Shrike & Piper

Shrike's fur was utterly soaked by the time he stumbled upon the marshes. The blends of grays that usually made up his fur all appeared to be a solid shade of dark iron now as the rain matted his coat down, and made his ears look all that much larger against his fur-flattened face. Blinking green eyes against the deluge and shivering uncomfortably, the adolescent's enthusiasm had begun to waver. As he stopped before the edge of the marshy waters, he looked back to his cousins, "Ummm... I think I lost track of the humans in the rain. Does.. anyone know which way is home?"

Being younger and smaller than Shrike, Piper was shivering violently at this point. The rain had given way to sleet, and it was beginning to accumulate on the ground in shallow sheets of slush. "I'm c-cold." Was all he whimpered back, while huddling against Scorp.

Scorpnock

He was pretty sure they were not following humna prints if anyone prints. He frowned as he looked around.where's trogon and raven? His little ears go back now. He huddlged into piper.

Shrike & Piper

Shrike peered around at his surroundings, realizing rather belatedly that his siblings were not with them. "I thought they w-were right b-behind us." The adolescent said between chattering teeth. He gave himself a vigorous shake, throwing off a thin coating of sleet that had gathered on his back and nape. Pressing his ears back against his head and feeling his confidence dwindling, Shrike scooted in against his cousins in an effort to keep warm himself. Turning his muzzle to the gloomy clouds above, the youngster uttered a quivering howl, calling for his siblings and his pack.

Piper tilted his head up too, offering a broken cry of his own. The fierce winds stole most of his breath away though, and greatly diminished their call for help.

Scorponock

He frowned and howled for a little before stopping.this was a bad idea, i hope eagle toldHe whined.

Shrike & Piper

Shrike now found himself agreeing with Scorponock's wishes. He would gladly take his parents scowling and chastisement right now if it meant getting rescued from this cold, miserable situation they found themselves in. Peering through the ever worsening sleet, and hearing his cousin's howl get stolen away by the wind again, the youngster began to doubt if their parents could even find them out here. "...maybe we should find better shelter?" Despite how his paws now stung from the cold, Shrike forced himself to stand up again and look about their surroundings. "Maybe those trees over there?" He nudged Scorp and Piper before beginning to pad towards what looked like a big cluster of leaves and branches propped up at the edge of the marsh.

Scorponock

Scorponock followed in silence.

Shrike & Piper

Slush began to ooze between his toes with each step Shrike took, further stinging his cold paws. The storm had been a sudden one, and had they been back at the pack lands, the youngsters would have been herded into the den or beneath the larger conifers for protection against these raging elements. But out in the open, without the aid of a knowledgeable adult, the youngsters were at the mercy of nature and their own inexperience.

With his eyes squinted against the relentless ice, Shrike all but stumbled into the cluster of leaves and branches, his numb nose not realizing how strange the leaves felt when he tried to climb in amongst them. They seemed to form a solid wall, one that bounced him backwards after running into it. Confused, Shrike blinked against the wetness around his eyes and studied the wall of foliage, "That's s-s-strange...?"

Piper was just too cold to question it. He scooted up beside his older cousin and continued to shiver.

Scorponock

Scorponock could barely see and his nose was'n't picking up any scents as he followed.

Quentin Evenday

The strange 'wall' of leaves was in fact a camouflaged tarp covering a hunting blind on the edge of the marsh, covered both in camo print as well as actual branches fastened about the frame to better brake up its outline and help it blend in with the surroundings. The pups were met with initial warmth upon stumbling into the blind, followed by the startled grunt from the man who was currently occupying the structure. A few rough words were spoken as he reached out towards Scorponok and Shrike with both hands, trying to grab the pair by the scruff of the their neck...

Scorponock

Scorponock stumbled in as the thing gave way and then a hand was on his scruff and still being young he went limp unable to help it. But the little pup growled.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Shrike's eyes hardly had time to adjust to the dimmer light in the blind, much less process the human that was in there with them. He only had time to duck down when a shadow passed over his head, and yip in surprise when fingers clasped around his scruff and lifted him from the ground. "Ahhh!" Shrike's bright eyes blinked upward at a lean, scowling face, framed in age-peppered hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Let me go!" He squirmed and whimpered, but the cold still sapped his strength, and he couldn't escape the iron grasp at the back of his neck.

A low murmur of noises came from the man as he examined each adolescent, unphased by their growling and whimpering. After a moment he set Shrike on the opposite side of the blind, and used the free hand to rummage through a large duffle bag next to him, removing several items. One of these was a shirt, which he began to wrap around Scorponok like a blanket.

Piper was too chilled to run, and too terrified by the strange sight of the two legger to get closer. Ears back, the youngster dropped to his belly and stared with wide eyes.

Scorponock

Well we found a humanHe chattered through the cold.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Shrike whined and flattened his ears back, "Y-y-yeaah." If he weren't so cold and exhausted, the adolescent would have been running about the blind in a whirlwind, thrilled for having found a two-legger, and terrified at being stuck inside... well, whatever this strange wall of leaves was. All he could now do now was shake and watch helplessly as his cousin was inspected.

The man frowned, drawing deep creases above his thin brows. Once Scorp was wrapped up in the shirt, he set the pup down inside the opened duffle bag, and grabbed Piper next, similarly swaddling the wolf in an article of clothing and dropping him in beside his brother. Shrike was snatched up after that, despite a weak attempt to dart beneath the man's grasping fingers. Having run out of spare shirts and jackets, Shrike got himself a scarf, wrapped snugly about his neck, chest, and front legs.

"H-hey! I can't m-move!" The youngster complained, making a short-lived attempt to wiggle his front limbs from the soft material. Too big to be stuffed into the dufflebag with his cousins, Shrike was set down next to it, where he peered over at his relatives. His eyes went wide as a revelation suddenly came to him, "Ohhh no... he's w-wrapped us up l-like a spider! D-do you think he's g-gonna eat us?!"

Meanwhile, Quentin was busy donning a pair of white earmuffs and thick gloves, while occasionally pausing to look out the concealed windows of the blind, half expecting the pup's parents to show up.

Scorponock

Scorponock wanted to protest this but he had been so exhausted and cold. He hoped raven and their other relative were fairing better. He eyed the human at Shrikes words.No they don't eat us I don't thinkHe said.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Piper was likewise too tired and hypothermic to resist the jacket he was bound up in, and despite how frightening the situation was, he was happy to be out of the sleet and wind at least. "W-what do you th-think he's gonna do?" The youngster queried as he took the opportunity to look about the interior of the blind, in between hasty glances at the human.

This time, Shrike was willing to believe Scorp's knowledge on this subject, and huffed in agreement, "Y-yeah, I think you're right. His teeth are s-so flat, l-like a deer's. But..." The adolescent flashed his green eyes back to Quentin, as the man was now standing up and pulling a hat over his head, "..his paws r-remind me of a r-racoon's." His emerald gaze went went wider when Quentin pulled a cellphone from his pocket. After jabbing his strange racoon-digits at the little device, it began to emit the strangest of sounds, a trilling ring somewhere between a bug's song and a bird's chirping. "W-What's that?"

Scorponock

He never took his eyes from the human.I don't knowHe said both to pipers question and shrikes. He had finally stopped shivering.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Piper and Shrike both cocked their heads when another human's voice came from the device. Shrike jumped a little when Quentin spoke again, his tone a little louder this time around. "Why d-do they talk so f-funny? And wh-ere's the other h-human?" At the last query, both he and Piper took time to peer about the tent, expecting their to be a second two-legger hiding in there somewhere.

The conversation was a short one for Quentin, who soon put the phone back in his pocket and looked to the three young wolves. A line of moisture grew at the edges of his steely-blue eyes before a set of harsh blinks forced it away. He reached for a sack in the corner of the blind and pulled a bag of jerky from it, which he went on to open to draw three little squares of meat from. One was offered to each of the pups.

Scorponock

Scorponock looked at thing in the mans hand.In that thinghe said soon the man brought out something that smelt good and even though he didn't want to eat it he was too hungry not to. So he grabbed it and chewed it.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Piper flattened his ears and shied away from Quentin's hand when offered the morsel of dried meat. Hungry as he was, he was too bewildered by the situation and frightened of the creature that his father had spoken so poorly about.

Shrike was likewise frightened, but he didn't hang so heavily on his alpha's words. Plus, his stomach was growling with hunger, and when offered a free meal, he simply couldn't turn it down. With little but an inquisitive sniff, Shrike then snapped up the jerky and wolfed it down in a single bite. "Oh my gosh..." A sneeze briefly shook his frame, and he gave his head a shake, "That was really good!"

After each puppy had been offered a bite, Quentin began to pack away what loose items he had about the blind. Once that was done, he went to carefully but firmly press Scorp and Piper down into the duffle bag, and zip it up...

Scorponock

Scorponock ifnished his peice and then growled when they were pressed downinto this bag.what happening?he whined.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

Once the bag was closed, the two pups inside were locked in darkness. On one paw, the closeness and warmth was comforting to Piper, but the feeling of being trapped sparked panic in the youngster, and he began to whimper, "I can't move, Scorp! Woahhh!" The ground suddenly shifted beneath the two as Quentin lifted the bag up, carefully slinging it over his back. Piper struggled again, but he was bound too securely in the shirt to even pull his legs free.

"...aahhh! Ooof!" Shrike's voice was similarly startled as Quentin hefted him up under one arm. The older adolescent didn't struggle as Quentin hauled him and his cousins out of the blind, grunting from the extra weight and the discomfort of having sleet suddenly flying into his face from the storm raging outside. The man pressed onward, lugging the three wolves across the freezing land, and eventually to a truck parked on an old dirt road. In the pups were placed, Scorp and Piper still zipped in the duffle bag. The engine roared to life, and soon began to bounce and slide down the snow and ice-covered road...

Scorponock

Scorponock whined and growled trying to free himself.where is everythingi cant seehe whined.

Shrike, Piper, & Quentin

The roar and vibration of the engine startled Piper and he fought harder against the restraints, fearing some giant predator was surely about to pounce on them! "I-I can't see either!" He whimpered, fighting until he managed to get one paw free of the garment. But, trapped in the back and surrounded by darkness, the free paw did him little good. "What's that noise!? Is it more humans?!"

Shrike was getting a bird's eye view of the situation, and his young mind was struggling to process it all. He hadn't been able to properly visualize the 'thunder bugs' that his father told him about earlier, but now he understood. The outside of the vehicle was shiny and smooth like the shell of a beetle, with big, colorful eyes on the front, and a single antenna sticking out from... it's head? He couldn't figure out why the inside was hollow, but any questions as to whether the thunder bug was alive or not were quickly answered when it had roared and shook awake, and began speaking in that strange language of the humans. Wide eyed and terrified, all Shrike could respond was a quaking "Guys, we're g-going somewhere..."

Quentin reached forward and turned the radio down a hair, then gripped the steering wheel tight between both hands. The suddenness and severity of the storm hadn't been predicted, and already the roads were layered in dangerously slick ice. But having seasoned many such storms before, the man eventually guided his vehicle out of the marsh, and on towards civilation.