WC 625Traveling was boring. Most of the time Mother carried him in her arms, and when the pup had been given few chances to walk about on his own paws his growing urge to explore was stifled by Naniko’s insistence that he walk along her path. Many times the wolf cub would grumble and snort as he was corrected, not allowed to stray from his mother despite having little time to stretch out and let his paws ramble where they wanted. The pup’s short legs were also slow and could not match the speed of his mother’s stride for much longer than a quick burst of energy could propel him, so even when he was let down to pad by himself, it was never for very long. The last time his paws touched the ground had been only a short stint, for he immediately began to follow a delicious scent trail and was nabbed again by his mother, despite his whined protest. He wriggled in Naniko’s arms for a moment, wanting to follow the scent and sniff out whatever creature it was that smelled like dung and straw, but, being only a little guy, he soon ran low on energy again and stopped struggling. Feeling the comforting balm of his mother’s arms, he drifted off to sleep.
When the pup’s crimson eyes opened again he was in a comparatively different place and he did not like it one bit. He peered around at the inside of the basket with disapproval. He was used to being carried this way, and when he was sleepy it made little difference to him, for he was always still close to his mother. But now he could hear the most interesting of sounds outside; shuffling and shifting and voices. Gleeful, joyous, sly; they were all enticing.
He gaped a long yawn and shook off the last remnants of sleep when a hand had reached into the basket to check on himself and his slumbering comrade. It was not his mother, but by now it had become just as familiar, and through family bonds the cub felt just as connected to his aunt Selene. He was rather fond of Aunt Sele’s hands, for she walked upon them and they always carried strange, new, and interesting scents. When the digits neared his face, he inched forward and nosed at her fingers, sniffing and licking Selene’s hand.
The babe stood up inside the basket but there was no room to stretch. He snorted his displeasure then nosed at Juju’s red fur – his cousin was still out like a light. Sighing, he nosed at the top of the basket, throwing his forepaws over the edge and standing on his hind legs. His tongue lolled out of his mouth with his happy grin as he looked at all the Luperci that had gathered, and soon he had wriggled his way out of the basket and onto solid ground.
He shook out his fur as though to rid himself of the last dregs of sleep, then trotted, tail wagging, over to the nearest unfamiliar Luperci; Harlowe. The man was enthralled with whatever they were talking about; Scorpius heard his mother’s words but hadn’t listened to their meaning, too interested in Harlowe to worry about the boring business the adults discussed. The scent of the man was familiar and in some ways resembled his own, and was even more like Naniko’s; he instantly liked this man. Grinning, he circled behind Harlowe and to his other side, sidling up close to him. Then the man said something, and whatever it meant, it sounded important, so in answer, while settling down on his rump and leaning against Harlowe, Scorpius echoed, “Mother, I will follow you to the end of the earth.”