7/21/2026, 11:15 AM
Yelp grinned at Maral's translation of her horse, immediately pointing one paw toward the enormous stallion. "Oh, accepting's the first mistake. You better watch out!" Möngön didn't seem particularly concerned. "HMF! Hope you keep that energy later!"
His ears flicked as Maral continued speaking, and despite how winded he still was, he found himself nodding along. "Yea, I guess that makes sense." He shrugged. "If you do somethin' long enough, eventually you're bound to get better at it." It sounded obvious when she put it that way. He wasn't born knowing how to walk either. Or swim. Or... well, most things.
Still
He couldn't quite shake the thought that most wolves his age had already figured this part out a long while ago, and he should feel ashamed for allowing it to go this long.
"Ya know, one of the old dusty elders back home used to swear he'd let venomous snakes bite him on purpose." A crooked grin tugged at his muzzle. "Said if it got him enough times he'd build up a tolerance or something crazy like that." He snorted quietly to himself. "Guy was a loon. Wound up getting taken out by a scorpion." He glanced down at his sore paws before looking back up. There was a parallel there somewhere. hopefully not the whole dying part.
As Maral spoke about her people following the horses, Yelp's attention drifted across the grazing herds. He had to admit, It still felt a little strange. Back home, if something had hooves, eventually somebody was probably planning on eating it. Here they wandered beside wolves without a care in the world. He couldn't help wondering whether that made hunting easier somehow. If they followed the horses everywhere, maybe they didn't have to spend half a day tracking prey through the forest like the hunters back home always did. Or maybe there was more to it than that. Yelp was beginning to find that usually has been the case since arriving in this world.
The camp itself slowly came into view, and his attention immediately shifted. "Oh..." His eyes wandered over the strange rounded structures scattered across the grasslands. They looked almost alive, somehow.
"A ger..." he muttered under his breath.
Another few steps.
"...Geeer."
Another beat.
"Gerrrrrrrr."
He'd only ever known one kind of animal that built homes. And that was beavers. How in the world did wolves make something like that? His eyes lingered on one of them as they passed, trying to work it out in his head how it worked with bones, hides, and all. Maral had said they could even take them apart and move them somewhere else. The whole thing felt impossibly clever. He wondered if it was something he'd get to learn while he was here.
By the time they reached the center of camp, the realization that there were wolves everywhere settled over him all at once. Out on the trail it'd just been him and Maral. Now every direction he looked there was somebody. Wolves talking amongst themselves, horses wandering nearby, smells so unfamiliar they all blurred together. Without really thinking about it, he straightened himself up and tried to stand a little taller.
Unfortunately, standing still turned out to be its own problem.
His paws had stopped moving, which meant every throb settled right into the raw pads beneath him. It almost felt like there was a heartbeat inside each foot. After a few seconds his legs started trembling ever so slightly, forcing him to subtly lean onto one side before easing his weight back onto the other.
The yearling's ears turned toward Maral as she began speaking again. Except, none of the words made any sense.
His head tilted as he stared at Maral. Then at the muscular wolf sitting before them. Then back to Maral again.
When she looked back with that same reassuring smile she'd worn ever since they'd met, Yelp answered with an awkward half-smile of his own. He hadn't understood a single word she'd said, but if Maral wasn't worried, then, he figured he probably didn't need to be either.
"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat, trying very hard not to shuffle his feet again. "Yelp." One of his oversized paws rested against his chest. "Uh... it's nice to meet you, Batu." His gaze flicked toward Maral. "Maral's been really nice. She found me after I showed up out here and," He smiled sheepishly. "hopefully she won't be so sad-lookin' anymore now that she's back home." Looking back toward Batu, he hurried on before he lost his nerve. "Maral said I could stick around for a little while." His ears pinned slightly. "I, uh... I promise I'm not some... like, bum freeloader or anything." His eyes drifted off to the side. "I can help with... pack stuff."
Another beat passed before he added, almost under his breath,
"Actually, if you've got somethin' that needs doin', I could probably help with it now... or something" Yelp immediately regretted volunteering his aching paws for anything at all, but it also felt like the right thing to say. He wanted to show he appreciated the kindness shown to him, to make a good impression, and above all, he didn't want to seem useless.
Maral Batu Ochir
His ears flicked as Maral continued speaking, and despite how winded he still was, he found himself nodding along. "Yea, I guess that makes sense." He shrugged. "If you do somethin' long enough, eventually you're bound to get better at it." It sounded obvious when she put it that way. He wasn't born knowing how to walk either. Or swim. Or... well, most things.
Still
He couldn't quite shake the thought that most wolves his age had already figured this part out a long while ago, and he should feel ashamed for allowing it to go this long.
"Ya know, one of the old dusty elders back home used to swear he'd let venomous snakes bite him on purpose." A crooked grin tugged at his muzzle. "Said if it got him enough times he'd build up a tolerance or something crazy like that." He snorted quietly to himself. "Guy was a loon. Wound up getting taken out by a scorpion." He glanced down at his sore paws before looking back up. There was a parallel there somewhere. hopefully not the whole dying part.
As Maral spoke about her people following the horses, Yelp's attention drifted across the grazing herds. He had to admit, It still felt a little strange. Back home, if something had hooves, eventually somebody was probably planning on eating it. Here they wandered beside wolves without a care in the world. He couldn't help wondering whether that made hunting easier somehow. If they followed the horses everywhere, maybe they didn't have to spend half a day tracking prey through the forest like the hunters back home always did. Or maybe there was more to it than that. Yelp was beginning to find that usually has been the case since arriving in this world.
The camp itself slowly came into view, and his attention immediately shifted. "Oh..." His eyes wandered over the strange rounded structures scattered across the grasslands. They looked almost alive, somehow.
"A ger..." he muttered under his breath.
Another few steps.
"...Geeer."
Another beat.
"Gerrrrrrrr."
He'd only ever known one kind of animal that built homes. And that was beavers. How in the world did wolves make something like that? His eyes lingered on one of them as they passed, trying to work it out in his head how it worked with bones, hides, and all. Maral had said they could even take them apart and move them somewhere else. The whole thing felt impossibly clever. He wondered if it was something he'd get to learn while he was here.
By the time they reached the center of camp, the realization that there were wolves everywhere settled over him all at once. Out on the trail it'd just been him and Maral. Now every direction he looked there was somebody. Wolves talking amongst themselves, horses wandering nearby, smells so unfamiliar they all blurred together. Without really thinking about it, he straightened himself up and tried to stand a little taller.
Unfortunately, standing still turned out to be its own problem.
His paws had stopped moving, which meant every throb settled right into the raw pads beneath him. It almost felt like there was a heartbeat inside each foot. After a few seconds his legs started trembling ever so slightly, forcing him to subtly lean onto one side before easing his weight back onto the other.
The yearling's ears turned toward Maral as she began speaking again. Except, none of the words made any sense.
His head tilted as he stared at Maral. Then at the muscular wolf sitting before them. Then back to Maral again.
When she looked back with that same reassuring smile she'd worn ever since they'd met, Yelp answered with an awkward half-smile of his own. He hadn't understood a single word she'd said, but if Maral wasn't worried, then, he figured he probably didn't need to be either.
"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat, trying very hard not to shuffle his feet again. "Yelp." One of his oversized paws rested against his chest. "Uh... it's nice to meet you, Batu." His gaze flicked toward Maral. "Maral's been really nice. She found me after I showed up out here and," He smiled sheepishly. "hopefully she won't be so sad-lookin' anymore now that she's back home." Looking back toward Batu, he hurried on before he lost his nerve. "Maral said I could stick around for a little while." His ears pinned slightly. "I, uh... I promise I'm not some... like, bum freeloader or anything." His eyes drifted off to the side. "I can help with... pack stuff."
Another beat passed before he added, almost under his breath,
"Actually, if you've got somethin' that needs doin', I could probably help with it now... or something" Yelp immediately regretted volunteering his aching paws for anything at all, but it also felt like the right thing to say. He wanted to show he appreciated the kindness shown to him, to make a good impression, and above all, he didn't want to seem useless.
Maral Batu Ochir