The young Lykoi girl was beginning to accept that she was just small, she didn't like it one bit but she could deal. Today she was sitting out on the beach staring at a small crab that had been scuttling from one bed of seaweed to another in search of food. She'd been following the crab across the sands and now the crustacean had come to believe that she was no danger to him and was ignoring her for the most part. There were interesting things hidden in the grasses, weeds and driftwood that made up the beds where her little pincher friend was eating. After he'd taken his turn in the beds she moved in to rib the beds apart and try and find anything worth scavenging.
She was quite pleased with her catch today, though small the tiny woman had found some interesting pieces. She laughed with glee as destroying the last bed had revealed another of the sharp shark teeth. She didn't know that they belonged to a fish but she had begun a little collection of the teeth and with each new one she added it to the bag that Lysander had given her to hold her peashooter. The girl couldn't use the shooter yet because she hadn't shifted yet but she knew one day that she would.. and then the seagulls would pay.
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OoC: I had promised us a thread anyway, thought I'd nab an AW thread if you don't mind! 
She was still avoiding home, still too confused about what had happened at Rabbit Lake, still unsure whether she could even trust her hazy memories of the wine bottles and the sunset, of the mysterious member of Crimson Dreams that had captured her heart so. She still hadn't shifted back down to all fours - no need, now that little Willow was out of the house - and she felt as though changing form would negate those fragile memories, the magical moment that could have been all a dream... Shaking her head, the confused werewolf walked slowly down the beach, nudging seashells with her toes and letting her mind wander freely.
She didn't even realize she had followed the shoreline into pack lands - Inferni, no less - until she glanced up and saw the small coyote girl bouncing about in the dune grasses, searching for something. Coli froze, watching with wide blue eyes. She was in the coyote packlands, again? Jasper had met her at the borders on that frozen winter day, and they had shared a hushed conversation in the whipping winds of a blizzard before he ushered her to leave... she had not intended to return. She was a pure wolf, she was from Dahlia de Mai, and she bore the same fur of her sire, Haku Soul; three strikes that would surely grant her the "honor" of her head joining the pikes out front. Should she merely turn around, and hope this child would not see her? The sunset-furred girl did appear quite preoccupied with whatever game she was playing...
But she waited too long. As she stood, wringing her claws and trying to decide her next course of action, the scuttling crab traipsed across her footpaw. She yelped in surprise at the sudden contact, lashing out instinctively to send the crustacean flying into the water with a splash. Guiltily, Colibri turned to face the little hybrid, who was now surely aware of the trespasser's presence.
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Zana knew that it was getting late and that too soon she'd have to go find Ryan to let her know that she was okay. The small girl sometimes felt that she was treated like she was still a small little puppy because she still looked like one, but she let Ryan get away with it because of the fact that she took her in. She'd finished tearing apart the seaweed bed and had been about to turn and head back to the den when she'd heard the sound of another very close. The small girl jumped, her eyes darting down the beachfront to see just who was sneaking up on her.
Her eyes met the form of the lady wolf that was trespassing on Inferni's lands. Within seconds she'd turned herself around and forgot all about checking in with her packmate. Thistle hued eyes shone as she approached the wolf, she knew that wolves weren't really allowed on the lands but she'd found one living right in the mists of their clan. She didn't understand how it all worked or why but it didn't stop her from going to investigate this stranger.
"What you doing.." she asked as she cleared the distance between them. She had forgotten all about not talking to strangers, but this lady had snuck up on her and she was curious as to why. She really should have learned by now to watch out for strangers and to be more cautious.. but she hadn't yet.
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The little girl stalked boldly up to her, hard eyes demanding an answer. She was an assertive child, that much was obvious, and she might be a bit older than Coli had first assumed. In her Optime form, Coli towered over her -- should she shift down to her level? She had always done that for Willow, and when she met Emwe, so it seemed only fair. As long as her sudden movements wouldn't frighten this she-coyote into calling for help, because if adults saw her, they would be far less lenient. As she understood it, the truce between their two packs was more fragile than she would have hoped, and that was mostly her own father's fault... She had no idea that the little girl before her had actually met Haku before, and might even piece together their relation. Still too nervous to take action, she remained in her more comfortable two-legged form, reasoning that she would be a faster runner this way.
"I'm... n-not doing anything," Coli said defensively, trying to maintain a strong facade. "What are you doing?" She managed to hold her trembling hands at her side, resisting the impulse to wring her wrists nervously or wipe her sweaty pawpads against her fur. Would this be the end of her? She had no reason to fear death - there was little that she had planned for her life, and she never expected to grow old anyway - but since she feared everything, it was impossible not to cringe and imagine the pain that this girl's family would inflict on her. Ironic, that the runty hybrid was actually a cousin of hers. Up close, Coli noticed the girl had a small bag - someone had given it to her, and she was filling it with items she located on the beach. Were they toys? Shiny stones she thought was pretty? What would a little girl collect... seashells? "I can help you look for things to fill your bag with," she gambled, biting her lip anxiously.
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The tiny girl looked nothing like any other pup her age, something within her medical layup hadn't formed right and her frame never really seemed to grow like normal. She grew, but mostly just to thin out her puppy frame into a slimmer more adult looking body and a change in her voice tone. She sat back and stared up at the taller woman as she realized that the lady seemed to be afraid of her. She was baffled by this strange switch in her normal roles. She was nothing to be afraid of or even nervous around but the lady seemed to lost and scared when she finally spoke. Zana was really beginning to wonder about wolves.
"What you doing here then if you ain't doing nothing?" she asked as she titled her head to the side, studying the other woman. She smiled slightly as the question was echoed back to her. "I'm exploring. The beds of seaweeds sometimes hold some interesting finds!" she squeaked excitedly. She couldn't help it, even if she found the lady off she liked to show off her finds and explore. It gave her something to do when Val was off with her mother.
When the woman offered to help her fill the bag Zana eyed her nervously, not knowing if she was going to get into trouble for hanging around with a wolf. She was willing to take the chance as her ribbon wrapped tail began to beat excitedly as she giggled. "You really wanna help?" she asked, unsure if this was just some game or if she actually would help her find more shark teeth and nice shells.
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When the slim pup did not immediately squall for help, Coli relaxed a bit. She was not in imminent danger, then, if the girl was willing to talk. Perhaps she didn't really understand the rules of the pack, then - luckily for her. The werewolf smoothed her palms against her fur, blew the silky bangs from her eyes, tried to appear more mature and presentable. Still, it was easier for her to talk on the puppy's level, so she squatted down on the rough sands, meeting the little coyote-mix face to face. "I'm really not doing anything. I was just going for a walk, that's all. It's kind of like exploring," she adjusted, seeing how riled up the little Lykoi was becoming. She was a scrappy thing, then, a fearless explorer. What would she look like as a grown-up? Coli always let her mind wander, wishing for children of her own. Now that she was safe for the time being, her daydreams were already swooping back in to whisk her thoughts away from the present...
The colourful little hybrid must be really lonely, if she was that willing to play with a grown wolf. Coli smiled despite herself; maybe she shouldn't stay long, but she did love children, and besides, she was lonely too. "Of course I'll help you! My name's Colibri. That means 'hummingbird'. What's yours?" True to her word, Coli began rummaging through the thick strands of kelp stranded on the beach, blue eyes alight with curiosity. She had never spent much time around oceans - forests felt more like home - but there were interesting things hidden in the rubbery plants. "What kind of stuff are you looking for, exactly? We could find pretty purple shells to match your eyes," she offered, holding up a broken shard of wampum. It wasn't the exact shade of thistle-violet, but it was a nice hue.
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Zana watched the older woman a moment as she just stood there. There was something off about the way she was acting but Zana still didn't understand the actions and emotions of others that well. Instead of saying anything about the funny way the woman was acting she just smiled as the woman spoke of going out for a stroll and it's likeness to exploring. Her tiny puff of a tail wagged happily as she replied. "I like to explore." there was nothing to it beside the truth. She beamed up at the woman who was friendly enough in her eyes.
When the stranger agreed to help her at her search Zana yapped excitedly and scurried over to the closest kelpbed to start pawing away again. The lady began to introduce herself and Zana flicked an ear towards her as she listened to her soft voice. Zana was surprised to find out that the woman's name had a meaning. She never knew that names had meaning behind them, she just thought that everyone was given a name. "I'm Zana.. but I don't know if it means anything." She felt sortof stupid saying that, she wondered if her name did actually mean anything. "Your name's pretty.." she said softly as she glanced up shyly from pushing around the seaweed.
It wasn't too soon after when Colibri asked her just what they were looking for. Zana shook her head as the lady commented on the tone of her eyes, blushing slightly as she tried to explain what she looked for. She wasn't certain if she really could explain correctly, "No.. here.. wait." she said as she tried to pull the pouch off from over her neck. Picking the bag up from the bottom she let the contents scatter onto the sands. "Stuff like this?" the array of whole shells and shark teeth falling out, along with the peashooter that Lysander had made her. She glanced up as she whined softly. "Just.. don't let the seagulls see it all!" She really worried that the one legged flying devil would come to steal her trinkets.
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Blue eyes met thistle as she remained squatting to the hybrid's level. The crash of the surf, the salty air, the shifting sand beneath her footpaws -- it was all so new to her. Vaguely she remembered playing on the beach as a child - younger than Zana appeared to be - but it was a hazy memory, clouded with the years that had passed since then. She had difficulty remembering the things that happened before she had learned how to shift.
"Every name means something," Coli said softly, smiling at the small child, "-even if it simply means your mother loved you enough to name you." She liked that explanation, although of course she had been named by her father, who did not seem to love her at all; naming her after his mother and himself, how uncreative and self-absorbed. According to Auntie Mew, she could have had several other last names - Soul, Sadira, or her mother's Jolie - and that would have connected her to the family that spanned these lands, rather than being an outsider yet again. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the task at hand, sifting through seaweed. Did Zana really think her name was pretty? That was... sweet of her.
Coli was surprised when Zana showed her the contents of her little bag. Rather than pretty trinkets and knick-knacks for a young girl to treasure, she instead was hoarding sharp fishes' teeth and a small weapon. She ran her fingers over the blowgun, wondering who would give a small child such a dangerous toy. Truly, things were different in Inferni... "Er, sea-gulls are those white birds, right?" she asked first, wanting to make certain. "Why... why do you have stuff like this, Zana? Are you... in danger?" Her blue eyes were bright with concern for the undersized pup, as her own plight had been long-forgotten. She was starting to piece together that Zana was more lonely than she'd thought, and she found that upsetting. Were there no good parents left in this world?
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Zana looked up from between poking her nose around in the seaweed beds when her new friend spoke of names again and meanings. She furrowed her brows slightly as she frowned when she spoke of a mother's love. Zana couldn't help it but she'd never really understood how everyone seemed to think that mother's were so loving and kind.. all she could remember were snarls and growls coming from the monster that everyone seemed to claim was her mother. She glanced down at her paws and murmured lowly. "My mother didn't want me.." little did Zana know that her mother had died trying to get her back from the mists of the clan that was now her home. She ran her little nails deep in the sands as she tried to forget about the horrible memories of dear old mum.
She glanced up though when Colibri had begun to dump out the contents of her bag. Her eyes glancing from one item to the next as her tail beat softly in the sands. She had really gathered quite a bit of items already and one day she would be able to use them all against the horrible leader of the seagulls. She had expected Coli to be happy with what she'd collected but instead she saw a look of worry cross the other woman's maw. When Coli asked about the seagulls Zana nodded and glanced up. "Them, they're bad.. really nasty to me.." She glared up at the stupid birds that were lazily watching them from above as she shook her head. She really did hate those evil creatures.
She thought that Coli was done with odd comments and questions but yet they just never ended. Zana frowned at what she'd been asked but she didn't really know how to respond. "Ly gave me this.. and Siobhan gave me that!" she said as she pointed first to the pea shooter and then to the small slingshot. She glanced back up at Coli as she stated simply as though anyone could figure it out. "The seagulls pick on me.. because I'm so small.." She sniffled a little as she thought about the truth. "I hate being small.." she said softly as a little tear ran down her nose.
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Colibri cringed as Zana voice fell flat, low with all of the emotions Coli herself was well familiar with. She bit her lip, not having meant to dredge up hurtful memories, not ever. "That's... I can understand that, Zana, and it's not your fault," she whispered, the crash of waves behind her nearly drowning out her meek voice. "That means you're better than her. You have a pack to support you and look out for you, and that can be better than stupid parents who don't know how to care." Oh, what she would have given to have someone to talk to, after everyone she knew decided they didn't want her either... Not her dead mother's mate, not her bastard of a father, no one. She should never have left Clouded Tears, even if it meant not knowing who her family really was.
Coli was surprised to hear the nickname "Ly" again - she had just heard it recently from her little brother Emwe, as the name of the "nice man" he had stayed with while everyone had been searching for him. She still had no idea who the fellow was, or even what pack he was attached to, but he seemed to be stirring up trouble if he was offering weapons to small children and assisting in kidnappings. She pushed those thoughts quickly aside as Zana sniffled and began to cry. "Please don't cry, honey, everybody's small to begin with! And, and, I'm s-sorry the gulls are harassing you, that's not fair of them. Th-they won't bother you today, right? Because I'm here w-with you! So, let's try to h-have fun together... Okay?" She wrung her wrists anxiously, hating to see anyone in distress. She should hug the little girl, shouldn't she? That's what people were supposed to do when they wanted to cheer each other up. Nodding resolutely, Coli reached out a shaky hand, attempting to gather the pup into her awkward embrace. She really was small...
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Little Zana flicked her ears back almost instantly as the lady wolf seemed to go on some episode about the facts of Zana's past. She'd learned long ago to accept the strange things that had happened to her, now she was just faced with a whole new set of issues, her small size being the worst of all. She Lowered her head down to poke around at the kelp as she sighed. "I know.. everyone says the same thing.." Really no one said much of anything, they just didn't talk about it, which was probably better than anything. She pawed at a piece of seaweed as she tried to steal a glance back up at the lady. "It's not all that bad.." she tried to assure the other who seemed more upset about her own misfortunes than Zana even was.
Zana hadn't meant to get so worked up about the questions that Colibri had started to ask but she just felt like she'd done something wrong or she was about to get into trouble the way that she was speaking. She whimpered slightly as Colibri suddenly went into some big bout of assurance, trying to make Zana feel better about it all. She tried to pull her little pile of prizes towards her as she sniffled. "Ly and Siobhan gave them to me to defend myself from the gulls when I'm old enough to use them.." She'd begin to believe that she'd never be big enough to use the articles she'd been gifted but soon enough time would tell.
When the other woman crouched down to hug her Zana froze up. No one had ever got close enough to touch her except her brother and Ryan. She tried to pull away from Colibri's embrace as she whined. Shaking the other girl's arms off her she moved away a few feet and glanced at the lady with wide eyes, not knowing if she should bolt or try and retrieve her treasures that the woman had at her feet. This just wasn't fair, what did everything turn out so weird! "Don't. Don't touch!" she said. Last time someone had tried to cuddle her he'd nearly been stoned to death by one of the leaders of the clan.. and now the clan was out for his blood if he ever returned. Zana couldn't even see her brother anymore because he'd got too close to her, everyone who got too close seemed to get hurt..
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The slender werewolf blinked in surprise at the youth's reaction; she seemed more perplexed than anything. Was Zana too young to understand? Or did it simply not faze her? Coli wasn't sure what to think. She reached out to poke the piece of seaweed that Zana was pawing, marveling at the slippery texture. Yes, she had been on a beach before, but she honestly couldn't remember what happened... Probably just another day playing with Cercelee, she decided, setting the half-forgotten recollection aside. The small coyote sniffled again, teetering on the brink of tears as she reviewed her little slingshot and peashooter. Why didn't Ly and Siobhan help look after the girl themselves, then, instead of passing her tools she couldn't use and leaving her alone? Coli felt a rare bout of protectiveness, wondering how she could help the lonely child.
Coli stiffened with surprise as Zana panicked, both girls with eyes as wide as saucers. Colibri was already shaky with the concept of initiating physical contact - now she was certain she had done something wrong, and her heart hammered wildly in her chest, her hands clammy with fear. "S-s-sorry, I'm so s-sorry, Zana, t'will never happen again, I swear, I swear I wasn't going to hurt you," she stammered, mistakenly believing that the little Lykoi was afraid of her specifically. She scrabbled backwards several paces, leaving Zana's precious treasures on the sand between them. What... could she do now? Were the differences between wolves and coyotes so great that she could not forge a simple friendship with a child? Would it be better if she just turned tail and ran now, leaving the girl to figure out what had almost happened? No, she shouldn't give up, not for a simple misunderstanding! Just because she did not know the proper way to hug someone did not mean she could not make things better.
"There... are other ways to deal with birds, even before you learn to use those weapons," she said slowly, her mind racing. She did not want to kill the gulls for no reason, but with the right dosage of poison, they would only get sick... and then maybe they would associate Zana with the poison, and leave her alone for good... Oak leaves, nightshade, foxglove, none of those would be fatal to a bird as big as a gull. Granted, they could be fatal to wolves, so they'd have to be extra careful handling it, but... Poison was certainly a valid way for a small female to protect herself.
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Zana didn't understand just what all the fuss was about. She'd always been let roam the lands and do as she pleased as long as she didn't get into too much trouble. Why this strange lady seemed so fretful about everything about her she would never get, but she was still nice enough to stay and dig through the seabeds with her. She didn't get others often who would help her search for treasures from the deep. Zana could remember her mother but she didn't want to be reminded of her. She'd abandoned Zana after nearly killing her. She paws at the ribbons that tied up her bare tail as she explained. "My mother's the reason for this.." The ribbons were no fashion statement, they were to cover up the hideous mess that use to be her fluffy beautiful tail. She had loved that soft silky tail so much.
She sniffled as she thought about it, still upset at Colibri for getting so close. She watched the woman with confusion in her eyes as she tried to make certain that she wasn't going to be snuggled against again. She hasn't been on and cuddly terms with anyone since she'd lived in Phoenix Valley and she wasn't sure she wanted to start again. Her small bottom lip quivered as she heard Colibri apologizing and trying to explain that she wasn't going to hurt her. Zana shook her head and said softly. "It's ok.." She didn't knw how to explain that she just wasn't use to others being so close. She was use to her own space and she'd grown to like it thatway.
The awkward moment seemed to blow by though after a few minutes as the two just stood there looking at eachother. Finally Colibri seemed to bring up a point of interest that had Zana in two seconds. She pricked her ears forward as she asked. "Yeah? She would love to find out anyway to get rid of the gulls or any other pesky creature that pesters her to no end. She really was tired of feeling harassed all the time.
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Coli blinked in surprise. Her mother had damaged her tail? Zana had been attacked by her parent? How cruel, poor little thing. Hopefully the fur would grow back quickly, so that she did not have the constant reminder. She personally had been lucky not to incur any visible scars from her own attack. That, at least, had healed well. "I thought... they were just to look pretty," she finished weakly, sky-blue gaze lingering on the worn ribbons. "Because they do, you know. You look very... cute." The compliment was foreign on her tongue, but it was another thing she wanted to get used to. Sankor and Anu had both said so. And they were both smarter than she was, so she might as well take their advice when she could. Besides, Zana did look cute! Her coyote-pup ears were adorable, and she had such a lovely eye colour... Nothing like Coli's plain looks.
There was an awkward moment when the shaky girls could do nothing but stare warily at each other, and then the spell was broken. Colibri sighed with relief, a small smile playing on her lips as she brushed the sand from her fur and stood up. "Yeah! Birds eat bugs, and fish, and stuff like that, right? If you trick them into eating plants instead, it can make them sick. Then they'll learn to stay away from where you are, because they'll keep getting sick...! Do you know anything about poison?" She tried to keep her explanation simple, to shy away from the more obvious applications of poison. No, she had never killed anyone, despite Svara Thames' insistent hostility, and her father's tempting proximity. Poisonous plants were her hobby, something she had explained to her friend Henratha. Her birth pack had drilled her in many different "forbidden" flora; it was the one thing she remembered of her late mother's family, the knowledge they had left her with. She still clung to it, starting little hidden gardens whenever she found a place of solitude. Maybe if she passed the knowledge down, Zana would adopt the hobby too...!
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Zana had grown use to the fact that her tail was horrible to look at. She didn't even like looking at the hairless ugly rat tail but she had to whenever one of the adults was nice enough to change the ribbons for her. It always made her wonder just why it had happened but she never voiced those thoughts out loud. It was bad enough she still sometimes had nightmares, she didn't want to have to talk about that scary night with anyone else. She didn't want them to be part of her past, she'd rather keep the monster locked up where it belonged. She flicked her ears back as the thoughts just seemed to linger in her head as Colibri went on.
Her ears pricked forward when her new friend spoke of her ribbons and how she thought they were just there to be pretty. DaVinci had first put them on her tail to make her feel pretty but she'd later adapted them to cover up her shame as well. She shook her head sadly at Colibri as she petted the last fluffy tip of her tail with one paw as she cast her eyes away from her friend. When the young wolf told her that she was cute Zana couldn't help but shake her head. "But... I don't wants to be cute!" Cute was for little girls and Zana didn't like the fact that she was little. She didn't want another constant reminded of her shortcomings.. but of course there was little she could do about it. The small girl gave a dramatic sigh as she shook her head sadly.
The silence that sat between them seemed to linger forever but when the storm finally past and the conversation turned towards something that was much more interesting to Zana than the discussion over her hairless tail she smiled. Her eyes danced excitedly as Colibri began to explain to her that there were certain plants that could make one sick. When she asked her if she knew what poison was Zana nodded energetically as she blurted out. "Berries cans be poisonous too! Don't eat the bright red berries!" She had listened well when she'd been warned away from certain plants, but she had still been curious. She hadn't found another bush with those death berries on it but when she did she would find out just how deadly they were.
She smiled at Colibri as she asked, "Will it really make them leave me alone?" If it didn't.. she could just feed them death berries. The stupid birds would eat anything.
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Zana's wide violet eyes seemed to fill with sadness or resentment at Coli's compliment, and her ears drooped, disappointed that she had failed again. She could not offer honeyed words nor a warm embrace; she could never be a mommy, could she? As much as she might want to, there was some basic component missing from her makeup; she could never truly be normal... "Is 'cute' a bad thing...? It should be nice," she murmured, unsure of where she went wrong. All puppies were cute, right? Did Zana wish to be beautiful instead? That would come with time.
"L-like hawthorn berries, winterberry hollies, juniper, yes," she rattled off, surprised but pleased that Zana's enthusiasm had not wavered. "Most red things should be avoided as a rule... It's a warning sign!" She brushed her mane from her eyes, peering up at the beachside cliffs. "Are there any plants up there, Zana? Is there a forest nearby, maybe?" She really did not know the area, and although it was dangerous to move around in what should be considered enemy territory, she could not help herself. The ribbon-tailed coyote pup had charmed her way into Coli's good graces, and the introverted girl wanted to return the gesture somehow. An idea forming, she leaned over to pick up a thin spar of driftwood, and used it to scratch a design into the sand. "This kind of leaf, an oak leaf, will make them sick. Have you seen this kind of tree?"
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When Colibri questioned Zana on her disappointment at being called cute Zana just shook her head and looked away as she whined. "Everyone says cute.. so little, so cute.." She scuffled as she kicked at a bit of shell as she went on. "All other pups gets bigger, not Zana though.." She fiddled with a small piece of reed between her paws as she frowned. "I'm always be cute widdle Zana..." She just wanted to be like everyone else and it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
She tried to push the thoughts aside though and focus on the topic at hand which was so much more entertaining and interesting. She really wanted to learn just how to make the birds pay for their cruel behavior and if this nice lady was going to be the one to teach her than she'd be happy to learn. She nodded as the lady rattled off names of berries and spoke of the signs and dangers that the color red generally advised of. Her tail began to beat excitedly as she was asked a question.
Zana tilted her head back to look up to the cliffs as she shook her head. Nothing ever seemed to grow on the cliffs and if it did it was just weeds. She leaned towards Colibri as she decided. "There are small wounds outside clan border? We can goes there?" She didn't really know what they were going to look for when they got there but any excuse to find something helpful in the war against the birds was fine by her. It seemed that Colibri had another lesson planned though as she began to drawn in the sands. Zana moved closer as she peered at the drawings before she laughed and nodded. "Those in woods!" she declared, wondering if they would go find the leaves now..
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...Oh. That made sense. Zana did seem short for her age, and it had been insensitive of Coli to think that being small made her cute... even though it did. With her big fluffy ears, and her pretty purple eyes... She hadn't known that coyotes could be so adorable. How could anyone hate them? "Y-you'll get bigger as you get older, Zana, it happens to everyone. And even if you're still a l-little, um, underdeveloped, it d-doesn't have to be a bad thing. It makes you special... You're l-lucky to be unique!" The werewolf tried to stammer a reassurance, the kind that a parent was supposed to offer but clearly hadn't. Poor little orphan.
"Outside the clan borders? Sure, let's go now!" Coli said, a relieved smile spreading across her light-furred countenance. If Zana had suggested moving deeper into the wolf-hating territory, she would be putting them both in danger. If they were outside, well, it was at least less likely that some scout would come bearing down upon them. Even Jasper had admitted that the borders were sketchy when it came to safety, but as long as they kept their voices down, they could get away with a secretive meeting. Setting aside her drawing stick, she brushed the sand from her knees, standing up straight to peer around for the trees. Inferni appeared to be a mainly coniferous territory, which explained why the closest oaks were on the outside. Further south, where Dahlia called home, they had more of a deciduous setting. Not that any of her observations mattered, but from a botanist's point of view, Coli wondered if there were any special plants growing here that she could not find elsewhere. Not that she would ever know. She started off towards where she had come from, waiting for Zana to spring ahead and take the lead. They had some seagulls to bully!
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Zana's ears folded back against her head in doubt at her new friend's words. She didn't think she'd be special if she was tiny but she was a little kid, she didn't think that anything was fair and she couldn't understand that sometimes there was a silver lining around dark clouds. She didn't say anything to Colibri regarding her words of encouragement but she tried to offer the lady a smile, wavering as it was it still appeared for a brief second as she played with the little ribbons upon her tail shyly.
When Colibri finally agreed to head off the clan's lands to find the plants and berries Zana's whole body itched with excitement as she circled around her friend and waited impatiently as she tried to brush the worst of the sand from her pelt. Zana in turn just shook her coat out quickly, knowing that later she'd just get dirty again. A genuine smile flashed across her maw as she smiled and hoped that they would be able to find just what they were looking for.
Zana's short legs pumped quickly to keep ahead of Colibri and show her the way, small little turns to make certain her friend was still following and tiny yaps of encouragement as she kicked up a tiny sand storm in her wake. It didn't take too long for the small girl to find the area where the oak trees grew along with a vast assortment of small shrubs and prickly bushes. She began to circle around the little bushes as she waited for the chocolate and cream woman to find her. When she arrived Zana asked, "What about these?" her eyes trailing over to the berry trees that their blooms were just fading and the berries taking over.
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My last post!
WC: 300+
The impatient pup suddenly bubbled over with energy, prancing circles around her and bounding to show the way. All children seemed to have that limitless exuberance - where did it go when they grew up? Coli could distinctly remember how adults seemed slow and boring, how she could move at the speed of light when she was that small. And somewhere along the way, she had ended up slow and boring like everyone else did when they got big. Maybe it would be good for Zana to stay small. Maybe it meant she could retain her youthful energy.
They reached a sandy grove outside the scent markers, ratty shrubs and inhospitable thorn bushes surrounding the wizened trunks of the oak trees they sought. Careful not to touch the leaves, Coli rose on her tip-toes, stretching her slender arms to snap off a whippy twig in each hand. The fresh woody scent reached her sensitive nostrils as she brought the branches together, the bouquet of vivid-green leaves fluttering as her fingers firmly secured their twiggy handles. Before she could speak, Zana's attention had been caught by the growing berries replacing the moulting petals of flowers by-gone. "Those? Oh, those aren't ripe yet, Zana. We're better off with these leaves for now, but in the fall when the leaves have fallen, those berries will be a perfect substitute. Good catch!" Her instinct was to ruffle the girl's ears, but she curbed her affection, not about to forget her vehement denial of contact any time soon.
The tentative werewolf explained patiently to the little coyote how she could set up bait. Gather dead fish that had washed up onshore, and stuff them with the oak leaves. The greedy birds would still shun the vegetation, but would consume enough residue of the tannins to invoke the thirst and digestive upset. It might take several tries, but eventually they would associate the sickening meal with where the pygmy girl lived, and would choose a different stretch of coastline. A basic trick, one she was happy to pass along. Still, she must always take care not to swallow any of the leaves herself, because the same components could hurt her stomach as well. Coli hoped that her lesson would do more help than harm; if teaching poisons to a child ended up twisting her in some way, she would never forgive herself.
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