Got permission off Kitty for Alaki and Miwa powerplay ^^ word count: 1104

Aoi woke up in Miwa's room with a yelp. She'd slept with her newly reunited sister during the night, on a bed of cushions that she hadn't had the luxury of before. Aoi looked very scared as she jumped up in the air and looked around quickly, checking in all directions for the monsters that were in her dreams. She'd dreamt of bears tearing apart the cave and attacking her new-found family, but luckily, they were not real. Not real. Aoi muttered to herself. She shook her head vigorously as if to shake off all her troubles, and then tenderly wandered out of the room, out into the den.

There was something on Aoi's mind, that she'd been wanting to ask Alaki for a long time. She didnt call Alaki her dad yet, because she didnt feel enough connection between them, and so she just called him what everyone else called him. Perhaps it was not the lack of connection, but the influence of others. It wasn't like she could really have a connection with him anyway, seeing as he'd been sleeping the whole time since she'd arrived. Aoi wanted him to wake up more than anything.

The girl walked out of the room, past the boulder, and into the training area. It was some time of creeping about silently before she finally got to her dad's room. She didn't go inside the room but put her little pup-head to the door, speaking softly. Alaki? Aoi questioned, brown eyes fluttering. All she heard was the soft murmurs of sleep. She thought Alaki was sick, at least that's what someone had told her. Or just very tired. ALAKI! she shouted, louder now. She heard mumbles now, and assumed he was asking her what she wanted, either that or just talking in his sleep. Can I have a pet? she asked, her voice loud and coarse. Mhnhhhmmh... came a sleepy voice. At that moment, Miwa appeared behind Aoi, having been woken up by her sister's nightmares, following Aoi. Well, he didn't say no, so he obviously means yes. said Miwa. Aoi grinned, assuming Miwa knew a lot more about her dad than she did, living with him most of her life. Yay! Aoi grinned, and with that, she tottered out of the den without a second thought.

She was on a mission, now! She'd seen lots of cats, and all sorts of creatures round the pack, but hadn't really approached one. Until now. Today, she aimed to finally get a pet. Whether it was big or small, ugly or cute, she didn't mind, just as long as it lived and breathed. A month back, she had asked her mother the same question; if she could have a pet. The result was a smooth rock, with a smiley face drawn on in ochre paint. Aoi couldn't have been more upset and disappointed that day. Afterwards, she'd made it a priority to bring home everything she found, when out exploring the woods. She'd bring back birds nests, ducks, squirrels... anything she could get her hands on, much to her mothers dismay. Once, she'd covered the whole floor of their den in frogs. But she couldn't help her love for the low-speakers.

Out of the den, she ran madly around the cavern-corridors, the lupine form dancing around like a true youngster, a bundle of energy. The meek girl was just passing a particularly spooky looking entrance when suddenly, something made a very loud, and disturbing, noise. Aoi jumped, and turned around suddenly, her eyes flicking left and right. Scared out of her brains, Aoi carried on looking for the source of the noise, and then it came again, yet more aduible and coherent this time. INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! screeched the voice, in broken high speech. Aaaiiii! cried Aoi, finally tilitng her head upwards to see a hooded crow flying above her. Aoi's ears fell flat against her head and she scowled, watching as the crow circled her as if she was a carcass. INTRUDER- the bird was cut off with a puppy-growl from Aoi, and the girl leapt up to grab at the bird ferociously with her mouth. The bird flew just out of reach, and then circled again, taunting her. Intruder CAN'T catch Saigai! screeched the crow, before flying straight past Aoi and through a dark passageway. Angered, and afraid of losing her dignity to the likes of a crow, she followed, determined and snarling like a true pup.

The chase was on. The scrawny white and black crow was fast on his wings, and it was a tough job for Aoi to keep up with her bulky, puppy-fat riddled body. The little wolf constantly leapt up in the air to bat at the bird with her paw, but to no avail. The crow was quick, and slick, and nifty beyond compare! However, Aoi was clever. She found they seemed to be running in the same pattern, and soon she began to recognize each passageway, each door. Eventually, she spied upon a dead end, that they continuously went past. Aoi put on a sudden burst of speed, and darted right in front of the crow, forcing it to go left....left towards the dead end! A victory woop burst from her eager maw when she finally trapped the crow, against a wall. It's heart fluttered like a moth, and she could hear it. Intruder let Saigai go NOW! squawked the crow. Aoi shook her head defiantly, locking eyes with the bird. I caught you, fair and pear! she shouted at the crow, getting a word in a bit of a confused muddle. And I am certainly not an intruder! she cried. I'm Aoi, and my father's Alaki, and I live here now, so there! proudly, she lifted her muzzle up in the air and plopped down on her rump. The girl wasn't usually as talkative, usually very shy in fact, but this crow had made her angry!

The crow, who actually had seen Alaki around and heard that he was dangerous, and apparently mentally disturbed at once point, however of authoity in the pack, immidietly shut its beak and stared blankly at Aoi. The bird muttered something to itself in Low Speech, figuring Aoi wouldn't understand. It went something along the lines of how he was to repay her, and he didn't want to die, if somehow translated to high speech. Aoi replied without a second thought: I know! You can repay me by being my pet. But you have to be a good pet. and so it was decided, in the dead-end passageway, that Aoi would have her first pet.

No no! word count: 357

Cornering the bird with her tail wagging ridiculously, she finally felt dominant. Dominant was a trait she had yet to discover, and so it felt good feeling it for the first time. She'd always been a feisty little girl, but often so meek and mild in the company of other Luperci. At least she had the upper-hand with this crow though, and she planned to use it well. Finally, the femme stepped back when the crow agreed, and smiled gently. He'd caught her in a sudden mood swing of anger and now she was calm again, and wanted to snuggle with the crow who was now her "pet". But her bonding mission was interrupted when a peculiar scent crossed her maw.

He'd shouted at her earlier when chasing the bird, but others had probably shouted at her too so she hadn't really paid him any notice. But now he sounded angry, and she shrank back a little. Aoi didn't answer for a while, wondering what to say to get her out of the mucky situation; like any other young one the thing she feared most was to get in trouble. He insulted my honour! she finally declared, brown eyes sparkling. Saigai gave her a sideways "what the hell" look, and she promptly swiped him towards her with a paw. Aoi sat down and scooped him close, licking his little head much like a mother would clean a pup. What hostility had been between them previously was now gone, and she would treat this pet with kindness! But it's ok now, mister... her voice was a little bit smaller now as she blinked up at him, her more everyday personality shining through. That of a shy, quiet girl.

More than anything, she hoped she wouldn't get him mad. Maybe she'd woken him up from a nap or something, or interrupted his eating time...the large pup gave a little quiver as suspicions arose in her heart, and shrank back into the wall of the cavern, pulling the now soggy bird further into her grasp. Or at least, pulling in the sense she only could while in lupus form.

Also, hey. It seems I forgot to add OOC in my last post...such a dummy D: word count: 494

The girl continued to shrink back against the wall like the child she was, but she could tell that Mido realised he was scaring her and held up his hands, muttering reassuring words to her. Aoi cautiously took a step towards him, reaching out with her little muzzle to sniff at the air around him. Familiarizing herself with his scent, she then sat down once more, a plump little cherub of a femme. Still coated in puppy fat, she felt somewhat comfortable and spongy as she sat on her haunches, though the fey couldn't help feeling a little self-concious about her appearance. Aoi was a big girl, tall for her age, and constantly felt ugly. Like all pups, she was going through a self-hating phase, where she wished she looked like every other girl she went past. She wasn't ugly, of course, and for a pup, Aoi was actually quite beautiful, with shapely features and the gentle eyes of a doe, and the puppy-fat was to be expected...however still her heart beat fast and her gaze kept flickering to the ground.

The Itou tenderly lifted one elegant ear, and listened to him explain his story about how he came to be standing there. Aoi tilted her head carefully, and examined him with a scrutinizing glare. Finally, she came up with; I was certainly not scared! but that was all she could say, and Aoi was lying of course. She tucked her long back-legs underneath her and slid her front body down, her front legs facing him, into a more relaxed pose. The shy girl was still far away from him, but she was still close enough to have a friendly conversation, even if she hated talking to other luperci.

He introduced himself as Mido. Different sort of name... She thought to herself, though did not say anything out loud except; And I'm Aoi Itou. her tail gave the tiniest of wags, yet her face fell at being asked to explain how she came to find the bird. It would mean more talking. She didn't want to trip up over herself, and become in a muddle, so talking frightened her. She pondered even replying for a while, and then decided it was best if she wasn't rude to her pack-brother. Well...he started saying I was an intruder. And I didn't like it, because I am not an intruder! she gave the crow a glare, and he simply chirped back as if to shrug. The bird hopped into the shadows now, and watched the going-ons from afar. So I chased the little pansy... she shot him a focused, angry glance again, and then turned to Mido. Her ever-flickering soft brown gaze never quite met Mido's, for her meek nature, but she was trying to be friendly. And I caught him, and now he's my pet. And he promised to be a good pet. His name's Saigai. carefully, she looked up at Mido for approval.