Between a Rock and a Heart of Stone (shiver, dogzrock)

[Deleted]

"Other wolves?! A pack!?" Amora leaped into the air, landing lightly on three paws. "Well, what are we waiting for?!" She waggled her haunches in the air with playful exitement.

[Rykett]

Blaise:
Blaise's tag wagged slightly as she began to instruct her pups, "Now we need to stick together. If you get lost, we might not be able to find you. So stay close to Mommy! She gave her pups a hard stare as if to stay 'I'm not joking, so do what I say.' Blaise picked up Amora by the scruff. Both of the pups were adventurous but Blaise was pretty sure if one were to wander off it would probably be Amora. But she still had to keep a very close eye on Ruko. He might go chasing something like butterflies and get lost.

Worries for her pups kept swirling through her head as they walked. This adventure could be a grave mistake that she made. Blaise woudnt know until it was too late. she considered turning around for s second. then she thought of tge dissappiontment that would cause for the pups and just kept walking.

Ruko:
Ruko let out a whimper at the thought of being far from Mommy and never ever finding her. He promised himself that Mommy would always remain in his line of sight, no matter what! Then as Mommy picked up Amora, he whined, "Why does she get a free ride? But Mommy ignored his question and started walking. She gave a glance back to make sure Ruko was following. He was nearly touching her heels.

[Deleted]

Amora barked in surprise as mommy lifted her off the ground. Immediately she began squirming. "Hey!" But soon it became apparent that momma was not letting go any time soon. After a while she became used to it, she even stuck out her tongue at Ruko.

[Rykett]

Blaise:

Blaise quickened her pace as they left the ruins behind. The place that held so many memories. Mostly good and joyous but the most terrible memory of all overshadowed everything. It was always attempting to crush the happiness that came with Blaise's two precious puppies. It filled Blaise's thoughts with it's despair. It would never leave her no matter how much she ran from it. It would try to poison her thoughts but Ruko and Amora brought Blaise more joy than she expressed. The joy neutralized the poisoned memory of the night of the pups birth. The joy was also a reminder of that night when Scorpius broke her heart.

Blaise believed if she could leave the place where all the memories happened behind maybe she could defeat the poison. Every step Blaise took told her that this belief wasn't true. All the pain was still there. It was asking for her to take revenge but Blaise denied it that pleasure. She had to stay strong for her pups. If she gave into the temptation to find Scorpius and get her needed revenge, her pups' lives would take a turn for the worst. Revenge was something evil wolves searched for. Blaise would prefer it if her pups could stay far from the evilness of wolves. Kindness was something good wolves were said to search for but getting involved with good meant getting involved with a war against evil and constantly being affected by the evil wolves. That was the reason Blaise stayed neutral. That was the reason she wanted her pups to stay neutral.

Right now she needed to find wolves who shared that opinion. She needed to find a home among them. She needed somewhere far from the war waging between the good and evil packs.

Ruko:

Ruko followed best he could after Mommy but he stumbled often. She was quickening her pace. 'Stop! Wait!' he wanted to cry out but he wasn't weak. This was a challenge, a competition to see who would win, Mommy's speed or Ruko strength. Ruko was determined that he could be strong. But he half-hoped Mommy would glance back to see how far behind he was getting and slow down so Ruko wouldn't be lost. Unfortunately Mommy seemed deep within her thoughts unaware of any sounds that her pups might make. Ruko wondered if he called out for help now, would she respond or just keep walking? He was tiring quickly and the competition didn't seem so urgent. Ruko opened his mouth to let out a 'Slow down, Mommy!' but all that came out was a soft, muffled yelp as Ruko tripped and disappeared into a rabbit's burrow. Mommy's ears flicked at the noise. They'd heard it but Mommy didn't turn or stop or slow down or anything. She was almost in her own world as she walked while Ruko was struggling to register what just happened as he gave a couple coughs from the dust filling his throat and making him unable to speak.

[Deleted]

Amora began to drift off as her neck became numb, all her blood rushing to her feet. She needed to walk. This thought had just drifted through her mind when she heard Ruko's plea. With much effort, Amora turned her stiff neck to look at him. Wait, where was he? Amora began to whine and struggle. "Mama! Mommy! Where's Ruko?!" She felt awful. As the older sibling (like 2 seconds older) she felt it was her obligation and duty to watch over Ruko. She shifted and fought so much she tugged herself from her mothers grasp. Her three paws wobbled as she walked. Wow, she hasn't used them for a while.

[Rykett]

Blaise:

"Hmmf?" came Blaise muffled answer. She sound just was made in recognition of the words and motions not as an actually response. Blaise was lost in her plans for the future but as Amora struggled out of her grip, she snapped back to reality. "Ruko... she said blinking and looking around, "Ruko!" He was gone! Her precious little pup was nowhere to be seen.

What had she done! How could she have let him out of her sight? Why didn't she check on him? She began calling his name and retracing her steps careful searching for Ruko's scent. How far behind had she lost him? Tears began trickling down her face. Some twisted part of her mind thought, Ruko looked like Scorpius. I'm glad another reminder is gone! while another mourned and scolded herself for thinking such thoughts.

Ruko:

Ruko was in a tunnel. The tunnel smelled of prey and meat like the stuff Mommy ate. Mommy had told him and Amora that each prey had a different scent. Which prey scent filled Ruko's nose now? He couldn't quite put his paw on it. Then it clicked. Rabbits! That was it! Ruko felt so proud to have figured out such a mystery. He looked around, wondered where Mommy and Amora had gone. He thought over the event trying to make sense of it all. So he'd been about to call to Mommy when he'd tripped. There had been lots of dust and dirt all around him. Ruko suddenly realized a ton of that dust was still clogging his throat. He coughed to try to get it out but he ability to speak was gone.

Ruko started feeling a pain in his side. A rock! A rock had hit him. There was now just a bruise at the place of impact. So the dirt, dust, and rock had been all around him. Or had it? Maybe it had just been in front of him. He turned to see that the tunnel was partly collapsed. Then the voice of Mommy could faintly be heard. Ruko tried to cry out and reveal his position to Mommy but only a nearly silent choking noise came out of his mouth. He dug at the wall of soil that separated him from Mommy. A trickle of dirt started in the ceiling and cracks also began to appear in the tunnel roof. Ruko backed away. He was trapped! There was no way Mommy could ever hear him! No way for her to find him! What about scent? No... she was too far away. Ruko couldn't smell her through all this dirt.

[Deleted]

"RUKO!!! RUUUUUUUKOOOOOOO!" Amora howled, yipped, barked and bayed. Her deep purple eyes wide with fear and distress. Where is he? Where did he go!? What will we do?! What if something happened to him?! What if something else found him first?! Foxes, bears, other wolves... Mommy had taught them the other dangerous animals. Badgers, raccoons, eagles, snakes. Amora shivered in her coat. It was almost the same as her mothers, save for her unique pattern and her black, in place of the charcoal grey. "Ruko!?" She said softly, a tear escaping her eyes. What if he was dead?

[Rykett]

Blaise:

Blaise curled around her remaining pup. First Scorpius, now Ruko. What was she doing wrong in her life? All that Blaise knew was that she was failing in everything. She failed in her search for a mate who would always be there for her. She failed in her duties as a mother. She just kept failing. No! Blaise was not going to fail again. She had to have faith that Ruko was alive and well. He had to be nearby. Blaise just had to pick up some whiff of his scent. She wiped away the tears that had sprung to her eyes and stood.

Her determination flared as she pressed her nose to the ground. She zigged and zagged back the way she had travel taking deep breaths through the nose. Earthy scents dominated but the rare smells such as a chipmunk that had previously scampered past was what Blaise's mind was focused on. Then she picked up his scent. It was quite a ways back from the place that Amora had alerted Blaise to Ruko's absent. Amora! Blaise lifted her head suddenly and looked back to check on the pup.

Ruko:

Ruko waited. Waiting was something all pups were terrible at. He kept fidgeting. He drew a smiling face in the dirt with his claws then he hopped up and down a couple times. After a minute or two, Ruko decided he'd been waiting for hours. Maybe it was already dark outside. Mommy wasn't going to find him and he would starve here if he didn't do something. Ruko looked at the collapsed exit then in the other direction where the tunnel continued deeper into the ground. Rabbit burrows had to have multiple exits, didn't they? Ruko believed his best chance would be to follow the tunnel.

What if there were rabbits there? Ruko thought that he would just have to blend in. Ruko began hopping down the tunnel. As he hopped, he decided that he better think like a rabbit as well Hop! Hop! Hoppity hop hop! Hippity hop! Hop! Hop! Ruko couldn't help but smile at his cleverness. He would be such a good rabbit that none of the other rabbits would even notice him. Then the ever-present smell of rabbit became stronger as Ruko entered a chamber. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel so he could make out the forms of rabbits. There two big rabbits a little small than Ruko and about five little baby rabbits. The rabbits stared at Ruko. Ruko stared at the rabbits. By their scents, Ruko could tell that one of the big rabbits was female and the other was male.

A family! Ruko missed his family. But the rabbit family was different than his family. Why were there two rabbit parents? Ruko only had Mommy. Should he had a Daddy too? He would have to ask Mommy after he got out of this burrow. He noticed that two other tunnels branched out of the chamber. He took a hop still indecisive of which path to take. The hop startled the rabbit parents and they both fled down the right tunnel. The rabbit parents are going to show a lost rabbit like me the way out! Ruko hopped after the rabbits. The rabbits soon were out of sight but the tunnel led Ruko to another intersection. He could see light coming from the left path. Ruko dropped his awesome rabbit acting and sped towards the light. Sure enough, it was an exit. Ruko pranced into the daylight. He looked at the sun. He must've spent the whole night in the burrow. Now to find Mommy and Amora!

[Deleted]

The black pup covered her nose with her paws, fur sticking up. Her ears flicked as a mosquito tried to land on her. Amora choked back a sob as she stood to trail mother. After a time offspring over fallen trees, and rounding corners, she decided mother wasn't doing so good at finding Ruko. "I'm going to find him all by my self!" She announced, though it didnt seem that she was listening. She was probably fine with it. Amora shrugged and squared her shoulders. She padded along, nose to the ground, searching for Ruko. "Ruko!" She barked loudly, as she waded through a small puddle.

[Rykett]

Blaise:

"Amora!" Blaise howled her voice frantic. She was losing every wolf she loved. Blaise knew that, unlike Ruko, Amora could have wandered off more than just a couple minutes ago. Blaise tried to recall how far back that Amora had stopped following. Amora's statement came to mind. Blaise had heard Amora's voice, but being terrible at multitasking she hadn't completely registered the meaning of the words until that moment.

Blaise was about to gallop back to find Amora when she froze. Ruko was still lost. His scent was here, but if Blaise went looking for Amora, she might not be able to find the scent again. So Blaise gathered a couple pebbles and made a pile at the place of Ruko's scent.

Then Blaise bounded back a couple paces as she shouted, "Amora! Come here, Amora! I found Ruko's scent!" Amora could not have wandered far enough that Blaise's voice couldn't reach her. If there was no answer, it meant that the pup was dead. Blaise would never be able to forgive herself if that possibility became reality.

Ruko:

Ruko couldn't help but prance around in the sunlight before he began his search. He'd been so clever in the tunnel. The rabbits hadn't even had the slightest idea that he was actually a wolf and they'd been so nice to show him the way out. He hoped other wolves would leave such nice rabbits alone for while. Now he just had to figure out a way to find his family. Maybe if he asked some other rabbits with his rabbit acting then they could tell him where Mommy and Amora were. Ruko looked around but didn't see any rabbits. It was rude of those two rabbit parents to leave without saying goodbye, but maybe that's how rabbit manners were.

Ruko turned to the burrow exit. His Mommy was on the other side of the burrow but he didn't want to take the underground route again. This time he would be in the sunlight. He hopped to the ground above the tunnel the realized he didn't need to be a rabbit anymore. So he instead he skipped in the general direction that the tunnel had taken, hopefully retracing his hops back to Mommy and Amora.

[Deleted]

Rabbits, Amora smelled rabbits. Mommy had given Anira her first taste of rabbit only a few weeks ago. It was so juicy and tasty. Just thinking about it made her tummy rumble and her mouth water. For a second all she smelled were rabbits. Then a familiar scent reached her pink nose. Ruko! What was he doing with rabbits? Amora shrugged and padded towards the smell, she traced it back towards mommy. "Oh, hi!" She yipped as she ran into her mothers foreleg. Amora turned to go around the grey obstacle and trace Ruko's scent. "Mom? Where are you going? His scent leads this way." She blinked in confusion. Adults. Figures. Amora continued on and soon ran into a pile of pebbles.

[Rykett]

Blaise:

"Amora, don't leave my sight again!" Blaise said her tone stern. For a minute, she'd feared that she would loose both of her pups in one day. Now that Amora was nearby, Blaise's fear of loosing her was lessened but still very fresh. She scoop up Amora by the scruff and before she could protest, Blaise had bound to the pile of pebbles, picked up Ruko's scent again and bounded down his trail.

She scanned the ground for paw prints but strangely there were none despite the fact that the ground beneath Blaise's paws was soft and damp. Blaise stopped puzzled and gave a glance back at the way she'd come with Amora swingin slightly as she did. A trail of her paw prints told of her passing. Why wasn't there any of Ruko's paw prints? Blaise set Amora softly down and snuffled the ground for a second. She could smell rabbits. There was probably a burrow beneath her. A burrow! Ruko must be in one of the tunnels that rabbits had created. If he was down there, he must be searching for a way out. Blaise picked up Amora again and sped after Ruko's trail.

Ruko;

Ruko was skipping happily along when he noticed how dark the forest was getting. He also realized how dry his throat felt and how empty his stomach was. His skipping slowed to a walk as his adrenaline for an adventure started to disappear. He yawned in the action he found out how tired he was. What should do? Drink, eat, sleep, or find Mommy? Ruko decided the best choice was sleep because he couldn't do any of the other things without sleep. Whenever Ruko and Amora wanted to play instead of sleeping like Mommy said, Mommy told them that sleep was key to survival. If a wolf didn't sleep, then he would fall into a forever sleep. Ruko didn't want to fall into a forever sleep.

Ruko lay down and started to feel his eyelids droop before he realized that he could just fall asleep in the open. He need shelter. He gave slight moan as he forced himself to get up from his restful position and trot away. His mind was muddled as he slowly searched the surrounding trees. Then he saw it. The perfect sleeping place. A large hollow beneath a tree. It smelled strange but Ruko decided he liked the scent. He curled in the large nest of leaves he found inside and promptly fell asleep.

[Deleted]

"Ack!" Amora barked as she was swiftly plucked off her paws. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky the color of her swirls. Her deep purple eyes soon adjusted to the shadows of night. Suddenly something took her by surprise. A yawn erupted from her muzzle. Her eyelids began to droop with the heaviness of exhaustion. "Mom, don't you think that if we are tired, Ruko will be too?" She whispered to her mother. Amora winced and shivered in fear as shd heard foxes yip and yowl nearby.

[Rykett]

Ruko:

Ruko's sleep was disturbed when something bristly nosed his fur. Hot breath chill his heart as he blinked open his eyes. Blurry eyed he stared up into a long face that seemed familiar somehow. Then it came to Ruko as his mind cleared, the face mirrored his own in someway. The two black stripes which almost identical to the two that Ruko saw whenever he looked at his reflection. But something was wrong. The face was too long and the eyes were the wrong color. As Ruko's mind cleared away the fog of sleep, he began to feel a spark of fear. There was something poking his mind. A memory that Ruko couldn't quite tackle was running around the edges of his train of thought. It was something Mommy had told him about... about... his markings. She said that they... they resembled a badger's face mask. Ruko awoken to a badger.

He whimpered in fear. His instincts told him that it was no use running, the badger was too close. If it was going to kill him, there's was nothing he could do about. Ruko let out a sigh of despair and rested his head on his paws waiting for the forever sleep. He closed his yellow eyes and thought about how he would never see Amora or Mommy ever again, how he would never find out if he had a Daddy, how he could never play or win another competition. Ruko's nose gave him a random fact of information. The badger was female but it didn't matter. Whether it was a she or a he, Ruko would never wake up from his next sleep. Ruko couldn't help but think how long it was taking the badger to attack. Then he felt bristly fur against his back. Ruko lifted his head in surprise. He looked at the badger. A rumbling purr radiated from her belly. She gave his rough a ruff lick that made all the fur on Ruko's head stick straight up. Ruko puzzled over the strange behavior then it finally came to him, She must think I'm her baby! I must be so awesome at acting that I was acting like a badger cub without knowing it. Ruko was glad to had some company he cuddled into the bristly, warm fur or the badger and dozed off.

He jerked awake as the badger's purr became a growl. Ruko tumbled backwards as she stood and walked out of the cave. The growl turned to a snarl. Ruko poked his head out of the hollow to see a group of five foxes surrounding the hollow. The foxes attacked. The badger was a good fighter but the foxes had her outnumbered. Ruko noticed a sixth fox slinking through the grass. It avoided the fighting animals and slipped into the den, it's rusty brown eyes fixed on the little pup. Ruko bark a sound of distress and retreated. The badger lifted her head at the sound, distracted. That was just the chance the foxes needed. Ruko could hear the terrifying sound of snarling and barks. In a couple seconds, the snarling of the badger was silent. The rest of foxes poked their heads into the hollow. Ruko could feel the tears flooding down his face as he gave a final desperate howl for help.

Blaise:

The fox cries made a shiver run up Blaise's spine while Amora's question made her shudder. Ruko would be sleeping if he was as tired as Blaise felt. There were foxes about. The two facts combined to higher the odds against Ruko's survival. Foxes would kill a wolf pup if they found one. Blaise's pace quicken as panic threatened to overcome her. She just had to find Ruko first. Suddenly Ruko's scent grew very strong. Blaise paused. The fresher trail wandered into the forest. Blaise could see paw prints now and the evidence that Ruko had lay down. Blaise felt so close to finding her pup. His comforting scent was so recent compared to the trail she'd been previously following.

Then the horrible noises of foxes reached Blaise's ears. The yips were close and the growls were many. It had to be a whole group of foxes. Blaise's panic rose as the sound of a badger's snarls joined the chorus. Blaise's heart raced faster than her paws they carried her after Ruko's scent. As Ruko's scent became fresher, the louder the cries of the foxes and the badger also increased. They seemed deafening compared to the silent night before. A bark made Blaise's heart stop. It was Ruko's voice and it came from the same direction as the other noises. The badger's sounds grew louder than ever then died probably as the badger died. Then came the howl as Blaise's eyes beheld the badger's body and the foxes gathered around the entrance to a hollow. Blaise was about to charge in and save her pup when she reminded herself about Amora. She couldn't just drop the pup and attack. Amora would be in the open and there would too many foxes for Blaise to keep track of all of them. Blaise quickly and rather roughly hid Amora in a nearby bush.

Then she turned to see the largest fox dragging Ruko out into the open by a hind leg. Ruko struggled, whimper, growled, and bit at the foxes but nothing freed him from the fox's gasp until it let him go. The foxes circled the pup, they barked triumphantly and seemed to play with their prey by jumping and nipping Ruko. He tried to stumble away but one fox grabbed him and shook him wildly. That was the moment that Blaise reached the foxes. She crashed into the group. She grabbed a fox by the tail and tossed it away. Her claws vented their fury on another. By this time, the element of surprise had worn away. A couple foxes attacked her. They did minor damage, but then one fox grabbed her paw and shook it. With a kick, Blaise sent it flying but not before the fox had injured her paw terribly. Blaise noticed the fox who had Ruko trying to slink away unnoticed. Blaise charged towards it. Before she reached it, the fox yelped, dropped Ruko, and fled. The remaining foxes also fled. Blaise picked up the now unconscious Ruko gently and returned to the place she'd left Amora.

[6dewdrops]

(OOC: Going to butt in here. Hope you don't mind. ))

Foxtrot

The large wolf stalked through the wood, admiring the redwood tree trunks. He wondered what they would look like as saplings. With his new power, Recall, Foxtrot could see back in time, but at the moment he could only see back a few hours. Sadly, redwoods did not grow in a matter of hours. 

He continued walking and enjoying the beautiful day. Then he saw something that caught his eyes. Large rock structures scraped the sky, bearing strange markings. Foxtrot again despaired that he could not see back far enough to see who or what made them. Even though he could not go back that far, Foxtrot decided to recall what had transpired here not too long ago. His power mark began to glow and a colorless image appeared. 

A female wolf traveled with her two pups. One hung in her jaw, while the other struggled to keep up. As they continued, the small pup falling behind dissapeared into a rabbit's hole.

Foxtrot almost lost his concentration in an attempt to keep himself from diving after the pup. This had happened a while ago  There was nothing he could do now. He slowed his breathing and continued. 

The female continued walking awhile before seeming to notice that her second pup was missing. She retraced her steps and left her other pup by herself. Then she perked up, like she had found something, before noticing that she was alone. Turning frantic, she placed a stone stack before searching for the female pup. 

Meanwhile, the male pup remained in the tunnel, out of view. 

After finding the female pup, the adult resumed her search for the male. In a split second, she froze and looked around. There must have been a sound. She rushed towards the sound and there appeared six foxes at the entrance to what Foxtrot assumed was the other end of the same burrow the male pup had fallen in. The male pup lay unconscious while the mother fought off the foxes by herself. In the confrontation, she injured her paw, but was able to fight off the foxes. She picked up the male pup and slowly started walking away, toward her female pup.

The vision faded and Foxtrot opened his eyes to the large rocks. What a brave mother. Maternal instincts must be very strong. His amber eyes swept his surroundings. Based on his observations, she shouldn't be too far. Foxtrot figured the mother might appreciate some help caring for the pups with her injured paw, so he started in their direction. 

Upon on arriving at the clearing, a Foxtrot took a moment to prepare himself. He didn't want to frighten them. Foxtrot walked out of the underbrush and took in the sight of the female and her pups. Before she could react, Foxtrot dipped his head in a friendly way and said softly, "I've only come to help."