Moonspear it's always summer under the sea

title felt fitting bc of the deluge and its SUMMER ... attn @Mira @Altair @Caelum @Mintaka :)

 

With the rains falling as they were, Hydra gathered her cubs to her and moved beyond the rendezvous after explaining to her children the way the rain could sabotage ones tracking, especially in times such as this. If you are wandering and are unable to find your way within Moonspear, call for an adult, she started with, but sometimes, and ordinarily, there can be visual clues left behind. Tracks to follow. Furs that have fallen. You can swipe the wood to leave a mark, she advised, and then displayed, to see if you are traveling in circles. She paused to look upon her brood and asked, Sniff the earth now, and tell me what you detect, if anything, and she would simply observe with pricked ears.

Mira listened with the dedication of a young soldier, eager to learn. Some of the points were things had already discovered on her own in her stalking missions- the loose fur left behind from a wolf moving through foliage had been noticed more than once. She directed them to scent the earth, and she quickly dipped her muzzle, nose wiggling like a rabbit. Her golden gaze shot up to Mother again as she mumbled out a string of various smells she detected, osiris. a bird, a rabbit. father.

His eyes were everywhere but on his mother, but his ears betrayed any notion that he wasn't listening. Altair took enjoyment in watching their surroundings—with the rain a constant, their microcosm of a world had evolved around them. With the grasses thick and lush and wild to engulf them at every turn, there were opportunities to be found beneath every unturned log and stone hidden within.

It was just as easy to get turned around when the world was still very much larger than any of them, and he had begun to subtly adapt to such. Hydra's words served to embolden and encourage him and perhaps if he would follow them his own excursions would be less frought with opportunity to be caught unaware... by whatever figure happened to be keeping watch on them.

His nose working hard, he turned in easy circles testing both ground and air as Mira announced her own assessment swiftly. Not one to be outdone by her and her overachiever status among them, he persisted a few moments more on the muddied, watery scents.

"Uncle @Nikai too," he joined in, his brow furrowing. "Mama, are they huntin'?" With birds and rabbits and at least two familiar scents, he could not avoid being inquisitive enough to already derail the lesson. The rain kept both busy, especially their father, and abruptly he wondered if Nikai would visit them again soon.

"I smell stuff that smells like Aunt @Lyra, too," he went on in the next moment—his nose had not ceased its job.

Though it may not always seem like it, Mintaka did pay close attention when her mother taught them things. Tracking, especially, seemed important - navigation and finding your way back home and stuff. Which Mintaka was especially bad at. 

So she sniffed the earth. It smelled... like mud. Water. Her, Mira, Altair, Hydra. But she didn't think any of that stuff mattered at the moment. 

"I smell @Bronco too," she remarked with a grin, tail wagging behind her. Her mudmonster friend had probably passed through not too very long ago. "And it smells, um, like mud mostly, but if you pay attention, you can smell bunches of other wolves!" That was pretty cool! Mintaka had never paid enough attention to do anything like that before.

Caelum sniffed the earth, and he found mostly mud. Mud multiplied by a thousand, it seemed like, though there were a few other things he could smell. Some other wolves, some birds -- though not very accessible, as they weren't anywhere close to the ground in his experience, unless they got wounded -- but nothing really special.

Everyone had their say and though Caelum did not really feel the urge to say anything amidst his overeager littermates, at some point his mother's expectant gaze would land upon him too and only then would he speak, looking only as if he was commanded. Birds. He liked birds, even though they were hard to catch. They were tasty treats and sometimes you could catch one, if it fell down from the sky. They were like sky candy to Caelum. Even though he didn't think there were any on the ground right now, he could smell them because they were always somewhere.

Hydra listened to her children, tail stirring to hear all that they could now pick up on and know. At one point, they had not known the scents of these wolves... but now, were able to distinguish one from the other, and wolf from earth or prey. You are all correct, she drawled, there are each of those things... and more. Note the scent of Osiris, in particular, she informed, his might be different than the rest, in the most subtle of ways. He is on a trip with Desdemona, so his own trail is older. Still there, but not so strong as the rest, she explained, finding the spot Mira had indicated and gesturing to it for all to go to this spot in particular before she continued her lesson. It was important for them to know old from new for the lesson she planned on teaching today.

Her siblings chimed in one by one; Mira's ears twitched to acknowledge each of them one by one. Some names she did not know. When mother made a point to speak on Osiris' scent, Mira's chest puffed slightly, recalling this was one she had mentioned. Brother was on a trip, and Mira was curious as to why, but did not want to interrupt the lesson. Mother gestured to the spot where Mira found the scent, and she leaned down to sniff it again, despite having already scented it the first time.

Mira may not have wanted to ask where Osiris was, but as Altair investigated his elder brother's trail he found his mouth had a mind all of its own. He turned back to his mother then, ears splaying questioningly.

"Why did he go on a trip?"

He wanted to ask when he would be back too, or if he would be, but the latter seemed silly. Of course Osiris would be back, it wasn't like he would leave them forever and ever and ever.

And furthermore—"Can we go on a trip?"

A trip? Osiris was so lucky to get to go out like that. Mintaka perked her ears up and tipped her head to the side. "Where'd he go on his trip?" she asked, excitement clear in her tone. She wanted to go out and see everything one day, too, but for now she'd have to wait for Hydra's expressed permission. 

However, it never hurt to ask, and since Altair already did...

"Can we go, too?"

While the other children asked about the trip Osiris took and whether they could go on a trip, too, Caelum didn't really care overly much. He did not have the curiosity that they held; at least not towards this particular subject. Instead, Caelum just focused on the lesson - seemingly just like his similarly coloured sister - and looked attentively to their mother in silent obedience and patience to figure out what she would teach them next.

Their questions were reasonable ones, particularly Altairs first. The second, echoed by Mintaka, was at the very least one she understood. These two took after their father with their desire to stretch their legs and set their sights on the world beyond. They go to check in with some of our allies, she drawled, and learn what they can of new packs forming. And they go together because there is safety and wisdom in numbers. Desdemona will have your brothers back, and he hers, she supplied. As for the other inquiry, Someday, we will. But today is not that day, she answered. 

Your nose is one of your greatest tools, when lost. Note where you stand, and then, sniff around where we have already been. That is where, at present, your scent is strongest, she informed. But sometimes, we cannot rely on this. There are things which might confuse your senses. A potent flower, or being sprayed by a skunk, she provided examples. In which case, you might use your eyes. What do you see around you? Hydra inquired, wondering what they might observe.