Snowfall Fight [Kane-Storm]

Small puffs of white drifted and floated lazily through the sky, in no hurry to make it to the ground.  Those that completed the journey, however, had together created a winter wonderland of thick, fluffy snow.  It lay on the boughs of trees and evergreens like splotches of paint, and covered Storm's paws as she sniffed around the base of a large pine.

     She was used to traveling, so Aryn's sort of pack-wide "rangering" found no objection with her.  She appreciated the constant newness of the lifestyle, even if she was familiar with much of Aryn's lands at this point.  It felt exciting, enriching.  One thing that had weighed on her mind, though, was the sudden apparition of the three newborns that her mother had decided to raise.  Storm had struggled enough to relate to her last litter of siblings, and she feared these might be no different, even though - or perhaps, for - the fact that these were not linked to her by blood.

     She frowned, but then looked up again as the sound of heavy footfalls met her ears.  Over a ways, through the trees was her cousin, Kane.  Storm normally would not voluntarily seek out interaction, but today...the excitement of the pack's travels, and the thoughts of family had gotten to her.  It had been too long since she had interacted with her littermates, and even it wasn't quite the case, Kane almost felt like one of them.  Storm bounded over to him, snow kicking up in the wake of her paws.


     A thick blanket of snow was spread across the land of Aryn, as Kane walked around the enjoy the view. The pack was moving about with his Uncle in charge, but it was a different case for Kane. Since he was a member of the Ra'hat, he was allowed to go to Athena when she needed him, and did get to see the new pups a few times. Kane knew that his responsibilities would be something like this, but he did enjoy this moment of relaxing. His ears perked at the sound of bounding feet coming his direction. He turned, to see Storm, his cousin, running right at him. Kane could tell it in her face, she was in a playful mood. Kane hadn't seen her in a while, and he immediately thought of the days of the two as pups, playing, and rolling around in the fields.  Kane smiled back, and lowered himself into a play bow. They were going to continue their playful battles, and Kane prepared for the bounding Ranger.  His tail was clearly wagging in the air, as he awaited for the tackle that was to come.


     As Storm neared, Kane swiftly dropped into a play bow.  She hadn't anticipated it, but in her current mood, the Ranger uncharacteristically ran with it.  She leaped and stumbled into the same pose, wagging her tail and her eyes challenging her cousin to a battle.  There was a brief heartbeat, a tense pause before she lunged and tackled him - though not very successfully, thanks to Kane's size.


     Kane jumped up, as he embraced the tackle that Storm gave him. The two wolves fell into the pile of snow, as Kane fell on his back. Without thought, Kane started to nip at Storm's forelegs, while he laughed in a playful voice."You dare challenge the Beta of Wardens!" Kane started to sound like how they were as kids, acting out what they were, but this time, he could say what he was, and it made it even more fun.


     Storm's face split into a gleeful smile, and without her noticing it felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders.  She needed to open up more and enjoy life.

     "And YOU dare challenge the daughter of the alphas!" she laughed with a growl, bowing and leaping into him again.  This time, Storm followed up with a headbutt to his shoulder, and swiftly pulled back to defend against his next attack, while she herself prepared to nip at his paws when the chance came.


     Kane laughed as she started to play the same game as him."No one is a match for me! Feel the wrath of my fur!" Kane then charged Storm, leaped at her, and wrapped his forelegs around her in a tackle. The snow was really flying as the two wolves fell to the ground, and the laughter was clearly evident. Kane was still holding onto Storm, as he then started to tickle her on her neck.


     Storm yelped at the tickle, and with great effort managed to wiggle out of her cousin's grasp.  The chance to nip at his paws was gone, so instead she reared back and swatted at him lightly, then danced back and around him.  "Brute force" would clearly not work against this white fluffy beast, so instead she sprang about in a dare of agility.  "You may be stronger, but I bet you can't catch me!" she giggled.


     Kane watched as Storm started to use her agility against him. Kane had been trained by his uncle to improve his agility, and now there was a good test for him. "I'll make you eat those words!" Kane then started to chase after Storm, using all of his strength to close the gap on the two. Kane was getting faster by the day, but his endurance was nowhere close to Storm's.


     Storm yelped and dashed off, snow flying behind her as she bounded through it gleefully.  "Catch me if you can!" she giggled.  The dark wolf circled around a tree, changing from a retreat to another playful taunt of hopping nimbly side to side.  Then the Ranger fell into a play bow once more, waving her tail energetically.


     Kane ate a bunch of snow as Strom increased the distance between them. She was darting and passing trees without even trying, and Kane had to admit he was never going to catch up to her like this. Suddenly, she went into another play bow, and Kane tried to take this opportunity to grab her."You're mine!" Kane leaped in the air, his entire body of fluff hurling towards the nimble ranger. Storm would have to be extra fast to escape this, as he waited for the impact to hopefully happen.


     The dark wolf yelped as Kane's immense, fluffy bulk finally crashed into her.  Storm disappeared into the snow, paws flailing wildly.  She cackled, slightly winded from the fall, but playfully fought back with several paw-slaps towards her cousin's face before she collapsed into giggling.  It was like being a puppy again...it was nice.  Nice to just spend time like this - to just be carefree and joyful, even if only for a bit, before she had to return to adulthood.  And her worries. 

     Her expression fell ever so slightly, but then she hugged her cousin instead.  "Thanks," she smiled.


     Storm was playfully smacking Kane's face, and all he could do was laugh. It was nice to be like a kid again, not having to worry about the daily routines of adult life. As Storm hugged him, his smile was one of pure happiness, as his tail wagged in delight. He then gave his cousins snuggles and kisses on her cheek, feeling like they were puppies all over again."Your welcome. I'm always up for fun with my family." Kane started to hug Storm as well, still sneaking in a few smooches as he hugged his cousin.


     Storm snuggled into her cousin's fluff, savoring the carefree moment and affection. 

     Sighing quietly, she then pulled away and rose to her paws.  The dark wolf shook the snow off her fur, then gave Kane one final lick on the cheek.  "It's probably time to be serious again," she said, but not without a hint of regret in her voice.  Storm smiled for her cousin, though, before turning away and walking off, her tail tapping fondly against his shoulder as she left.