Willow Ridge Wonder

Puppy blues fluttered open shining on the sunlight that fell across her tawny body. Avella had escaped the den hours ago and found herself a soft place to fall asleep that just happened to be under a bush. Having no sense of time the baby Archer didn't know how long it had been that she'd been away from the den. She felt a little grumble in her tummy signifying that she she was hungry.

Her vision had cleared a few days ago allowing her see just how much of the world she'd been missing out on. It also allowed her to see if there was anyone around like her mother or her second mother. When she didn't see anyone she started crying...loudly...she was hungry and she wanted something to eat right then.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2018, 12:02 AM by Avella.)

The dark male had been quite oblivious to the fact that in a just few days the silvery alphas are going to call in for a pack meeting. Meeting on which he'll get a moment in the spotlight that's going hand in hand with a promotion to guardian. But would he'd knew it all beforehand, it wouldn't probably affect his behavior at all. Most likely it would have an unintended effect of having him work harder, at least for a short while that the body would be able to bear before collapsing itself to the ground - exhausted. Albeit some would already claim that he'd was doing that. 

Working too hard that is.

Today would be no exception. At least until the man had heard silent wailing while marching towards the borders again, to go onto another patrol. It was way past noon already, yet a little bit early for the dark coated male. After all, the summer heat was giving it's worse to the man who sported a bit thicker coat from others, more suitable for more elevated terrains. Hills, mountains... valleys. But that was something he'd got to deal with every year simply. So the man haven't thought much if it, just simply preferred to work mostly during the night time. Today was no different, despite the fact he'd decided to go out a little bit earlier than usual.

But perhaps it had been fated.

The man had stopped in his tracks a few paces after his ears had first heard that unusual sound. It took him a moment to realize from which direction the wail was coming to him, but eventually the male had turned in the right direction before stepping off his usual path to investigate. From there it didn't took him long to come by a particular set of bushes from which he'd was hearing the cries and wailing... By this time the man had to realize what, or rather whom he'd heard. Concerned, Blackmoore had lowered himself onto the grass to try look under the shrubbery to find the source of the cry. "What's wrong little one?" He'd would say calmly after a while and good dose of wiggling around to finally find the little pup nestled under the shrub.

Her cries had started out as quiet whimpers when she realized she was hungry. That was the way of thing though as a pup. Sleep and eat always but where was her mum. She could see green and brown all around her and the bright light. Avella recognized she wasn't in the den nestled against Leotie's side with her brother snuggled against her. Now she was cold missing the warmth that she was so used to. Her cries became a little louder hoping that she would get noticed.

When she didn't she didn't understand and wondered why her mom or pa hadn't heard her and come running. She would just have to make it impossible for them not to notice. That was when her cries become loudest yet. She had no idea how she'd gotten under the umbrella of green but surely they would he able to find yet no matter what.

A strange smell came to her nose first and then she heard a sound. Her cries stopped and her breathing quickened when she realized she didn't know what was beyond the green wall. She let out a small bark but was quieted when she heard a deep voice say something to her. She didn't understand the words so whimpered again, quieter this time. When the dark head appeared she backed up a little, “Mom,” was all she said. Did he know where her mom was?

A short bark preceded the silence in response to the man's words, as the man had tried his best at gymnastics to finally catch a glimpse of the little rascal. As he was doing so, the male had wondered whom his eyes will eventually come to see. His thought had even slipped over the most improbable scenarios like that he'll find a coyote runt tucked safely under all of this greenery. Of course, if it was to be the case, his nose would have gave him some indication about that by now. Instead, the gentle viking could only smell the fragrance of the ridge, perhaps spiced up with faint dose of herbal aroma.

There, finally after a moment the man caught the glimpse of the damsel in distress. It took him a little more time to realize that he'd found either the little Avella or Freya tucked safely in that bush. A slight shuffle preceded another whimper from the child, as he'd heard her usher a word, just one word. 'Mom' it said, well obviously the child had to be scared a little - he concluded. Considering how close she had come to the actual borders, it had to be most likely well beyond the places she'd ventured beforehand. 'Great unknown' of sorts, the scary place maybe. The male couldn't obviously tell which it would have been for her, but either the case he'd surely wouldn't leave the little princess alone.

"Mom? Leotie? Ravenna?" He'd said with the most soothing of voice's he'd could muster considering the circumstances. Albeit after a soft hesitation, as the man had almost begun talking with a little more complex structure before deciding to keep the word's as simple as possible. "Come out, I'll take you to them." He added, still unsure about the child's name exactly as his green eyes haven't yet get a good look upon the pup in her entirety. The leaves and twigs were in the way...

She peered through the leaves wanting to know if maybe it was her father that had come to find her. She imagined he would pick her up and take her back to the den where her mom would he waiting. Scully would be there too and he'd check her over or pull on her ear which ever he was in the mood for. It had to be her dad with a deep voice like that and at first she wanted to go toward it, let her dad know she was okay and to tell him what she wanted. She knew one if her parents would come for her.

Then she saw him and he wasn't her father, she felt like he was familiar, like she'd seen him before. She knew he wasn't her other dad, Blitz, he looked too different. She backed against the branches behind her making it clear that she wanted her mom. She was hungry and the only one that could make that better was one of her mom's. She whimpered quietly as she crouched down watching the leaves move as the man seemed to he searching for her, she was ready to scream out for her parents if he did anything she didn't like.

She stopped her whimpering when he said bother her mother's names. She'd heard them before from her father's or when they talked to each other. Her little head tilted though, she didn't know how to answer, they were both her mom's. “Otie,” she managed to pronounce but a moment later she squeaked out, “Av.” Ravenna was a difficult one for her to say but they were both her mom's now, maybe he didn't know that. Someone should tell him so he could help better.

The display had been quite soul-crunching for the male, yet he'd knew he'd would feel far worse if he'd tried to ignore what was happening. He'd could only hope that somehow he'll manage to find a common language, or at least a common understanding, with the child so he'd could take her back to safety of the pack and family that resided in the center as well. If looked by an adult, they would notice a huge deal of concern painted on the dark male's maw, as he'd gently lied in before the bush that hid the pup. It wasn't like the man couldn't just lunch in and snatch the kid by it's nape, he'd certainly could do so. But aside from the most dire of situations, he'd imagined it to be more of a privilege of the parents to exercise when needed. And since he'd wasn't one, the outcome was easy to predict even to a layman in fatherhood like him.

After a while, the man heard the response from the little child. The first he'd was able to understand perfectly, despite the cute little fact that Avella had squeaked her mothers name starting with the second letter of it. But that seemed to be something that most pups were doing these days. Either way, it wasn't hard to decipher that she'd spoke the name of Sven's mate, Leotie. The second squeak however, the black guardian of the ridge had understood a tad differently from the little pup that had been the source of it. "Ah, so it's you Avella?" He'd spoke again with a calm voice as he'd shifted gently before the bush in order to bring the second eye to bear on the pup hidden under it. Perhaps inclined by the suggestion the male had only then confirmed that it had to be Avella hidden under all of the leafs and twigs of the underbrush.

The man did his best to keep his voice calm and soothing, but it wasn't improbable that small hints of concern had crept into his voice as he'd addressed her again. "Will you come out?" The man had inched one of his paws forward as he'd spoke, albeit he'd did so very slowly and with utmost care to not spook the kid. He wasn't going to try to grab her with it of course, he'd wasn't a monkey to have such dexterity in his hands, neither did he pushed it forward far enough to reach her. He did so more in faint hope that perhaps she'd needed to catch on the same smell that she'd felt from him during the Reveal, when he'd brought a freshly hunted hare for the kids to play with. Just days ago. "I'm Blackmoore remember? I'm a friend."

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2018, 11:27 PM by Blackmoore.)

She felt the branches as they poked at her back when she'd moved a little further from the scary sounds outside the bush. They weren't so scary when she realized that they belonged to the man that seemed a little familiar to her. Her puppy blue eyes watched him since she still wasn't sure about him. He did seem to know her mom's so that was good right? If he knew them and they knew him then he had to be safe. She had to believe that cause she wanted her mom. Avella didn't even remember how she'd gotten in the green den. It was like her den but smelled different and was much brighter with green all around. She didn't think it was a safe as her den through.

He asked about her mom, which she belonged to but she had been confused cause she had two mom's. Avella had tried to explain this but it seemed that he didn't understand. At least he knew her name, she nodded, “Me Ella,” she confirmed for him. At least she was pretty sure that was her name since that was what all the adults said when they spoke to her. She couldn't say the whole thing yet but her mom had said that one day she would be able to.

He posed a question to her causing her head to tilt to one side. She didn't move though, not just then anyway but he said he was a friend. She thought about how close to the den they were. Avella knew they couldn't be too far, which was why she wondered where her parents were. Slowly she realized that she might have to take her chances with this guy if she wanted to get back to the den. “Ella come out,” she said trying to repeat some of the words he said. The little tawny puppy even started to move forward to make her words clearer.

It seemed that the male's patience was about to get rewarded, as Avella didn't shunned the contact. First she'd confirmed her name, which caused a faint smile from the man. After all, his guess turned out to be correct. Which in turn had hopefully installed some trust in the little kid before him? That was yet to be seen of course, but at least he'd seemed to be on a correct path with it. He noticed through the greenery as his next words had perplexed the kid however, at least for a moment as the child titled her head to the side and looked at him with her blue eyes.

Then he'd heard the words that the man had hoped to hear ever since he realized there is a pup under the brush. Blackmoore kept lying still, with one of his paws extended slightly forward as Avella declared her intention to come out. He'd wanted to say something but decided not to, as frankly the man was a bit at loss with words right now. After all, he wasn't a father thus as much he might have been concerned with Avella's well being, certain things, actions and words were not his to take. Thus he lied as he did, as his green eyes watched patiently the little pup wobbling her way through the brush slowly. Inevitably, as she'd would raw closer, the man would smile. Consciously however and in a way to not show his teeth at all.

He didn't want to spook her.

The dark male would allow her to take as much time she'd needed in coming out as well as adjusting to his presence. Would she need to take in his scent - his paw was there to oblige. Only after the daughter of Sven would come out and get adjusted to him he'd would dare to speak again. His voice calm, perhaps a bit happier in tune considering that he'd managed to find a common tongue with the 'child from the underbrush' that just came out before him. "Have something happened for you to be here?" He questioned, silently wondering is he witnessing an effect of a sibling quarrel or perhaps something else...

Avella still wasn't sure what to make of the man but she knew from seeing him that he was supposed to get there. In her mind that deemed him safe enough to he around her. She made up her kind that if she went with him he would help her to find her mother and then she could make the hungry go away. It was nagging in her mind now leaving her to make the decision to leave the safety of the bush. She hoped that in no time at all she would be back in the den next to her brother snuggled against their mother's tummy either their bellies full. It was really all she could think about as she moved toward the man.

She met his eyes through the leaves of the bush, his paw was still there but she didn't feel comfortable to be too close to it. She searched amongst the leaves for the small opening that had allowed her to crawl under it in the first place. When she did finally find it she scooted under a branch and was soon out standing on her stubby legs looking up at the dark furred man. What was next she wondered. Would he take her to the den of to her parents? She didn't even know where they were, certainly not there with her. That thought made her huff but it sounded more like a little sneeze. She hadn't yet got the hang of it or because she was so small it sounded like that but I her mind it wasn't supposed to.

The man finally spoke asking her a question that she wasn't quite sure she understood. Once again her head was tilting to the side. Adults sure did talk funny, all the words they said and a lot of them didn't make much sense to the little tawny girl. “Ella go splorin and take nap,” she finally explained. Maybe she had gotten lost too and maybe she hadn't. The Archer pup looked past the man to see if she could see the den. “den far?" she asked, surely he would know.

The man had lifted his head and placed it across his extended paw as he'd looked to the left, where a pile of fur begun crawling it's way out from under the brush. A soft smile crossed his maw as his eyes deemed the whole display quite cute indeed, as his heart heart yearned for some of his own. But that was the talk of the future, right now he'd had different things to worry about. Like for example how not to spook this child and being forced to resolve down to grabbing the little rascal by the tuft to bring her back home before something unsavory happens to her. Though one could argue that something like that had already happened, since he'd found the little child crying, didn't he?

Soon Avella managed to get out of her bushy prison and was standing next to him. Even so, an observer wouldn't most likely noticed her from behind him if one would happen to look at them from the opposite side on which the kind was standing on. But there was still plenty of time for her to grow up of course, so the man didn't paid this thought any attention as he'd let it fly away into the nothingness. His eyes looked on her curiously, as she'd spoke again, explaining him that she'd wanted to explore. It caused a a soft smile to reappear on his maw, as he'd kept on listening.

"I see... And what have you seen on your adventure?" Blackmoore mused softly as his maw kept on smiling lightly before he'd risen his head up to look at her better. The rest of his body motionless. "Anything interesting?" He'd tilted his head to the side as his green eyes smiled for him this time. "It's not far. For me..." The dark male had replied after a brief pause during which he'd tried to judge the distance by a different standard of height and leg's length - obviously. "But you've gone more than halfway towards the border."