What is this?
For Jedrick
Snow blanketed the land that Rose barely knew overnight, washing out all previous vivid colors. Where had all of the pretty plants gone?! Rays of light seemed to bounce right off of the cold blanket and into her vision, causing golden eyes to squint while searching around the prairie. One would be ecstatic to see such change in scenery, but not this pup! No sir! Tail tucked between her haunches, ears resting flat against brown thick fur while thoughts raced through her mind. A whine ripped through the small chest, bringing herself back to the present.
Features relaxed finally, body shivering at the sudden cold that pierced her figure. This could work, she could do something with this! Today will be eventful! A smile pulled at the pup's lips, eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement. Limbs pushed the tiny body forward in bounding steps, nearly jumping with each movement. Snow left a struggling trail behind the small girl, exposing the once strangled grass. Even if traveling would be hard from now on, her small cream tail wagged happily behind her petite frame. "What even is this white stuff?" An audible thought escaped her lips, thinking out loud.
It had been several moons since Jed had left his family and he had headed North in his travels to find himself in the frozen lands of an early winter. Being a brute of a wolf he could push his way through the blankets of snow with relative ease and he made sure to take care while skirting the scent borders of the clans he passed. There were far too many in the immediate vicinity to his liking but he found it an interesting challenge to hide the marks left by his larger paws, having done so many times in his past so as to avoid detection. Today would certainly be an amusing one, as he had found himself wandering through a line of trees that had probably seen much better days, and into the open prairie where he had hoped to perhaps track something for breakfast. Instead, however, golden eyes fell upon the small form several feet ahead of him and with his ears pricked forward curiously his gaze darted about as if he would see an angry mother bounding toward him at any moment. When such a thing failed to transpire he made his way forward with a little less caution, tail swishing contentedly behind. "Pardon, little one. I couldn't help but overhear you," he called out, his voice on the deeper end with a calm tone to it. "Is this your first winter?" Why even was a pup out here alone anyway? The thought tugged at his protective sibling senses, and his bright eyes darted about once again, this time to scout out for anything dangerous nearby. |
Golden eyes crossed together towards her nose while moving forward, attention entirely away from her surroundings as the frozen water touched her maw and instantly melted. Deep words echoed through the beautiful silence encompassing the area, skull turning towards the male in question without a single ounce of fear laced into her frame. Rose hadn't seen many wolves besides her mother, so this was a treat in itself. Today was magnificent, and it was just starting!
Front paws slapped against the sparsely frozen ground, approaching this stranger instead of continuing the other direction. "I guess so?" Facial features scrunched together in thought as she finally brought herself to a halt, admiring the tall frame which he held. She couldn't wait to get bigger! "Is it winter when this stuff shows up?" The question was laced with pure curiosity, neck stretching as her maw faced up in direction of the strange stuff once more. Gleaming eyes halfway shut in hopes to protect her vision from the new cold element.
Jed was both intrigued and honestly quite worried with the way this pup decided to come upon him with no fear at all. He watched her with one ear swiveling to keep his attention divided, and when she asked him the question a rumbling laugh slipped out. The brown male lowered himself into the snow to lay before her for a moment, nodding his head once in a sage-like manner. "Yes. This is what is called snow." She reminded him of his younger brother before his attitude had changed, and it was endearing to watch her lift her little head to the sky and the falling flakes. "It's water that gets frozen on its way to the ground, and it sticks to everything." He lifted his own muzzle up and opened his mouth to catch a few of the icy flakes on his tongue. "Except for warm things. It turns back into water once it touches something that gives off heat." A moment passed before he tilted his gaze back down to the young wolf, swishing his tail behind him. "What is your name, little one?" he asked at last, a kind expression on his scarred face. "You can call me Uncle Jed, if you like." A chuckle rumbled through his chest again. |
The sounds of the other's body shifting around made her attention divert from the snow, staring at the male in wonder. Ears perked forward, soaking in every drop of information that he had to offer. So this weird freezing stuff was called snow? Head tilted to the side the further he went on, ears flopping over in one direction as gravity attempted to take them from their normal perked appearance.
"Uncle Jed?" Words repeated through the pup's maw, honestly confused by his introduction. Rose's mother didn't mention having an uncle, or that she would be getting a visit from one! Skull returned to its normal position as she planted her rear against the cold ground, chest poking out as if to make herself seem more confident about the situation. "I am Rose! Like the flower." A smile adorned features when saying her name and where it came from, "I didn't know we were related." Perhaps her uncle would play a game!
Upon seeing and hearing the small pup's reaction to his introduction, Jed couldn't help himself and let out another hearty chuckle. She was adorable. "Well.. we aren't really related, little Rose." There was a short moment where he pondered on how to best explain and in the end he shook his head a bit. "Not by blood, anyway. I do believe, however, that we are all perhaps in a sense.. a family in spirit." Maybe that was too much for a pup to process and he lowered his head down further to her level, golden eyes bright. "Maybe I can explain more about that some other time, eh?" The male's ears pricked forward and a twinkle lit in his gaze, his body shifting into a stand before he shook the lingering snow off his brown and cream coat. "How do you like to have fun?" The question would surely spark a reaction out of her, as her previous body language would suggest the potential energy she may contain. |
Rose understood everything that Jed was saying, up until he started explain how they could possibly be related. Ears fell flat to either side, looking up at him with a very confused and concerned expression. Golden eyes widened when the distance between them grew shorter, ears perking up again and front paws nearly coming off of the ground as she leaned backwards. Then those words registered.
"I love to play!" Small figure lifted off of the ground in a stand, tail wagging once more. Paws crunched against freshly fallen snow, pushing her miniature frame forward in a sprint around the older male. Rose was circling the stranger, even going as far as running through his legs while her size permitted it. Everything skidded to a stop in front of the beast, nails sliding across the frozen surface as reflexes caused her to wobble around to regain balance. Yet, she acted like nothing happened while standing there. "What kind of game did you have in mind?" The question left lips in a cheerful chirp, excitement spilling forth in her voice and actions. She could barely stand still!
Watching the young pup dart about him with his yellow eyes, lifting one leg when she ran beneath his body, Jed couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. It felt nice to see such an energetic soul again and once she had settled long enough to ask a question, he had come up with a few options. "Well now, there are a few things we could do in the snow." The brutish male turned to peer around as if trying to pick out something in their vicinity, tilting his head a bit. "I'm not sure if we have what we need here." Jed turned his attention back with a sort of grin, "Do you know of any large trees nearby?" He was sure that he could find a big enough hill for what he had in mind, provided they could find a good strip of bark or large sturdy elephant leaves. "Big enough that even I couldn't wrap myself all the way around it." He was sure that she would enjoy the activity, if they were able to do this. |
Tiny frame stayed facing the larger wolf, attention becoming soaked up by his words. Rose's mind started reminiscing halfway through on places she had traveled prior, all while attempting to listen to him speak. Finally it dawned upon the pup, limbs pushing paws off of the snow covered ground as she jumped around in a few tight circles, then she was gone. Paws smacked against the snow without second thoughts on how loud her actions were, traveling towards the southern part of the prairie. There was trees down here, she remembered that much!
"Come on!" A loud invitation carried between them, neck stretching to one side as her skull turned back towards him. A grin plastered across her facial features like before, eyes shining as positive emotions became more apparent. A new game was going to be learned, and better yet, she got to play with a new friend!
It was not dissimilar to watching the cogs in a clock tick, the way the young pup's mind connected all the pieces. Jed knew that as soon as she had realized what was happening, she would be gone and here it had happened. The male whirled in the snow to watch her dart off before bouncing after her with long legs. Amazingly a parent or otherwise still had not shown themselves and he was both still worried and equally thankful they hadn't. It gave him a chance to learn about the surrounding area as well as giving him a good reputation to perhaps gain favor with whomever Rose was with or who she knew. The brute could easily keep pace with her and he even had to slow himself so as to not pass the girl, instead using the space to press hard in the snow beneath to make a good trail, should she return after their games in the direction they came. "Once we find a good tree or two and get what we need, we're going to need a big hill." There was a twinkle in golden eyes, and he couldn't seem to help himself from dancing around her in a circle once before going alongside her again. "I used to do this game with my siblings when I was your age. It's very fun!" |
Paws dipped into the freezing blanket beneath her, causing each step to be brought higher into the air as she slowed down in front of some trees that they quickly came up on. This was the edge of the prairie, and not a place the pup had explored beyond, even if her recklessness wanted to guide her through every inch of these lands. Limbs only froze when she found what seemed to be the perfect tree, lifting on to her hind legs and front paws landing against the trunk with a soft scratch sound, nails barely scratching the rough surface.
"Is this good?" Voice chimed out in a happy tone, head tilting sideways while looking back at the self proclaimed uncle. Rose could only wonder what he was doing with a tree, not one but possibly two! What kind of game is this? The thoughts that raced within her mind made the light colored tail sway as all composure was lost, showing off her excitement once more.
Jed was quite happy to follow up to the trees, and there he would roam around the one that Rose had picked out. It looked to have sturdy enough bark, and it didn't seem like it would be too thin or too thick. The male followed the pup's movements and grunted as he leaned up and popped his paws onto the trunk, scraping the claws of the left across the surface. Yes, this would do nicely. In a swift motion, he was down on the ground again and proceeded to pull a previously hidden knife from a band of leather, strapped to the right leg. He positioned it in his teeth where he could stab it into the tree, enough so that he could drag it down with force. It would take him several minutes to carve a good chunk of the bark from around the big tree, and by the time he placed the knife back in its concealed leather sheath, he was panting. "Give me a moment to rest, kiddo, and then we can find the biggest hill around here, and I can show you how to play this great game." Jed flopped down into the snow, taking a breather. He didn't often carve away from the trees like that, his blade was mostly for his practical uses, along with helping defend himself. |
Jedrek's swift motion without a word startled Rose, causing her to flinch and move away from the tree. Small frame stayed turned towards the taller wolf once she finished collecting herself, casually acting like nothing had happened. Only physical feature giving away previous startle was ears turned from their usual perked placement. Rear limbs shifted, paws digging into now packed snow before sitting down. An audible huff left the pup, all breath escaping the smaller chest in a puff against cold air. That was embarrassing!
Mind finally began to wrap around what the other might of been doing as he continued his assault on the bark. Perhaps this was a healer teaching her something? Light colored brows furrowed together, attempting to glue together the pieces and yet, nothing was making sense. Jedrek wasn't taking the precious parts, but the hard shell protecting the tree. "You aren't a healer, are you?" The question finally escaped the pup, visage still plastered with confusion.
Sure, Rose adored games and usually got excited about them. Often making her forget what other tasks where at hand, but she loved healing and herbs more. Despite her age, she wanted to learn a lot and become a great healer!