Her mother had cautioned her that there was a lioness in the rustling thicket, and that she probably needed some time to accumulate, and the last thing she needed was a pup jumping over her. Motif had nodded solemnly to her mother, and thanked her for the warning. She had then proceeded to wait until the second her mothers back was turning, before she went prancing off to the thicket to investigate. The pups had only recently gotten freedom to leave the Monument rapids territory, and was still a little uncertain on the lay of the land.

She reached the tall grasses, and eyed it with contemplation. She was small, and even an adult wolf could get swallowed by these tall grasses and lost from sight. However, with the pride of youth, she was certain she wouldn’t lose her way.

She wandered into the thicket in search of this new curiosity, trying to decide what exactly a lioness was, and what one looked like. Her mother had implied that she was big, so Motif was sure to keep her eyes upwards in search of a towering giant.

After maybe twenty minutes, she realised she was completely lost. She had no idea which way she had come, because the grass sprang back into shape so easily behind her. She was a little confused on the scents around her, and started to wonder if she would ever find her way out of this maze. She was just. To. damn. Short.

So, when she found a tree, it was only the next great conclusion to decide that climbing it would answer all her problems. It was difficult going, she wasn’t built for climbing, but she managed to scramble onto one branch, and then the next, and then the next. She stopped here and looked out across the territory, and would see the straight line for the way out of here. She wasn’t ready to admit defeat just yet, so would spin around in search of the ‘lioness’

She lost her footing as she spun and would fall off that branch and halfway off the one below, her paws scrambling to get a hold, and instead of stopping herself from falling, she would realise she was stuck between the branch and the tree trunk. She scrambled a bit, and lost some skin in the process, and it hurt

Before she knew it, the young girl started to cry. It was just everything was going wrong!


Speech

Cannival There wasn't much interesting to do in the Rustling Thicket, but Cannival was happy to stay regardless. She'd spent her first few hours prancing around, exploring every nook and cranny, familiarizing herself with the many rocks, bushes, and trees that resided in the expansive territory. Birds called to each other overhead, and from somewhere nearby she could hear the gurgling of water. It was a beautiful day, as far as Cannival was concerned. She'd decided that now she'd become familiar with the boundaries of the Rustling Thicket, that it was time to venture further inland away from the perimeter. The lioness had put off this venture for some time now, she knew that there was a much higher risk of stumbling upon one of the Abaven wolves the deeper she went into the territory. Frankly, Cannival wasn't sure she was ready. What would she do, if a wolf were to see her and run screaming- even worse if one of the alphas received complaints. Enough was enough, however. Cannival had to stop acting like a cub and grow up, she'd not find safe haven in these lands by remaining a stranger to it's inhabitants. She followed the ever thickening scent of wolves through the middle of the Rustling Thicket, headed south-east, towards Monument Rapids and Serpent Plains. Of course, she'd not dare to cross outside of the thicket. Cannival knew better then to disobey the alphas, even if they weren't reallyher alphas. As she walked the multitude of chirping birds grew quieter, and the rushing sound of water more noticeable. She listened hard, enjoying the peaceful symphony of nature. It was so different then back home. Suddenly sad cries broke the lioness's concentration, and she lifted her head in concern. What could possibly be going on in this haven that someone could make such depressing noises? Cannival didn't stop to think long, and immediately turned to bound swiftly towards what she'd heard. Could someone have been attacked? This far in past the borders? Impossible, but if so the lioness was determined to get there and help. Surely she wouldn't have to fight anyone, right? From the reactions of others she'd met on her journey, she figured just the appearance of a lioness would be enough to drive away an intruder. She quickened her pace, and as she rounded a tall expanse of bush she nearly slammed head first into a trunk. The lioness wasn't sure what was more perplexing; that there was crying in Abaven, or that the sound seemed to come from above. She looked up into the tree, and there hung a small wolf pup wedged painfully between the trunk and a thick branch. "Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly. "I got you! I got you!" Cannival took a moment to survey the tree, and then jumped upwards to latch long claws into the bark of the trunk, just underneath the pup. For once she was thankful for feline flexibility, as it was easy to stand against the tree with her back legs still on the ground below. She wasn't sure how best to rescue the pup without injuring it further. Pulling her downwards could tear more skin, and the branches were too thin for Cannival to scale above and lift the wolf upwards. The lioness used her front paws to wrap around the trunk and stood taller, stretching her neck so that her nose could push against the struggling legs. Confident she had the height, Cannival moved her massive head up against the youngling's feet, and then under her belly. The safest way to dislodge the pup would be by having her take the same route as her fall, and so the lioness continued to shove the small form until her body was up above the space. "Hold on." She told the youngling, knowing full well that the pup really had no other choice. Once she had freed the wolf pup from the branches hold, Cannival nudged and lightly shook her head until she felt the weight distribute atop her skull, little legs hanging down on either side of the lionesses oversized head. Carefully, she pushed off the tree and lowered herself, strong neck keeping head still so the pup would have a smooth ride. Her forepaws finally touched the ground, and the feline bowed deeply, still holding her head horizontal. It wasn't until the wolf pup was mere inches off the ground that she dipped her skull forward to allow her small form to slide off down her face. "All set!" She sang, exceedingly pleased with herself. "Speech"

She continued to cry until a voice suddenly called out, saying they had her. She sniffed and whiped her snotty muzzle on her shoulder before peering over the edge of the tree. “Oh!” Motif exclaimed, and realised suddenly that this had to be the lioness. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was expecting, but the rich brown creature with warm eyes wasn’t exactly it. She was huge for starters, even to a wolf accustomed to large parents.

She towered above the pup, or at least she would, if Motif had been on the ground. Motif squirmed, and winced as it rubbed and pulled her fur some more. But she wanted to see!

Her hero had crazy strong claws, and latched onto the tree like it was nothing, she perched in a way that Motif could only assume was awkward - at least for a wolf - and began to push Motif upwards. Her body was about the size of this creatures head, and it was easy to ‘plop’ her free from the tree, though she had tickled Motif’s belly in the doing. All of her tears were well and truly gone by the time she was free, and she was delighted. She was still on the lioness’s head, and the giantess would begin to move, and Motif, realising some of her intent, would hold on tight. Her definition of holding on tight was to flatten her weight across her head, and hold onto an ear between her teeth. She tried her best not to pinch as the lion released her hold on the tree. They landed smoothly on the ground, and she felt the ground approach as the lion lowered her to it. Motif was giggling like crazy by the time her paws touched earth again.

“That was amazing! Can we do that again?” she wanted to know, running between the lioness’s paws to look up at her huge stomach. “so Your the lioness mumma told me about.” She paused to take a breath “She said you were huge, but holy moly, I beat you could pick my mumma up by her scruff!” Motif laughed.



Speech

Cannival The feline couldn't help but give a soft laugh of her own as the pup began to giggle madly. She ran up to Cannival's underside and asked to do it again, and the lioness could only shake her head in amusement and look down between her paws to touch her nose against the young one's head. "I don't know..."  She began mischievously. Oversized head would lean down to run her nose along the length of the pup's side if she remained beneath her, and she'd make exaggerated sniffs as her whiskers dragged along the pup's thinner furred underbelly- hoping just a little that it would tickle. "It smells to me like you have a sibling! I think they'd be way too jealous if I let you have a ride twice." The lioness pulled her head back to smile down at the pup. "Your momma told you about me, huh? Who might she be?" The youngling smelt like both Rhyme and Shaye- looked like them too -but Cannival didn't want to assume. She still was so unsure of wolf culture, for all she knew it may be the alphas duties to raise all the young in the pack regardless of bloodline. That would absolutely explain the mingled scents. "My name is Cannival." She offered kindly. "May I know your name?" It crossed Cannival's mind that maybe the pup had been warned of her, told to stay away. Hopefully this little one wouldn't be the thing that ended her probation. After all, neither Shaye nor Rhyme had told her not to interact with the young ones. "Speech"

The lion sounded reluctant to go for round two, and Motif was already plotting how to get stuck in future trees. “Then Poem should join us and ride with me.” Motif said simply, like that decided it. “She’s heir and all stuck up on responsibility now, I bet this would make her come have fun.” Motif grinned mischievously back at the lion, and giggled and shook her coat when her whiskers tickled her underbelly.

“My Mumma is Shaye” Motif explained, not needing to delve into further information - after All, Shaye was the one who had told Motif about the lion. “I’m Motif, named after my grandmother, who used to be the lead fighter in this pack, a long long time ago.’ she explained. Her mother had told her the importance of names, both Motif and Destruction, and she was pleased to relay what she had learned.

“She told me you needed a playmate, so I came to find you>” Motif lied, hoping that would slip under the radar. She was still accustomed to lying, but had found herself doing so every now and then to protect her sister. Perhaps it was a bad habit she was developing.

Cannival Poem. So the little one did have a sister. Cannival stored the information away for later. It made her a little uncomfortable knowing that the pup's mother was none other than the alpha who'd put her on probation to begin with. It seemed odd to the lioness that Shaye would be willing to let her play with her child, there's no way she'd earned her trust already, right? She furrowed her brow for a moment in confusion, but the pup was still talking. Her name was Motif. She tuned back into the pup's babble near the end, soon enough to catch her final sentence. "She told me you needed a playmate, so I came to find you." Shaye sent little Motif this way? Cannival was flabbergasted and could only blink for a moment. Slowly, it came to her. This must be a test! Of course; the alpha had sent her offspring to meet Cannival to see if she was behaving well enough to stay! It all made sense now. Golden eyes twinkled mischievously, and she bent down to the pup's level. "I do need a playmate, you're right!" She gasped in mock-realization. "But you see, I don't know what kind of things we're allowed to do here. I'm a lion, I need you to teach me to play like a wolf. Can you do that?" "Speech"

Motif was more then a little worried when the lie fell from her lips. She had only lied once before and Rhyme had seen through it pretty easily. What's to say she had gotten any better since then?
Her fears where for naught, as Cannival chewed it right up, leaning down to the small pups level as she agreed that she needed a playmate. Motif wiggled in delight, both that Cannival had believed her, and that she was willing to play with her. All the pups in abaven had been quiet lately, and Poem was learning how to be alpha. That didn't give Motif much choice in play mates, and there was only so often she could catch salamanders by herself before she went insane.

She looked into the golden eyes of the lioness and felt herself grow more solemn. She moved forward and bopped her muzzle against the lioness lowered forward. "I hereby name you an honorary wolf, and my best friend." She said graciously, before her face split into a grin and she pranced a few steps backwards. "I wont let you down. Your going to be the best wolf ever when on done with you. Wolves play hunt things, or wrestle, or chase. What kinda of games would you like to play?" She asked the lion eagerly. This was the BEST DAY EVER.

Cannival The enthusiasm given off from the young pup was palpable, and Cannival felt better then she had in many moons. Receiving Motif's boop, the lioness lifted one oversized paw and placed it upon the pup's head gently, ruffling the fur there. "You can be my best friend, too." She decided. This was the first individual Cannival had met who did not treat her with fear and aggression- it made her feel very warm inside. She too vowed to be the best honorary wolf she could be, if only so little Motif could know her teachings were sound. A few options of play were given, and Cannival considered them carefully. Her vocal cords rumbled as she let out a thoughtful "Hmmm..." Wrestle? Wouldn't be much fun for Motif, she figured. How could such a tiny pup even pretend to do well in a wrestle verse a full grown lioness? How could Cannival fake a loss, when there was likely more strength in her tail then in Motif's entire body? Chase? The lioness pictured giving the pup a head start, and then while giving chase what if something caused her to mis-step? Smush. Nope. Definitely not. Cannival wished she had more time with her own cubs, they hadn't grown to an age where play was so important and she hadn't learned how to foster it properly. She looked hard into Motif's eager eyes as she decided. "Well... I think my wolf lesson would be best suited for a play hunt. Though I'm sure you know your mother has told me that I have to stay here, in the Rustling Thicket. You're a much better wolf, I bet you know your prey very well. Is there anything fun to hunt within these borders?" Cannival was expecting something like crickets or birds, but whatever Motif wanted to do the lioness would happy accompany her on. "Speech"

Motif was like a mouse beside Cannival, the pup could walk beneath the lioness with no issues, and giggled as her head brushed the lions belly. She stuck her head out under the lion's chest and craned her head to look up at her new playmate. She didn’t know what was in store for Cannival’s future, but Motif was going to convince her mother that very day to allow her friend to explore the whole of Abaven. Even if she had to camp out in the thickets to stage a protest, she would. After all, she and her friend needed all the room in the world to play in.

Cannival caught her eyes, and Motif paused to look into the golden ones of the lion, she wouldn’t pressure her friend to break the rules. It was Shaye that she would pressure to release Cannival. That limited their playground here for the moment, and Motif had to think to consider her options. “The rapids enter the thickets i'm pretty sure, i dunno about that spot, but deeper into the rapids we have Sal-a-man-ders near the shore. They hide under rocks and you have to find them. My mother taught me how to hunt them, and her auntie taught her. It's a pretty wolfy thing to do in Abaven. We should see how much of the rapids hits the Thicket.” she decided.

“But, Canny, the grasses in the thicket are really really long. I got lost trying to find you. If only I could stand on something really tall well we walk to the rapids…”

Speech

Kinda short. But it's 3am and I'm tired but toddler won't sleep DX

Cannival Salamanders, that's something Cannival had never heard of. They must not have been very numerous in her old savannah. She hummed thoughtfully, and then nodded her agreement as the little pup pranced beneath her. "Sounds fun! But I'm relying on you to make sure we don't wander outside the Thicket; your nose is much better at picking up these scent borders than mine." The lioness let out a loud bout of laughter, shaking her head in disbelief. Oh, this pup. She looked down at the little one's hopeful expression and laughed once more before crouching down into the grass before Motif. "Alright, hop on." She allowed. "We definitely couldn't have you getting lost, your mother would kill me!" Cannival paused to consider how exactly this would work. "OK, so, I don't know how well you'll be able to stay balanced up on my back, but as long as you can see we should be fine. I'll have you give the directions, and I'll go where you want me to go." She shook out her coat and pushed her shoulders forwards and back to loosen them. "And then when you see a spot that you think will have good rocks for salamanders, tell me and we'll stop." "Speech"

“I won’t let you down!” she agreed with an excited yip at the end, yumping once on the spot. She had no idea how to track scents, but this was going to be fun, right? It wasn’t like she got totally turned around the second she entered the thicket and never reorientated herself.

The lioness laughed and looked down at her, her great golden heading bobbing a little with the gesture. Motif’s bright wide eyes zoomed in on her, tail wagging quickly behind her. Her mostly true ploy worked, and the lion relented to more rides. “Mumma wouldn’t kill you, she would just nibble on you a little” Motif giggled, before getting a little more serious. “Uncle Taf got real beat up by bad people that said they owned him, but we don’t do that here. Not ever. Your safe here.” Motif said, remembering the way Shaye had said that to her, the importance of it. Of respecting and caring for the members of this pack, that the wolves where the soul of the pack, that they meant everything.

She shook away the seriousness very quickly, bouncing back with a smile, and jumping onto the lioness’s back. She splayed her paws on either side of the lion’s broad back, and dug them in to give her some sort of balance. “I can see everything from here” she gasped, caught in the wonder of seeing over the thicket. Even Shaye sometimes got hidden in the grass, but not Canny!

“That way” Motif said, leaning forward to point her nose straight. She would see what was around them and sort of guess from there.

OOC: Feel free to time-skip once answering Canny's questions, so they can reach the water and commit attempted salamander genocide.

Cannival "Well you've already nibbled my ear, what's one more nibble, hmm?"  The lioness tossed back with a light chuckle, tracking the bouncing pup with her eyes. She knew she was being manipulated, but Cannival was pleased to do whatever she could to make Motif happy. The youngling's mood was infectious and as she clambered upon Cannival's back and gasped in wonder, the lioness felt like she was back with her cubs. "Who's uncle Taf?"  She asked with interest, glancing over her shoulder towards the pup as she walked onwards. There was never a time the lioness would turn down learning of the Abaven wolves. Besides, Motif was leading her now so she didn't have to focus too much aside from watching her step and following her vague directions. Cannival was certain though that her new friend would be careful not to lead her outside the Thicket where she might meet Shaye's wrath. "Speech"

Holding on was a whole new experience as the lion began to walk, and Motif felt each rise and fall of that movement. For a while, she wasn’t doing much except learning to balance. It must be what riding a wave felt like, and soon enough she got the hang of it, rising and falling with the lions gait. She was laughing freely, giddy with excitement and learning this new thing with her new friend.

Seeing nothing but bright things in their future, the girl would start to give direction to the lion, mostly telling her to go straight, right or left, and occasionally getting two of those directions mixed up. Being this high up allowed her to see where she needed to go. She spoke as they walked, explaining herself to the lion.
‘He’s my Uncle, Taf.” she explained, which.. Told the lion so much more than she already knew. “He’s been in Abaven all my life, but I don’t think he’s been here all that long.” she paused at that, considering the implications. “But my whole life is a really long time, right?’ she wondered, curious, before pushing on. “He helped raise us when mumma was busy, he lives in our den and tells us all wonderful stories. He walks with a limp because he got so badly beat up by those bad guys. I think Daddy and his family killed them all.” she said, falling quiet once more as she contemplated that “but no one will tell me, except that they are all gone and can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

“Oh, there’s the rapids!” she said, pointing out the obvious source of water in front of them.

Cannival Cannival listened intently as her friend talked, focusing hard on keeping her gait rhythmic enough for the pup to not mis-balance and tumble off. Then she mentioned a mass-murder and Cannival had to stop herself from skidding to a halt. She settled for a questioning look over her shoulder, and then the pup changed the subject. She's got the attention span of a butterfly. The lioness thought with amusement, looking back towards the rapids as they approached. "Now arriving- Monument Rapids."  She quipped, slowing and ducking her right side low for the pup to dismount. "Are we ready to disembark and go get us some salamanders?"  Cannival still wasn't sure how her friend intended to catch the creatures, however. So she thought to speak once more. "Remember this is a lesson in wolfishness for me and to be a good teacher you need to do it first so I can see." "Speech"

“I suppoooooose” Motif said, somewhat reluctant to hop down from her new favourite vantage point. She never wanted to leave her friends side. After a moment, and a sigh, she would wiggle her butt and jump down from her friends back, landing on the grass and squishing the tall reeds, before pushing through and standing in front of the stream.

She hadn’t been to this part of the stream before, she had just known that it looped into the thicket, and here it was! She was pleased to be right, and moved closer to the water, sticking a paw into the cool liquid. “Okay” she said, turning abruptly around to face Canni. “Listen close” she advised her friend.

“We need to find the best looking rocks, and one of us tips them over, the other gets ready to pounce. A lot of the time there's nothing, but sometimes, there's a salamander!” she explained her carefully wrought plan to the lioness.

Cannival Cannival nodded at Motif's direction, feeling the pup jump from her back and onto the ground below. Rocks? They hid under rocks? She squinted at the stream, then shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Lets find a rock, I'll lift it and you can get ready to pounce."  The lioness sniffed the air, trying to pull a scent that she didn't recognize to hopefully give a head start. Unfortunately all of Abaven smelt so new to her still, and she couldn't place anything that smelled.. salamander-ish. She padded over to the closest rock, watching to be sure the pup was close by. When Motif seemed ready, she knocked the stone over with a swat of her oversized paw. Nothing. The lioness frowned down at the boulder, then set forward again towards the next rock. Once more she waited for her friend to be prepared, and then promptly reached forward to tip the next boulder over. "Speech"

Cannival volunteered to be the rock tipper, so Motif obediently put herself into place beside the rock, near the lion's paw, and tensed. She almost pounced on nothing the first time, releasing her coiled hunches and half falling over as she stopped herself from shooting forward. She bit back a giggle, and followed her friend to the next rock.

Canni tipped the rock, and this time a little dark lizard-like shape shot out from under the rock. With a holw Motif pounced, and landed on air as the quick creature darted away, and went straight under another rock.

Wiggling with exciement Motif put herself beside this rock and looked up to canni. “We’ve got him now” she stage whispered, her butt wobbling in the air as she prepared herself for launch.

Cannival Shoot! She just missed it. Cannival's tail lashed playfully behind her as she saw the lizard skitter away to the next stone. Following her friend's cue, she placed herself behind the rock in question across from Motif. She lay herself down to act as a barrier so that the salamander was forced towards the pup, and her paw lifted to set upon the cool stone. Claws dug in as she prepared to pull it towards her, and her other paw extended outwards and to the side to block another potential escape route. It was either right towards Motif, into the river, or into Cannival herself. She met Motif's gaze with excitement - making sure the wiggly pup was ready - and then pulled the rock over. "Speech"

Motif’s eyes where for the prize as Canni got herself into position, and Motif wiggled a little harder with excitement, before Canni lifted the rock ad Motif sighted her prey. It ran first towards Canni, realsied its error, and panicked as it made a circle. Motif pounced, catching it in her claws and tumbling into Canni’s plush fur as she bit down on the Salamanders neck, killing it.

She held her prize in her teeth as she lay on her back, belly in the air against Canni. “ifth gfth ift” she said around her full mouth as she pushed herself back to her feet and placed the salamander in front of Canni’s noise. “Our first Salamander as friends, we did good team work.” she said, moving forward and kissing Canni’s nose well it was close to her.

Cannival Victory! Motif snagged the salamander just in time and crunched it beneath her jaws. Cannival's face lit up and she felt the warmth of fondness and pride wash over her. "Wow!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm, letting herself shift with the pup as she tumbled into her fur. Her mouth opened for a moment as she struggled to decipher the garbled speech, then closed in defeat. She didn't want to admit it however, but thankfully Motif dropped the prize and returned to coherent speech. Canni absorbed the kiss happily, a pleased chuff pulling from deep in her throat. "That is because you - "  Large paws moved to wrap around the pup if she'd let her, and then the lioness would roll onto her back and snuggle Motif onto her soft belly. "- are the best teacher."   "Speech"