Innocence

[Deleted]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i36.tinypic.com/aoxtll.jpg,true] The sudden shift in her father's demeanor confused and worried the young pup greatly. Her delusion vanished completely as her father pulled away, expression wounded. "Papa?" she whispered timidly, staring up at him with wide green eyes. What was going on? Meridian was too young to understand. The snarl only made it worse. Tucking her tail, the little white bundle of fluff hung her head shamefully. Was she in trouble? Her father never said she was, but he was ordering her off. She chanced a glance at the others in the clearing before staring up at Exodus's face. A quiet, "Yes, Papa," left her maw as she began to back away. Of course, Meridian still had a bit of spunk left in her. Before she turned to leave completely her eyes again found Akela. Pink tongue peaked out from between her teeth, face squinted in a stuck up glare. Even if Exodus didn't believe, she knew that Akela was the one in the wrong. What other way was there to play? She pounced on and bit her brothers all the time. In fact, next time she caught Akela she'd have to give the older female a playful chomp on the tail. Now content that she'd gotten in the last (silent) word, the pup scampered off into the forest. Maybe she'd be a good girl and actually find her mother. Chances were, however, that she'd venture off on her own again. The dragonfly had reappeared and automatically caught her attention, and as she happily chased after it she paid no mind to where she was roaming.

[akela]

Was she really going to be blamed for this? She had done what she had felt was right by Meridian and the pack; after all the pups were the future of a pack and that wolf had been a threat; Meridian was too young to understand the truth that was out there and hadn't yet learned to distinguish between fun and danger. She had once been like the young wolf which was why she was so protective, she didn't want Meridian to suffer like she had and put herself in danger. It was only thanks to the careful guidance of Salen and Mikko that she had reached the age and understanding that she now had, and she owed them her life for all they had done. "Sir, you have taught me everything I know, I assure you that what I saw didn't look like a game to my eye. All I saw was a stranger jumping at Meridian and so I acted how I felt was best." Perhaps she had misinterpreted the situation but surely it was better to be safe then sorry; and she was sure Exodus' would have been torn up if something had happened to his daughter and she'd done nothing to stop it.

Exodus' whole demeanour soon changed to being as broken as she had imagined he would be, but this was over Flea which was a bit of a surprise. She was aware that Exodus was fond of the pup and the look on his face was devastating, she wasn't sure what to say and looked down at the ground and let out a whine. She was upset that Flea had gone as she had always considered her a friend. "I'm sorry" What else could she say or do; it wasn't as if she could go after Flea and drag her back to Salen, the young femme had made up her mind, she just wished she could understand why she had come to this decision. Flea had always seemed at home in the pack and Akela couldn't help but feel that something was wrong; why else would Flea want to leave?

Exodus' snarl made Akela jump and her tail went in between her legs as she received her orders. She was a bit nervous about staying alone with the intruder; after all the only reason she had had any effect on the wolf was because her attack had come as a surprise; if the wolf were to wake up and fight her then she stood little chance of running the wolf out of their lands. She didn't have an awful lot of knowledge in how to fight; she was still young after all and had a lot to learn. The play fights she'd had with her siblings were long since forgotten and had been buried in the furthest corners of her mind, she had been too old to when she had come to Salen to continue on with childish play and as the pack had been there to keep her safe she'd never found a need to fight. The only time she had gotten close was when the fight against the Knaves had happened and she had found the wolf who had killed her family, but the results had proven she wasn't ready. But the alpha's orders was law so even if she doubted her own abilities she would just have to do her best and work with whatever the situation called for.

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[Angel]

Faint sunlight sparkled in the canopy of leaves high above Angel’s head as she woke from her deep, peaceful sleep. Her nose twitched as she tried to work out where she was. The movement of another wolf nearby made Angel jump, and she scrambled to her paws as a weak attempt to hide her shock.

“Meridian? Is that you?” she asked hopefully as her eyes fell upon a snowy white coat half hidden by the shadows. What had happened? She was so confused; the last thing she remembered was playing with her new friend, Meridian.

Angel’s heart sank as she realised that the other wolf wasn’t in fact Meridian, but a new wolf; a stranger, although the scent was slightly familiar. Do I know her? Angel wondered, tilting her head to the side as she studied the female. A memory flickered just out of reach; it seemed so close, but when she tried to grasp it, it vanished into nothingness.

Shaking her head, she decided that it was time for her to introduce herself. “Hello!” she cried out cheerfully “My name’s Angel. Who are you? Do you want to play with me?” Angel wagged her tail enthusiastically and grinned up at the other wolf. “Do you know where Meridian is? Maybe we can play with her too!” Angel didn’t know where or why Meridian had disappeared, and she couldn’t explain why there were suddenly so many new scents in the little clearing. But none of that mattered to her now. She had another new friend to play with!

Angel shifted her weight from side to side as she waited for the stranger to make a move. There was no possibility in her mind that her ‘new friend’ might not want to play. Everything always happened the way Angel wanted it to.

“What are you waiting for?” she taunted, bouncing closer to the stranger.
“Are you scared?”

Although she was an adult wolf, her brain acted very childishly.