Stone Circle A whole new world

Steph yawned, stretching her legs and spine before standing up and heading towards the entrance of the den. At five weeks old, she had mostly gotten the hang of walking around, but anything faster than that still took some fine tuning. But, Steph was a patient pup and took things step by step.

The sun was partly hidden behind clouds, so the light wasn't too harsh on her eyes. Still, it took a moment to adjust to the start contrast of the dark den. It didn't look like anyone was around this afternoon, but Steph could smell them. Her nose took in scents like her life depended on it, enjoying learning information about these other wolves that lived here, without actually having to face them. Mom had deemed them all safe, of course, with that group meeting last week, but Steph was still cautious. But, her curiousity was still there. 

She explored the immediate area in front of the den entrance, but kept it within running distance. Instinct and what she had already been taught let her know her Mom was the Alpha, and someone would be stupid to try and harm her children. But, did stupid wolves exist? Steph couldn't imagine doing anything than what her mother told her, but then she hadn't had the opportunity to do so, either. But, maybe today would bring her something new.

He is unsure how he feels about this 'there's a world out there!' concept. One one hand, the comfort and assured safety of his mother is appealing to pretty much every aspect of his young life, but on the other, the youthful curiosity at the back of his mind begs him to go out and explore. And he does, one step at a time, critiquing everything he sees of course, but taking this newfound sense of adventure in strides. 

This time, he follows his sister as she makes an exit out their den, ears adept and eyes keen to observe anything and everything that occurs around them. Letting out a quick call for her to wait up, "Cha step!" He hurries his stubby, chubby legs to walk by her side, softly bumping into her as she walks. Whether it is to protect her or protect himself, he simply doesn't want to be alone, not while he knows there are others out there that are much bigger and stronger than him and somehow, that concept frightens him.

Clary felt the shift in the den, the press of warmth gradually lessen, and though her thoughts pulled groggy with sleep, her legs buzzed with a sudden shock of energy when she realized both sister and brother had tiptoed from the den - without her. The understanding hardly brought the suspicion they'd snuck off on purpose to leave her behind. Her mind was too young for such conspiracies, and ran only with the course of needing to get wherever they had gone. When a brief glance around the den confirmed they'd left, her little tail whipped and she rocketed to the blinding portal that marked where their cozy world ended and the real one began.

She blinked against the startling sunlight, but didn't slow. A mad scramble marked her eruption from the den, and she moved her quickest to where the focussing forms of her siblings stood - and struck a tumbling course toward them. In her excitement, she'd overshot her limited speed, and she had little time to brace for collision.

She paused in her sniffing when a voice rang out behind her. Ezra was heading over, and her tail wagged in greeting, returning the bump of her shoulder. Steph hadn't said her first word yet, but she had already started to understand the verbal language. Why she hadn't decided to partake in it yet was anyone's guess. 

Only a few moments later, Clary came out in a fury of energy and Steph smiled, glad that the trio could explore together. They were the most familiar things in this world to her, and always brought her comfort. She had expected Clary to slow when she got to them, and thus turned her head. Only a second later did she realize her mistake, as her body went tumbling over and over. She didn't fret, however, having experienced this sensation before. She knew, evetually, she would come to a stop. And, she did, tangled up with her siblings. She giggled before looking to Ezra and Clary to ensure that they were alright.

Valette returned to the den finding her young ones outside of the den. The mother never liked to leave them alone for too long but after five weeks she needed to stretch her legs and show her face to the pack members as the leader in charge. Ezekiel had gone more in the background. Valette assumed wrongly that he didn't take as much interest in his pups as he did in the beginning. Not that she would tell her pups that. She was pleased about the fact she could spend more time with them and teach them all.

She held a hare in her maw as she trotted closer. She saw Clary tumble over her siblings. They were so cute. Valette didn't want to disrupt too much of their exploring. She went to lie down so she could watch her children play and explore while she ate. She was starting mix their daily intake of milk with meat as their teeth were getting sharper. However, she liked the idea of them being able to nurse as long as possible so they would grow into strong healthy pups. She wondered if the scent of blood would enthuse them.

Let me know if you want a sibling thread only then you can just see this as a cameo!

He's suddenly thrust into the air, only to land half-between, half-underneath the pile of siblings; Clary, having barreled right into them before they could do anything about it. Instinct calls for him to growl softly, showing his distaste for his sister's rather clumsy actions (the reason he had followed Steph at all had been to avoid any danger whatsoever, and this was rather defeating the purpose) but he could only hold on to the frustration for so long before he let loose a loud snort of a laugh, the closest thing he would ever get to it. Ezra moves to wiggle his way out from under the two girls, somewhat difficulty despite his much larger size.

Whump!

With a small and startled squeak, Clary felt the air rush from her lungs. Her body tumbled headfirst to tangle with Ezra and Steph. The squishy lump of her brother cushioned her fall, her hind legs splayed ungracefully on his head, and she felt her own head sink beneath the weight of Steph.

Clary sneezed and wriggled her rump in a short attempt to squirrel out of the sandwich they'd made of her, but Steph's giggle thwarted her efforts, and the sound of her own childlike laughter joined her sister's chorus. Even Ezra piped something of a good-humoured snort, and Clary wished her face was near his, instead of her feet, so she could plant a rough and sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Instead, she twisted about and offered the affection to whatever part of Steph she could reach. Her hind legs kicked around as Ezra himself crawled out from beneath them, and whether they tousled him or the grassy ground, she couldn't tell.

The trio, between the bursts of laughter, did their best to untagnle all of their limbs. Steph's tail wagged as Clary licked her, and she returned the show of affection to her sister.  

Once she was clear, she looked to Ezra to make sure he was alright. She had heard his short growl, but then some resemblance of humor after that. That meant he was okay, right? Still, she looked on to see for herself. 

Once she was satisfied that he was alright, she turned her attention to the bush to her right. A tiny mouse came from it, maybe startled by all the commotion of the three siblings. From her time with Moo, Steph new they were yummy. With a growl, she pounced after it. She missed, though, and it scurried away, towards Ezra. She watched it, and him, waiting to see what he would do.