The Halfling and the Exile

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Isaac sat and made sure he looked as pathetic as possible when Niari came out, tail motionless, ears flopped sadly down. He perked up when she brought the rabbit down, though, and rubbed up a bit into her hand when she pet him. He picked up the small animal as she walked back inside, trusting her to take care of the pups, and carried it away from the porch a bit to start eating. It wasn't the largest animal he could have had, but it would be enough to help him gain back his strength. He picked at the food until there wasn't much left, and made sure to put the remains of it in the forest so it wouldn't stink up the cabin and would be easier for scavengers to reach.

On the way back to the cabin, Isaac realized the door would have to be shut to keep the pups in, and he couldn't open it without hands and didn't want to shift again so soon. Huffing irritably, he sat down and looked pathetic again when he got back to it, then scratched at the door to be let in. The pups came tumbling towards it from the other side, curious at the noises, and he heard them snuffling at the bottom of the door, smelling him and pawing at the thing between them like they could somehow move it. It was adorable and hilarious until they almost started to cry because they couldn't immediately get to him.
 
"Aww, darlings! Don't cry! He's fine, see?"

Niari giggled and opened the door, nudging the pups out of the way as it swung open. At first they were rather disoriented, but then they saw Isaac and started yipping with excitement, bouncing around and running to dance around his legs as he came in. She smiled and carefully closed the door, then followed after the train of pups that were chasing their new daddy down the hallway.

"How was the rabbit? Still good?"

[So.. short.. dying.. x.x]
 
((It's okay haha Don't worry about it. It'll be slow until the pups are a bit bigger))

Isaac nuzzled the pups when they came out to bounce around him, getting them inside with him and licking a few of them to make sure they were happy again. He trotted carefully away and back towards the living room, and upon noticing them following him suddenly took off at a run down the hall. The little yips followed after and he spun at the end to drop into a play stance facing the pups, getting to watch them skid and slide and fall over each other trying to stop. When he barked at them and feinted as if to run towards them they erupted into a chorus of tiny barks and tried excitedly to run back to 'Mom' on unsteady feet.

Laughing in his head, Isaac trotted after them and made little bouncing motions at them to keep them running, until they fell to little frenzied heaps at Niari's feet. The male wolf wagged his tail, satisfied with himself, and finally gave Niari a nod to show her his meal had gone fine. He didn't want to change back yet, though, and he wanted a chance to play with the pups like this now that they were up.
 
Niari laughed as the pups chased after Isaac with such enthusiasm. They slid along the floor, crashing into each other in an attempt to not collide with him. It wasn't long before he had them all barking and running back at her.

"Oh no!" she squealed, giggling as a small stampede of fur barreled down the hallway at her. It was like watching cotton balls have a race. Little pink tongues sticking out, pups tripping over each other constantly until they all collided with her legs. She grinned and curled her fingers like claws, growling at them and stomping her feet until they all started to run back to Isaac. Once they were all on their way, she quickly stripped her clothes and set them aside to shift so that she could play more easily.

As soon as she shifted, she nearly fell over. How many shifts was that today..? She felt dizzy. Shaking her head to get rid of the feeling, she sat down and watched the pups, waiting for them to come running back to her again.
 
Isaac patted his paws on the ground, shifting his weight back and forth as the pups came running back to him. He gave them little licks and nips, then ran a little circle around them and dropped into a play stance again, wagging his tail and chuffing at them rather than bark so close and potentially scare them. They made their own little squeaky barks at him and flailed ineffective paws, some of them trying to bite his feet until he stepped back again and feinted towards them, chasing them back over to Niari.

A squeaking, fluffy mess, the pups swarmed over her paws and tried to jump up to get her, the couple that did so just falling over backwards without really getting off the ground. He panted a laugh at them and gave Niari a careful nuzzle to ask if she was all right, a soft whine in his throat. As long as she was all right, they could play with the pups together. He could always keep them busy for a while as she recovered.

When he was sure she was okay, Isaac hopped off to get the pup's toy and step on the squeaker. Their little ears perked up and there were curious head-tilts, then his girl came fumbling towards him to see what daddy had found, growling squeakily and biting at his paw. She jumped when he squeaked it again, and he tried not to just collapse and roll around 'laughing' when the others started running over to follow her.
 
Niari nuzzled Isaac back gently, closing her eyes for a moment to steady herself before opening then and giving him a nudge with her nose under the chin, accompanied by a light lick. It was a gesture used to show respect to an Alpha, but she didn't care. She dipped her head down to the pups and licked them all since they were now whimpering concern, then she laid down on the floor and watched with amusement as the pups chased after Isaac and the squeaky toy. They were all jumping and barking with each squeak, making for a delightful show.

Soon enough, the pups were all playing tug-o-war with the squeaker toy. Two on one end, two on the other, and one trying to steal it away from the middle. They tugged and tugged until it gave a mighty squeak and scared all of them, causing them to dart in all directions with excited yips. Two ran to Niari and she nuzzled them, a low growl in her throat to comfort them before she nudged them back toward the toy to go after it again.
 
Isaac was confused by the gestures Niari gave him, but tried not to think about it just now. What could he think of such things? He wasn't an alpha, nor was he a wolf above her. His place was below her, really, being new to the pack and not having much of a place yet besides taking care of her. It wasn't a bad place to be, per say. He would be happy enough living a life like this, protecting someone who needed it and taking care of the natural wolves. But it felt strange having her treat him like she was under his command.

The pups scattered, one darting under the couch, another burrowing into the blanket, his girl running over to him to hide behind a leg her poof didn't really fit behind. He squeaked the toy again, carefully, so they would know it was him doing it and wouldn't be startled, and gave the thing a little kick with one paw to get them moving again. The boy under the couch reacted first, yipping as he wriggled out and ran after it like it was trying to run away. When he rolled over the squeaker after trying to stop running, he only popped up with curious ears and tried to drag the thing away. The fact that it was as big as he was wasn't helping.
 
The pups were adorable, and Niari knew that she could watch them for hours. She laid curled up by the door, her chin resting on her paws as she simply gazed at the little creatures. They would run one way, then another, often slipping and sliding their way around corners. Sometimes they were wrestling each other and sometimes they wrestled the toy. It was a constant burst of energy every moment. Just watching them made her tired. She yawned and closed her eyes for what she thought was just a moment. When she opened them, however, a tiny nose was poking hers.

It was Socks. Or Myren. She stared at his tiny face for a moment, then lifted a paw and tugged him in closer to attack him with several long licks. He yipped and squirmed, acting as though he wanted to get up and go play, but he was soon settled in and enjoying his bath. It was only halfway finished when he started nudging at her. She blinked and watched him in confusion, then realized he was hungry. Again? So soon? Oh dear. How much did wolf pups eat? Were they going to run out of the formula? She huffed in concern and pawed at him to distract him, trying to get him to hold off.
 
Isaac could mostly sit out and watch the pups running around, but a few times he got into the fray, rolling onto his back and letting the pups try to 'attack' him or laying on his stomach to push them around with his muzzle. They were starting to settle down, almost, when he realized there were only four left, so he ended up just pushing them around a bit and letting them play with each other instead. They were obviously beginning to flag a bit after running so much, but still flopped into their siblings and tried eagerly to bite at each other and wrestle.

While they did that, he got up quietly to walk over to Niari and sit down next to her, pawing at her side. He wanted to talk to her but he didn't know if he could initiate it or if she was the one that had to do it. Something seemed to be upsetting the socked pup under her paw, though he was mostly settled in. Was he feeling ill or had he tired faster than the others? She could go and lay down with the pups' blanket if he wanted to sleep.
 
Niari nosed the pup, relieved that she was able to get him to play for now, at least. She nudged him around a few times, then looked up as Isaac came over. That was a welcome distraction for the pup, who wiggled free of his 'mother's' grasp and hopped over to run after Isaac's tail on the floor as he pawed at her.

Yes?

She looked up at him curiously, then looked over at Socks. He was jumping on Isaac's tail, yipping happily and wiggling all around. At least he had forgotten about feeding momentarily. She turned her gaze to the other pups, watching as they continued to play by themselves. A few were starting to yawn, but none seemed ready to give in to their sleepy desires just yet. Soon they'd be passing out on the blankets.
 
Isaac glanced back at the pup but just wagged his tail around a bit for the little one to chase. He didn't mind the little bites, even though they were a slight pain, and tried to make it a little bit of a challenge for the baby. It seemed like something was wrong. He said, tilting his head a bit at her, ears pointed curiously up. I wanted to see if he was hurt or not. But everything seemed fine, if the weight trying to hold his tail down was any indication.

I am curious, though. He added after a thought. How does this work? When we speak like this? I've never done it before, even though I've heard of it. Can I do it if I tried? Or is it some sort of channel only you can open between us? He suspected it was just her, but it wasn't like asking would hurt anything. What if he needed to call out to her in something more specific than warning signals or come-heres?
 
He's not hurt, but he is hungry again. I was trying to distract him, to hold him off.. I don't know how long the food for them is going to last, with five of them.. especially if he's hungry again..

She sighed and continued on, still watching the pups.

This is not just something I can do. It's.. complicated. This used to be a widely-used system of communication with Werewolves because it's a lot easier and more specific than growling. People started to forget, though. It's like a muscle that you have to work, to become good at it and make it stronger. I've been doing it for years. Now that I know your mind, I could probably yell to you no matter where you went. Do you want me to close you off and have you try?
 
Isaac made worried sounds at first, glancing at the pups, then confused ones when he looked at Niari again. Ummmm, hold on, don't do it yet. Let me ramble and try to think about it. Maybe the more he 'talked' at her the better he would be able to duplicate it. I think the pups will all have different personalities as they get bigger. His ears flattened a bit guiltily. I'm already starting to think of one as just mine. I don't mean to. I might name her Marie, I think. It's a pretty name. He had known someone named Marie, but he didn't want to talk about that.

. . . All right. Go ahead. Don't laugh at me if I squint and concentrate too hard. He waited, wanting the all clear to know the metaphorical door between them was closed. Maybe that was the way to think about it. Her mental speaking voice was inside a house, and so was his, and to get to her he just had to open a couple of doors. He tried to picture it, ears twitching faintly, and made a faint whining sound when he felt like he had to concentrate harder to open the door leading to her. Maybe if he knocked? Where was this metaphor going?

Is it working yet? I feel like you're lying just to pull my leg.
 
That's alright, I named that one Socks, but that's a silly name. I think I'll call him Myren instead.

Niari waited for Isaac to prepare for being shut off from her mind. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if he would be able to push through. Yes, everything she said was true, but most people had been so out of the practice for so long that it was impossible to obtain. If somebody in his pack had done it, or somebody in his family line, then perhaps there was hope. Of course, there could be hope anyway, but she was not certain.

Once he gave her the go-ahead, she shut off the mental connection. She watched him closely, trying not to look too amused as he stared at her as though she was hiding his favorite bone. It took a little while and she nearly relented to open the connection again for him, but then she heard him. Her ears perked up and she nudged him.

Good job.
 
Marie and Myren. They would make quite the pair, though he did think 'Socks' was cute. Myren was more strong and majestic, like a wolf should be. Socks could be a nickname between them while he was little, and not spoken to him as his name so he wouldn't get confused.

I did it? His ears perked up and his tail wagged more where Myren was still trying to bite at it, the older wolf giving an excited little whine and maybe a bit of a playful wiggle if he was being honest. I did it! That's amazing! How do I turn it off afterwards? Just, close the door again? He paused, as if realizing what he'd said, and hunkered down a bit in embarrassment. I was picturing doors between us. . . At least it worked. Maybe it wasn't the most complicated of visualizations, but it had helped him mentally find his way to her.
 
Niari let out a huff of amusement when Isaac hung his head in shame. She scooted forward and licked him affectionately, nuzzling him a little to hide how silly he was.

It's fine. Doors works. Actually, that's a good way to think about it, because you should always knock. Ask permission first. Going into somebody's mind is.. rude. I did it to you, I know, but if you just open that connection, people can accidentally 'send' thoughts to you that they don't want you to know. It can be dangerous. And the path goes both ways. As you get more experienced, you'll realize that you can rip through minds like a piece of paper.... I would never do that to you.

The cabin was getting quiet. She turned and saw that the other four pups were sprawled out on the blankets, napping happily. Socks was the last pup standing, and he was letting out some pretty impressive yawns of his own while chasing Isaac's tail. She nabbed him with her jaws, taking the back of his neck gently and carrying the playful pup over to his siblings.
 
Isaac wagged his tail a bit more when she licked at him and pushed her head into him, pushing back at her playfully and happily. He felt much better after eating and playing a bit, much more like himself and not the groggy version of him. He was at least grateful he didn't always get cranky when tired or she probably would've smacked him already.

When she kept explaining, Isaac's ears drooped and he let out a soft, concerned whine. What do you mean, 'rip through'? What- What does that mean? I could hurt you? If I tried too hard to speak, I could hurt you? He didn't want to. He would always knock. Always. But if there was a chance he could hurt her in such a terrible way, he didn't want to try at all. He would rather communicate in growls and barks and body language like they usually did. It was too dangerous.
 
No. It is not something you can do accidentally. It's.. It has to be intentional. To rip through somebody's mind is excruciating for the person on the other end. You are essentially tearing them apart from the inside out. You can see all of their thoughts, their secrets, the things that they tried to forget. Everything is brought to light and you know every detail about them, good, bad and ugly... but.. what's worse is what comes next. The overload of thought causes the mind to seize on itself. It crumbles and what's left is.. Is.. Not much of anything at all.

Niari fell silent for a long minute then, not looking at him. She watched Socks fall asleep with his siblings, the furry pile rising and falling as they breathed in unison. After a moment, she picked up a blanket and carefully laid it over them to keep them warm. Once that was done, she slowly wandered back over to Isaac and sat next to him, feeling very tired.

There is a girl in the pack who had her mind destroyed. I will take you to meet her someday. You should see the potential damage that you can cause. It is not pretty, but you must know the extent of a power to respect it. If you ever do need to use it.. you have to know first.. There is no going back for that person. Ever.
 
Isaac whined faintly still, sinking lower and lower as she went on and tucking his tail between his legs as he slunk a couple slow steps after her, like he had to be close to listen but was afraid to hear more. It wasn't right. No one should have power like that. They had strength and speed and claws that humans didn't, but that? It was too much. Maybe that was why no one could do it anymore. Maybe the Alphas of old agreed as one to weed it out of their packs, to never have their wolves know such things again.

. . . who would do something like that. The voice in his head was small, still present but withdrawn, as if he could only bear to whisper. That - That isn't right, it can't . . . You're telling the truth? She had to be lying right? She would tell him she was lying and it would be fine? There was no girl with a destroyed mind. She had hit her head and never recovered and that was it, wasn't it? . . . Please?

Why would I ever want to learn to do something like that? I don't want to learn. He would rather kill someone fair and square. Destroying them and leaving them alive . . . it was inhumane.
 
Niari yawned and laid down, nudging at Isaac to join her. She wanted to snuggle against him by the pups and just relax, taking in the warmth so that she could nap. Her body and mind were still exhausted from the over-use of her shifting today. She laid her head down and gazed at him.

I do not know who did it. All I know is that it was somebody in the pack, and it was an accident. That was all Mother would say about it. It was a long time ago now... It's not something that I'm going to teach you. The longer you communicate this way, the more you will unintentionally learn about how it works. I hope that you never do use it, Isaac. I don't want you to. It's.. so wrong. There are easier ways to harm.

Get some rest with me. Try not to think about it.. It only brings nightmares.
 
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