Redhawk Caldera i return with pudding!

Yay Lagan's back! Anyone welcome but I'd love to thread with @Elwood, @Finley, @Eljay, or @Liffey! Or all four! <3

Lagan trotted around the cave, restlessly kicking a pebble. He had at first thought that another move could be fun. But it really wasn't. In fact he hated this new place. It was dark, and boring, and everything looked exactly the same. He missed their old place, because stuff had actually happened out there. But he knew why they'd moved, and he had to admit he did like the warmth of the new cave. And at least he had his humongous family to keep him company.

The small grey wolf stared out at the cold terrain beyond the cavern. He was tempted to go out, but knew that that'd would be silly. With a sigh he turned around and returned to his game of kick the rock, which consisted of him kicking a rock against a wall then sighing dramatically.

bruffer bruffer yay yay!

Liffey and her twin seemed to be suffering similarly to being couped up in the cave for so long. She didn't hate their shelter as much as he did, however. Her irritation was driven by the company. The small ones, to be exact.  She didn't understand why her brother adored them so much, but at least she could push them off on him when they were annoying her and he would take them happily. She in turn did her best to make life in the cave more bearable for him.

The girl had been watching her brother pace about with mild interest. She had been distracted by gnawing on a chunk of grisle left clinging to a bone from her dinner the night before. Seeing as it had long ago lost its flavor, Liffey decided to abandon it and stood to walk towards her brother. She paused a foot or so away from Lagan, eyeing the rock with mild interest. When it skittered towards her, she reached a paw and kicked it back towards the wall in front of him. She lifted her gaze to Lagan's face then, smiling a tiny smile as her tail began to wag.

OOPS shadowposted! Edited :)

Elwood had been napping against the far wall of the cavern, one of the firebirds curled into the crook of his elbow. She had crawled there after he fell asleep, so when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the black and white pup zonked out alongside him. He grinned down at her, his tail thumping the cold stone floor as he blinked sleepily and stifled a yawn.

There was a sudden clattering sound, which Elwood quickly realized was the reason he had woken up. He looked in the direction of the noise and saw Lagan kicking a rock and letting it bounce off the rocky slope. Judging by his repetitive behavior and the slump of his shoulders, the novelty of the cave had worn off and Lagan was bored. Orca stirred, slowly waking up, and Elwood shifted slightly, watching as Liffey approached her brother and joined in his game.

Yay family <3

Lagan lazily followed the rock with his eyes, and the rock led right to Liffey. His tail started to wag as his twin kicked the rock against the wall, a smile on her face. Lagan giggled a little, glad that someone had finally responded to his loud sighs. He bounded towards the rock playfully, his large feet smacking the ground with every leap. When he got to the rock, he whirled around and sent it skidding over to his twin, where it clattered on the ground by her feet. He hunched down into a play bow, his fluffy tail swishing behind him.

yay, welcome back! :)

Eljay was watching the tiny pups when he noticed Lagan and Liffey starting a game. He looked at daddy and smiled, before looking back at his baby siblings. He wondered if he should join in their game, and felt tempted to, but he also wondered if they wouldn't be better off playing with just the two of them. He decided just to keep watch for the moment. Maybe he could take them out for a short walk or hunt later to keep their minds off the confinement.

Liffey didn't notice that she and her twin had any spectators. Her attention was on her brother as he flashed her a grin and darted after the rock. His excitement was contagious, and she fell into a bow almost simultaneously with him. She jumped at the rock as it skittered back and fumbled it between her paws. She bit it once and gave it a sniff just for good measure before slapping it back again, this time aiming to Lagan's side like a hockey player trying to get it past the goalie.

Feel free to skip me since Elwood is just watching! :)

Briefly, Elwood redirected his attention to the wakening pup. He smiled down at her as she yawned, marveling at her tiny nose and mouth. It was hard to believe that his own children had once been this small. When he looked up again, he was happy to see Liffey and Lagan batting the rock back and forth -- and beyond them, Eljay was observing, his expression content.

Elwood's heart warmed as he watched all three of his children. He felt a sudden sharp pang, however, when he realized someone was missing -- Lucy. He looked down at Orca once more, focusing on her instead of his own feelings as she began to wriggle busily.

Like his twin Liffey, Lagan didn't notice his brother or his dad watching. Though now that they were, this was a true game of wolf soccer. Lagan watched excitedly as Liffey sniffed, bit, then sent the rock flying at him- well not at him as much as it was to his side. It whizzed past him like a bullet, and with a yip he raced after it, his tongue lolling from his mouth. Once it was in reach, he turned around to face his sister, and gave her a playful growl.

Then he swiped his paw to the side, pretending to hit go to her right, then actually hitting it with his other paw to her left. Surely she would be fooled by this act of quick thinking and cleverness.

Liffey gave a victorious grin as the rock shot past Lagan and he turned to retrieve it. Her tail sliced through the air as she bowed again and tensed, waiting for his return shot. Her ears twitched as she heard the rock rattle against the ground as Lagan prepared to send it back, watching cat-like as his body moved around it. In true puppy fashion, she fell for his feint and darted swiftly to the right, then nearly tripped over herself trying to reverse. The rock skittered back towards the back wall where the puppies rested and so Liffey leaped to snatch it back before it got too far. She didn't want it hitting them, but more than that, she didn't want to draw any of them into the game. She would likely be one of the most excited to see this blizzard pass, if only to get away from them.

But that was neither here nor there, and Liffey turned to slap the rock back towards her brother, pacing merrily along after it until she got back to her original spot.

same here for the skipping, but it looks you already got the message <3

Eljay watched them for a while, contemplating joining in. But the longer he watched them, the less it seemed like it was an option to join in. At first when he started to watch he was smiling, thinking fondly of how they were all one big family and how his brother and sister were playing and how mommy had survived the birth after all and she was home and all was fine. But the longer he watched them, the less he felt a part of it all. The more he realised that they were growing up and they were both turning into useful individuals of the pack. Wolves to whom he felt he'd contributed little, except anxiety and uncertainty because he had been around them a lot when they were little, and who already seemed to outgrow him now.

They were better at playing, at hunting, and he knew they even looked after the pups sometimes. The latter was the only thing he clung onto, the only thing that he felt he could do well, but now it felt he might not even be needed for that. He wondered what they thought of him. Did they feel the same? He was not so sure. He liked that they were happy, but he wished that he was there playing with them.

But he wasn't. And they were having so much fun together that he didn't want to intrude on that, either. Well, it was just silly thoughts, he decided, and he shouldn't be having them. For a moment he even went back to contemplating joining in the game. He got up, even, took a step towards them. But then he saw Liffey hit and slap the rock back to Lagan and he froze, watching it soar and watching the smiles on their faces.

And he turned back around, to his old place. But what if they'd think he wanted to join the game and they'd feel obligated to offer him a spot in it, because they saw that he got up, only to return to where he'd been laying before? But the ground was warmer here... Even though he wanted to lay down in his old spot, Eljay ended up walking a bit further and settling down near the pups, his movements awkward and statue-like as he lay down and tried not to be noticed. And yet, to go completely unnoticed was what he was afraid of at the same time.

After laying down he felt like a big dummy, but the feeling would pass, he knew. It usually did.

Lagan snickered, holding in a laugh as he watched Liffey trip, and scamper after the rock. Haha loser! His shouted in a hushed tone, so Liffey could hear but the others wouldn't be too bothered. He loved playing with his twin, especially teasing her when he won, and pouting when he lost. When his sister sent the rock his way, he decided they would play a new game. Instead of smacking it back with his paw, he stopped it and picked it up in his mouth. His tail waving like a flag, he turned away from her, wagging his butt in her face in a childish, 'you can't touch this' manner.

Then he grinned to the best of his ability considering there was a rock in his mouth, and he jumped from side to side, hoping she'd start chasing.

Liffey was oblivious to her elder brother's plight as the game continued. She was used to seeing moving out of the corners of her eyes these days - it came with being stuck in such a small space with so many wolves. And so, she didn't notice when Eljay stood to join them, then cowered away again. All she saw was Lagan's swift movements to counter her shot, and all she heard were his antagonistic words.

"You're the loser!" Liffey shot back, witty as ever. She gave him a growl and snapped her teeth in the air, sneezing once before being startled by her twin's latest antics. She saw his butt wriggle at her and felt immediately wronged somehow. With little thought, she sprang forward towards him and reached her jaws for his flank. If that was the game he wanted to play now, so be it. Liffey was game for a real romp.

Like Liffey, Lagan didn't notice Eljay's dilemma, he was too wrapped up in the game that they were playing. If he had noticed however he would've asked his older bro to join of course, Lagan didn't like to leave people out. Being left out often led to hurt feelings and he never ever wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. But alas, Lagan missed Eljay's wishes this time, and kept on playing.

Liffey shot back that he was that loser, and Lagan scoffed as dramatically as he could. Before he could make another silly remark, Liffey sneezed, clearly surprised by his change in tactics. He laughed out loud and jeered. At least I'm not a sneezy butt! He grinned from ear to ear, enjoying this game of taunting very much. He was laughing so much that he forgot the new game they were playing and a moment later Liffey had grabbed onto his wriggling rump and took him down. He fell flat on his face, then leaped up as fast as he could, whirling around to batt playfully at Liffey's face.

my last post!

For another while Eljay watched the pair of them and he smiled a little as he did, after a while finally able to enjoy watching them play rather than feeling bad that he wasn't included. He watched them for a while until eventually he decided to catch a nap while watching over the small pups; or, as Uncle P would've said, he went off to catch some Z's with the pups.

We could probably wrap this up soon? :D

Liffey's hit connected and Lagan came toppling down. She grinned in triumph, but was careful not to release her hold on his rear. Not until he hopped up and reached for her face, anyway. She let go then, but only to try and nab his prodding paw, which proved to be rather difficult in spite of how simple it sounded. He kept moving it, which was half the problem. Well, actually no. That was the entire problem.

And so, Liffey tried a new tactic. She flung herself at him bodily, aiming to connect her chest with his shoulder in order to knock him back down again and try to regain the upper hand.

Sure!

Everything was going well for Lagan, his attacks were making Liffey fumble and everything. He was having a great time, wholly enjoying the game they were playing. Suddenly Liffey stepped back, and started running towards him, he didn't have much time to react, but he knew what was about to happen. He was about to be pushed over by a Liffey battering ram! Then... thump! He fell back onto his rump then onto his back, the breath knocked out him. He laid there for a few moments, open to an attack as he tried to catch his breath.

I'll let you decide if you want to post once more or archive :) <3<3<3

Yes!!

Liffey growled in triumph as she connected with her target, even as she was falling over him. She laughed as they both collapsed in a tangle of limbs and began to struggle for purchase again. Liffey arched her neck to mouth whatever part of her brother she could get her jaws on (don't be dirty people, she aimed appropriately). Eventually, the girl bounced off of her twin and darted towards the entrance of the den. She spun to snap her teeth in his direction before launching out into the snow, clearly expecting Lagan to follow.