35 GLADE 101
Tuti was a lively little thing.
That became more apparent as his leg healed. It took several days to even coax him out of Nnerka’s arms, refusing to come down — if only to do so to drink and relieve himself. But once he had warmed up to the others and initial fear had passed, he moved as much as his little injured body could handle. She watched, once, as Eike trailed a stick behind her in an arrant thread of silk and he’d hobbled after to chase it. And she’d noticed then that he’d gotten bigger.
His fur, which had been matted, dirty and hard to tell if it were brown or gray or what — it was black. Mostly; there were patches of brown streaks that could have been a shade of red made up by an artist. Pretty boy, they were starting to call him, and he’d respond. It was several weeks after his arrival, when his leg was healed enough that Nnerka could take him out into the exteriors of their territory.
As he trotted along besisde her, she’d decided that this was his element. That this was where he needed to be most. And as his new mother, she would be sure that he had the tools to at the very least be able to feed himself. It was why he sat at the base of the tree, head tilted to the side and tongue lolling as he watched her climb the tree.
“Come, Tuti, come.” She beckoned him toward the tree, watching him as he watched her.
He sniffed at the base of the trunk, walked around it once, twice. Then lifted a leg to piss before sitting back down to look up at her once more. She sighed, closed her eyes. Her Mother did this often. Shut her eyes and sighed. A faint mimicry of the action, and Tuti was standing once more, whining. Wondering, maybe, if he’d done something wrong. Nnerka let off a low chittering to placate him, coming back down the trunk fo the tree. Maybe if she took him up with her.
He was getting harder to lift with the more weight he put on, but he was used to being in her arms and learned it was best not to struggle in her hold. A wriggling wolf was harder to climb with, but thankfully, he seemed content to be babied for a moment longer. He draped himself over her chest and her arms, paws on her shoulders as he panted in her ear. As they climbed, he licked her shoulder before resting his head there. She took him up to the first branch, which was not too far off the ground — but this was by her standards. It must have looked so much higher to him.
She set him down on the branch, watching him wobble for a moment. His paws settled and then shifted, trying to find a more stable place to stand. He whimpered as he looked back to her, louder still as he realized she was climbing back down the trunk.
“Look, Tuti; look at me.” She chittered up to the wolf as she reached the bottom of the tree. He yipped in response, continued to whine as she looked up at him. Nodding her head, she sighed again. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He’d always seemed most assured by her repetition of words.
But this was the part that was most important. Nnerka herself had learned through watching first, then doing it on her own and being corrected as she went. Perhaps he could learn the same way. She placed her hands on the bark of the tree, spread her fingers out. The difference in her weight being born on her arms was different from her legs. Her arms quivered within the first second and she found herself taking a step back to re-evaluate how best to demonstrate what she wanted him to try.
Nnerka stepped forward again, arms hugging the tree as her legs lifted under her. One set of arms released the tree and found a new hold, fingers curling into the bark. She glanced up at Tuti once more; he was still watching. His whining had quieted some, but was still there as he watched attentively. She turned her attention back to her task, pushing herself further up with her legs before finding a new hold. This was the way she’d seen squirrels climb, and the children of the city when they ventured far enough out of the reaches of their yards to find themselves in the wilds. In their territory. She would not think about how irksome it was for them to trample past their boundaries and think instead of teaching Tuti.
He continued to whine, louder as she came closer. Her arms ached from bearing her weight, more than they usually did while she climbed. “Did you see that?” He whined some more as she finally pulled herself up to the branch. It had taken her much longer than usual to make the climb. He licked at her face, her chin. His tail wagged as he struggled to get closer while not leaving the small area that bore his weight. “You do it, just like that.” Tuti seemed a fair bit more concerned with her than what she was saying. Even more so as her shaking hands scooped him up and brought him back down to the ground.
Tuti sat back on his haunches, looked up to her. She placed her hands on hips, gestured with one hand to the trunk of the tree. Then, jerked her chin after he’d looked at it, then back to her. “Your turn.” He let out a low sound, cocked his head to the side. Nnerka sighed again, a chuckle leaving her. She placed a hand on the bark of the tree, patted it twice. Tuti inched forward, tail wagging a moment. He paced a moment, then inched forward once more and placed a paw on the tree trunk before looking up at her for approval.
“Almost there.” She patted the bark again. He placed the other paw up, his tail wagging more. It slapped against one of her legs and she giggled, pleased with the progress they were already making. “Yep, yep; keep going.”
But then — he dropped back down and trotted off. She watched after him in dismay as he disappeared into the brush. The leaves shook and trembled with his disturbance. He came trotting out again with a large branch held in his mouth. His tail wagged as he dropped it down in front of her.
Nnerka sighed, shook her head. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, Tuti.” He turned his head to the side, wide eyes watching her as his eyebrows rose.
That became more apparent as his leg healed. It took several days to even coax him out of Nnerka’s arms, refusing to come down — if only to do so to drink and relieve himself. But once he had warmed up to the others and initial fear had passed, he moved as much as his little injured body could handle. She watched, once, as Eike trailed a stick behind her in an arrant thread of silk and he’d hobbled after to chase it. And she’d noticed then that he’d gotten bigger.
His fur, which had been matted, dirty and hard to tell if it were brown or gray or what — it was black. Mostly; there were patches of brown streaks that could have been a shade of red made up by an artist. Pretty boy, they were starting to call him, and he’d respond. It was several weeks after his arrival, when his leg was healed enough that Nnerka could take him out into the exteriors of their territory.
As he trotted along besisde her, she’d decided that this was his element. That this was where he needed to be most. And as his new mother, she would be sure that he had the tools to at the very least be able to feed himself. It was why he sat at the base of the tree, head tilted to the side and tongue lolling as he watched her climb the tree.
“Come, Tuti, come.” She beckoned him toward the tree, watching him as he watched her.
He sniffed at the base of the trunk, walked around it once, twice. Then lifted a leg to piss before sitting back down to look up at her once more. She sighed, closed her eyes. Her Mother did this often. Shut her eyes and sighed. A faint mimicry of the action, and Tuti was standing once more, whining. Wondering, maybe, if he’d done something wrong. Nnerka let off a low chittering to placate him, coming back down the trunk fo the tree. Maybe if she took him up with her.
He was getting harder to lift with the more weight he put on, but he was used to being in her arms and learned it was best not to struggle in her hold. A wriggling wolf was harder to climb with, but thankfully, he seemed content to be babied for a moment longer. He draped himself over her chest and her arms, paws on her shoulders as he panted in her ear. As they climbed, he licked her shoulder before resting his head there. She took him up to the first branch, which was not too far off the ground — but this was by her standards. It must have looked so much higher to him.
She set him down on the branch, watching him wobble for a moment. His paws settled and then shifted, trying to find a more stable place to stand. He whimpered as he looked back to her, louder still as he realized she was climbing back down the trunk.
“Look, Tuti; look at me.” She chittered up to the wolf as she reached the bottom of the tree. He yipped in response, continued to whine as she looked up at him. Nodding her head, she sighed again. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He’d always seemed most assured by her repetition of words.
But this was the part that was most important. Nnerka herself had learned through watching first, then doing it on her own and being corrected as she went. Perhaps he could learn the same way. She placed her hands on the bark of the tree, spread her fingers out. The difference in her weight being born on her arms was different from her legs. Her arms quivered within the first second and she found herself taking a step back to re-evaluate how best to demonstrate what she wanted him to try.
Nnerka stepped forward again, arms hugging the tree as her legs lifted under her. One set of arms released the tree and found a new hold, fingers curling into the bark. She glanced up at Tuti once more; he was still watching. His whining had quieted some, but was still there as he watched attentively. She turned her attention back to her task, pushing herself further up with her legs before finding a new hold. This was the way she’d seen squirrels climb, and the children of the city when they ventured far enough out of the reaches of their yards to find themselves in the wilds. In their territory. She would not think about how irksome it was for them to trample past their boundaries and think instead of teaching Tuti.
He continued to whine, louder as she came closer. Her arms ached from bearing her weight, more than they usually did while she climbed. “Did you see that?” He whined some more as she finally pulled herself up to the branch. It had taken her much longer than usual to make the climb. He licked at her face, her chin. His tail wagged as he struggled to get closer while not leaving the small area that bore his weight. “You do it, just like that.” Tuti seemed a fair bit more concerned with her than what she was saying. Even more so as her shaking hands scooped him up and brought him back down to the ground.
Tuti sat back on his haunches, looked up to her. She placed her hands on hips, gestured with one hand to the trunk of the tree. Then, jerked her chin after he’d looked at it, then back to her. “Your turn.” He let out a low sound, cocked his head to the side. Nnerka sighed again, a chuckle leaving her. She placed a hand on the bark of the tree, patted it twice. Tuti inched forward, tail wagging a moment. He paced a moment, then inched forward once more and placed a paw on the tree trunk before looking up at her for approval.
“Almost there.” She patted the bark again. He placed the other paw up, his tail wagging more. It slapped against one of her legs and she giggled, pleased with the progress they were already making. “Yep, yep; keep going.”
But then — he dropped back down and trotted off. She watched after him in dismay as he disappeared into the brush. The leaves shook and trembled with his disturbance. He came trotting out again with a large branch held in his mouth. His tail wagged as he dropped it down in front of her.
Nnerka sighed, shook her head. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, Tuti.” He turned his head to the side, wide eyes watching her as his eyebrows rose.
