Kite was very excited to explore the woods for the first time. She had special permission from their father to explore it in the night. So that she and Vanta could really appreciate it. They had Bast and Marshal with them, as well as Lioness of course. Her blindfold was pushed up to her ears as they crossed into the territory. Her eyes wide and curious as she took in the sights and scents. With summer starting, everything was alive and bright with colours that they could make out in the starlight.

As she stood beneath a towering oak, a leaf fell free and drifted down in front of her nose. She giggled and snatched it. Missing her attack so it landed on the ground in front of her. Reaching down to grab it, she turned to show it to Vanta, giggling some more. Feeling free and excited. It was clear that the both of them much preferred the night. Here they were, no adults, no Azure. Just her sister and their fathers companions. “What should we do first, Vanta?” She asked, turning to look at her crystal eyed sister. She wondered if there was anything in particular their sister wanted to do first. She knew one of their Uncles who had left the pack before they were born had built a treehouse somewhere in these woods. Should they see if they could find it?

WC: 237


"Speech"

Like her sister, Vanta felt much more at home in the night then she could ever in the day. Even with the way the caverns shielded her from the sun, they could never compare to walking beneath the moonlit trees and open sky. The stars were beautiful - or what little of them she could see from the hanging canopy were - and the way the leaves softened the light gave an air of mystery to the territory. Absently she wondered if all pups were allowed out after dark to explore, or if it was just a small positive Vanta and Kite could enjoy for their disability. Surely most parents preferred their young to be out during the day where predators were fewer and more warriors frequently roamed.

Kite's soft voice broke the heavy silence, scaring away an owl who had perched up above to observe. Vanta tracked the fluttering of it's wings through the gnarled branches up into the leaves where she could see it no longer, crystalline eyes wide and adoring. "I want to climb." She offered in reply, turning her grin to her sister. "Do you think we'd get in trouble? I bet there's so much cool stuff up there to see - and dad only said we can't climb the mountain, nothing about the trees." The territory here had a unique draw to it different then any other woods, gnarled branches held high and low, some at gentle slopes and almost all of them wide enough to hold the weight of curious paws. The vertical space in the woods was as large if not larger as the expansive borders and Vanta wanted to see it all.  

Total Word Count: 515/1500

"Speech"

Kite watched the way her sister's eyes moved to follow the path of an owl. It was harder to track the eye patterns of the two crystal girls, but to Kite this was all she had known. She knew what to look for beneath the strange layer of colour. She wondered what it would be like to be able to take to the skies. Her poor, light sensitive eyes would do well looking down at the earth, with the moon behind her. In fact, that sounded perfect. She would be able to see everything. She let out a wistful sigh, then laughed as she realised Vanta was on a similar train of thought. Her sister however had already thought of a way to give them some height. “I wanna climb!” she agreed, extending her retractable claws and bounding towards the tree.

“After you” she said politely, holding out a paw to let Vanta go first. After all, this had been her sister's idea. She deserved the honour of getting to experience it first. She giggled as she stood there. “Maybe we’d get to catch an owl?” she whispered to her favourite sibling.

WC: 200
Total: 715

"Speech"

Excitement poured through the pup as her sister grasped onto the idea, though Vanta's grin faltered slightly as she turned it upon her to see her feline claws slide out from their sheaths in anticipation. She glanced down at her own paws, dragging the toes through the dirt in disappointment. Kite was already bounding toward the tree however and she did not have long to dwell on her own lack of gifts, shrugging her shoulders and hurrying along behind the other pup.

Kite held out her paw in gesture, giving Vanta the honor of the first climb. Her smile returned, grateful for her sister's thoughtful soul. "You're right, it's safest for me to go first anyways, you're gonna be a stronger climber and you can help me if I look like I'm gonna fall." Kite's claws would keep her secure to whatever trunk or branch they could cling to. Lacking those, there was no guarantee Vanta wouldn't just slip and tumble from the bark.

Thankfully the branches here were not the sort to only allow a uniquely clawed wolf to rise up them, and it did not take long for Vanta to find an angle where she could leap up enough to catch her armpits upon the branch. Her back paws wriggled, scratching against the bark until finding purchase in a knot and pushing herself the rest of the way up. From there it was a gradual incline, up into the trees.

"It's cool up here!" Vanta made it halfway up the ramp-like branch before turning her head back, wanting to share the experience with her sister. Her gaze swung around and down to where Kite was - but something in a neighbouring tree caught her crystalline eye before she could give to her sister her encouraging grin. The shape was familiar, almost... "Bast?" Vanta called to the shadowed figure hesitantly, ducking her head to try and see past the leaves toward it.

Total Word Count: 1037/1500

"Speech"

Kite, excited about the prospect of climbing trees, missed Vanta’s sadness over her own lack of claws. Instead, she turned to find her sister coming up behind her, happy to take the offered point of going first. “I’ll always catch you” Kite said, voice serious. She knew that her and Vatna were always going to be dealing with resentment and judgement. People doubted them at first glance. They had to stick together, and fend for each other. Kite was just a little better at scrapping than Vanta was, and that meant she had to look out for her sister. She took the job very seriously sometimes.

She watched as Vanta started up the tree, and then followed along behind her. She was a few paces back and didn’t notice what Vanta did. As her sister called out the name of one of their babysitters, she raised her head. A grin formed on her face as she thought how clever they were to find where Bast was hiding. Instead, she saw the gleam of eyes the wrong colour in the trees where Vanta was staring. “Look out!” she called in alarm, scamping with sudden speed up the tree, and as she reached her sister she attempted to vault over the other wolf, to place herself between her sister and harm. Of course, being in a tree made the whole manoeuvre rather difficult.

WC: 238
Total: 1275


"Speech"

Kite realized the danger a moment before Vanta had the chance, clambering at speed up the tree and fucking doing some ninja move overtop Vanta's young body and damn near displacing her from the branch entirely. Lacking the claws for grip she was forced to throw herself to the bark, hugging it tight with her limbs until the feeling of teetering dangerously stopped. By then, the cat was near. It had leaped from it's tree to the girl's own, balancing expertly higher up on the branch and crouching it's way down toward them. Whelp, they were going to die.

Suddenly a flap of wings caught Vanta's attention, and the toucan who once belonged to their mother had joined the fight. Flapping it's wings hard before the cat's face, it gave the children a moment to find their way off the tree at the very least. "RUN"! Vanta shouted, turning and taking the opportunity to make it to flat ground. She was not fast upon the branch and she knew the toucan could not distract the cat forever, already she could hear the departing wingbeats that likely signalled Blue headed off to go get help.

To climb down from the branch would be too slow; once Vanta reached the lowest point, she jumped. A sharp pain reached her forepaws as they hit the earth first and hard, but there would be time to think on strains and sprains later, when they were both safe. Turning her head, she called out to her sister again, tearfully. "Please, Kite, don't fight it, just run!"

Total Word Count: 1537/1500

"Speech"

Before Kite could decide what to do, their mothers toucan appeared directly in front of her, flapping its wings to distract and irritate the cat. Heart beating quickly, Kite began to scramble backwards. Luckily, her sister was already moving, clearing space on the branch for her.

She heard the toucan lift off, and put on a burst of speed, realising the cat would be coming after them now. As her paws hit the forest floor, her kitten Lioness appeared hissing and spitting at the big cat. Kite paused only long enough to scoop up the angry kitten, and started running. Chasing after her sister as they tried to get to safety before the big cat could catch up to them.


"Speech"