Stone Circle I once won the whole Super Bowl by myself

Would love to properly meet the pups! @Steph @Ezra @Clary if any of you have the time!

Now that he was almost fully grown, Burr's childhood fears seemed silly. He no longer froze in place when he saw the yawning mouth of a stranger's den in the distance. Now he paused, pensive, and then moved on. The shadow that had frightened him as a child was cast by a kindly wolf, he now knew, and he was far too large to be bothered by such things now. In fact, he was feeling both old enough and large enough to approach Valette's den without fear, where he knew the growing pups were.

Since that first day when the lead female had called the pack together to meet them, Burr hadn't once seen the pups. He had avoided this place avidly, but he had no reason to anymore. He was only a few inches shy of his adult height, tall and gangling, but that meant that the adults no longer scared him like they used to. Now he could hold his own, even against Murdock, whom he thought of with a tightening of his lips over his teeth. He hadn't seen that guy either, but his scent was thick in this part of the territory.

Burr stopped several long yards from the den, cocked his ears forward, and issued a low woof that sought to summon the pups out to play. Before any of them even made an appearance, he was already dipping into an enticing play bow.

Clary could take a paw to the face. She could even take ten thousand if it meant being able to warm up between ma and Ezra and Steph in their little cocoon of a den. But upon close inspection, Clary determined their nightly rounds of kicks came not out of love or even... whatever the opposite of love was... but they came because the den didn't really... fit them as well as it used to. Somehow, she determined with all the sage-like wisdom of a pup, their den was shrinking.

So, with head tucked low and rear swaying to the little song she hummed to herself, Clary busied herself nose to tail with digging up the ground just beside their den. The thought of their faces when they found she'd dug them all a new den, a non-shrinking one they could all share together without feet in each other's faces or tails in each other's mouths - that thought put a bounce in her dig, and she dug, and she hummed, and she swayed, and -

She jerked up at the sound of a beckon from nearby - one meant for her (and Steph and Ezra - but also her!), and surprise hitched her mid-hum. Her gaze landed on a tall, grey man - one she didn't recognize as the timid boy she'd tried to play with when ma had first shown the world. He bowed in an undeniable invitation, and Clary perked up, murky eyes glistening. "Hi!" She chirped in greeting. Her lips curved in a wide grin and her tail whipped the air. "Makin' den. Steph 'n Ezra keep kickin'. Sos I make bigger for alls us!" Truth be told, she wasn't making much progress. But that was okay! Ma would understand, and maybe let them sleep beneath the stars if she buttered up enough. But as much as she wanted to play, she wasn't about to abandon her scratch on the ground. Besides, one look at the boy's mighty paws and size, and she had a better plan in him. "Come help me!"

Steph appeared from the den and looked over to find her sister digging. She wasn't sure what she was digging for; maybe just for fun. She decided not to disturb her since it looked like Clary was really into it. Instead, she lowered her body to the ground, enjoying the sun on the cool day. 

A few moments later, a wolf appeared. Steph almost bolted into the den, having been made away that danger existed in this world, but then she thought she knew this wolf. She had seen him once, a long time ago, at least to her. He was smaller then, less gangly. While Clary spoke to him, Steph remained where she was, not calling her sister out on the fact that she gave as many kicks as she received. The male dipped into a play bow, and Steph's puppiness wanted to join in. But, for the first time, she hesitated, looking to her sister to see how she would react before making up her own mind on whether or not to play with him.

Burr wasn't sure what to expect when he came to pups, but when a dusty grey pup not unlike he and his siblings popped up out of the ground, he knew that wasn't at all what he envisioned. He couldn't remember having so much initiative when he was that young—hell, he hardly had that much initiative now, so Clary's request that he join her in digging very nearly elicited a groan from the older boy. C'mon, really, work? Burr wanted to play!

But he also wanted to save face in front of a much younger and much more driven child, so he smiled as he padded over to her meager hole in the ground. "Wow!" he complimented with an excessive amount of enthusiasm that he didn't wholly feel, "that's an awesome project you're doing! Your den isn't big enough for all of you?" Would it be bad to try to convince her to do something other than digging? "Uh, how big do you think it needs to be?"

His nape prickled and he swung his head just in time to spot another inkblot of a cub in the den's entryway, but he felt as wary of her (and Clary, let's be honest) as she felt of him, and he only shot her a warm smile and tentative shake of his tail.

Clary beamed up at the older boy, tail set a wag by his praise. "Nope! That's why we gotta dig a bigger one!" But at his question she paused. The earth stilled around her. "Oh. It has t'be... " how big exactly did the den have to be? Her face furrowed, and for the first time since starting her endeavour, the girl took a step back to appraise her masterful work.

Her heart nearly hit her stomach when she saw how little headway she'd actually made on their new home. The den loomed like a giant scar in the ground, while her own palace. Well. A low moan oozed from her throat and she sunk to the ground, her prior optimism of trucking along and sleeping outside forgotten. "Oooh, at least ten times this big!"

So perturbed by the turn of events, she didn't notice the stirring of her sister, nor the boy's wag toward her. How were they supposed to sleep if they couldn't even fit through the entrance?

Steph only half listened to their conversation as she watched the male. He seemed interested in what Clary was doing, but turned his head and gave Steph a smile. Her tail wagged unconsciously in return. He seemed friendly enough, so when Clary expressed that the hole wasn't near big enough, Steph stood and trotted over. 

What if we just made the current den bigger? she asked. It was already sizeable, but if Clary wanted to make it bigger, it was a much better start, seeing as how it was at least already a hole in the ground. Still, if Clary insisted on making a whole new one, Steph would oblige and help dig. 

*Edit in an ending:

The day would go on and Steph would either help Clary extend the current den, or make a new one. Or maybe Clary would think of something else to do. This had started out as her sister project, and she didn't want to douse her motivation. So, she would follow along until it was done, and then most likely take a nap.