[Arcas]

A R C A S

"A rocky nap."

actions - “speech” - thoughts

It was an unremarkable day. The dense snows of winter had become nothing more than icy slush and muddy puddles, scattered across the landscape as Spring had now arrived in force. With it, colours were more vivid and the noises of life echoed throughout the pack lands. To most it was an energetic and inspiring time of the year in Gemini's borders.

Within the safety of the high lands a hellion puppy sat motionless, blue eyes were un-focused as he gazed into the reflective surface of the muddy pond that stretched out before him. He half-watched the tadpoles as they dipped and darted in the shallows of the water, nibbling at algae and playing in the shadows under the reeds. They didn't have a care in the world as they grew and developed rapidly, some already had fully formed legs kicking along behind them. Soon they would lose their tails and reach the pinnacle of their life cycle, adult-hood.

The cycle of life had only just begun for Arcas, he was a long way from being an adult and yet already could feel the crushing weight of exhaustion. Nights of restless sleep continued to plague him, he had nightmares of a thousand eyes staring into his core. Being exposed to his multi-eyed freak siblings only made the nightmares worse as their eyes remained open to stare ominously at Arcas, while they all slept soundly.

Ever since mother had encouraged them to leave the den, the pup had taken every opportunity possible to do so. He had recently ventured out into a storm and found himself at Gemini's borders, face to face with a stranger of unknown intentions. Fortunately the meeting had gone favorably and Arcas had still found the entire ordeal MUCH more palatable than being around his freak siblings. He had managed to have the first bit of decent rest that night and had been chasing the illusive sensation ever since.

Orange and black fur stood on end as a brisk breeze whisked across the pond, waking the pup from his daze and sending his body into a shiver.  The temperature was still waiting to warm up as the sun slowly found its place in the sky for the day. With a shake of his coat the hellion stood and stretched his body out - startling the tadpoles and sending them skittering for the cover of the reeds.

There was no sign of his family around and the thought was calming to Arcas. He finished his stretch and began to look around at the surroundings, sniffing the air for signs of anything interesting. The grassy plains that flanked the pond rustled as a gust of wind passed through the assorted plant life. The hellions large ears fell back casually and he stifled a yawn. His eyes focused on a small rocky outcrop positioned near the pond. Standing proudly among the stones was a large, flattish boulder that took pride of place nestled between its smaller counter parts.

The hell pup set himself into motion and meandered over to the rocks - feeling his fur rise as the warmth of the sun radiated off the stones. Satisfied with his find, Arcas stepped up onto the smaller rocks. The pup used them as stepping stones and hopped his way up onto the large boulder, hind legs scrabbling as he pulled himself up.

Once all four limbs had found their way onto the boulder, he turned and surveyed the land proudly from the new perspective. Paw pads spread across the warm surface, lightly scratching the rock face with sharp tipped puppy claws. This was the perfect place to try napping and to see if he could shake off the eye filled nightmares.

The fluffy hellion stretched his body down into a bow, after giving another small yawn the pups rump followed suit and he laid his entire body against the warm slab. Enjoying the sensation of warmth was a new experience for Arcas, one he had never known from his family.

The comforting feeling lead to heavy eyes which began to droop. A sleepy smile crept across the pups maw. He blinked slowly a few times and nestled closer to the rock, rubbing his fur against it to absorb more warmth. The sun also continued to beat down from above - providing the warm sensation all over as Arcas finally drifted into a light doze, listening to the sound of the pond water lapping at the ground. He would sleep this unremarkable day away, or wait and see what it had in store for him this time.

coding © vixxie's codes | edits © Nadia

[Sloan]

The sun was so beautiful.

The way it tended to the Earth, ensured the plants were energized and healthy, the way it warmed the waters, and the effort it put into making things brighter. Easier to see. Sloan loved the sun and loved it much more so after learning it was responsible for melting all of the frigid snow. The slush was fun and it created mud, which was the perfect medium for her self-made rock paintings.

She dipped her paw carefully into the slush-mud combination beside her, spreading it abstractly across the rock. Paying close attention to the texture she was creating as well as the way she molded the lines together. But it was missing something. Red eyes stared quizzically at her creation, tilting her head slowly as if trying to make the idea shift within her.

Oh, yes! COLOR.

Although the mud was fun, it lacked the vibrancy she craved. She needed yellow, or red, … or green! Any would do, really. But how would she get it? Sloan stood to her mud-stained feet, staring across the pond until she landed on a blob of purple and gold. Perfect combination of colors, just what she needed!

Bounding forward, Sloan splashed across the cold pond and climbed among the turret of stones until she could reach the colors she was after. Reaching higher, she attempted to grab the color with her two front paws, grabbing whatever she could manage before she lost her footing. Backwards she fell, tumbling into the pond and landing swiftly on her bottom. When she looked to her paws, she saw that she grabbed some gold and purple… fur?

Curiously, she looked up the tower of stones. What had she done?! She was going to be in trouble, for sure. “Oh, please, don’t be angry with me! I was just trying to find some colors to complete my painting, would you like to see?”

[Arcas]

A R C A S

"What a wake up call!"

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Arcas had barely begun to doze off when a slight scratching and rustling noise made his large ear flicker. Still half asleep, he had not yet pieced together that the noise belonged to something approaching his make shift bed with enthusiastic speed. His gold and purple tail gave a flicker and suddenly searing pain shot through the small body of the hellion pup.

Leaping into life with a high pitched screeching yip, his body was abruptly yanked backwards as the attacker dragged him off the rocks and into the pond. There was a quick scuffling motion in the air and then the brisk introduction to cold water, an instant wake up call for the hell pup. Before he could react, a fluffy body landed on him, pushing his face down into the muddy sediment that was now stirred up throughout the surrounding water.

Spluttering in the shallows and unable to get his head to the surface as the attacker sat on him, Arcas yanked himself out from underneath the lighter body and raised his head from the murky waters with a splash. Gasping in a breath of much needed air,  he spun around - paw raised with claws fully extended, ready to attack the creature that had so rudely caused him pain and agony in his time of vulnerability. Blue eyes locked onto their target, a creamy grey colored female around the same size as him. His face dripped with icy, muddy slush - black hair was plastered down, revealing small, developing horn nubs.

“Oh, please, don’t be angry with me! I was just trying to find some colors to complete my painting, would you like to see?”

She was looking back to the place he had previously been laying, sincere apology in her eyes. Arcas slowly lowered his paw and glanced quickly over at the rocky outcrop too, his jaw dropped as he watched the breeze pick up a large chunk of his fur and blow it away into the surrounding fields. The male pup looked back at his tail and let out a whimper. The stinging pain was still there and now it was apparent why. A large bald patch was visible on the top of his fluffy tail. His flesh was red and irritated from the hair removal process. Searing blue gaze flashed back to meet the red eyes of the culprit.

This little brat had ripped out his luxurious coat just to add color to her stupid... painting? Curiosity overtook pain and the pup ponder what she was talking about. He had never heard the word before, communication was not his families forte and he had no interest in socializing with other pack members. He cocked his head while looking the female up and down in mild disgust.

I wonder what a painting is... it sounds stupid.

He thought this to himself as he huffed and turned his nose up and away from the female pup. Still glaring angrily off into the distance with fierce blue eyes. Why was it he kept bumping into so many creatures every time he was trying to find some peace? They were always so... weird too. Trying to include him and forcing him into their strange rituals of talking to one another. They were always ruining things for him every time he dared leave the den. Arcas didn't feel the need to talk and didn't understand why he would ever be needed in the packs life. Bonding with others was something that should be learned as a young developing pup, and there was no warmth or affection between his mother and her litter at any stage of their lives.

So Arcas did little more than throw the female a withering glare, he couldn't attack her - though he didn't know why. His tail gave another throb and the male lifted himself from the murky, muddy water and walked past the creamy wolf to get himself back onto dry land. With a shake of his coat, a fair amount of the muddy water was sent flying. The hellion sat himself down on the shoreline to begin grooming his damaged tail. With tongue halfway out in a mid-lick, he glanced at the female and could see she was awaiting a response.

“No.”

Arcas threw the response coldly towards her as he continued to tend to the sore spot on his tail. If he went with her he was certain it would only result in more lost fur and pain. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a second attempt on his precious coat.

coding © vixxie's codes | edits © Nadia

[Sloan]

s l o a n

Between her two paws, Sloan watched her very angry medium turn on her; she braced herself for some sort of pain, but was left in relief. Her eyes didn't leave Arcas as he took a haughty exit from the water, raising his nose towards the air. His body language was something she recognized. He was being a brat, as her siblings would call it. He sat himself on the bank and tended to his wound, which she felt a pang of guilt for causing. At this point, she was surprised he even responded to her offer of seeing her painting. The painting, actually, was the last thing on her mind by now.

"Why?" She asked simply, looking at him with wide eyes, afraid he might come after her for even questioning. She rarely had to deal with the wrath of her siblings, as they normally took it out on each other rather than on her. She never did anything to get under their skin, knowing their quirks and what makes them tick. Sloan preferred that they all liked her, and enjoyed her company, therefor she did very little to upset them. Loving them, too, was another reason why she never purposely did anything to upset them.

But this, this was not on purpose, either! She genuinely didn't know she'd be causing anyone harm, she saw the color and she needed it. Perhaps, she thought, this was the time that she needed to take to apologize. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Your coat just has the prettiest hues!" There, that was supposed to fix everything, right? Sloan felt better already herself.

She waddled out of the water, standing next to Arcas and shaking off the excess water and mud that clung to her, sending it flying every which way (some splattering onto Arcas). She sat, then, smiling at him. Realizing she'd made a mess of him, her face turned to stone. "ohSORRY!" She brought her paws up to wipe the mud off of his face, her expression shifting as she did so. She had a feeling she was not going to end the day with a new friend.

[Arcas]

A R C A S

"You got mud on your face. You big disgrace."

actions - “speech” - thoughts

"Why?"

Arcas cocked an eyebrow in mild disbelief that the other pup had even bothered to ask. How could she be so thick? Ignoring the question, he continued working on his coat until he had managed to cover the bald spot by smoothing the surrounding fur over it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Your coat just has the prettiest hues!"

The hellion looked up in time to see the female sloshing out of the water and making a beeline towards his dry patch of refuge. Before he had a chance to move, a spray of mud and water slapped him across the face. One clump splattered across his tail, messing up his previous effort at covering the fur-less patch. Arcas clamped his left eye shut, feeling a blob of thick mud smear across his eyelid. Fuming, he shot a literally dirty look in the direction of the creamy pup.

She had ruined his nap, pulled out his fur, drenched him in icy water and covered him in mud. What else could she possibly do to him to ruin the morning even more? Yet there she sat, beaming and happy. As if she had done him a massive favor by complimenting his coat. The hell pup ground his teeth together, he began to stand to teach her a lesson when he watched her expression crack as she realized her mistake in flinging mud onto him.

"ohSORRY!"

Mud soaked cream paws slopped onto his face, smearing even more mud into his fur. Arcas sat tensely, grinding his teeth and trying not to say anything with eyes clenched shut until he could no longer take it. Reeling, he stumbled back away from the she-wolf. Shaking his head aggressively to shoo her away before bringing the back of his own paw up to clear the dirt from his eyes.

“YOU!! JUST!!! GrrrrrRRRRRR!!”

He hated being touched by strangers. He hated being caked in mud. He hated interacting with others, especially those around his age. All the reasons he avoided his pack mates and siblings came flooding back to him at this moment. Idiots, there were so many IDIOTS! What was the point in a pack? Why did his mother insist on him having to tolerate and integrate with these.... Arcas didn't know a word that covered what he felt right now.

Angry and muddy, he slunk over to an undisturbed patch of water. Refusing to acknowledge the creamy pup, he began cleaning his face. Flinching at the icy cold water he immediately regretted his decision of finding such an open spot to take his nap. Next time he would find somewhere more secluded and harder to get to. It was at this time he knew, he needed to explore a lot more of the pack lands to find a place where he could belong that was away from everyone else.

As he continued to try and clean himself, Arcas wished the female pup would disappear into the tall grass and leave him alone. Didn't she say she had a painting to go back to? Why was she still staring at him? He tried to focus on the water before him and ignore the gawking figure who sat a short ways off in his peripheral vision.

coding © vixxie's codes | edits © Nadia