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His tail danced around his still chubby legs as they continued to carry him across the scenery. Today his nose followed a trail that smelled of mole - he remembered the mole given to him by the Coli! And he remembered how she caught it, by deftly putting her nose close to the ground, sniffing it out and listening to it move - before plunging into the earth and pulling out her hand with live dinner in it! It had been marvelous. Oh, how he wanted to be as crafty as she. She was even related to him! Perhaps he could be as good as her, since they shared blood. It had taken the boy some time to understand this principle, of inheritance of mind and demeanor within families, and why it really mattered at all. Knowing how angry his father was, Emwe hoped he had not inherited that trait - and just by hoping for such a thing, he got what he hoped for, unknowingly.
........Face into the ground, the boy was oblivious to two things: the fact that he would be incredibly easy to escape, if one were a mole, as his loud trampling on the ground gave him away by miles and miles, and also his surroundings. His eyes eagerly scanned the ground he traversed, but he wasn't looking at the big picture. Suddenly the boy came to an involuntary halt, as he walked face first into a tree. Exclaiming a loud "Ow!", the boy then fell onto his bum, his paws reaching out in front of him to rub his nose. It wasn't pleasant at all, running into trees. No, it wasn't.
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For someone who’d never believed in the efficacy of human rituals, Alexey had grown quite fond of something called… washing. Not the washing of clothes, of course, seeing as neither she nor the boys wore garments. But having two clumsy pups in the house (each with their own bed) prompted her to wash bed sheets once in a while. Frequent were the times when they’d jump on the beds, regardless of the dirt intermingled with their coats of chocolate. Needless to say, the once spotless bedspreads were tarnished beyond salvation. The Caregiver could always get some new ones from Wolfville, but she thought it wiser to wait until her protégés were both a bit older to do so.
Today was one of the days she would dedicate to cleaning; hence why she was kneeling by the river located next to their cottage, scrubbing whatever she could off the dirty linen. Little Emwe was close by, not only could she smell him, but she could also hear his loud footsteps. The poor child had not yet developed any stealth. It wasn’t a problem, of course. Keeping an eye on him was relatively easy. Conor, on the other hand, was off somewhere. He’d taken baby fox out for a walk a little earlier, and she did not expect him back anytime soon. It pleased the Acer to see him take care of the creature; no longer was she reticent about him keeping it as a pet.
Every once in a while, she’d pause and glance over her shoulder. Just to make sure the blue-eyed boy did not stray too far away without notifying her first. As she did so, her golden-hued orbs found little Emwe just as he was about to collide into a tree. “Emwe, no!” she warned a little too late. He’d already gotten up close and personal with the trunk. The Acer froze for a moment, watching as the boy seemed to regain his composure. He seemed alright, but she called out to him nonetheless. Perhaps she could soothe his bruised ego, assuming it had been damaged in the collision. “Come here, you silly boy.”
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Alexey was doing strange things with the water and it was boring to watch, but walking into things proved to be just as boring. Or, perhaps not boring, but at least stupid. It was a stupid tree. The boy didn't cry, because it wasn't that bad, but he rubbed his nose and forehead while shooting his caretaker a concerned look, drinking the sympathy offered by the woman. And he knew how to get more. He liked being a good boy and because he was a good boy everybody liked him. And that was why everybody also were nice to him, especially when he wasn't so happy or when he walked into trees. He did have such accidents quite often, and it wasn't because he was stupid! It was because things happened to be in his way and sometimes his feet didn't do their jobs like they were supposed to do. Stupid feet, not stupid Emwe.
........His tail was wagging again when he moved over to Alexey, now knowing that the female wasn't just an angry lady. She could be pretty nice, actually! Not as nice as mommy, but almost. But that was just because mommy was the best person in the world, everyone knew that. Bumping his forehead into Alexey's arm in a clumsy way, it wasn't easy to know if he'd done it on purpose or if he was just skilled at clumsiness. The gesture was delivered with a little satisfied mewl. It didn't take that much to please him, even if he walked into tree trunks. I's not silly! I was chasing a mole like the Coli. But she didn't walk into trees. I did that. Stating the very obvious was one of his strengths. He was really, really good at that.
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Had this incident occurred a few weeks prior, the Koios girl would’ve been all over the child. But now that she’d adapted to him and his clumsy ways, handling situations such as this one came naturally. Emwe Soul had an appetite for attention that rivaled with his love of food. Needless to say, often were the times when he’d make the best out of little incidents (as was happening right now). This coincided with Alexey’s constant need to feel appreciated. What Emwe yearned for, she provided gladly. The boy closed in on the distance between them and Alexey greeted him with a few pleasant flicks of her tail.
She had to stifle a laugh as he waddled in her direction, sincerely amused with his little walk. A million explanations could’ve been at the origin of his wobbly strut, but Lexey liked to assume that early adolescence was the main cause. His legs weren’t quite proportionate to the rest of his body; they were short and stubby, as opposed to the boy’s general pudginess. It was unbelievably cute though, and Alexey suspected that he was well aware of that. His forehead collided with her arm and she willingly let go of the linens she’d been scrubbing. The river’s current wasn’t strong enough to carry them away.
“So Coli taught you how to hunt moles, did she?” The Caregiver hadn’t seen Colibri in what seemed to be forever. The Lilium’s eldest daughter, who'd been so insecure about meeting her step-brothers, had apparently risen above her fears. The tone of voice in which Emwe spoke of his fellow mole hunter denoted nothing but warmth and admiration for her, indicating that their meeting had been enjoyable at the very least. Alexey couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt as she recalled the promise she’d made the blue-eyed lady. It was she who should have initiated a meeting between brothers and sister. “Who else did you make friends with?” she questioned, lightly scratching the top of the child's head.
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Alexey was a nice person to bump into, because she was cozy and she smelled nice, almost as nice as mommy. And Emwe always got to hug her if he wanted to, he liked that. He liked hugs a lot, they were among his favourite things, but right now his very favorite thing was moles. Because they were so cool and he had never eaten one before Coli gave one to him and it was amazing! Alexey wanted to know, so he would tell her. He had many stories to tell because he was such an adventurer. I was on my own and was going to starve to death and then the Coli came and said lots of weird things and we walked a little bit and then she caught a mole like BOOM! It was just from the ground! And did you know she looks just like daddy, but daddy and me have things between our legs and she doesn't so she's a girl. His story was amazing, and hopefully Alexey would see that too.
And I met a big brown hairy Moo, and it was kind of scary but very weird and it didn't say anything even though I was polite and nice. At this, his face changed to a little disappointed one, but his wagging tail gave it away. All in all, he'd been greatly entertained by that encounter.
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Evidently, questions of the sort left room for elaborate answers. It would've been completely unlike Emwe not to seize such an opportunity, especially if gave him the chance to relay stories he'd pieced together based on his so-called adventures. He'd picked up the ability to dramatize things during his stay in Phoenix Valley, she assumed. Most specifically from his alleged kidnapper, also known as Uncle Ly. Although this resemblance bothered her some, she made no mention of it. It was always amusing to hear him share personal experiences. The way he formulated thoughts and ideas was also entertaining. Alexey took no offence when little Emwe revealed how he'd nearly starved to death, fully aware that she did a good job providing food for him and Conor. It was possible that he'd been really hungry at the time, as was the case often, but it most certainly had not been comparable to starvation!
Lexey made a note of his newfound appreciation for moles, as well as his fondness for the Lilium's illegitimate daughter. Perhaps one day, they could invite Colibri over for a nice supper consisting of roasted moles. Her maw parted to make way for words when the child's gender analysis reached her receivers. Almost instantly, she clamped it back shut. Her goal was to avoid the topic altogether, feeling quite uncomfortable discussing said "things" located between a person's legs. Emwe understood the basics, that these so-called things could help him differentiate males from females; no other information was needed. Did he know that Colibri was related to him? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but she refrained from doing so. If the blue-eyed girl hadn't told him herself, there was a reason why. "A moo?" She did not immediately understand what the boy meant, not until he elaborated futher by explaining how weird and rude the "moo" had been. "Oh, a cow? I don't think cows can speak, honey." Or if they could, it certainly wasn't in any language a wolf could understand. "I'm proud of you for being polite though!" she finally added, congratulating the boy on his good manners.
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Alexey listened to his stories. He liked that, but he also knew that she probably listened because his stories were so good. Maybe one day he would be as good as uncle Ly at telling stories, but he was getting there. In his own opinion, he already had a good hang of it, and he was certain most of his acquaintances agreed. After all, how many others had explored and adventured such as himself? He had many things to tell and talk about, and it was important that everyone heard him. They might learn something from what he shared with them. Everyone should share, and he was good at that.
His grin was wide and his tail wagged as he listened to her speak. And lo and behold, maybe she should be a detective! She already knew about Moo's! He was a little surprised at first, but then quickly concluded that she must have met it when it was around here too. She called it a 'cow' though, but he didn't take much notice of that. She claimed it couldn't speak, but Emwe knew better. It can talk, it told me it was a moo. Twice! As praise rained from the female who lived with him as his caretaker and very much a substitute mommy, his tail activity jerked up a notch to wag at full speed. His grin widened, although you wouldn't have thought it possible. Saying nothing, he enjoyed the feeling of being a 'good boy', and his mommy had always said it was important to be one. And he was so good at it, too! Everyone was impressed with him, probably.
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