Hidden Tree [BWP] she's a lost cause so count your losses

Open to two others. Keep in mind her fam is on NPC so I'll make mention of them according to what info I've been told. || Overcast Clouds, 60.8 ° F, 16 ° C

She found it easy to tumble about with the help of her sister and mother. They were never usually together - unless it was time for sleep then they all seemed to get together - but she could usually convince one or the other to take her exploring. Sometimes she could get real lucky on days like today when Ma was extra cranky and her sister seemed extra scarce. Caelia could toddle around by herself, blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked around every corner because in her world she was the danger. All shadowy and tough even if she was just a chunky pup with paws too big to run on.

Enough toddling about led her to a nice place. It smelled somewhat like wolf but not like her wolves. Her face crinkled in disgust and displeasure before she let out a loud - "Yuck!"

(This post was last modified: Jun 30, 2018, 10:09 PM by Kerberos. Edit Reason: bwp tag )

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His face stung from his most recent coyote encounter and his body ached from his run-in with @Vaken . He had won the battle with the yearling, but the coyotes had numbers and relentlessness on their side. After running, Laurel had little energy to continue his search for nothing. Sometimes the best thing he could do was just sleep. To sleep helped a little, though more times than he could count did the yapping howls of the coyotes keep him on the move. Sometimes he dreamed of them, but mostly he dreamed of nothing.

Yuck! Lauraceae jolted awake, fur bristling at the sudden noise. He lifted his head up and sniffed, not smelling coyotes yet, but not trusting himself. He got up despite that his legs screamed for him to lie back down, and tried to shake off the burning pain. He kept low, sniffing and creeping around. He could smell other wolves, which in his experience was rarely good news. When he found the pup, though, he was confused, and stopped to watch her from a distance. He hated seeing pups — he saw them more frequently now, with their parents or with their siblings. It brought up bad memories, and Laurel had learned to push the bad memories far back. He had tried to distance himself from it — from Relic Lore itself — but was forced to stay.

"What are you doing alone?" he said as soon as he realized the pup's parents weren't in sight. "Are your parents nearby?" he sniffed the air again and took a cautious step forward.

"What are you doing alone?"

"E'splorin'."

"Are your parents nearby?"

"Dunno." She said with a small shrug, finally turning around to see who exactly she was speaking to. He had those marks like Ma had except he had a lot more. Maybe he was family? Caelia didn't think she had seen him before but she didn't remember. He most certainly wasn't the big dark she had met at the water. Which was good because only she was allowed to be a shadow.

Her head turned side to side as she tried to figure out where she was. Perhaps she had wandered a bit too far from her Ma and sister. Which likely meant that Ma was going to be more cranky than usual. A small frown tugged on her features at the thought. Although she quickly wiped it away upon remembering she had new company. "Who you?" The lone child questioned as her pudgy frame toddled a bit closer to the stranger.

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Dunno. Dunno? He looked around and hoped some larger, adultier wolf would show up. He didn't want to be responsible for the pup when the coyotes showed up. He couldn't. He wouldn't! The dumb puppy wasn't his problem. If the coyotes showed up, he'd just... run off. He didn't have to get involved. She was just a pup, her parents would show up, they'd protect her. The child asked who he was and wobbled closer — had he wobbled that much when he was so little? It hadn't been that long ago, but it felt like it. "None of your business," he snapped at her, and felt bad about it. She was just a kid, she didn't know any better.

He thought he heard the coyotes and his fur bristled. They'd be here any minute. He couldn't run, could he? He couldn't leave the girl all by herself. Laurel thought of a rabbit he'd seen them rip up. Would the coyotes do that to a pup? "How about we explore back to your parents, yeah? It's not real safe out here." He approached the pup now, feeling protective of her. He tried to relax, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. "What's your name? Which way do you think you came from?"

Four coyotes appear from the shadows, posturing aggressively.

Her ears quickly folded back against her crown at his snappish tones. She was familiar with it and the Hervok had learned it was best to just stay quiet when Ma got like that. Just do what she said and all that. So the girl sealed her lips, not bothering to ask further questions just yet.

Parents. He kept saying it like there was more than just Ma. Well...there was her sister but she wasn't a parent was it? The kid didn't know really so she just let her head nod like everything was dandy. "'m See-Jay." She wasn't called that (C.J.) a lot but it was easier to say than what her mother usually called her. "Uhh." Her voice trailed off as she tumbled through her puppy thoughts to try and wonder where they might be. Near the water maybe?

Before she could answer there were four new strangers. They didn't look too nice but then again most faces she knew didn't. While they all might have been small to a grown wolf, they were still decently big compared to the one month old. "Who you?" She asked while shuffling a few steps towards the group of coyotes.

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"Nice to meet you, See-Jay," a weird name, but he guessed no weirder than Lauraceae. "My name's Laurel," he tried to keep his tone friendly and calm. "I'll stay with you 'till we find your mom and dad, alright? I'll keep you safe," he wasn't a deserter, he decided. He wanted to be, but he couldn't abandon the pup and still have a good conscious. The pup didn't seem to remember where she had come from and he nervously licked his scarred maw.

Then he could hear growling. Were they following him? Were they out to get him? It felt like it, and if the coyotes kept showing up, he'd certainly believe it. The pup, being a dumb pup and all, curiously waddled towards them. Laurel jumped to put himself between her and the coyotes. "No See Jay, those are bad. They're not wolves," he could feel the fear bubbling up in his throat. What was he supposed to do here?

He turned to face the coyotes. Four of them, all glaring at him with their ugly maws. What did they want now? He had no food, no sticks, nothing. Laurel nudged See Jay back. His legs were trembling, but he tried to stand tall and make himself bigger. Maybe they'd back off this time. "Go away!" he woofed at them.

The coyotes did the opposite and approached. Laurel quickly picked the small pup up by the scruff and began to run.

"Jus' Ma." Whatever dad was, she didn't have one. That she knew of. Perhaps she could find one for herself? Laurel. She would have to try and remember that name. She bet her Ma and sister would be so jealous she had met a new friend with a fancy name when she told them all about it. Well, she'd have to find them first to do that.

A frown swept over her features as Laurel pushed himself between her and the new friends. She didn't like being told no. And what did he mean they weren't wolves? They sure looked like wolves to her. Maybe a bit skinny or weird looking but still wolf enough for the child. Although she was frustrated with her friend, she gave little resistance to his nudging.

Maybe he was just jealous. C.J. got jealous sometimes. Like when her sister got to spend time with Ma or was closer to her when they slept at night. The girl wondered if Laurel felt the same way.

Deep in her thoughts, she gave a startled yip when she was suddenly being picked up. The child had put up with a lot of things but she wasn't taking this. Nor did it seem the coyotes were either - by the way they followed after the duo. Feverishly she began to squirm in an erratic attempt to loosen the grip that was on her scruff. Limbs flailing and cries a plenty.

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Laurel had not anticipated that it might be hard to run from coyotes and hold a squirming, screaming child in his jaws. He wanted to shake her, to tell her to shut her mouth. He felt guilty for the thought of tossing her to the coyotes crossing his mind and urged himself forward. They were behind, but still chasing him.

Eventually, Laurel lost grip of the small pup and she fell. He stumbled over her, but quickly scrambled to stand protectively over her. "Listen," he spoke sternly to her. He didn't have time to give her a lesson on coyotes, but he at least needed to get her to settle down. "Those are coyotes, and they're bad. They'll steal you away and eat you up," he didn't know if coyotes ate puppies, but he was trying to think of the scariest, most understandable thing for a small child. Getting gobbled up seemed pretty frightening.

"You have to be quiet, you have to stop screaming and flailing. Okay? I'm going to get us out of here, but you need to behave," he could hear the snapping of twigs as the four coyotes gained ground on them. They were coming. "Do you understand, See Jay?" he kept up his stern, I'm not playing here voice, but in the back of his mind he prayed this dumb, stupid child understood at least some of what he was saying.

She met the earth with a soft thud but nothing was broken despite the bit of pain that ran through her. At least half of the plan had worked. She had anticipated being set down, not dropped. While she tried to regain her balance on four stubby legs, her friend was talking a lot. The girl didn't understand all of it but she new some key words.

Although there were two things she didn't like doing. Behaving and listening. Caelia didn't understand what was so bad about the four creatures. The frown on her childish features as sharp. She had thought Laurel was cool with all of his marks like Ma and the way he actually wanted to talk to her but now she didn't know what to think. Looking like Ma was one thing but sounding like Ma was a whole other thing.

"Dun wanna go." She declared as strong as a child could. What about the new friends (who were bound to be on scene any second now)? What about Ma and her sister? C.J. was foolishly convinced that everything wasn't as bad as Laurel had made it sound.

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