Redhawk Caldera do you suppose she's a wildflower?

Fiadh was amazed by the world that laid just outside of the den. Though this wasn't her first time out and about, as her parents had introduced them all to the area just a few days prior, Fiadh found herself finding new things to explore. Since her last noted day, Fiadh and her sibling had been growing like weeds. The children had gained the ability to hear and with each passing day, their vision improved. All of these factors, coupled with the capacity to wander, allowed them all to discover new things. 

Today's discovery was a bunch of wildflowers that laid to the right of the entrance to the cave. With @Finley watching over like a hawk, as she did almost every time that the children played outside, Fiadh stood over the path of mismatched blossoms with wonder. They were beautiful, and Fiadh had never seen anything quite like them. Their colors varied, depending on what flower she was looking at, and she spent time thoroughly investigating them. The observation consisted of sniffing (as she did from a distance since she had learned that the smell became overpowering once one drew too close) and looking. But, like any child her age, there was a critical aspect in her exploration missing: the taste test. 

Eagerly she craned her neck forward, despite the off-putting smell that dominated the air around them, and plucked the ruby red flower that had attracted her attention the most. Her decision was instantly regretted the moment that the first speck of pollen touched her tastebuds and as quickly as she had grabbed the flower she regurgitated it with a good amount of saliva coating it. 

Despite her displeasure, the taste remained, and she back peddled a step away as she looked at the patch with distaste. As the pungent taste lingered, Fiadh stuck out her tongue and shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of it. Whilst doing this, Fiadh wondered just why something so beautiful had tasted so bad. Perhaps, she ventured, it was her own doing because the flower was mad at her for biting. 

With this thought prominent in her mind, Fiadh ceased her motion and looked apologetically to the shrub-- a whine slipping from her lips as her ears back-splayed onto her skull.

Much like her daughter, Finley was inspecting the wildflowers just outside of her den that day. She had been suspicious of them at first, remembering how her own sister had died unknowingly ingesting poisonous plants. They hadn't been growing here the year before when she'd had the twins - not that anything had been growing anywhere - and she couldn't remember if they'd been here with Eljay, but it certainly seemed like they hadn't. After sniffing them down thoroughly and even taking a nibble of one or two, Fin determined they were safe enough to let her kids frolic in without having to worry they'd take a bite. Which was a good thing, since shortly after determining this, she got to watch Fiadh do just that.

Fin quirked a brow as she watched her daughter close her jaws around the vibrant, red blossom. It took only seconds for Fiadh to decided this had been an unwise decision. The puppy spat it back up in a very unlady-like display, which caused Fin to snort with very unlady-like laughter. Fiadh proceeded to gaze at the flowers while her mother watched, wondering what could possibly be going through her little puppy head at that moment. And then she had to fight laughter again as the child began to whine apologetically at the disgusting little blossoms as though she were somehow at fault for what had happened.

Finley stood and strode over to her daughter. She leaned down to run her nose teasingly from her rump to her head, tracing the black line along her spine. "What's got you down, Fee," she asked as she dropped to her haunches.

Returning from yet another unsuccessful hunt, Elwood approached the densite with head and tail slung low. Over the last week and a half, he had spent hours each day combing the territory for any sort of food, hoping that the prey would magically replenish itself. But he was coming to accept that this was a serious issue that they would have to deal with; their caches were growing lean, as were their bodies. Each pack member was doing what he or she could to bring in resources from outside of the territory, but how long would that be feasible?

These thoughts tucked themselves into the back of his mind as he spotted Fiadh and Finley just outside of the den. Seeing his month-old daughter exploring the outside world reminded him of how quickly the puppies were growing, despite the food shortage. And they didn't seem to be perturbed; they continued to exist with the blissful ignorance of youth. Elwood smiled as he approached, kissing first Finley's cheek then the top of Fiadh's head.

PARENTS I LUV U <3

 
With the taste of pollen still fresh on her tongue, Fiadh turned from the regurgitated petals to redirect her attention to her mother. Though Finely's touch was often something that calmed the young Sigma, Fiadh was finding it hard to share how she felt in regards to the flower. She had been convinced that everything had been fine between them, but, evidently, that was not the case. 

When prompted on what was bringing her down, Fiadh sought the right words to help portray how she felt. "Ick," she decided with a lone whine after a pause, finding that her vocabulary lacked the proper substance to describe how she felt. 

By the time that Elwood arrived, the effects of the pollen had spread from a mild annoyance to an irritant that drove the formation a thin veil of tears upon her large, doe-like eyes. Turning to her father as he greeted her, she filled him in on what had happened with that she had disclosed to Finley: "Ick." 

Finley snorted with laughter at her daughter's assessment of the flower. Kids were so great. So eloquent and to the point. She smiled through a playful pout as her head tilted to one side. "Oh no, what a mean flower," she cooed as she gazed at the pup's cute, sniffly little face.

Her ears twitched as the sound of pawsteps drew her attention. Fin glanced up to see Elwood approaching, just in time to spot his downtrodden demeanor replaced by affection for the adorable critter at her paws. She lifted her nose to brush against his cheek in greeting before looking again at Fiadh. The pup gave her father a plaintive look before explaining what she had already informed her mother - ick. She chuckled again and glanced up at Elwood, donning a serious expression. "It's true. I saw it with my own eyes," Fin said shortly, her wagging tail giving away her mirth.

As Elwood stepped back, Fiadh turned her little face up to look at him. Although there was obviously nothing seriously wrong, it still troubled him to see her furrowed brow and wrinkled lips. The tears in her eyes only strengthened her case. He felt bad for anyone who had the misfortune to upset his daughter; they would surely have to deal with his wrath.

Luckily, the culprit this time was only a flower whose taste had offended the pup. He was able to discern this fact from the wet, dismembered petals on the ground and Fiadh's expression of disgust. She offered an "ick" as an explanation, which Finley backed up sagely, and Elwood dropped himself onto his belly so that he could look Fiadh solemnly in the eyes.

"Ick? You don't say," he said gravely, nodding his head in understanding of her predicament.

With the support of both of her parents, Fiadh felt justified in feeling betrayed. The reasoning for its ill-mannered rebuttal still confused her, and would continue to until she lost interest altogether, but, despite the lingering taste, she began to feel better about the situation. With the situation turning around dramatically, and her interest in the flower quickly fading, the Rho turned to her parents and cocked her head to the right as she looked up to them with doe-like eyes. 

"Pay?" asked Fiadh with baited breath. She hoped they'd be as receptive to this idea as they had been with the previous situation.

Elwood fell right into the game. Fin stifled a smile at him as she looked expectantly at Fiadh, hoping she might continue to explain to her parents about the ick. She took a different route though, and the mother's eyes widened as her jaw dropped in surprise. She looked at her mate, looking almost scandalized.

"Uh oh, she wants us to pay the price for the flower's evil deeds," she informed him, translating perfectly, in her own professional estimation, "I think it's your turn. I had to pay the price when it turned out rocks were hard and painful on puppy gums."

"Pay?" Fiadh requested plaintively, and of course her parents were all too willing to oblige her. However, their response may not have been what she had in mind. Elwood looked to Finley, nodding solemnly as she spoke about "paying the price" for the offense the flower had caused. And, as she so wisely noted, it was his turn to handle such a situation.

"Pay," he said to Fiadh, nodding in confirmation. "We'll give that flower what-for. It will never mess with a Blackthorn puppy again!" he said, puffing up his chest as he gathered his feet beneath him and shifted into a standing position. He stomped towards the soggy remains of the flower and brought his nose within close proximity of its petals before saying sternly, "Bad flower. Bad!"

Fiadh's answer was met with an unexpected response. First, as Finley set a grave tone and Elwood carried it as he moved to give the poor flower what for. For a moment, she watched as her father stomped upon the soggy remains of the bloom and attempted to make sense of it all. To her, this didn't seem like play. But, whatever he was doing sure seemed fun. 

Eager to be apart of the sport, Fiadh leaped to her paws. Once she was steady in her standing, she then promptly stamped her left forepaw upon the ground and bellowed, "PAY!" This was how you "pay'd", right? With excitement present in her expression, she looked up to Elwood as she sought confirmation that she was doing it right.

last post for me! :D Feel free to continue without Fin if you wish <3

Fin smirked at Elwood as he played along with the game. His take on it was not what she had expected, but it was sufficiently amusing. She looked at Fiadh to see how her daughter would take it. The girl looked confused for a moment, but bounced right on board when the opportunity arose. She leaped onto the flowers with a squeaky little battle cry. Finley canted her head as she smiled and looked up at Elwood.

"Well, you two seem to have this covered," Fin said as she slid down onto her belly and made herself comfortable, "I'm just gonna close my eyes for a bit. Carry on." After having this many kids, she was fairly accustomed to sleeping when chaos was about. Just as long as Fiadh didn't decide to pay with her face while she dozed, she felt pretty confident that she could get a nice nap in while Elwood distracted their little flower murderer.

Elwood laughed as Fiadh imitated him, stomping her little paws on the ground with a shout that was loud enough to have come from an adult. He wasn't necessarily surprised when Finley decided to take the opportunity to enjoy a catnap; she had earned any snippets of rest she could manage, since she spent most of her time wrangling four very active puppies. He also wasn't shocked when she went to sleep right there, despite Fiadh's bellowing. She had obviously learned to drown out any non-urgent sounds made by her children.

"Okay, let's pay over here so Mom can sleep," he suggested, and then, with a conspiratorial glance at his daughter, he plodded away with heavy steps, inviting her to keep mimicking his movements.