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+--- Thread: PRP Youre not the big fish in the pond no more (/showthread.php?tid=12720)
Youre not the big fish in the pond no more - Yelp - 7/17/2026
The coastline had long since disappeared behind them, swallowed by rolling stretches of dry grass that seemed determined to keep going on and on forever. The world had opened into an endless sea of gold and pale green, broken only by the occasional rise in the land or a lonely cluster of trees standing like little islands beneath a sky softened by drifting clouds. The cover spared them the worst of the day's heat, but it did little to make the journey feel any shorter.
Yelp had never walked this far in his life.
Not even close.
His tongue lolled shamelessly from his mouth as he trudged onward, breathing hard and steady. Every step sent a fresh sting through the pads of his paws, a constant burning sensation. It wasn't the heated floor from the summer's intensity that did it. The earth beneath them was dry, but forgiving enough actually. The problem was his own feet. Years of wandering only around the familiar bounds of his pack's territory, where there had never been any reason to travel farther than necessary, had left them embarrassingly soft. Puppy-soft. Especially compared to wolves who actually lived on the move.
By now the skin had begun to rub raw, though he tried not to think about it.
Instead, he focused on placing one paw in front of the other, settling into the rhythm Maral had set. She walked with the sort of steady confidence that made the distance seem almost effortless. Yelp found himself drifting a pace or two behind her more often than not, his head hanging lower each time his burning paws reminded him how woefully unprepared he was for... well, apparently life.
Then, whenever Maral happened to glance back, his ears would perk as though jolted by lightning.
His head lifted and his stride lengthened. His breathing became just a little quieter He would do his best impression of a wolf who wasn't slowly discovering muscles he'd never known existed in his body.
The performance usually lasted all of several seconds before gravity reclaimed his head and his gait shortened once more. Only when he was sure Maral wasn't looking, though.
Questions drifted endlessly through his mind.
How much farther?
When are we stopping?
Is this what every day is like out here?
How does anybody willingly do this?
They crowded behind his teeth, begging to be asked. But hed swallow every single one.
Maral had already been kind enough to let him tag along. She'd answered question after question without making him feel stupid, offered him a place to go, and even offered that enormous horse if walking became too much. The last thing Yelp wanted was to confirm whatever opinion she had undoubtedly formed of him already.
Sheltered.
Soft.
Clueless.
He grimaced faintly. She probably pitied him. It was that thought alone that kept his mouth shut.
His green eyes wandered sideways toward the towering grey stallion plodding alongside Maral with infuriating ease. Möngön looked as though he could walk for days without so much as breathing harder, each long stride carrying him farther than Yelp managed in two. Every now and then the young wolf found himself staring at the broad back, imagining just how much easier this journey would be from up there.
His ears flattened.
Nooo.
He'd sooner crawl the rest of the way.
The beast was big enough to make his stomach tighten every time it turned its head, and climbing onto its back after he'd already puffed out his chest and insisted he'd be just fine felt like volunteering to die of embarrassment instead.
So Yelp trudged on, sore paws and all, determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
RE: Youre not the big fish in the pond no more - Maral - 7/17/2026
Maral kept an easy, unhurried pace across the open steppe, her eyes occasionally wandering to the distant horizon before returning to the trail ahead. Beside her, Möngön strode with effortless confidence, his ears flicking lazily as though the journey were nothing more than an afternoon stroll.
It wasn't until she glanced back again that she noticed it.
Yelp.
Every time their eyes met, the young wolf straightened immediately, lifting his head and lengthening his stride as though nothing at all were wrong. But the moment he thought she wasn't looking, his pace faltered once more.
Maral's ears tipped back with quiet concern.
She had seen enough young wolves make long journeys for the first time to recognize the signs. The lowered head. The careful way he set each paw down. The determination to hide every ache behind a brave smile.
It reminded her a little of herself when she had first insisted she could keep pace with the older hunters.
She slowed just enough for him to draw alongside her.
Yelp?Her voice was gentle enough that it almost blended into the wind. She offered him a reassuring smile.
How are you doing?Amber eyes studied him for a moment, not critically, but kindly.
You've done well today.Her gaze drifted briefly toward his paws before returning to his face.
The first long journey is always the hardest.There was no judgment in her words, only understanding.
When I was younger, I thought asking for a rest meant I was weak.A soft chuckle escaped her.
My mother spent half the journey reminding me that exhausted wolves don't become stronger by pretending they aren't tired, and Möngön was had pushed me to ride him when I wanted rest.She looked ahead once more, where the distant silhouette of a small camp was beginning to take shape against the sea of grass.
We're almost there.A smile returned to her muzzle.
It isn't much farther now.She glanced back at him one last time.
When we arrive, would you like to rest for a while?
Before he could answer, Möngön turned his great head toward Yelp and gave an amused little snort, as though the stallion had reached exactly the same conclusion.
Maral laughed quietly.
I think,she said with a knowing smile,
he's wondering the same thing.
Yelp