Skoll ran from the woods, a pair of rabbits in his secui jaws. His fluffy tail was held curled over his back, and there was a smile at the edges of his lips. Pride pulsed through his entire creamy-blonde being, although truly he had nothing out of the ordinary to be proud about. It was a vague pride, a way that the prince carried himself always, but it was augmented by the happiness he’d felt this past month.

His excursion with Terra had gone great, even though there had been plenty of close calls that seemed more of a thrill than a terror now that he was safe and sound. He’d learned much and more from his friend, and when he came home, his life continued to improve. His half-sister Amaranth, her mate, and their pups had returned to the Court, and he was happy to watch the family although he hadn’t spoken to them yet. Mostly, he was shy about what he should say; he had been only about a month old when they were around, and while he did remember them, it was hazy.

There was also a new friend in his life, but the squire chose not to think about her as he bolted across the lawn in front of the hotel and came to a halt. Dropping the rabbits, he plopped his rear in the grass and panted happily for a moment, letting the sunshine fall on him and wagging his tail more. Truthfully, he’d only caught one of the rabbits; the other had been snatched from a weasel. Despite its size, it had been fierce enough to kill the prey and left a bite mark on his cheek, but it was only a small pink gash and would likely heal on its own. If it got worse, he’d go see Liam about it.

For now, Skoll grinned and reclined in the grass, dragging one of the rabbits to him and beginning to eat.

Word Count → 328

Secui form.

A hazily familiar scent reached the boy even as he nibbled on the first rabbit, tugging out tufts of extra fluff and chewing through to the actual meat. He recognized it as family even before he looked up, his green eyes appraising his elder brother-in-law. The white wolf had always been one the boy had looked up to, even though he hadn’t been quite old enough to understand. As Majordomo, Niro Takekuro used to hold a lot of standing in the pack—that, his golden eagle, and his odd dark blue-black mohawk had always made him stand out in the boy’s mind. Even seeing it now, he couldn’t suppress a grin.

“I know, I’m huge!” Skoll replied to the observation, his tongue lolling from his jaws. His tone was both arrogant and teasing, and he quickly leaped onto all fours with his tail wagging hard and high. He glanced at the bird when she made a sound then ignored her in favor of the returned adult male.

“I missed you, Niro,” the teenager exclaimed, jumping toward him and giving him an affectionate nudge where he could reach in this form. “I know I’ve got new nieces and nephews, but what else is new since you left?” His head cocked, and his mind was hungry for the tale of an adventure. He dreamed of going out and traveling the world again sometime when he was older, even though his little excursion with Terra would keep that wanderlust at bay for a while yet. And, of course, he would always return home.

Word Count → 260

As before, sorry for the unusually long wait. >__>

Cockiness would probably serve as one of the boy’s flaws, but right now it only made him confident and healthy in his self-esteem, if a bit prone to boasting. It was a childish trait, anyway, something that would be tempered by worldly experience; he simply hadn’t lived long enough yet to know when to be serious. It was clear who was the alpha in his litter, though, and it hinted at one who could learn to be a leader once he grew and had a chance to lead.

The smug light in his eyes shifted when the white wolf began his tale, and the prince looked like a small child again as he sat and pricked his ears forward. He would have liked to meet other luperci on a journey like that, but the image of colors waving in the sky like a second sea made him grin. “Like a rainbow?” he asked, wondering if the daytime phenomenon would be overshadowed by these strange sky-colors. It reminded him of Hati and his secret night-world.

“White bears?” Skoll’s tongue lolled in a grin. “Did you steal food from them? Terra and I fought a bear, but it was only an old brown one, with bad eyes.” He didn’t mean to put down the adult’s claims, and he was trying to imagine a snow bear, but his own experience burst from his mouth anyway. He hopped up again and sniffed the other, as if the journey would have rubbed something off on him. His tail wagged as he caught the scent of Niro’s family.

“What are Heiro and Tasha like? I haven’t really met them yet,” the boy admitted. He liked other children, however, even if they were young. He’d liked Kace a lot before she disappeared, maybe changing her mind about living with a pack. It simply got boring with only his siblings around, and he liked the idea of teaching the new puppies and being a role model for them.

Word Count → 330

I rambled for rambling's sake, so no worry. x3

“I like green,” Skoll decided childishly. He knew he’d be dreaming about the lights, although he doubted that his imagination and the reality would ever match up.

The snow-white bears sounded a lot more formidable than the ones in the Nova Scotian forests, which weren’t that much larger than most optime wolves despite their thick fur and bulk. He doubted he’d ever want to fight one of those, and he looked down sheepishly when Niro pointed out that he’d been able to hunt for himself. He wasn’t so sensitive that he’d think his words were a jab, but he felt like defending himself all the same, his tone that of slightly stung pride.

“It was Terra’s idea, really; she just kinda jumped at it and I had to do something or it’d chomp her in half! I want to be a really good hunter, but I guess—well, most of what Terra showed me was trickster stuff. Useful in case I’m trapped all alone in the wild though. And—well, yeah, running around the bear was fun too,” he admitted, his tail drooping although he was somewhat amused at this harmless brand of cruelty. The two canines didn’t eat all of the bear’s meal, too; it could have easily come back to finish what was left, or so he told himself.

His own antics didn’t sound so bad when compared to the boy called Heiro, who sounded like a real troublemaker. “I can show him how to get in trouble the good way,” the golden wolfdog offered, his tail wagging behind him. There was a difference, after all; even if Skoll liked a good prank from time to time, he cared about the wellbeing of his friends more than getting a good laugh. “You might want to keep him away from Terra, though; she’ll just give him bad ideas.” He grinned.

Word Count → 311

The white-furred adult scolded him lightly, and Skoll snapped his ears down to appease the male. “Tell me about it,” he said, honesty coming through in his tone. “I was actually terrified. I mean, it was crazy, like—thrilling, that’s the word—but I thought that she was crazy.” He hoped this would show Niro that he wasn’t as irresponsible as his friend; he wouldn’t dream of doing the same to a puppy friend of his own.

He still couldn’t find it in himself to dislike Terra for her often risky actions, however; she outsmarted death with admirable skill. A little bit of him still idolized her for this, even if he was beginning to learn from the adults around him that it was a bit too risky to be real fun. For a good-natured, obedient prince in a peaceful pack, however, it was about all the danger he needed.

Niro continued to talk about Terra, adding that she probably wouldn’t be around to influence Heiro more than she had. The boy hunched his shoulders uncomfortably, embarrassed on behalf of his trickster friend, but he still nodded. Maybe he’d show Heiro how to do pranks and other tricks without risk of hurting those he cared about. The elaborate traps Terra made were dangerous, but stuffing a rabbit with grass or smearing berry juice on a sleeping grownup’s face was safer and still could be entertaining.

“I can show him other ways to have fun,” Skoll suggested out loud, mainly trying to wrap the uncomfortable (for him) subject up. He would have to see his half-niece and half-nephew, he knew, just to see what they were like firsthand and play more. It’d been too long since he’d really been able to act like a kid with other kids; Hati was withdrawn, often clinging to their mother, and Lottie spent all her time around Vigilante (which made Skoll more than a little jealous).

“I hunted this rabbit!” the wolfdog said cheekily, nudging the one he’d given up on eating; the conversation was far more interesting than their surroundings. “But I haven’t really taken down anything big yet. I want to, though… Maybe we could hunt together sometime.” He wagged his tail and continued to answer the questions out of order. “And I’ve been reading some and taking care of my horse, Hwin. Alder taught me how to do that and how to ride her, too, but she’s really, really stubborn sometimes.”

And then the last question—which made Skoll gulp and avert his eyes. “I have a girl friend,” he offered, putting clear emphasis on the space between the words. “Adelle—she’s from Casa di Cavalieri, and we spar together, because she’s training to be a warrior and stuff. She’s, um, really good and brave, and she’s strong enough to beat me up.” He circled his paw in the grass, shy. While it was true that he was too young to have truly intimate feelings for the girl, it was obvious that there was a puppy crush involved.

Word Count → 506

You get an instareply novel only because I'm working on getting Skoll's post count up, and I'm going on vacation tomorrow. xD So you can take your time posting back!

“Yeah, Tasha,” Skoll agreed with another wag of his curling tail. He didn’t know if he’d be a good playmate for a girl puppy, as he’d always had some issues playing with Lottie when she was preoccupied with girl-stuff (like staying clean, or being too slow to outrun him), but the thought of the lessened responsibility to be a good influence might make up for that.

His grin broadened again at mention of being a wingman in the pack hunt. “Maybe I’ll steal your old job,” he suggested, raising his brows but completely joking. Although there was ambition and dominance in the young wolfdog, he wouldn’t dream of usurping an adult’s position; he was getting older, but the likes of Vigilante and Niro were still almost godlike to him: infallible, worthy of their positions, meant to stay on the pedestals they’d climbed. “You’ll have to show me your tricks, though,” he added hopefully, wondering if he could spend more time with his brother-in-law now than he had when he was very little.

The shadow of the great eagle fell upon them, and instinctually Skoll stepped back, his head low and the golden hackles rising on his neck. He wasn’t afraid or suspicious of the raptor only because he knew who she was, but it was still odd to see the absolutely giant bird alighting on the wolf’s shoulder and causing Niro to wince.

Trying to meet Marahute’s gaze in a bold but unchallenging manner, the boy quickly became distracted and blinked at Niro. “More?” he asked, grinning. He wondered if he’d want to have a bird of his own; definitely, he’d been eager to have a horse ever since he learned what they were. A bird of prey might be too odd of company, though, and he didn’t see himself bonding with one like Niro had bonded with Marahute. “Hard is it to train birds?”

Word Count → 315

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