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The puppy is sleeping. He's been sleeping for the past twelve or so hours, and doesn't show signs of waking, curled happily up in the little hollow of his odd packmate's arms. No worry that she's hairless, and might be a little colder than a normal wolf's fur - she smells familiar, and is familiar, and is his only packmate, and he's fiercely attached to her. It's not her fault she was born hairless. His beath is slow and deep, and it's obvious that he won't wake unless deliberately provoked.

The human girl, however, is as wide awake as the pup is deeply asleep. Her eyes are open, and she quietly berates that she wasn't given better eyes to see in the dark cavern with. It's slowly gotten better...but compared to her wolf companion, her eyesight - and nose, and ears - are worth little to her. She's curled up with her arms around him, and her skin feels warm where she's holding him...but everything else has slowly gone numb from cold. She lets out a short little sigh. She'll have to find something warmer, so that she can have a skin like a wolf. An elk pelt, maybe, or something similar....

"I can hear you shivering..." Hinto said quietly into the silence. He had been awake as well, leaning his back against one of the walls of the den and thinking quietly to himself. He had heard the girl shivering for some time now- it was quite cold but he dressed himself in his favorate furs- a fox fur and an elk skin that kept him terribly comfortable even in a cold winter night, "You know- I can let you wear my coat for a while. I don't mind... rather than hear you shiver like that all night, I can't sleep." IT was his way of trying to be nice while still keeping his stubborn "macho" tone to him. Still, she was a girl and the elder had told him to be especially nice to girls.

The gray-green eyes fill with venom as the young girl glares at the boy. She doesn't attack him, but the look is clear - she certainly believes herself above his 'rank' in the 'pack.' It's quite possible that she's gone a little touched in the head after she found this puppy, or even before...clearly, she's not going to back down on her assertion that she's a 'wolf.'

"I don't need anything," She snaps, curling around the puppy more. "I ain't cold." Wolves look out for themselves. If they can tough it out, she can tough it out, at least until she finds something more suitable to wear.

"Ah hah, your shivering voice and breath says otherwise." He obviously didn't see the sharp looks she was giving him but her tone was enough to betray her feelings towards him. It was ammusing really, he liked this girl for the challange she posed to him. "My these furs are warm...." He rubbed his face in one of the rabbit-skin mittens that he had worn, "So soft too. I'm burning up just sitting here. If it weren't for those shivers of yours I'd be able to sleep quite soundly, highness." He chuckled, laying his stick to the side and began removing the elk coat and fox scarf, shaking out his hair as the static clung to his black locks and a few of the ordiments clinging to his hair. With a huff he tossed them in the direction of her voice, "There, just feel them them."

The slight sound of Balan's "wurrf" sounds more muffled than it did before...the sound of hoof scrapping arouss the floor sounds even strange till he comes clearly into sight with the haunch gripped in his teeth...his neck crained up and to the side to keep the meat form turing into a less than palatable bruised mass....he slowly lowers it between them...his neck acheing but with a slight wag of his tail to see them awke.

Her lip curls scornfully at him, and she snorts, indignant. "One hunter has to stay awake at all times in case of danger, not sleep like some stupid wet-behind-the-ears puppy," she retorts to him, sharply. She warily watches him as he removes his coat and scarf, and snatches them up. Perhaps he'll see this as a victory, but her mind has already leaped ahead - and he's made a sorry mistake if he thinks he's ever going to get them back again.

But something else comes into view, and she lets out a happy help as she spots Balan coming in, carefully bundling up Shilah, who makes no more than a puppy-whimper, and yet whose twitching nose suggests he may be up in a minute to investigate the good new smells, and prancing over towards Balan, lightly rocking on the balls of her feet as she crouches down near him in greeting.

"Then you sleep. I'm guessing it's night- your eyes won't do any good on lookout anyway." He huffed, reaching for his stick and pulling it close to him as he curled his knees into his chest. Gods she had every right to be shivering as much as she had been- it was cold, even in the den. He had heard the sounds of the wolves moving off and leaving them in the night, he wondered if they had been leaving them for good until he heard the other's return and the pup's greeting to it. He wasn't sure if it was the wolf he had taken to, the one he had named "Silk" because of his fur. His head tilted to one side as he listened- something stunk... a lot. "URng..." He reached up to cover his nose and mouth, his brows raising slightly, "What is that?"

The nose is rather cold and wet - like a healthy wolf's should be. She scrunches up her own nose a little momentarily, for it's a little too cold for her taste...but she starts to grin at him, before belatedly realizing that, in wolves, that might be contrived as a threat. They do bare their teeth, after all. Big, sharp teeth. Therefore, she compromises by reaching a hand up and scratching the soft fur on his neck. "Aya," She says softly, smiling.

A smile which dissolves as she glances back towards Hinto. "It's breakfast," She says, simply. "Hurry, or there won't be any left by the time the others decide they're hungry. Soft Fur was nice enough to bring part of his kill back to us." She doesn't express the sight dissatisfaction she feels at being treated like a puppy, but she doesn't comment on it, lightly drawing her small knife and starting to carve a piece of the meat away.

The striped puppy's nose gives a particularly violent twitch, and he gets to all fours, ears perking forwards. His chubby little body moves towards his packmate and Balan, reserving a light 'woof' for the former and a respectful tail-wag for the latter, before diving into the food, growling at anyone - wolf or human - that gets too close.

Balan sits and watches with amusement as the pup digs in as though he alone could devower the haunch.
"You indeed must be thier alpha, eating first after all...But I need to speak with you...about what we shall do with you and your two legged friends. Things in this area are...not as peasceful between those on two and those on for legs."

"Ki.... Kill? Wait a minute- as in meat? Like something? Like... not cooked?" He shuddered a bit, pulling his shirt closer to him, "N-no th-thank you. I'll look for.... uh... something in the morning..." He hated sounding picky but he had been tricked into eating raw meat once- rabbit meat. It was squishy and bloody not to mention wretched in both taste and after effects to his stomache. That was a week he wished he could just shake from his mind as easily as he could shake his head in an attempt to clear such thoughts. He could almost feel the slimy, moist, warm meat in his mouth again. It made him feel just a bit queesy.

Balan watches the pup with an glowing sorta of pride in his chest...he can't even begin to explain it...but watching them makes him feel...so alive...
"Ah...what wouldn't I give to have been in your paws."

Hinto sighed and pushed himself to his feet with help of his stick. He would be lying to not admit that he was tired and the trip outside where it was probibly -more- cold than it was in here was not comfroting a bit. Either way he gutted it with little more than a grimmace of displeasure at his task and made his way towards the mouth of the cave, his stick feeling along the ground. The ground stopped where the sound of rushing water became loudest- he could feel the spray of water on his face and arms. It was freezing cold! How did the wolves get in?! Turning back in the direction of the other's voices he made a pleading expression- almost asking them the question on his mind with his eyes. Seeing as he'd probibly only get another nickname and a shove to his rear he pressed on, feeling along the ground. There was a thin ledge from the mouth of the cave, under the waterfall that must have led out. He carefully pressed his back against the wall of the cave and slid along the ledge- his stick feeling along the ground in front of him until finally his now rather damn mocisons met with the even more unpleasent damp coldness of snow that had gathered on the ground. With a silent curse he walked on, feeling along the snow in front of him and listening even more now. Who knew if there was anything out here? It was night hours- the silence betrayed that well enough. He'd never been out in the night before- the bitter cold biting at his explosed flesh gave him every reason not to be. "Bossy girl..." He muttered, more for the comfort of hearing another voice than anything, "Thinks she-s-shshe's so important because sh-sh-she's a better wolf. "

His stick met with a few things along the ground- rock, rock, rock- tree.... He sighed, bending down to push aside snow and feel along for sticks, "They'll all be damp anyway, we've nothing to dry them with... stupid bossy girls." His numbed fingers managed to trace out a few sticks and in time he managed to gather an armful of damp but decent-sized twigs. Returning to the cave was no easy chore, his feet were damp and cold so he had less of a feel for the rock and nearly slipped under the raging waterfall a few times but managed to catch himself just in time. The cave was a good deal warmer than outside- a warmth he woudln't soon learn to take lightly. Throwing the sticks to the ground and walking back to the wall his teeth chattered out between silent mutters and groans. He was damp now on top of being cold.... not to mention a bit snappy as a result.

Balan watches the strange gathering of sticks with a feeling of...immanent discomfort...what was WITH these two leggers?! Didn't he have enough wout with his wooded wisker?!

Wind Song doesn't even watch him go - she's engrossed in the task at hand. Weak wolves, to her way of thinking, make dead wolves. Blind Hinto may be, but if he's going to be her packmate, he'd better work as much as she is. Somewhat sloppily carving a hunk of meat - any and all of it, even the less tender parts that a more sophisticated person might cut off - she drags it away from the two wolves, neatly pushing it up onto a small natural, shallow shelf in the cavern that she had discovered earlier. Now it won't become a meal for those that become hungry...and perhaps it'll hopefully dry out a bit, too. Not bothering to whip her bloody hands off, she starts to clear an area on the floor free from brush, and expertly sets up a little area for a cooking fire. This is one of the things she can do...females in her tribe were expected to do the cooking even at an early age. It'll be tough to start a fire in the damp...but it'll be better than nothing if they can get it going. She's eager to feel a warm meal in her belly, and she looks enviously over to Shilah, wishing she could devour it as he can, bones, skin, and all.

She's just finished when Hinto comes back, and she greets him with a faint perk of her head, before snatching the sticks up and sorting through to find the driest, hunkering down to set them up amidst the rock. She reaches deep in her leather pack - which had sat, disregarded, for quite awhile - to pull out flint and tinder, and starts the methodical and perhaps long process of starting a fire going.

"I never did get your name by the way, highness...", he grumbled, pulling his shoes from his feet and setting them aside- they were no good to him damp and cold. "My name is Hinto." He surely hoped she wouldn't giggle at his name like the others had. Being named simply "blue" for the color of his eyes hardly seemed fair to him, "One day I'm going to earn a new name, I want to be called something that's strong or smart. Might be nice you know." He began wringing out the water from his shoes onto the mossy ground, shivering at the cold licks of water trailing from inbetween his fingers down his palms and arms.

Balan started at the first sign of smoke as the tinder finaly began to catch... Hed never seen behavior like THAT before...He'd seen fired...bur never imagined that humans could deliberatly START them! He'd imagined them only to keep them like they kept some animals.
"She...started it?! Stars and moons...I never imagined..."

Noke followed a trail continuing her usual duty. Ever since Nyx had her puppies Akui and Noke were nearly constantly hunting. Not that she was complaining. She liked it, because she could go out and explore. She continued to pad through the forest until she heard something. Immediately she craned her neck around as amber orbs searched the foliage around her. Audits perked atop her crania, then a strange foul scent began to burn her nostrils. She had never met a "two legger" but she certaintly didn't want to. She took a step back unsuredly then took in the scent of another. This time it was something unmistakingly familiar, another wolf.

The blizzard has since gone down, and both Kaya and Shilah, restless as only the young can be at staying in one spot too often, have gotten bored and have disappeared out into the snow. With the human boy's coat - blisslessly ignoring the fact that he himself might be cold - Kaya doesn't mind going out. Since Balan has been sleeping, both children refused to go very much farther from the caves - Shilah knows his promise to talk to Balan's alpha will keep until Balan is ready to travel, or Feanaro or Hige returns. Until then, he's content to explore this area with his 'packmate.'

The two are gambooling in a small wooded area nearby. The weeks have wrought an alarming change in the young human girl. She's lean - one might almost say depravingly skinny - but has gained some muscletone. Her hair, not very neatly-kept before, is now all but in tangles. It looks like she cut it, too - but inexpertly. Her arms are now criss-crossed with numerous scars, some newly healed, others older.

Shilah pounces her, tusseling in the snow, but perks up as he sniffs something else around the area. His head raises curiously, tail twitching.

Noke stood where she was at puzzled at how she could of have gotten both scents, at the same time, with the same strength. Could my wolf-brethren ((she's calls every wolf her kin or brethren)) be in trouble? This thought made her extremely uneasy. Her nose sifted through the scents again. She finally got the nerve to approach. Her purple figure slinked across the ashen snow. It didn't take very long for the scents to overwhelm her nostrils. She then paused walking off the normal path into a patch of dead foliage and continued through there. Then she saw them, it was a very odd sight. Her fellow wolf-brethren was indeed not in trouble, but was walking with the "two-legger" Noke couldn't believe her eyes.

Shilah, alerted of the newcomer's presence, lets out a warning bark, ears flung forwards in curiousity as he pads out across the snow. Kaya rolls over and freezes slightly at the sight of the adolescent she-wolf, warily coming into a crouching position. She knows Soft Fur and Wind Call and Fire Whisper - her names for Balan, Feanaro, and Hige respectively - but she's never met a female of 'her' species before. Kaya is quite convined, at this point, that she's a wolf - a weird, two-legged wolf that's quite vulnerable to the elements, but a wolf nevertheless. She watches the newcomer, eyes slitted.

Shilah, however, offers a hesitant tail-wag, coupled with a yip of greeting as he nears the she-wolf, stopping a good distance away, his tail hung slightly lower in submission and good will.

Monenoke watched as the two finally realized her existence. Her optics narrowed on the "two legger", whom was crawling around like a wolf. Hackles raised slightly as a warning growl was emitted form her throat, but that was all. She then looked at the pup who obviously was submitting to her. Optics glanced back at the "two legger" she heard the yip, but thought nothing of it. The she-wolf stood for a second in a position ready to defend herself if need be. Hackles slowly fell fell and ears let up from pressing on her skull. Noke had heard terrible things about these, "two-leggers" Nyx said never to trust them, so Noke being one to respect Nyx didn't trust any of them. Noke walked up slowly to the pup and sniffed him then licked his face. Then backed off showing no greeting towards the "two-legger"

"Tell me why you bring a 'two-legger' into these parts?"

Monenoke frowned at the pup's comment. Noke turned her gaze towards the "two-legger", "That thing isn't of our kin..." She said slightly irritated and confused. She backed off several steps and sat on her haunches. Her gaze remained settled on Shilah. Noke shook her head, how could the pup think that it was one of them. "I'm Monenoke..." She said, her tail however did not wag. She would never dream of wagging her tail in a "two-leggers" presense.

Monenoke shook her head yet a second time, "It's a two-legger under little clothing, that's what it is." She murmered knowing fully that the true saying was, 'a wolf in sheep's clothing.' Noke continued to watch the pup before tossing a nervous glance at the "two-legger." Noke paused before answering the question giving another cold gaze at the girl. What if, it can understand our tougue? She thought, What if when I answer this question it will go back to it's pack-land and tell them of our location. Then Nyx, Akui, Cheza, and the pups would be in danger. The fur on the back of her neck bristled at the thought. "Me? Nah, I'm just exploring."

The striped puppy blinks, bemused, just smiling a blank little smile. He looks slightly disheartened at the response, but perks up. "That's what we're doing, too. Well - us and Balan and Hige and Feanaro, anyways. Balan and Hige have a pack, but we have to go talk to the alphas yet." He scratches behind an ear with one hind leg absent-mindedly. "But for now we're just staying around here, 'tis nice, and Balan brings us food back. You haven't seen Hige or Feanaro, have you?" He querries, expectantly, perking up.

"Hige?" She murmored, remembering that name from somewhere. She searched the back of her memory for a wolf of such an aquaintance. She paused looking back at him, "I think I have seen Hige around somewhere, but it was awhile back." She said furthermore ignoring the pup's response with the blank smile before that comment. Noke looked at the pup, "Don't become too dependant on Balan, if something were to ever happen to him what would you do for food?" She said that from personal experience if it hadn't been for Akui she would've starved to death.

Shilah shakes his head. "Then it would've been too far back...he was with us until a bit ago, when he went back to his pack to talk to them. He'll be back sometime, though, I expect," He says, with the direct optimism that the very young seem to hold in endless reserves.

But at the statement, the child grow unnaturally serious. He fidgets slightly. "I know," He says, a brief flicker of fear leading him to sound annoyed. "Kaya can trap some small things, she's a better hunter than I am, and I'm...learning." That would be probably the best way to describe his less-than-lethal skills.

Noke nodded her head slightly as the pup told her about their hunting skills. Her orbs became slits at the mentioning to the "two-legger." She couldn't help it as her hackles raised slightly again as she shot another glance at it. "Do not rely on 'two-leggers' either..." She said sharply, relying on a pack was one thing as long as you put your share of the work into it. But relying on a "two-legger" was worse then anything else. She had heard plenty of stories of wolves and creatures of their like becoming corrupt and actually joining "two-legger" packs. They became inane and blunt not even able to catch the simplest of prey.

Why not? The puppy demands, in a mixture of curiousity and defensiveness. She's my packmate, of course I'll rely on her. She's got nimble paws, she's able to do things I can't, nor any other four-legged wolf. She can create warmth with her paws, too. A bit too stifling for his taste, but she must need it when she is in her furless state. She's magic, too, she can take off her fur when she needs to.

"Exactly my point, she is a 'two-legger' she is NOT one of us!" Noke's voice roared, hackles rose now. "Those are not paws, they are called 'hands' and that fur coat of it's is wolf pelt. They murder our kin, our brethren and you choose to call her one of us!" Noke said before turning her amber orbs towards the "two-legger." She growled before taking several steps back. "Don't you see, they have already corrupted you." With that Noke began to walk away.

The puppy blinks at Monenoke's outburst, ears flattening slightly, but he doesn't look too perturbed - in fact, it doesn't look like much would ruffle him unduly. But it's elk skin, He says, confused, nose wrinkling up. She took it from a lower-ranked member of our pack. The 'killing' part just confuses him more. Why would wolf want to kill wolf unless that wolf invaded a territory - and even then, deaths were rare. Usually only wolves, driven insane by some disease or other, had ever been killed, to his knowledge, anyways. She's not sick in the mind, he says, watching the she-wolf stalk off with a perplexed look, as if unaware as to what he had said wrong.

The wolves pup's comment made her angry, they were right about the "two-leggers." she thought to herself. The she-wolf was shivering slightly, but not because of the frosty air. It was moreso hurt and anger. She was hurt that the pup didn't even realize what/who the wolf kin was anymore and angry that Hige and the other's let the "two-legger" live. Noke felt instinct flood her veins, the urge to save that pup from the "two-legger" was great. Also revenge, revenge for all the hurt that the "two-legger's" have caused.

Noke looked up at the pup her orbs soft and sad looking, "One would hope that you would see the truth, but I fear that it is too late. I wonder what our ancestors would say if they saw you, one can only wonder." Compared to her outburst her words were soft the she-wolf gave the pup a nod. But as Noke turned she snapped out her jaws not to reach the "two legger," but moreso as a warning. As her jaws clenched thin air she turned and left traveling back towards the dead foliage, which had brought her here in the first place.

This would be the very day, in which Noke pledged her soul against mankind. She chose the wild path to live just like the ancestors before her. No, she'd never turn tail to rely on the "two-leggers" Noke then started to trot back up the path when she reached out of view she cocked her head back and released a cry. Tunes wavered in the air as each note rose and fell. Then when it seemed it would die away she released another and another. Finally it died, and she continued her way.

I dunno. The pup scratches behind his ear again, doubtfully. I'd think they'd probably not have much to say, being dead and all. Once you were dead, you were dead, that's how Shilah saw things. He bristles, however, as the she-wolf threatens his pack member, hackles raising slightly as he gets to all fours, glowering at her.

Kaya crouches, still, fingers touching the pommel of her knife. Her lambent dark eyes flicker in slight fear as the jaws snap towards her - a bit too close for comfort. But in a battle, she knows she'd be completely overwhelmed by the adolescent. I'll have to learn to fight, she thinks, grimly. Even if she has joined a pack, she'll have rankings...and won't be able to keep up any rank for long unless she can. She watches, apprehensive, as the purple wolf turns off, and disappears.

The puppy trundles over to her and nuzzles against her leg, nibbing it lightly in play. Even that brings up some blood - she playfully buffets him away, but is much more solemn, settling down onto the snow quietly.