While Duckie barks at the monkey with all the ferocity her tiny body can muster, Olive's laughing, hand raised briefly to her mouth. "I did," she says, "it came right at me. Angry little thing, isn't it?" It's too ridiculous to be bothered by, though. There's just something funny about monkeys, except when they start throwing things - and, clearly, sometimes even then. It's either laugh at them or be creeped out, honestly, given their tiny little hands. Olive tends to choose the former in any situation. "What are you doing up there?"
"I was hunting it," Wolf answers honestly as the monkey screeches at them both and then scampers away. He doesn't bother to give chase, because there's a dog down there and a girl with pretty red hair, just like Anne and Rahne and so Wolf climbs down from the tree with ease, dropping onto the boardwalk.
"I'm Wolf!" he says, grinning at the girl and her little dog. "I like your dog. She sure is pretty." He loves all the dogs on the island, but especially the ones that are going to get bigger. They smell good, like his litter-sisters smelled when they were just born.
He's so enthusiastic, it's a little startling, but Olive prefers that in a person to the more dour types anyway. The important thing is, he seems kind, and she follows his gaze down to Duckie with a bright smile. For the last few months, the puppy's been one of her most constant companions. "Thank you," she says. "I mean, not that I can take credit for it, but she is, yes. It's nice to meet you, Wolf. This is Duckie -" Although Duckie's already sniffing at his legs, nosing at his knees, curious. "- and I'm Olive."
"Duckie," Wolf repeats, sinking to his knees on the boardwalk and rubbing his hands over the puppy's ears. He breathes in deeply, enjoying the smell of her, a wide smile pulling up the corners of his mouth and he knows maybe it's a little rude, how he's ignoring Olive, but the puppy just smells so nice.
"Your hair is pretty," he says finally, sitting down to let Duckie climb on him if she wants. "Never saw no one with red hair where I came from, sure didn't, but so many people here have red hair. It's my favourite, right here and now!"
"Ima throw it back!" said Matthew, crouching down to retrieve the nut, or whatever else came to hand. It didn't really matter whether or not it was the same thing. The important part was the throwing.
Wolf knows he's supposed to take care of Matthew and that means not letting him hurt himself, but he can't help but be excited about someone throwing something back at the monkey. Maybe that's never happened before and maybe that's exactly what the monkey needs.
"Yeah!" he agrees, climbing down from the tree carefully and dropping onto the boardwalk. "Throw it!"
Matthew throws as hard as he can, which results in the nut going about a foot past the three feet he can usually make it. It's nowhere near the monkey. He stomps his feet and throws his hands in the air anyway.
Wolf cheers, even though the monkey is still sitting on its branch, staring down at the two of them curiously. It's enough that Matthew has tried, even Wolfs know that.
"Good job!" he says as the monkey chitters and then disappears into the trees. "Now he's gone!"
River had spent the past couple of days feeling like she ought to apologize to Zoe for leaving her age-switched and on her own, but the baby seemed none the worse for her weekend as a teenager. River, on the other hand, was intensely curious to know how Zoe had spent her time but she'd have to be content with piecing that together over time, as Zoe lacked the vocabulary to give many details. They were headed to the compound, partly for lunch and new clothes and partly in the hopes of running into anyone who might have knowledge of those activities.
She was usually the one in the tree, but River wasn't all that surprised to see Wolf up there instead. She laughed, and Simon Chicago barked, and they all peered up into the leaves.
"Just trying to get my attention, probably. Hello, Monkey. Hello, Wolf."
"Hi, River and Zoe and Simon Chicago!" Wolf answers, shaking the branch in his excitment. It's hard enough to scare the monkey off, who goes screeching into the trees, causing Wolf to laugh again. He starts to climb down from the tree, dropping gracefully onto the boardwalk where he smiles at them all.
"I think he was mad," he says, looking off after the monkey. "I think he was mad 'cause I was hunting him!"
"I can't really blame him for being mad. I'd be mad if someone was hunting me." It had been a pretty long time, but River knew this for a fact because she was still mad at the Alliance. "I like monkeys better for friends, though. If you promise not to hunt her, maybe we can find Fiona. She's a monkey that lived with my friend when she was a baby, because she got hurt and lost her mother. Now she mostly stays in the trees around the compound."
Zoe was bouncing in her stroller, desperately trying to get Wolf's attention. "Woof! Woof!" Simon Chicago maintained more of his dignity, just wagging his tail, but they were both very pleased to see Wolf.
"I just wanted to play with him," Wolf says and that's mostly true. The monkey didn't look like it would taste very good and he knows that he has to have his meat cooked now, even if he doesn't want to go into the kitchen. There's lots of food there, so he probably wouldn't have eaten the monkey.
"Hi, Zoe!" he says again, reaching down for the little girl and lifting her out of the rolling thing River has her in. The girl is so little, she weighs almost nothing at all, but, unlike the monkey, he'll never hurt her and he's gentle as he lifts her up. "Everything was weird this weekend," he says to River. "Did you see? People were wrong."
Ordinarily, having something hurled at her head, even by a monkey, would have been likely to get Rahne more than a little annoyed. Right now, though, she couldn't find it in her to be. Wolf's enthusiasm, as catching as ever, kept her from it, and for that alone, she couldn't really be anything but pleased. These days, though insistent that she wasn't too upset by the breakup, she needed whatever she could get. "That he did," she said with a short, dry laugh, head tipped back so she can get a look at Wolf, one hand up to shield her eyes. "What're ye doing, trying to catch the thing?"
"Yeah, but it's sort of fast," Wolf admits, watching the monkey, who now seems particularly interested in Rahne instead. The little thing makes a weird chattering noise and Wolf laughs as it leaps away, swinging through the trees and disappears into the jungle. "I wanted to see what it did. I wanted to..." He pauses, but he can say this to Rahne, she won't mind.
Rahne eyed the monkey as it swung away, not quite trusting it not to return for another attack, but let her gaze settle on Wolf again as soon as it was out of sight. It was a monkey, and the jungle was full of them; anyway, she could take care of herself, a nut being thrown at her head probably the most minimal of threats she'd faced over the years. Somehow, it just seemed all the more annoying for the fact that it wasn't a formidable opponent.
"To eat it?" she echoed, letting out a short, good-natured laugh. "Well, I suppose that's not the worst thing ye could be doing with a monkey. I've never had one, though, so I couldn't tell ye how it is."
"It's skinny, I don't think it would taste very good," Wolf admits, but he'd wanted to try anyway. Part of his daily routine on the island is to try and hunt, even though he knows his food needs to be cooked. It's stupid, he hates the Compound.
"I like hunting, but I don't catch too much anymore," he says, climbing down from the tree and dropping onto the boardwalk. "Not like at home."
O-Ren's response to a coconut flying at her head is much like her response to anything flying at her head. Her katana is out in a flash, a literal flash of light, and she has it lying in two halves on the boardwalk just as quickly.
Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of coconut milk in her hair now.
For a long moment, Wolf sits in the trees and stares at O-Ren. The monkey has already run off, disappeared into the trees, but Wolf is so stunned and amazed that he doesn't even notice.
"Wow!" he says finally, climbing out of the tree and dropping gracefully onto the boardwalk in a crouch, still staring at O-Ren with something bordering on reverence. "That was amazing."
"Not really," O-Ren says, wiping her sword off on the grass before she sheathes it. "Better the coconut than the monkey." She does end up smiling, a little bit, at his admiring expression.
Wolf stands when she tells him to, still staring at the sword and then at O-Ren. Even if she thinks it isn't, that's one of the best things Wolf has ever seen and he wishes he could do that.
(He can, really, but he doesn't use a sword. He tries not to think about that, though.)
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"I'm Wolf!" he says, grinning at the girl and her little dog. "I like your dog. She sure is pretty." He loves all the dogs on the island, but especially the ones that are going to get bigger. They smell good, like his litter-sisters smelled when they were just born.
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"Your hair is pretty," he says finally, sitting down to let Duckie climb on him if she wants. "Never saw no one with red hair where I came from, sure didn't, but so many people here have red hair. It's my favourite, right here and now!"
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"Yeah!" he agrees, climbing down from the tree carefully and dropping onto the boardwalk. "Throw it!"
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"Good job!" he says as the monkey chitters and then disappears into the trees. "Now he's gone!"
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She was usually the one in the tree, but River wasn't all that surprised to see Wolf up there instead. She laughed, and Simon Chicago barked, and they all peered up into the leaves.
"Just trying to get my attention, probably. Hello, Monkey. Hello, Wolf."
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"I think he was mad," he says, looking off after the monkey. "I think he was mad 'cause I was hunting him!"
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Zoe was bouncing in her stroller, desperately trying to get Wolf's attention. "Woof! Woof!" Simon Chicago maintained more of his dignity, just wagging his tail, but they were both very pleased to see Wolf.
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"Hi, Zoe!" he says again, reaching down for the little girl and lifting her out of the rolling thing River has her in. The girl is so little, she weighs almost nothing at all, but, unlike the monkey, he'll never hurt her and he's gentle as he lifts her up. "Everything was weird this weekend," he says to River. "Did you see? People were wrong."
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"Maybe I wanted to eat it," he admits.
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"To eat it?" she echoed, letting out a short, good-natured laugh. "Well, I suppose that's not the worst thing ye could be doing with a monkey. I've never had one, though, so I couldn't tell ye how it is."
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"I like hunting, but I don't catch too much anymore," he says, climbing down from the tree and dropping onto the boardwalk. "Not like at home."
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Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of coconut milk in her hair now.
She squints.
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"Wow!" he says finally, climbing out of the tree and dropping gracefully onto the boardwalk in a crouch, still staring at O-Ren with something bordering on reverence. "That was amazing."
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"Stand up."
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(He can, really, but he doesn't use a sword. He tries not to think about that, though.)
"Where did you learn that?" he asks.
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