"Come on, Tira!" he insisted, nudging her pale butt with his forehead to push her out of the den. "I know it's hot and sunny and stuff but there's so much stuff to see!! I gotta show you these cool trees I saw yesterday!" He had already wandered all over the plains and snuck out to the border a couple times in the few days that they had been free to roam in the areas around their den. He wanted to take his sister with him, but she was being so prissy and fussy! She hadn't even wanted to wrestle when he came back yesterday because he was muddy or something. No fun at all. He wasn't going to go a single more day exploring without her though! There was places to go and things to see and Tira was missing out!

Once he finally got her outside he started bouncing in place, grinning at her as he started nudging her toward the border that separated the plains from the willow tree forest in the distance. "Come on! One of the droopy trees is close enough we can play in it without getting in trouble!" Well, it wasn't exactly on the right side of their border, but it was close enough, right? They would be on the border, instead of over the border so then they still technically weren't breaking the rules! He led her all the way over to one of the willow trees where the long, swaying branches were brushing along the invisible line where all the scent markings were and at the last minute he rushed forward, ducking inside the curtain of branches and leaves, ducking behind the trunk with a mischievous grin, his tail wiggling while he waited for Tira to get close enough for him to jump out at her.

WC: 305/1500

"Arcturus Fatalis"

It wasn't so much the heat and humidity that bothered her—okay, maybe it was a factor—but it really was more the early mornings that Satira hated with all her little puppy heart. For whatever ungodly reason, her idiot big brother loved waking up before the crack of dawn, and he always began every day with either pouncing her or making enough noise that he might as well have attacked her directly. Tira was not a morning wolf. So when he came to wake her up just barely after the sun had finishing rising over the eastern sea, the little tri-furred pup had been less than ecstatic to follow her brother on whatever adventure he wanted to take her on. "Arc, if you don't stop pushing my butt, I'm gonna kick you in the nose!" she snapped back at her pushy brother. So what if he was bigger and stronger than her? She also carried the same feistiness in her Fatalis blood, and she wouldn't shy away from a chance to scuffle with her irritating sibling.

Satira followed him out into the bright morning sun, squinting her sensitive pale eyes against the blinding light until they had adjusted and she could see again. Arcturus was so bouncy and excited to show her something about a cool tree, so with a sigh of defeat she began to follow her brightly-furred brother across the plains of the Armada at his insistent nudging. Gods, he was so pushy! She shot him a glower until he stopped pushing her along and took the lead instead. He mentioned how the tree was at the borders, but close enough that they wouldn't get in trouble for exploring it. Tira rolled her eyes. She didn't much care if they were in the borders or not, they could go exploring it anyway. The rules were more like guidelines anyway. So long as she didn't get caught, they didn't apply to her. And if she did get caught, well, that's what those big blue puppy eyes and her whimpering voice were for.

Approaching the borders, Tira saw not just the tree he had mentioned, but a whole slew of them just beyond in the forest. The little girl blinked in surprise and made a soft cooing sound of amazement while she studied how the graceful fronds fell like liquid down to the ground. She had never seen trees like this before! Not that trees were very common in Armada territory, but these ones were even more special! There was something delicate and beautiful about them and Satira loved them! She followed quickly behind Arc while he rushed towards them, then disappeared behind the curtain of fronds. "Hey, wait up!" she called after him, pushing through the gangly branches until she was beneath the canopy as well. Arc was nowhere to be seen, but his scent was strong in here. Ah, he was hiding... and there was really only one place to hide...

Rolling her eyes again, Tira sauntered slowly over towards the trunk of the tree with a disparaging expression on her face. "Arc...? Where'd you go...? Arc, where are you!" she called out for him, feigning worry so convincingly in her voice it was scary. She smirked and sat down on the opposite side of the trunk, facing it while she lifted a paw and silently extended her feline claws. Arc would come rushing around one side of the trunk or the other to scare her and get a well deserved swipe to the snoot. She began the mental countdown while she waited with edged nerves, ready to spring his own trap back on him. Three... Two... One...

WC: 609
Total: 914 / 1500

"Satira Fatalis"

Arc had to bite his lip to hold back a giggle as he listened to Tira call after him, keeping himself crouched behind the tree trunk as he listed to her push the dangling branches aside and walk into the little secluded space that the willow tree naturally created. There was a pause and then she started calling for him, sounding really scared by his sudden disappearance and it was even harder to keep himself from laughing, his tail wagging at the prank he was pulling on her. He was poised and ready to spring out from behind the tree, his muscles coiled and ready to jump out and pounce on her, already way too eager to see the look on her face when she realized he had tricked her! But before he could do that he heard Ashur growling just outside the draping willow branches and his smile fell away, his gray ears perking at the sound. The feline companion went everywhere with them, but usually he was just kinda quiet and observant. He'd never heard him growl at anything before.

Completely derailed from his prank, he abandoned his post behind the tree trunk to sneak over to the willow branches that concealed them from whatever Ashur was angry at. He peeked through the leaves and spotted the culprit - a big feline that was even bigger than Ashur and had long fangs poking out past its upper lip like Grandpa. It was eyeing the smaller cat like he might be lunch. He looked at it with wide, worried eyes for a moment before backing away from the leaves and looking at Tira. He didn't want Ashur to get hurt! Did they run and get help? What if the big cat spotted them running away and tried to chase them instead? They were trapped in this tree and their feline buddy was at risk!

An idea popped into his head and he leaned closer to Tira, whispering, "Okay, here's what we're gonna do! We're gonna go up behind Ashur but stay behind the branches, okay? And we're gonna growl and bark and stuff, make it sound like there's a whole bunch of wolves! And scare it off!" He grinned and gave her a determined nod before creeping back up to the branches, waiting till she was ready to and giving her a nod so they could start making all kinds of noise at the same time. He was determined to save Ashur from a fight! As much as he liked fighting he really didn't want their friend to get hurt trying to protect them or anything.

WC: 437
Total: 1351/1500

"Arcturus Fatalis"

Much to her chagrin, her reverse sneak attack was foiled by the threatening growls of Ashur from just beyond the willow's fronds. Satira glanced in the direction of the noises just as Arc emerged from behind the tree trunk, going to investigate what was up. She briefly considered swiping at him anyway just for kicks, but instead followed behind her big brother to see what was going on. Arc's sudden look of fear turned Tira serious, wondering what could get her brother so worried. A quick peek through the drapes of branches answered that question for her. She gasped and stumbled back from the fronds when she saw the size of the massive cat considering Ashur like some sort of snack. She shot Arcturus an incredulous look when he mentioned his plan. Did he have any idea how insane that sounded?!

"Arc, are you nuts?! We'll never be able to be convincing enough!" A louder growl from outside, no doubt from the sabertooth tiger, didn't leave her much choice. Following her brother's lead, she ran up to the fronds just behind Ashur and began to growl and snarl as viciously as she could while remaining hidden. Of course, her puppy voice was still very juvenile and high-pitched, and in her mind sounded anything but threatening, but somehow the tiger began to stride off with a sideways glance to Ashur and the tree. The giant cat made its way north away from Armada territory. Satira's heart was racing in her chest from the fear and nerves, blue eyes as wide as dinner plates while she watched the predator disappear beyond hills and trees. That had worked...?

Satira breathed a sigh of relief, flopping back onto her haunches while she took slow, deep breaths to try and calm her racing pulse. That had been too close! "Arcturus, you're such an idiot," she muttered under her breath and shaking her head. A little grin began to appear on her lips while she peered up at her brother, eyes glistening with roguish excitement. "...But that was pretty exciting." She didn't often admit when her brother had good ideas or did something right—in fact, she seldom ever did—but she had to give him kudos, his plan had somehow worked.

WC: 374
Total: 1725 / 1500

"Satira Fatalis"