An early morning sun drifted lazily over the eastern horizon. Warm rays of light shine down from above, peeking through clouded skies that threaten an afternoon full of rain. The world is quiet for now. A gentle breeze flutters the nearby orchard leaves that cause a few over ripened apples and pears to drop from their branches. Their quiet thuds against rich grass and supple dirt bring the eye of animals toward them. A quick, early morning snack would be just the thing for a couple of rabbits and foxes.

What brings the small pup awake was not the hiss of a fox as it snags a piece of over ripened fruit. But rather the loud garbling noise of a feathered bird that she's not quite sure what the name of it is. She blinks slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes before stretching out her legs and wandering over to the mouth of the den. Peering out into the shadows of a dewy morning, Sonnet glances over to the towering barn with its strong wooden beams and inviting double doors. The animals all appeared to still be asleep, but surely would be awoken soon as the racket coming from the barn sang out once more.

Now she definitely had to go investigate. Looking back once at her snoozing family, Sonnet figures that heading over to the spacious barn wouldn't get her in trouble. After all, both of her mothers had taken her there before to visit with other pack members so surely it was a safe place to be. As she's about to begin her journey alone, the blinking eyes of her larger, protective brother, Ipos, find her. Freezing for a moment, she smiles timidly at him with that obvious 'oops, I've been caught look.' When he gets up to wander over to her, her tail wags excitedly as she greets him with a bump of her forehead against his neck and a quick lick of her tongue across his cheek.

"Want to come figure out that noise with me?" Sonnet whispers to Ipos, a glint of mischief in her eyes as she steps back to regard his expression. Her charm would work and only moments later did he agree to toddle along with her. Having Ipos along for the journey did make Sonnet feel better on the inside. As if she were undoubtedly safer with him next her to her. With small, but wide paws, Sonnet's fur soon dampens as she trots through the grass. It won't take her long to approach, her steps slowing as the garble of the bird sounds out once more. Her eyes widen and ears fall backward for a moment as she ducks behind a stack of cut logs. The double doors of the barn are open, but only just enough that she can barely make out the shadows looming on the inside.

Once the stirring animals quiet again, Sonnet pops back out and begins a stalking crawl toward the exterior doors. Her belly brushes against the ground as it turns from grass to packed dirt. She's close... but not close enough when the garble sounds again, but louder this time. Quickly, Sonnet ducks behind a bale of hay, her heart racing as she hides from whatever it is she was now stalking. The call of the bird stops, but she can hear its clawed feet scratch at the dirt and its beak peck at the ground. Its feathers rustle for a moment, stirring up dust as the bird continues to meander out front of the barn.

Poking her head out from behind the hay bale, she spies on the bird. Sonnet sees its tall fan of brown and gold tail feathers, almost a crown behind its slim, but naked head where she then sees a weird red thing hanging from its beak. The sight nearly scares her and she has to pull herself back behind the hay to calm her breath. Could she possibly... hunt this thing? Was it a pack bird? For food? Or was it a wild one brought in by the promise of friends that roosted in the nearby coop? For those first few moments, Sonnet is unsure, but as she gets another good look at the bird, she settles on the decision that it's definitely a wild bird attempting to take over the chicken coop. This surely would not be good and she had the chance to save those poor, defenseless chickens!

Looking to Ipos with determination, she not-so-quietly lays out a plan to take down the "vicious" enemy. "So if I go around the side and scare the big fella toward the hay bale, you can jump out and take him down." In Sonnet's mind, it was a perfect plan. If only her voice had been more of a whisper rather than a shouting rasp. It quickly draws the attention of the turkey toward them. Feathers rustle and poof out, an alarm chittering loudly toward them as the fat, gobbling turkey comes rushing toward them. Startled by the imposing form of the bird, Sonnet lets out a yelp and ducks behind her brother. So much for successful hunting!

Sonnet

table coding by bunni ♥

word count: 860 / 1500

Ipos was always on alert. It was a wonder that the boy ever got any sleep with how sensitive he was to sound. From the moment that he was born and his mother's had begun telling he and his siblings stories, the boy knew that he had to protect everyone. Family first and packmates second. It didn't matter that he was still a puppy. There were other ways that he could contribute. Ipos was very young, but he had been born with a very critical mind. If he couldn't defend with force just yet, then he would defend with knowledge. The silver and smoke boy honed his powers of perception, of observation. So, the moment that Sonnet wandered away, the big pup was on his paws and moving out after her.

There was no need to be bossy and direct her back towards the den. He wasn't controlling like that, only conscious of his sister's safety. Ipos gave Sonnet her space, following along at a decent distance. That was until he heard the strange sounds coming from the old barn. Silver ears perked and the boy moved up beside his sister, letting her know that he was there. Hopefully his presence would let her know that there was nothing to fear. Sonnet turned and gave a sheepish grin before nuzzling and giving him a lick. The serious boy smiled and nodded when she asked if he wanted to come with her. Of course he was coming with her...

Every time the gobbling warble of whatever was in the barn sounded, Ipos' ears flicked forward. He had no idea what the sound was, but the barn animals weren't panicking, so it couldn't be too bad, right? The pair made their way closer to the barn, hiding when they neared the door. The garbled sound became louder and Ipos furrowed his brow, casting Sonnet a questioning glance with gold and blue eyes. They stood behind a bale of hay and Ipos had just been about to suggest a plan when Sonnet crept away and towards the door. The boy grimaced and snuck around the opposite side, squeezing between the hay and the barn.

Both pups peered inside, Ipos eyes adjusting to the change in lighting. He noted the strange bird scuffling about in the packed dirt and his head tilted quizzically. He'd never seen one of those before. Suddenly, Sonnet was pulling him out of view of the doorway and laying out a plan. She... wanted to hunt this thing? Ipos weighed the pros and cons, his brow creased and his expression serious. Really... he was born an old man in a pups body. All business, all the time. He could tell her no and force her back into the den where she would be safe. He knew his sister though and had no doubt in his mind that she would seek this creature out on her own. At least now he would be able to keep her safe if she did get into trouble. After a long moment of silence, Ipos nodded wordlessly.

Sonnet, however, spoke loud enough for both of them. A split second of silence struck and then the earthen colored bird, its tail all fanned out, came rushing out of the barn with a loud attack gobble. Sonnet yelped and ducked behind Ipos. This threw the boy into protection mode. His coat bristled, standing on end and lips peeled back from sharp puppy teeth. He snarled with all of his might, but the bird didn't care. It skittered towards them, wings flapping. Ipos began walking backwards, herding Sonnet away from the barn and using his larger body to keep her from harm. The bird continued, moving in close enough for Ipos to touch. And touch he did.

One huge paw lashed out, smacking the naked bird head as hard as he could manage. The turkey wheeled, doing a spin in the grass as it registered what had just happened. The smack had only enraged the bird further and it came at them again with a full assault, clawed feet kicking, wings flapping, endless, raucous gobbling.

Ipos smacked the bird again, waiting til it reeled before turning and bumping Sonnet with his head, telling her to run. The pair made their way back towards the den as fast as their puppy legs could take them. Ipos had to stop and distract the bird more than once on their way back. The pair of pups careened into the den, the leather flap over the doorway swinging closed behind them.

The boy breathed heavily, tongue lolled as he panted hard. There were scratches on his face, shoulders and paws where he'd been kicked or pecked. Some of them bled, but none were severe. Ears turned out to the side, Ipos looked at his sister with an expression of consternation. Well... at least he'd done his job and kept her from being hurt. The boy could deal with a few scratches as the price for her safety.

WC-835
Total- Met

"Ipos"