The questions came one after another.
"Why alone?"
I dunno. I just showed up here...
Maral had told him the day before that wolves simply arrived here without any rhyme or reason. One moment they were home and the next they were under an unfamiliar sky. He'd figured there would've been more answers by now. Well, it seems not... But part of him expected that in a way.
"No brother or sister?"
No. Just mom and dad.
They'd been old. Really old, at least compared to everyone else's parents back home. Old enough that the other pups sometimes joked they were grandparents pretending to be parents. Yelp had never minded. They'd only ever had him.
"No wife?"
...........Huh?
"Children?"
................wHAT?
His eyes widened just a fraction before flicking instinctively toward Maral as though she might somehow explain why those questions had appeared out of nowhere.
"I--" A tiny laugh slipped out, "N-no." His head shook quickly. "I just kinda showed up ." Another sheepish chuckle escaped him. "I heard that's pretty normal around here, apparently." He wasn't entirely sure whether saying apparently made it sound any less strange. The whole thing was beyond bizarre.
Then Batu stood up, causing Yelp's muzzle to snap shut. His eyes betrayed him immediately, dropping from the older wolf's face to the broad sweep of his shoulders before climbing back up again.
Big.
Much bigger than any hunter back home. There was something solid and carved about Batu that made Yelp far more aware of the way his own legs looked beneath him, all elbows and awkward angles, and before he realized he was doing it, he rose as well. His legs still ached. His paws still throbbed. But if Batu was standing, well, Yelp would stand too.
The mention of rest and food loosened something inside him almost immediately. His stomach gave a sharp twist, as though only now remembering it was empty. It had been, what? Over a day and a half? He was absolutely starving. "Thanks." he commented simply trying to play it cool despite his tail slowly wagging. Then came tomorrow. To show 'pack stuff.' The warmth disappeared from his stomach almost as quickly as it'd arrived.
Oh,Right...Tomorrow.
In his head, many scenerios played in rapid fire succession of just how gloriously he might make an ass out of himself in front of Batu, Maral, and all of these random new wolves, and yet his mouth was already opening, ready to say anything that contradicted this feeling inside.
"Pssh , Yeah, you'll see--"
He caught himself once Maral spoke, tongue poked clean out between his teeth as he quite literally bit it. Probably better not to promise things before he actually knew what he had to do to impress here. So he offered a quiet nod instead as he backed away from doubling down, "...Okay."
Maral spoke again, though this time the unfamiliar language returned. Yelp's ears swiveled toward her automatically as his mind struggled and failed to make heads or tails of whatever she was saying. His gaze drifted, trying to read expressions instead of words.He wasnt sure he liked being in a cross-conversation like this. Standing there while other wolves talked about him in a language he couldn't understand. It left an uncomfortable knot somewhere in his gut. What if they were deciding he wasn't worth the trouble? The thought barely had time to settle before Maral looked back at him and smiled reassuringly, the same one she'd been giving him ever since she'd found him on the beach. It made something in his shoulders ease despite himself.
He still wasn't entirely sure how to feel whenever she looked at him like that. Sometimes it reminded him a little too much of home. Of being told things would be alright before he'd even figured out how badly he'd messed up. He tried not to mistake her kindness for pity. She seemed genuinely nice.
When she mentioned showing him her ger and eating with everyone else, Yelp's tail gave an absent little wag. Then she mentioned this Taimoor. "Oh?" A grin slowly found its way back onto his muzzle. "I am pretty great at making new friends."
His gaze found Batu once more.
The khaan hadn't said much, but somehow that made every word seem heavier. Yelp couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been measured from the moment he'd wandered into camp, quietly weighed against whatever standards a leader was supposed to have for wolves his age.
Well,don't screw this up I guess...
Turning carefully on paws that immediately reminded him how far he'd walked, Yelp bit back a wince before setting beside Maral, ready to go wherever she led him just as he had from the start of all this.
Maral Batu
"Why alone?"
I dunno. I just showed up here...
Maral had told him the day before that wolves simply arrived here without any rhyme or reason. One moment they were home and the next they were under an unfamiliar sky. He'd figured there would've been more answers by now. Well, it seems not... But part of him expected that in a way.
"No brother or sister?"
No. Just mom and dad.
They'd been old. Really old, at least compared to everyone else's parents back home. Old enough that the other pups sometimes joked they were grandparents pretending to be parents. Yelp had never minded. They'd only ever had him.
"No wife?"
...........Huh?
"Children?"
................wHAT?
His eyes widened just a fraction before flicking instinctively toward Maral as though she might somehow explain why those questions had appeared out of nowhere.
"I--" A tiny laugh slipped out, "N-no." His head shook quickly. "I just kinda showed up ." Another sheepish chuckle escaped him. "I heard that's pretty normal around here, apparently." He wasn't entirely sure whether saying apparently made it sound any less strange. The whole thing was beyond bizarre.
Then Batu stood up, causing Yelp's muzzle to snap shut. His eyes betrayed him immediately, dropping from the older wolf's face to the broad sweep of his shoulders before climbing back up again.
Big.
Much bigger than any hunter back home. There was something solid and carved about Batu that made Yelp far more aware of the way his own legs looked beneath him, all elbows and awkward angles, and before he realized he was doing it, he rose as well. His legs still ached. His paws still throbbed. But if Batu was standing, well, Yelp would stand too.
The mention of rest and food loosened something inside him almost immediately. His stomach gave a sharp twist, as though only now remembering it was empty. It had been, what? Over a day and a half? He was absolutely starving. "Thanks." he commented simply trying to play it cool despite his tail slowly wagging. Then came tomorrow. To show 'pack stuff.' The warmth disappeared from his stomach almost as quickly as it'd arrived.
Oh,Right...Tomorrow.
In his head, many scenerios played in rapid fire succession of just how gloriously he might make an ass out of himself in front of Batu, Maral, and all of these random new wolves, and yet his mouth was already opening, ready to say anything that contradicted this feeling inside.
"Pssh , Yeah, you'll see--"
He caught himself once Maral spoke, tongue poked clean out between his teeth as he quite literally bit it. Probably better not to promise things before he actually knew what he had to do to impress here. So he offered a quiet nod instead as he backed away from doubling down, "...Okay."
Maral spoke again, though this time the unfamiliar language returned. Yelp's ears swiveled toward her automatically as his mind struggled and failed to make heads or tails of whatever she was saying. His gaze drifted, trying to read expressions instead of words.He wasnt sure he liked being in a cross-conversation like this. Standing there while other wolves talked about him in a language he couldn't understand. It left an uncomfortable knot somewhere in his gut. What if they were deciding he wasn't worth the trouble? The thought barely had time to settle before Maral looked back at him and smiled reassuringly, the same one she'd been giving him ever since she'd found him on the beach. It made something in his shoulders ease despite himself.
He still wasn't entirely sure how to feel whenever she looked at him like that. Sometimes it reminded him a little too much of home. Of being told things would be alright before he'd even figured out how badly he'd messed up. He tried not to mistake her kindness for pity. She seemed genuinely nice.
When she mentioned showing him her ger and eating with everyone else, Yelp's tail gave an absent little wag. Then she mentioned this Taimoor. "Oh?" A grin slowly found its way back onto his muzzle. "I am pretty great at making new friends."
His gaze found Batu once more.
The khaan hadn't said much, but somehow that made every word seem heavier. Yelp couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been measured from the moment he'd wandered into camp, quietly weighed against whatever standards a leader was supposed to have for wolves his age.
Well,don't screw this up I guess...
Turning carefully on paws that immediately reminded him how far he'd walked, Yelp bit back a wince before setting beside Maral, ready to go wherever she led him just as he had from the start of all this.
Maral Batu
