I'm stuck here in the middle at war with good and evil There! He stepped back and admired his reflection in the water. From the tips of his ears to the pads of his paws, Laufey was covered in mud. Even his nose had mud on it. The only things to escape the coating were his eyes, of course, because not only would putting mud in them hurt but it would be silly. An odd sensation on one of his paws drew the pup's attention away from his reflection. Squinting, his eyes sought out what was tickling him and when they found what they were looking for, he squealed, flinging the creature back into the water. He backpedaled and tripped, landing unceremoniously on his rump. What. Was. THAT?! It took Laufey no more than second to recover and when he did, he jumped straight into the water and began to hunt around for the Thing. Whatever it was was small and slimey with tiny, lidless eyes and funny ear/whiskers things. It'd been tangled in a glob of mud that had dribbled down to his foot and been desperately trying to escape when he'd noticed it. Unfortunately for it, the mud puppy was being hotly pursued. He pawed at the mud, following the squiggly tail that kept just a heartbeat ahead of him. "Get back here! I won't eat you, I promise!" "Speech" I can hear you talkingLaufey

Hestia

It was at this time that a younger pup stumbled forwards, out of one of the few bushes. It was obvious that she was mad at something, and not even the sight of this older pup would scare her. Instead, her began to bristle in anger, and she began to show her teeth a little. Her light blue eyes narrowed, and the angry pup stalked over to the larger pup's paws, glaring at him the entire time she did this. Hopefully, her angry silence would be enough to make him leave. But then, something caught her eye, and she raced over to the creature, pinning it down with one paw. Reaching over, the pup wrapped her jaws around the creature's spine, gently biting it. She watched the pup from the corner of her eye, and biting the creature's spine quickly. Then, she began to eat a little of it. Raising her head, her muzzle specked with blood, she growled a single word. Leave.

I'm stuck here in the middle at war with good and evil There it went! Laufey raced after the salamander, pounce after pounce bringing him closer to its escaping tail. His approach may have been a bit rough, but really, he didn't want to hurt it, all he wanted to do was look at it. Something flashed out of the corner of his eye and Laufey skidded to a halt, eyes growing huge as another pup snatched up his salamander. He watched it struggle, little legs kicking and tail lashing, and then all at once its legs tensed and started to kick wildly before going still. Above the salamander's dying body, cold blue eyes watched him. All the warmth left Laufey's body and he stared at the stranger, dumbstruck but what had just happened. He couldn't begin to understand it, his whole mind struggling to make sense of it all. Every inch of him felt like it was laced with ice. And then, when he couldn't possibly feel any colder, the process reversed. He couldn't begin to understand the 'why' of her actions and he didn't care. When what had happened finally registered, Laufey began to shake. Rage tingled the length of his body and his hackles lifted. The killer commanded him to leave and if he hadn't been so thoroughly consumed by hate he would have been indignant, for he had been there first. Her command would be blatantly and aggressively ignored. Calling on an explicit-laced argument he'd hear between his mother and Raven to barb his own words, Laufey snarled, "You BITCH!" and then he flung himself at the murderer. He didn't know the first thing about fighting, but instinctively his ears flattened and his eyes narrowed. He dove at Hestia head on, jaws wide in the hopes that he could sink his teeth into her like she'd sunk hers into the salamander. He had no target in mind; whatever he managed to grab would be savagely bitten until his jaw fell off or his anger cooled, whichever came first. "Speech" I can hear you talkingLaufey

Uphill struggle, blood sweat and tears

Tyr was in one of his currently-rare times awake - he'd been sleeping a lot, drowsy and sluggish after eating far more than he was used to, but these times he was actually awake he felt much more energetic. So he'd been spending that time slinking through the lands belonging to his new pack, avoiding the other pack wolves in favor of just being alone to explore, for now. He'd have to start interacting with the rest of the pack eventually, but for now...

It seemed that his time of interacting was to come sooner rather than later, as the faint sound of a puppy's voice raised in squeaky puppy rage drew his attention. Tyr's head came up; the sound was faint because of his hearing, not distance, as he'd unexpectedly come upon two young pups facing off in anger. One looked quite young, smelled of another pack, and was chewing on some sort of salamander (was that even a healthy thing for a puppy to eat?) while the other was bristling at her in fury and fully prepared to leap. Tyr leapt forward, keeping his leg tucked to his chest and going three-legged for the sake of speed. He slipped his patchy body between the two pups just as the older pup flung himself forward, jaws agape in an obvious threat. Tyr braced himself for the small body's impact, flinching in anticipation of possible tiny teeth. "Stop it right now!" he barked. "Both of you!"

That was the best way to show authority, right? It wasn't something he had experience with... And wasn't that other puppy entirely too young to be wandering into another pack's territory? Didn't they have someone to watch their pups? Like a mom or something?



"Speech"

Nothing to gain, everything to fear

Valhalla was a good pack, really with its peaceful territory under the warmth of the sun. He often found himself strolling through it, checking the borders or bringing kill to its mothers. He was beginning to enjoy the quite of it, so different to the life he had lived since leaving home, the life of a rogue.
He was startled from his revere with a high-pitched cry you bitch! coming from the maw of a pup, he was astounded not only at the menace in its little tones, but its choice of wording also. He broke into a long stride, covering the territory quickly and bursting into site to see, to his surprise, one pup covered in mud, another with prey dangling from its jaws, the little one leaping towards the black and even as Alpine?s jaws opened to let loose a thunderous growl another wolf broke into the scene and placed himself between the two.

?What do you two think you?re doing?
His tone heavy with his strength, backed up by the ripple of muscle beneath fur and flesh as he bounded forward, gripping the scruff of the mud-covered pup that had landed on the older Tyr, finding s grip in the fleshy backing there he pulled Laufey free, the roughness in his tones and movements where, however not there in his grip on the pup, firm but no painful as he pulled him free before dropping his grip on the other in an attempt to leave him gently but firmly on his rump on the ground and leaping over Tyr with a powerful bunch of hind legs, his jaw open to grab onto the scruff of the Rogue pup, he didn?t know what the other would try to do but he would move to scruff her also and knock her gently but firmly on her rump. He shot an apologetic look to Tyr, but didn?t feel it would be right to stop and chat with this other Vallaha wolf in the midst of this.

?Now, playful fighting I can understand, but what is the meaning of this. You pups better have a damn good reason. For one, rogue?s should not be here unsupervised?
Here his sharp, silver glare fell on Hestia
?And for two, pups shouldn?t be at each other?s throat?s with death on their minds. Why did you lunge, son?
His voice softened at the very end, the fire cooling in his eyes as he looked at Laufey, but in the rages absence there was something else... disappointment.



"Speech"

The commotion of yelling had the Primary Theta turn her course towards it, a large bundle of Thyme, Lavender, and Poppies held firmly in her jaws. Ears twitched to figure out what the heck was going on. She was unable to detect clear scents with the herbs in her jaws but she could at least make out Valhallans. She picked her pace up to a brisk trot till the scene unfolded before her. Sky blue eyes watched for a moment, eyeing the two pups and then the males. With a huffy grunt she called out to them before moving closer. Pausing to place the herbs down gently her usually warm eyes grew hard. First she turned to the white male.No wonder pups these days have such bitter words leaking from their jaws. You, sit over there, no more foul words from you ever is to be spoken infront of any pup. She barked out, tail raised slightly. She then looked at the patchy russet and black male, giving a soft nod to him, eyes softening before she looked at the pups and shook her head.Young ones, anger is not the answer to any problem. Come, calm down and tell me whats the matter. Why must you two have such anger as to use such language and bitter actions? Her voice became soft, soothing. Placing her haunches down on the earth she stared down at the pups. It was not harsh, but demanded and answer like any mother would to quarreling pups. She held an air of tendering loving yet was firm to get to the bottom of this. She glanced back up at the patchy male with a soft smile, and the white male a slightly frown but a smile was still there. She was not mad at anyone here. Everyone made mistakes, it was just a matter of learning from them. She had not missed the fact that the female pup was not Valhalla, which concerned her. Why was she alone? Speech Thought Others

Erani

It seemed today would see some drama, as the foreign smell, young and originating from Ludicael, brushed over her muzzle. The snowy Alpha Primary headed off at a swift trot, breaking into a canter as she heard the eruption of angry pup, followed by Tyr, Alpine, and Imena?s voices. She came into the scene with a low rumble, tail raising to a flag as her eyes swept the scene. ?Imena. Alpine is an adult. You will treat him as such. Politely. As for this little stranger, I know where she comes from. What she is doing so far from Ludicael is another question completely. Laufey, young one, until you are much older, language like that is not allowed within my borders. Oh, and Alpine, this is Imena, our Lead Healer, or Theta Primary.? Calm voice rolled out the commands and introduction, and then her eyes turned to the young interloper on her territory. This wasn?t one of Song?s children. Too young. ?What brings such an adventurous child so far from home?? All in all, this situation was rather amusing to the old female, and a faint smile fought to show itself upon the corners of her mouth. She hoped that her appearance would diffuse the tense atmosphere, and she cast a glance and a smile upon Tyr, recalling that she had heard him bark out a command, instead of stammering. He was already beginning to grow.

Hestia

The pup rolled onto her side with a snarl as the other lunged, with a cry of "You BITCH!" Hestia only glared at the patchy wolf now taking the blow for her. I didn't need any coward to take a blow for me. She muttered around the salamander, deciding to finish it quickly. Blood speckled her muzzle a little more, she she continued to lay down as a wolf jumped over the patchy one, his jaws aiming for her scruff. Then, came a third wolf. She commanded the white wolf to sit. Then, a last wolf came, asking her why she was so far from her own borders. It was then that the pup moved her head away, her blue eyes wide in obvious shock. You mean this is a pack? She asked, and then thought of something. What if they asked her why she hadn't checked for borders? Glaring at the pup, she added, I couldn't smell for the stench of the creature over there. Standing up, she let out a soft growl, and stared at the other pup. We'll meet again. And next time, it won't be a salamander I kill. She thought, then turned around and moved towards Ludicael borders. I can get home myself. She growled over her shoulder. Maybe roll in a creek first. Get the stench off of her. EXIT HESTIA FROM THREAD

I'm stuck here in the middle at war with good and evil A rush of mottled black suddenly blocked his view and Laufey slammed into the wall of fur, his jaws closing around the front of Tyr's shoulder. Before he could process it all, the pup felt teeth on the back of his neck and he was lifted off his paws. Just as quickly as he was snatched up, Laufey was deposited on his rump. Immediately he stood up, hackles still raised, but the boy didn't pursue the fight for the adult intervention was enough. That did not, however, stop his mouth. As he'd lunged for her, the female pup had rolled over and Laufey had noticed. "That's right, you little pansy, all bark no bite! I'da chewed you up and spit you out. Stupid girl." He didn't have a thing against girls, his own sister scared the pee out of him, but this one gave them all a bad name. She was stupid and cowardly. No wonder lots of boys didn't respect them; they probably knew girls like this one. Quite suddenly there were adults swarming all around, but Laufey only had eyes for the mean girl. He gave her the dirtiest look he could muster, a look that suggested she was a pile of scat he'd had the misfortune of stepping in. He'd remember her, he would. It would be easy; there couldn't be that many ugly faces running around. Everyone was yelling at him like he was the bad guy and he made an irritated noise in the back of his throat before explaining. "I was minding my own business and she just ran up and killed my...my..." He wasn't entirely sure what the thing he'd been chasing was- and that's why he'd been chasing it. It was small and slimy sooo... "My lizard-frog. I was chasing it 'cause I wanted to look at it. I didn't want to hurt it." Finally his eyes left the mean girl's face and dropped to the ground. He muttered, "I even promised it that it wouldn't get hurt." His eyes returned to Hestia, glaring daggers at her. "She yelled at me to leave and I decided to kick her aaaa..butt..'cause someone should." His eyes darted to the adults, checking to make sure none of them were going to thump him for the mistake he'd almost made. The girl sniveled out something about him stinking and he shot back, "You sure that wasn't your breath blowing back in your face?" The girl continued talking like she was a freakin' adult and Laufey couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes at her, so that's what he did. For good measure, just in case everyone wasn't aware of how full of crap he thought she was, he threw in an incredulous throat noise. 'I can get home by myself,' he mentally mimicked in an exaggerated voice. Yeaaah, right. The pup snorted and almost told her he hoped she got eaten by lizard-frogs but didn't because he strongly suspected the adults would pounce on him. Finally relenting and letting himself calm down, Laufey sighed, "I'm sorry I said a bad word and," he lifted apologetic eyes to Tyr, "I'm sorry I bit you. I just really, really wanted to bite the mean girl." For good measure, his gaze then flicked to Alpine, "And I'm sorry I made you say a bad word too." "Speech" I can hear you talkingLaufey

Uphill struggle, blood sweat and tears

His unthinking actions seemed to have saved the young pup from injury, though unsurprisingly he was to pay for it when the pup barreled into him and latched sharp little teeth into the front of his shoulder. Sigh. Tyr wasn't left alone for long to figure out how to keep two angry pups from each other. He had time only to lay back his ears in offence, let out a sharp "Hey now, I could have just let him teach you a lesson, you know" to the insulting words of the younger pup before the older pup was pulled away from him by a much larger male who proceeded to leap over Tyr to reach the younger pup. Tyr dropped to his belly, ears and tail drooping as whatever authority he'd managed to muster faded, as the male loomed over him and the pups both.

Tyr's discomfort grew as another wolf appeared, barking harsh words at the first male. Tyr did his best to sink into the ground at that point, still between the two pups and therefore not only within view but front and center. This, THIS was why you don't get involved in other people's problems, he scolded himself. To make matters worse - or better? - Erani swept in like an angel of stardust and cast her ocean-deep gaze over the group. Her attention swept to him, and Tyr flinched but she smiled, and one ear pricked up. What had he done right?

The younger puppy growled some puppyish insults back at the older boy and made to leave, claiming she could get there alone. "Uh, wait, is that a good idea? I mean, if something happens, wouldn't we get blamed? She's just little..." he started quietly and trailed off uncertainly, so it could very well have gone unnoticed in the tumult, but Tyr winced anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid, just shut UP Tyr.

The Valhalla puppy seemed to back down from his posturing, offering apologies, including to Tyr. "Oh, well... that's ok," he said to the boy. "I'm pretty used to getting chewed on anyway." He tried to say it jokingly, but it kind of came out sounding a little lame and pitiful, so he offered a shrug and a kind of half-smile to try to lighten it a little. How soon before he could sneak away?



"Speech"

Nothing to gain, everything to fear

Just as Alpine was pulling the situation under control another wolf loomed into appearance, this fae however gave him the surprise of his life as she told him to sit in the corner like some sort of scolded pup. His ears flattened back and he only barely managed to stop himself snarling at this wolf. He had had things under control, she had no need to pull her weight around here and demean him in front of the very pups he had been trying to set right. He barely had attention for anything else, he could barely bring himself to believe the new comer would do such a thing, and well he was not a wolf with a temper he could feel it rising within him now.


He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and in this time Erani had appeared, and she also attempted to reign the situation into control ? like this needed 2 adults and an (apparently) lead healer (He couldn?t see how someone so nasty could be named after such a protecting station) and then the Alpha herself! Shaking his head in amazement he brought himself into a polite bow to his leader
?With your leave?
He said gently to Erani, after all his grudge was not to her whom had tried to make things right. He barely even caught the name of the wolf who had mocked him so easily, barely even acknowledged her presence, with that he turned and left the scene.


Exit Alpine


"Speech"

Imena knew she could have said thing alil better towards the white male. But it irked her to hear him curse and then wonder why the young pup did too. The pup was only picking up on what her heard from others. It was a shame really, and the only way to stop it was to get others to think about what they said infront of him. And then just like every single time she interacted with others in some form, Erani appeared. Imena could not help the huff that slipped from her jaws. Why was it that she felt like Erani was always trailing after her and constantly correcting her? Did she not trust her? She watched the others, Alpine's exist and noted his obvious dislike towards her now. With a sigh she turned to Tyr and slowly approached to gently nuzzle his shoulder. He seemed so frightened.If there is anything I can do to help you, just call for me.. She whispered in a soft voice. She had not missed the disfigure twist of his paw. She guessed it was either an old injury or he was born with it. Either way it seemed to bother him slightly, this whole time it had been pressed up against his body. With that to look to the young pup with a half smile, ruffled the top of his head with her nose and turned away. Walking up to Erani she paused.Then treat me like one.. She muttered for Erani's ears only before she too left the scene, tail dragging and ears back. Speech Thought Others