Quaking Vale Come Back and Haunt Me

Night cast a heavy cloak over the Vale. With winter refusing to relinquish its grip, a desolate atmosphere overcame a small clearing in the trees.  A pair of boulders leaned together as they had for centuries or longer.  Nestled in their embrace one wolf was curled, paws tucked tight to belly and chest.  Kuwindwa was easy to miss despite her size without further inspection, her pelage an abrupt change in texture and little else in the gray dark.  There didn't seem to be any sort of community den the woman had noted, so she wandered each night and found a place suitable to her needs and there would rest.  This evening it had been in the crook the two boulders made.  Though she remained in the Vale, never sleeping in one place helped her feel safer, though not necessarily secure.  It was a reminder of a lonely existence.

Her eyes were shut tight, but her sleep was far from restful.  Occasionally her paws would twitch, or her muzzle parted in a half-snarl.  After several seconds, the silence was broken by low sleep-growls; the warrior was fighting in her dreams, struggling.  Her twitching became a thrashing, then a low, soft whine... a cry in the dark. The whine silenced abruptly as the woman shot upright, gasping for air as if she'd been drowning.  Her tongue flicked out to lick her nose nervously as her ears splayed. Kuwindwa looked nothing if not deeply unsettled, tension running through her neck and shoulders as she rested her head on her paws, realizing she had only been dreaming.

I did all I could. She could only hope that thought was more than some cheap sophistry on her part to ease her suffering.

Heaving a deep sigh, Kuwindwa knew she would sleep no more that night, and the dark had some hours left yet. Perhaps it was time for a walk, or a patrol. A hunt. Anything.

The image of his mother — his old one, not the new, darker colored one — was fading fast. He remembered her most clearly in her last moments, with blood and wide, scared eyes. He hadn't known what was going on then and thought only of finding his old mom. Perhaps if he did, he could get her to explain a few things to his new mom. He had been unable to tell his new mom that his name was not Laurel, but also couldn't quite grasp what his old name had been. It wasn't that important right then, because his old mom would explain and she'd call him by his name in that nice, gentle way she did, and he'd know it again.

He had gone to sleep early after a long, rough day of wrestling with whoever would have him. There was another boy around, but somehow he didn't seem to want to fight. Lauraceae wasn't sure why and unable to choose his words correctly enough to ask why, usually wandered off to find someone more suitable to a challenge. His new family was just as good as his old one, he guessed. He was fed and he got to play whenever he wanted... and no one was mean or cruel, and by all means he had no reason to look for his first mom. Except that, well, she was his mom and he missed her.

So that night he woke and couldn't quite get comfortable enough to go back to sleep. Eventually he wiggled away from @Sahalie and wandered on off. It wasn't long before he found the woman and with nothing to fear, Laurel marched right on up to Kuwindwa from behind. He sniffed at her tail, which didn't seem exactly familiar to him. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her by scent, maybe it was something else.

Running out of options, Laurel's jaws parted and he bit the woman's tail as hard as he could.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Note to self: date this to June 5. xD

Caught in the dark—figuratively as much as literally—Kuwindwa let her mind wander away. I did all I could... She closed her eyes. She could remember them crying... or had that been Wawindaji? Someone had been crying then. Her nose scrunched as she screwed her face, eyes tight-shut. A quick shake of her head flopped her ears rapidly. Maybe that was why she didn't hear the tiny paws coming up to her. Or, maybe she did and she dismissed them as something she imagined. In any case, by the time she was aware she wasn't as alone as she'd thought, it was much too late. She thought she felt a breath on her tail and her head whipped around.

There was a fraction of a second where Kuwindwa could stare in horror, as if some ghost had come to life, then remember bemusedly there were pups in Quaking Vale now. That's not one of Neha's... was about as far as her brain got after that before CHOMP!

The strangled yelp-snarl was the most un-Kuwindwa sound one might be able to imagine from the stoical warrior. Except, it was hard to look detached and aloof when you were half-curved in on yourself with a pup attached to your tail... and Kuwindwa did look a sight, her fur bristling from the unexpected bite. It didn't hurt terribly, mind you, but it was the last thing she had expected, and she yanked her tail in towards herself (possibly with the child still attached, she wasn't thinking very clearly when she did it) to protect the appendage. If nothing else, Kuwindwa's nightmares were nearly dispelled in favor of the strange sight of the little grey pup that smelled so much like Larkspur and... other. It was only after this it occurred to her that this one was out of bed.

Despite the very loud, very unhappy snarl, Laurel didn't let go. If anything, Kuwindwa trying to regain control of her tail made him bite down harder. It wasn't a game of find out if this was hi mom anymore, and instead was tug of war. He firmly planted his paws into the ground, unaware that this was a losing battle. Tails could not detach and Kuwindwa was much stronger than he was. Unwilling to give up, he tugged and he pulled and he growled.

Kuwindwa, having the upper hand of... well, of her tail being attached, eventually won and he tumbled back, nothing but a mess of fur in his mouth. He stood, trying to spit out the long hairs. He was just getting started when he finally caught Kuwindwa's gaze. Laurel froze.

His own fur bristled, tail wildly wagging behind him as he stared the woman down. The thoughts of his late night quest to find his mother were long forgotten. Now he had someone to play with. Maybe she wasn't so willing to play, but these were things that Lauraceae didn't even consider. The puppy charged, his next attack aimed at one of her legs.

Out of bed and just the right age to... ouch! Tugging harder... It must have been an amusing game for the ornery rule-breaker. The giant warrior, though alarmed and somewhat pained by the excess weight on her tail had no intention of harming the child. Still, it was starting to hurt and a game she was quickly growing tired of. By the time she managed to extricate her tail from the pup's needle-sharp teeth she'd lost a puppy-mouthful of ticked hairs... and a small chuckle escaped her as the little boy tried to remove them with his tongue. "Serves you right," Kuwindwa said, her deep voice softer than any other adult wolf might ever have heard it, "Sneaking up on me like that..."

"What are you doing out here, Laurel? You should be sleeping..." She didn't expect a response of course, she was familiar enough with pups to know he was a bit young yet, but she barely had time to consider further before his tail was windmilling eagerly. Well, Kuwindwa wasn't going to be sleeping any time soon. Sure, she could tell the boy off, send him back to bed (and surely as a responsible adult she would eventually), but... maybe something more than her mind remembered and Kuwindwa smiled in spite of herself as he aimed for one of her forelimbs. She remained still until he nearly met her legs... ah, but it wouldn't be easy for him! No, she owed him for the fur he'd stolen from her! She shifted, first sitting upright, then leaping over Laurel and onto her paws, where she could swiftly bow her forequarters to tease the boy with a few pats of her paws on the ground. The stoic warrior's tail betrayed her, wagging in easy waves behind her. Growling softly, playfully, she goaded Laurel on, nightmares forgotten for the moment.

He could speak here and there, but usually spent his time concentrating on whatever task was at hand. Laurel understood words more than he spoke them, but with a little bit of time he'd learn to speak them too. For now the boy focused on things that were far more important, which at the moment was attacking the large woman. He ignored her question as he inspected the woman, trying to plan out the best possible attack. In the end it wasn't much of a plan besides run as fast as you can. Kuwindwa, who was larger and more agile and faster and generally just more wolf than the little blue eyed boy, avoided his attack.

One moment he was getting ready to bite into her furry leg, but Kuwindwa expertly avoided his attack with The Coolest Thing He Had Ever Seen™. The boy paused for a moment, his eyes wide as he turned to stare at Kuwindwa. "Wow!" he exclaimed, spinning around to see if the pale woman would do anything else really cool. She didn't, which meant that he'd just have to try and get her to do it again.

Little Laurel leaped, clearly trying to mimic Kuwindwa's grace. He couldn't do it the same way she did, but laughed and stumbled all the way over to the bowing woman. He hopped around her, pausing to play bow and bark every so often. Finally stopping in front of her, he looked down to make sure his feet were where he wanted them to be, and then attempted to make a giant, really cool leap onto the woman's head, jaws snapping at her ears and cheeks.

Bronze eyes crinkled as the boy breathed out a Wow! Children this age were two things: annoying and precious, in equal parts. Everything was new, everything was spectacular... their lives so very sacred. Kuwindwa was sharply aware of a chasm in her heart during that moment. He was the right age, and it was the right season. She remembered, and her broken heart ached, longed, to love, be loved, to protect... but a wall remained, higher than ever even though she laughed unexpectedly at the boy's antics as he attempted to do as she had done. Of course, he did so sans the practiced ease Wind had gathered over the course of her years, and the unpracticed movements of a puppy never ceased to be amusing, if not heartwarming.

Laurel wobbled and danced—it was a wonder he didn't fall over more—and, finally, Kuwindwa found him facing her directly again. All this time the woman didn't move but for her hind end flagging. She continued to growl and paw, coercing the child to try whatever it was he had in mind. Only when he was near enough to leap did her own paws plant firmly into the earth, ready and waiting. He sprung up, his leap clumsy and daring. Kuwindwa made as if to leap back again, but at the last moment froze and collapsed, her hindquarters falling back to the earth. Feigning surprise—"Oof!"—as a small grey body plopped firmly onto her face, Kuwindwa tried to nip gently at the tiny hindpaws just barely within her sight (when she wasn't shutting an eye to avoid getting poked). All the while she could feel him scrambling for her ears. The warrior was somewhere between tilting her head to help keep the boy's balance and considering dislodging him before he could actually grab an ear and do any damage with those needle-teeth. "Come now, you'll have to do a little better," she decided finally and gave her head a shake to rid herself of the Ritter.

The woman hopped back fluidly, keeping her body crouched low. Her tail waved again, her play-bow complete with wide-spread forepaws. "Come! Catch me," she grinned, her mask utterly shattered for the little boy—a little boy who couldn't yet appreciate the rarity of the unfettered smile on the woman's pale face. If she could wear him down a little, maybe he would go back to sleep? She could take him back to the den...

For a second his heart broke. He was going to miss a second time, and his playmate would still have the upper hand. And then something amazing happened. As his paws touched the woman's soft fur, she collapsed under his strength. Briefly, little Laurel was in shock. Pride swelled in his chest and he loudly declared a Ha! Then he was all over Kuwindwa's face, climbing and yipping and biting at anything within reach. He was intent on getting her ear and had just reached it when he went tumbling away from her.

Laurel laughed and squealed as he rolled. He was slow to right himself. "Go rooolling," he told her, both to let her know that he was okay and that he had thought it was fun to tumble away from her. He wanted to go again, but Kuwindwa was teasing him. Laurel frowned and shook his head. He did not want to catch her, he wanted to roll around again.

To show her, the boy flopped on the ground, got back up, and approached Kuwindwa. His face was all business as he concentrated. Stomping one foot on the ground, Laurel attempted to make it clear what he wanted to do. "Go roooollling,," the boy said again, giving the ground another good stomp.