Make Believe (Lawson and Kane)

Ah, babysitter duty. It sure was a nice break from courser work, that was for sure. In the past few weeks, it felt like Aryn had been overrun with pups. Alcatraz and Athena had their litter with Charaka and Alexandro right behind them. It felt like all paws on deck to help take care of all the future generation of Aryn wolves.

The air was cooler these days as winter was right around the corner. A few brown, determined leaves still clung to the branches as a gust of wind ripped through his brown and black coat. Great, this meant snow was probably going to be coming soon. It was even better then he could hang around the den and watch the pups for the day.


The air was cooling, and Kane liked it. The land of Aryn looked amazing, and Kane wanted to play. Although he was told to stay at the den, that didn't mean he was going to be bored. He spotted his target, a black and brown wolf, near the den entrance. Although Kane never met the wolf before, he knew why he was there. He was the pup sitter, but for Kane, he was his target. He crept closer to the wolf, and waited till the wolf was laying down, making it easier to pounce. He waited, and then when the time came, he jumped from the den, and started to tug on the brown wolf's neck and cheek fur.


His mission for today was to watch one of Charaka and Alexandro’s pups. The others were off hunting and gathering as much food as possible before snow took over so someone had to stay behind to keep an eye on things. Lawson had just arrived at the den when suddenly there was a large tug on his cheek fur. His eyes widened and he sidestepped, seeing a white and cream pup from the corner of his eye.

"Hey!” Frowning, he sat down on his haunches and rubbed at his cheek. "It’s rude to jump on wolves like that!” The brown and black wolf let out a sigh before his features softened "Anyway, I’m Lawson. What’s your name?”


Kane let go of the wolf as he backed away. His head tilted as he heard the wolf spoke, a little surprised at his actions. The larger wolf greeted himself as Lawson, and Kane smiled as he asked his name. "My name is Kane." He then jumped over to Lawson again, putting his paws on the larger wolf."Do you want to play?" His tail wagged happily, wanting to play with Lawson. He enjoyed all the new friends he had made here, both family members, and friends.


He hadn’t meant to lose his temper at the pup. It was just surprising to have a pup hanging from his cheek fluff. Oh well, the pup seemed to be over the scolding so Lawson gave him a smile. Eventually he sat down, watching him jump around with boundless energy. Ah, to be young and carefree.

"Whoa, one thing at a time!” he said with a laugh. "A game sounds great, Kane. Did you have one in mind?” Hide and seek was always a classic, but there was tag, wolves and deer… He was scrapping the back of his brain to find other options.


Kane joyous expression grew rapidly at the sound of Lawson wanting to play. Kane trotted over to be in front of Lawson, and thought about a game that they could play. An idea sparked inside Kane's mind, and then he looked towards the larger brown wolf. "How about we play, tackle the brown bear?" Kane then immediately jumped towards Lawson, and landed underneath his chin. Kane was playing with his neck fur, tugging on it like Lawson was the big brown bear. Through the tugging of Lawson's fur, Kane was giggling as a happy content pup, loving the chance to play.


Kane apparently had other plans. He grunted in surprise at the weight on his neck fluff. Oh great, apparently he was the brown bear. The pup pulled mercilessly on his fur and Lawson fought the urge to groan. He liked pups, really, but sometimes he found their boundless energy to be absolutely exhausting. How did Charaka and Alexandro have the energy to keep up?

The brown wolf gave his neck a good shake to hopefully release Kane’s grasp. He then grinned wickedly, growling playfully. “I’m a bear and hungry! Wolf pup should make for a fine dinner!” His gold eyes narrowed in an attempt to look more intimidating.


Kane giggled as Lawson shook his head. Kane rolled off his body, and stood up quickly, to witness the big wolf coming towards him in a playful manner. Kane then started to run around the wolf, nipping at his legs, and having the time of his life. "You'll never catch me you big bear!"


Oh yeah, this guy definitely took after his parents. Lawson smiled at the memory of Alexandro’s bravery when Crash and Bloom tried to escape and Charaka’s bravery during the war. Kane didn’t seem to have the slightest bit of fear in his tiny body.

His black paws did a dance to avoid the sharp puppy teeth that were snapping dangerously close. How long was he going to have to put up with this bear persona? “You better start running then, pup!” Perfect! Maybe having a chase around the den site would tire him out.


Kane then squealed in delight as Lawson tried to chase him. He then started to run as fast as he could. "Nah, nah, you'll never catch me!" He started to tease Lawson like Hu and Mu did all the time. He ran around the den site, laughing with a big smile on his face. "The big brown bear is no match for the mighty pack of Aryn!"


Lawson tilted his head back and laughed. At first he was grumpy about watching the pup, but this was quickly turning into more fun than he thought!

"A wolf pack defeating a bear?!" he challenged dramatically, lifting his paws high and stomping onto the ground to add to the game. "You are mistaken!"


Kane giggled at the sight of Lawson starting to play along as the bear. Kane jumped from side to side ready to spring at the large wolf. "I am not! Aryn have defeated a bear before, before I was born!" Kane started to swat at the air, imagining what the real battle was like. "I bet the fight was glorious! The wits of Aryn must have been too much for the bear to handle! I wish I could've seen it with my own eyes!" Kane then looked back over to Lawson, and continued his play bow towards him, trying to nip at his feet, enticing the large male to play.


"Aryn?! Ha!" Lawson bellowed. "I have never heard of such a pack." Playing with the pup was much more fun than he imagined. Kane spoke with such pride about Aryn's valiant past, his eyes softened. There was a battle not too long ago that he was a member of to protect their home; the scars on his shoulders were proof of that.

Now was not the time to dwell on the past. The pup's teeth snapped in front of his paws which caused the courser to jump, his smirking growing by the second.


Kane watched as the other started to jump away from him, trying to avoid Kane at all costs. "You will know Aryn's might after this battle!" He then charged straight for Lawson's chest. It was a bold move, and he hoped it was one the other was not expecting.


Lawson had a hard time keeping a straight face. Kane seemed so determined that he wondered if the pup thought this was all real, so wrapped up in his imagination. His gold eyes widened at the attack to his chest, grunting quietly at the impact. It took him a second to groan loudly and fall the ground, a paw resting over his eyes.

"Ugh! You got me!"