Storms

The rain started to fall, gently at first, and in that gentle pitter patter of the forest she picked up the paws of another. Her ears twitched, nostrils flaring to bring in the scent of a girl only moments before the cub bounded forward from the foliage and up to her. At first, toad was nervous, her ears falling back and to the sides as she shrank slightly into the bark of the tree, pressing herself more firmly there. This had to be a trap, but as her gaze absorbed the girls body language, she found herself cautiously relaxing, a faint uneasy smile pulling at her lips. The little ones tail wagged and a genuine smile could be found…no this was no trap, just the innocence of children. “I…wanted to see if there was room for me here…” She answered, awkwardly, confused that a cub was questioning her. Where were the adults.

Another would appear, much smaller than the other girl. Toad’s ears pulled forward, they both displayed body languages that suggested they were friendly, soothing her unease. Although, she was curious why the other was so…tiny. She was more forthcoming, however, greeting her and telling not only her name, but her sibling’s name and their ranks. Her head cocked to the side as she mentioned their dads would be there shortly. Dads….Interesting.. “Hi, I’m…uh…” She paused, another had appeared, this one far larger and clearly an adult. She ducked down, showing signs of submission as she once more pressed reassuringly agains the trunk of the tree. Ignoring the rain that was beginning to fall a bit harder now.

Her heart raced as the man approached her, apprehension twisting her gut, even though he approached in a friendly manner, she could not help it. He fondly and teasingly ruffled the fur of his daughters and she grinned fleetingly at the gesture. His name was Beauregard, what an interesting name. He was the…Artifex? What was that? Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she remained silent as he went on. He invited her further into the territory and while she immediately moved away from the tree, she hesitated a moment before moving forward and following the father and his pups further into the territory to a small makeshift hut  that they could speak in- out of the rain.

Toad entered the hut, moving to her immediate right so that she was close to the exit- ready to run if this proved to be a trap. “I’m called Toad…” She answered, trailing off awkwardly, waiting for the giggles and sneers at her name before continuing. “I was hoping to find a place to live… I’m new to this land and I’m not used to this…weather.” She wrinkled her nose at the mention of the weather. She didn’t really like the wetness. After a moment her eyes widened slightly and she spoke quickly. “I- I’ll pull my weight, I promise.. I’m a good hunter…well…I’ve been able to keep myself fed anyway so I think I’m decent… and I’m good at learning the land, I remember where I’ve been really well, I think that’s a good skill to have, I’m a decent runner…but I’m not good at relaying messages or anything…” She trailed, offering an embarrassed, wolfish smile. “I talk a lot when I’m nervous.” As if he couldn’t tell. Quickly, she decided she would just stop talking and let him process the word vomit that she had just projected at him.