ORIGIN

The she-wolf rather liked it here. She'd decided as much, and as a result had decided to stay... Admittedly more than anything for her own safety and 'training'. For there were things afoot here the wolf had been... Fortunate... Enough to dabble in, in recent days.

The wolf didn't look down at the ground as she padded along, her ears pricked forward. This (as she should have learned by now) was a mistake- there were roots, rocks, and thorns, amongst other things, all lurking and waiting for her soft paw pads.

But today it wasn't one of those she would end up stepping on...

As she padded forward, the wolf felt something sharp crunch beneath her paw, and as she looked down, was met by the remains of a tiny chrysalis. She tipped her head to one side before looking around to see if the owner was nearby. There was no telling just how old it was though, Kin-Kin knew that it could have been there minutes or cycles without change.

So she wasn't too surprised when she didn't see anything. She raised her head back up, and readied herself to keep moving.

---

Kin-Kin heard a piercing screech, and flattened back her ears. When she looked around again, this time she knew exactly where to look. And this time she found exactly what she had been looking for. A tiny creature sat not too far away, looking at her and shouting at her. As much as that tiny voice could 'shout' anyway. But geez, it sure was a piercing one. Slowly, her ears rose upright again, and she lowered her head so that she could see them better. Go away?

Well, that doesn't seem like much fun. Now does it?

Her deep purple eyes examined them quizzically, and she gave a little chuckle. "Well, it's not like ya could do much if I tried, huh sport?" she said, ears twitching. "Lucky for you, you don't exactly look gourmet!"

She sniffed, slowly settling down into a lying position so that she could stare right at them without craning her neck. Her plumed tail curiously flicked from side to side, and she shrugged her shoulders so that the blue fabric was shifted over her.

"I bet you'd get stuck in my teeth something rotten." She winked, before letting out a chiming laugh.

---

Kin-Kin raised a brow as she watched the little thing spring away as though fired from a catapult. She gave another laugh, eventually calming to examine them closely as they seemed to come to their senses, hopping towards her. Finally she stopped laughing, her ears perked, although a toothy grin remained firmly etching into her cheeks. When they came close enough, Kin-Kin lowered her head to give them a good sniff with her twitching black nose. She was very curious; this little one seemed small enough to be a lesser Gembound, and yet it had a voice and mind of its own. She'd never seen anyone quite this small, in fact; truth be told, if they hadn't spoken they might just have been a good snack.

She wasn't about to say as much though. Scaring them away wouldn't have been any fun. Besides, it was a cruel world out there. She might as well send them packing with a bit more of a chance. And who better to give them that chance than her?

"Name's Kin-Kin!" she introduced herself in response to their broken question. She bowed her head in greeting, ears flicking back. "what about you? Do you have a name, kid?"

---

The little thing seemed to answer her previous question, in addition to being quite... irritated by her actions. Kin-Kin found that immensely amusing. She chuckled heartily, folding her paws, and drumming her claws upon the gem on her chest. "I think I'd deal with that rather well, as a matter of fact!" she told them honestly. She'd been sniffed by beings bigger than her before, especially when she was a puppy. True, she'd been afraid then, but she wasn't about to mention that, now was she.

Kin-Kin raised her head back, though her nose kept on twitching.

Perhaps they were more alike than Kin-Kin cared to admit. She didn't care to admit it, but she could see them taking the same path she did. Taking their fear and using it to become stronger. That, Kin-Kin would like to see.

So, their name was Tukluk. "How sweet." She unfurled her front paws from her chest, giving them a brief stretch, before curling up, brushing her plumed tail around her haunches as though she were about to sleep. Lazily, she rested her chin upon her paws and just looked at them.

"...You still look like a kid to me!"

She sniffed, a wolfish smirk decorating her pointed features.

---

Kin-Kin watched, her jowls twitching in amusement as she listened. Her eyes bright, she twitched her ears as she tracked their movements. At that age, did they even know what food was? Curiosity caused her head to slowly tilt to one side. Well, Kin-Kin had known what food was, but only when she got so hungry and tired of looking for food instinct had taken over, the object of her bloodlust being a sweet little little cave mouse (the biggest thing she could catch at that age). This only furthered her, at the time, fear-warped perception of the caves' brutality.

But nowadays, the rule was "no talky, no qualms".

If something looked tasty and didn't tell her to stop, she'd have it. Such was her life, and kids needed to learn that if they had to survive out here. However, it seemed like they wouldn't have to. They were a fruit-eater it seemed. Kin-Kin couldn't help but wonder what they tasted like, if they were as sweet as her nose told her or just a waste of time. Maybe she should have tried already.

With a grunt as she shifted her weight, she rocked herself to her paws and shook the ruffles from her fur.

Gah. Ain't no harm in trying.

With dainty paws falling softly, she followed the scent of the little creature who'd taken off. She came upon them greedily devouring an abundance of low-hanging fruit, fruit that she could easily reach or better yet, put just out of theirs.

That thought put a smile on her face but instead of approaching, she stood there with a wicked little smirk growing on her face and waited for them to notice she'd followed.

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