank; already the mute submitted to her, though Nineva tried her best to display deference out of mindfulness of their age difference. Would she strive to rise above the rest of them, though? She would need to decide soo.

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 01:13 AM by Nineva.)

Ophelia smiled as she was greeted by @Deacon, her pale tail wagging with pleasure. She felt like an adult. Not quite an adult, but at least included in the activities of her big sister. @Nineva's hesitance in giving Mama any title was noticed be the pup and she gave a snort. Was she even that any more? She'd been gone so long...

Thinking back to her Daddy's ecstatic greeting, the pup knew she was at least still that, if no longer Alpha. And she was still Mama, she knew as well. Even if she was mad at her. Some things could not be changed.

Just like the fact that her Mama hadn't marched right up and smothered her in kisses. Hadn't cooed over how much she'd grown and asked about all that she'd gone through. Not that the pup had given her much time. It was a test. Would her Mama come to her if she was standoffish. The answer was disappointing.

As Nineva relayed what happened, Ophelia shifted uncomfortably. How did this change things? What did it all mean? Yvly's rise to power had been through happenstance, a simple stepping up when the role was vacated. "Mama's gotta fight back if she wants to lead again," the pup murmured in understanding. Turning to Nin, she gave an adoring smile. "You can lead one day."

It wasn't quite an issue but it was still something. Oula had returned. "That's what all the commotion was about?" Deacon understood the excitement that came with returns but he didn't understand why there had been that much excitement. By scents and sounds he had been able to tell a good portion of the pack had went to great her.

The dark male's brain focused on the two females once Nineva spoke again. "You're very correct about both of those things, Nin. It will be an interesting ordeal to say the least." His eyes turned to @Ophelia as she chirped her own input. "You too are correct, Ophelia. Such a smart one." The male offered a genuinely kind smile towards the young girl. She had obviously been learning well from whoever her teacher was.

His gaze returned back to Nineva and his brows furrowed slightly. "So what concerns you about this? You obviously have an advantage with your size and you don't seem to be completely untrained either." His last words almost a questioning tone to make sure he didn't misread her experience that he thought she had. Deacon was always curious as to why Ophelia was brought along. Perhaps the duo had just been together at the time or maybe it was the silver yearling's turn to watch one of the children.

have you checked out my player preferences?

Thankfully, Ophelia understood the situation fully well, and seemed to accept it. Nineva gave her a smile, and the brightness of it turned up a notch when the girl beamed back at her. The statement earned a few please sweeps of the teenager's tail.

"I plan to," she informed the girl with a wink, before turning her attention back onto Deacon.

"I'm not concerned," she corrected, "I just, want to be prepared. For anything."

She'd already learned that her large frame meant next to nothing when she didn't have the experience to take advantage of it. She might have battle scars, but those had been earned because she hadn't known what she was doing. That mistake couldn't be repeated, not ever, because next time it might be more than her own hide on the line.

And certainly, she couldn't lay claim to the Caverns just to have the next ambitious female to come along knock her off the throne and ruin it all.

"We should spar. Right here. Right now. They taught you how to fight, didn't they?"

Her forepaw dug against the earth and her chin tucked, making it clear she was ready and raring to go.

In all honesty, Ophelia had no formal teacher. @Amaryllis would teach her some things. New words, new things. But mostly, Ophelia picked up things on her own as her parents were more or less absentee. Mama and Papa had been gone for so long and only Daddy was left behind. But he got so busy with leading that she could never blame him for it. She was always grateful when he took the time to cuddle with her and was often satisfied with that even if the cuddles had been becoming more and more rare. So at Deacon's praise, excitement thrummed from her toes out through the tips of her ears. He thought she was smart!

That's good, because she was! Joannie was too much of a rule follower to use her brain some days, Ophelia thought. And Fee always had his head somewhere else. Like under rocks. With bugs.

It took a moment for her own ego to calm down for Ophelia to realize a challenge had been issued. More excitement left her tail wagging and she bounced forward to nip at both @Deacon's and @Nineva's chins in encouragement. "Yes, yes! I wanna watch. And then teach me! I wanna fight. So I can whoop Joannie's tail!" Not that she hadn't already bitten her sister's butt good. But that wasn't a proud moment looking back. Best she not mention it.