Moonspear Take a break from the surface

Any of the youngsters?

 Aries had managed to pick up a few words from listening to the adults, but he made no move to try and say them. He was not interested in speech just yet, and prefered to let his expression show his mood. Silence was something he enjoyed, and he did not intend for that to be pushed away by anyone, which is why he had tried to avoid others during his exploration of the land. However, his attempt at soltitude had been futile - he had ended up encountering Amekaze, whom he did not really mind all that much, then Hydra and Charon, whom he had decided he did not really like. Charon especially, since he had forced Aries to submit, which he hated. Hydra seemed to be a bit like him, or so he believed. Her silence during the adults chatter was similar to his own, so perhaps she saw things like he did. Maybe they had something in common. Or not, and perhaps she had just not felt like talking at that moment.

The ash boy wandered alone yet again across the territory, finding himself close to the center after walking a long way around. He found a nice large tree and took one glance around before lowering himself down so that he was sitting. It was shady here, and although it was not really hot around here at the moment anyway, the temporary cool air and darkness was welcomed.

She spotted the little grey pup from a distance, thinking him to be a large rock before his scent hit her. He was resting beneath the shade of a tree, and Lyra debated whether or not she should go and introduce herself. Surely he had met one of her sisters before; did they hate him as much as they did his sister? Lyra knew her mirror images weren't fond of the newest members and, she had to admit, while she had a soft spot for them, perhaps it was only because of how young and vulnerable they were. At least one of them needed to have an attitude adjustment...maybe this little guy didn't.

Sucking in a breath (as if she were approaching a feeding bear instead of a tiny pup), Lyra slowly slipped out from the trees and stood before him with a friendly smile. "Hey there," she greeted softly, lowering her snout to his level.

Aries snapped his head up when the scent of another first reached him, and he turned to face... Hydra? What in the world did she want? The boy gave a low growl as he shifted his body so that he was completely facing her, only to hear the dark girl speak. He halted, face softening as he stared at her in confusion. Hydra didn't sound like that, did she? Was this not who he had thought it to be?

Aries tilted his head, brow furrowing as he tried to figure it out. For now his anger at one of the sisters was forgotten and he stood up, sticking out his nose to see if the scent was the same. Her greeting was also forgotten as he tried to decipher what was going on. If this was not Hydra, who was it?

She even had a friendly expression, which confused him further. With a twitch of his tail, the boy finally made an attempt to speak. "H............." was the only sound he made, and he gave up before even finishing the word. He was puzzled.

His confusion was apparent, and the look in his eyes and questioning head tilt nearly melted Lyra's heart. She didn't let it show, however, still torn between wanting to join her sisters in despising the pups but also enamoured with how cute they were. At least this one so far hadn't done anything to warrant any disdain. Yet.

A single syllable left his mouth and Lyra gave a soft laugh before slowly settling into a prone position, lowering her head so she was still level with the youngster. "Hydra?" she tried, wondering if that was the word he was trying to say before deciding to correct him anyway. "I'm Lyra."

Aries sat down, watching her - Lyra - curiously. He had never heard of Lyra. Her name was similar to Hydra's, she looked the same (but friendlier), and she seemed the same age? They must be sisters. It was weird though, the two looked like copies of each other. Aries and his sister Cass did not look all that similar, so it was very confusing for the boy.

"L....lie.....ra?" He repeated, testing the word on his tongue. It was his first full word, despite it being broken up into multiple little snippets. The ash child was genuinly curious about this girl in front of him. She did not demand submission like Charon or Hydra, and seemed friendlier than Amekaze. Warmer.

She smiled encouragingly as he tried out her name, feeling a small bubble of pride form in her chest. That he was even attempting to pronounce it was a bit of an ego boost, though it wasn't a very hard name for a young cub at all. She gave a laugh, nodding. "That's right." Not really. It was close enough, though. "What's your name?" she tried, wondering if he understood. Did he even know his name? She had never interacted with one so young before.

He liked Lyra. She was nice. When asked about his own name, the boy wrinkled his nose slightly then attempted to say it. "Air........eeees," he managed, smiling afterward like he had won an award. Still, he prefered silence, but he relished in the fact that he had been able to say both his and Lyra's name. 

He gave a small wag of his tail, lowering himself down into a play-bow. Normally that would only have been offered to his family, but Lyra was nice. He had even given Charon and Hydra the chance to play with him, but they had instead shoved him to the ground. He didn't want to ever play with them anymore.

She listened as if he were telling her the secrets of the world as he tried to pronounce his own name. Her tail thumped against the ground when he did and beamed up at her proudly. She hadn't really caught what his name actually was, so she could only make an educated guess as to what it was. "What a wonderful name," she said with a confident nod.

When he suddenly dipped into a play bow, the girl grinned and stuck her own hind in the air, surging forward to touch her nose to his before leaping back a few steps.

He wiggled and and jumped a little before sprinting forward, soon jumping higher and forward in an attempt to pounce on Lyra. This was fun! He did not do it often, and did not plan to, but he wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

He barked as he leapt, wagging his tail slightly.

I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT

She almost squealed in delight as he leapt forward at her, tiny tail wiggling behind him as he did so. Like Aries, she didn't get to indulge in such innocent play very much. She and her sisters were too old for that now and besides, while she did enjoy rough housing with them sometimes, they got a little aggressive. Especially Hydra, who took every opportunity to improve her battling techniques. Alya and Lyra were often her test subjects.

She giggled as he pounced, allowing him to pin one of her paws before quickly licking his snout in retaliation.