Surreal

Surreal woke up, very, very early in the morning, stretching with a long, shaky yawn that exposed pointy puppy teeth. Pink tongue curled over on itself, then disappeared as her muzzle, which had lost some of its puppy bluntness to give way to a narrower shape, closed and she blinked mismatched blue and gold eyes to clear the sleep away. The tug of adventure was calling to her. Looking over both shoulders, she wriggled free from the pile of her brothers and sisters, pushing her older brother?s big paw off of her back, and finally squeezed free. Shaking herself, she looked back at her sleeping family, then turned and scampered out of the sleeping alcove, pausing as the frosty night chill from outside hit her nose. It was cold out there. Nevertheless, she kept trotting. She made her way out of the den, down the stone steps, which she had less difficulty getting back up now than she had the first time she?d seen snow, and dashed down the ravine, tail flagging high behind her. She broke from the ravine and into early, early grey dawn, and looked around, trying to decide which way to go. She went straight, which led north, and scampered along the trail, nipping at snow flakes as they danced down from the sky. She broke from the forested area and into a wide meadow. Something, several somethings, moved and shifted nearby, and she froze, ears pricked as she stared at the huge shadows that regarded her with dark eyes. Whatever they were, they didn?t attack her, so she took off again, following a trail through the meadow and into another swathe of forest. It was then that she came to a strange place. The snow ahead was perfectly flat, not a stone or twig to be seen. Tiny trails of small animals? tracks criss-crossed the flat area, marking it as a nocturnal highway for prey. For her small size, the flat space ahead seemed very far ahead, but she could faintly see, with her not quite fully developed night sight, that it stopped being flat after a moment. So she padded out into the flat. Underneath, she could hear strange noises, gurglings and murmurings, like her parents? voices when they spoke to yachter when they thought she and her siblings slept deeply. These had no meaning. They sounded almost like water. She stopped and looked down, ears cocked, listening. Then lost interest and scampered on. She reached the normal ground, and scampered up a small rise and along the trail, continuing her adventure. She didn?t realize that she had actually crossed the river that served as a boundary for pups. The river was not supposed to set paw in. In no time at all, she was crossing Valhalla?s borders and striking out across unclaimed lands. It was bound to happen, sooner or later. Her mother would have a heart attack. Surreal traveled until her legs felt achy and her fur no longer felt very warm. Snow was falling more forcefully now. When she came to a place where the land suddenly fell she stopped, wind buffeting her silver fur, and stared out into the waning dark. Suddenly, far away, the sky began to brighten, and she stared on in awe as the sky turned all shades of purple, pink, gold, and lavender, until blue broke out far away, while the snowy sky above stayed the same gunmetal grey. Below stretched a nearly circular valley, though she could only see perhaps five feet ahead in the now heavy snowfall. That one beautiful moment was forgotten as her toes tingled uncomfortable. She decided to head back to the den. Mother would be awake by now, and might be worrying her fur out. Surreal turned and looked back where she had come, and realized that she was very much a lost pup.

Creed

It was still night time when Creed felt the need to go exploring once more. His last adventure had landed him in a strange cave with a very big creature. She'd called herself Zanire and didn't look like any wolf. He had an odd suspicion she was a bear, but he wasn't quite sure. He'd never met a grizzle bear before. He'd only seen polar bears, but the honey colored creature sure did look like them. Perhaps a bit smaller and had a much darker coat than them, but very similar. She wasn't nearly as mean as them though. She'd told him about humans and the strange markings they'd left on that cave. He couldn't quite comprehend what those markings meant, but they sure were pretty awesome to look at! He looked back at his sleeping father and siblings. Eyes rested on the green markings on his father's face. He envied those markings. Only his eyes, black tipped ears, and the black hole on his chest resembled his father as well as the black trail of tears. A major part of him wished his were green like Cifer's. The color was so cool! He'd definitely get some odd looks with those colored markings. A small sigh fluttered past his lips. Perhaps if he had kids they'd get that color! Done being distracted the male set out to sniff around, slowly heading southwest. First he passed by the old rabbit runs sniffing wistfully at them. He wasn't big enough to hunt them by himself. He definitely aspired to be able to catch one before any of his siblings though. He had so many dreams. He'd grow to be like Uncle Gargie, and his mother, and his father. Perhaps he could even become Lead Brave. Or Beta! Beta would be an awesome rank. Reminding himself not to get distracted he bounded through the snow and right past the borders of Glaciem. His thick puppy fur was definitely enough to keep him warm in Glaciem, so the farther south he traveled the warmer it would get. He generated enough heat to be considered a personal space heater if needed, despite his small size. With paws still too large for his body he traveled for what seemed to be forever. Emerald eyes shifted to the sky as the sun began to rise putting on a pretty display of all sorts of color. He sat amazed for a moment before traveling on. A snow covered valley was ahead, but that wasn't what caught his attention. What captured it was a pup about his age, and roughly his size too. It was a female as well! Perhaps she wanted to play! Creed bounded over to her playfully as fast as his puppy legs could carry him. Snow flung up behind him and his tail flailed frantically behind him as he approached. He stopped a little ways from her and play bowed his hind end waving frantically behind him with his tail. To top it all off he had a lopsided grin giving him a very goofy expression. "Hiya! Whatcha doin out here?! You don't smell like a wogue." She smelled funny. She certainly wasn't a rogue. She didn't smell like the new members that some times came to Glaciem's borders. So where was she from? She was gray like him though. That part excited him. She was kinda pretty and her eyes looked awesome! He almost began to pout at the thought. He wished his eyes looked cool. He once again began to wish he had his father's green markings again. His thoughts broke though. She also looked kind of lost. Cold as well. Would she tell him where she was from? She seemed a bit far from home, as was he. An adventure even?

Surreal

Surreal shivered slightly then spun around at the sound of crushing snow and rapid approach. Her momentary defensive stance was lost as the stranger dropped immediately into the stance she absolutely loved seeing in those her own age. At once, she mimicked him, tail taking up the wild wag his was giving, until there was a twin whirring in the air as they whipped about. The pup was her age, but he seemed way bigger. His fur was so fluffy he almost looked fat, and his markings were something else. She liked them. His eyes were a pretty greeny blue color, sparkling like light on water. He looked like her kind of pup! Her hind end swayed as her tail wagged harder as he spoke up, though her head tilted slightly at the unfamiliar word.Wogue? She bounced slightly, wriggling with delight at the prospect of a new friend. He wasn?t Valhallan. He didn?t smell at all like her pack. More like Ice and wind. ?My name?s Surreal! I?m from Valhalla! I don?t know what a Wogue is, but I like your fur! What?s your name?? Mismatched blue and gold eyes sparkled animatedly as she chattered to him. With her movement, the chill wasn?t as bad, but the small silver pup still ran the risk of catching a chill. ?Wanna play??

Creed

The girl immediately copied his movements causing his tail and hind end to sway even more than it already was. So she liked to play too! At least someone liked to play, even if they weren't supposed to be out this far on their own. It was an adventure at least, right? She seemed confused though? Why? An eyebrow raised and his face took on a curious look to it as he wondered what it was that threw her off. ?My name?s Surreal! I?m from Valhalla! I don?t know what a Wogue is, but I like your fur! What?s your name?? So she was from their sister pack! He knew enough about the alliance and Valhalla to get ideas of what it was like. So she was from the western pack! It was exciting. perhaps they'd get to see more of each other in the future after this? That would be awesome! he loved adventures. Perhaps when he was old enough he'd venture out to Valhalla to see her again. If she wanted to be his friend at least. Her other words upset him slightly though. His speech impediment wasn't something he liked. It hadn't gone away yet. His other brothers seemed to talk just fine, and yet he couldn't seem to say r's yet. It was unfair. His face contorted in concentration as he tried to carefully plot out his next words to say them correctly. Or at least attempt to. "My name is Cw-w-w..." He paused for a moment and let out a growl of frustration at his current predicament. This was harder than it seemed. He seemed to zone out as he tried to form his tongue in a way to form an r sound. "Cw-creed. That's my name." He let out a sigh of relief. That was a lot of work. Too much work. He didn't like it. God forbid he ever had to try and pronounce her name too! But crap, he still had to explain what a rogue was. "W-w-rogue. That's what I was gonna say. I have issues with r sounds. I live in Glaciem though! It's nice to meet you!" He let out a sigh of relief. He hated r's. He hoped he could figure them out soon, cause he was tired of having to think so hard. It hurt his brain. His eyes lit up as she asked to play. Did he want to? Of course he did! Who didn't wanna play?! He bowed down on his feet again and nodded. "What do ya wanna play?!"

Surreal

Surreal wondered why he looked slightly upset at her question. Did he not like name? The thought made her tail stutter in it?s whirring, until his next words. Then she thought she was beginning to understand. Her ears pressed forward as he struggled, stuttering over the wuh noise. He stopped, growled, then seemed to be thinking hard, before he tried again. Cwreed. No, that wasn?t right. Cweed? No. Creed! She liked his perseverance. And the stutter was? Well, she liked it a lot. It was cute. He explained what he meant by ?Wogue? then about his arr sounds. She smiled. ?That?s alright! I used to have trouble saying Valhalla. I like you.? Her childs? Attention Deficit Disorder struck again, and Surreal spoke the last three words in a sudden jump from the subject beforehand. And she was delighted when he asked what she wanted to play. What did she want to play? She plonked down onto her rump, tail batting a valley into the snow, as her face took on a thoughtful expression, mismatched eyes gazing about at the sky, though not really seeing it, as she tried to decide. There were so many games! Tag, Hide and Seek, Rabbits and Hunters, Wrestling? She wanted to be a warrior, the greatest warrior in Valhalla, or maybe even the whole land of Alacritia. Alacritia was such a pretty name? Oh! Games! She blinked, eyes losing the suddenly dreamy expression and she glanced at Creed as though making sure he hadn?t gotten bored and wandered off. He was still there, so she decided to ask him what to play. ?I can?t choose! What do you like to play?? If a wolf could turn pink in the cheeks when blushing, her cheeks would be rosy among the silver fur of her face.

She smiled and then spoke. ?That?s alright! I used to have trouble saying Valhalla. I like you.? His tail stopped for a moment and he froze. At least she understood he had issues speaking, but then she suddenly changed topic and confused the hell out of him. She liked him? If it'd been possible he would have been turning all different shades of red. "I like you too!" His tail continued its wagging and he stood up on all fours once more coming out of the bow he'd been staying in for far too long. Black tipped ears flicked forward as she took on a thoughtful look before saying she couldn't decide and asking what he wanted to play. Now it was his turn to look thoughtful. He racked his brain for a moment trying to think of something. There were so many options. They could do all kinds of stuff! Hide and seek, thought it wouldn't be fair cause of all the snow, and tag and they could try and hunt something or they could even play tug of war with a stick. "Wellllll..... how about.... this!" As he yelled the final word he pounced at her in attempt to tackle her to the ground. A toothy grin could be seen and his tongue hung from his mouth excitedly. This was gonna be fun! Speech,

Surreal

Surreal pranced in place as he returned her ?I like you?. This was great! She had a new friend! Maybe he?d be her Best friend! He was certainly her very first friend. Her siblings really didn?t count, even though they were a kind of friend as well as being her brothers and sisters. This was a new kind of friend. And she liked it! She danced around in a quick turn, and missed his thoughtful look, and then suddenly, he yelled, and pounced. Surreal let out a surprised squeal as she went down, and unlike a lot of girls her age, she started laughing, and then began wriggling, lurching her front end and trying to grab an ear or scruff in her mouth, tail batting the snow all the way! Oh now this guy knew how to have fun! She squirted free and scampered in a wide circle around him, then tackled for his back with an excited yap. ?Yaagh!? Her battle cry was a squeaky one.

Creed

He managed to surprise her and his tail wagged furiously. He'd done it! He'd manage to tackle her without her expecting it! He felt so proud of himself that he felt himself beaming in joy. She began to laugh and Creed followed in suit. He pulled his head away as she tried to grab his ear and instead she grabbed a mouthful of his fluffy scruff. Guess it was a good thing he was built for the cold weather. That and he followed after his Momma's side. He was like one gigantic fluff ball. A growing one at that. God forbid he actually get wet and then shake out his fur. Just as he was thinking of a counterattack she squirmed free and let out a battle cry circling him like, well, a pack of wolves and then pounced at his back. He let out an excited bark/yip and pranced to the side but stumbled and fell into a snow drift. Free game for her to tackle him. He let out an "oomf" and began to do a muffled laugh as he got a mouthful of snow.

Surreal

She squealed as he dodged and stumbled, then launched after him, attempting to pile on. She tripped, tumbling head over tail past him. She lay flat on her back, pawing at the air, laughing her tail off. She scrambled onto her paws and puppy stamped toward him, paws patting the snow, tail whipping. This was so fun! Had she thought that already? Yes she had. Oh well! She threw herself toward him with a yap! Friends were so excellent! Mismatched eyes watched her new pal, ready for him. She skidded to a halt, feinted and danced around in a confusing series of leaps and pounces, for once ignoring the snowflakes that usually always captured her attention. What to do next! Oh! She knew! She danced forward, attempting to bat a paw on some part of him. Once her paw nabbed him, she would squeal ?Tag! You?re it!? and scamper away. She wasn?t at all cold now!