Though the day was winding down, Hel was as energetic as ever.how could she sleep when there was mischief to be had? The energetic creature would not be stopped by silly things such as the night! Of course, her father might be a little worried if Hel stayed out until the sun came up, but Hel had hours until then. Hours that could be filled with antics and fun and entertainment - you knew, the works. Wriggling in delight at the thought, Hel crouched down low to the earth, imitating how her father had taught her to "stalk," though in reality she had nowhere bear mattered the art. If any wolves came by, Hel reasoned, they wouldn't see her until she pounced. This would surely enable her to take them down and then bring them to her father, who would definitely be impressed by his daughter's hunting prowess. Of course, the issue with that was Hel's plumy gray tail was currently sticking straight up in the air and was pretty hard to miss. Details, details. Ears twitching and tail wagging, Hel want exactly the epitome of sneaky, but she was intent on finding her prey, whoever it might be tonight. She was the mightiest of hunters! And she would not go home empty pawed. "Speech"

Eager as always for adventure, the young pup wolf find herself in Veronica plains. She had been chasing a rabbit all the way from Wolfpaw lake. Little did she know that it was old and slow, she simply thought she was unstoppable and amazing at this whole hunting thing. She had long since surmised that as soon as one entered 'hunting mode' they became invisible, they blended into the background and no one could see them until they leaped ? and by then it was far too late. With this logic at hand she had no idea what had startled this rabbit, perhaps some clumsy pack wolf stomping about, certainly not her wiggling invisibly through the grass! The frightened rabbit was nearly the size of her, but still it ran from the creature that chased it. It let her around Veronica plains and darted near the silver-black hunting pup before vanishing from her view. She stopped next to the other pup, her flanks heaving as she fought to catch her breath. ?Where'd it go? Did you see?? she gasped out to the other pup, having calmed from her race she was prancing before him now, looking him up and down and taking a whiff of him. Really the rabbit was practically forgotten at this point. ?You look like Signy but different? she giggled, swiping a paw at the silver that marred her otherwise black coat. "words"

When the rabbit raced past, Hel was startled, leaping straight up into the air, only to watch in abject horror as it vanished out of sight. She could have caught it! Hel huffed, half ready to leap into pursuit after the creature as it headed towards its realm of safety underground, when another pup appeared. Head swinging upwards, Hel grinned when her gaze settled upon a brown pup that looked only a little bit younger than she. "It went down there!" Hel sounded proud of herself for having located the rabbit's den, and as she gestured with her paw towards the hole in the earth that the thing had run into. Ears pricked towards the other, Hel practically bounced in place, unduly delighted by the presence of a pup that wasn't one of her siblings. This was exciting! "Well, you look like my daddeh but different." The eyes were definitely the same, Hel thought with a twitch of her ears, but it was the other stuff that was more exciting! "Who's . . . Signy?" Her clumsy mouth struggled to pronounce the unfamiliar name, but within moments, Hel had shrugged it off and was turning her attention elsewhere. "Mah name's Helena. What's yours?" Though she went by Hel most of the time, Helena was still more fun to say than plain old Hel. "Speech"

This was Cecily first encounter with another pup outside of her litter mates, and despite the lose of the rabbit a thrill run through at her at the encounter. The other creature had seen the rabbits departure and the brown wolf cast her eyes in the direction indicated. ?Aw man? she exclaimed as she realised it had vanished down a hole. Thats where it had been leading her this whole time, and it had won. Her attention returned fully to her other exciting new find as she took in the pup before her. She giggled softly at being referred to as this persons daddeh. ?You have a daddy? How am I like?? she asked, instantly curious at the prospect of a dad ? since she herself didn't have one, just a mum. ?Signy is my sister and shes all black! And green eyes, and she thinks she she can beat me but she sooo cant? she explained in delighted laughter. She started prancing on her paws, not quite on the spot but side to side as she examined the girl before her. She couldn't help but giggle again. ?I'm Cecily, and we should be best friends!? she exclaimed "words"

Hel paused, tilting her head slightly as she considered the other pup's similarities to her father. "Yer eyes look like daddeh's! His're gween too," Hel explained with a bright giggle, tail wagging happily as she grinned enthusiastically at the pup who stood in front of her. Cecily was as excited as she was to have made a new friend, it seemed, which Hel was definitely okay with. New friends were the best friends! Laughing happily, Hel flopped onto her haunches, grinning lopsidedly at the other pup. "Mah sister Ever rest finks that too." Hel agreed with a nod, "She finks she's best of us." Again, Hel nodded, trying to look sage and intelligent. But the effect was ruined when the pup giggled happily, tail thumping enthusiastically against the earth. Best friends? Huh, it had a ring to it. Maybe her daddy would approve! Hel nodded enthusiastically, laughing happily at the thought. "We be bestest friends!" She informed the other pup firmly, "Ceciwy is a pretty name." Though the foreign pronunciation was difficult for the pup to get right, she gave it a valiant attempt all the same. "Speech"

It seemed she had found a similar comrade as the girl kept talking. She was liking Helena more and more, and it wasn't just because she was the first pup she had found. She was pleased to hear they all had green eyes, her, her new best friend and the girls dad. It made them all similar and awesome together. She giggled as she spoke of her sister, and Cecily nodded in understanding. ?We should teach her? she said, nodding like this was a very serious discussion, despite the laughter they both easily gave off. ?Well so's Helena? she pointed out as the other admired her name. All the same she lifted herself and her head a little higher to show how proud she was. She held it a moment more before, with no warning given would launch herself at the other. Raah!' she said as she aimed to pounce on the other girls back. "words"

This business of teaching Cecily's sister was indeed very serious. And Hel found herself nodding along with the other female, both determined to seem serious - or at least make the subject at paw seem serious. "But how?" Hel queried curiously, gaze intent on the other pup. What suggestion would Cecily have for the mischief that they would surely be engaging? Hel found her mind dwelling on the subject a little as well, mulling it over thoughtfully. If she wanted to teach her siblings something like that, why, she'd bring home the greatest prey ever. Like a wolf! Or something even bigger and better! Like her daddy! Giggling a little, Hel wagged her tail as Cecily complimented her name in turn. "My sisters and my bwother call me Hel!" Hel chirped happily, "If you wanna be my fwend, you can too!" There was a moment's hesitation, during which Hel was just distracted enough that when the other leaped at her, she remained still, tumbling to the earth when Cecily leaped at her back. "No faaaaair!" Hel whined, trying to wriggle away from Cecily. "I wasn't ready!" But now she was prepared!! And if Cecily tried anything else, why, Hel would be onto her! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Normal." vs "Speech." v.s. 'Thought.'

Cecily grinned at the opportunities suddenly presented to her. With this comrade at arms, it would be a lot more fun to prank Signy and if they put their minds to it she was certain they could come up with some mischief. ?We could put crickets in her bed? she giggled, unwitting to Helena?s unspoken masterly idea of bringing Helena?s dad into it. It would then be agreed upon that Helena was called Hel, and in turn Cecily would offer her own nickname. ?You can call me Cece? she offered with a grin, at which point the launching had happened, and she won a point by knocking the other to the ground. More giggling would ensue as the other complained about the unfairness of it all. In the life of a pup, one had to be constantly on their guard from attack! She giggled even more as she rolled off her the other girl, allowing her to wiggle free. She shook out her pout, and pranced on her paws, fully expecting retaliation from the other. ?So what?s it like having a dad?? she asked "words"

Hel nodded enthusiastically at Cecily's idea, tail flicking in the air behind her. "Or!" She began excitedly, practically bouncing in place, "You could hunt mah daddeh down. And bring him back to pwove that you're the best hunter ever!!!!!" Sounding very pleased with herself, Hel cocked her head, waiting to see how Cecily - Cece would feel about this plan. The crickets wasn't a half bad idea either, but Hel didn't think that that could easily be linked back to Cece, in her humble opinion. And the attention was what this was for, right? The question that spilled from Cece's maw distracted Hel from any planned counterattacks. She stood for a moment, head tilted to the side and ears flopping casually. "It's like... Having a giant fwuffy wall 'tween you an' the world." Hel spoke hesitantly, unsure of how to properly explain it. She loved her daddy with all of her heart, but she wasn't sure what it was like to have a dad. "Wha's it like to not have one?" Well, now Hel was actually quite curious. She wanted to know. Maybe, if it wasn't as fun as having a dad, she could convince her daddy to be this pup's daddy too! It seemed foolproof to the pup. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Normal." vs "Speech." v.s. 'Thought.'

At last the master plan would be unveiled and Cecilys eyes would look upon Hel with respect as she spoke. ?That?s a great idea!? she squealed, they could hunt down this dad and then bring him back to Signy and then they would be the greatest hunters ever. She bet Signy an?t never tried something like this before! She giggled again, her wide grin fixed upon the other pup ? she was turning out to be an amazing best friend. Hel would then speak about having a dad and more awe would enter her eyes. Hel was sooo lucky! She clearly loved her Daddy very much and her smile was big for the girl. ?I dunno it?s just my mum and us? she said, furrowing her brow as she tried to think about the differences between having a dad and not. ?There?s Val and he?s kinda like a dad, he plays with me ? so I guess its like I get that sometimes but not all the time cause I don?t have a dad?? she offered, then grinned at her own logic. ?Come on, let?s go find your dad!? she said, her bum wiggling crazy now in her excitement. "Speech"

Hel giggled happily, pleased by Cece's approval of her hunting suggestion. The gray and black youngster's ears pricked towards the other pup as she spoke, but Hel was busy being pleased with herself, to say the least. She was glad that Cece had found her idea so interesting! "Val is a part time daddeh!" Hel declared with a proud nod, glad that she had managed to figure out the tricky title that this Val would receive. But she would be distracted again within moments, her tail wagging joyously at the thought of 'hunting' her daddy down. "Les go!" Hel yipped happily, leaping forward. "We gotta find mah daddeh fast fast fast!" Hel sang out, tail wagging as she began to sniff the air madly, seeking any sign of her father. Where, oh where could he be? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Normal." vs "Speech." v.s. 'Thought.'

Cecily was truly getting a glimpse at Hel?s wisdom, and she nodded in eager approval as she gave a proper title to Val ?It?s perfect! I love it!? she declared, rolling it over in her mind ? Val, part-time Daddy. She giggled again, a contagious bout of happiness that she drowned within. She looked at her black pelt best friend with a broad smile, thinking how fortunate she was to have found this girl ? all thanks to a runaway Rabbit!



They would start their hunt and Cecily would happily let the other take the lead ? Hel would know where to find him where Cecily didn?t even know what he looked like. She was already forming a plan in her mind, consisting of epic stealth and surprise and how they would tackle this daddy and bring him down. She was sure they could drag him to Signy, it should be easy ? right? ?how far is she?? Cecily asked in a loud stage whisper.


"Speech"

Loki wasn't surprised to find that Hel was gone when he'd showed up with a pair of hares for Imena and the pups. Aksel too was getting trickier to keep safely near the den, and having the two of them both getting into trouble at once usually meant that one or the other would be able to slip away uncaught. At least Everest and Acadia were a little easier for Imena to keep an eye on. Aksel, he'd noticed now that the boy was well and talking a lot more, had taken to calling Imena his mother, which made him more than a little uncomfortable. Maybe a little, should he admit it, jealous. It implied that she was part of their little family group, that she had some right to the children, and Loki was getting more than a little bit of an urge to escape the stifling bounds of normalcy implied by the traditional mommy-daddy-babies thing he found himself in. But never would he leave his children. Speaking of, he was hot on Hel's trail, following it from the den where Imena still watched the others. She was surprisingly tricky for a pup - maybe it was his genes that did it. He ignored the border markers - what meaning did they have to him anyway? Particularly with such an important trail to follow, he would risk the Valhallans getting pissy about it. But the trail was coming to a fast end, as he could see the grass wave from his gray-coated daughter marching purposely back in his direction trailed by... another pup? Well, Valhalla may be willing to allow him to stay near them but he couldn't see them just believing him if he said "No ma'am, I wasn't kidnapping your pack's pup at all, she just followed me home is all" so he'd need to send her packing quick before someone found it missing. Leaping forward, he landed with a flourish between the two pups... and then almost fell on his face as his gaze finally fell on the second pup. The pup... the spitting image of the female he'd come across after his encounter with Skoll. A hair darker, maybe, but he'd only caught a glimpse of the female in the faint light of the cave entrance before she'd fled into deeper darkness and things... happened. He was probably just imagining it, his repressed guilt making him see things. He drew a deep breath, trying to even out his shock, but only made it worse as he drew in her scent... a scent that was quite obviously mixed with that of his former victim. A queasy feeling rose in his stomach as his gaze remained fixed on eyes that matched his own pups', eyes that matched... his... and he could not make himself move. "Speech"

Hel padded easily at Cecily's side, lanky legs extending to carry her across the ground as she sniffled and snuffled, seeking any signs of her father's scent, unaware that he was tracking her in that very moment. Things were seeming hopeless when there came a rustle in the grasses around them - Hel swung her head upwards and let out a startled yip when her father leaped out from between them, scooting backwards as she gazed up at the black male. "We found him, Cece!" Hel proclaimed with a giggle, leaping playfully forward to land in front of Loki as well. "Daddy?" The youngster questioned, head tilting as she eyed him questioningly. What was wrong with her father? The gray and black female's tail began to wave cautiously as she glanced at Cece, hoping that her father wasn't angry with her for running off. She'd been on her way back, honest! And she hadn't gone far - technically they were allowed on Valhallan territory, right? And anyways, her father had found her. No harm, no foul, right? So why wasn't he saying anything? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Normal." vs "Speech." v.s. 'Thought.'

So they had started their adventure, Cecily and her new best friend, they were gona find a Daddy and catch him and it was going to be the most epic thing Valhalla had ever seen. She followed beside Hel, letting the other lead since she knew more about their ?prey? and she would be astounded at how quickly Hel would produce results. A dark shaded man would rustle through the forest and jump out in front of them and Cecily would squeal (through she would never admit it) in surprise. She quickly regained her composer, standing tall beside Hel, her butt doing a little excited wiggle behind her as the other told her they had found him! ?You?re really, really good!? Cecily breathed to the other girl, they had found him so fast! Hel would bound forward and Cecily would follow her lead, taking the male by his back, leaping for his tail in an attempt to catch and hold him that way, a little leap and little teeth out to clamp about it. Set on her prey she wouldn?t even here the surprised catch in Hel?s voice that spoke of something maybe being not quite right. ?Rarr, we cough you Mr Hel Daddy? "Speech"