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 Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:27 pm
 Mesa looked about, eyes wide. Mushrooms, huge fur trees and a bubbling brook met her eyes. She had been out exploring for about an hour now. A small, pink butterfly passed her, landing on the tip of her nose. She giggled, batting at it. "Hey! Come back and play!" she said, following it. It lead her through the tall grass until she came to an old, rotten log. The butterfly forgotten, she slowly squeezed her way into the log. She discovered a tiny city inside it, consiting of bugs and meal worms and spider webs. She laughed again and continued around inside it, coming out the other end, covered in dirt and spiders. She shook herself off, looking around with a brown spot on her eye marking, a little heart.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:46 pm
 Miso padded along the river quickly, panting hard. The sun was out and shining, the river glinting brightly, and the leaves swaying peacefully, with the occasional birds and insects here and there. Even the clouds were drifting lazily about and all around Miso, things were calm.
However, he noticed none of these things. He had recently woken up to find his sister missing for who knows how long and he was desperate to find her. He scolded himself for not awakening as soon as she had left as he started up his run again, and he let out another howl, calling for her. He scent was pretty easy to find and this both calmed and worried him. Calmed because that meant he could find her faster, worried because that meant other predators could, as well.
His breath came out in gasps and his ears were swiveling in all directions for a possible reply to his previous howl. By then, he had broken from the river and had reached the rotten log and he peered inside it for a moment before going on ahead. Her scent was stronger and it spurred him to go faster. "Mesa!" he called wearily, his voice rough. He hadn't eatten anything the last few days, giving whatever he found to Mesa (which could explain her constant energy), and he had been too desperate to drink from the river before. "Mesa, where are you?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:51 pm
Mesa had continued down the hill, away from the log, and was sitting in a small lee off the brook. It was wet and she was barking playfully at the minnows the swam around her, laughing. Because of the hill's shape, she hadn't heard her brother. She dipped her maw in the lee, throwing up little droplets. She laughed madly.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:28 pm
"Mes--" Miso tried again but was suddenly cut off when rough coughs racked through his body. He was parched and he used his dry tounge to lick his nose in an attempt to heighten his sense of smell. Unfortunatly, his was too dehydrated for that to actually help, and he continued to follow what he could. His ears lowered and he gagged a bit, trying to get rid of the dry, hollow feeling in his throat, but was unable to. He felt he was unable to call out again and he snuffled up the dirt, his tail wagging slightly when the scent of Mesa filled his nostrils.
He padded forward, his coat heavy, filled with dirt, and ruffled here and there. He would have looked like any other normal adolescent vagabond if it weren't for his expression, which made it seem as if he were older. To others, he might have even pass as an adult, probably a runt because of his size.
Finally, he crested the hill and started downward, speeding up again. He had slowed down before, after his short sprint, seeing as he was weak from lack of food, water, and sleep, but now that he could see dear little Mesa, the adrenaline flowed through him, giving him a burst of energy. His physical need for drink and his mental want of Mesa clashed when he noticed the lee she was on and he stopped to lap quickly at the small stream before speaking. The cool liquid that flowed through his throat made him feel alive again and he nudged Mesa with his wet nose disapprovingly. He was too relieved to be angry at her but that didn't stop him from saying, "You shouldn't have left, Mesa. You worried me." Without even waiting for a reply, he snuffled her, licked her behind her ears, cleaning her, and made sure she had suffered no injury before grasping her by the scruff of her neck. He still wasn't strong enough to hold her properly, especially since she had recently gained a lot of weight, and although he held her as high as he could, her tail still brushed against the floor.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:29 pm
When she saw him, she was a little torn. She was happy to see him, but sad because he usually spoiled her fun. She giggled when he nudged her. "I'm sorry, Miso! I wanted to look around, but I didn't want to wake you!"
She whined as he began to groom her. "Aww, Miso, cut it out!" she said. "Its only a scrap of dirt." She sighed as he picked her up like their mother used to, but her tail dragged behind her, making her more then uncomfortable. "Awww, Miso, I can walk on my own! I'm not a little baby anymore." she said, not wriggling like some would. She winced as her toes collided with a small rock on the ground.
Her brother had checked her over, but he had missed a spot on her back leg, where a large leech now sat, slowly sucking her blood.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:56 pm
Miso grunted good-naturedly. He was used to her complaints and although he longed to make her feel better by letting her do as she wished, he knew it was probably best this way. She was still just a pup, after all, and although her paw pads were tougher than her peers from their constant travels, they weren't invincible and he didn't want her tearing them by walking around too much. He felt her wince and he flattened his ears apologetically, raising his head. Hoping to make her feel a bit better, he trotted closer to the river again, occasionally dipping her paws in the water as he walked.
His tail raised and he lowered Mesa gently to the floor when he saw their temporary den in view. It was a simple cave, too small for most helixes, although it was large enough for him and his sister. There was grass all around the entrance with a few bald spots here and there. He thought it was an ideal place to live, with the river and hill for games close by, although they would lack shelter once they grew too large for the cave. They had been here for a few days already, and he wondered when they would move again. He longed to join a pack once more, to raise his sister properly, but he had a deep fear of re-witnessing the horror of his dead pack so he subconsiously strayed away from them.
Suddenly, he raised his rump and pawed at Mesa, tail wagging. "I'll race you." he barked playfully, hoping to make amends for carrying her most of the way, regardless of what she wanted. Of course, he would pretend to try his best and let her win. He always did.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:03 pm
Mesa barked happily, tail wagging when he dropped her. "OKAY!" She said. "Ready, set GO!" she took off without warning, running rapidly towards the cave, the black leech between her legs visible to anyone behind her. It wasn't bothering her and she entered the cave with a cheer. "Mesa is the winner! Mesa beats Soup!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:32 pm
Miso chuckled at her quick words, springing up at the "go." He kept pace with her easily at first but midway, he slowed himself, little by little, until she had reached the den. A smile formed on his lips when he heard his familiar nickname but was almost instantly lost to a frown. He was surprised to see something black on his sister's leg and normally, he wouldn't have been worried, thinking that perhaps it was a large speck of mud he happened to miss (she was playing near the water, after all), if it wasn't just so... well, unnatural looking. It had a faint shine to it, similar to sunlight reflecting off of water, except the lights weren't as scattered as they would be on mud. They were nicely curved, as if on a large beetle back.
He sped up to a trot, unable to sprint as he was still tired from his previous search, forgetting for the moment to act tired when he reached her. Luckily, he already was tired and had no need to act, which made her win seem even more legit. "There's something on your leg." he said, already nosing her tail away. His tounge was still hanging down in a slight pant and he had to spit out some of her fur before he could inspect the creature on her leg in more detail.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:37 pm
She gave a little yipe when he moved her tail. What was so interesting about her BUTT?! She rolled over, so he could see it, looking rather cute on her side with her legs open. She looked down and saw the leech.
Instead of being afraid though, she just laughed. "WOAH! HOW COOL IS THAT!? What is it, soup?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:00 pm
Miso's ears were raised with surprise and he stared at the black slug-like creature on his sister. He was still new to this place, and had never seen such a thing before and his lips curled with disgust. How dare such a thing go on his sister?! He flung his paw against it (at an angle, so that his claws wouldn't touch his sister), trying to knock it off. It's hindquarters moved but other than that, it wouldn't budge. At least Mesa didn't seem to mind.
"I'm... I'm not sure, really." he replied, watching as the leech settled back in place. He prodded it with a claw, wondering what it was, and it wriggled. He frowned, not wanting such a creature on his sister, but unsure if she actually wanted him to remove it for her or not. After a moment's thought, he figured it would be all right for him to get rid of it. They could always find another one later, or something. He whacked it with his paw from the side, again and again, and while it's body moved, it's head seemed to be stuck. He was filled with worry as he attempted to stab it's head and still keep Mesa safe at the same time.
Finally, after repeated blows, the leech curled up, although it wasn't yet dead, and Miso threw it as far as he could with a casual flick of his tail. He was startled to see a ring of blood on his sister's leg where the leech was and his fur bristled. "Are you all right?" he asked, wondering what kind of plants around the area could be helpful. His parents had told him that some of the leafy greens had healing properties and suddenly, he saw in his mind an image of his sister. Limp and cold. Dead. From leech poison. He gasped. "Stay right here!" he called, running out into the forest he had recently come from, grabbing any leaf into his jaws that he could fit.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:08 pm
Mesa watched the bug intently. "It looks like a little drop of black water." she said as the beast's body did a sort of wave motion. "I think its cute!" she laughed. She frowned when it was yanked off and tossed away. "Awww..." she muttered.
She looked at the blood and began to lick it. The leech landed and had spilled a large amount of blood. "Oh, look! It was trying to eat me!" she giggled. She got up as he left to grab the plant and walked over to the leech. "Hey little guy. Sorry my brother was so mean."
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:32 pm
Miso returned quickly, as he had kept close to the borders, having no wish to return too late to Mesa. He wasn't able to see the leech she was speaking with through his mouthful of leaves and he dropped his bundle on her. "Eat." he commanded, his voice almost a whining beg. "It'll help you." Although he really had no idea what any of the leaves did.
A wind blew and a few leaves started to scatter and he placed his paws on them, trying to keep them from blowing away. A particularly large one landed over the leech, hiding it from view for the moment. "Start with this." he said, pointing with his muzzle to a fuzzy leaf. It looked promising.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:40 pm
She shook as the leaves showered on her. She then gasped as her leech had a leech land on him. "Be careful, miso!" she whined, picking it up in her teeth and uncovering the leech. "there you are, little guy." she laughed.
She took the leaf and began to chew it, then made a face and spat it out. "YUCK!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:11 pm
"What?" Miso asked, startled. He paced back a few steps, wondering if he had stepped on her tail or some other limb. He was sure there was nothing soft under his paws.... He watched as she lifted the leaf, and was surprised to find the leech there. Was it... was it the same one? He sniffed. He was sure he threw it farther away. What mattered more, though, was that the little blood-sucker was still close to the cave. A little too close, for his liking. He was still angry that the small thing harmed his sister and he was about to crush it with a paw when Mesa yelled. "You should finish the whole thing." he said, watching the leaf float down. "Who knows what that leech did? Don't worry if it tastes bad, Mesa." his voice had adopted a soothing tone. "It'll help."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:18 pm
She frowned. "What will the leaf do, soup?" she asked, taking another big bite of the leaf and sticking her tongue out. Icky...
She finished the leaf and then gave a long moan. "ohh...brother, i don't feel very good." she said, coughing. She had eaten the worst kind of leaf she could- a deadly little plant called screaming banshee. it was good for healing extenal wounds but was fatal if consumed.
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