"You're my Messenger..." ((Tagged))

[Fierfly]

((Rykett, @pittypat, Cinder))

Rontu:

The summer sun shone bright and fierce down on the grove of young saplings in the Eastern wood of the Valley, but it was cool under the canopy of leaves and a perfect day for hide 'n' seek. The shadows were thick and dark and the shifting patches of sunlight were constantly peeking in on the dark crevices. Ah yes, perfectfor hide 'n' seek! And the young he-wolf was wasting no time about it. Sharp gray nose to the ground he paced along the forest floor, searching for the scents of his playmates. He'd dragged Ferox out on another adventure - Ferox had a serious issue with how infrequently he wanted an adventure and being the good older brother he was, Rontu was trying to cure him of it. He'd only taken a minute to bark at a pair of chipmunks, but when he'd turned back around Ferox had disappeared. Of course the only reasonable guess Rontu could make about what had happened to his brother was that he'd taken advantage of the natural setting of the day and had gone off to hide and initiate the game. So, now Rontu had to find him.

The chalky-white little wolf had never been so far from the den before. It was so far that it almost didn't even smell like the den - the scent of the alphess's authority was much fainter this far out, but he knew he wasn't too far gone from home - this was still the sapling grove, and besides, Ferox's scent was getting stronger; he was the one who was heading out. Good for Fox! It was about time he started having some adventures of his own will and volition. Of course, adventures were no fun if you didn't have anyone to adventure with, hence Rontu had to find him - that, and that was kinda the whole point of hide 'n' seek.

He picked up on his brother's trail and bounded after him. Quick, bright turquoise eyes darting around, looking for the fawn-colored he-pup. Now if he were a Ferox, where would he hide? Aha! A flash of tawny and white in the dancing patches of sunshine and Rontu pounced. An excited whimpering yip escaped when his paws landed on fur and he got his mouth around a familiar, furry ear. "Found you Bro! I found ya! Great hiding place! Man, look at all this neat stuff, I've never been out here before, have you been out here? Huh? Hey! Don't try to pull away now! Gimme back that ear!" he lowered his head and locked his legs, bracing himself as Ferox protested loudly and tried to pull away.

[Rykett]

Ferox:

Ferox was going to win. He was determined to this time. He would actually find a good hiding place, instead of finding a semi-good one and using the excuse, “I wasn’t really trying,” when he was found. This time he’d win! Ferox paraded far from the den as far as he dared. His brown nose twitched. The familiar scent of, well, everything he knew was distant. What if he’d stepped over the border? For a second, Ferox was panicked. He’d get in trouble for leaving the territory, then he’d never be Alpha! No, wait! There it was, the border. It was clearly marked several wolf-lengths away and he hadn’t crossed it after all. Ferox let out a soft sigh of relief. Now to find that hiding spot!

The bright summer sunshine formed distinct patches of shadow across the forest floor. Foliage was abundant. A thick bush would surely do the job. Ferox inspected several plants, dismissing each as not good enough. Then, the unthinkable happened. Ferox caught a whiff of Rontu’s scent and there was the distant sound of approaching pawsteps. Frantic, Ferox leaped into the nearest bush, which happened to be one of the bushes he’d categorized as unsuitable due to not having thick enough leaf cover. The tawny pup curled himself into a ball, becoming as tiny as he could. As the sound of rustling leaves subsided, Ferox froze, refusing to move a muscle, until the dangerous seeker, Rontu, had passed.

Unfortunately for Ferox, his rush bush choice was as unsuitable as he’d first decreed. Rontu pounced and quickly gained a tight grasp on Ferox’s extra furry ear. ”Ack! Rontu, no! Why?!?!” the victim yelped. Ferox tried to pull away in vain. No, this wasn’t right! Ferox was supposed to win! He was supposed to be the best. He’d actually tried his best and Rontu had found him, even though he was all the way out by the border! What was the use in trying? Another pup might’ve sobbed at all the thoughts of failure, but Ferox turned to abuse. ”Rontu, you jerk! Lemme go! You’re insufferable! I can’t believe you’re my brother. I wish you weren’t! You’re just so stupid!” Ferox didn’t mean half the things he said, but it still felt better to say them then to acknowledge his defeat. Rontu was usually the perfect subject for Ferox’s verbal attacks. The little pup tended to just let the insults roll off his shoulders. Nothing seemed to phase him. Ferox had yet to find words that affected Rontu. ”Let. Me. Go!” With each word, Ferox tugged against Rontu’s grip.

[Deleted]

Exspence:
The young grey she-pup with the autumn spots and golden bands was wandering the border. She had two different colored eyes, one purple and the other blue. The blue eye was clouded, blind. This didn't hinder her as she weaved her way through the trees, curious. She had heard a commotion, and, being a younger pup, had decided to investigate. What she found was less then then she expected. It was just Rontu and Ferox. But they were playing, and Spence was in a semi-playful mood. So, she padded closer, nervous. "Hello? May I play?" Her scent was very strongly that of Secluded Sunrise, she could belong nowhere else.

Smiling nervously, she playbowed. Then called over her shoulder for her identical twin sister. "Lis! Come on, I found Rontu and Ferox!" Then, a lot more confidently, she smiled. She forgot her troubles, and was in full 'playful puppy' mode. "So, who's doing what? I'm a great hider."

[Cinder]

Lis:

Lis had been thinking about learning a new talent while her sister bounded away from her and investigated the noises. Her ears perked up when she caught a whiff of the strong scent their mom and many other wolves had marked along the border. Her pace quickened and her steps became light bounds as she covered the distance between her and her sister. She almost felt exposed without her presence.

She heard Spence asking about playing and she jumped to a conclusion that she was speaking to pups. She hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying prior, but apparently Spenca had. Lis slowed her gate, glad it was wolves they knew. Not a word left her lips as she wiggled her hips closer to the ground and crept along the earth. Her fur barely grazed the grass when her twin's fuzzy butt came into view. Her matching tail waved slowly, hoping the two pups would know not to tell Spenca about her presence behind her.

The small wolfess shoved her weight off her paws and launched herself towards her sister, tumbling onto the left side of her body. Her pounce was off balance and improperly aimed. Both of them crumbled and she couldn't stop giggling. "Doesn't matter if you're the best hider, if you don't hide!" Her tone was light and airy, distracted and simply happy to have some fun.

[Fierfly]

Rontu:

Ferox was not happy. That was nothing new, Ferox often wasn't happy, and he hated being chewed on and he really, really hated losing. The fawn-colored pup shouted, he raved, he called names, nothing Rontu hadn't heard before. The lanky young male grinned, braced his legs more certainly and shook his head, giving the ear a few more good tugs before letting go right as Ferox threw his weight backward to pull away. He turned to play-bow again, give Ferox a chance to chew on one of his ears when a friendly young voice asked to join their game.

He turned and straightened to greet the newcomer. A charcoal gray she-pup with one faded blue eye and one dark purple one cocked her head at them curiously, shyly wagged her tail and crept forward. He hoarsely yipped and wagged his tail in greeting. It was one of the alphess's twins! Ooh, he knew which one. Just give him a minute, it would come to him! Ummm...the one with the cloudy blue eye was...Spenca! Of course it helped that she took his friendly greeting as an invitation and called back to her sister, Lis. He'd played with the girls a few times, not much, but a few, and they were both great fun, but man it was a pain trying to tell them apart. He'd figure it out one day, but for now, it was playtime.

She returned his play-bow and eagerly asked who was doing what. Who was seeking? She was a really good hider if someone else wanted to seek! Lis jumped out of nowhere out of the tall grass and pounced for Spenca's rump. Rontu yelped in surprise and briefly bounded away. Ambush! The twins tumbled and rolled for a second before erupting into giggles. "Doesn't matter if you're the best hider, if you don't hide!" Lis laughed. Rontu chuckled his muted giggle and bowed and wagged to Lis too. Quickly spun in a circle and spanked the ground to get Ferox's attention. Cocked his head, sniffed once and scratched the dirt. Who would be the seeker? Ferox was good at deciding stuff like that.

[Rykett]

Ferox:

Rontu’s release of the ear sent Ferox stumbling. He regained his balance to give a final push towards Rontu, but Rontu was already pulling away. Without something to push against, Ferox fell forward getting a nose full of dirt. He pulled himself back to his paws. He wrinkled his muzzle in fury as he glared at the bowing Rontu. Rontu stared back at Ferox with his usual goofy grin. ’He’s impossible!’ Ferox lamented in his thoughts, jerking his head to look in a different direction to display his refusal to play with Rontu anymore.

A new voice added to the gentle ambience of the summer forest. Ferox turned to glare at the newcomer. It was one of the alphess’s twins. Ferox didn’t care enough to get their names straight with their slight differences. One was Lisanna and the other Spenca. Ferox immediately assumed the twin approaching them now was Lisanna as that was the first of the two names that entered his head. She asked to play. Ferox bristled, ”No, this is a boys only game! No girly girls allowed!” Val never listened to that. She just played with Ferox and Ronu anyways, despite what Ferox said. Ferox stuck his brown nose high and squeezed his eyes shut, haughtily. His ears flicked as he heard Rontu’s pawsteps skip towards Lis… wait, why was she calling her twin Lis? Was she Spenca, then? Ferox decided not to care. He opened an eye to see Rontu had basically already invited them to play with a wagging tail and friendly smile.

Ferox exhaled, heavy and annoyed. As the breath left, his shifted his position to grumpy with hunched shoulders and a furrowed brow. His complaints were being ignored once again. On the bright side, though, if Ferox played with her pups, maybe he could get on Alphess Blaise’s good side. He supposed that was reason enough to allow them to play with him. ”Fine! You can play with us. You better not win, though!” He didn’t want any girly girls taking his victory (scarce as that was right now) like Val did.

Rontu was stamping the ground. Ferox looked over at him to see a quizzical expression and a cocked head. Rontu was asking a question. Ferox waited for Rontu to charade it out. His brother’s nose twitched as if smelling then he scratched the dirt as if digging up a lost bone. Was he searching for something? Or… oh! He was asking who’d be the seeker. Ferox had grown better at determining Rontu’s intent with time. When he was a younger pup, it’d been more difficult. Ferox liked that Rontu differed leadership to him. He straightened and puffed out his chest, proudly. ”I’ll be the seeker, next! I’m gonna count to 10 while you hide!” Ferox was sure he’d be the best. He’d already scouted out this area, so he knew where they might hide. Ferox lay down and covered his green eyes with clay colored paws. ”1… 2… 3… 4…”

[Deleted]

Spence:
Spence gleefully giggled, sharing a smirk with her twin at Ferox's rule. "No promises!" Her glee filled expression was evidence of her devious plan. When Ferox started counting, she dashed away, smiling back at Lis and Rontu. Then she scrambled away, her eyes bright. Her beige tail waved like a flag as she hid close by, her scrawny body easily hidden behind a older sapling. Her tail was hidden by her side, purple eye glittering as she watched Ferox from her hiding spot. Then, she dashed away, giggling. She was fast, a slate and autumn colored blur. "You won't find meeeee...." A gleeful smile and she was gone. Scrambling up the charred trunk of a old tree and watching the others below with a satisfied smirk.

"You'll never find meeee..." Her blue-purple eyes glittered like jewels among the green leaves and her slate face. She looked like a puma.

[Cinder]

Lis:

Lis had found herself spaced out, her eyes glassy and staring out past the pups gather in the area. She couldn't make out what they were saying and she wasn't quite sure what her mind has gotten lost in. She snapped to attention when Ferox said he would start counting.

She spread her front legs a little wider and shook her head aggressively, before springing into action. Lis spun around fast and launched herself over a shrub nearby, trying to make as little noise as possible. A smile was plastered to her face, and she landed on the ground heavily, but relatively silent.

Her paws sweeped dirt out from underneath a different bush that was closer knit and dried to get herself filthy with dust. As soon as she deemed herself fit, and wiggled her body underneath. Lis was essentially out of time, and held her breath to try to be quieter.

[Fierfly]

Rontu:

All right! Ferox would let the girls play! This would be fun. His brother lay down, closed his eyes and clasped his paws over his face just in case he felt tempted to peek and began to count. Spence giggled and scrambled up a stooped, leany old tree - he stared and let his jaw drop. He wanted to climb that tree! He hadn't even known wolves could do that! Awesome! He'd have to try it next time they played Hide 'n Seek. Lis's head snapped back up to attention as Ferox began to count and threw herself into the low, feathery branches of a nearby bush. Rontu had to think fast - he was running out of places to hide and time to do so.

He rattled out of the immediate area with the springy, trippy lope he was so well known for and began sniffing. What would be a good spot? He jumped between trunks the way he'd seen Kanga do a few times, to try and throw Ferox off his scent trail when he came looking and found a prickly thicket - Ferox would never look there! He copied Lis and dove under the brush, letting out an involuntary yelp when a thorn pricked his tender little nose - after which he immediately backed out. Never mind that - he'd just hide behind a great big tree - yeah, he could do that - no way! Turquoise eyes were drawn to an ancient stump - one of the few remnants of the old forest that had used to grow here. It was hollowed out in the middle, just the right size for hiding - he was skinny enough he could curl up to fit. Sure the bottom was jagged, but it would only be for a few minutes. He jumped and curled himself into a fluffy, gray-white ball, burying his nose in his tail and stuffing the tip in his mouth to keep the tell-tale flag still - wide turquoise ears turned and watched eagerly for his brother to find him and skinny elfin ears turning and searching for the steps he was eagerly waiting for to come.

-
Allegro:

He was dangerously close to being detected, he knew. Crossing over the border had been bold - but Secluded Sunrise's intruder had been equally bold - and to have the nerve to complain. It was nothing personal, just business as usual that he had to trespass their claimed space and wreak a little havoc.

He could hear pups playing - maybe a bit older than Snake and Killer's new litter - not too much though, still gullible and naive, they would do nicely. He heard two gaits and one voice - they were still too far away to see, but one more adventurous scrap barrelled out of the small patch of canopy to seek a better hiding spot, the seeker and the other pups as they were found wouldn't be far behind. He stilled completely, not even breathing as the impudent whelp began nosing at his thorny hiding place, but a sharp barb in the nose sent him reeling back and he barreled off for another spot. This would take some patience, he'd have to wait for the brats to come looking for their playmate. Oh well, for such a delicate business as kidnapping, he could afford to wait.

[Rykett]

“5… 6…” as Ferox continued his count, his ears flicked towards every noise. Every clue would give him an advantage. Spenca squealed with excitement as she took off. Her voice grew slightly distant as her paws carried her away. Ferox pointed a mental arrow in the direction she took. There was the faint sound of claws on wood, but that was superseded by a rustling noise as someone disturbed a bush. Spenca giggled “You’ll never find me.” Ferox adjusted his arrow… upward? Where could Spenca go that was up? Ferox decided to answer that later as a muffled yelp reached his ears. That sound like Rontu! Ferox hesitated in his steady count, deciding whether or not to check Rontu.

Deciding it could wait a couple more seconds, Ferox finished his counting. “8… 9… 10!” Ferox uncovered his eyes and whipped around the face the empty forest. He set off in the direction of Rontu’s yelp, eager to make sure his brother was okay. He noticed a thorn bush crouching not far away. He approached it, reproachfully. Had Rontu hidden in there? That would explain the yelp. Ferox carefully inspected the bush. No Rontu there, but the sharp scent of Rontu’s blood coated the tip of a single thorn. That would be the culprit. Ferox figured Rontu was hiding somewhere else. He decided he might as well track down the other targets.

Ferox scanned nearby bushes, searching for whoever had rustled the bush. He suspected it might be Lisanna. He checked the best hiding bushes first. The started peeking in ones closer to where he’d been counting. He spotted grey fur between the leaves. He shove a paw into the bush with a “Ha! I found you!” He smirked, smugly, at the discovered pup before scampering back to his counting place to reorient himself. He focused on the mental arrow he’d imagined. He padded off in the direction it was pointing. At first his green eyes flicked over the bushes and undergrowth, then remembering how Spenca’s voice had been coming from somewhere higher, he lifted his gaze. There she was! Crouching in the tree like some hybrid wolfcat thing, she stared down at him. “Found you!” he crowed, happily, as he rushed up to her tree and placed his front paws against it to peer up at her.

Then he pulled his attention away to survey the rest of the forest. He still had to find Rontu. Ferox loped back to the thorn bush. He started pacing around the area surrounding it. Rontu couldn’t have gone that far...

[Deleted]

Exspence:
Spenca leaped down gracefully, but stumbled as she landed and tumbled over onto her back. "Ow." She muttered, standing up. Shaking her grey coat free of dust, she bounced after Ferox. "Have you found Rontu yet? Or Lis, oh, wait,
there's Lis! Lis, hi!" She barreled into her sister. "Hi Lis! C'mon, we've gotta help find Rontu!" Spenca smiles and wags her tail. She attaches herself to her sister's blind side, their normal pose.

Walking down the slope, Spenca's nose is in the air, searching for and trace of the other pup. Her small paws crunch on the leaves, making her location obvious. "Where could he be? Lis, you smell anything?"