Finders Keepers

Today, as the rain poured down onto the corrugated iron roof of the main railyard building, was the first time in a while that Aba'chek allowed herself the luxury of sleeping in. No dog liked to be out in the pouring rain, Aba the least. Most of the lout would be hiding in their dens taking shelter from the rain, and there was no point in trying to get the clan together to hunt something bigger when the ground was so wet. Everyone could do the jobs she had established as daily necessities, like replenishing huffa. She had awoken at her usual time, made sure everyone was safe from the rain and no one had gotten their head stuck down a chek den, then headed back to the old control room for a brief moment of luxurious lounging.

Emerging again much later than usual, Mouse glanced over to the stash. She hadn't eaten in the morning, and a quick meal would almost certainly boost her mood above bordering hangry. That was the payoff of relaxing too long, her brain was more relaxed but her stomach protested greatly. Finishing a yawn as she stepped out into the large empty room where most of the clan's activities were. She was surprised to see so few faces inside, and a brief moment of guilt came over her for sleeping in when clearly the rest of her clanmates were making themselves busy. She would have to make it up to everyone by organizing a pulling soon to lift spirits.

When the Chief trotted over to the lout pile, she swore a ghost was taunting her. There, standing right before her, was a ren that seemed almost impossible. It took a lot to stop the feisty terrier mix fully in her tracks, and yet this ren had done it so effortlessly. She was a spitting image of her parents, two canna whose bodies were unfortunately recovered after the collapse of the shelter. It was a great sadness for the entire clan that the young family had all perished. The pup's bodies were never recovered, but given their age, it was presumed that they were so small that they were trapped beneath larger pieces of rubble that would be impossible to get to. At the first full moon after the tragedy, the family was thoroughly mourned with the rest of their lost clanmates. They were buried close by, so close that Mouse was almost worried they had somehow come back to life in the form of this ren. It was without doubt in her mind that this was one of their pups. How had she managed to survive so long? Were there more? From what she could remember, the litter was quite large. Were the rest of the siblings nearby?

Before Aba'chek could approach, the young ren grabbed a blue fli and scampered away with about as much grace as the trains that once roared in the rail yard. Her displacing of the scrap metal didn't help her much in this regard at all. In an instant, the Chief's shock turned to annoyance as she realized that this indeed was not a ghost, and instead, a dirty rotten thief that had just waltzed into the heart of her base and taken quite literally half of their food! Her own hunger was forgotten as she chased after the pup.

Wriggling out into the spitting rain, the splashes of audacious little paws gave the ren away as she dove into a nearby bush. Mouse set chase immediately, scurrying across her railyard only to come upon the sight of a quite clearly hungry pup tearing into the bird. Morally, feeding starving children was something she wanted to do... as long as they were her clan's starving children. She mused internally that this would count as being a Rithr'Flik pup, but certainly not one that had any respect for them as she had resorted to thievery instead of simply returning home to open paws. Hopefully, as she grew up, she would use her thieving energy towards Pullings instead of her own clan mates. "That is no way to treat your clan mates! Your parents would be horrified seeing their daughter steal from her clan! This is no way for a Rithr'Flik dog to behave," she yapped, pushing through the bush in front of the pup so that she would have a harder time running away if she chose to again, "Your parents were loyal to this clan, and I expect the same from you now that you've returned. I'm Chief Li'Aba'Chek, now what is your name?" Was she being very presumptuous? Yes. But why would this pup not want to return to a clan tailor-made for her after being gone for so long? It would be madness not to!

The indignant, entitled snarl of this young pup was a surprise to the crabby Chief. Clearly, she didn't remember the few weeks she was in the clan before the humans destroyed everything. The little show from this thief was met by an equally suspicious scowl from Mouse. She mirrored the pup, looking her up and down, but at least her gesture was more than just disrespectful sizing up. This pup was skinny, but not starving. With some help she could bounce back and fill out a bit to be a noble member of the Rithr'Flik clan. That is, she could if she paid any heed to the 'Li' before the Aba'chek and decided to show a little respect to the leader of not only her home clan, but the clan she had just stolen so brazenly from!

"I don't know you?!" the little pup's voice packed a punch unexpected even by Mouse. Feather's flew from her mouth as if trying to excuse her actions as a practical joke. Who raised this ren?! Clearly she had run in with someone who was the epitome of all things rude and disgraceful. It would be difficult to get this pup to unlearn the ways that this mysterious stranger had clearly taught her, but Mouse was sure a few weeks of Rithr'Flik training would snap that out of her. 

"You absolutely do!" she boomed back, peering down at the young dog, "You were born here, raised here before the earthquake! You are a Rithr'flik Canna and I will not have you disrespecting your parents' memories by denying that! I'll ask one more time, what is your name?" The Chief scowled down at this pup. Her audacious nature would be difficult to get through to, but Mouse wasn't one for time and patience when brute force was easier. Her stomach finally remembered that she hadn't eated as the last of the blue feathers fell to the ground from the pup's mouth. It's protests weren't making this ren's confrontation any easier.

The rain crashed around the small dogs, soaking the remains of the blue fli until it was practically melded with the mud around their paws. She was honestly shocked at herself for yelling so loudly at a child, but it seemed that this rambunctious ren was ready to play that game. "You're crazy! I never been here before in my whole life. I never had no parents, I never had no Rithr'Flik, and I never had no name. Now let me leave, or I'll... I'll bite your tail off!" she screeched back, jumping towards the beige dog. Mouse's brows rose, lips pursed as she stood still. If there was anything a Rithr'Flik dog knew how to do it was defend against an attack. This puppy was no real threat. "I mean it, I've got a nasty bite," she growled again in what was a truly impressive display.

"No name, huh? Try this one on for size, Kanya'Grair Shempsar! You are going to have some Rithr'Flik because you are our canna. If you would quit being such a zelfa'e snuff about this we could actually get you fed! We can provide for you here. Food, training, family. You could learn how to actually give a nasty bite instead of just receiving it on your hind end. We'll teach you how to steal without getting caught. You and your siblings were born here, I was there! You forgetting that doesn't mean you're no longer Rithr'Flik. Once an Ant, always an Ant. We thought you were lost when Rozo'ama Akoda came and here you are miraculously alive. Be resourceful and take this opportunity, Kanya. Surely it's better than wandering the forest alone," by this point, Mouse was getting tired of this scamp's antics. Surely this would be enough to convince this little ran'ren that she could quit being such a pain in the side.

The rain poured down thickly between the two small dogs as the ren finally put an ounce of thought into her actions beyond basic survival instincts. The Chief fought the urge to let her chest heave with the deep breaths fueled by adrenaline at this new surprise visitor, but this trickster would seize on any weakness she showed. Determined, she kept her stance strong and her gaze fixed solely on the pup before her. "I stole your fli, but you want to take me back there and share your lout with me and call me Kanya?" she finally said incredulously. The terrier mix nodded firmly, daring the newly anointed Kanya to continue with her inevitable idiotic rejection. Instead, she was in for a surprise when the pup seemed to neither accept nor reject her fate, and instead triumphantly fire back, "If I have brothers and sisters, where are they?"

Finally breaking the tense stance, Mouse relaxed her shoulders slightly as she contemplated how to explain something she didn't quite understand herself to this ren. "I was hoping you would know," she began, her tone still holding its characteristic gruffness, but not as much demanding authority as before, "Moons ago, the humans captured the entire clan. You were very young then, makes sense that you don't remember. Rozo'ama Akoda caused the prison we were held in to collapse. We found your parents, but couldn't find you or your siblings. We figured you had met the same fate and mourned you all alongside your parents. If you managed to survive, maybe they have too and we can start looking for them." The Chief was already thinking ahead, trying to think of how best to divide up her resources. Of course, the Why'os would be a great asset in the search being an entire clan in themselves. Mosi, the rogue samoyed, could probably be good use too. She would need to consult Huli about who could be spared from hunting, or if they needed to change hunting grounds to explore other areas in case there were any signs of the pups. She would need to head back to the collapse as well, to see if any scents lingered. Before her mind got carried away with the logistics, the terrier-mix turned her attention back to the ren before her. She had just told her that her family was either missing or dead, and despite Kanya's boisterous show earlier, Aba'Chek knew this might be a bit harder to fight against.