|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 3:50 pm
 Shagufta had always wanted a shiny like mommy's, but she was not, exactly, her mother's daughter. While Amaury's understated golden ankh hung from her ankle by a scarlet cord, Shagufta wanted something with more flash, more pizazz.
She'd gotten the three fish hooks on the expedition to the human town she, her mother, and her sister had gone on. It would have simple enough to find a thread that would fit through the little holes on the trinkets, but that was just too easy. There had to be a flashier way to wear them.
Shagufta had gotten the idea from the native village near their family den. Some of the people there were various items through the lobes of their fleshy ears -- sometimes things that were quite large. If a human could do it, a wolf certainly could, right?
Carrying her prizes, she made her way over the family's hill and to the river on the other side, finding a secluded inlet. She wanted to do this in private, before her family could (forcibly) dissuade her.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 5:40 pm
  In the meanwhile, Li Ming was once more in the bothersome company of her "nursemaid" Yue, a rather worrisome squirrel who acted as her living conscience since, according to the critter, she was "without one". Somehow Li had managed to salvage enough patience to deal with her . . . for now. Really, she didn't know why she hadn't eaten the troublesome creature yet; probably because it had a name and a face and some minor history tied to her now. Oy, sometimes I wish I wasn't born with morals either. Life would be so much easier living as a monster.
Of course Li was only joking, but such words would have the squirrel all a'titter.
In fact, even now Yue's fur was stiffening. Ever since her charge's escapades as a pup, Yue had learned very quickly that whenever Li Ming went out, something tended to happen that landed her in trouble - maybe not all the time, but mostly. As such, even when the girl was an adolescent now, the self-appointed nursemaid saw fit to accompany her yet again today; even though she didn't want to leave the safety of the mountains. Yue was an odd squirrel to prefers rocks and craigs rather than the usual trees of her kind's preference, though even someone like her couldn't help but be itchign to climb soft wood as they made there way along. But, being the dutiful sort, she remained faithfully at the base of Li Ming's neck, looking about with short twitches of her head and ears.
Well, until Li Ming suddenly sped up and nearly threw her off. "H-Hey! Li Ming, what on Telk are you -"
"I spy with my little eye something shiny~" Grinning mischeviously, the teen began to lengthen her strides towards where she had thoguht to have spotted a glint of silver. Did it bother her that there was already a scent of wolf coming strongly to them? Nope! When things of "shiny~" properties were involved, well, any doubt she might have had was thrown out the window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 7:48 pm
Shagufta stiffened at first when she heard the sound of quadruped footsteps approaching, fearing it might be someone in her family. But no, her father and mother only ever ran away from things (and she didn't consider that cowardice; she did so, too, if she got caught with something of the human's in her greedy maw), and Arina never ran anywhere. She was too sensible for that (which again, Shagufta didn't see as a negative trait, but she was sure her sister could turn it into an insult. That was her sister's bad trait.)
If it wasn't her family, and it ran on four legs, Shagufta could only assume it would be a positive interaction. The few (okay, only) wolves she'd met outside of her family were friendly, and she'd never met another frightening animal. Sometimes her parents told stories about bears but Shagufta wasn't sure if bears were real or not.
Another adolescent female came flying toward Shagufta, and not from the direction of her family's den, where she would probably have caused quite a stir. Momma hated visitors. "Hello!" Shagufta called, before noticing the squirrel on her back. "Do you always carry dinner like that?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 9:44 am
Aha! A secluded inlet, a sole wolf, hidden shinies . . . She must have found a treasure trove and its owner! Li gave a big grin of satisfaction at her find, trotting right in as if she knew this girl well. "You could call her that, sure," she answered, though her eyes were not on the stranger so much as they were on those gleaming silver hooks. What oddities! "I think I've seen those around before. Near the rivers and lakes sometimes? Something about catching fish. Humans are so clumsy, am I right?"
From the second the adolescent said "dinner", Yue's fur bristled. She yanked at Li Ming's scruff as subtly as she could, but of course the orange and black girl was a thick-headed as the mountains she grew up in and would not listen to her silent insistences to get the heck out of there. What if the wolf could wield those hooks like weapons? What if they were stabbed? Oh spirits . . . ! "She thought she saw something, but it wasn't anything at all. We were just leaving." Another tug; again, no response.
"Why d'you have those anyway?" Li Ming asked, purposefully oblivious to Yue's communication. "It's an odd thing to collect, hooks."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:14 am
"Oh, does your squirrel talk?" Somewhere in the back of her mind floated a lesson from her mother; something about not eating things that could talk unless you were very, very hungry, because things that could talk could usually remember better than most prey and had the capacity for revenge and so on and so forth. Shagufta hadn't really listened because she never thought she'd run into something that would talk that she would want to eat, anyway. Wasn't talking usually better than eating?
She would have moved to look at the squirrel closer, but having grown up in the family she had, Shagufta could recognize another treasure-seeker a mile away, and such a kindred spirit set off alarm bells in her mind that usually weren't there. She stayed standing over her collection, a bit wary. "I don't think they're so clumsy," she said. "They make things like this, anyway, and they do it with fire; I don't think I could ever make anything with fire." She wasn't so clear on exactly how humans made fish hooks but her mother had shown them using heat to bend metal, so it must be similar. "I like them," she said proudly, "and I'm going to wear them."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:42 am
"True. I shouldn't complain; I got Jade because of them," Li acceeded, referring to the pendant about her neck; in the wake of her seeking out the silver shinies from afar, she had all but forgotten that she was carrying a trinket herself, the black necklace and green jewel held upon it. Thankfully it didn't seem this girl was out for adding more to her hoarde, so Li felt less overprotective of it . . . for now. Too many oggling eyes, though, and she was out of there. Jade was more than a beloved object - she was the girl's first actual friend, sad as it was.
"Bet they wish they could hunt on their own, though, or have claws and fangs. Only thing they have is this weird blackish stick that goes BOOM and kills things. I almost got hit too." Li puffed out her chest like this was something to be proud of, neglecting the details of being darn near scared out of her fur during the ordeal. "But of course I got away safely, and with Jade too. But anyway, you want to wear those?" She blinked curiously at the hooks, wondering how she would get them on.
"Of course I can talk," mumbled Yue with a cross look. Like it was a miracle something besides wolves could talk! Proud things, honestly . . . "I don't get why anyone would want those on. Looks like it'd hurt."
"'Tis the price of beauty, Yue. I say we help out a bit, hmm?"
"Wh-What?" The squirrel was aghast. "How do you expect me to help? Shall I just stab her snout, or perhaps through the lips like a fish? Absurd!"
Li roll her eyes. "Honestly, Yue, sometimes I do wonder why I don't eat you." She turned back to the other wolf and sighed. "Squirrels: always so quick to assume. Well, where would you wear them anyway? Your ears?" She had seen the feather pinned in Kalain's ear back in Aves; maybe something like that?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 4:28 pm
"I don't know," Shagufta said with a shrug. While she was interested in humans and what they did, she didn't delve into their motivations. She didn't really care what they wished, or about their weapons, because she was much too smart to get caught. Besides, sticking with one topic too long was outside of her comfort zone.
"Well you don't have to help," she said to the squirrel. She didn't like being made fun of and she wasn't even sure she wanted to be touched by a squirrel at all, especially not on the face. Squirrels had such strange little claws.
She pranced closer to the running water. "Absolutely," she said to Li Ming, pleased that someone else shared her vision. "That's how the humans do it, anyway; all kinds of humans, the brown ones and the creamy ones." It wasn't as though she hadn't been thinking about this. "And I think, if I put my ear in the river, then it won't hurt." She glared specifically at Yue when she said that. She knew the river water could easily numb nerves, something she'd experienced while wading through it. "I just... don't know how I'll get them in, yet."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:37 pm
“Hmmm . . .” Li followed after the bright wolf, ignoring the dark mumblings of Yue by her ear as she too waded into the water. The wolfish version of goosebumps ran up her legs the further she waded in: definitely numbing enough if her companion dunked her head in long enough. Hmm, and mayhaps a good place to punish Yue if she kept ruining her fun . . . A grin curled at the thought. Maybe provocation wouldn’t be needed. Yes, finish this job, then dunk the silly squirrel and see how she reacted to water!
Speaking of . . . “Soooo, if I help you with your little hook-into-ear thing, do I get anything in return? Saaay . . . something shiny?” she queried, only half-attempting subtlety. “Anything’d do really. Maybe one of those hooks if y’got more?”
Yue crossed her arms, scowling nervously at the cold water beneath her as she said to herself, “Tainting the river with wolf blood, oh that won’t attract attention at all. So ghastly, forcibly piercing things into yourself like it gives you status! How did wolves become a dominant species, I ask you. Half of them seek pain, the other half seeks danger like it’s a game! A game! They’re a species of self-destruction says I. How I got roped into this I do-”
The young wolf tossed her head a bit, chuckling as Yue squeaked and clutched at an ear to avoid falling. “Don’t ask how it happened, just go with it and shut up already! You’re going to be helping us do it right. Maybe then I won’t force you into the water.” A total lie, but still.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:54 pm
"Maybe because squirrels talk too much," Shagufta said, annoyed, and ignorant of the hypocrisy. She could be insulting but never on purpose, and even if her parents hadn't been the greatest examples in etiquette they were always kind. You weren't supposed to just talk about animals like they weren't there. And anyway, that was much less interesting than just talking to them.
Shagufta again glanced at her fishhooks. No, she'd only gotten the three. She'd have to think of something else, fast, because she had a feeling that if she had no reward Li Ming would not only refuse to help her, but probably just try to take her improvised jewelry. What did she have to offer up as a trade? Her mother always had a jaybird's stash of things at home in the den. She didn't count them like a dragon, just liked to have things around. Surely she wouldn't notice if one silly little thing were missing.
"Um... well no, I don't have another hook," she said. "But I can get you a ..." What did they have at home? "A, a, a fake wolf, if you want." Yeah, they had a little wolf, made out of cloth; Amaury wasn't too interested in it, as it wasn't shiny, but the girls had nosed it around when they were young. Certainly Amaury wouldn't notice it was gone; or if she did, Shagufta could make up a story about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:37 pm
Poo, not another hook? Now the things were starting to look interesting . . . Li Ming pouted for a moment, but then nodded and forced herself to consider the options of having a "fake wolf" around. "Weeeell, I suppose I'll take you up then," she said after a while, trying to make it look like she wasn't fully taken on the idea, but that she was a very, very nice and generous wolf anyway. Besides, this chick at least didn't take crap from Yue either, and that was always a comfort. Wolves like Orion who just sat there and took it like they were creatures of equal measure made her gag - this coming from a wolf who willingly let the squirrel ride her.
"Alright, fake wolf here I come! Stick that ear in the water and numb it real good. Yue, you're going to get onto her back once she's done and gives the word, and you can start poking those silver suckers right in."
"And what will you do?" Yue asked, cross.
"I get to make sure it looks good and that you aren't screwing up or falling in the water or something," Li answered simply.
The tri-colored squirrel rolled her eyes. Yes, stick her with the job of mutilating someone's ear. Fine and dandy. "Nothing good will come of this," she muttered darkly, hopping onto the orange teen's snout in preparation to head onto the other one's, though there was wariness in her stance: after all, if she did it wrong, there was no guarantee she would be walking away from this with her limbs in tact. If there was one thing Yue had learned, it was not to mess with wolves, especially in delicate matters like . . . this. Like poking three literal holes in someone's ear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:58 am
Shagufta nodded at Li's orders. She was neither a leader nor a follower; that is, she had no desire to tell others what to do OR obey them, but if it just made sense why not?
"Yeah but nothing bad is going to happen either," she said to the squirrel. What harm could come from piercing your own ear? They were just going to made little-bitty holes. And the humans did it all the time, nothing bad seemed to happen to them. She wasn't going to let a squirrel tell her what to expect.
She tilted her head to one side and plunged her ear into the water, neon green turning dark. "It's cold!" she yelped, but didn't move. Cold was good. She waited what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes, until she wasn't sure if she had an ear anymore or not. She lifted her head from the water and tried to give that ear an experimental flick. The nerves responded only sluggishly. She was satisfied. "Alright, squirrely! Put 'em in."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 2:13 pm
"Put 'em in"! Spirits above and below, this was ludicrous . . . Grumbling, Yue bridged the gap between the two wolves and gingerly climbed onto the bright teen's head. Li picked the first hook up and forked it over to her with a grin that Yue glared at. The hook was almost as tall as her! And that curved end looked absolutely wicked . . . A fish's worst nightmare.
"Well, you better not throw me off because it hurts!" she warned her, shivering as she moved the ear in place. So it'd be like . . . Oh spirits, like digging into flesh. Mustering her stomach to quiet itself, she twisted the hook in her tiny paws so that the end stood at the ready to pierce.
"Alright. One . . . two . . . three." One paw keeping the ear in place, she thrusted the hook inwards and winced as she met resistance, forcing the thing through in little time. "Aaagh . . . You alright down there so far?"
"You actually did it right one the first try. Holy crap." Li's shocked face was just a little too incredulous to take seriously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
