Ghastly Woods nothing was simple and little was true

October 8th; Afternoon; Gray skies, slight chill, biting wind; Light rain; 37° F/3° C

While Mapplethorpe had much to worry about with keeping Aponi, Mercy, and Nova within their caretakers' boundaries, the grizzled man had thought of something a little more important than keeping an eye on three bustling five-month-olds. As their (adoptive) father and mentor, he ensured they knew the rules that had been laid out; though he knew absolutely nothing of Sagacity and Mercy's rows and adventures. Regardless of whether or not the cubs kept to the Pass, Mapplethorpe knew for fact that they had learned what they needed to know to survive apart from actually hunting. He would get to the bottom of that soon enough, but such a task was for another day. Today, actually, was for making sure @Aponi had been keeping her word in staying away from the Ghastly Woods. With Winter soon to come - and the early October rains being a clue to its forthcoming - he wanted to be sure her curiosity in such a thing as the Yeth Hound had been quelled by time.

All along the tree line he meandered with his nose to the cold, wet ground, checking every wilted plant and every gnarled tree root. At roughly an hour into his investigation, none bore the distinctive smell of the young Aquila's perfume which was a very, very good thing. It made him smile inwardly, while on the outside his vibrant goldenrod eyes scoped out the land with a grim stare. Truth be told, it had been days since Mapplethorpe had eaten; the hunger had only just begun to lightly gnaw at his insides but the feeling was not yet enough to warrant from him the need to fill his stomach. It had also been days since Mapplethorpe had smiled. Even though everything had been well, the pack had been kept in decent health, and his affections had been returned by @Naira, the masked brute just... somehow had no need to grin or even smirk.

Continuing along his aimless path with the dense forest on his left side, he briefly eyed the mountainside where he knew the pack was safely being kept sheltered from the worst of the biting winds. Down on the forest floor, everything seemed manageable enough to continue along his walk but it was with a stinging, near-frozen nose that he persisted making his round along the edges of his and Naira's territory.

Truth was the girl had forgotten about searching for the yeth hound, she had been so wrapped up in her own world, which basically consisted of bossing Nova and Mercy around. Today however the Aquila princess had grown tired of their 'childish' games and after haughtily announcing so had wandered off. This was when Aponi came across the scent of her Daddy heading into the woods, that was all it took to super charge her curiosity and the silvery pup went charging after him. Her winter coat had grown in a silver shade, replacing the darker coat of her puphood but her eyes remained crystal blue, a fact she used to taunt her sister frequently. Blue eyes set her apart from most of the wolves in her pack who carried the more typical gold and the princess took extreme pride in this, she wasn't some commoner after all.

The princess had set off an hour or two after her father, and though she was almost the same size of him now, the land was unfamiliar and the going was slow. It wasn't that the girl was unsure of her footing or lacked confidence, it was just that it was her first trip down into the forest, by herself no less. The rules were that she couldn't leave the borders without an adult, a rule that Aponi broke frequently and with glee but she had never wandered so far from home without being caught and dragged back.

Leathery nose to the ground the princess followed Mapplethorpe's scent winding between branches and rocks and doing her best to avoid the puddles. The cold rainy season had come to grip the mountain, though it had lightened slightly today and with the tree tops it was more of a misting that came to the forest floor. The wind was piercing and her fur did little to prevent the shivers that racked the body of the girl who had no idea it would take so long to get wherever it was that Mapplethorpe was going. The wind blew her the smell of decaying leaves that now littered the ground, but little in the way of food, excuse a few mice which the princess ignored. Finally it seemed she was gaining on the older wolf and giggling slight Aponi hid herself behind a nearby bush to watch her father hidden from view.

In his head he had started to count the number of caches he tended to and checked up on. Down the slope from the communal den, the first gnarled tree on the left leading into Red Fern Forest, one by a pair of scrub pines, one by Naira's old den, one by Rhysis' old cave, two by his old dead tree... and a couple others scattered about the stone-embellished lands. He recalled having emptied the hoard of rabbit parts he had stowed away by Naira's birthing den that had been used nearly half a year ago, but that had been roughly eight... eight? No. Twelve days prior to today. Mapplethorpe took a deep breath, now simply aware of the emptiness in his stomach and pleased the hunger pains had not yet struck. Over these past few days he had been very busy in keeping a mental checklist in his head:

1. Fill all empty caches.
2. Think about organizing pack hunt. Or maybe not.
   Filling the pack's caches should do for now... Hopefully.
3. Organize tracking assignment for cubs.
4. Hunt. (Rabbits, marmots, anything...)
5. Check on Taima.
6. Check the caches near the dead tree.
7. Check in with Naira.
8. Eat something. (Hungry or not...)

With the wind against his face and in his ears Mapplethorpe was barely made aware of his daughter's presence. Even the light pitter-patter of the rainfall was enough to mask Aponi's slight giggle. Ears forward and eyes carefully assessing the path before him, he strode onward, casting his gaze behind him just once to make sure he wasn't being followed. In his task-oriented state of mind, he had failed to notice or even sense anything or anyone that might have been out of place and started to move onward...

The girls claws dug into the dirt in anticipation and she was hardly able to keep herself from giggling loudly enough to aware her father of her presence. As the tawny wolf moved closer all Aponi could do was hold her breath to stop the laughter, oh this would be so much fun. Finally after what seemed like hours to the young princess (in reality it was less than half a minute) the alpha passed by her hiding place and her time came. As his hind legs moved past the princess leaped from her hiding place, a playful growl in her voice as her paws pat at the much larger ones. Soon she was entangled with her own legs and his, ending up belly first in the dirt, if either of the other pups had knocked her down their would have been hell to pay, but this was her father.

Giggling hysterically once more the girl cried out, "Gotcha!" between the racking laughter that gripped her, making her sides heave and her breathing coming in gasps. The girl was much larger than she had been the last time her and her Daddy had played, the adults had been much busier as of late preparing the pass for the coming winter. The princess had grown into her over sized paws and ears, she was quickly taking the shape of a young adult instead of an awkward pup. The once dark fur was now almost completely silver, but eyes still shone blue up towards Mapplethorpe as she laid in her laughter fit, still a child at heart no matter how fast the physical changes were.

Everything seemed to be going along smoothly when something leapt towards him in a blur of black fur. His eyes widened and his lips drew up to reveal his clenched teeth. His attacker had been quick and he barely had time to catch himself, soon toppling over on his side to find that his limbs were also entangled with another set of legs. "Gotcha!" an all-too-familiar voice hollered, followed by the sort of giggle-fit that suggested utter happiness. The mottled man's head came up to look at his assailant but he did not need to look twice to realize that Aponi had been the one who had gotten him fair and square... as usual.

She beamed up at him and her look alone with the sound of her chortling had been enough to make exchange his vexed facial expression for a gentler, exasperated, and ultimately relieved one. Water droplets fell from his nose and ears as he attempted to right himself, shifting about on his side to try a sort of half-twisted sphinx-like position. He raised a whiskered brow at her, half a smile tugging at his masked features. "Apparently..." he mused.

He steadied himself on his left elbow but remained in the grass, still rather amused by the growing cub at his side. A part of him was still amazed that she had come quite a way from the small ball of black fur that constantly needed a bedtime story to properly settle down for the night. Though, noticing her coat lighten with a distinctive silver had helped him come to terms that she wouldn't be his little girl forever. She was maturing fast and he could only hope that moments like these would last for a while.

At long last the other half of his smile came up and he reached over to bump her nose with his before withdrawing it. "That was pretty good, could probably catch a decent meal with a move like that."

Laughter rippled from her as the pup once more sing-songed, "I got you, I got you!" When her father turned his muzzle towards her she met his with a gentle nudge and some playful nibbling at his chin, she truly was daddy's little girl. Sure she liked her mother as well, but the queen was often busy and didn't spend as much time with the princess as her father did, which had carved a special place for Mapplethorpe in her heart. Suddenly the blue eyes grew wide and serious at his comment, like an ocean that shone with thousands of wonders, "You mean like a real hunt? Will you teach me?" Aponi's usually loud demanding voice was hushed as if the prey around them might here their plans. The orbs stared at her father hope shining clear as day in them, she had never been allowed on a real hunt before. There had been the time when that stranger had helped her catch a bird but that was a secret that nobody was allowed to know. Quickly the silvery girl pulled herself from her father's legs and sprung to her paws practically bouncing with excitement. Before Mapplethorpe answered the princess couldn't help but whine, "Oh pleeaaasseeee, please please please, I promise I'll be really good and won't get in the way!" So different was this girl from the other princess and even from Mercy, Nova was so quiet content to just watch the world go by and let things be and Mercy just followed her around and kissed her ass all day long. Aponi though, Aponi didn't just want to watch the world, she wanted to have the world, wanted to explore it's every mountain and valley, take it by storm. She wanted to have followers who hung off her every word and obeyed her every command, and as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted what he mother had.

She sang out in triumph and Mapplethorpe had to stifle back a chortle that was building up in his throat. Though he would never admit it aloud, even to Naira or Aponi herself, Aponi was his favorite. Even during the times in which she reminded him sorely of his sister Cézanne, he loved her the most. There was a certain air about her, a sort of passion that seemed as though it could never be stamped out. For that, he admired her and adored her above the other youths in their pack.

"You mean like a real hunt?" she trilled. "Will you teach me?"

"Uh," the Consort stumbled over his words, already weighing the benefits of teaching her and the consequences that would become the fallout of such a feat soon after - mainly, how Mercy and Nova would be prone to becoming easy "target practice."

"Oh pleeaaasseeee, please please please, I promise I'll be really good and won't get in the way!" she persisted and the grizzled man let out an audible sigh. He arched a brow as he righted himself, sitting up so that he could finally get a decent look at her, to see up close the becoming silver and grays of her adult coat that were beginning to mark her as an upcoming young lady. "In the rain, Princess?" he asked, as though the rain had begun to bother him so. "Perhaps another day..."

He braced himself for the disappointment and the rebellion that could have marred her comely face any moment. "The does are tucking their families into the thickets and the foxes and rabbits are all snug in their dens by now," he explained, hoping that his daughter would not be too crestfallen or cross with him. "I can take you to one of the rabbit holes I watch, though," he hastily offered. "Maybe you can help me keep an eye on it; perhaps by Springtime it will have grown into a developing warren."

Aponi sensed his hesitation and her silvery brow furrowed at him, her protests already ready on her tongue. Adamantly she nodded, "In the rain." A little wetness wasn't about to stop her from taking advantage of this daddy and princess time. Mapplethorpe had always been teaching the girl things, sometimes fictional stories, sometime life skills but somehow he always managed to turn their time together into some kind of lesson. Opening her jaws in protest to his refusal the typical rebellion swelled inside of her, "We can wake them up you know," she stated bluntly. Blue eyes watched the older form warily waiting for his next explanation, she knew him and she knew there would be one, there always was when he refused one of her requests. Her father had contradicted himself and the girl knew, and he was about to know it too. Raising her eyebrows Aponi stared hard at Mapplethorpe in a look of exasperation and frustration, one she had learned from her mother when she was very young. Letting the silence stretch out and giving her Pa a chance to change his answer before she cut in, "A rabbit hole? Didn't you just say all the rabbits were snug in their den? What's the point in watching if they'll just be sleeping the whole time." The princess fell silent now, staring expectantly at her father who would surely find another explanation for why they needed to watch the hold of a rabbit who was sleeping.

Aponi was utterly unyielding, Mapplethorpe could already see it in her eyes, the fact only confirmed when she nodded. Right off the bat, she began to work against him, hellbent on getting her way. "What's the point in watching if they'll just be sleeping the whole time," she challenged. "Well," he started, standing up slowly now. "There's many reasons to check," he took a step forward, his head angled and turned so that he could see her from the corner of his eyes. "A good Leader and hunter will utilize their resources. The least you can do is... look into it."

He began to lead her towards the place where he had last seen the nimble hare, lowering his nose every so often to make sure he was leading his daughter in the right direction. "You never know," he further explained, "one moment this rabbit could be by himself, the next, he could have himself a mate." His russet ears began to angle sideways, a cunning grin starting to show on his masked face as he half-expected comprehension to dawn on the princess' face. "That means that we will always have something to eat... You see?"

His tawny limbs brought him forward but he eventually stopped at the base of a sharply-angled tree with dark bark. He ducked his head down to inspect the various spaces between the knotted roots before stopping to stare down a deep, muddy tunnel. "Here," he directed Aponi's attention to his finding. "Listen... Can you hear him in there?" The truth was the rabbit wasn't actually inside, but he was testing her to see if she would pick up on the fact that the long-earred creature had only just left the shelter of his underground burrow and would return soon, if all assumption was to be based upon the fading scent trails that circled around the old tree.

Oh god, sorry I suck so much and this thing is ancient -.-

Aponi was satisfied with his reasoning and now content to go along, after all one day she would become a great leader. So it was for once quietly that she fell in step behind him as they manoeuvred through the woods, copying his lead by lowering her nose to the ground to check for scents. The princess didn't know what she was smelling for exactly but it must be important if her dad was doing it. At the mention of mate her curiosity was sparked, but probably not for the reason that Mapplethorpe was hoping for. Some pups might be awkward or shy asking parents such blunt questions, but not Aponi and so instead she blurted out without a second thought, "How do you get a mate? And how do mates make babies?" Curiosity shone in her icy blue eyes without a hint of hesitation, why should she not ask her dad questions? He had always been her teacher. They stopped before a weird looking tree, probably the weirdest Aponi had ever seen and her mind had long since wandered from looking for rabbits. She wanted answers to her new questions, her old ones long abandoned, it was the way her mind worked, she would store those questions for later but old were quickly replaced with new. So it was with a grumble that she moved forward to look into the big muddy hole, what kind of dumb animal lived in there anyways? It stank like mud and the enticing scent of food but no sounds came from within, so silver brow furrowed as she leaned closer, sure that she had missed something but no sound came. With a huff the princess turned to face her dad and pouted, "There's nothing even in there, this was stupid." Usually she wouldn't use such language in front of her parents but her patience had worn thin and so she walked past the much larger male back towards the path that led up the mountain, she was going home. EXIT