Dead Empress Backwater Here Comes Trouble

Quote:7-8 months Pups actively begin hunting on their own. By 8 months a growing pup's body begins to internally change and adapt to accommodate sexuality. Their "voices" may even start to sound more mature or, in males, actually lower in tone. They might have established at this point where they stand as an individual; moral codes presented at a younger age may now be adhered and upheld, tweaked, or even cast away altogether. Estimated human age: 11-12 years old.

The child had been following her brother's scent, leading away from the heart of the pack. Her paws carried her to the border as she sniffed a freshly marked tree. Haughtly she puffed up, lifted her leg, and covered Eros's marker with a broad smirk. She snickered to herself before trotting off. "Oh, big brother!" Euna's voice called out as she rushed to catch up with him.

The moon lit her path as she made her way,  running up from behind to bump into his shoulder and offer an excited nip his way. It was affection in her eyes. Euna just wasn't gentle about said affection. She pranced alongside him, "Hey! I gotta a question for you. How do you be a leader?" There was barely room to breathe between the words she spoke so fast. Not giving him much time to digest her first question before prodding him with another, " Can I be a leader? I wanna boss others around like you!"

(This post was last modified: Mar 01, 2024, 02:56 AM by Euna.)

HANDLE YOUR OWN WHEN YOU BECOME A MAN

Eros' heard Euna's voice calling for him, a wry smile coming over his dark lips as he continued forward. It seemed terror came in threes when litters were involved, but despite the troubles he knew about them getting into he still had quite the soft spot for all five of @Clover's brood in equal measures. He wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, to be understanding of the fact that they were still learning and growing in many ways. Still, he no longer went out of his way to make things easier for them. She could catch up to him just fine without his waiting around or slowing down. She did indeed reach him without issue, and he returned her boisterous greeting with his own little shoulder-shove. He didn't need to say anything, as usual Euna launched right into what it was she wanted. It was kind of a big question, definitely not as simple as she likely wanted. "That's not all that being a leader is, kiddo," he started, a light chuckle framing the words, "it's a service role, too." He doubted she wanted to hear much about that part of the job, though. "First you gotta be grown. Then you could either earn your way up here, or somewhere else, or start your own pack." Eros stopped at a tree and lifted himself up, standing on his hind legs as he scratched away at the bark, leaving a visual cue as well as his scent behind.

BECOME A MAN WHEN YOU HANDLE YOUR OWN

(This post was last modified: Mar 10, 2024, 08:22 AM by Eros.)

EUNA VALLE

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Euna's body bounced away slightly at the shove before she recoiled back into position beside him laughing. The sound of her voice tapered off as he spoke, listening in on what her brother had to tell her. That there was more to it than just being bossy caught her curiosity. Like all things that caught her attention, the girl sought to understand with a long-winded list of questions. Something @Vayko was all too familiar with. "What does service mean, and what's a service role?" She asked him with beady eyes beaming up at him.

Her face developed into a scowl, her lower lip jutting out, "But I wanna be in charge of something now." She whined, carelessly interrupting him before he could finish his sentence. "Why would I leave here?" She asked him with honest naivety to how the world worked and how things changed as one matured. One day perhaps the girl would desire her own family set apart from her birth pack."How do I earn my way up? What can I do in the now time? Are service rolls boring or exciting?" The young Valle further bombarded the elder with questions.

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HANDLE YOUR OWN WHEN YOU BECOME A MAN

Undeterred, she continued with a bounty of questions. Eros stopped what he was doing entirely, thought clear in the gentle crimping of his brows. If she was serious, he would give her curiosity the respect of thorough consideration. After all, the Valles were on the way to developing a history of leading young. If he'd gotten to become a leader, why not Euna someday? He didn't have any reason to consider that her desire could ever be truly threatening, and any deficits she had were attributed to childhood. If she wanted to, Euna could put in the work to develop better coping skills and habits. "Service means being available to others to help them with what they need. Doing things for others." (Of course @Vayko's child didn't know the meaning of the word.) "Think of Ma. She's the perfect example of service." She would probably be here in place of him in this very conversation right now, if it hadn't been for the accident. A frown flickered over his face at the thought. "So, leadership being a service role means you're there to help your pack mates just as much as they are there to help you. The reason a leader is in charge, is because the others have chosen to trust them. As a subordinate member, sometimes that means listening even if the reason behind a request isn't immediately clear, especially when there is danger." He picked his words carefully, doing to his best to only plant good thoughts within her head. "Any job you take in life is gonna have both boring and exciting parts. There's a lot in life that requires tolerance and patience, Euna." She and her sister needed to start working on said skills now, but it wasn't his responsibility to drill that in. Her parents were supposed to be the ones reining them in, and with Clover incapacitated, Vayko should have been picking up the slack. "When you become a year old, you and your siblings will become a part of the hierarchy, and can start finding your places amongst one another. Sometimes its just a matter of body language, sometimes its a discussion, and sometimes it turns into a tussle." Was he covering everything? To Euna's credit, at least she listened to the hundreds of answers for her hundreds of questions. "Tell you what. When I was your age, I was getting lessons from Ma for herbology, and from my Dad for fighting. I would like for you to think of two skills you think will help you be a good leader, and who you can ask to teach you them, and while you do that, I will think of something that you can be in charge of. Does that sound like a fair deal?"

BECOME A MAN WHEN YOU HANDLE YOUR OWN

(This post was last modified: Mar 10, 2024, 08:24 AM by Eros.)

EUNA VALLE

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The child could hardly contain herself as she awaited his answers. Her classic expectant stare beamed back to her brother as beady eyes stared him down. She reeled her head back aghast. "But I thought being a leader meant they did things for you?"  Her voice exasperated as she spoke.

Euna's head titled at the mention of @Clover. Her mother was always busy and her father had been more present in her childhood thus far. Even now that mom was hurt, the girl couldn't recall much interaction. "Is that why I barely know her?" The question was innocent. The young Valle was oblivious to how deep words could cut.

She listened as he spoke, an array of emotions crossing her face. His words were thought-provoking. Did she really want this leadership business? He was taking the cool factors out of it! "Trust? Not power? That...sounds kinda hard...and not fun." She thought to herself for a moment. "Remember the buck? Was that service?" She asked him, recalling how badass her bro had looked storming in to save the day.

She nodded, trying to grasp everything he was explaining to her,"Oh, okay, well how do I learn to like patience? It's boring...what's tolerance? Is it boring too? What are the exciting parts?" This was a lot of work so far and a lot of boring work at that. "Why be an Alpha if it's all work no fun?" She quickly followed with, "How can I be more paitent?"

Euna perked up, grinning with mischief. Her tail flagged high with excited wags,"You mean I get to fight them, without getting in trouble?!" The point was mute. Flying over her head she pictured shoving Khalon and Tori into the dirt. Tuwile sometimes listened to her, so maybe she could tell him to give her his spot and he would. "Hi-er-achy." She whispered the word under her breath. She understood the ranks to the best of her puppy brain. The newfound word stored away with all gathered intel on the matter.

She focused her attention on him with renewed vigor. She got to fight! Eros did a lot of that, with the deer, cougars, and whatnot. Her developing brain didn't pause to consider he'd fought her dad at one point."Herbology?" She was quick to interrupt him. Like a sponge, she was trying to soak everything in. It was like drinking from a water hose as the man poured out a wealth of knowledge. Her vocabulary increased from one conversation. Surely after this she would be exhausted from all the learning."Okay uhhh...patience? And...uhhhh...I don't know bubby." She whimpered, seeking his pity. The moment was gone within seconds as she lit up, "You will?! Yeah! Yeah! DEAL!"

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BACK OFF, I'LL TAKE YOU ON, HEADSTRONG TAKE ON ANYONE