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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:59 am
 Aislin was sleepy, but then, that wasn't anything new.
She'd finally started to settle in, though. Even made a friend, sort of. She wasn't sure it counted as friends if the other wolf kind of thought you were nuts. But it was okay, because she thought he was silly.
She probably should've been missing her brother and mom, but truth be told they were far on the back of her mind -- an easily-overseen detail, as so much of the real world was to her. Where this strange dream-obsession had originated, and why she had not grown out of it, was anyone's guess.
Just now, though, she was feeling oddly affectionate, and so she sought out her family for some company.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:39 am
It was so easy to track her sister. Fianna was slinking through the trees to Aislinn's right, silently following her sister back in the direction of their den. She didn't even notice. One of these days Fianna was sure that was going to get her daydreaming sib into trouble.
Now, Fianna was a good hunter. Her father always said so. And she had come at Aislinn from downwind. However, that didn't mean it should have been this easy to get this close to another wolf without them noticing someone was about.
Fianna's green eyes stayed glued to her sister while her feet took her another few feet before she changed directions and ghosted out just behind her.
She gave a playful n** to her sister's back leg, lending the bite just enough pressure to sting. "You're daydreaming again! Pay attention!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:58 am
 "And you're misusing your skills," Peregrine commented as he drifted out of the woods to the girls' left. Fianna jumped and Peregrine gave her a solemn stare. "Don't scare your sister."
Peregrine knew Aislinn's hunting and stalking skills weren't as strong as Fianna's and certainly no where near his, so it was unfair of her to sneak up and attack her sister, even in play. He was fine with Fianna developing her skills so long as she wasn't abusing the ability to sneak up on others. Now, of course, he could see Fianna developing her "sulking" expression at the chastisement and had a whole other matter to deal with. He'd been told raising pups was hard, but he hadn't expected to have to deal with two girls. He was just thankful they were both fairly easy pups to handle.
"Fin," he said warningly, and the girl rolled her eyes and sighed, though at him or himself he wasn't sure. He knew she was equally likely to do either. The "sorry, Dad" she directed at him seemed somewhat genuine at least.
Now Peri was happy to inspect his other daughter and gave her a small smile. "You need to keep a better eye out. What if that hadn't been Fianna?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:57 pm
She yelped in surprise as a pair of teeth clamped around her leg -- ahhh, a monster! -- but then she realized it was just her sister and she grinned at her. "Oh, hi," she said, and yawned.
Her eyes flicked up to her dad (when did he get here?!) and she smiled sheepishly, ears flopping down. She made her way over to nuzzle against her father's chest, tail swinging behind her. "Nobody's going to get me, Daddy. We're safe here. War's over and everything."
She backed up, craning her neck to look up at him with a big, winning smile.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:07 pm
Tree stumps, was her head always in the clouds? Even when she seemed like she was listening to the conversation, Aislin could prove you wrong with a single sentence. Fianna shook her head slightly at her sister and gently bumped the smaller wolf with her shoulder.
"Border patrols would catch any troublemakers coming in from outside the territory. I don't think they'd make it too far without one of the other pack members noticing," Fianna chimed in, making a play to support her sister, even if her claim was a little broken. There were plenty of other things that could go wrong if she wasn't paying attention and, well... Aislin was the wolf who never paid attention.
Fianna sat down abruptly and scratched behind her ear with a back paw.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:08 pm
He couldn't help but return Aislin's smile after she showed him such affection, but offered a gentle chastisement. "Never be complacent. You get into trouble that way." She was right, of course. The war was over and things had certainly settled down. He'd made sure the war was over before Shannah had shown up at on his threshold with their children and offered to let him raise one or two of them. How she'd ended up with his only son... Well. He didn't regret getting to raise his daughters. Gender wasn't important when it came down to hunting anyway, as Fianna had shown him time and time again.
"Sometimes even border patrols can miss a lone making it into the territory. I wouldn't want either of you caught unaware by someone who meant you harm." He moved on, glancing at his daughters to be sure they understood to follow him. Fianna had automatically begun moving after him, a sure sign of how much time they spent together honing her skills or bringing home meals for the three of them. It was Aislin who needed someone to keep an eye on her.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:31 am
"Strangers don't always mean you harm," she said, affably, trailing after them. Where would she be without them taking care of her? Chasing butterflies, probably. "Sometimes they're really nice. You know, I meet strangers here all the time that are in this same pack? That's how big it is."
She was trailing off the subject, wasn't she? Focus, Aislin!
She thought, suddenly, about her mother. She had been so young when she'd been left here, her memories of her mom were starting to blur together with dreams she'd had, and she wasn't really sure where one ended and the other began. Still, she thought she remembered just enough to support her feeling that Shannah would have understood about these things. She seemed to remember her being more...playful?...less like Dad, anyway.
Oh, shoot! They were leaving her behind!
Scurrying to catch up, she bounded alongside her much more sensible sister and wagged her tail. "But I have made friends, is what I'm saying. I hope you have, too."
A terrible thought occurred to her -- what if Fianna spent so much time hunting for them that she never made friends?! -- and then she couldn't get this horrifying notion out of her thoughts.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:31 pm
"I've met other hunters, I guess. Friends aren't a big deal as long as we have pack, though, and a place in it." Fianna really didn't mind that sort of thing. She spent a lot of time with her father or practicing, but she did occasionally get to see other members of their pack. She didn't have "friends" really... but she didn't think about it much either. As long as there was pack, she didn't really mind being alone on a more personal level. She always had her family, after all, and she was sure there were cousins enough around for her to meet if she wanted.
Fianna glanced over at her sister and then did a double-take, staring crazily at her sister. "What's wrong with you?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:39 pm
The look of horror on her face must have been alarming; Aislin tried to regain control of her features, but her imagination had gotten the better of her. "Sorry. I was just...thinking. That's so SAD that you don't think you need friends. What's the point of a pack without FRIENDS?"
This was one of those culture shock moments, Aislin thought -- one of those moments where she started to really wonder just how she'd come to be born in this family and why she was so different from her sensible sister and father.
Mostly, it just made her sad for them, though. She suspected her life was much more fun than theirs. "You should come with me next time I go to visit Cue. You'd like him. You're both -- " she snapped her maw shut, as she realized she was about to say 'you're both sticks in the mud' and that wouldn't be very nice.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:01 pm
Peregrine loved his daughter and the fact that she found spending time with her father worthwhile. However, his youngest had a point. Someone her age should make friends, especially within the pack. Seasons from now he would like to see them both settled with allies, if not mates. (Preferably with mates and pups, too, if they didn't want the solitary life.) Keeping Fianna away
"Meeting your friends sounds like a good idea, Aislin." The comment seemed to startle Fianna, and he wondered if she had forgotten he was there and listening. "It would do you both good to meet wolves your own age, and while you have had the chance, Aislin, you have not, Fianna. The sooner the better, I think."
Her protests were noted, but Peregrine stopped and looked back at her so she could see he was serious. Not that he usually wasn't. "You need to meet wolves closer to your age. I haven't been giving you enough time to yourself to do that. Even if it starts with just meeting them once, you may find yourself more comfortable with some of them and build friendships. They might even be other young hunters you didn't know about."
He knew it was a long shot that Aislin had managed to find and befriend young males who were also as adamant about hunting-- or, honestly, about being a warrior-- as Fianna was, but some of them might take at least a passing interest in it. His daughter needed a chance, and she wouldn't get it with him standing in her way or remaining as a safety net. His daughter was as brave as he was, but she was young. Bravery didn't mean she wasn't affected by her own bouts of uncertainty, and uncertainty could cripple the bravery of the young in ways that head-on attackers couldn't.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:02 pm
"Both what?" Fianna stressed, moving closed to her sister. The action took on a menacing overtone from the way she was staring her sister down while Aislin was avoiding her eyes. The fact that she had stopped had not made the ending of that sentence sound as if it was going to be a compliment.
Somehow, her sister was saved from the undeserving fate her big mouth almost got her into by their dad interjecting his opinion. Fianna hadn't even known he was listening anymore. Of course he was listening, with him that close. Still, that hadn't been the reaction she was expecting, though she knew she shouldn't be surprised. She'd just spent so much time working with her father that she had gotten used to his companionship and his place as her mentor. The thought of meeting with other wolves almost made her... uncomfortable, if only because it was so suddenly sprung on her.
"What? But I'm fine practicing hunting and spending time with you and sometimes the other hunters. Why do I need to meet Aislin's friends?"
His response did not reassure her.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:11 pm
"You're both very serious," she finished, a bit lamely. It was the truth, though. And now that she saw that her dad was on her side on this, she could hardly contain her enthusiasm with wanting to start on the plan straight away.
"You'll like them all," she announced, although she was fairly certain that might not be the case. "Oh, and Novacaine -- you might especially like him, he knows all about things in nature, and he has a lynx that's like his pet, it's so cool."
Her tail wagged so hard that it made her rump wiggle and she almost fell over with all the enthusiastic wagging.
"I'll introduce you. And then I promise I'll come hunting with you both more often. Does that sound fair?"
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