Who Let the {Cubs} Out?! {Mud, Pic, Zen]

[{Mactíre}]

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[atrb=background,http://i42.tinypic.com/33ufp07.jpg] OOC;; So, even though this thread is in the meadow, it starts in Tempest territory. C; It was a warm spring morning, the sun already beginning to rise above the horizon. Opening her eyes slowly, the scrawny wolf cub got up, disentangling herself from her still – slumbering brothers and mother. Looking up the slope towards the Mental Asylum, she saw exactly what she wanted to see: no-one was about; there were bound to be a few soldiers on patrol, but so long as she was careful, they wouldn’t see her or notice her scent until it was too late. Maybe she’d go out and find Kai again. But as she looked back at her siblings, Valkyrie realised that it would be nice to have some company for once – she enjoyed spending time with her siblings; joking around, playing games and pulling the occasional prank on their pack-mates. Walking back to where her family was huddled, sheltered in the hollow trunk of two giant oaks that had somehow woven themselves together, at the bottom of the small valley, above which was the cemetery and the Mental Asylum, she gently nudged Orion’s small black form with her nose, then Adrian’s furry, brown-and-white flank, and last of all she approached the mostly white bundle of fur that was Lyall, taking hold of his tail in her mouth and tugging it gently. Whispering so that Rikki, their mother, wouldn’t hear her, she told them urgently, “Come on, this is our chance to go and explore Hexasol together, while Mother’s still asleep and Ralph isn’t here!” Glancing at her still-sleeping mother, the timber – arctic – wolf cross nudged each of her brothers playfully to wake them up and trotted away from the cliffs and the Mental Asylum, towards the Tempest border and the unclaimed land that lay beyond it. Circling back to face the mass of fur that was her family in sheer impatience, she waited for her brothers to wake up and respond to her, to follow her into an adventure. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rikki slept deeply, for she had not had a good rest in days; her cubs were too lively for a weak, lone she-wolf to manage (even with the help of Ralph, a kind Newfoundland), for though she was technically a part of the Tempest Pack, she felt like an outsider. Some pitied her for being Gravity’s abandoned mate, (or ‘whore’ as some particularly nasty she-wolves had muttered just loudly enough for her to hear), while others felt only contempt that she could be 'deceived' by one such as their former leader. There were many who were kind to her and to whom she talked to occasionally, but she also isolated herself and her children out of choice. She taught them all she knew and believed; she didn't want them growing up to be cat-haters - only Iris cat-haters. If she did not have cubs to care for, and if she did not love them as much as she did, the female would have let herself die seasons ago: she had all but accepted that Gravity was gone forever. The aging Arctic wolf twitched a paw, but she was in such a deep sleep, borne of exhaustion, that she did not wake at the sounds nearby.

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[Zen]

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[atrb=background,http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/jadedog08/adriantable4-2.png] Sunlight beamed through a hole in the cloud covered sky, bathing the sleeping forms of the four wolf cubs in a warm golden light. The youngest of the group stirred and twitched in his slumber, whatever dream he had been having fading from his subconscious as he was jolted awake by his energetic big sister. Adrian blinked until his hazy vision returned to normal, then, still drunk with sleep, tried to process what Valkyrie was pestering him about. "No...no, that's not a good idea," he said, shaking his head and anxiously glancing towards their mother to see if she had awoken and overheard what Valkyrie was planning. "What if we get lost? Or worse? And think of what will happen when she finds out we're missing. Think of how she'll feel." Adrian turned his gaze away from both the arctic wolf and his sister, laying his chin back down on his paws. He knew their mother loved them dearly, but she was so distant and sad, even around her own children. It seemed nothing in this world could possibly give her any joy. Adrian would often catch her staring off into nothing, all hope drained from her eyes. When he would ask, she would always put on a false smile and reassure him that she was fine, that he had nothing to be concerned about. But he knew better. Ever since that mysterious man who Adrian was supposed to call 'father' had left her, she had fallen into despair and, if it weren't for her four cubs, would probably have lost the will to live altogether. They were the only thing she was still hanging on for. Sometimes when he slept close to her, the grey cub's eyes would stray over the scars and missing patches of fur that marred his mother's thin body. It wasn't just their father that had turned her into what she was. Adrian didn't have the courage or heart to ask her himself what had happened, but given how easily stories spread around the packlands and into the ears of curious pups, he wasn't naive to his mother's suffering at the paws of their enemy, the Iris Pride. He felt a terrified weight in his chest at the thought of any cat who could be cruel enough to do something so terrible to the gentle, kind-hearted white wolf. He longed to see Rikki happy, for the five of them to be a real family, but deep down he knew it was a wasted dream. Unless he turned back time and stopped all of the awful things that had happened to his mother throughout her life, she would never be truly happy ever again. "I know you've snuck out before, Valk," he whispered, his silvery grey eyes wide and pleading as he looked up at her. "You need to stop. If anything were to happen to one of us, she would..." Trailing off, he swallowed the lump in his throat and moved over slightly to accommodate the shifting bodies of his two older brothers. What would they have to say about their sister's little plot? They'd probably jump at the chance to get out of this old place for a few hours. Adrian was aware that he was considered the stick in the mud among their group, the killjoy who ruined everyone's fun with his blunt honesty and concern for safety. It wasn't that he was against having an adventure with them out in the countryside, he in fact loved the idea just as much as Valkyrie. He was only thinking of their wellbeing, and even moreso, their poor mother's feelings.

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[♥Picasso]

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[atrb=background,http://i41.tinypic.com/30k6nv6.jpg,true] Orion had been sleeping peacefully, his body slumbering a little way away from his other three siblings. For several weeks now, Orion had wanted to sleep away from the others. Their snuffles and twitches during their slumber were irritating and woke Orion often. In the end, Orion had stood up and slept alone. As cold as it was without the body heat from his siblings and mother, Orion slept deeply and peacefully without them. Already, Orion was starting to get annoyed by his family members. He preferred being alone, he disliked conversation, and the thought of play with his siblings was... horrid. Orion just simply wasn't interested in that sort of behaviour. When he suddenly felt a nudge against his stomach, Orion's amber eyes snapped open. He pierced his gaze on his sister, about to growl at her for waking him up so abruptly. Looking around at his surroundings, Orion saw his ivory mother utterly and completely asleep. Orion was not blind; he saw her getting weary and tired by the simplest of tasks. Bringing up four cubs was not easy. Orion had once nearly questioned her as to why she wanted cubs when she was not fit to look after them. It seemed that all Rikki did nowadays was either sleep or look tired. When was the last time she looked genuinely happy? Weren't parents supposed to set a good example to their children? Orion scoffed at the thought of it. Mother couldn't set them a good example, even if she tried. Standing on his ebony, gangly legs, Orion narrowed his eyes. Explore Hexasol? Orion had been out of the Tempest territory once, but he had never strayed too far. Stumbling a little as he started to walk towards his brothers and sister, Orion clenched his jaw. As he listened to Adrian witter on about how dangerous it would be, Orion scoffed a little. "It's mother's fault for not keeping an eye on us," Orion replied matter-of-factly, "She deserved to get a bit of adrenalin every once in a while. She's getting old and weak. We have to get her back on her feet." Orion's sly grin spread across his face as he imagined his mother's reaction when she realised all four of her cubs had gone walkabouts. God, she'd have a heart attack! The only problem... Orion was well aware that he couldn't walk properly. He was clumsy, he was slow. How was he supposed to keep up with his fit and healthy siblings? Staring down at his blasted paws, Orion vowed that he would walk just fine. He was nearly six months old! He shouldn't be acting like a two-week puppy who is just starting to learn how to walk on its paws. It was pathetic how unable Orion was at certain things. He still couldn't run far distances without tripping over his own feet. Turning back to his brothers and sister, Orion shrugged. "Let's do it."

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[MudBug]

Not to be uptight but... WE GET IT. RIKKI IS A SHRIVELED UP OLD HAG. God's sake you guys.. redundant much? /shot

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=height,458,true][atrb=style,background: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/28bv2j4.jpg); padding: 70px 0px 0px 16px;,true] - Watch my moves! - - Read my mind! - - - "Hear my voice!" Shove, poke, nudge, squirm. Lyall had been awoken the moment Valkyrie eased herself from the pile of pups, but never being the one to start aid an uprising, he only lay there pretending to be in a slight coma. When his sister finally got around to urging her siblings to join her, his eyes flew open far too quickly for anyone just pulling their mind away from the abyss of sleep. Still, he only lay their silently, listening as the pups debated deserting their mother for some haphazard adventure, or perhaps make an effort for her health themselves and, maybe . . . sleep some more? He wasn't sure what would be best for their mother at this point, but he was only a strange, leggy pup after all. Valkyrie was made of pure spontaneity - Lyall briefly wondered if she wouldn't leave without them, were they to all fake having died in their sleep - Adrian was the bleeding heart, of course, and scared stiff by the chaos that could ensue. Lyall admired his intelligence. Adventure without danger was essentially just exuberant wandering. A little scene began to play out in his mind. The cubs would find their way to the legendary old church at the heart of the city and they'd not-so-accidently interrupt a lion's prayers, whatever a lion would be praying to Lyall didn't care to know. The beast would roar up in righteous anger. He'd likely attack Orion first, if for no reason other than Lyall's clumbsy brother's inability to properly pilot his own limbs. Valkyrie would be the second to go, as she protected poor shellshocked Adrian. Lyall was only watching the carnage in his mind, when the lion growled three words that seemed slightly out of place. "Let's do it," the gravely feline voice echoed in his head, until he realized his glazed eyes were registering the words matching his brother's mouth. Snapping back to reality, it was obvious how the vote was going to swing. Unwilling to choose a side, Lyall neatly tore himself in half to fit everyone's needs. "Adrian, we can go. Stay at the back," he said as stretched his too long legs out for a stretch. Scrambling them under himself, he shuffled his paws over to stand behind his overly considerate littermate, and give him a nudge toward the troublemakers.

[{Mactíre}]

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[atrb=background,http://i42.tinypic.com/33ufp07.jpg] Valkyrie rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation at Adrian’s goody-two-paws response to her urging. One could always predict what his answer to anything that even vaguely suggested breaking any rules would be, “That’s not a good idea.” “Come on, Adrian!” She begged. “We’ll be fine – and yes, I’ve been out before, what of it? So has Orion, and if we all go, she’ll know that we’re looking after you two, even if she does come looking for us. We’ll be fine – I know my way around.” Who was she kidding? The cub knew that her mother would come looking for them as soon as she woke up to find them gone – her children were the only reason Rikki hadn’t given up on life, and even they themselves could see that. As for knowing her way around, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but there were still plenty of places she hadn’t explored. Turning her head towards her black-pelted brother as he got up, she nodded her head in agreement to his words. “Exactly, it’ll be good for Mother – it’ll help her to feel more alive again. Besides, she has Ralph if she needs help finding us.” The only time Rikki had ever looked truly happy had been when she was arguing playfully or actually playing with her cubs – something she did less and less often nowadays – or when she was hunting, which didn’t happen all that often either, because she was getting old, and she’d never been particularly strong. The timber – arctic wolf cross suspected that was because of her years in captivity and the fact that she’d had to take care of herself until she had befriended Ralph, the kind-hearted male Newfoundland who had become almost an uncle – if not a father – to the cubs. As she stood wagging her bushy tail, Valkyrie knew the battle was won. She and Orion were the eldest (although ironically the weakest and least responsible) of their siblings, and if both of them agreed, then Adrian and Lyall were more than likely to follow their lead. Valkyrie liked to think she was ringleader of the little group, always willing to jump headfirst into things, with Orion being the loner and sometimes spoilsport who liked to do things on his own, maybe because he thought he was too grown up to play and interact with the rest of them; Lyall was a daydreamer, and he always had the best ideas for games because of this, but he also tended to be a bit of a nuisance at times. Adrian, the youngest, was the goody-goody, usually obedient, a little shy, and generally, a good follower - except when his morals got in the way, of course. Swinging around as she heard Lyall speak to Adrian, the little she-wolf pricked her ears, tensing her muscles eagerly. “Alright, let’s go then!” With a brief glance behind her at her siblings, Valkyrie trotted down the hill and through the woods, towards the edge of Tempests territory and the land that lay beyond it.

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