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 Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 10:22 pm
 The sky overhead was a brilliant shade of blue dotted with only the occasional cloud, and the breeze was warm and smelled sweetly of wildflowers -- but Novacaine was currently oblivious to the nice day, as he had spent most of the morning with his head shoved down a hole.
The pup had discovered this particular hole one day while exploring with his sister Dere, and since then had become a bit obsessed with it. It resided at the base of an old tree whose roots were beginning to curl up above the line of the soil, and at one point perhaps had been occupied by some small animal or another -- a ground squirrel maybe, or a badger. The hole was just small enough that a young pup could squeeze into it, and Novacaine was intent to see if it led anywhere.
The thought had briefly occurred to him that the hole may in fact still be occupied, or that once he got in he would be unable to turn around and get back out, which is what had kept the brightly-colored pup from rushing in headfirst to explore. Instead, he took what he thought to be the much more sensible path, of shoving his head down as far as it could go and sniffing at the narrow tunnel, to get an idea of what he was getting into before he squirmed down the proverbial rabbit hole.
Outside, the brightly-colored pup was quite oblivious to the world around him, though his tail waved occasionally in excitement, a brilliant banner visible to anyone who walked by.
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:57 pm
 Mother has turned them out today. Which didn't happen as often as he would care for. Even if they 'wandered off' she was watching from the shadows, nudging them in the direction of taught lessons. That was the way she had learned, though experience, and it was the way she intended to teach them.
But today she had just let them go. As in, definitely. She had things to do and no patience for pups to be following her in them. Older sister, Cringe quickly took the chance and trotted off into the bush. Vex soon dispersed. Quake was torn. He tried to follow his sister, to protect her, but she chewed him another one and chased him off. By that time, Vex had disappeared. Quake wasn't quite certain what to do.
So he'd left to wander closer to where the main pack dens were located, letting the (still overwhelming) scent of the ocean to guide him. That was, until he stumbled upon something.
Something....pink. He was fairly certain it wasn't a rabbit, but the way it was digging and wriggling itself down the hole, he couldn't be too sure.
Well, whatever it was it seemed to be getting away. And he couldn't allow that. Stalking up to the hole, the burly male tried to remember what he'd learned from his mother about hunting. Then he launched himself, sharp little teeth exposed, at the animal's flank.
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 2:46 pm
"Ayyy!" His yelp was, to be sure, muffled by the quantity of earth packed in around him, but it was still barely audible. He jerked, head hitting the top of the tunnel and a light sprinkling of earth raining down about his ears and shoulders and -- faced with the prospect of being buried alive -- Novacaine panicked completely.
The problem was, he didn't know which way to go. His flight impulses urged his body to dive down the rest of the hole to escape whatever it was that was attacking him. But part of him also knew that it was quite likely if he went in he may get stuck, and the tunnel seemed very much less inviting now that the ceiling was raining down on him.
There was the other problem, of course: namely, that whatever it was that had just sunk its teeth into his flank would be blocking his escape.
Well, that settled it. Heart thudding up into his throat, Novacaine made a split-second decision. ...Well, as split-second as anything he ever did, seeing as most of the pink pup's actions seemed to suffer a time-delay that would, in a true survivalist situation, likely cost him a limb.
Ignoring the fear of being buried alive in a collapsing tunnel, the pup scrabbled for a foot-hold and dove bodily down the hole, disappearing entirely inside and tumbling head-first into a small hollow beneath the tree -- something that had most definitely been previously occupied by a badger, judging from the smell.
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 3:07 pm
As the pink little creature cried out, Quake startled. It wasn't the death cry of a rabbit but the same sharp yelp that his littermates made when one was bitten too hard during play. Instinctively he let go, just in time to keep from being pulling straight into the tunnel. The pink stub of a tail disappeared just as the ground sank onto it. Standing where he had been, stiff-legged and p***k eared, Quake reviewed the scene.
What?
Seriously. Quake knew there were other families in Agua Azul, and though his own family den was a ways from the rest(his mother's preference) she had taken them to watch the main pack. Not interact, but watch. She said that their family wasn't to be trusted. Quake didn't complain.
But to see this bright little creature, or at least half of it, wedged into a hole, he wasn't sure what to think. It had sounded like another pup, but how could be sure?
And where had it gone, anyhow?
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:12 pm
Two things became immediately apparent to Novacaine. One, that the tunnel had opened into a small hollow, not large enough to be considered a den but certainly big enough to turn around in. Relieved that he was not being squashed on all sides by the earth, he turned full-circle to stare up the path he had scampered down, and could make out a patch of blue sky peeking out over the tree line.
"Hello?" He called, tentatively, listening to his words echo off the tunnel. He wondered what kind of monster was out there, and if it could talk.
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 11:21 pm
Red-tipped ears twitched at the sound. 'Hello?' Quake wrinkled his nose, moving hesitantly towards where the tunnel had collapsed. The pup stood there for a moment, eyebrows wrinkled. Whatever had cried out before was now...calling to him?
At least that meant it was still alive. "I'm here." He called back, though feeling a little foolish at the act. Silver eyes ticked back and forth through the surrounding forest. If any of his siblings saw him, that would be the end of it. They'd rag on him forever.
"Are...." He paused, looking closer to the ground. "Are you alright?" He cleared his throat. Of all the days for this to happen, and him for it to happen to. Even if he wasn't, Quake wasn't certain what he could do about it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:40 am
His ears pinned back, eyes widening. "I'm fine!" He called out, and crept up closer to the mouth of the tunnel. The ground sloped up gently, and he edged toward the exit, but hesitated inside of the partially-collapsed tunnel. His eyes narrowed shredly, and he asked, "...Are you a monster?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:04 pm
Quake wrinkled his brow at that one. Had he heard the other correctly? It took him a moment to look himself over, from tail to paws.
What?
Monsters didn't exist. At least, not those that were anything over than wolves. "I'm a wolf." He replied, pawing a little at the ground. His silver gaze was fixed at the forest around him, still watching for anyone who should pass by.
"What are you?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:46 am
"Oh, okay," Novacaine said, feeling immediate relief. "I'm a wolf too!"
Then, it occurred to him that if the creature outside the hole were a monster, that's exactly what it would say, and he went immediately back on guard. "Wait a second!" he said, the white tip of his muzzle and twitching black nose apparent at the mouth of the hole. His whiskers trembled. "How do I know you're a wolf?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:31 pm
It was? Apparently. Hadn't looked anything like a wolf when he had sought to catch and eat it, but he supposed it sounded and smelled enough like one now. That was, he could understand it.
The pup never fancied he could understand anything other than wolves. Everything else was in a foreign language. Didn't matter though, because it was a wolf. Albeit a very ugly one by it's bright haunches. Quake stopped, staring at the little bit of wolf that managed to stick itself out of the ground.
"That makes no sense."
He replied dully, tempted for the moment to dig further by the other's face. He was a wolf. Why did anyone else need validation? What else would he be? It was a stupid question.
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:54 pm
"You could be something else," Novacaine said, warily, creeping up toward the hole. Now his brilliant green eyes were visible in his pink-and-blue face, and he stared wide-eyed at the other one.
Well, it certainly looked like a wolf. Could Novacaine trust his eyes? His nose? could you trust anything? "You promise you're not anything else?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:07 am
As the other pup began to draw his face out the hole, Quake instinctively drew closer as well.
. . . It was uglier than he thought. He couldn't even name the colour of the other pup. Still, he nodded his head stiffly. "I promise if you promise." He compromised. Never give your word if someone else did not give theirs. Momma had just taught him, Cringe and Vex that. She said that if they didn't then they would be right-fools and would deserve whatever happened. The pup rustled his fur at the possibility of 'whatever happened'.
"I can't be anything other than what I am. I don't know how." Quake offered, and truthfully. He leaned still closer in and with a silver gaze looked over what he could see of the other pup. At that moment he wasn't certain of what it was again...
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Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:37 pm
He squeezed himself fully out of the hole, shaking dirt off of his brilliant pink pelt, and stood before the other pup in all of his bizarrely-marked glory. His tail wagged behind him, kicking up a fine layer of dust, and he regarded the dark-colored pup with an intense emerald stare.
Novacaine had a problem with staring at others for inappropriate lengths of time.
"I can climb trees," he offered, after an awkwardly long pause. "So I'm kind of like a squirrel. But I'm really just a wolf," he added, reassuringly.
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