Willow Ridge Fearless

#waking up at 3am to go to the toilet and being hit with the sudden urge to post something horribly dramatic.

You take my hand and drag me head first

Morganna

Fearless

In her short life, much had happened to young Morganna, and at the same time, very little at all of it could be considered extraordinary. Like most cubs her age, the haziness of her eyes had cleared, and as each day passed she ventured further and further from the den. Sometimes in the company of her brothers, @Asriel and @Skoll, now easily distinguished by the smallest of the litter, and sometimes not (should they choose to sleep in or wander off on adventures of their own). Had she been a little older, the tell-tale breathy sigh and sudden rattling may have startled enough fear into the young princess to send her scurrying back to her brothers or to the pup-sitter she had so easily shaken - distracted so easily as her brothers wreaked havoc. But this was not the case.

Morganna Archer did not know fear. After all, she had never had any reason to feel it before. She was yet to acquaint herself with the horrible bite of pain in her chest that would twist her guts make any regular wolf’s hackles stand on end. Perhaps her mother @Elettra’s, or maybe even her absent father @Kiche’s most of all were they to witness the foolish display the young girl was putting on now.

The sound came from nowhere, and everywhere at once. Unfamiliar with the nature of snakes and just how hungry this one would be after a long winter of hibernating, she did not recognise the coiled display as a defensive gesture. The twitching tip of its tail, elevated in the middle of its coils, making such an enticing and seemingly endless sound had the small pup hypnotised. She was still several adult wolf lengths away, more than free from striking distance for now. Once movement caught her eye and her vision settled on the scaled intruder she was able to consider the beasts motives, and to one so innocent, it seemed this weird creature covered with mottled browns simply wanted her to play. After all, who would wish harm on the young princess of the Willows when she had such fierce protectors as @Angier or @Skana?

Her tail held high over her back the small princess released an excited yip and took a tentative step forward, delight coursing through her veins as the shaking noise increased, her tail wagging as she tried to see if she could make the strange noise too, her inability failing to dampen the wonder in her puppy blue eyes as she considered her friend.

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A quick headcount had told Skana that one of the cubs was missing, and she gave a small curse under her breath. She didn't think Morganna could have gone far, lacking the stamina and attention span of an adult. It would probably be fine, the girl was probably just tumbling in a pile of leaves somewhere, but it could be Skana's hide on the line if anything bad did happen. She should have been keeping a closer eye on them.

It was easy enough to follow Morganna's trail, the girl's young, unsteady pawsteps leaving an obvious wake in the forest to trace along. All Skana's hopes of finding Morganna playing harmlessly in the brush were dashed at the characteristic sound of a rattle. Her heart quickened, thumping against the walls of her chest. This was bad. Skana started to run, ignoring any protests from her swollen paw knowing she didn't have much time. If Wasgo had been helpless to the bite of the snake, a child wouldn't fare any better.

"Morganna," Skana enunciated towards the child as she emerged from the trees just behind her. As always, the advisor appeared firm and unwavering, but any who knew her well enough could see the flash of panic in her glazed eye and the subtle scent of fear emanating from her that the younger girl distinctly lacked. Much to her relief it appeared the rattler hadn't bitten yet, but Morganna was dangerously close, and judging by her wagging tail, dangerously naive.

Skana kept her eyes on the serpent, daring a few slow, measured steps closer towards Morganna, hoping to be slow enough to not startle the snake herself but close enough to intervene if she had to. The snake seemed to have taken note of her movement, head momentarily swiveling in her direction before refocusing on the closer of the two, Morganna. By no means was the old wolf faster than a viper, and she wasn't sure if she would be quick enough to grab either the snake or the girl in time if anything did go badly. But she knew startling the small, scaled animal any more than it was wouldn't help things.

"You need to step back, now. It wants to kill you." Skana implored, a hint of panic breaking through her voice in those simple terms. In her head she'd started up a mantra of 'please, please, please', not sure if she meant it more for Morganna or the snake.

You take my hand and drag me head first

Morganna

Fearless

The familiar voice startled her momentarily and she broke eye contact with the creature still shaking it’s tail in a manner that she had come to associate with play. After all, when Skoll and Asriel wanted to play their tails did that, and she had seen her own do the same more than once, in fact, it was doing it right now. She glanced over her shoulder with a face splitting smile at Skana, completely confused by the smell that was coming off her coat and the strained look on her face. When she said the creature wanted to kill her, her brow wrinkled in thought and her lips drew together in a small frown. She had heard the older wolves talk of kill before, usually when they brought back things to eat. She took a few steps closer to the older wolf and the rattling lessened, now all but forgotten by her still developing mind. “But I’m nawt food.” she stated with certainty, turning to look back at the coiled creature with a look of reproach.

It was a lot for her small mind to take in, but she was not one to question her elders or their wisdom. Being well out of striking range was not something the young princess was able to comprehend but the legless creature would need to bring itself several meters closer to be of any real concern now that she had retreated to the safety of the older woman’s shadow.

The more she thought on the scenario, the more angry she became and she had half a mind to tell the slithery off. A determined glint settled into her eyes as she shifted her paws and pulled her tail and head up high. “Hey MISTER!” her tone was almost comical when laced with her puppy growl and fierce stance. “I’m NAWT FOOD! You should go away you big... You big meanie!” she declared, lip twitching in the beginning of a snarl. Whatever the creature was, it made Skana smell funny and she didn’t like it at all. If the snake had heard or even comprehended what it was that she was saying it gave little indication beyond a slowing of it’s rattle and swinging its arrow shaped head in the opposite direction. Turning her face up to the larger wolf she finally questioned “What is it?”

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As Morganna finally moved away from the snake, Skana heaved a sigh and her knees felt like they were just about to give out now that the adrenaline rush had passed. Skana had half a mind to march over to the snake and shake the life out if it's stringy body for having frightened her so much, but it would be a stupid and pointless thing to do. As her brother had learned the hard way, wolves were no match for snakes. How odd that such a small creature could be so deadly.

Skana shook her head a little with a weary chuckle at Morganna's innocence, and would have found it more amusing if little wolf hadn't been in peril only moments earlier. At least Morganna was quick to heed her warning and switch the snake from category of friend to foe. "It's called a snake, and it doesn't want to eat you. It thought you wanted to eat it, so it was just trying to protect itself. A lot of animals will do that, even deer." Skana eyed the rattler, which was still rattling on though with less intensity. Perhaps its eyesight was even worse than her own, but she really wasn't that comfortable with it so close. "The noise means 'go away or I'll bite'. The snake's bite will make you very sick, so it's best you mind its warning." Skana began to back away from the viper turning slightly and hoping to draw Morganna even further from the poisonous critter. Where to she was unsure, but anywhere farther away from the damned thing would be fine.

sola bona quae honesta

Morganna

Those things only are good which are honest

She listened to the older wolf explain what the creature was. Snake is bad! she decided with a determined look on her small face, barking “BAD!” in the general direction the creature had been sitting, her tail swung high over her spine as she watched the creature slither away between the trees. She growled after it, a high pitched, laughable imitation of a real growl but it made her feel better none the less. Now it knew better than to mess with the princess of the Willows!

“Bad! badbadbadsnake!” she continued to bark after it. Her tirade was interrupted however, when a dark shape dropped through the trees and carried the flailing whip of a legless creature up into the air! Her jaw hung agape for a moment, the silence cutting in comparison to the racket she had raised just moments before. Backing up until the larger wolf towered over her, eyes as wide as saucers, her tail tucked and her ears folded flat, she suddenly realised that perhaps being off on her own wasn’t really the best idea.

“Wha-why burd grab snake?” She questioned momentarily confused. Was it because she got angry at it? She knew the wolves of her pack would have to do what she said because they did what her mother said, but did the birds follow her wishes too? Or was the bird like the snake and would it hurt her? The colourful little creatures that flitted between the branches outside her den paled in comparison to that monstrosity. Would it think she was food too? Were all birds dangerous? Suddenly the world was a much bigger and scarier place than she had ever imagined and she just wanted to go home.

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Becu, can either start wrapping it up here or continue, your choice?

It seemed Skana didn't have to move a step to get away from the viper, the snake managing to leave of its own accord. Skana smirked at Morganna's continued fury as the creature slithered off into the trees. A successful lesson, in her book, if the girl stayed wary of the poisonous little beast. She at least wouldn't have to make the same intervention at a later date. Skana added her own rumble to Morganna's high pitched growling, just for the hell of it. "That's right, off with you," she spat after the serpent.

Somewhere in the distance, a blur zipped through the air and into the sky. With better vision it would be easy to tell the vermin had been snatched up by a bird, butSkana could only assume it was just a bird passing. Hearing Morganna ask why the bird had grabbed the snake was the only indication Skana had that such a thing indeed had happened. Whether it was the child's imagination or not, she couldn't tell, but stranger things had happened. "Hmm? Is that what happened? I think I missed it," She grimaced. Whether the girl had the intuition to tell she was half blind or whether she'd just assume Skana was looking the wrong direction, Skana would leave for Morganna to figure out on her own. In reference to the question, Skana gave a stiff roll of her shoulders. "The bird was hungry, I imagine. He's either dumb enough, or smart enough to deal with a snake. We should probably just leave that stunt for the birds." Skana reached down, nipping Morganna on the back of the head to catch her attention. "And I think you should head back before an even bigger bird picks you up for lunch."