Mandi
30 January 2023, 05:16 PM
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
It had started with only one.
Not far outside of their home range, Elkin had found the remains of an unfortunate hare. Most of it was already eaten and scattered, leaving behind a single hind leg that he had managed to scrounge up from the snowy depths. While it had retained much of the fur and skin covering its paw, the remainder of the leg and femur lacked any meat and was held together only with meager strips of desiccated connective tissue. It was still a good find, though, and Elkin thought to bring it back for the puppies to play with.
His efforts to prise the leg free from the hardpack snow had drawn the attention of a raven. Only one at first. Perhaps it had thought that Elkin was onto something greater than a meager, sustenance-deficient leg, or maybe the victory dance that Elkin had performed once he had freed the thing was what sold the bird. Whatever the reason, the raven gave a series of throaty croaks as the wolfdog tossed and chased after and rolled onto the limb, summoning two additional inky shapes from nearby trees.
As he started for home, the ravens followed him and that was when the game began.
The ravens took turns tugging at Elkin's tail and croaking in mock laughter when he wheeled around to chase them. While he was busy with one, another would peck at the remaining fur on the leg and flap away when he returned to it while a third raven chased him on ebony wings. And then Elkin would pick up the leg and give it another joyful toss before the whole activity would start all over again.
They repeated this a small handful of times before he flung the leg into the heart of their little home range. The ravens seemed aware that there were other wolves about and two of them took to low-hanging branches, watching cautiously while a third chased Elkin home.
"Hey look! I made some friends!" he cried, panting and laughing. "Who wants to play with us?"
[WC -- 349]
OOC: Who's up for a little wolf vs raven playtime?
Larki
31 January 2023, 10:50 PM
The puppy gnawed away at a stick that had fallen near him, spitting out the pulp that amassed in his mouth as he chewed. There was a really annoying ache in his gums that made him want to chew everything in sight most of the time. Most often, it was a leftover bone or a stick that he had found. Sometimes it was his sister's tail or her ear, though that usually resulted in wrestling. Sticks and bones didn't fight back, which he appreciated about them. They were much easier to gnaw and help that strange feeling in his mouth. It was apparently something to do with teeth, but he couldn't recall exactly what, just that it happened to everyone.
He released the stick when he heard some interesting noises, although his front paws kept it pinned so that Nimkii couldn't sneak over to snatch it up while he was distracted. It was probably extra alluring to his sister with his slobber all over it. Taking it from him would mean that she had gotten one over on him and he couldn't allow that. Zoltan was not the sort to let Nimkii win, not if he could be the winner instead. Which meant he needed to keep a firm grasp with his front paws on his stick even as he was distracted from actually chewing it.
His blue eyes caught sight of someone familiar and his tail whisked excitedly behind him. "Ehkin!" he yipped, jumping up and entirely forgetting about the stick that had seemed so very important mere moments before.
The cub bounded forward with ears perked and nostrils flaring. Elkin had thrown something into the middle of the area and that interested him. There were also birds watching - and one had chased Elkin there - which also interested him. He chose the thrown thing first, because it was more likely to get snatched up by Nimkii or someone else. The birds would probably still be there after he inspected it. Maybe they were the friends Elkin had referenced.
Zo's tail continued waving as he walked over to the Thrown Thing, his nose telling him what it was before he got too close. It was Rabbit, or once had been Rabbit. Now it was Part of Rabbit. He had to get closer to decipher which bit and determine it didn't have any good meat left on it. Which was disappointing, his belly told him, but not surprising. Elkin surely wouldn't have tossed good meat out into the middle of an area like that.
His ears perked as one of the birds swooped toward the Rabbit Part. He pressed himself a bit closer to the ground out of instinct for something moving quickly toward him from the air. It made a croak noise, though, and grabbed at the Rabbit Leg. "Naahh!" the boy yapped, snatching the leg from the ground and dancing away from the bird. It followed him and he backed up a bit more; it kept following. The cub growled around the Rabbit Part and ran toward Elkin; adults were safe zones, he knew. He figured the adult would tell him what to do. He had said they were new friends, so maybe this was a game?
Mandi
20 February 2023, 11:59 AM
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
The raven that had been chasing him swooped up to join its comrades, giving the wolfdog's tail one final tug on its way up. From the safety of the low branches, three pairs of eyes watched them and quorked mysteriously to one another.
Skidding to a stop, Elkin greeted Zoltan with a low howl and watched as the puppy abandoned whatever he had been gnawing (a stick, by the looks of the scattered bits and the vague scent of pulverized wood) to investigate the bony remains. His wagging tail increased its cadence approvingly. Even though it lacked good meat, it was still a better choice than a boring old stick. After they were done playing with it, Elkin decided that he would crack the long bone open to give Zoltan access to the nutritious marrow inside. Probably it would still be in there, waiting to be slurped up.
His tummy rumbled and the big dark wolfdog was momentarily distracted from the games by his seemingly perpetual hunger. But then one of the ravens dropped down from the trees and hopped towards the bone. Zoltan appeared to recover quickly from his momentary uncertainty when the raven began to snap at the leg, snatching it up himself and backing away. The longer the raven followed, the more the puppy appeared to become distressed, eventually seeking him out.
Elkin dropped his forelegs to the ground in a play-bow and wagged his tail reassuringly.
"It wants to play with you, Zo!" he said, lowering his rear end to match the level of his upper half. "I think," he added softly as an afterthought. "Here, lemme try."
Crawling on his tummy towards the bone, Elkin nosed the thing closer to the raven, who eyed the two of them cautiously for a while before pecking at the remaining fur. That was when Elkin took the other end of the bone between his teeth and pulled back as gently as he would have if it was Zoltan on the other end and not a silly raven. The raven held on, flapping its big, dark wings as it was pulled forward but not letting go. Elkin laughed and dropped the bone to look at Zoltan.
"See? It's like playing tug!" said Elkin cheerfully. "Give it a try, Zo."
As though to encourage him (or maybe to goad him), the raven quorked at them and began to pull the bone away by its stringy skin. In the trees, the other two croaked down at them and watched.
[WC -- 421]
OOC: Those interested in joining in are still welcome to!
Larki
23 February 2023, 05:01 PM
His tail tucked a bit to keep it from being a potential prize for the bird. If it wanted the rabbit bit, it might also want his tail! It was too tempting a target if it flew in the wind. Whereas if it was nearer to his belly, the dark bird would have a harder time grabbing it. That was his theory, anyway. Whether it worked or the raven had never wanted to grab at his tail was unclear. Either way it was safe held closer to his belly.
Elkin signaled "play" with a bow that made Zo's tail uncurl from his underside and wag a bit, his ears folding back with relief. It was good to know that this was a good thing. A safe thing. The bird was trying to play. He'd still keep his tail near to him. Sometimes Nimkii wanted to play and bite or tugged at his tail. He didn't particularly like it. Although to be fair, he also tugged and grabbed at her tail. So it was absolutely fair play that she did the same to him.
He dropped the rabbit bit as Elkin indicated he wanted to try to entice the raven to play. Zoltan turned around to watch, lying down entirely so that his belly was on the ground. He even tucked his tail near to him. Though his legs remained tensed, ready to jump back into the fray if the game seemed fun. Zo had never played with a bird before, so he wasn't sure what all could be done. They didn't have teeth or paws or ears or long tails. All things that he used while playing...
The older wolf nudged the bone closer to the raven and Zoltan watched, looking between bird and wolf curiously. Eventually the raven grasped at some of the remaining fur and that was when Elkin created the game, pulling back a bit to tug it. Though not as hard as he could've. If he'd wanted, Zo was sure that Elkin could've pulled that right out of the raven's beak. It was a game though and no fun at all if the Fang had just grabbed it back right away.
The Haskel boy thumped his tail against the ground in approval, a smile curling his lips as he nodded his understanding. He wiggled nearer on his belly as he had seen Elkin do and grabbed at the end that the raven didn't have. He put some force into it, but was careful not to pull so hard as to immediately dislodge the bird. Though he found that the raven had more strength than he expected, when it tugged back and made his grasp on the bone fall off. He growled playfully and grabbed again, tail wagging as he pulled harder this time.
Mandi
5 April 2023, 11:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 16 April 2023, 10:36 AM by Elkin. Edited 2 times in total.
Edit Reason: typos. typos everywhere.
)
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
With his tongue lolling from his mouth and his curled tail wagging against his back, Elkin watched the small puppy creep towards the leg bone and engage with the raven. On his legs again, he stepped back to give them space to tug and play while remaining near enough to put an end to anything that went awry. Seeing Zoltan's wagging tail, the emergent concern he expressed earlier replaced now by what Elkin thought could be confidence or zeal, elicited a bolstering of delight within the dark wolfdog.
Play was one of Elkin's very favorite things. It drew them closer together and taught them important things and built confidence in themselves, too. Adults didn't do it enough. Maybe they didn't see the value in it, but Elkin didn't think that anyone should ever stop building relationships or confidence or knowledge. In his old pack, he and Vannin had been punished and chased away because of it. But he didn't think that Zoltan and Nimkii would be at risk of facing the same fate, not among these wolves who had accepted him and his brother for who they were when nobody else had. Here, they would be safe to play as much and for as long as they wanted!
And Elkin was committed in supporting that belief, too. He would always be down to play.
It was impossible to say whether or not the raven let Zoltan win or if the puppy was truly stronger than the big black bird, but at some point the corvid let go of the strip of shriveled skin. Flapping its dark wings, it gave a throaty series of quorks, looking almost as though it was jeering or heckling the youth. Encouraged by their fellow avian, the other two ravens lifted from their perches then and flew low.
While one landed on the snow to try its luck in the game of tug against the small wolf, the other veered in Elkin's direction and pulled at the fur of his tail, causing the adult to spin and bark and dance with pleasure.
[WC -- 353]
OOC: Apologies for the delay! I'm happy to continue this if you'd like, otherwise, since its a little older, we could also wrap this up here or within the next couple of posts. c:
Larki
OOC:
I'm okay with whatever! :D
IC:
Zoltan had never considered that he might someday give up on playing in favor of more adult stuff. There was a joy that came from goofing off that he had never experienced during anything else. Sure, he enjoyed eating and sleeping and other things. He just didn't enjoy those as much as he enjoyed playing. Nor did he think that would ever change. Even as an adult, why shouldn't he play?
He tugged and tugged and won against the bird! The young Haskel also didn't pause to consider if this had been allowed by the corvid or a real win. It didn't matter. Either way, he was the one with prize in mouth and the bird had nothing. He wagged his tail and yipped a happy sound around the bit that he had grasped in his teeth. The bird seemed to make some noises of challenge at him and he waited to see if it would grab on again, his body folding naturally downward into a play bow. Bring it on he tried to say through the wag of his tail and the flattening of his ears and the waggle of his rump.
Instead of that raven engaging him again, a different one landed. For a moment, he jolted his shoulders upward and looked at the different bird cautiously. It only hopped forward to grab the part of the rabbit bit that he wasn't holding, so the boy relaxed back into play. Growling and grumbling as he tugged and tugged and... this time he lost his grip and fell back onto his butt, the snow cushioning his fall a bit. He huffed and jumped back into the fray, grabbing the free end as quickly as he could before the bird could fly away with it.
His gaze flickered briefly to Elkin who seemed to be goofing off with a bird of his own.
Mandi
16 April 2023, 11:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 16 April 2023, 11:20 AM by Elkin. Edited 1 time in total.)
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
The raven keeping Elkin busy was a bold one, occasionally grasping at the wolfdog's scruff with its shiny, hard claws and pinching his ears between its inky beak whenever it swooped low. This made it difficult Elkin to know what would be the raven's target. Would it be his tail again this time or would the raven go after his ears or scruff instead? When a fourth option presented itself in the form of the raven batting Elkin's face with its powerful wings, the Torspar felt a tincture of mania take hold of him and began spinning around in circles to make it hard for the raven to get any part of him.
While the raven who had taken up the game of tug with Zoltan toiled against the puppy's desire to win, the first raven had hopped over to the stick that Zoltan had previously been gnawing before Elkin had arrived with the birds and the leg bone. It tested the stick by snapping at it at few times, picking at the shredded wood fibers and leftover bark. Then the raven took it into its beak and lifted into the air with it, goading the canines with a hollow croak as it landed a short distance away.
That got the other two ravens' attention, each one abandoning their individual games to rally around their stick-wielding companion with a series of throaty taunts.
Elkin slowed his manic spinning, standing and processing the shift in their game until the dizziness had passed.
"Looks like its Team Fang against Team Beak, Zo," said the elder wolfdog, panting down at the puppy to gauge whether or not the youth was interested in engaging them or if he was happier with the desiccated rabbit leg. "Should we get your stick back?"
[WC -- 302]
OOC: Ohhhhhhh whatchu gonna do now, Zo? >:D
Larki
He watched the bird that was messing with Elkin, a bit surprised it was so impertinent. It tugged and pulled at the older wolf's fur in a way that Zo felt was usually reserved for others of the same species. The older Fang didn't seem bothered by it, though, playing right along. It made his little heart swell with appreciation for the intelligent avians who were clearly capable of playing. He had never thought much about how other animals might be intelligent; this was giving him cause to consider it. He doubted it was worth trying to understand the mind of a deer, but ravens...
"Eyyy!" he yipped when he saw a raven take off with the stick he had been gnawing before they arrived. It wasn't that he needed that specific stick, it was the way that it had been taken. With a quork of challenge and a rallying of the birds to one location. As if they had gotten the prize right out from under the noses of both wolves and were now taunting the losers.
The boy glanced at the older male for confirmation of what they should do, his head tilting to the side so that one ear flopped over while the other stood straight up. "Yuh! Fangs naw back down from a ch'll'nge!" he had fumbled that last word badly but didn't pause to think about it or worry. Instead, he considered their options for getting the stick back. "Wha' should we do ta get't back, E'kin?"
Mandi
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
Oh, they were crafty, these ravens! With his ears pressed forward, high atop his head, and his tail curled tightly against his back, Elkin watched the stick-wielding raven drop its prize before joining in on the jeering croaks with its feathered conspirators. Was this their plan all along? Elkin didn't think so (that was his hope, anyway). What was a stick worth to a trio of ravens? It couldn't possibly be more than the simple pleasure of making a puppy jealous and carrying on their playtime. Could it?
Lowering his front half into a play-bow, his curled tail wagging slowly, Elkin rested his chin on the snow and watched the ravens with his best thinking/pleading face. When one of the ravens began pecking and peeling at the stick again, the dark wolfdog settled the other half of his body down with a soft humph. He nosed Zoltan's face with his big wet snout.
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do." Inching forward, Elkin let his rear legs splay out behind him as he reeled himself in close to the puppy. "We're bigger and tougher than they are, right? So all we gotta do is gang up on 'em! Kinda like hunting, except we don't wanna hurt them 'cause they're our friends."
It was a simple plan, but, unlike true hunting or stalking prey or tracking scents, getting a stick back from a mob of ravens couldn't possibly require a grand, persnickety strategy. They just need to chase after them at the same time and not back down. Easy!
"We just gotta run at them together, okay?" Elkin said, rising to is feet again. "Okay. On my command. Ready... set... GO!"
[WC -- 291]
OOC: Feel free to take this in any direction you want! If Zo races ahead before Elkin says so, have at it! If you want the ravens to have caught onto them and take off the with the stick, then do it! If you wanna start wrapping things up and allow Team Fang to win, I'm down! If you have another idea, let it rip! :) Whatever tickles your fancy (lol within reason ofc) is cool with me!
Larki
Zoltan grumbled little annoyed growls as he watched the jeering ravens. They called out knowing it was just needling him and the boy wanted very much to run at them. His toes itched to bark as he ran into their flock so that they scattered, but he knew then they might take his stick to the air. And he couldn't fly, so then he'd never get it back. The boy needed an adult's plan, because his plan was not a good one.
He nibbled at the adult's chin when Elkin nudged him, affectionately wagging his own tail as he eyed the birds and mirrored the other Fang's play bow. Zo wanted the stick back, for no other reason than it had been his. There were plenty of sticks - they lived in a forested area, after all - but that had been his stick and he was not about to let the ravens take off with it!
His gaze shifted to Elkin as the adult relayed the plan. Actually, it wasn't that far from his own plan! Perhaps Zoltan hadn't been far off on what he wanted to do after all. Except that two heads were better than one and two barking wolves were better than one barking wolf. Maybe if they spooked the ravens quick enough, they'd just drop the stick. Then Zo could have it back and all would feel right again.
The boy nodded eagerly and lowered onto his belly, creeping forward a bit and waiting for the signal. Ready... set... GO! and with a burst of speed he headed toward their feathered friends. The boy yipped and barked with excitement as he ran. The birds cawed in surprise or alarm or both, taking off into the trees.
Mandi
Location: Ethereal Eclipse (CoF home range) || NPCs: -- || Form: Lupus
Long afterwards, when Elkin retold their playtime shenanigans to Vannin or Nikamew or anyone who would listen, he would recall how Zoltan had more self-control than Elkin remembered having at his age. Rather than allow excitement and anticipation to get the better of him, the young puppy managed to keep himself back and in check until the command was given. And when it was, they shot off together like a carefully choreographed move, rushing the ravens with a series of yaps and barks.
And the ravens were caught off guard! They took to the air in a flurry of feathers, squawking in a way that sounded disgruntled and harassed, and proceeded to scream down at them in loud, throaty croaks from the trees. Elkin wondered what they were saying. Did they think that the wolves had cheated and were they feeling bullied? He hoped not. This was all fun and games, after all, and the Torspar found that he really enjoyed the company of his new friends. He hoped that they'd want to play with him again sometime.
Anyway, the ravens had started it. Elkin and Zoltan simply finished it — and won!
"We did it, Zo!" howled the elder Fang.
As victors, it was in their right, therefore, to enjoy their little success in any way they saw fit. For Elkin, that meant dancing animatedly with a rhythmic tapping of his front paws while his rear half swayed with the vigorously wagging of his tail. And then he tossing his head back and howled a soft, triumphant note. The ravens watched them a little while longer, regarding them with their sharp, shiny eyes, before their interest began to wane. Eventually, the trio took to the air, awarding the wolves a final series of quorks before disappearing into the surrounding forest.
Elkin watched them go, his tail slowly uncurling from his back to hang at his hocks, and hoped to see them again. Once he could no longer see them, he gave his pelt a shake and trotted off to find a stick of his own. Once selected, he dragged it over and, laying down, started to gnaw on it in the company of his littlest pack mate.
[WC -- 369]
OOC: We can probably end here or with your next post. Thank you so much for joining. This was a lot of fun!
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