Fool's Gold Chasm gloom on the grey

RE: Fools Gold Chasm, it looks like someone has been messing with your cache!

June 17th; Late afternoon; Broken Clouds; 68° F, 20° C

Anatole was restless. In the den, the air was musty and dry, and being up against so many sleeping bodies didn't help. His little leathery nose scented the air to see if someone, one of the "bigs," were close. Mère and Père had put them down for a nap perhaps only moments ago, so he wondered now if they hung around.

For a time, there was nothing but silence and the sounds of his sleeping siblings. He got a foot in the face and, in his recoil, he wrestled free from the pile of puppies. The black-coated youth toddled to the entrance and then looked back at the heap of mottled brown, tan, and dusty white.

His little head lifted and without much more thought, he scampered to the closest tree. Dark claws quickly scaled the exposed roots, but going back down was another story. He stretched out his neck, his senses all honed in on the tumble that was about to happen. All it took was the lift of a paw and down Anatole went. He rolled towards the far side of the tree. The den was no longer in sight for such a roly-poly thing. No matter... There was something else that had snagged his attention. Here.

Anatole's eyes and nose zeroed in on the dirt against the tree trunk. Then, as if without bidding, his own paws began to dig. There was something here... and it was going to be all his.

29 days old; roughly 3 human years old.

(This post was last modified: Jun 18, 2022, 02:52 AM by Anatole.)

Physically speaking, Woya was slowly starting to feel like herself again. Thanks to @Enera and her husband's tireless efforts she had been able to stay hydrated enough not just to feed the large litter but also to regain some of her own strength. She could be found outside of the den far more often now, available to her pack mates' once again.

She lay in dappled sunlight with her head pillowed by her forelimbs, appreciating the summer's warmth as it spread all the way down into her bones. Despite already having dozed off, her ears were still attuned to what was going on around her, a mother's vigilance encoded into her very being. When one of the children pulled themselves up and out into the world, she stirred and opened her beach-hued eyes.

It was smoky Anatole, a sparkle in his denim eyes. Woya smiled groggily, and watched him as he browsed his surroundings. When he disappeared behind a root system, she at last picked up her head, straining to see where he'd gone off to. If he did not return in a few moments, she would need to get back onto her paws and ensure he wasn't wandering too far.

Sovanya chewed on a dirt-dusted root exposed at the back of the den, enjoying the texture against her teeth and gums along with the grimey taste. She was perfectly content, until someone else started to move as well. The young Rayvne hoped it to be @Adonya, but she was still at rest. Her eyes narrowed, and soon found the shadowy form of one of her brothers leaving the den.

He was supposed to be sleeping, and if she had to rest at least once then so did he! With a soft growl she jumped to her paws and chased after the boy, popping out of the ground not long after he had. She blinked under the sun's harsh light, and took a moment to adjust to being above ground before surveying her surroundings.

'Tole had taken off, and Mom was just watching, like he wasn't doing anything wrong. She huffed again and pursued him. It wasn't long before she caught on to the stinky as well, climbing around the tree's many legs to stand above her younger sibling and watch him work. She'd let him spend his own energy to unearth whatever it was, and then pounce to claim it.

The boy was obsessed. Everything around him ceased to exist. He had to have it. For an adult, it had merely been a shallow hole, but for a decent-sized pup, it might as well have been a crater. Head low and nose down, Anatole eventually stopped when a dirt pile had piled high behind him. With greedy teeth, he pulled and tugged, until he found what it was his focus had latched onto.

A squirrel laced with Dad's scent. That must have meant it was okay to have...

Not yet weaned, Anatole's mind and stomach had not yet figured out what it was. The creature's bushy tail was what gave the boy a clue: it was a plaything! He fell flat on his bottom as he unearthed the rest of the long rodent. With the tip of its tail clasped in his teeth, he glared at the rest of the squirrel's rigid body, upset with its heft and weight.

there used to be a greying tower
ANATOLE GERAU
alone on the sea

Sova hovered as if a buzzard awaiting some wretch's final death rattle. She'd nearly lost patience by the time he finally reached the object they both coveted, and her sharply pointed ears jumped with anticipation as the stench of decay flooded the air. The twins had only recently had their first introduction to solid food, and she honestly hadn't been sure about the stringy meat they'd been offered. Still, she'd be damned if she relented anything to one of the littlers.

With the practiced precision of a rather rowdy pup, she dove down upon Anatole and made to grab for the flabby skin at the back of his neck. She would try to accomplish the technique their mother used to remove inedible objects from their mouths and pull at his scruff until he gave up. If he were to drop it, she would surely snatch it up as quick as lightning.

Anatole did not have time to realize or even process what had happened not long after he had decided to be upset. He felt the sharp teeth at his ruff, and his mouth opened from the shock of it. He dropped his prize. It brushed against his forelimbs, unable to bend back down or curl up in an attempt to secure it once more.

His eyes blinked hard, soon fixating on the rust-red and tawny hues of his bigger sister. Which one, he couldn't comprehend just yet. He just knew he was being robbed.

As vicious as a puppy snarl could be, he let it bubble from his throat as he opened his mouth. There were barely any signs of teeth to convey his displeasure. The wrinkling of his muzzle and the lift of his downy hackles, however, spoke volumes. Anatole was "angy."

there used to be a greying tower
ANATOLE GERAU
alone on the sea

Woya could have anticipated one of the twins chasing after their younger sibling, though she would have expected them both. She watched the mouth of the den for a moment, waiting to see Adonya's reddening crown emerge. Moments passed, and when she looked again in Anatole's direction, Anya was in the process of disappearing from view as well. With a sigh, the mother hefted herself up onto her paws and approached. If only they could build some kind of physical barrier to keep the children corralled...


"Ana, Anya," she called out with a measure of patience reserved only for the pack's young. They always wanted to wander, and so the situation was not yet any kind of alarming. Their numbers were growing once more, making them far safer than they otherwise might have been.

Sova grinned devilishly as her aim was met. She could see the ragged corpse return to the disturbed dirt and could feel little Anatole's seething beneath her bullying weight. It didn't matter that she'd earned his ire, the prize was very much worth it for the greedy youth. She let go of him and lunged at the squirrel, wrapping her stronger jaws around it and ripping it the rest of the way out of the ground. Glee shone in her eyes as she kicked out with her back legs, kicking up the loose earth and hopefully sending it flying into his stubby face.

If her dirty little trick worked, she was confident she could speed off with the treat and back to Mama before Tole could call her and expose his sibling's misdeed.

He stomped his pudgy puppy paws in the dirt as he felt her let go of him. She danced before him, flying as she landed in the hole and dug out the rest of the gift Pére had stashed away. The first bit of dirt had his eyes sealed shut and he lifted a paw to block the rest of it. His reflexes would sharpen in time, but, as it stood, he got a mouthful of dirt.

Anatole spat out the dry clay and mud as he heard Mére call him and his sister by name. His rounded ears perked up and he watched with wide eyes as Sovanya leaped away with his discovery.

He might have been bigger than Armand and easily hold his own against his other littermates, but this... This was unfair. As best as he could with his rounded milk belly and wobbly limbs, he stumbled after her. His nose scrunched up as he lunged after her tail, hoping he could manage a nip.

there used to be a greying tower
ANATOLE GERAU
alone on the sea

Woya smiled as she saw the two reappear, thankful that they were so good as to come to their names rather than causing her worry. What had lured them away was clear as it dangled from young Sovanya's jaws, the pup's pride clear as she pranced toward her mother. Anatole chased after, of course wanting in on the discovered loot, and even willing to give his older sibling a few bites over it.

Chuckling, she met Anya and closed he own teeth onto a part of the carcass, giving it soft tugs before making a true effort to pull the toy away. Sharing was just a fact of life, and each of the children would need to get accustomed to that. She tossed it toward her son, leveling the playing field for them both once more. Her tail wagged at a slow pace at her wolfish heels as she hoped to see the two play together.