Roshan

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          It was difficult to see where one pup ended and another began in the tumbling mess at Celwynn's feet. A light gray pup with keen amber eyes peering out of a dark mask of fur gave a mighty swipe that missed her target and landed smack into the face of another. That large, dark pup scowled at his sister and jumped on her in return while a smaller she-pup with pretty brown markings clamped her little jaws onto his tail and yanked. All the while, the littlest pup— a dark brown and gray male with bright blue eyes— circled the group until he found a good spot to weasel into and cause havoc. Eventually the knot of quarreling pups tumbled right into their mother who shook her head and began trying to separate her pups, with the one she had just moved running back into the fray while she moved the next.
          Eventually the sun set and they all tired themselves out and collapsed in a heap, just as cuddly with each other as they had been vicious only moments ago. The light gray pup was just as close as she could be to the dark brother she had smacked in the face, and they were still chattering in hushed, conspiratorial tones while their littler siblings did the same on the other side of the heap.
          "What do you want to bet they're planning a sneak attack right now?" The she-pup with the red and brown markings asked the littlest pup who was snuggled up next to her.
          "Pretty much anything. They're definitely gonna jump on us tomorrow."
          "Huh... well we're just gonna have to wake up early and jump on them instead!"

—

          The white-frosted, dark gray and brown wolf shook out his fur and rolled his head from side to side, stretching out his bunched neck muscles. He had been out all day, first with his hunting party and then with his sister fishing in the river. A couple of wolves trotted past him on their way out of the hollow and he drew himself up to his full height, giving each of them a nod. He was the smallest of his littermates, the second smallest of his siblings after Celbrimm, and even though he was still noticeably larger than most of his packmates he liked to make sure they knew it. The pair of hunters on their way out disappeared from view and he let his sore shoulders slump again, ready to find a spot to take a nap.
          Roshan scrunched his face in a big yawn as he came to after a good long nap in a sunny, grassy spot. As he shifted he raised his head, confused, and looked behind him to see a dark red pelt curled up and pressed up next to him. He squinted at the softly snoring form and prodded it gently with a paw. Eventually the sleepy face of Wynandir rose up to blink intense amber eyes at him and speak in a garbled mess of sleepy words.
          "Wha...? Whaddoyaneed?"
          "Uh, what are you doing?"
          "I'm sleeping. Takin' advantage of this nice sunny spot, same as you."
          "I can see that, but why exactly do we need to share the same tiny area of space?"
          "Well, because I want to, that's why. Why do you always feel the need to make wolves think you're big?"
          "I- well, because!"
          This back and forth went on for quite some time, and kept happening regularly over the next days and then weeks. Eventually the little red she-wolf wore Roshan down and whenever one of them decided to nap the other came to share their space in either quiet, or quietly bickering contentment until they fell asleep snuggled up together.

—

          Roshan peered out of the den entrance as Wynandir rushed across the hollow to support Banrigh before she collapsed. The scout was covered in soot and ash, panting hard after racing back to the hollow to warn the pack of... Roshan didn't want to complete the thought and confirm his fear. Instead he watched as the other scouts emerged from their dens— Ataahua shoving past him and the rest of the anxious faces peering out of the den entrance— and gathered to Banrigh in the center of the hollow. The scout didn't look like she was able to speak, so Wynandir began to issue commands to the scouts. Roshan couldn't help but smile with pride as his mate even told her mother, the senior scout, what to do. For a moment he forgot the ominous black cloud looming ever more directly overhead, but then Ataahua returned barking orders, telling them tactlessly that everything was burning and it was time to go.
          Roshan looked around for his brother and and any other stragglers who may be more difficult to rouse as the young golden scout ushered everyone up the opposite hill from where Banrigh had come in howling. After shoving several heavy sleepers to their feet and out into the hollow, Roshan's brother Dalibor was nowhere to be found. He called to Ataahua waiting for him on the hill and told her he was going back to help. She fumed as he turned and ran toward where his mate and Banrigh had disappeared to. He didn't have to go far, as it turned out. Dalibor was having a shouting match with Wynandir about how weak Banrigh was and how she should've been the first one out of the hollow. At this point the flames had reached the edge of the hill, and they were licking down into the hollow ferociously. Roshan growled low and shouldered his way in between his brother and mate.
          "As much as I'd like to see how this fight ends, we've got to leave now before we're charcoal! Dalibor, meet the others on the opposite hill and wait. No more questions. Banrigh, go with him," Roshan turned at his mate's growl, "no. More. Questions. You and I will—"
          At that moment Hakaan leaped into the hollow from the ledge above his den and came pelting toward the arguing knot of advisors. He snapped at them as he ran past and toward the herbalist's den, "all of you out, now!"
          His tone left no room for argument so the four did as they were told, Dalibor ushering Banrigh gently toward where the pack had gathered, and Roshan and Wynandir quickly sweeping the hollow for stragglers before catching up as well. Roshan narrowed his eyes through the smoke as he thought he saw a grey figure charging into the hollow after Hakaan.

—

          Roshan shifted his weight from his injured foot and shook it gently out, scowling as it still throbbed. Wynandir tried in vain to conceal a sympathetic look as she patted some scraggly branches into a tighter formation. The big dark wolf shot her a baleful glare before turning away to work on another section of the den. This direction turned out to be far worse, however, as Dalibor was looking at him with a strained expression, trying hard not to laugh. Roshan rolled his eyes and looked expectantly at Banrigh who was lying a few paces away in the sun. She shook her head with a more genuine smile.
          "I can't make him stop. You know this quite well already," she explained as she also shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid lying on her burns and scrapes.
          Roshan looked away and mentally kicked himself. She had run back to the old hollow to warn the pack with no regard for herself and the scrapes and burns she sustained. He had no room to complain. He just wished those other two idiots would quit acting like this around him.
          Dalibor cut through his thoughts with a, "sorry brother," followed by more squashed laughter.
          Before Roshan could tackle the other enormous dark wolf and probably undo all of the work they had done Banrigh gave an exasperated sigh, "so you injured yourself by stepping in a gopher hole as we ran away, so what? I would rather have a broken foot right now than these burns, and I'm sure you would too."
          Roshan lowered his head as Wynandir chimed in her assent. He shot a glare at his brother, then padded over to Banrigh to fluff up the grass and moss around where she was lying. He uttered an apology as she also let out a little laugh and told him that it was fine and that he should probably be lying down, too. The dark wolf just groaned through a smile he couldn't suppress because he was actually quite glad that they had all survived that whole ordeal to pester each other now.

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