and i know that i'm no king
#1
I haven't the foggiest how to join OOCly with packs, but my information should already be on file, blah blah blah. Tongue Set in the Mansion. I did a little reading of your threads also, James, so I've gotten the gist of what Salem's been up to and etc so yay. Nice to see that he was included in meeting some folks. ;D
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Out of all of his siblings, he had been the one who purposely kept close to his mother. It wasn't because the world was a scary place, or that it was often too cold for his liking to venture around in anyway, but rather because at his age, he didn't see the point in always running in the other direction than she was going in. He thought himself a good boy. In turn, Salem had already learned things that he believed his siblings hadn't so in his own form of twisted sibling rivalry, he was the favourite, the most obedient, and the most educated. Even if they all got their time to learn things, he had done them first in his mind.



But these were mostly thoughts in his head as he wandered through the quiet halls and rooms of the mansion. He preferred to be the quiet child, observing the world around him instead. His baby blues—still too young for them to make their colouration transition—studied each and every contour of each and every thing he could and couldn't see. He had come to the kitchen after fruitless, uncounted minutes of mental adventures, but not out of hunger. No, Salem was admiring the old counters for a moment. The brass handles on the drawers. The way the light filtered in through a window over a deep sink basin. He paused in the warm sunlight that had broken through the colds for a moment, and a yawn split his ebony-haired face in two.

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#2
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Yes! I figured that it would make it a little easier, since all the other pups are going around and meeting new people too :] And I've put you in to be titled up ^^



Now that the little ones were running around on their own more, Naniko had found that she had an excess of free time on her hands. It felt unnatural, to be able to choose what she wanted to do. Should she hang out with Anu? Go and visit Iskata and her pups? Or maybe she could go hunting or fishing. There were so many options! She didn't mind taking a pup or two along with her most days, but having all four of them had been pretty tiresome. She still worried about them every once in a while, but so far they hadn't been getting into much trouble. Not that she'd heard of, anyway.

"Hold still--you have to be completely still or I can't help you." She held her patient still, trying to speak in a softer, more gentle tone. The fox kit didn't look pleased, but sat still and held his paw back out to her. "I told you the last time that if you kept wandering around the city like your mother had, that you'd get hurt." She reminded it. She'd helped his particular fox's mother a few weeks before, when she had gotten a piece of broken glass stuck in her paw. The two were sitting on the sheet-covered couch inside the main living room of the mansion, Naniko's supplies spread out next to her on the cushions.

It had a broken paw, and she knew that it had to be painful...but if he didn't keep it still she wouldn't be able to wrap it up right. Then it would heal at a strange angle.



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#3
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By the time he had finished yawning and fell back on his spry haunches, a voice picked up from another room. Salem listened in at that point, recognising the gentle lilt of his mother's voice. What was she prattling on about? Furrowing his brows with a mixture of curiosity and concern, he rocked forward and started off, padding steadily out of the streaming sunlight and back into the shadows of the kitchen before wandering back out to the mess of hallways. His toenails clicked as he followed both his ears and his nose, and eventually came to the room where his mother was.



But he didn't venture in just yet. Instead he peered around the corner, letting his cheek rest against the doorjam as he made a squinty face at what it was his inversely-coloured parent was doing. He eyed the fox after that, letting the squinty expression wander off of his face as he tried to figure out just what it was. Definitely a canine, roughly about the same size as he was, if not a bit bigger. Had his mother had another kid on him that he didn't know about? It looked like it could have been one of his siblings and the thought that maybe someone else was getting undivided attention from his mother sent a pang of pain through his heart.



Pacing into the room rather quickly and as quietly as he could, he marched right up to Naniko teary-eyed, more hurt than angry that she was paying attention to that other puppy. Peering up at the diligently working adult in perhaps the most pathetic expression he could muster without trying, he let out a choked, squeaky whine for her affections. He could have verbally nagged her with a chorus and encore of “Mommy!” but she got enough of that from his siblings. A maternal figure would always react to the sound of a young child over a young child who had a mastery of words.

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#4
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<3 This is kind of like the fox and the hound o_o


She didn't really know how a family was supposed to work; all that Naniko had ever known was dysfunction. After her mother and father had left she had tried to live with Physe and make a life with him there, but she hadn't been able to stop missing Roman and Kaelyn. She'd gone out looking for them at night and had fallen off of an overhanging ledge on a cliff, breaking her leg. That was when Iskata had found her and taken her to Clouded Tears. A few months later Iskata had left her, though, as well.

Her large fingers fumbled with the bandage for a moment and the fox pulled backwards, but she kept her other hand firmly wrapped around the upper part of its leg. In a few moments it was all over, the creature panting and looking around, then back up at her. The werewolves had become slightly humanized, living in houses and using old human tools and medicine, and she'd almost forgotten that some creatures were still very wild. And untrusting.

The kit growled, backing up so that the back of the couch was behind him, staring down at the pup with wide amber eyes. "Oh, Salem...you're scaring him." She was mostly worried for the pup's safety; who knew what a frightened fox might do to a wolf pup. "And you." She picked up the red creature carefully by its scruff, putting it over on the other cushion. It gave her an apologetic look and the growl rumbled down to a low, indescernable sound, but went back to watching the dark pup just as intently as before.

Naniko turned her attention back to her boy, shrugging. "Wilder creatures are unpredictable, son. Sometimes they settle back down...but sometimes they go for the attack. Don't want you getting hurt."Then the thought occurred to her. Maybe he hadn't come across a fox yet. "Have you ever seen an animal like this one before?"


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#5
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knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key

She stopped what she was doing long enough to pay attention to him, but at the cost of the orange creature backing up and growling at him. This action didn't scare him, but almost drew a growl of his own out, if it weren't for the fact that Naniko more or less reprimanded him on the spot. So indeed, he couldn't help but feel the hurt snake all the way back across his softening features. Apparently, whatever that thing was, wasn't a wolf at all. Some sort of creature. Monster! His thoughts collided his eyes drifted away from Naniko to the animal, leaving him to eye it. A wild animal may as well have been a monster, but by that logic and without him knowing anything, so was he.



He was perfectly content with staring at the critter through the rest of her advising, but had to draw his gaze to her when she asked him a question. From his place on the floor, he shook his head, and promptly rose up on his hind legs, using one foot to hold himself steady as he leaned against the couch, while the other reached out to paw her sadly. He hadn't seen that orange canine before in his life and all he wanted was her attention. As if to get that point across (and to spite the being that had been soaking up her attention moments before), his little tail wagged with a happy sort of determination.

but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny
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#6
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PPing him being picked up, if that's okay with you


Things had settled down at least a little bit, though the two creatures were still looking at each other intently. She figured that Salem would have to meet the other animals of the world eventually, so why not now, when she was here? She had gotten into so much trouble when she'd been younger...and though she knew Salem was the least likely to follow in her footsteps in that aspect, it was almost certain that he would run into something unfamiliar like this in the future.

"Wasssssit doing?" The kit, Meerda, asked her, trying to back up further as Salem put his paw up on her. Naniko reached down to pick the pup up from the floor, settling him on her lap. "He wants up here, with us." The fox looked skeptical (if she was deciphering her expression correctly) but stayed on the other cushion. It tried to speak to Salem in small squeaks. "You are her baby? I has mother too."

"This fox lives in the forest, just like we do. It has its own den, just like our cave...and it lives with its parents like you do. Maybe you could become friends someday. Her paw is broken now, though, so she should be resting." She wasn't sure how much he knew about the concept of broken bones, or that wolves even had an internal structure at all. But there was always time to teach them. Naniko was hoping that, in the future, one of the pups might show interest in learning about herbs. Then when she passed on to the next world there would still be someone here to take care of everyone's injuries. "Maybe we should go out for a walk. We could take Meerda home."


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#7
I'm fine with any powerplaying as long as it doesn't involve Naniko swinging him around by his tail or death. Tongue
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knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key

Victory! His tail wag a brief, but triumphant wag as Naniko lifted him of of the floor and into her lap. Salem could not help but beam a broad, tight-lipped smile at his mother, so happy to be the centre of her attention (at least for the moment). That very attention was drawn away by the fox making noise at him, and his head whipped around so quickly that Salem lost his own sense of balance for a moment. But he didn't answer her, only stared. Before too long, Naniko was explaining just what it was that this fox thing was, talking about how it lived outside and in a cave.



If it was actually one thing that Salem wasn't overly fond of, it was outside. There was snow, and snow was cold, wet, and among other things, it made him naturally miserable because he wasn't much bigger than the drifts that had already started to collect against the shadowy side of the mansion. Yet he needed not to worry about it too much, because he didn't really stray out of the places where everyone else had been—where the snow was mashed flat—but he was on occasion, curious. Curiosity killed the cat and curiosity had accidentally buried Salem in a snow pile one morning.



That aside, he merely peered up at his mother expectantly when she mentioned taking the intrusion (at least that's how he viewed this strange fox) home. Walks were okay in his book, because he would be a brave little boy and follow his mother wherever she wanted to go, whenever she wanted to go. Twisting around in Naniko's lap, he joyfully and perhaps immaturely messed up her fur, but attempted to be oh so much more cuter than he was any other time. A dead give away that he probably didn't approve of her divvying up her attention, given that he more or less tried to pull the same stunt around his siblings. Roll around, make cute faces… whole nine yards. Whether or not it ever worked was generally forgotten by him; his siblings were a lot more vocal and rambunctious than he was.

but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny
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#8
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They should make snow-wolves on the way back or something xD


It would snow much more before the end of the winter, but she felt that the mansion was pretty secure. The only thing that she did worry about was the pups getting bored inside...but if they ever did get snowed in, she could take the time to teach them something new. Maybe one of them would want to learn how to read, or practice hunting techniques. Right now they had a whole pack supporting them with their kills, but someday soon they would have to learn how to do it all for themselves.

"Excited, hmm? I'll take that as a yes." Naniko laughed at his antics, snuggling him closer to her for a moment. "Then we should get started! After that maybe we can find something to do around the house. Something that'll be really fun" She moved to stand up, putting him back down onto the floor and looking to the fox. "You've got to come, too." She looked around for a moment before seeing what she had been looking for, a spotted towel, and picked it up. She wrapped the small creature up in it carefully, holding her in her arms and heading for the door. The kit was already very thin, and the broken paw had been fairly traumatic--she didn't want her to have to walk.

"What should we do along this walk, do you think?"

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#9
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knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key

He revelled in the moment that she snuggled him close. He loved the attention that he got in those little moments, however brief they were. Salem drew in her well known scent and gurgled a sound out that was something akin to a purr. But just as soon as the affection came, it was gone, and he was pulled out of a comforting reverie as his mother righted him and placed him on the floor. For a couple of fleeting moments as she gathered the fox kit, he looked at the room bleakly and blankly, merely staring off into space until the floorboards gave away at the fact she was moving along.



He scurried out of her way and fell in behind her—frowning bitterly while her back was turned as he wanted to be the carried one—following Naniko wherever she went. His mother could have walked off of the edge of a building and he would have followed without question. Wherever she went, he generally liked to follow if he could… at least until she walked far too fast for his little feet to keep up with. At her question, Salem's face scrunched up thoughtfully for a moment, but the boy hadn't the faintest idea what they could do. So, he shrugged. Saying “I'd like to get rid of that fox thing,” wouldn't have been the right thing to say, this he knew without testing the waters first.

but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny
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#10
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slight pp?



"Alright. Well, we'll think of something. This fox lives really close to here." She started down the front steps and out onto the path that was worn into the snow. Naniko didn't mind the snow most of the time, but it made her tired when she had to break a path through it. As long as there was already a path, she was normally fine with going outside in it. Her pelt was the same color as the surroundings after a good snow, so she could catch her prey relatively quickly.

Soon enough they had reached the fox's den, and she placed the baby inside carefully, along with his covering. The mother wasn't home, but this was their den--she would probably be back soon. "Now you stay here and wait for your mother." She said, pulling her head backwards out of the den again.

She turned back toward the path they'd come from, brushing some snow off of her hands. "I think...I know a good game. But it might make us a little tired, because there aren't many paths through this snow yet. You want to hear about it anyway?" She asked.


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#11
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Always a few steps behind her, he managed getting through the snow okay without any complaints. At least sound ones, that was. But before he knew it and just his like mother said, the fox kit's den was nearby and it was deposited off, much to his relief. As they turned and headed back the way they came, he made more of an effort to keep up, hoping that on some random whim that his mother would pick him up eventually. But that was abandoned relatively easily when she mentioned playing a game.



Making a sound that sounded something like “uh-huh!” he bounded ahead of her a bit, only to fall back in stride with her. He liked games, regardless of whether or not they made him tired. Everything made Salem tired at that point, just because he was young. Getting from the den to the house after a new snow was tiring enough for him, especially when the drifts were starting to get taller than he was in a few places. Disappearing beneath that snow was quite scary, especially when it had happened to him a couple of times when he was utterly alone.
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#12
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"It's a human game--they used to play it. And my mother played it with me when I was your age" Her real mother, not Iskata. Naniko could only remember Kaelyn in bits and pieces, flashes of the past that would come back to her at odd times. She was white, just like Naniko and Brooklyn...and had the bluest eyes. "It's called Hide-and-seek."

She grinned, thinking about the game. It really was fun. She played many games with the pups, but this was one that she hadn't introduced them to yet. "One person goes off into the woods and waits...and the other one has to find them. Do you want to hide or to seek, Salem?"


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#13
D'you mind if we fade this out and have an updated thread? 'Cause I suck, pretty much.
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His eyes lit up as she spoke of the game she wanted them to play, the simple fact that it was a human game made it all the more interesting. Had they been in any other situation, he may have even cast her an incredulous look when she spoke of being little — why, it couldn't have been! His mother could have never been as tiny as he was! — but in that moment, it was just a detail that was cast aside.



As Naniko offered him a choice of whether to be the hide-ee or the seeker, Salem furrowed his brow momentarily in thought. Hiding sounded fun, especially because it wasn't something that he did from her that often. Seeking on the other hand, well, he spent half of his life seeking her. So there was little hesitation: “Hidin’,” he told her quietly, almost as though there were a hint of uncertainty to go with that. And there was, but not entirely tied to his answer! Pulling his eyes away from his mother, Salem had already cast them out over the snowy section ahead of them, wondering just where to hide. Where would he hide!?
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