Just yards away, Eira gathers plenty of rocks with her sister, Elsa. Since the two had just finished braiding each other's hair in a sloppy hold, they decided to create a labyrinth of sorts. While Atlas and Adare play fight with the new generation of warrior pups that wanted to teach them a lesson, Elsa and Eira didn't dare to get along with the female pups. Their moonas were too protective and sneered at them anytime the little merlings would glance their way. Eira didn't like it here, but how was she to change moona's mind to see davridi again?
The little brunette sighs, bending down to pick up two more rocks. Her little hands reach out for the first one as she squats. Her dark emeralds flicker from her full arms to the last rock touching the dirt, suddenly frowning from the hand that envelopes it. Eira glances up, blinking right into bright cerulean irises. The unexpected jolt of electricity sparking in her chest is more than enough to send her reeling backwards. The rocks scatter against the ground at her side and Eira clutches her chest from the ache. Faint whimpers leave her mouth as she curled her legs to her chest from the fear of being hit with sparks again.
The pup, on the other hand, is beyond worried—confused and elated, but worried. His eyes widen at the sight of the tiny girl toppling over. He's quick to drop the rock at his feet, forgetting about it, and scrambles to the small female's side. A panicked expression holds his face while the pup attempts to ask her if she's all right. Instead, she whines when he comes near. The little pup pouts from the fearful look in her eyes, but it soon hardens after a moment. Baring her teeth, the small pup submits his head, hanging it low enough for her to appreciate.
Eira stops growling. She knits her brows together, slightly perturbed by his sudden submission. The merling glances around, noticing a few unwanted eyes, but otherwise no one paid them any mind. Even her moona was too carried away with her tantu to notice Eira's situation. She tilts her head, waiting for him to readjust himself. After a moment of silence, the pup is painstakingly slow to right himself. He reminded her of Atlas when moona had healed Adare after their race a few moons ago. When the pup does straighten his spine, the pain from before fades into nothing, and all Eira can stare at is his beautiful glowing eyes.
"Sparkle," Eira mumbles, entranced. Her own eyes widen at the color of his.
The pup giggles, baring a wide-tooth grin. "Yuhs ez pwittier..." A dark blush rises in his cheeks, which causes the girl to laugh.
At the sight of a smile, the boy's aura seemed to brighten. Eira sits up, meeting the pup's eyes with a soft glare. At his proximity, she leans back a bit, not too welcoming to the pup. She's still wary of the beasts, as the quad has dubbed them, and the simple action this pup took to interact with Eira confuses her. Why is it that all the adults steer clear of them, yet this pup dares to test his fate with her? She's learned from her moona that no one is to be trusted but those whom you deem your life with, and Eira has found a signal to one of those that isn't a mer.
The pup frowns. He didn't want her to be scared, he just wanted to introduce himself.
He's heard so much bad talk about the "dahken kylenta and her spawns" his mother is so weary of. From what he saw, this pup's mother brought more meat, more fur, and more scales to the tribe than any male Wolvernrian has! Most Wolvernrians can barely hunt enough for their own, let alone provide for the tribe. This little pup was so impressed by the newcomer that he didn't care if he was attacked by her pup, he just wanted to say he had the chance to interact with one of them. And brag about it! The chance to meet someone knew and different was too special to pass up, thus this curious pup slipped away from his father and ventured on over into the play area, safe from the creatures in the Forbidden Forest.
That's where he found the quad.
Eira blinks, wondering if this pup would hurt her or not. It's not long before she received an answer. The pup stands, holding out a hand to the merling. At first, Eira didn't know what to think, even with his friendly smile. Her moona always said the friendliest of smiles lead to the darkest of hearts. She didn't want to believe this pup was dark, but there are too many mysteries in the world that can't be solved. So instead, Eira doesn't take his hand, rather, she stares at him with narrowed eyes.
"If you're here to speak mean, leave! There's nothing I wish to say to those of angst!" She spat. Her bright eyes fade into the dark and a small growl echoes from her lips.
The boy retracts his hand, swallowing the fear. "No, no! I wahz nit treeing te. Oi wanted te 'duce meself," he quickly responds. When the pup realizes she's continuing to back away with unshed tears, he retracts his hand.
His heart begins to break, and hurt as if it truly was being torn in half. He pouts, shamefully lowering his head and beginning to trot away. He mumbles a "serry" to her. As he turns away, the pup sighs dejectedly. This was his only time to make a good first impression and he screwed it up. He was ashamed of himself, especially when he wanted a nice friend. He shrugs his shoulders, pushing back the tears and heading back to look for his radi where he left him. Yet, before he could take a single step away, it's the little stranger that stops him.
Eira didn't know why she does it, but she tugs on his hand to make him stay. Her tearful eyes seem to gleam from the sun's rays. When he turns back around, Eira felt a tug at her heart. "You.. you mean it?" She asks, quite timidly. As much as Eira was a spitfire, she couldn't act the same way as she did with davridi. Her home world was far away from here and to make it would mean survival.
Besides, she could work on "social" skills, as their moon-moon says. Her only choice was to stay with her moona, titra, and sagas. So maybe she should make a few friends?
The pup faces her completely, a smile etching onto his face. "Yeesh! Oi do! Oi do! Oi mean et."
A grateful smile on her face appears, and she's no longer angry at the strange pup. "You want to play with me and my titra, Elsa?" She asks, excited for someone new to know.
The pup quickly nods his head, a brazen smile upturning her lips. "Oi do. Lez pway!" He jumps up and down for a moment before his new friend drags him over to meet her sister, one of the quads, Elsa.
Eira ushers the pup along to introduce him to her sister, hoping to have a new playmate. When they reach Elsa, she's busy moving the rock onto a patter, settling them down onto their makeshift table. It's a wooden block that Adare and Atlas had found while sneaking by the edge of the forest. They brought it back to play with until one of the pups who are mean to the quad broke it. Now, the girls use it to make new things and improvise. Just another toy.
As the cute new pup leads him to her sister, he can't help but become excited as well. He found this pup adorable and longed to know her name. When he came to the edge of the play pit, he found a girl who looks exactly like the one holding his hand, only she had stars by her eyes. He blinks between the two, slightly bewildered. He's never seen twins before, let alone a quad.
But there was something about the pup who held his hand that gave him the most wonderful tingles.
"Elsa! Elsa!" Eira calls, gaining the attention of the adults as well.
Most of them, since her moona came back with the huge beasts, had taken quite a liking to the new family. Even though they weren't full blooded like moon-moon and their other davridi—whom Eira and Elsa have become a rad fearful of—, the Wolvernrians of Garnet were beginning to accept them into their tribe. Little by little, it's becoming a lot.
With a grand smile on her face, Eira stops just before crashing into the neatly set rocks. The brunette with sea foam eyes blinks up from her creation to see her titra. She smiles until her eyes meet a distant color of a fraym, a beautiful sapphire sea flower that only blooms on a full moon. Elsa is confused at her racing heart, but she ignores it as her titra begins to speak.
"Titra, titra! He wants to play with us!" The little brunette grins. "He can go fetch the rocks." Her eyes twinkle at the idea.
Eira blinks expectedly at her titra, falling to her knees to play—who'd ever thought she could have those? But because she was raised to switch, she'll never truly appreciate, nor understand how special she and the rest of the pod are. All because of her moona. Her head suddenly turns to the boy and frowns.
"What's your name?" Eira sat on her legs.
The boy blinks, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Thewonieus."
At the sound of his voice, the two merling's giggle cutely.
"Thelonius?" Eira guessed. When he perks up, she gives him a smile. "Would you go fetch the rocks that I dropped?"
It seemed like his heart stopped. The way the suns were shining down on her hair and the sparkle in her eyes; the smile just killed him. He was dead and now haunting the fort. It was a dream come true.
As if he had a wagging tail, Thelonius rapidly nods his head. "Ev carse!"
And with that, he took off to fetch Eira her rocks.