The young she-yote hadn’t been in Nova Scotia long before she realized that this was where her life would change immensely. For better or worse, she had no clue. But it was exciting enough to think that perhaps she might get a chance to start over…to forget her dark past.
She did know, however, that Nova Scotia was the place where many canines came in search of something new. While the land wasn’t very new itself, it held a sort of whimsy that only certain places possessed. Ester’s golden eyes flickered about as she struggled to take in every single detail, while the excitement bubbled up in her furry little chest. Even though she wasn’t a yearling anymore, she could certainly still act like one at times.
Poking her nose in a bit of underbrush, the she-yote sniffed about for a quick snack, flicking her tail nonchalantly when she found no vermin. No problem, she thought, I’ll find something elsewhere. And with that, she trotted along, her tail swishing exuberantly behind her as she snaked over the rocky terrain.
The day was young, and Andara was set on exploring. She strode through the forest on four legs today, having spent much of the morning filling her stomach with as many small rodents as she could find. Three little rats, as it had turned out. Enough to fill her small stomach for a while, at least. She would find something larger later.
Full and content, the scrawny hybrid padded lazily along the base of this new mountain. It was green and lush, a handsome sight. Sadly the past months had brought nothing but mountains into her life, and she hated them now. But Andara knew that things lived on mountains. Maybe some canines did, too. By now, her hopes of finding her long lost bodyguard were failing, but she would still try.
The scent that she came upon was female, though. Still, she was interested. When her feet brought her closer, she observed a coyote, young and lithe. Andara's tail waggled at the sight, but she quickly stopped it, leaving it flat behind her. The other girl was much older, but the Ethiopian thought that she looked closer to her own age than any others she'd met so far. Barking out a greeting, Andara's own slim body moved to close some of the large distance between them, cautious and curious.
"Hello," she called out, trying to sound older than she was, "do you live here?" Would she want to live with coyotes? She tried to think about all of the coyotes she'd met. Most of them had been nice enough, and she envied their large ears and soft fur. Her own was unkempt and matted from travel. One of her small ears twitched as she watched the stranger. Coyotes don't seem so bad, she concluded after a moment.
Word Count → 000
so sorry... internet is still sporadic here ; ; i hope this is okay. <3
It was the smallest of voices, it seemed, that stirred Ester from her hunt. And it was probably a good thing too, for her mind was beginning to wander, and when it did that…well, it tended to gravitate toward strange places. Her bat-like ears swiveled toward the source of the voice, and then her head turned, her honey-toned eyes falling on the figure of a small she-wolf. Ester smiled – she was quite cute, really.
Hello little one! she chirped in her typical happy-to-be-alive tone. Then the girl’s question registered in the thick space between the she-yotes ears and she tilted her head. No, no, she said, almost pondering her answer, I don't live here. Do YOU live here?
Her pensive expression suddenly melted away to make room for her trademark grin, something that she had come to perfect over the course of her lifetime. With her fluffed tail swishing behind her, Ester continued to watch the little canine, studying her features and nearly committing them to memory. Then the motherly instinct inside her made her wonder where her parents were, and her grin dissolved just as her pensiveness had. Are you alone? she suddenly asked, not permitting much time for the girl to answer her first question. Wouldn’t it be a tragedy if she was? she thought. No youngling deserves to experience the rigors of life so soon – or at least, that’s how Ester felt.
Shifting her weight from one paw to the other, the she-yote tipped her head forward and sniffed at the wolf, searching for any traces of an adult of some kind. She had many a’ smell clinging to her plush coat, but none that she could clearly decipher. Finally, drawing her head back, she stuck a smile on her slender muzzle in a ‘go-ahead’ way, curious as to what she might have to say.
Andara hadn't been quite sure what to expect out of the coyote's mouth, but her words came out quickly and excitedly. The Ethiopian girl stared, blinking before she scrunched up her face into a frown. "I'm not so little! she insisted, hating that she was. The stranger didn't live here, and glancing around, Andy decided that she didn't want to, either. "No," she replied with a flick of her ragged tail. "Where do you live, then?" Andara wanted to find out more about these packs that peppered the area; maybe this girl belonged to one of them.
Pale lilacs watched warily as the older girl sniffed at her, and Andy allowed herself one quick sniff, too. The rust-colored child found nothing too interesting, and the coyote seemed nice enough. "Maybe I am... why does it matter? I can fend for myself just fine, you know," she replied, bristling. I've survived just fine so far, she told herself, trying to ignore the familiar hunger pangs in her stomach.
The pup’s defiant nature was quite amusing to the young coyote, and a grin to portray such amusement suddenly spread across Ester’s features. She reminded her of a younger version of herself; full of spunk and determination. Unfortunately she’d lost that over time, but there were still instances where it would peek through.
I don’t really live…anywhere, she said in answer to the pup’s first question. Then, taking on a rather dramatic air, she added, I lay my head wherever Mother Nature permits me, only to wake and follow the wind the next day. She pressed the back of her paw to her forehead in a mock-swoon, and then peeked at the she-wolf out of the corner of her eye with a smirk. Finally, she lowered her paw and gave her tail a happy swish.
I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, my dear, Ester then said, her smile ever-present. You seem very tough and able. But doesn’t it get…lonely?
Ester couldn’t help but find her own question rather ironic – the young coyote was the epitome of loneliness. But for a pup, she imagined it had to be much worse. A motherly instinct that she’d never fully experienced before swelled inside her then, and her smile softened to a look of sympathy.
The stranger was a wanderer like herself, Andara quickly realized; probably a loner, too. Bright lilacs stared at the girl, face unchanging at her dramatics. She didn't like being laughed at. But the coyote's tail swayed pleasantly, and even the young hybrid knew her body posture was non-threatening. Still, Andy remained tense.
"That's silly," she replied finally. "If there was a real Mother Nature, she wouldn't care where we slept!" Her conclusion seemed flawless, since Andara had never had any encounters with Mother Nature.
Since losing her guardian, the russet Ethiopian had little motivation but to find him, and to survive. She had done at least one of those, and now his whereabouts were the least of her worries. Still, Andara felt her face fall and grow hot at the mention of loneliness. Of course it does, she thought, hating that it was true. But what was she to do? Her age and size had made her struggle only to live, and such a thing required all of her time. Her only companions had been the woods and the insects, or sometimes the kindly canine noticing her grief and taking her in. "I guess, sometimes," she decided to reply with a roll of her bony shoulders, sliding forward with slowly and settling closer to the woman.
It was nice to talk to someone again, but Andy was wary to trust anyone again after Percival. He had seemed nice enough, too, but now he was gone. The recent abandonment still hurt, but she just sighed heavily and let it go, turning her vibrant purples to the mountainside. A breeze rolled through and she tried to focus its scent instead.
Oh my heavens...I'm ASHAMED at how late this is. A thousand apologies - I can officially promise you you won't have to wait this long ever again!
Ester chuckled at the pup's response to her jest, however unexpected the reaction may have been. But the distaste only grew stronger, she could see, as a familiar sadness clouded the girl's eyes and caused her to remain rather quiet. Ester lowered to the ground, curling her tail around her slender legs as her ears mimicked her posture by flattening against her head. Perhaps, it seemed, that this was a good time to change the subject.
As if on cue, Ester's stomach rumbled to alert anyone who cared to listen that it was quite empty. The she-yote's ears perked again, her expression almost bewildered at what would obviously seem rather natural to most. Then she turned her head to smile at the pup, her tail lifting in an exhuberant wiggle again as she asked, Have you eaten yet, dear? Whether or not she had didn't entirely matter, for Ester wished to bring the pup along on a hunt as more of an opportunity to teach her rather than feed her. Of course, the thought did cross the coyote's mind that this pup probably learned rather quickly how to find food on her own, but if that was the case then perhaps they could teach each other?
