Dawnlark Plains dawn of the first day

Lavender had been keeping up with the rest of her family as they made their migration, but she was often following behind them with the intense need to keep them all together; she herded without really thinking about it, only finding a sense of satisfaction once they were all (generally) together. Once she knew they were all safe and sound and moving as one, Lavender's mind began to wander.

She was still wearing her coyote skin. It kept her much warmer than she thought it would, and with all the activity she was toasty and warm. Now that she could wander without the hindrance of being cold all of the time, she took in the sights. Spied upon the rising plateaus to the north of the roaming pack's position, investigated the scents of foreign trees, even slipped off for some exploration on her own. She kept within earshot of her family at all times but was eager to devour every inch of the plains, see every sight, and make up for all the time she had spent stuck in the den.

Easy had kept to herself during the trip, unsure how to react to the rest of her family after spending time apart. The litter had been completely divided for several long weeks, but somehow, Lavender and Dauntless had fallen back together without trouble. Easy wondered if she'd done something wrong.

"Arushi!" she called, jogging to catch up when she realized the mottled figure up ahead was the sister she was looking for. "Wait up!"

Lavender was greeted with a shy nibble. The painted girl had grown, but so too had Easy. She now towered over her littermate in a way that was nothing short of comical. And what was more, she showed no signs of being done with her growth spurt. Where had all this mass come from? "I haven't really talked to you since we got back," she said somewhat breathlessly, eyes sweeping over Lavender's face and then quickly away. Why did this feel weird?

Arushi! called a voice, and Lavender stopped her exploration and turned her ears, then her head, to greet the oncoming figure. Not many wolves in her life called her by her other name; she knew who it was even before she landed her eyes upon Easy, and her little nubbin of a tail wiggled beneath the banner of coyote-tail that hung across it.

It didn't take long for Easy to close the gap; Lavender felt a nervous little smile creep across her face briefly, but it faded before Easy could see it (or so she hoped). She was so tall! And so athletic! Lavender couldn't help but glance from those slim legs to her own stout ones and back, pivoting her ears to catch whatever sentiments were slipping from the dark one's mouth.

Hey Ishara, the girl greeted, but then she didn't know what to say — she sort of expected her sister to continue the conversation. It had been Easy who had found her, after all. But what for?

Easy's face fell a bit at what she considered a less-than-warm welcome, but that was fine. She refused to be dissuaded from her sister's company after so long apart. "What are you up to?" she asked brightly. And then, more importantly, "Can I come with?"

She hoped that it would be something fun. As much as she claimed to be above such things when Aditya was asking, Easy valued fun as much as any other young wolf. A game of hide-and-go seek sounded fun, or perhaps they could play Snow Bear now that there were less trees in the way.

Lavender didn't have a set plan in mind when she had split up from the group, and so when Easy asked her point-blank what she was doing, she sort of shrugged and searched her mind for an answer. The skin shifted only a little, and Lavender was reminded of how heavy it was with the subtle motion. It wasn't much of an answer so the girl tried to be quick with a verbal response to make up for it: I was exploring. There's so much to see out here! Her tail nubbin wagged at this, but again, it was covered by the thick tendril of coyote tail.

Easy agreed - there was a lot more to see. Unless you considered all the trees on the plateau, of course. Easy didn't think she'd been able to see every single tree on the plateau. But the lack of trees was what made the plains so interesting - everything there was to see was just laid out before them!

"Does it kind of remind you of the cuesta?" she asked, head tilting to the side. "I hardly remember it, but when I think back, I feel like it was a lot like this. More hills, though."

She looked around the plains. It was hilly enough, here, but not enough to obscure their view. The tallest one was where the den was being dug, and where Easy had an idea to plant a few lavender bushes, if they could find them. "I've been thinking about going to visit," she added - because what would be better than taking some lavender from the den where they'd been born?

The cuesta? Lavender's brow creased for a split second, and as she tried to think of their home her gaze drifted and went out of focus. Easy's mention of hardly remembering rang true for the dappled girl as well, and she blew a little raspberry prior to adding, I don't know, that was such a long time ago - dunno how anyone could remember that. 

If it wasn't so different from the plains, then why not head there? Why did they stop here and decide that it was a suitable home? Easy's comments caused a number of questions to rise in her mind, but she didn't speak them. In the end she didn't really care enough about possible answers, and was happy to be roaming the flatlands regardless.

But when Easy mentioned visiting the cuesta, Lavender tilted her head, and then remembered the herbs. Ohhh, imagine if we planted things every day! This place would be covered in pretty flowers, and smelly herbs, and maybe even berries! What about trees? Can we -- can we plant some trees? She began to dance about the grassland as if invisioning the perfect layout of flora for their new home. We could plant a whole forest -- I mean, if we stayed here long enough.

Easy laughed, surprised. "You read my mind!" she claimed, glad to find that their bond seemed as strong as ever. With a rush of affection, Easy nuzzled the smaller girl's cheek. "I think that would be nice. Bushes and things everywhere. It'll bring more small game in - pheasants and rabbits and such. I was even thinking we could get some lavender from the patch that grew next to our birth den, and we could plant in on top of Morninghill for our baby brothers and sisters."

It would be annoying to drag a whole bush all the way back, but Easy thought it would be worth it for a good cause. Besides, she wanted to go see the Cuesta again, and she knew that Daddy wouldn't mind if he never even realized they were gone. "You haven't been on the last couple trips - you should come on this one."