"Kohaku, No!" For what seemed like the millionth time, Kiara had to grab her son and return him to the main body of the underground den. Both puppies were still incredibly small, neither weighing more than three or four pounds. When they had reached their thirteenth day of life, their eyelids had opened to reveal brilliant blue orbs. Kohaku's eyes were lighter than his sister's, but they were a crisper blue. Both puppies had begun to walk, although they still continued to crawl. They would take two or three steps before falling over into the dirt. At first, their small adventures had been confined to the depths of the den, but Kohaku noticed the light spilling in from the tunnel and had begun to relentlessly pursue the outside world. Even Lucia had tried on several occasions to leave the den. Kiara had spent the entire day trying to keep her children within the safe confines of their home.
"Be good for mommy and stay inside. Lucia, no!" Once again, Lucia had gone to tormenting her brother. On shaky feet she sat and used her forepaw to push Kohaku to the ground. He cried out, but when he tried to stand, she just repeated the experiment again. The tired mother stepped in between her children and placed Lucia in the corner of her den. There sat the rag doll that Kiara had won from Fleta's magic show. Lucia had taken a liking to the doll and pushed that around the den instead of her brother. Satisfied, Kiara smiled as she leaned against the earthen walls.
As a single mother, she had been working tirelessly to feed and take care of her young children. Her job was only going to get harder. They were loosing their milk teeth and Kiara would have to start weaning them off of her milk soon. She had managed to catch a two rabbits when the children were asleep, and the extra meat that was given to her by the pack was also helping. Even so, she still had to go on frequent hunting excursion to feed herself and her children. Her only saving grace was that the puppies still continued to sleep for most of the day. But with the recent developments, she was too afraid to leave her den. Although Lucia might not wander off, Kohaku was more than willing to venture out into the world, even if he could only take three steps at a time.
"Kohaku..." Even though Lucia was playing in the corner of the den, the multicolored boy had decided to crawl out of the den, again. Kiara stood and diligently returned him to deer fur. His clear blue eyes widened as he noticed the fur move under his weight. Amazed he began to paw at the fur, watching it move under his claws. Kiara shook her head and slowly made her way to the mouth of her den. There she sat and stood guard, her exhausted eyes half hidden behind heavy lids.
It was easy to get lost in this expansive, empty territory. She couldn’t complain, however; she loved to explore, and there was plenty of room for exploration. Whether on four paws, or two, or on the back of her eager filly, Pia Hayes did her best to learn the territory like the back of her paw. She loped all through the mountains and hunted in the forests, where the prey population was explosive. Without many hunters to take them down, and protection from the hungry loners outside the borders, rabbits and other critters abounded in this flourishing palladium for prey.
She snatched a couple in her jaws, running through the woods and rolling grass hills of the valley. It was perhaps not as magnificent as the one sheltered by the mountains, but that didn’t matter a fig to the mottled grey girl. Everything in the world was beautiful, but everything was beautiful in a different way.
The bunnies swinging from her jaws, the wolfdog trotted along and hummed a little turtledove song to herself. From her constant noise—both her careless footfalls and her happy singing—it would be easy for other Ichikans to pinpoint the newcomer’s location. She twittered almost like a bird, and practically flew over the mountains like one besides. It was still a wonder why she hadn’t met many wolves yet.
A strong smell gave her pause. She dropped the rabbits so the scent of fresh blood didn’t overtake her senses, quickly confirming what she’d guessed; someone had a den here. Her ears lowered against her pale head as she picked the rabbits back up again; maybe she’d be able to share one. She didn’t think that this peaceful mountain environment would harbor ill-meaning souls, but it was best to be careful.
Stepping softly now, Pia studied the landscape and found the mouth of a dark den nestled among the undergrowth. There was a white shape near the entrance of it, lupus-formed and mostly alert. She let out a soft yip to announce her presence and bounded the few yards between herself and the stranger.
“Hi,” the girl chirped, instinct telling her to keep her voice soft—though she didn’t quite know why. She introduced herself in her usual awkward speech. “I’m Pia, I’ll be new here, in Ichika I mean. Who’re you?”
To say that it was tough raising two puppies on her own was a big understatement. Kiara had been working hard for two weeks, and it showed. When ever she wasn't looking after the puppies, she was feeding them. When she wasn't feeding them, she was hunting to feed herself. Unfortunately, with their tendency to leave the den, the latter option had been eliminated. Her rare breaks had become the highlight of her days, and she enjoyed the short reprieves whenever she was lucky enough to get one.
The scent of a stranger and the sounds of approaching footsteps were completely lost on the tired mother. Her eyelids wilted as she struggled to stay awake. It wasn't until the stranger had come uncomfortably close and had let out a yip that Kiara noticed her presence. Her eyes shot open as white ears flew up. Kiara stood and placed herself between the new female and the den. The arctic wolf's tail straightened out as she stood stiffly on guard. A luperci, perhaps a new member. Either way, they had come too close to Kiara's den for her comfort. The young girl happily chirped an introduction, but it didn't make Kiara feel any easier. If they weren't near her den, if the stranger was someone Kiara had known, she wouldn't have been so stiff and uneasy.
"Kiara Amarok...Namaste." The normally submissive wolf raised her tail high to show dominance. With her helpless pups so close to Pia, the young mother wasn't going to take any chances. Ichikan or not, they were too close to her den. Even so, Kiara wasn't outright aggressive, just on edge and incredibly dominant.
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I don't think I specified it before, but Pia's in lupus form.
Shifting her weight between all four legs, the mottled grey she-wolf watched the other slowly realize that she had approached. She stepped back a few steps as the arctic female suddenly snapped into life, blue eyes noting her and her snowy tail flagging as she stood firmly in front of the den. It was a bit confusing to the newcomer before she sniffed, taking in that telltale milk-scent that meant there were babies within the earthen home.
Pia relented immediately to the other’s show of dominance. She was naturally a submissive wolf, and so it didn’t take much for her to show it. It wasn’t that she thought herself lowly or others higher than her, but she knew that treading carefully and showing the utmost respect to strangers and pack mates alike avoided a whole host of problems. It was the powerful display of their ancestors, the posturing that often eliminated a fight before it broke out. She was as humanized as the average luperci, but she didn’t reject the wild side of her either.
And so she dipped her ears and head down, taking another few steps back and tucking her tail between her legs. She might’ve gone as far as to roll over and show her white belly if she hadn’t been so excited; instead, she whimpered and looked past her into the shadows of the den.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized swiftly. “Namaste, Kiara.” She averted her brown eyes, which found the rabbits she’d dropped before coming to greet the other Ichikan. Her ears came up excitedly—then pressed down again—and she reached for one of the bunnies. “Do you want some? It sounds like you have some puppies, and…well…” She could hear their muffled whimpering, and it was distracting her from what she wanted to do. She wanted to make a good impression on the arctic mother, but she was too excited about the prospect of seeing new life in her new pack that she was, for once, at a loss for words.
Even though the strange wolf was in lupus form, Kiara had gotten into the habit of automatically assuming every canine she met was a luperci. Since her arrival to Nova Scotia, the uninfected wolf had only knowingly met two others like herself. Kiara knew the chances for the multicolored female to be uninfected were slim to none.
As a naturally submissive wolf, Kiara wasn't used to being dominent and having others submit to her. It was a strange change of pace, and one that made the arctic wolf a little uncomfortable. She didn't like being suspicious of others and enjoyed playing and talking with pack mates. Yet, Kiara couldn't take any chances with her puppies nestled in her den behind her. The new mother's instincts told her to protect the puppies, so that was she was going to do. Thankfully, the newcomer didn't fight Kiara and easily submitted to her display of dominance. The colorful female whimpered, but looked past Kiara towards the den. The stranger's interest only made the young mother nervous, and did little to reassure her. However, the other's submission helped Kiara relax a little bit.
Pia was quick to apologize, which made Kiara relax even further. Her tail lowered to an easy position and her tense muscles relaxed several degrees. A friendly smile crossed her snowy face, as she tried to communicate that there were no hard feelings. After living with Shiloh and her unfortunate encounters with Noah, Kiara had learned that many luperci were a little ignorant of the "old" ways. However, Kiara was completely sold when offered food. Her soft tail wagged happily behind her. "Yes please!" Kiara trotted up to Pia, her smile in full bloom. However, the young mother still placed herself between Pia and the den's entrance.
