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Shilah had been wandering for at least a month now. The wounds to his throat had now healed up as scars, but were still red; perhaps traces of a lingering infection. The former alpha had lost weight, too, mostly through depression. He had lost home and family, and months before doing so, he had lost the one he loved. There was no point in going back, either; she wouldn't be there. And Corvus had taken his place as High Alpha. Bitter, the striped male moved on blindly, not paying much attention to where he was going, until he had wandered, one day, across a lost little puppy in the snow.

Li had tugged at his affections, so that he grudgingly took her in. She needed someone, else she would die out in the snow, and he was not cruel-hearted. But his icy demeanor, a barracade against the outside world, had slowly melted away in the face of the little girl, until he began to enjoy caring for her. She made the days and nights tolerable, and he had a purpose again, albeit a simple one: to make sure she was fed and looked after.

Last evening, they had stopped next to a small running river and slept on it's banks. The night had been clear enough that they did not need to fear bad weather, and, in the morning, Shilah was still snoozing, stretched out to his rather considerable length on the bank. Li, meanwhile, had gotten up early, energetic. When no motion was forthcoming from her adopted father, she ignored him, and made her tottering way down to the water, poking a paw in and watching the water ripple around it.


TaradSoftwing: Morgan tended to be a rather solitary creature. He tended not to be looked down upon, as seemed common in packs. His past was riddled with attempts to join this pack or that, but he never stayed. His ranking was always low. He was only a mediocre hunter, had no leadership skills whatsoever, and apparently he generally didn't make very good company. Or so his would-be-packmates seemed to think.

His surliness was usually due to a lack of belonging. He was probably being overly sensitive, but when he felt he wasn't wanted, he saw no reason to be friendly or stay long. So most often he was alone, which suited him just fine. Most times, anyway.

Somehow, someway, though, this self-imposed hermitage had been interrupted by the arrival of a colorful ball of feathery fluff. Even now, as he padded along the riverbank, this fluffball of attitude was perched on his shoulders, squawking indignance at every step. From a distance, they would have made a rather odd sight, much less sound. Head down, he let her sqwawk. He'd discovered scolding and sharp words had absolutely no effect on the stubborn, headstrong thing. He was about to discover that her distraction, though, was taking a toll on his watchfulness, for he was oblivious to the motion of the pup ahead of him. All his attention was on the path right in front of his paws, and the monotonous grating voice of his traveling companion.


bluekillerdonkey: The little puppy heard the noise first, and swiveled her head quizzically around, to peer at the arrival of a wolf. Well ... sort of a wolf. It had an odd growth out of it's back, which she found puzzling, until the creature moved, and she could see that it was, in fact, a bird of some sort. Li had never bothered with birds much. They were, on the whole, too difficult to hunt and rarely came down for a chat. Her curiousity aroused, she brought her paw back out of the water, scampering up the bank and leaving a one-paw muddy trail behind her. The girl's tail wags cheerfully; clearly, she has never met a mean wolf before, and has no reason to believe this one would turn on her. She yips at him to get his attention.

Shilah's blue eyes slide open a notch, and the large male freezes at the sight of a stranger coming down to the water's edge. After what he'd been through, wariness had become engrained as part of his nature, and the former alpha was not about to take anything for granted. Morgan looked harmless, but ... so had Corvus, and Vulpecula. The striped male is on his feet in another instant, ears back slightly, eyes narrowed, beautiful brush of a tail up in a rather domineering fashion, as he follows behind the girl. "Li!"

TaradSoftwing: The presence of the pup became impossible to miss as she scampered up the bank, rather than simply standing near the water. Another clue was that the rhythmic squawking stopped, and Alecky leaned off to the side to peer at this newcomer. It occured to Morgan that this was the first meeting he'd had with anyone since picking up his 'pest'. His attention remained divided for a moment, as the pup wiggled her ecstatic way up to him and he felt the chick lean further out to the side to watch. His own tail was beginning to wave in a friendly fashion when a full-grown male came rushing after the puppy.

Oh, Morgan knew THAT pose. Yet another stranger who considered hismelf better than just a lone like him. Still, there were certain appropriate measures to take to save his own skin, so he immediately cringed in proper, if grudging, respect, tucking his tail and lowering his head.

Unfortunately, this knee-jerk response hadn't taken into account the precarious position of his feathered friend. Alecky tumbled right off his shoulder, rolling beak over claws to land in a blue and purple lump right at the paws of the puppy. "Alecky!" His chagrin was instant surprising him with a surge of protectiveness. What if this was a hunter child? So he did a stupid thing. He lunged towards the two, paws outstretched.



bluekillerdonkey: Shilah had relaxed slightly in response to Morgan's pose, but as soon as the other male lunged between the two, instinct kicked in, and his hackles raised, and he took the last few steps at a dead run, snarling and clearly determined to stop the other lone male at whatever cost. The flash of blue and purple surprises him, but the male does not yet see that the creature is a live bird. "Stop!" He snaps, still moving forward toward Morgan, but something makes his gait slow slightly.

The problem, however, was Li, who was currently inbetween the two and looking quite scared; she cowered next to the little bird, ears snapping back against her skull as she tried to hide down in the dirt, paws over her face, a little trembling piece of fur. What happened? What was going on? What had she done wrong? The puppy gives a little whimper, body pressing close to Alecky in fear.



TaradSoftwing: Morgan caught sight of the other male, plunging towards him and the two small ones as well. His threat was clear as a shout, his command sharp. His own ears pinned and eyes wide, his dive for the little bird turns into a sliding stop, which ends with both front paws around the two youngsters, and nearly nose to nose with the terrified pup. Good grief, what a mess.

In the breathless moment of tension, Alecky appears to decide to take matters into her own claws. The young avien clambers to her feet, stands up just as tall as her small body can manage, and glaring up at the two older wolves, gives an ear-piercing screech. Just as caustically as an old crow, she scolds them both for being so stupid as to act this way. She ruffled every one of her feathers and clacks her beak, eyeing her own plumage disapprovingly and then glaring back up at the older two, for all the world as if she were blaming them both for the state of her feathers.



bluekillerdonkey: As the other male skids to a halt, Shilah has to check his own pace, but realizes, with comical regret, that he .. can't. Cursing aloud, he manages to twist himself so that he merely stumbles past the trio, almost tripping himself on some tree roots nearby. Doubly-stupid, really; he had taken care not to swear around Li, since she seemed to pick up the words at an astonishingly fast pace, and seemed to like to use them more in her vocabulary. Coughing at the dust he's raised, the striped male walks back to the group, trying and failing to look rather dignified. The bird's screech is still ringing in his ears, and he gives it a stern look, bemusedly wondering why the other wolf hasn't eaten it yet. That alone is enough to make him cautious of it. Instead, he slips around to nuzzle the puppy, who has peeped an eye open at the screen and finally uncovers her paws from her face at the noise.

The girl sits up onto her haunches, blinking as she stares between the three of them, her tail and posture still held low, like an omega's. She doesn't budge from the avian's side.

Shilah gives her a cursory lick, then glances up to study Morgan, ignoring Alecky for the moment. "Whatever was all that about?"



TaradSoftwing: Morgan blinked as the other adult careened by them, and winced as Alecky let them know just what she was thinking. Leave it to her to think of herself above all. With an exasperated sigh, he carefully backed out of the way so the male could tend to the puppy. He still kept himself low to the ground, ears back and tail tucked. His surge of protectiveness towards the loud-mouth chick has evaporated as fast as it came. Let her get herself eaten, if this was the trouble she'd get him in.

"That bird is nothing but trouble," he grumbled in answer, heaving a huge, huffing sigh. He eyed the adult with dubious wariness. "For my own part, it was my stupidity in trying to protect that fluffball from your ravenous warrior, there." He cocked an ear at the puppy, a corner of his mouth quirking up in a teasing half-smile. Unbeknownst to Morgan, he had the potential to be an excellent puppysitter. He'd simply never been allowed near the pack pups in the past.

Alecky seemed unperturbed by the possible danger of the bigger wolves, and was instead leaning around, twisting her head upsidedown to peer up at the youngest wolf. Her bright green eyes blinked inquisitively, and she made a churring trill in her throat.



bluekillerdonkey: Shilah stares at Morgan, then looks down at Alecky. His brow quirks, as does his lips, as if he were trying not to smile at the thought of an adult wolf protecting this tiny avian.

The other wolf's statement about his adopted puppy make him look down at her, then, amazingly, he laughs, dryly. "Fair enough. I apologize for overreacting. I thought you were going to attack Li, and I had to protect her. Other loners are not always trustworthy, as I am certain you know well." The somewhat scruffy large wolf settles back peacably onto his haunches, watching the little girl and chick out of the corner of his eye. "My name is Shilah, and the little one is Li; we're merely passing through." The other does not look like a pack wolf, nor smell like one, but it is sometimes impossible to tell, and he did not want to get into an argument with a full pack today.

Fear forgotten in a few seconds, Li pokes her nose at Alecky in curiousity, snuffling her, then wrinkling her nose. "You smell funny. M'name's Li, what's yers?" A pause, and then, "Unca Sh'lah, do we eats this?" There's an anxious note to the child's voice, as if she wasn't certain she could after that.

"No, Li. Leave the bird alone."

Relieved, the child goes back to snuffling the bird, prowling around her. "Gosh, you sound neat, tho'."



TaradSoftwing: The relaxed pose of Shilah causes the bluegreen lone to also ease himself onto his haunches, though he's still cautious about keeping himself lower. Passing through?

"I'm Morgan, and I've named that little irritation Alecky." He gave a small sneeze of exasperation. "As you saw, she's quite the smart acleck. We are also only passing through." His ears flick uncertainly in offer of neturality. "She is your daughter?" It was his attempt at polite conversation... something he was far from adept at. He tended to be too blunt and straight-forward. In fact, that was often what had distanced him from the few packs he'd tried to enter. Bluntness and a dislike for being dominated wasn't condusive to pack politics.

Alecky had leaned backwards at being sniffed, then forwards when she'd spoken to the other fluffy. When Li returned to sniffing her, she again leaned backwards, eyes widening, until she chittered swiftly and tumbled over backwards, chortling raspily. She was on her feet again with a flip of her as-yet flightless wings. Churring in her throat again, she approached the puppy, hopping sideways and tipping her head sideways again. What an unusual fluffy! The words spoken rolled over her like a wave, only a little absorbing. She clacked her beak again and reached with it to nibble gently at the waving tail.



bluekillerdonkey: "Morgan, Alecky. She's well-named," he says, smiling. "But it looks like she'd keep you in good company."

He shakes his head, but doesn't seem offended at the question. "No. I don't know whose daughter she is, actually; I found her wandering around. But I've sort of adopted her for the moment." It makes up for the heartache of losing Kaya and the rest of his family and friends and pack ... at least to some degree. "How did you find Alecky?" Unspoken is the question of how a bird comes to be traveling with a wolf, but he doesn't ask the question outright. He's seen too many strange things in his travels, and is well aware that his own preference for human company rather than wolf is not all that normal, either. Besides, questions about Morgan steer things away from Shilah's past, a raw wound that he does not want to consider. "And where are you both headed?"

Li giggles as the winged creature trips over backwards, sticking out her tongue, puppy-smiling with her teeth. But it's clearly she means no harm, for her movements are overly-gentle; she semes to instinctively realize that the creature before her is no rough-and-tumble playmate. She pauses as her tail is 'caught,' and dabbles a bit at the bird's head with a careful paw. "Okay, sheesh, y'got me!"



TaradSoftwing: He relaxes more as Shilah seems to accept the rankless status of them both, treating him as friend rather than submissive to be ordered about. Now if he could find a group like this, he'd stay. But so far as he knew, no such thing existed. The rest of his body language reflects his relief at the casual conversation as he unwinds enough to sprawl. At the mention of Alecky being good company, he casts a glance at her, unaccountably amused to see her playing like that with the puppy. "She is insufferable, but does make the days shorter."

Blunt he may be, but he also is generally unaware of subtlety. Thus he is quite easily distracted from probing further about his companion's past. "We aren't headed much of anywhere. Save perhaps somewhere with plenty of game."

He had dwelt some on how to keep the chicklet fed, but so far she seemed quite content to snap up any seeds or fruits that populated the trails as spring deepened. Not being one to plan, he would worry about it when the problem came up.

Pleased with herself, Alecky churred more and hopped backwards, nearly taking another tumble. With another throaty chortle, she flapped her wing-stubs and headbutted the heavier-built creature in the chest. Then, with a mocking squawk, she turned and scurried to hop behind the two adults, her raspy voice doing a sing-song that was clear invitation for pursuit.



bluekillerdonkey: It was nice to find a fellow-spirit, after such a long time. Shilah wonders about Morgan's own past, but avoids asking about it. Although there were perfectly good reasons for being a lone wolf - and Morgan does not, in truth, look that old, so he could be dispersing from his first pack - Shilah had met too many wolves with hard pasts. Such pasts were generally subjects to be avoided, if possible. His own telling throat-scars might be testimony to that.

The wry smile remains. "If only that were everywhere," he murmurs. "Unfortunately, most of those areas host packs, eh? Still, it's not too hard to survive out here ... I'm grateful to summer." He yawns.

Li gently wagged her tail, to make certain it was in one piece from the 'attack,' and grins at the headbutt, which naturally does not even budge her, but true to playing the game, she flops over dramatically, as if the hit had wounded her for life. The girl dissolves into giggles on the ground, and is immediately up and about again, tail whisking playfully, as she races off after Alecky, tumbling over Morgan's paws.



TaradSoftwing: Morgan watched as Alecky ran behind him, and then Li tumbled across his paws. His tongue lolled out as he smiled at them. He would never admit it aloud, much less to a stranger, but he had a soft heart for anything young and helpless. Even so, words snuck out of his mouth just then. "It must be nice, having someone small to look after that will take after you."

But a heartbeat later, he realized what he'd said. He snapped his mouth shut with a click and endeavored to look nonchalant and bored. "Though anything young tends to be more trouble than it's worth." He flipped his tail to prove it, thwapping the chick in the beak as she crouched behind him to 'hide'.

It occured to him that he'd never answered Shilah's question about how he'd come to acquire Alecky, he snorted and shook his head, ears flapping. "She actually found me, by accident I assume, unless there is a crow goddess looking out for her." He flicked his gaze clouds-wards dubiously. "She quite literally fell out of a tree and onto me. Landed smack dab in the middle of my back, making more noise than a drowned cheetah." He managed to look disgusted, flipping his ears backwards momentarily. "After that, it was kinda hard to just leave her helpless there, making so much noise. So," he trailed off and shrugged. "She stays with me, now."

Alecky liked this playmate. She was fun. She hadn't had anyone to play with, really, since she could remember. It had been just her in that nest for too long. Until she'd fallen out and landed on her new 'daddy'. He tended to be grumpy with her, but she didn't mind. He looked after her and made sure her belly was full. But this play business was another matter altogether.

The tail in the beak didn't faze her. Instead, she gave a raspy call, hopping so that her feet curled around on top of his tail, where she proceeded to caw and flap her wings triumphantly. She'd slain the beast!



bluekillerdonkey: So he was touchy about showing much affection; that was interesting. Considering how Shilah would have been raised if he had stayed with his parents' pack, the former alpha should almost be grateful that his sister, Istas, had kidnapped him and taken him away from the place, even if it had been for her own selfish reasons. Instead, he had grown up with a loving group of ... well not parents, not exactly, but kindly adoptive uncles, two different pack leaders and an omega, who had not hesitated to show affection toward the young pup and his odd two-legged sister. It had been an odd family, but it had worked well.

"It is," he says casually, as if not noticing the other's discomfort. "Although I rather hope she takes after herself." He smiles, wryly. "I've seen too many disasters happen when parents attempt to mold their children to become just like them. It's a pity that's why so many bring pups into the world."

He glances back toward the playing chick and pup. Trouble? "I wouldn't say that. I personally need a good dose of trouble to keep me alive and happy," he says dryly. "And healthy, too, else I'd get fat and lazy." He flashes a quick grin, all white, sharp teeth. He chuckles at the other male's story of finding the little bird, and another sense of lonliness and heartache seems to seep quietly away. In truth, Shilah hasn't had anyone but Li to talk to for weeks on end, and while the puppy was good company, she was still so young. It was refreshing to talk to someone more Shilah's age, who had seen the world and understood the dangers and sacrifices involved in living in it. His nose wrinkles slightly. "What's a cheetah? Some kind of rat? She was lucky she met you; another wolf might not be so considerate." It tells him a lot about Morgan's character. "Li was just wandering about, hungry. She could barely speak then. Reminded me of myself when I was her age. I couldn't just leave her out there, alone. Fortunately, she could eat meat, just barely." He had been picked up by a trapper when he was a puppy, who had cared for him until he had gotten older; and then he had met Kaya, and the alpha Hige.

Li chortled at Alecky's antics, then immediately launched herself at the bird, taking care to pull her blows so that the little avian would suffer no true hurts. "Rar! I come back t'life!"



TaradSoftwing: He couldn't help it. Morgan gave this other lone a sideways look out of the corner of his eye. This wolf was unlike any he'd met thus far, with none of the usual ingrained opinions and attitudes that he was familiar with. It was... thought-provoking, to be sure. He ran his tongue across his nose reflectively. At least he wasn't likely to be looked down upon by this wolf, so far anyway.

He flashed a grin back at the comments of the adoptive father. Whether he claimed the pup as his or not, Morgan knew a parent when he saw one. "I suppose you are right," he drawled, twitching the very tip of his 'captured' tail. "I haven't had her long enough to know, really. It was only a few days ago when she dropped in," he mused. "I guess I should give it a bit more time before I say she's trouble." He winced as just then Alecky gave a particularly loud screech, ears folding against the pain. "Though certain aspects are indeed trouble." He sent the chick a mock-glare, showing his teeth as if he were about to snap her up. He chortled as she completely ignored him. "Brat."

Alecky had kept her perch, even when the tail beneath her twitched. But when the puppy had leapt at her with that fierce expression, the crow chick gave a piercing screech and flapped as if she were going to try and fly away. This of course didn't do much good, and thus she went tumbling off Morgan's tail when Li pounced her.

A sly gleam in her eye might have warned the puppy that it was her turn to sham, if Li had caught it. As she came to a halt in the dust, the brightly colored chick gave a gurgly sound in her throat and heaved several fast breaths... and the collapsed in a boneless heap.



bluekillerdonkey: Shilah had never been one for deep thought until the past few months; the coup and his own losses had made him considerably more thoughtful. He had been a good alpha, but not a great one, largely because of this failing. He vowed to change that, if he ever found Kaya and got back to challenge Corvus. A ruler couldn't just rule with his heart, he had to rule with his brain, too .. Shilah had not done that enough, and Corvus was probably doing it too much. Inwardly, he sighed. He hoped Istas and Malia and the rest were doing alright ...

The grin widens. "Just wait. From what my - friend Atlas says, they just get worse as they get older. There comes a point where they start questioning what you say." The large male makes a face. "And 'because I say so' doesn't quite cut it anymore." He gives a long-suffering sigh, as if he were not quite prepared for Li to reach this point yet. "Then comes the hard parts." His own ears fold back involuntarily at Alecky's screech, and he winced; yes, Morgan was going to have his paws full. Doubly so, really, because no matter what happened, Alecky was going to be considered prey to other wolves, not kin. "Snow and ice, she has a healthy set of lungs on her."

Li looked rather pleased when she seemed to have 'caught' her playmate; she pins her, looking triumphantly over at Morgan and Shilah in case they had missed her brilliant move. Thus, she completely did not see the crafty look in Alecky's eye, and when she looked back on the creature, Alecky is not ... moving. Not at all. The puppy blinks, awkwardly stepping off the fragile wings, and sniffs at her, peering cautiously over into her face, and exhaling sharply into it several times. "Leckee?" she quavers, looking puzzled.



TaradSoftwing: Shilah's words make him wrinkle up his face. Worse? He clicked his teeth together against the surge of selfishness that was yet another one of that multitude of reasons why he had never gotten along with a pack. This was not some task shoved onto him by a lofty superior. This was a child, unable to care for herself. Much as he might try to deny it, she was indeed his responsibility now.

But a sudden thought had him smirking over at his companion. "Ah, but at least Alecky is just a bird, and may even leave me when she's able to. She isn't our kind, after all." He flipped his freed tail sassily. "You, however, have her entire future to look out for, and suitors to oversee." He grinned, teeth flashing. "Your daughter or no, I can see you won't be just letting her go lightly. She's yours almost as surely as if she were from your own loins." Don't ask why it pleased him, but it did, while it never occurred to him that he might someday be in a position to have pups to look after himself. That someday was too unlikely and too far off to even bother with the notion.

Alecky gave Li just enough time to get worried and lean in close. Even better, the puppy had stepped off her wings. At just the right moment, she raised both wings and buffeted her friend's nose and muzzle with her feathery wings before flipping her tail up and then using that momentum to roll herself back up to her feet. She ran, hopping and flapping, to dive directly between Shilah's front paws, pressing against his belly as if she thought she could hide herself there.