The gangly body of the young wolf, already only a few inches shy of her adult height though she was convinced she had many more she'd grow, trotted over the land with a confidence born of the youthful conviction of her own immortality. Her newly-earned scrapes and bruises were displayed with pride, her first taste of true battle doing little to sate her desire for it. She'd had fun even if it hurt, and she'd actually won against the larger, older female. Her step was infected with a jaunty arrogance now.
That lasted about to the point in time when she tripped over something and went flying headlong onto the early-spring ice that still remained in the north. That something stirred and rose with bristling pelt and snarling visage, and the smaller Signy responded in kind, pinning her ears and setting herself defensively. Before the big creature could attack though, there was a sudden flurry of movement from behind the pup as something small and dark boiled out of the ice and rushed the creature with a strange screeching wail.
Signy sat abruptly in shock, and it seemed the other creature was as taken aback as she was, because it scrambled backwards away from the fierce attack before turning tail and running off. Her savior pranced back in Signy's direction and that's when she got her first real look at it. It was short, barely six inches tall if that, but long bodied and with a long bushy tail. It was mostly shades of brown, with rufus at the throat and black at the feet and tail. It's face was cream with a darker brown mask, and tiny white dots marked his ears - mint green eyes stared at her with a rather large amount of attitude.
"Oi, wot you doin gettin the buggerin' coy-otes worked up then eh?"
It took Signy a moment to register what the odd little creature had said. "Is that what that was? A coyote? And what are you? Why's he so scared of you?"
The little creature puffed himself up with pride. "Oy'm a pine marten girly. Ent nobody messes wit'a pine marten. Wot's a little bint like you doin out here in the middle of naught wit none to take care'n you?"
"I don't need anyone to take care of me," Signy answered proudly. "I can hunt some stuff and I've fought. Besides, I don't know where my family are right now." She drooped a little at that last, worrying about Cissy and Tad. Where were they? They weren't by themselves too were they?
"Wahl ya do now!" the little creature declared. To her surprise the marten scrambled up her leg as deftly as a squirrel up a tree to perch on her back, flattening himself out and gripping tufts of black fur. "Ozymandias be moi name, bint, but you kin call me Ozy. Wot be your'n?"
"I'm Signy," was her slightly-dazed answer. Was she funny in the head now because she got knocked on it in her fight? That was the only explanation she could come up with for the rather strange beast that rode her shoulders as she once more trotted further into the unknown.
Signy, Ozymandias
|
![[Image: 4234f0f1-d765-42c4-9a96-28953ac45eea_zpsqqruefmh.png]](http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag366/Tealah_Ala/4234f0f1-d765-42c4-9a96-28953ac45eea_zpsqqruefmh.png)
