Stone Circle Is that lost on you

Chronologically occurs before this thread. :D

Burr Saefyn, Explorer Extraordinaire, was about to begin the adventure of a lifetime. For the past two months his family had lived in Easthollow. He was intimately familiar with the patch of grass beyond the den and he was willing to wander short distances on his own, but up until now, Burr had taken his exploration seriously. Now that he was mostly comfortable within the packlands, the boy loosened the reins on his imagination and allowed his brain to take him to a place far from Easthollow whilst never leaving its confines.

Today he was padding quietly among the tall aspens of the Pando Clone Forest. Like rows of matchsticks they stood, silent white sentinels wearing all the same armor on a warm sunny afternoon. But in Burr's overactive imagination, they were twisted and crooked trees with cracked black bark, the ground was swarthy earth and blueish grass, and the sky was heavy with ominous rain clouds. In his imaginary adventure, it was going to rain soon in the Dark Dark Forest and he needed to find shelter.

But he couldn't possibly abandon his quest to hide from the rain! A damsel in distress (read: Rowana, who was never distressed about anything) had gotten herself kidnapped by a dastardly foe (read: Cyron, who was too cute and squishy to be villainous) in these dark forbidding woods and Burr Saefyn, Explorer Extraordinaire, had been sent to rescue her! With his excellent sleuthing skills and deductive reasoning, he was the only wolf capable of finding the fiend's hideout and removing the damsel from his wicked clutches. He peered surreptitiously up at the imaginary rain clouds overhead and shuddered, then put on his imaginary thinking cap and muttered to himself, "if I was a scurry mons'er, where woul' I hide?"

Sunny was out on this nice, breezy day enjoying a simple walk for once instead of huntin or patrolling or doing much of anything that was considered work. He had turned onto a path toward Pando Clone Forest when he picked up the scent of a pup, particularly one he had smelled around Easthollow. He could recognize it as one of Illecebra's pups, as he had often seen the mother hanging about their den and playing or grooming the children. Curious as to how the pup was doing out and about, and wanting to meet the young fellow he tracked the scent until he spotted the boy staring up at the clouds with a serious expression.

Sunny wagged his tail and gave a low whuff before sitting down "is there something wrong with the sky?" he asked as he peered up into the sky that for him was clear for the most part.

In Burr's mind's eye, the dark aspect of the sky swirled and buckled under fierce winds, and a cutting chill pervaded the twisted woods. He angled his ears back as intimidation threatened to snatch away his composure, but somewhere inside him, Burr knew it was only make believe. That made him brave. Had this been the true state of the world, then he would be tucked away in a corner of the den where it was warm and safe without a hint of prideful regret. But since he knew it wasn't real, he faced it boldly.

Burr was so focused on the imaginary dark sky that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice interrupted his scrutiny. Now his ears did pin back as a jolt of fear and shock zinged through his breast. He turned quickly, the image in his brain shaken back to real life for a second, to clap his eyes on a wolf who could have been his mirror image if Burr was older. Sunny's coat was peppered with a lot more varying shades than Burr's ever would be, and conspicuous white paws on the former set them apart, but they could have been siblings otherwise.

"Bad storm ou' there today," Burr said sagely, addressing Sunny—whom he mistook for an adult like papa and ma—as if they were the same age. They were not, of course, and if Burr wasn't pretending to be a distinguished detective and explorer then he would have spoken to an adult much differently, but that was not the case. He was still in his mind, a dark and twisty forest meant to seem scary to the ordinary wolf, and he drew Sunny into his imagination very easily. He spoke to Sunny as he imagined papa would,
unconsciously mimicking his father's manner in the process. "Have yas heard anythin' 'bout the princess tha' got kiddynappered?"

It took Sunny a few moments to understand what was going on. A storm? It was bright and warm today with the slightest breeze. Yet it dawned on him suddenly that Burr must have been playing pretend, and in his game it was storming outside something fierce. The boy asked him a question shortly after in a strange manner and Sunny was silent for a moment, casting a sheepish glance around him before he decided to join in the game and pretend to his best ability. Imagination was something he hadn't used in some time, but he was a child still so it came to him naturally still. "Aye it is sir, the weather seems to be warning us away" he said in some sort of odd accent that was somewhere between Irish and country and it sounded pretty foolish, but it made him smile so he decided he liked it.

"I heard that an evil man captured and hid the princess away in a dark cave, somewhere near this very area. Folks have seen the man, they say he can move with the speed of a thousand wolves!" he said eyeing Burr with his most serious look, and letting his imagination run free.

Burr nodded sagely in agreement with Sunny's assessment. The imaginary black clouds heaped over the woods did seem like an ominous portent, but the exploring detective already knew he would ignore this warning. Finding the missing princess was much too important for something like the weather to slow him down. A loud growl of imaginary thunder pealed through his imaginary dark woods just then as the sky disagreed with his conviction, but Burr Saefyn would not be deterred.

Sunny offered up some juicy information regarding the whereabouts of the princess, and Burr's curled tail whipped eagerly over his back as he contemplated this information. Scary caves were nothing to the great explorers! But the speed of a thousand wolves? "Tha's impossibubble!" Burr declared, but there was a trill to his voice that betrayed his uncertainty. A dastardly fiend the likes of the one who kidnapped the princess was surely not of this world, so who knew what sort of strange powers he possessed? Burr wanted to seem brave for his new companion, but he gulped audibly as he thought, how do we fight that!

He hoped Sunny would have an idea for that, too. He must have been an imaginary explorer like Burr, since he had information about the fiend that even Burr hadn't managed to dig up in his investigation (which had been all of about seven minutes thus far). He felt a need to confirm, and asked in his most grown up voice, "are you a 'splorer extra-dinner too?"

Sunny tensed for a moment as he worried that he had scared the child with his made up tale, but Burr seemed dedicated to the mission in his game and stated that the speed declared was impossible. Sunny nodded in agreement, giving the boy a sly smile as he crouched down and listened to the next question asked. "Exactly! I am not just an explorer, but one of the best spies around these lands and I myself have stalked this man. He is tricky and strong, and aye he is fast but he doesn't have the speed of a thousand wolves that was just a tall tale" he replied enthusiastically. Now he was beginning to enjoy himself, getting into the game allowed him to once more be a child and his spirit was soaring with the happiness it brought.


He stood back up and nodded to the east "Over there lies a waterfall, hidden behind it is a large cave. That is where I believe the princess is being held captive" he informed Burr though he leaned in close and gave the information in a secretive whisper as if anyone or anything could listening to them at that very moment.

How fortunate for Burr to be graced with the presence of one of the best spies around! Furthermore, Sunny knew where their dastardly foe was hiding and could dispel the myth about the villain's speed. Burr didn't want to admit it, but knowing that it was just a lie put him more at ease. His imaginary twisted woods with the imaginary storm raging overhead were a tad unsettling enough even for the one who dreamed them up. He didn't want to deal with an impossible opponent on top of that.

When Sunny leaned in close, Burr instinctively pressed his ears up and listened carefully. There weren't many secrets among the Saefyn children, but sometimes Rowana would whisper to him like that. A lot of the time it was just a ruse to rile him up, but either way, Burr at least knew the basics when secrecy was needed. Sunny was right to be cautious. Burr had heard that the trees themselves could hear words in their forest and pass it along in an elaborate game of Telephone.

"Bu' we can't go unpeppered!" the pup protested in a hushed voice. "I hearded that he really doesn' like... um... flowers!" Yes, that dastardly fiend had a weakness! Wasn't that what someone in his imaginary pack had said? Burr had almost forgotten about it, or at least that was his claim, but Sunny's presence and willingness to play along pulled it right out of his memory.

Sunny grinned victoriously as Burr spoke their foe's one weakness, and he stood up to his full height which still towered above the small child. "Well it seems like this our lucky day Burr! Right by that waterfalls grows pretty white flowers, Especially pretty which should frighten off the mean kidnapper as soon as he sees it!" he said his eyes alight with happiness. He nodded his head toward the east and began to walk in that direction, slowly though so the boy could keep up. "Follow me o' great explorer" he said and turned to face ahead.


A few minutes later they arrived at the lake, which in the game they played had a massive and beautiful waterfall that hid a cave. There was real white flowers growing around the water and Sunny walked over to a large cluster of them, pawing at them ad turning to Burr. "Will these do well enough to scare off the kidnapper?" he asked hopefully, allowing Burr to be the one to make the decision since it was his game in the first place.

What luck! The two gentlemen, as Burr would consider them, had now worked out the fiend's weakness and where to find it! Sunny turned to lead the way and Burr scampered after him on considerably shorter, plumper legs. Soon their quest would be at an end and they would rescue the kidnapped princess!

(Somewhere along the way, Burr had forgotten that he was supposed to be playing this game with his siblings. Cyron and Rowana were hiding somewhere, and would continue to hide until they no doubt got bored, since their elder brother had completely forgotten about their involvement by now.)

As they drew up to the lake, which was breathtaking and briefly pushed Burr out of his imaginative game world as his eyes filled with wonder, a pang of nervousness struck in his breast. Surely he and Sunny were both skilled enough to take down their foe with the help of the pretty white flowers growing along the bank, but he was still afraid of the other possibility. What if the fiend won and they couldn't save the princess? He didn't formulate a mental response to that; Sunny had directed his attention to the flowers and Burr was transported back to the imaginary dark forest, in which the lake was black-watered and spooky. "Those're perfect!" he exclaimed, putting on his boldest face and taking his first steps toward the imagined waterfall and cave (which was actually a copse of trees at the water's edge). "Les go get'im!"

Sunny smiled at the boy's ethusiasm  and dugs the flowers up from the soil. With a soft chuckle he nudged Burr with his nose "We can't go in without a plan. Attacking an enemy without a plan is a bad idea" he said in what he hoped was a wise tone, sure he was providing some sort of actual life lesson. "So...I was thinkin. I could chase the bad guy around with these while you save the princess?" he suggested as he took the flowers into his jaws. He looked kinda silly with the soil dusted flower stems hanging from his jaws as he stared down at a child much smaller than him with a hopeful look though Sunny was enjoying himself too much to care about being spotted by someone else from their pack.

Burr agreed with a consenting bob of his head, then leaned in close as Sunny outlined a plan of attack. As his companion dished the deets, the pup set his sights on the imaginary waterfall. Several twisted trees hunched over the edge of the lake in close vicinity, neatly parting the vertical stream close to the shore and providing the two sleuths with a convenient access point. Anyone who witnessed their game would see them disappear into a stand of trees, but Sunny and Burr knew that it was really a creepy cave.

When he looked back at Sunny and saw the dirty flowers hanging from his lips, Burr briefly lost his composure and giggled boyishly, but remembered himself and jumped right back into character when he replied, "perfect! He won' know wha' hit 'im!" Then, giving his fellow detective a firm nod, Burr turned and headed for the waterfall, all the while doing his best to keep his heartbeat steady.

Sunny tilted his head to the side and chuckled as the boy laughed at him and he gave Burr a playful wink before nodding just as firmly. "You got it boshh" he said the flowers in his mouth making his words come out funny. As Burr headed for the waterfall, Sunny took the opposite direction and headed in that way. He made his movements quiet and sneaky like he was hunting for prey and snuck ahead of Burr. He entered the cave and growled fiercely his hackles bristling as in his mind he saw a fiercome opponent turn around to face him. Without hesitation he leapt forward running toward where the imaginary foe was, and then turned around running in the opposite direction. 


Inside his mind he was secretly glad it was only Burr and him around, because he probably looked like he had eaten some weird berries and gone mad chasing something invisible with fierce growls and snarls leaving his maw that held pretty white flowers. Passing Burr he gave the boy a grin "Go get er boss! He's runnin like a coward!" he shouted as he ran past his tail held up like a flag of victory.

Burr gulped nervously as the pair approached the waterfall, but then he assured himself everything was going to be okay. The bad guys always lost. Even if he was justifiably frightened, Sunny took the lead in the end, and the grey wolfdog followed the older wolf into the dark of their imagined cave just as the big bad turned around to look at them.

He was the largest wolf Burr had ever seen, and that was saying something. His parents’ sizes weren’t anything to sneeze at either. But this wolf was the exact type you would expect villainy from: large and black haired with crooked teeth and a squashed muzzle. His eyes glowed bright yellow in the cave’s gloom and locked on to the pair of them with a menacing leer. He balked, intimidated easily by the dastardly fiend, but Sunny kept him grounded and in due time the boy remembered it was just a game.

Sunny galloped past with the flowers in his muzzle, shaking Burr from his reverie in time to yell, "we got you, monster!" He fell in step with the elder wolf, chasing the big bad from the cave, and then spun back around to look for the reason they had come: the damsel in distress. She was a white she-wolf huddled at the back of the cave in his imagination, and nothing but a lifted tree root in real life. "I foun' her!" he called out over his shoulder to Sunny with his tail wagging high.

Sunny had imagined that the evil wolf was so frightened of the flowers that he vanished into the distance. Dropping the flowers and spitting the taste of dirt and greenery from his mouth her sighed with satisfaction and turned around,loping back to the cave with a jaunty cockiness in his step. Just as he reached the cave he heard Burr say that he found the princess and he waltzed right up to the pup,sitting by his side. 

In his imagination the she wolf looked much like Keoni and he felt embarrassed enough that the image quickly dissipated and turned to the girl he had met at the borders instead, Chusi. Feeling a bit more comfortable with that image he nudged Burr forward "Go get her Mister Explorer Extrordinaire. Lead her home" he said encouragingly to the boy giving him a wide smile and wag of his tail.

The only wolf Burr saw in his mind's eye was Rowana—not only was she the only girl he really knew besides his mom and Valette, but she had been the intended princess all along. With a start, the boy realized that he had completely left his siblings in the dust with his game. Cyron and Rowana were probably still hiding in Easthollow somewhere, waiting for him to vanquish the fiend and rescue the damsel in distress. Sunny and he had gotten carried away, but when the older wolf returned to the imaginary cave, Burr shot him a grin and pushed the guilt away. His siblings would forgive him when he told them what had happened.

"She's safe!" proclaimed the Explorer Extraordinaire, "thanks ta you!" He truly couldn't have done it without Sunny's help. Burr's imagination was vast, but the older male had supplied a great deal of fun to the game, preventing Burr from growing bored with his own imagination. He wouldn't forget the man for that. "C'mon, princess, le's go home!" With that, the boy spun on his heels and marched proudly out of the cave with curled tail bobbing triumphantly behind him.

Before he got too far, his ears pricked to the sound of a howl—Illecebra's howl—and he looked apologetically back at Sunny, who stood now in a grove of sunny trees. The waterfall, the cave, and the haunted forest faded from his mind and he was left with the sight of Easthollow in the background. "Thank you!" the cub politely called out to Sunny before turning tail and galloping back toward home, where his mother was calling for him.