Her parents were pretty relaxed when it came to adventuring. As long as she took a companion with her, they didn’t mind her going out for the day. If she didn’t return by nightfall, she knew they would come searching for her. So with her mother’s companion, Cat, in tow, the little munchkin of a girl went off to explore. Though she was small, her leaps were big as she crossed over the boundary line of Veteran’s Plateau. Unlike the valley and forests, the grass here was dead. Delphi also noticed that it seemed particularly cloudy and dim here. Where had the sun? Wasn’t it supposed to be summer? Her brow furrows as her pace slows and she continues her stroll with the Maine Coone feline. “You ever been here before?” She whispers to the companion as her different colored eyes took in the sights. If she looked close enough, the stuff beneath the dirt and rocks seemed to shimmer in the little bit of sun that drifted between the clouds. “Oh, what’s this?!” Delphi squealed as she bounded over to start digging up a strange artifact she’d never seen before.

There are so many places that the young Calico Jack has yet to explore and the boy takes every opportunity he can to find new lands. Today, the place that butts up against the Battlefield is his target and it does not disappoint. Icy blue eyes scan the hulking metal shapes that lay in various stages of being swallowed by the earth; rust marring many of them. As he wanders the land, clouds drift across the sun, blocking most of its rays. It peeks out every now and again but the overcast day does little to dampen his enthusiasm.

However, as he goes, the patchwork-hued wolf believes he is alone. So, when a small voice squeals from somewhere close by, Jack nearly topples over from the sudden fright. Heart thunders in his chest as he rounds on the voice, light paws carrying him toward the stranger. Ready for a fight, he finds, to his amusement, a small pup, happily digging up one of the metal pieces that juts from the ground. Body relaxes and, with hint of laughter in his voice, the boy calls out, “Careful. A lot of things here, have sharp points. Don’t go hurting yourself.” Eyebrows lift in quiet assessment as he watches the pup work.


"Calico Jack"

She was busy digging up her trophy when the young male approached her. The rusted and battered helmet was nearly freed from its dirt prison when his voice spooked her. Startling into the air with fur standing on end and lips pulling up into a snarl, the runt of a pup twirls to face the long-legged patchwork boy. “Why does it matter to you what I do?” Delphi chirps as her ears fall back and her eyes narrow in his direction. “You’re not my dad!” She lets out a snort of air through her nostrils before turning back to her endeavor. As she continues to dig, she glances over her shoulder at him. “This looks too cool to leave here to get ruined,” the pup adds before continuing with her task.

As the pup startles, leaping straight up into the air, her fur standing on end (not much unlike a cat), the girl spins to face him with a snarl on her lips. Brows lift as she speaks, her words causing a laugh to bubble up in his throat that the boy fights hard to smother. Finally, she goes back to digging up the rusted round chunk of metal and Calico Jack snorts the remainder of the laughter out through his nose. Boldly, Calico moves toward the pup, easily saying, “Whoa now, Tiger. I didn’t mean to offend you. But you should be careful around here. That isn’t the only cool thing here.”

Stopping near the girl, he lifts a paw to gently tap one of her small shoulders before directing her attention to a spot not too far away. Several more of the objects she is currently digging up lay scattered around the clearing along with a few swords that either stick up from the ground or lay shattered across its face. A tall wooden pole sticks up from the ground, a cloth sun-bleached and barely hanging on, flutters lazily with gust of the breeze. Softly he says, “That is why you should be carefully.” One paw points to the sword, the dulled edge still able to cut and injure unsuspecting pups.


"Calico Jack"

Delphi ignores him as he comes closer to her. Even as he calls her tiger she fights the urge to spin on him and snap. All she wanted was her dang treasure! Her mom’s stupid companion wasn’t even being helpful! The dang cat was off sleeping in a piece of decaying armor. This guy could’ve kidnapped her by now! Ugh! She probably should’ve paid more attention. When he reaches out to tap her on the shoulder, the pup is once more startled. Leaping into the air, she instinctually spins and lashes out with her teeth and growing saber fangs. “I promise my teeth are much sharper than that thing!” Delphi hisses as she pulls back and begins to stomp toward the pole he had pointed out. As she gets close to it, she reaches out to swipe at it with a paw. What surprised her was the steering pain that ripped across her paw pads. A startled screech leaves her lips as she draws her paw close to her chest. “AH! WHAT?! ITS ACTUALLY SHARP?!” The pup squeals as tears bubble up and she turns to look at the patchwork boy as if he was supposed to help her now.

Calico Jack might not be the smartest wolf around but he does have a kind heart. And today, it seems to be more trouble than it is worth, especially when it comes to this tiny pup. She is sassy and stubborn and when, he approaches to show her the dangers of this long-abandoned battlefield where rusted, dull weapons still hold risks for young, curious paws. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a good idea to touch the unknown pup but hell, Jack wasn’t trying to hurt her and he thought she knew that.

She leaps into the air and what might have been a comical moment turns sour as she lashes out with needle sharp teeth and strikes his paw. Calico Jack recoils, bringing his paw to his chest while a look of utter bewilderment and a deep, fathomless sadness crosses his features. The much taller boy shrinks back as he feels tears sting the back of his eyes and he silently curses his soft heart. The silly pup stomps over to the object he had pointed out, the years may have dulled the once honed edge but it is still sharp which the pup obliviously does not believe.

A sniffle fills the air and he swipes the angrily stinging paw at his eyes, trying to hide the hurt that goes much deeper than just the simple bite. Maybe he shouldn’t have cared so much but, for some strange reason, he does. The stranger swipes at the edged weapon and he winces in sympathy as it rips open her paw pad. A startled screech fills the air as she squeals about it being sharp and, if it had been any other wolf, they might have felt some sense of smug satisfaction at what has happened.

But Jack isn’t that kind of wolf and instead of a laugh, a sad sigh rolls past his lips. Effortlessly, he moves over to where she is, dexterously grabbing the sun-bleached banner that waves in the breeze with his teeth and tears it free. Gathering it in his paws, the boy looks to the pup and lifts one paw in surrender while saying, “I give up. You win. My name is Calico Jack. Now, show me your paw so I can stop the bleeding.” Hopefully, that will make the pup more willing to allow him to tend to her paw.

This has been one hell of a first meeting and a thought occurs to the boy as he waits to see if the pup will allow him to help. Turning his icy gaze to look over the battlefield, he realizes that even after all these years, the weapons that had been made to deal death still work. He notes every sword and strange weapon that juts like broken teeth from the earth. For the first time, Jack wonders why all of these weapons where even needed.


"Calico Jack"

Delphi does not see the tears that bite at Calico Jack’s eyes. She has been warned by her parents that not all wolves are friends even though she wishes they were. Her previous escapades had lent her to much scorning and her a callous attitude toward strangers. If she had seen the wetness brimming his eyes, she might have felt sorry. Or she might not have. There is chaos and unpredictability in the pup that not one wolf could truly understand.  Though as she stands there, with her injured paw clutched closely to her chest, she is nothing but a runt of a puppy in pain. Deep down in that tiny heart of her’s, she does feel sorry for biting him, for being mean and not listening. He was older so he probably did know better, but all she wanted was to dig up her treasure! Had he not seen that? A lot was going through her head as she watched with wide eyes as he snatched a bit of material that fluttered in the wind. As he spoke, she listened. A frown laced across her mouth as she nodded slowly. Hobbling forward, she holds out her paw to allow him to bandage her up. “I’m Delphi Klein,” she mentions softly, shortening her name for the sake of not wanting to speak too many words. “I didn’t want to win. I just wanted to dig up that shiny thing,” Delphi leans back on her haunches in an upright sitting position so she can use her other paw to point at the object she had originally been digging for. Still stubborn as ever, she does not apologize for biting him.

The boy is wary of the small pup that has just bitten his paw yet, when he sees her bleeding and in pain, Calico Jack cannot stop himself from helping. Surrendering to the stranger after he snatches a piece of cloth that was waving in the breeze, the boy extends a large paw out to prop up her injured one. She introduces herself and Jack offers a warm smile at her words, taking her injured paw into his own after she points back at the object she had been trying to dig up. Rolling the paw over in his, he inspects the injured pad before lifting the cloth with his other paw.

Pausing a moment, his icy gaze moves to catch her mismatched eyes and he gently says, “I am going to press this onto the cut. It will sting but it will help stop the bleeding. Try not to squirm… okay?” This is no longer about her biting him and, instead, has become about Delphi’s injury. Once she okays it, Calico presses the cloth against her pad as gently as he can while still having enough pressure to staunch the flow. As he sits there, holding her small paw between his own, the boy turns his gaze back to the girl.

With a lift of a brow and a small smirk, he says, “I know you want to dig all the shiny things up but you need to be careful. That thing,” his head bobs in the direction of the weapon that had injured her, “isn’t the only sharp object around here.” Looking down her paw, he gently wipes at the wound and sees that the blood is beginning to slow. Nodding to himself, he replaces the cloth and pressure while looking to catch the girl’s gaze again.

With a wink, Calico Jack says, “Don’t worry Delphi. I wasn’t trying to ruin your fun or anything. Since you hurt yourself and probably shouldn’t dig anymore, I'll get that shiny object for you. Plus, since it is my fault you got injured, I'll even let you tell me where and what you me to dig up for you. Does that sound good?” His tail lazily thuds against the ground as he attempts to make the pup smile, her small paw still is pressed gently between his two large ones. Calico Jack is nothing but a good boy and he wants to make this angry puppy, happy.


"Calico Jack"

Something about the way his icy stare pierces her calms her temper. There is no hardness in the way he looks at her. Instead, he is calm and almost tender. Especially in the way he holds her tiny paw and speaks to her. It is as if he understands why she was lashing out at him - even though it was undeserved. Inhaling deeply as he prepares her for the sting, Delphi holds her breath and shuts her eyes tightly as he presses down. The sharp sting is real and she winces, but it is nothing she can't handle. As she releases her held breath, she stares back up at the boy and shows him a timid smile. "Ya, I guess you're right," she says, still sitting there, allowing him to put pressure on the cut. Thankfully what he is doing is working and she puts it to memory for next time. Still rather stubborn, her nose wrinkles slightly at his suggestion. There is no doubt that her paw is injured and she won't be able to dig, but getting help from someone else... That would defeat the purpose of proving she was strong and capable, right? Delphi's expression scrunches as she fights the personal war in her head. Moments of silence stretch before she slowly nods and looks back up at him. "Okay, fine. You can dig it up for me, that seems fair," a smirk finally touches the edge of her lips as her tail bats at the dusty ground behind her.  "Is the bleeding stopped?" She looks down at her paw that is still grasped between his two large ones.