Caio

    Caio trotted after the group of big wolves he had been following for the past few hours, wondering where on earth they were going. They had some great snacks and he had been hoping that they would settle down to eat and share some with him for ages. Eventually they did set their catch down, but other wolves came out of various dens and snatched it up before his short little legs could carry him to it. He scowled and sat down with a huff, garnering several double takes and exclamations of surprise. He looked up at them balefully with not just a little edge of scorn in his eyes.
    "You all took ages to find a good eating spot and then you didn't even let me have any. What kind of wolves are you?" The little light-furred pup lamented to the still wide-eyed adults gathered up to stare at him.
    "Ah... where did you... come from?" A large, dark male with bright blue eyes stammered from the bunch.
    "I came from home, of course. I was following you hoping for a bite but you never stopped. It's been hours, I'm hungry," little Caio grumbled at them sullenly.
    A red-tinged she-wolf with kind eyes approached him with the prey she had taken from the pile and dropped it at his feet. He smiled up at her with big blue eyes and then tucked in happily. She asked him a few more questions about where he had come from and why he had followed them, and he answered much more happily and much more chattily. Eventually the adults figured out that he had come from a pack to the far south and that he seemed quite happy to stay right where he was if he could continue to get good grub like this.
    An enormous golden wolf shook his head at the kind she-wolf, muttering, "this is going to be a nightmare to explain to his pack, but if he wants to stick around who am I to argue?"

—

    Caio ran alongside his fellow hunters, his young heart feeling happy and quite free out here in the open grass. Had this really been where the Redfeathers lived before the river glade? He thought he quite liked the open space. Gave him plenty of room to run like a madwolf with these lovely fellows of his. Soon Hufen pointed out the deer and he shot past his leader with a howl already ripping out of him. He left his teammates in the dust as they answered his howl and joined in the chase.
    "Come on, you snails! We'll have a feast at the end of this!"

—

    The blue-furred she-wolf shot him a one-eyebrow-raised look and snorted. "I am not slower than you . There's just no way at all," she explained to him none-too-gently.
    "Oh but you are, Nila. You don't even know how fast these feet can fly," he did a little prance and a sort of growling noise combined with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
    "Are you flirting with me? Because I'll tell you right now it's not going to happen," Nila sniffed, though she did watch his whole display out of the corner of her eye.
    "Oh I absolutely am flirting with you," Caio grinned, "that's alright. You couldn't handle all this, being the second fastest in the relationship."
    The she-wolf's blue eyes burned as this fresh challenge hit her ears, and without warning she took off through the hollow and toward the river. Caio knew a race when he saw one, and he also knew a chase when it presented itself, so he gave a tauntingly long howl and was off. The frustrating bit for Nila was that he had no trouble at all catching up to her and even passing her. At one point he was running backwards and grinning at her which caused her to gain the lead again. When they finally reached the riverbank they had expended all of their collective energy, and they collapsed in a heap on the grassy slope.
    "That... proves... nothing," Nila panted with a begrudging grin plastered on her pretty face.
    Caio nodded as if to say, "uh huh, riiight,' and touched his nose to hers briefly, getting cocky. He had to pull back quickly to avoid being bitten, but the two of them ended up laughing and spending much of that afternoon lazing in the sun and taunting each other playfully.

—

    Aleifr stood up and shook out his fur, sending water flying in all directions. Most of it hit Caio, Idrit and Peregrine who were standing more calmly and drily by with only their paws in the cool, shallow ford. As Ale shook all the water out of his fur and onto theirs the trio began to splutter, laugh and bark at him in mock anger. He only grinned and made as if to chase them and dunk them into the river as well.
    "Ale, if you get me all wet and cold I'll claw your ears off! I will!" Howled the somewhat younger and more excitable Idrit as he tucked in his tail and ran for the riverbank.
    "I'm all for a good old water fight! Come back here! Per, come on, I need you on my team!" Called Caio who was hot on Aleifr's heels and ready to tackle him back into the water.
    Peregrine only grinned, then moved into position in front of Ale while he was looking back at Caio. The colorful scout had just opened his mouth to taunt the light-furred hunter when he slammed straight into the wall of muscle that was Peregrine. All that escaped his open mouth was the air that was forced out of his lungs as his forward momentum was stopped. He slid down into the water, first wheezing, then laughing. Caio and Peregrine exchanged satisfied grins and began scooping pawfuls of water toward their friend while he was down.
    "Ohhh, not fair. You know, I bet your sister coulda done better though, Per. She's way stronger than you," Aleifr wheezed through a cheeky grin and took off again.
    Peregrine shrugged and nodded his agreement with the statement, but Caio snorted indignantly and ran after the scout to defend his humble friend's honor.

—

    Caio awoke to Nila snuggling back into their shared sleeping space with a huff. He looked up in the still-dark of the early morning with a questioning look. The pair of them had taken in three foundlings, and they had proven to be rather difficult to handle. He would've bet his breakfast that it was them causing this uncharacteristic return to sleep this 'late' in the morning. Caio had tried to help, but it hadn't done much to smooth things over with the older two. He hated to see his mate defeated by anything, and this one was a defeat that she took even more personally.
    "They just don't like us," Nila's voice was quiet as she confided in him.
    Caio was silent for a moment before simply saying, "they're foundlings. They didn't choose to come here. It's nothing you did, they just need time."
    "You were a foundling, right dad?" A small voice piped up from behind the pair.
    Caio turned to see the pup who had actually accepted them as his parents and smiled. "I was. Come," he scooped the pup toward he and Nila, who had brightened up at this appearance. "I was a foundling. The only difference was that I found the Redfeathers rather than them finding me. You see, I was hungry and their hunting party had food, so naturally..."
    As he spoke to young Rauros, Caio watched his mate's face brighten slightly. As the three of them settled in for a cozy morning of storytelling she took to straightening up Rauros' fur and chatting along with her light-furred mate, correcting him each time he didn't embellish the parts with her in them enough. By the time the sun had risen fully the blue-furred she-wolf had returned to her cocky, smiling self.

—

    Caio glanced over at Peregrine with another quizzical look as they followed their friend and alpha up the hill. Aleifr had come to collect them, then run off without another word, and the two hunters were so confounded that they simply had to chase after him. They crested the hill and plunged down into a thicker part of the forest, weaving expertly among the trees and underbrush after the colorful alpha. Caio squinted through the brush to spot Ale's rather noticeable blue-tinged fur, pushing aside a large, low-hanging vine as he went. He glanced back and winced as Peregrine nearly ran straight into it.
    Eventually their giddy alpha slowed to a trot, hanging back so that the two panting hunters could catch up with him. Caio exchanged a glance and a sharp exhale with Peregrine as he fell into step with both of his friends.
    "I can't believe neither of you fell through there," Ale said, half disappointed.
    "That's what you get with two expert chasers!" Caio crowed with a grin.
    "I wouldn't say expert. There's still so much to learn... plus I was nearly taken out by a vine there," Peregrine countered in his humble way.
    "Nonsense! We make you train all the pups for a reason, Per," Ale said rather jauntily, "alright, just through here."
    The two hunters exchanged another confounded glance as Aleifr ducked through some low-hanging vines. Shrugging, they followed the colorful alpha down a short tunnel that opened out into the most beautiful secluded pond oasis. Peregrine blinked up at the enormously tall waterfall above that fed the pond as Caio looked wide-eyed from the pond to Ale and back again several times.
    "How... did you find this?" Peregrine asked, bewildered.
    "I was running from a particularly nasty-looking bear this morning after he bested me in a fight, and the fellow would not relent. Anyway, I finally managed to get a lead on him and I needed a place to lose him. I saw nice thick vines, hid behind those. Then I heard water. I thought, even better! Conceal the scent, hide behind some rocks, and all he's got is the trail back out of here to follow. Turns out he didn't think I was worth it anymore before the vines, and good thing, too, because when I got here I was just as gobsmacked as you two squirrels! I thought you might appreciate it, so now it can be our place," Ale said with a huge grin.
    "I... mean. Absolutely, this is fantastic," Peregrine said, finally managing to take a step toward the water.
    Before he could go any farther, though, Caio gave a whoop of delight as he broke out of his own stupor and charged forth into the pond for a swim. He watched happily as Peregrine raised an eyebrow toward Ale who grinned, and the two of them ran to join him.

—

    Caio stalked back and forth across the large, flat rock beside which he and Nila made their sleeping space. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't hear the blue-furred she-wolf call to him to sit down already. He let out an uncharacteristic growl in her direction, but sat down nonetheless. He had spent most of that afternoon sitting around with Aleifr and Thorn, getting periodic reports from Nicht about how her study of Raea was going. Apart from Caio's own initial report that he had seen— physically seen!— Peregrine go missing they had hardly spoken of him at all. He gave a long sigh. He knew that it was hard for Ale to talk about it. The alpha had so much on his mind already, but Caio was having trouble just leaving his friend out there in... wherever wolves just disappeared to. He made a decision.
    "Nila! I have to go. Come with me if you want, but to be completely honest I have no idea where I'll end up," an infuriated blue face appeared over the edge of the rock and he cut her off before she could speak, "all I know is that I'll be back with Per. Have faith!"
    Caio touched his nose to his bewildered mate's, trying to meet her blazing blue eyes with a reassuring look. Then he was off. Night had fallen, which was good because most disappearances seemed to happen either at night or on the fringes of it when things were still misty and quiet and those lights appeared. The light-furred hunter made his way through the forest at a run, looking for any sign of the lights that he had seen take Peregrine. He searched for most of the night with no signs of his missing friend, and as the darkness began to fade into dawn he turned dejectedly toward home.
    Walking sleepily with head and tail hanging, Caio didn't notice the changes that began to happen around him as he drew closer to the hollow. He had failed and he was tired, and all he wanted to do was—
    "Caio?!" A familiar voice called incredulously.
    Caio's head snapped up and he finally realized he was not at home anymore. What's more there was Peregrine sitting in the middle of an empty clearing where the bustling activity of the hollow should've been.
    "Peregrine?! Where on earth are we?"

—

    Caio let the breeze ruffle his fur as he crested the bright green hill. The thick blades of grass at his paws swayed as he passed, and he glanced over at Peregrine with a grin. The pair had been stuck in this verdant limbo for weeks now, and their decision to embrace it until they could find out more information had done wonders for their morale. Of course, Caio thought, they still missed home and their mates and friends, but they could do nothing about that until they knew more about this world. So, they explored.
    So far they had traveled hundreds of miles and knew much more than they had when they arrived, but not much of that pertained to getting home. Still, it was a beautiful place and they were enjoying themselves despite the circumstances.
    "What do you say we do a little fishing today, eh, Per?" Caio asked his friend, spotting a shining blue lake in the valley below.
    "As long as you point out the fish for me I'm up for it," Peregrine, who had been partially blinded upon his arrival here, replied. He squinted down in the direction Caio was looking and added, "and the water, too, for that matter."
    Several more weeks went by before something started to feel... off. Caio noticed a strong pull to return home, and Peregrine noticed flickers in his vision which couldn't simply be attributed to his loss of sight. The two spent entire days debating what to do and how to interpret these odd occurrences. Caio thought they should turn back and try to find their way to where they had began. Peregrine just wanted to sit and wait for whatever seemed to be happening to finish happening. The flickers caused him terrible headaches which incapacitated him and made him feel as though whatever was happening would happen wherever they were.
    "Is it any better now? Do you think you can travel?" Caio asked tentatively, settling down beside his friend in the long grass.
    "I think I could go a few more miles, but I'd much prefer to wait a while," Peregrine replied, exhausted.
    He rose, however, and Caio followed suit. They each shook out their fur and began to make their way back toward where they knew home would be if this were their own world. They hadn't taken more than a few steps before they felt the most unsettling feeling yet. It was as if they were flying, or running at the speed of the wind, but their paws weren't moving. The landscape around them became a blur and changed so rapidly that they had to close their eyes until the sensation subsided. When next Caio opened his eyes he was so distracted with checking if Peregrine was okay that he didn't notice the changes in scenery.
    "C-Caio... what... happened?" Peregrine blinked several times, looking as if he was going to be sick, then his eyes went wide and he gasped. "Look!"
    Caio looked up and around for several moments before it registered in his mind that these woods were familiar. "I- how? When? We only took a few steps..." He stammered, bewildered. Then he completed his turn and his gaze fell on a beautiful blue pelt and a pair of blue eyes blazing with enough fury to frighten a grown grizzly bear.
    "Nila! You're he-"
    "You are dead, Caio! Dead!" She lunged and he danced backward and around the clearing as she tried to get a good bite in at him and Peregrine watched, gobsmacked but giddy.

—

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