Landslide

<blockquote>The little lady stood at the base of a thin sapling. It was clear her attention was upon something on top of the tree. Her tail was high behind her, ears perked upon her fluffy white head, and her eyes, a light changing green, drawn upward, staring it down. It was a little comical sight to see, for the young cub would try her best to stand still but after a few seconds her haunches were twitching, and she would change position to the other side of the tree trying to become a still statue. A leaf would blow from the calm breeze, and her tail would wiggle exictedly hoping. But nothing would happen, and she would move her post to a new side of the tree.

The fifth time moving she did not watch where she was going, and large paws snagged against a wildflower's bottom causing her to tumble to her side. <b>"OOmph,"</b> she sounded, a little squeak following. Dissapointed, and her pirde hurt her ears folded against her head, and she blinked holding back the little tears that wanted to come. She would not cry, she was a big girl now. She wasn't sure where mother was, and she did not want anyone else seeing her cry. Black nostrils twitching she set her brow, and pushed hard from the pine needles giving a snort of displeasure, and digust. Looking up she spotted the red creature she so badly wanted to play with looking at her from above. <b>"Squerl! Come down pease!"</b> She barked.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Aug 16, 2011, 10:23 PM by Arlette.)

<3 Gotta get back into posting again, so sorry if it takes me a few posts to warm up.

Rib cage slowly rose and fell, in a steady and unchanging rhythm. The second of Grizzly Hollow was happily sleeping, taking a few minutes of his free time to recuperate. While he had not done much as of late, he had grown to feel like he needed to devote a few minutes of every day to himself just in order to keep from going completely crazy. He had not seen much of anybody during the hunt, so he had figured it would be alright if he sneaked away fro a while.

The steady rhythm was broken, however, when a high pitched squeal broke the sleeping wolf's concentration. Roused slightly, Rai wearily opened one of his golden eyes, letting the light flood in. Quiet filled his ears and for a moment, he thought that he had simply dreamed the noise. Closing his eyes again, he breathed out deeply, waiting for sleep to reclaim him. But the bark was not his dreaming, he knew that for certain. The high pitched tone told Rai that it belonged to one of the youngest members of the Grizzly Hollow pack. Without thinking about it, the second went into guardian mode and hoisted himself off the ground quickly, headed in the direction of the voice.

Arriving on the scene, Rai took in the pale white form of the young Arlette, who was glaring angrily at a squirrel who had not obeyed her command to come down from the tree and play with her. Grinning, Raigo wagged his tail as he approached her. Stopping a few yards away, he settled down to his stomach, so as to not appear threatening. They had met at the pack hunt, but he doubted if she would remember him clearly. "Hey there, Arlette," he smiled at her, his voice friendly. She was not Borden's daughter, but was one of the pups that Vlardinara had brought down from the mountain. For that reason only, she was special in his eyes, because she had been the reason that Vlar had come back to Grizzly Hollow rather than leaving.

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<blockquote><i> no worries, how i feel right now. :) </i>

Her little heart ached she did not understand why the squirrel avoided her. She only wanted to play. She would not eat him. Nose wrinkled, her lips puckered in a frown. She took a step back, and looked around hoping to spy one of her siblings. Maybe they could help her. When her eyes focused she spotted a tall chestnut male, and she gave a little twitch from surprise. He was familiar, she could not remember what he was called, but he was apart of their family - the pack. Lips folded, and her ears yielded sideways. He didn't look so big down on his belly, and his tone was friendly with a matching smile. Biting her lip, her large paw took a step in his direction. She knew she should be good, maybe he could help her after all. <b>"Uh, hi, um..."</b> she stumbled wondering what to call him. Sir did not fit, and mister was much to serious for his face. She was not good at names yet, not really.

The child took another cautious step, eyes rather large while she took in the male's features. He was bigger than her, but something seemed different about him. He did not look as old as the others? Or was it worried? Brows scrunched, she decided it would not hurt to have his help. <b>"Con you 'elp me?"</b> She asked, thick tail wagging forcefully with hope behind her. She glanced up to the tree, hoping this would help him understand her request. <b>"The squerl don 'ike me,"</b> she whispered, hanging her head, her lower lip jutting out.And as if to confirm this th squirrel started chirping from it's hiding place</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Aug 17, 2011, 09:28 PM by Arlette.)

Raigo was mildly concerned that he would scare the youth off, sending her howling for one of her parents. While neither Borden nor Jaysyek were of the helicopter variety, they cared greatly for their young ones, and in no way would leave one of them abandoned if they called for help. So he was careful, and kept his distance, and his smile going. Arlette might have been thrown by his sudden appearance, and her hesitance made his heart sink. Her stumbling of his name was depressing, though he'd be lying if he said that he did not except it to some degree. "My name is Raigo. You can call me Rai," he told her, choosing his words so that they were as simplest as possible, taking care to enunciate his name clearly for her. Though, given how the rest of her thoughts were spilling out of her, with little coherent sense to those who did not speak puppy, he wasn't sure how his own name would come out.

Her blue gaze upward, though, gave him the key. She still wanted to play with the squirrel. Her look upwards and the wagging of her tail were so incredibly cute that it broke Raigo's heart to know that very little of what he did would convince the squirrel to come down. But her instance that the squirrel didn't like her made him shake his head, the smile playing coyly about his brown lips. "Squirrels don't like anybody but other squirrels," he told her, aware from his own childhood days that such an answer was not really an answer at all, but rather a challenge. "Maybe if you go hide for a bit, the squirrel would come down?" Maybe not, but it was a chance right? The angry chirping wasn't particularly hopeful, but Arlette didn't know that.

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<blockquote>Lettie wasn't scared of him, she had seen him around and she felt no warnings he was bad news. Though she might have being a boy mark against him in her book, as her brothers were not the greatest ambassidors for their gender. Her attention drifted to him, and her ears turned fully to him listening to his bold voice. She wanted to get his name right, and repeated his name quietly under her breath, <i><b>"Rai-g-ooo,"</i></b> or at least she tried. It sounded almost like he had said it. Yet it was different, and she wanted to repeat it again, but didn't dare for feel she'd look to foolish. Rai seemed much easier to say and remember. <b>"'elp me Rai?"</b> she inquired again, staring at the chattering squirrel.

He disagreed with her coment, and her right brow raised uncertain. All her little heart she listened to his words, soaking them in. The squirrel only liked other ones? The little clicks of her brain sparked in her changing eyes wondering why of coarse the squirrel would not like to be friends with a wolf. She wasn't sure about the answer, and her lips drew in a small o wondering to ask, and what to do about this new information. He suggested she hide somewhere, and her ears rotated back, her face growing thoughtful for a second before a smile broke against her lips, and there was a short glimmer of happiness. <b>"Oright,"</b> she answered, tail wiggling. She withdrew from the tree, and started bobbing away. Suddenly she stopped midstep and looked back to the brown wolf. <b>"Calm with me?"</b> She asked, unknowing where she should hide, and thinking he should too. The squirrel would never come down with two wolves.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Aug 29, 2011, 06:05 PM by Arlette.)

Looking after the pack's collection of youths was a parergon to Raigo. Of all the members in the pack, he was best suited to being their babysitter because of their proximity in age. It had only been a year ago or so since Raigo had been Arlette's age. No doubt he had probably fumbled over words and names, his tongue seemingly always getting in the way of what he wanted to say. He smiled at her as she attempted it, emphasizing the ending "o" of his name so that his name had turned into a ghost like effect. She settled for the shortened version, and he wagged his tail in approval of her small accomplishment.

While he wasn't terribly confident that the squirrel would come down from the tree, even if they disappeared, the young she-wolf seemed hopeful. Watching as she moved away from the tree and then stopped to ask if he was coming, Raigo nodded his head earnestly in agreement. "Of course!' he told her. Shooting one more glance at the chattering squirrel, he pushed himself off the ground and followed her. Stepping over her, he covered her in shadow for a moment before pushing into some nearby bushes. Using his larger body to keep the way clear for her, he waited till she was through before letting the shrub's branches fall back into place. Secure from view from the squirrel, at least he hoped, Raigo turned around, winked at Arlette and laid down to wait. "If we wait, maybe he'll come down," he whispered to her, the air of his voice one of a co-conspirator.

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<blockquote>She was rather pleased with herself, and all she was learning, accomplishing. She did not need much approval to feel that way. She decided that Raigo was definately someone she could go to for help, and someone she could trust.

When he seemed just as excited as she, her tail wagged happily behind her, and she couldn't keep a grin off her face. She shifted impatiently in place as he pushed himself off the forest floor. Her bright eyes settled upon his brown form, and she was frozen when he stood up to his full heigth. Her muzzle even in a little O amazed how tall he was. She clamped her lips, and watched him closely as he strode over her into some thick bushes. She took his cue to follow while he held the big branches back. She let out a quiet giggle, and her whole hind end wiggled as he winked at her. She folded her ears sheepishly, and settled by his large paws onto her belly as well. She nodded confidently in agreement, her tail still wagging from excitement.

Best she could for her age, she tried to be still, and very quiet. Her eyes peered through the branches were the squirrel was, but often they shifted to Raigo making sure he had not moved either. It was a long time, or so to the child when the squirrel finally climbed down midway from his safe tree. Hind end swayed, and her wide ears perched forward hoping he would come closer. The squirrel looked around, and than darted downward, taking off lickity split in the other direction.

White brows pressed tight, she frowns not understanding. Slowly she pushes herself up to a sit. <b>"'e's scared of me,"</b> she said, meaning wolves in general. She didn't get why the squirrel wouldn't play for a minute. She wasn't going to chew on him. She wanted to talk to him, and just play chase. <b>"Why?</b> She asked, wanting to know.</blockquote>

Arlette followed him obediently, which caused a silly grin to permanently plant itself on his lips. As the youngest member of the pack, besides the five puppies of course, Raigo was not used to have his word followed. He had been granted the position of second because nobody in the pack could stand Kiche, rather than any respect he had earned. But Artette seemingly took what he said as sensible and followed him without question. Laying in wait, the pair kept their eyes locked on the three, with Raigo's gold eyes occasionally straying to the arctic white girl beside him, gauging her reaction. All the while, the chirping of the squirrel steadily grew quieter. Eventually, it became at ease enough to scurry down the tree, and Raigo held his breath, hoping that the squirrel would come in their direction. But instead, the damn thing ran the other way, causing a frown to grace the innocent face of his charge.

Turning to look at her, Raigo sighed in exasperation. She questioned him again about the nature of the squirrel and why it was so afraid of her, and all he could do was shake his head sadly. "Well..." he began, pausing, not sure how to explain to her. "You see, Arlette, squirrels aren't brave. They see wolves like us and they get scared. Even puppies like you scare them." That was close enough to the truth, right? He didn't want to tell her outright that squirrels sometimes provided a meal for a hungry carnivorous wolf. While she was past the point of nursing and was now eating meat, he wasn't entirely sure if she knew how that meat got there, and did not want to be the one to tell her.

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<blockquote>Raigo seemed almost as dissapointed at the squirrels actions. Tips of her ears folded, and rose watching him with wide eyes wondering if he'd be able to answer her question. She was use to the pause <i>they</i> made when an answer was needed. Something else she wanted to ask, but she was trying to be patient, and was learning he was rude to interupt. Or something like that. Little tail flex in a crook, and she soaked his words in like a dry sponge. A little suprise lifting and than scrunching her brows. Squirrels were scared? She understood scared. She had felt that way at first when she'd met the other wolves of the pack. <b>"Oh,"</b> she managed clearly going into deep thought.

She had watched the pack get a deer, the deer had ran scared. Deer was food. But the squirrel? <b>"Oh,"</b> she frowned, feeling rather bad she'd frightened the squirrel. She hadn't thought about eating it, but...hmm yeah it would never play with her, and she could never tell it otherwise. A soft little breath blew from her nostrils, here little shoulders sagging. She sat for a minute, round head hanging down, unsure, and well a little sad quite frankly.

She remembered she wasn't alone, and her head jerked up. <b>"Rai, 'ou' play wif me?"</b> She asked, tilting her head to the side while her hind haunches gave a wiggle. She knew Elettra didn't exactly play. Mom did when she could, and of coarse her siblings did, and so it was only natural to wonder if Raigo did. She wasn't much of a hider with her bright, white coat, but she was a pretty good seeker. <b>'ou 'ide, me fine?"</b> She said, the squirrel forgotten.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2011, 09:42 PM by Arlette.)

A sigh of relief washed through Raigo as she seemed to accept his explanation for why the squirrel did not want to play with her. While the frown on her adorable white faced cause his own to crinkle in sadness, he could not help but push past it. It was a lesson that they all learned at one point or another, that ultimately, their place at the top of the food chain did not make them the ideal playmates for other creatures. Perhaps that was why they relied so heavily on one another. With a pang in his chest, Raigo remembered those few months where he had struck out on his own. It had been a lonely existence.

The young girl's request broke his concentration, and he shook his head rapidly from side to side to clear the fog that had clouded his mind. Playing. That was something he could definitely do. "Of course," he grinned at her, pushing himself up to his feet. While he was of average height and build, he stood a head taller than her and craned his neck to look down at her. So she thought she could find him, could she? Well, they would see about that. "Alright then. You start counting, and I'll hide." Grinning, he stepped over her, headed back towards the tree where they had left the squirrel. Ducking around the trunk, he maneuvered in and out of a few trunks, careful not to stray too far. Eying a small shrub, he circled it and sat down behind it, golden eyes trying to peer through the leafy branches. Perhaps she would be stumped and be unable to find him. Or perhaps her scouting skills were good enough that she would be able to track his weaving trail.

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