News travelled quickly in the Armada. As fast as a bird's flight, in fact. This news told of the newest puppies in the Armada - and their freedom from the den. She didn’t respond immediately, knowing there would likely already be a few wolves out to gawk, or make friends, or whatever it was that people did with puppies. Like she would know, she had been of the youngest litter before these jelly beans had come about. Maybe now people would stop treating her like a baby.

It was later in the afternoon by the time Kite made her way around to the woods. The scent of pups lingered, and she picked up a trail at random. Following it around the woods until she found the little girl at the other end. She’d love to say she knew what the bean looked like, but her mask was firmly in place. She knew she had found the girl by the way Lioness perked up.

In fact, her kitten trotted forward, away from her paws. Kite slowed as she lost her guide, turning her head this way and that as she triangulated exactly where the pup was by her scent. “Hello, I’m Auntie Kite” She said.

WC: 205


"Speech"

Wynter gave a little shiver as she wandered away from her siblings a bit, venturing into the near by trees. The breeze was so cold compared to the warmth of the den! Still, it was so exciting to finally be able to see what was outside beyond the small view she had through the den's entrance so it didn't even matter. She walked with her head tipped back, looking at the trees that were so, SO tall, not really believing just how tall they were even though she was seeing them with her own eyes. Her parents had told them some about what it was like out here and some things about the places their pack lived in, but even her imagination hadn't been this wild!

Her attention was so captivated by her surroundings that she didn't even notice the other, older girl that was approaching her. In fact, she still didn't notice her at first and instead noticed the cat that approached her first. Some movement from the corner of her eye tipped her off and she jumped a little bit with surprise, turning her sapphire gaze away from the tree branches above her to look at the feline with wide, curious eyes, smiling a little with her tail wagging at the new friend she had to make.

Her attention was quickly pulled to the blind folded woman that followed behind the cat, the sight of her made her head tip with curiosity as she wondered why her eyes were covered. Of course she didn't know everyone in her family yet, but she at least knew there was a lot of them and that everyone that was on this side of the pack borders was safe so she wasn't worried at all as the turquoise-marked girl walked up to her. She grinned when she heard that this was one of her aunts, confirming her suspicions. "Hi, Aunt Kite," she greeted happily. She leaned one way and then another, trying to decide if her aunt could see her through her blindfold or not. "That's a cool blindfold, Aunt Kite, but why are you wearing it?"

"Wynter Fatalis"

Kite wasn’t a small wolf, so she wasn’t sure why exactly it was gratifying to know there were small pups around. It irked her that she could see the one she had stumbled upon now. It would be a while before she knew the new faces. Especially since they were living and being raised in the woods, instead of the much more sensible caves of the Col.

She could almost feel the pups attention fall on her, and heard the sounds of Lioness reaching the puppy and wiggling before play-pouncing on the pups paws. She felt a twinge of jealousy. Lioness was her cat.

“It’s a secret, but if you're lucky, I might tell you later” She said mysteriously, and raised a paw to tap her nose. She wasn’t sure what she might have said after that, but Lioness made a sudden noise, one that told Kite to move forward immediately. She did so, almost bumping into Wynter who had leaned forward to inspect her blindfold. “What is it, Lioness?” She asked, frowning at the sudden change in her cat.

A moment later she heard the yowling of the panther as it shot through the forest. Was it heading for them? It must be. That was what Lioness was telling her. Get the pup! “Move, pup, quickly, grab onto my back!” She told Wynter. How close was the cat? She could feel Lioness at her side, puffed up twice her size and hissing.

Total WC: 811


"Speech"

Wynter made a soft 'oooo' of interest as her aunt very mysteriously told her that her blindfold and the reason behind it were in fact a secret! That only made her want to know why even more, but she didn't get a chance to press her for more information before the cat that was with her was suddenly very alert for some reason. She didn't know immediately what was going on, but she could tell from the way the cat–who Kite called Lioness–was acting that it was something concerning. Wynter looked back and forth between her aunt and the feline for a split second, her grin turning into a worried frown, as her aunt questioned her companion.

The unfamiliar yowl that cut through the quiet forest told her very quickly what Lioness had noticed and her gaze snapped over toward the noise, her fluffy, puppy fur bristling as she instinctively inched closer to Lioness and Kite. Luckily her aunt seemed to know what to do and she jumped into action quickly enough, directing her to grab onto her back. "O-Okay!" she replied as she was already starting to climb up onto Kite's back, settling into the brightly-marked fur on her back. She gripped onto her fur with her paws the same way she would if she was riding on her dad's back and held on tight for wherever her aunt was going to take her.

WC: 235
Total: 1046

"Wynter Fatalis"

Kyanite had never in her life had a puppy on her back. Now seemed an awful time to learn how to balance with one, especially when blindfolded, which would hinder her own ability to run quickly. But at least she knew where the puppy was at all times, and would be able to defend the small, squishy creature. She was an Armada warrior, dammit even if she wasn’t sure if she liked puppies. It was her responsibility to protect this one.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you” She said. It was mostly just noise, she had no idea what she was saying, but felt like she should say something. Lioness was already moving, and Kite made quick steps to keep up. She could hear the heavy thud of paws on the forest floor. The cat was getting closer. She raced after Lioness. Feeling naked tree branches grab at her as she struggled to keep her gait even and gentle. The last thing she needed was the pup spilling off her back!

“Lioness, how far is the pups den?” She yelped out, and Lioness snarled back at her. Too far! It was too far at the speed the panther was going. She would have to make a stand.

With the puppy on her back, Kite wiped around suddenly. Lioness was already leaping onto her back, trying to keep the pup stable by making a cradle between her claws. But even the puppy was big compared to a cat. Kite hissed at the feeling of claws in her coat, but she ignored the pain. Instead, she snarled and roared at the cat. Puffing herself up and yowling at the creature. fear me! was her message. Fear me, fear me! Dammit.

Total WC: 1341


"Speech"

Wynter clung tightly to Kite as best as she could with her little forelegs hardly able to wrap half way around her aunt's neck and even though she would have loved to look up and see what was going on, it was easier to just bury her head in Kite's fur as they began to run away from whatever was after them. A couple of times she thought she might get thrown off, squeaking and yelping as she had to scramble a bit to regain her balance and place on her back, but she managed to stay on as they ran through the woods. At some point she noticed Lioness was now on Kite's back as well, the cat's paws helping her stay on more securely. Still, it wasn't until it felt like they had stopped to face their pursuer that she actually lifted her head and looked up over the top of Kite's head to see what it was that was after them.

Her eyes widened with a little gasp at the snarling panther that was only a short distance away, stuck in a stand off with her aunt as the two of them snarled and yowled at one another. At first she thought there was going to be a real fight and she prepared herself to hop off and find a place to hide, but then she noticed the way the bigger cat was glancing away and how nervous it looked, almost as if this wasn't where it wanted to be after all, but that it didn't really seem to know where it wanted to be either. It just looked panicked, but not necessarily by the wolf in front of it. After a few moments it finally turned tail and ran, clearly deciding that this fight wasn't more important than whatever else had it spooked. Wynter sighed heavily and relaxed once the panther was out of sight and she gave what she could reach of Aunt Kite's neck a tight hug. "That was amazing, Aunt Kite! You saved us!"

WC: 341
Total: 1682

"Wynter Fatalis"