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She was caught in her own thoughts, unable to escape as the younger wolf approached her. She pounded out a steady rhythm in the wood as she considered all of her options. She should tell Dawali how she felt and not deny it...because the odd little nervous moments and fluttering in her chest was getting to be too much to bear. If she got his answer now and took it for what it was, yes or no, then everything could be over with and she could either be happy with it or move on. But in the very same moment that she made that decision, Ember went back on it. She couldn't tell him.
Ember wanted to make this place livable, and knew that Hemming and Dawali were already working on it. She wanted to move to this little village and set up in one of the houses. They were unfinished at the moment, but maybe one or two would be ready by winter time.
Startled out of her thoughts, the dark wolf stopped with her pounding and looked downward. She was a rather tall and lanky female, and the youth was a good ways away, down on the ground. He looked happy enough, not scared or defensive...he wasn't a new member, was he? "Hello, dear. Have you come to Aniwaya seeking something?" She asked, unsure if he was a visitor or if he was already a member. She did not recognize Gotham for who he was, he had grown so much since the last time she'd seen him.
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Gotham pranced through the tall grass as if he were a deer hopping around. It was hard to see where he was going, because the stalks of the grass went over his head, and he didn't know this place at all. Each bounding step he took gave him just a tiny glimpse of what was around him. The boy had slept in this morning, after staying up to bask in the beautiful night and to listen to Urma's stories, and by now it must have been close to noon. As the sun lifted higher into the sky it seemed to get hotter and hotter. The boy's big pink tongue bounced around out the side of his mouth as he jumped through the grass, and though his back was getting to be quite warm it was a nice relief to find that the vegetation hid him quite nicely and the soil beneath his paws was pleasantly cool.
Eventually, buildings came into view. They looked nothing like the manor that he was accustomed to, though, and he stopped in his tracks for just a moment as the tall grasses gave way to much more manoeuvrable vegetation. He knew there was another pack that lived here, and that his aunt was part of it, and that was part of the reason that he had wandered over. This little village was unexpected, but exciting in its unfamiliarity! With a grin and a little giggle, the pup started to bound in the direction from which came a rather curious noise.
Soon enough he came upon the source of the noise, a wolf that had fur much like his own and a hammer that she was hitting against some strange structure. It was very possible that this wolf was Auntie Ember, but Gotham didn't want to just ask straight out. Instead, he moved up to the thing she was hitting from the opposite side and sniffed the top. After a couple moments of staring at the black female from over the top of the structure he moved around its side to face her. "Hello," he said cheerfully, "What are you doing?"
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Ithen made this! ♥
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[html] http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/ ... _horse.gif); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> ahhh crap, I modified my last post with this XD instead of adding a new one. oh wells. XD just remember how it started ><
She was caught in her own thoughts, unable to escape as the younger wolf approached her. She pounded out a steady rhythm in the wood as she considered all of her options. She should tell Dawali how she felt and not deny it...because the odd little nervous moments and fluttering in her chest was getting to be too much to bear. If she got his answer now and took it for what it was, yes or no, then everything could be over with and she could either be happy with it or move on. But in the very same moment that she made that decision, Ember went back on it. She couldn't tell him.
Ember wanted to make this place livable, and knew that Hemming and Dawali were already working on it. She wanted to move to this little village and set up in one of the houses. They were unfinished at the moment, but maybe one or two would be ready by winter time.
Startled out of her thoughts, the dark wolf stopped with her pounding and looked downward. She was a rather tall and lanky female, and the youth was a good ways away, down on the ground. He looked happy enough, not scared or defensive...he wasn't a new member, was he? "Hello, dear. Have you come to Aniwaya seeking something?" She asked, unsure if he was a visitor or if he was already a member. She did not recognize Gotham for who he was, he had grown so much since the last time she'd seen him.
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The boy's blue eyes peered up at the female's green ones, and for a moment he was reminded of his mother. He was pretty sure that his Auntie Ember was his papa's sister, though, not his mama's, and so he discarded the idea as irrelevant. She seemed to have his mother's black fur, too, so maybe he was actually mixed up on the whole relationship tree he had crafted in his head. This wolf didn't have an Italian accent, though, which he would have expected for his mother's sister. Anyway, she seemed nice enough, and even said something that was akin to offering him help. The pup liked that, and wagged his tail as she spoke.
He thought for a moment about how to phrase his response. Gotham was sort of looking for his aunt, and sort of on just a random adventure to a place he was sure was friendly. After a moment of constant tail wagging, he grinned and replied, "Mam, I'm just a-lookin' fer my aunt." He cast a quick glance to the well that she had been working on, and added, "Anyway, what're ya doin'?" It was quite a curious noise that she had been making, and Gotham liked to know what was going on all the time anyway. This place seemed very strange, very different at least, and after he learned what this female was working on he might go take a look around. Maybe she would even know where his aunt was!
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Ithen made this! ♥
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Oh, he'd asked her a question! She had completely bypassed it before, still stuck in her thoughts, but now she answered it hastily. "Making a little edge onto this well so that a puppy won't fall in. It's pretty deep and has some water down at the bottom. There's a bucket down there that the pup could get into, I suppose, but I don't want to take any chances." The last time she had tried explaining something to a pup she had been far too detailed and precise...she hoped that he would understand.
He did look a bit like the boy she had held those months ago, but this wolf was much bigger than she would have expected that little puppy to have grown in this much time. How fast did pups grow? She had been around Tayui's pups, but they had seemed to grow slowly. Maybe it was because she'd been around them nearly every day. "What's your aunt look like? And her name? I can try and help you find her...it's not good for a puppy to be wandering around. I've heard of some bad things happening to pups"
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He listened carefully to her words, his gaze wandering to the strange structures. The boy was glad to hear that she was doing it well, because that seemed critical to the whole puppy-not-falling-in thing. That the adult had mentioned the thing's name was lost on the pup, but he at least thought he understood her explanation. There must be a hole inside this little fence type thing, with water and a bucket. But why? Gotham's eyes turned to the ground and he stared intensely for a moment, trying to work out a reason. He gave up after a couple of moments, and looked back up to ask, "But why is there water en a bucket down there? Did someone drop 'em in by accident?" That would be sad, because if it was very deep it wouldn't be very easy to get them out. That was probably why they were still down there, too, and this lady was just making sure that a puppy didn't get dropped down there by accident because a puppy was more important than a bucket or water. The very thought of being in that dark place forever made the boy a little nervous, and he shuffled a little farther from the big structure and the supposed hole.
Not good to be wandering around? Gotham folded his ears back a little, feeling a tinge of guilt. He was strong and brave, but he wouldn't be able to protect himself from something really big if it tried to eat him, and then his sisters would be sad. For a moment the boy merely peered at the other with wide eyes, as if she would assure him everything was okay and he didn't need to feel bad that he had wandered around by himself, away from his house. He collected his thoughts, though, and realized he didn't know much at all about his aunt. Giving a little thoughtful hum, he said, "Her name is Auntie Ember." A little smile pulled on his lips. If she was asking for names, she must know a lot of the wolves that lived around here, and she could help him find his aunt. His tail thumped on the ground as he thought about meeting her, finally! His regret of sneaking around disappeared. As for the first question, he had purposely ignored it, as he didn't even know what his auntie looked like.
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Ithen made this! ♥
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Ember hadn't even known that the Aston pups had been in danger when Dawali had crawled back to the packlands, bleeding and injured. She had managed to patch him up with his own help, him telling her what herbs to use and how, after he had gone out and fought with the wolf who had attacked the Aniwayan members. She didn't know exactly what had happened with the bigger wolf and the puppies, only that a Dahlia de Mai wolf had weakened him before Dawali had finished him off.
She could have laughed at his response but she tried not to, turning her laughter into a slight cough. He was serious? The bucket was down there to get the water out for drinking. "We get the water out with the bucket--it's attached to this rope" She picked up the rope, then pulled on it, bringing the bucket up.
It was him. Ember couldn't believe that she hadn't realized it earlier, that he was her nephew. Amata had been around the same size, hadn't she? She inspected him carefully, looking him over. He had to be Gotham. "You're Gotham Phoenix, right? It's me! It's Ember Phoenix---I mean..Auntie Ember!"
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As soon as she illustrated the use of the bucket it seemed to make sense, but he still didn't know where the water came from! He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought, staring intensely at the ground once more. Maybe there was an underground lake, there, just like Rabbit Lake but covered in dirt and stuff, and the wolves just dug a hole into it so they could get at the water. That kind of made sense, but he didn't know if there was even such a thing as underground lakes. Gotham would have to ask someone about that, and so he took the opportunity now. "But where does the water come from?" His ears leaned back the slightest bit, the pup feeling just a wee bit guilty for asking so many questions. But these things needed answers!
Oh, so he had found his aunt! He squealed a little in delight, wagging his tail and shaking his behind from side to side. "Auntie!" he yipped, grinning. She even looked kind of like him! And they had the same last name! "I been a-lookin' all over fer ya!" It wasn't quite true, but he had come an awful long way. What luck it was that the first wolf he had run into was one that shared his blood. He would learn that there quite a few out there that were related to him, and he was very lucky in this regard. Many puppies only had some of their family around, but Gotham was surrounded by them. He had yet to meet some of his cousins, and he didn't even know that more were on the way. It would be so fun to play with all of them! A family reunion might just be in order, and perhaps he would ask his mama or papa if he could invite the rest of his family over. Amata and Cambria would probably like that, too!
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Ithen made this! ♥
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She was horrible with pups. She tried to think of a way to explain herself; all of this seemed so natural to her that she wasn't used to having to explain it to someone who didn't know about it. She wanted to teach Noir the ways of the tribe, but she couldn't even teach Gotham about the well? She sighed and frowned in frustration, trying to find the right words. She could explain things to adults, but when it came to younger ones she had trouble finding the right words.
"There's water down there, if you dig a big enough hole. The humans left the hole and the bucket in there when they died, so we use it now. It's good, but I wonder if it'll freeze in winter-time. Do you have wells in Crimson Dreams?" She asked. His reaction to her name made her smile and her tail wagged slowly back and forth as she spoke. "I saw Amata a few weeks ago, she came up to see Noir and Oceane. I taught her about speaking with animals."
She knelt back down to pick up her nails and the bottom of her sheathed sword scraped the ground. She didn't normally take it off, but it would be alright to do so for a few minutes so that she could get things picked up. She wanted to spend some time with Gotham, but she didn't want anyone else to stumble upon and step on these nails. She unclipped the sword sheath from her belt, laying it down on the ground beside her and starting to pick the nails up.
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There was just water in there, that lived in the earth? Or had the humans put it down there? Maybe in a little while the water would all die out because the humans weren't putting any more in. Or maybe they would have little water babies and there would always be water in there and it would just get fuller and fuller. Either way it was a little odd, and just the mention of dead humans made him shiver a little! Gotham shook his head at her question and replied, "No wells."
Gotham didn't really know who Oceane and Noir were, but he knew that Amata had seen Auntie Ember a while ago. Speaking with animals! He didn't think he had heard that one. The boy knew it was possible to speak to them, because he did it all the time, but he didn't know they could talk back. That would be very strange indeed!
He was about to ask when he spotted the sword that Ember was putting on the ground. Gotham knew that it was a sword and that it was for protecting someone from someone else because Jazper had one, and had explained all about it. With a little yip, the ebony boy exclaimed, "You have a sa-word, too!"
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Ithen made this! ♥
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She had gotten some experience from watching over Tayui's pups, but not enough. She had only seen them off-and-on and had mostly been around during mealtimes or when they were being put to bed. It was one of the main things that Ember really had no idea about, puppies were. She didn't know if she wanted any of her own some day or not, if she would make a good mother. She didn't want to be cooped up inside a den 24/7--that would drive her mad.
"Hm? My sword?" She reached to pick it up, sliding it from the sheath so that he could see it. "Shiny, huh. I polish it sometimes...I haven't had to use it on a wolf yet, but I can if I need to. The broad side of it might be good for spanking naughty puppies, too...hmmm..." She paused. "Just kidding. You've heard of swords before? I have more than just this sword...I have a couple of other weapons back at my den"
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Time is going too fast, James D:
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Ember approached the idea of a sword in a slightly more scary manner than Jazper did. As she pulled the shining thing from its sheath, the boy gasped a little in awe. It was so wonderfully shiny! He took a couple of tentative steps forward to get a better look at it, his azure eyes moving up and down its edge. He was amazed by its robustness, the sharpness and straightness of its edges, but mostly he was intrigued by the way it seemed to have a light of its own, emanating from within. Gotham was immensely curious, but when the other ebony wolf mentioned that she hadn't had to use it on someone else he simpered a bit, taking a couple of small, nervous steps backwards. Her next phrase was even more frightful, and he took two bigger steps back. Spanking naughty puppies? Gotham was no naughty puppy, he promised. He would never do anything naughty, either. The boy stared at the scary sword-weilding wolf with wide eyes. Her statement that she was only kidding was lost on his muddled brain as he scanned his memory for anything he had ever done wrong. Auntie Ember was scary! And she had a sword, which made her even more scary but also maybe just a little bit cool.
Standing a few puppy steps away now, he listened to Ember as she explained that she had more weapons. His ears flicked back for a second. Do not show fear! he urged himself. Quietly, he said, "Jazper has a sword," as if to explain why he knew what they were. If it came down to it, the big black male would protect him. Another thought crossed Gotham's mind, then, as he thought about the wolves that had swords. Were all black wolves supposed to have swords? His mum didn't have one, as far as he knew, but maybe she hid it from him. Perhaps one day the little boy would have one, too.
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Ithen made this! ♥
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Maybe she had gone too far with the joke about naughty puppies. She wouldn't really ever hit a puppy...not even if it was being really bad. She didn't like the idea of causing a puppy pain. They would recieve enough pain as they grew up, got older. Emotional pain, physical pain, mental pain...she'd had her fair share of all of those. She wanted pups to stay like pups forever...to be little, innocent things.
"You want to come back and see what else I have? I have some little things that you could even learn to weild" If he did ever meet someone who wanted to hurt him, then he could defend himself. She did know Jazper...she hadn't had a very good encounter with him in the past. Maybe he'd changed. "I met Jazper once...he tried to fight with me for being in Crimson Dreams, when I'd been invited there. But he didn't know that...so I guess it was okay for him to do that. But do you want something like that? You don't have to use it if you don't want, but I could show you how just in case."
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The boy listened with wide eyes as Ember offered to show him other things. That sounded kind of like a bad idea, if she had more weapons that she could beat him with! He cowered a little, but his curiousity got the best of him. Nodding gently, he brought up a second concern, "But I has no hands." That was certainly something that would inhibit his ability to wield the other things, unless she had a special thing for puppies. Gotham didn't want to hurt anything, because that was mean, but he liked the shininess of the sword. Maybe she had a puppy sword, one that was not so heavy that he couldn't carry it!
He was sad to hear that Jazper and Ember had fought, but surely he was just protecting Crimson Dreams and didn't know that Auntie Ember was allowed to be there. She was kind of scary, after all! But she seemed not completely mean, so it was possible she wasn't going to the mansion to punish guilty puppies. Another scary thought - what if she heard Gotham did something bad? Would she come all the way over? Maybe he should learn how to do some of this, so if she did come he could do more than hide and actually protect himself! The idea sounded rather clever, and finally coming out of his protective stance he jumped up and said, "Yus!" The one he wanted to protect himself from would teach him how to do it, how wonderful! He would know all her tricks.
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Ithen made this! ♥
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She hadn't shifted for a while, until she'd been almost a year old. It was something odd about the woman, but perhaps something that ran in their family. She didn't know what age they were actually supposed to do it, so she hadn't had a reference...but it appeared that it was at an age much younger than a year. Hers had hurt the first time, but had become progressively easier each time after that. Shifting was the easiest thing in the world for her to do now.
Ember was glad that he had accepted her offer and started back toward her den, which was not very far away. During the short walk she spoke of the sky, of the clouds and then of the grasses and bugs. She didn't like most insects, annoying little things, but there were a few that could be admired.
"There it is, up there." She pointed with one clawed finger toward her roomy den, a giant hole carved in the ground beneath a big dogwood bush. She entered it on her hands and knees then stood up when she got inside, poking at the fire a bit to get it going again.
The large black wolf then turned to the back of the den, where her things were hanging. "Once you learn how to shift, these will be easier for you to hold. But you can carry them around with you until then, to get used to having it on you at all times. What kind do you think that you would want? I have ones that are like...long sticks with blades on them, short little blades, bows and arrows, little knives..."
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Gotham really, really liked bugs, and though he bored slightly when Ember spoke of the sky and clouds, the moment she mentioned bugs his eyes lit up and he was eager to add his comments. His favourite were the dragonflies, and he knew that his sisters liked butterflies the best, and Cambria even had a pet butterfly that Amata gave her! At first the boy didn't believe that caterpillars could turn into butterflies, but by now that had been shown to him and though unbelievable, he believed it. Auntie Ember was not so scary when she talked about these things, and all of Gotham's unease dissipated. He grinned and bounced as they walked.
He scuttled into her den after her, staring around in awe when he saw all the things hanging on the back wall. She had all sorts of things! Where in the world did she get them all? Maybe she was cooler than Jazper, because Gotham was fairly certain he had only one sword. He could sing, though, could Auntie Ember do that? Those thoughts aside, what kind of thing did he want? Could he really carry them around? Eyeing the sword that hung around the female's waist, Gotham replied, "I wan' somethin' really big en shiny." He nodded briskly and definitively, making it clear that whatever he was to settle for most certainly had to fulfil those definitions.
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Ithen made this! ♥
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She went immediately to the back, pulling several of the larger weapons from the wall. Which one did she want to show him first? She had puppy-whackers of all shapes and sizes, and couldn't decide what one he might be most interested in. Something big and shiny? Hmm. Ember grabbed a bow and some arrows off the wall, turning back to the youngster. "It might not seem like much, but I'm going to start with a basic bow and arrows. The arrows are pretty shiny, on the top..."
She put it on the ground in front of him, pulling the string back a little to demonstrate its elasticity. "It takes some strength to be able to use it correctly, to pull it back with enough force...but that applies to all of these weapons. They all take some strength to use."
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