The Old Orchard

[Idea by Pixiepaw]

Credit

Remnants of a great orchard kept by Twolegs, this great orchard has nearly every kind of fruit avaliable making it rich with possums, birds and other animals that enjoy fruit - Naturally where there is prey there are wolves

The 7 month old wolf was waiting eagerly for her father to show up, he'd promised that he'd finally teach her how to hunt. Despite how she was around others she was warm and friendly around the kelpie that she saw as her father. Where was he? It was past the time he said he'd be there, deciding he must have gotten caught up with the strange she-dog Melissa, Claire made up her  mind she'd just teach herself she didn't need her dad to teach her everything surely. Her bright green eyes glanced around searching for something she could try with, however she heard familiar pawsteps just as the wind changed and brought her fathers familiar scent "Dad! You took aaagesh, you promished that you'd teach me thish morning not thish arvo!" she'd picked up some of his lingo during the past moon she'd been living with him it was much more fun to say than what everyone else used. Her voice was heavy with a lisp that had remained with her thus far in her life ,she'd likely shed it as she grew older but for now it stuck with her ,the pup not even realizing she spoke differently to everyone else and just assuming it was because of Julians lingo she threw into her sentences.

Giggling madly when he came over and batted her she only giggled more when she was pushed over and nuzzled into by the dog, remaining on the earth while he spoke taking a large sniff of the world through her nsoe like he told her to. Bursting into giggles helplessly again when he moved his nose onto her belly she rolled over and got up onto her paws that were too big for her. Taking another big whiff so big pollen got up her nose and she sneezed falling back onto her behind as she did so, the pup looked up at the dog and grinned sheepishly at him "umm well, there ish thoshe shtrange birdsh you caught ush for dinner one night, annnddd bunnies! Shome deer too over that way" she gestured with a paw in the direction that she'd meant, the 'shtrange birdsh' were pheasants and quail that were making their way through the ruins of the old two leg den. The fluffy wolf pup turned her bright green eyes back onto the kelpie, getting up onto her paws she prepared herself for what he had to teach her eager to learn so she could start fending for herself.

Nodding she crouched down into the crouch she'd been practicing since she'd been taught it, feeling happy and safe there with her dad she frowned somewhat focusing on the smells and the sounds. She'd try for the birds they couldn't fly very well, and she wasn't sure she could bring down a deer by herself and she very much wanted to do it by herself for the first time. Remembering what Julian said about sticks and leaves she carefully avoided those as best as she could, using the long over grown grass to her advantage. Hesitating just a moment to long before she leapt she missed her target and watched with frustration as the birds and other animals scattered, refusing to let herself be trampled down by this failure she trotted back to Julian wanting to know she'd done wrong and how she could improve her green gaze was very focused and determined to get this right. She'd work until she had hunting down to a fine art, then either Killian or her father would teach her about fighting, then once she could do a bit of both she'd go exploring more she couldn't wait.

Letting him wash her fur, she huffed softly and kept still although she squeaked when his cold nose was pushed into her puppy fuzz. Dancing out of reach she stuck her nose in the air a little dismissively, however she still listened when he explained why she'd missed. Nodding she took note of where his muzzle was pointing when he informed her there were some other birds, she'd get one this time for sure! She lifted her nose and followed the smell of feathers carefully keeping herself hidden, hesitating she leapt forward a moment too early but managed to grab a bird by its tail feathers. Holding onto it she growled and shook her head managing to quickly release the feathers adn grab a bit of flesh the young wolf shook her head vigorously until the bird hung limply in her draws. Covered in feathers, Claire turned and proudly marched back to julian to present the bird obviously very smug with herself

She'd been away for a couple of moon cycles on a job, finally back to the territories she knew, the orchard around the farm was an easy spot to find prey and so she'd made her way there from the territories far away. Stalking up silently she paused seeing a small black speck of a pup playing with what appeared to be Julian, he'd grown up some more since she'd taught him how to survive in the big wide world. Debating whether to leave or stay her hunger won out, stalking along in her silent way she kept her ears swiveling listening for anything worth bringing down she could eat. Half ignoring the pair, she located feasible prey and made her way towards it, catching and killing a feral cat that once upon a time might have been descended from the original farm cat that'd lived on its own after its fickle two legs abandoned it from the farm. Carrying the dead mop of fur somewhere shady she laid down and began eating hungrily devouring the meat with little issues, her brown eyes keeping an eye on Julian expecting him not to remember her although it wouldn't really bother her whether he did or not. He didn't require anything from her and she didn't require anything from him by that logic she'd be left in peace, half keeping a share eye on the black pup ready to teach it manners if it tried to steal her prey the brown canine ate her meal in relative peace in the shade.

Beaming hugely around her mouthful of prey, she was a little offset by the fierce wagging of her tail. Filing away his information about pouncing away for her next hunt she paused smelling the thick scent of another wolf. Growling softly around her mouthful, the pup kept an ear on her dad talking and the other on the large brown wolf that hunted and settled down to eat its own prey. Dropping her prey as he explained about rogues like Killian and Loners like himself, giving him an attentive nod her bright green eyes flicked over at the stranger again. Perking up when he mentioned that the first bite was hers, she dug into the food quite happily stuffing herself as much as she could ever hungry. Giggling softly at his words she replied "Because I'm a wolf not a dog, one day i'll tower over you like a mountain" once she was full she flopped down in the long grass and rolled wanting to get her fluffy puppy fur smelling as nice as the grass. Burping loudly she grinned and settled down quite comfortable there, admittedly she was curious about the loner as it seemed that her dad knew her.

Finishing her meal, her ears twitched listening to the pup and Julian, considering her options she finally got back up onto her feet and easily moved through the tall grass that had been left to grow wild. Stepping closer she stopped with a few meters or so to spare studying the Kelpie quietly "You have grown" she finally said perfectly aware she was stating the obvious but it seemed to be a social custom and so she would attempt to use it here. Her brown eyes were reserved and calm although the subtleties of her body language gave away the somewhat unsure of what she should do next, she'd heard him call the pup kiddo which made her wonder if she was his or not. Melissas sharp ears had also heard the sound of her brothers name "You know my brother?" although her question was more directed at the pup this time as Julian had phrased one of his earlier sentences like she did. She was wise to keep out of reach however as she spotted a kill that she supposed the pup must have brought down as this was a good place for teaching another how to hunt. Remembering the brief period of how she'd taught Julian how to fend for himself it was a little strange to see him passing on that knowledge to someone else.

Giggling between mouthfuls, Claire lifted her head and pushed him away as best she could, "I'll be a great hunter with practice!" she informed her father proudly. She'd become a wolf so great that he'd be proud of her, licking his ear she resumed eating her kill listening as her Father talked to the strange brown wolf. Mel? who's that? nodding enthusiastically as her dad told the stranger that she often spent time with Killian when she wasn't with him. Nestling into her father a moment she nodded when he finally explained that the stranger was the one who'd taught her father how to hunt and take care of himself. Interested that he was teaching what he'd learnt from this mel to her, Claire gave a wag of her tail and full she flopped onto her side with a yawn. Scratching her belly with a back paw she sighed quite happy to go for a nap then and there. An ear flicked listening for anything that could hurt her while she stretched out in the long sweet smelling grass, the sounds of the old orchard that had flourished without humans tending it were soothing and soon lulled her into a light sleep a happy look on her puppy features.

Watching as the male curled around the pups, she tilted her head as he rested his head on the sleeping females belly. Slowly lowering her haunches to the ground she studied the pair with brown eyes, when he spoke she considered it before speaking "He has claimed the lonely mountain as his own, I visit him from time to time however I am on my own more now" it was alright she did not mind being on her own after all, it was quieter on her own. Wondering if the dog she'd taught to hunt and fight as a pup had changed at all her features remained their usual calm emotionless self. Privately interested in the small black pup she wondered why her brother had taken an interest in it, it was interesting enough that he'd taken to Daniella a female that she did not exactly approve of but kept her thoughts to herself. She did not rule her brother, he did as he wished, the breeze was pleasant in the warm sun and it brought the sweet scent of the fruits that were hanging on the trees weighing them down. The wasps would be having a field day with all of the sugar, and so would the birds as a matter of fact, thinking about these seemingly insignificant facts could entertain her for hours as she thought about how interesting the tiny workings of the world was.

Giving a nod Melissa went silent she didn't know what else to say, so she remained watching him curl up with the pup rather distantly. She was, uneeded, her brother didnt need her he had two pups to keep him busy and julian was his own adult self now he did not require her guidence. She was alone, not giving any hint as to what was going on in her mind she just flicked her ears and spoke “I will leave you to it then” turning away from Julian she decided that she'd go find something to do. Maybe she'd wander over the territories of the clans again, yes, that way if anyone got in her way she could kill them and it'd make what she felt less. So with that she walked away from the dog, the solitary female who'd become all the more solitary the past few moons soon was out of sight and gone letting her paws choose where to go. She didn't exactly care whereabouts she ended up, and so her paws lead her towards the distant hills of Sunclan, she ended up wandering deep into their territoory
~Abandoned Mine~

She slept for a couple of hours, safe and sound in her fathers hold, waking up as the sun reached the highest point of the sky she struggled free. Shaking out her thick black fur she glanced around noticing that the loner had gone, she was supposed to go meet Killian at the beach soon the green eyed female remembered with a sudden blink. Claire lifted a paw and pressed it onto the kelpies muzzle "Hey dad wake up!" repeating the sentence until her lazy bum father finally responded to her she spoke "I'm shupposed to go meet Killian shomewhere, I'll meet you back here - I might be a couple of daysh thish time" licking his muzzle affectionately she spun about trying to remember the directions that Killian had given her the last time that they'd met. She was so very excited to go to this place, he'd described it a little to her and it sounded like a magical wonderful place that she was desperate to explore. With a brief glance over her shoulder to make sure dad was alright she moved forward into an easy trot, despite knowing that her dad could care for himself she always worried a little about him without her there to keep an eye on him. He would be fine, it wasn't for very long this time, although she was very certain he'd get into mischief after all he'd been the one to teach her how to get into mischief.
~Greys Beach~