ardent

take my direction!

quilliam-squilliam



Gem

Obscura
Vassal

Master Intellectual (265)

Expert Navigator (230)

age
1 Year
gender
Female
gems
47
size
Small
build
Light
posts
70
player
Bunni

1K
02-29-2024, 07:59 AM


Gem would have no idea that this task was probably more important for Quill than herself. Would her brother prove that he could be a pack wolf after all? The semantics of pack life and the politics of it all was lost on Gem. She cared not for any of that currently. Instead, she was focused more on the lesson ahead. Her tail wags furiously as her older brother rolls to his paws, her own body shaking out of her fur as he does his own. Yes, finally! A victim to listen to her babble on about the lake nearby. A lake that she often wandered around, frequently investigating the different vegetation and animals. Unlike her siblings, Gem was more interested in the world around her than watching blood seep from their victims.

"I've noticed from the different seasons that the size of the lakes changes," Gem starts their lesson as she leads Quill around the banks of the largest lake. "When I first came out here during the spring, the lakes were larger, full of water, and so many more ducks," she points a paw at what few mallard ducks are left milling around the lake. "Now that summer is almost done and autumn is basically here, there's a lot less water and way more bank. Look at the mud, here," Gem stops a moment to paw at the muddy bank that slopes down toward the water. "You can tell that animals have been here digging for what mom calls tubers," she looks back at Quill with a grin, ignorant to the look of alert that is on her older brother's face.

"There's plenty of amphibians in the area too. I've seen frogs, salamanders, skinks, turtles, there's even a few snakes and fish in the area too, but not as much. I think mama was calling this area a wetlands, like its always wet here," she continues on as they wrap around one of the toes of the paw shaped lake. The next part of her lesson was going to be about predators because those were important too, at least by the words of their father. Predators was something she should always be on alert for because she was so small and an easy target. Plus, she didn't like fighting so flight was her only option unless her companion, Hem, could take them on. And if it weren't for Quill being her guard that day, she would have been in a lot of trouble. The eyes of the jackals that surround them hone in on her.

Quill's sudden direction to stay behind him had her fur standing on end. Ears perked then flattening, eyes going wide as the three mongrels reveal themselves. Oh, no! Cowering, Gem quickly slides behind Quill and back into the grasses so that she wouldn't be seen. Hunkering down onto her belly, she watches her older brother fight valiantly until all three jackals are successfully defeated by Quill. Impressed and also very glad that Quill was as good of a fighter as he was, she didn't argue when he turned to her and ushered them back toward the water's edge and away from the dead and bleeding jackal. Coming to sit at the water's edge, Gem doesn't say anything for awhile. Fear still races through her as she urges her heart to settle. What if one of them had actually gotten to her? Would she ever be able to go adventuring without looking over her shoulder for danger?

When Quill finally speaks, she looks up at him with a frown. "No," her voice is quiet. She looks away, staring out at the calm waters of the lake. "I just wanted to show you what I learned," Gem whispers now, eyes averted from the injuries that her brother sustained. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt," she adds on, sliding her front paws out and resting her chin on her paws to pout and feel bad about what happened.

1727/1500


Hematite, Gem's Mastiff, is always with her unless stated he isn't.




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1. take my direction! Wolfpaw Lake 02:19 PM, 02-08-2024 11:23 AM, 03-11-2024