Bearclaw Valley i fancied myself a witch

merrick was headed for the nearest border, because merrick's one motto thus far was "i do what i want." indra and tadec had instilled a pride in the boy not easily shaken. and while he was sure to be swept up by someone or other, the boy nevertheless marched resolutely toward what he had decided was today's destiny. 
he paused to glance into the sky; the child's ears fell back and he hesitated. the scent of bearclaw hung heavy here, marks enforced and reinforced. a border. did he dare cross?
it was only a handful of moments before merrick decided yes, indeed he wished to do so, and darted nervously for the scentline.

Bearclaw Valley's border was marked not only by scent but also by the opening in the walls that guarded the valley. It felt safe yet constricted, one or the other, at some point or other. Laurel had left the rendezvous site to sit by the valley's entrance for a short moment. To guard, to contemplate, to just be alone for a little while. She still wasn't sure what to do with Xan. As things were it clearly wasn't good but neither did she really want to upheave her life and that of her pups, risk all she had now, to kick him out or leave. Besides, the pack needed him right now -- numbers were low and they needed all the sustenance for the pups, needed the pack's hunters. The pack needed Xan, no matter what Laurel's personal needs were.

When she turned back into the territory to return to the 'vous site, Laurel suddenly noticed the little dark speck headed her way. At first she thought it must be Wyatt, but the closer it got the more she realised how small it was. She was baffled to find that it was Merrick as he came closer. Laurel wasn't too used to parenting over Merrick, but she didn't hesitate to be the mean aunt when he came darting her way. "Merrick!" she called out to him sharply, her voice stern and her tail lifted in the air as she approached him with a face that meant business, as Laurel came from the borders towards him. Hopefully that was enough to stop him in his tracks.

thanks for joining! <3 feel free to powerplay the little brat lol

just a few more feet separated merrick from the promised land beyond the border, but a familiar voice rang out. its authority halted the boy in his tracks; he regarded his aunt laurel with a mixture of indignation and wariness. as he had not caught her scent, he was annoyed that he'd missed her trajectory back into bearclaw. now he was caught, and her tail flagged over her haunches.
within the boy was the instinct to submit, but there also existed the desire to do what he wanted. merrick whined placatingly, ears folding back against his head — and then he dashed for the border, streaking with full speed ahead. if he could just exit! then there was no way his mean ol' aunt could follow.
or such was merrick's logic.

Laurel expected her nephew to respond like her own children would have: stopped and looked guiltily at her. But instead he suddenly started to dash. Laurel was taken aback for a moment, as she hadn't expected this at all.

Then, after a few moments, she dashed straight after him. Since he was still young it was easy to catch up with him. Laurel uttered a warning growl as she dashed for him, then, assuming there was no response to it, Laurel body-checked Merrick to try and throw him to the ground, after which she dove on him to grab his scruff.

as fast as merrick thought he was, he did not expect laurel to move so swiftly. a second after her 'don't do it' growl slapped the back of his ears, he was body-smacked to the ground and firmly scruffed. with absolutely no concept of what this looked like, having never experienced it before, merrick's instincts engaged.
a contrite yelp sparked the air; the boy huddled beneath laurel with his tail tightly curled under him, ears cupping his skull and a general desperation clinging to his features.

Laurel roughly shoved Merrick into the ground while a growl bubbled in her throat. Luckily his instincts kicked in almost instantly and he made himself small beneath her, giving in to her authority. Laurel relaxed soon after and let go of his scruff again. "Listen to your aunt," she hissed as she looked down at him, then continued in a strict voice: "What were you thinking?! It's dangerous to go out there alone!"

literally everything in the entire world sucked right now, and it was all aunt laurel's fault. not feeling daring enough to challenge her again, merrick sniffled wiltingly beneath her scolding. the concern beneath her firm voice spoke to him; he snuck a glance up into her stern face. "bored," merrick mumbled, rolling his velveteen shoulders. "wan' play?" he chirped, hoping to ingratiate himself with the leader. "can i come wiv you?"

Rather than an understanding of what she was telling him, Merrick responded with how very bored he was and that he wanted to join his aunt or play with her. Laurel huffed to show how insulted she was by his misbehaviour and said: "Merrick! Are you listening to a word I'm saying? You're not allowed to go out alone and when I told you to stop you tried to run away! What do you have to say for yourself?" She further ignored all the questions he had asked and stared him down, hoping that her words would make a bigger impact this time.

beneath his aunt's onslaught of questions, merrick truly began to feel remorseful. not halfway through her brisk address and his bottom lip was trembling. when laurel had finished, demanding an answer, puppyish tears crept down merrick's dark cheeks. "'m sowwy. won' do it again!" he whined pitifully, shuffling himself against the ground. it wasn't much of an answer, but the boy was contrite, drawing his tail up against his underbelly with a sniffle.

Sympathy came quickly once the boy started to cry. Laurel's expression softened and she leaned in to touch his forehead after he pitifully apologised while he cried. "Well, alright, so long as you'll be a good boy from now on," said Laurel with a soft, sweet smile. "Nobody likes a naughty boy." Which she knew from experience, because she had been a naughty child and nobody had liked her -- she didn't want Merrick to befall the same fate. And anyway, she just didn't have the energy to deal with naughty children on top of everything else, really, so he would just have to behave.

"Alright, let's go play. What do you wanna do?" Laurel said, clearly ready to leave the entire incident behind them.

as quick as laurel's anger had been there, it abated, and merrick learned a valuable lesson about his tones. the right ones could anger, the others did not. when his aunt leant in, the boy sought to swipe her chin with his tongue, approximating what he had seen others do. there. now she truly knew he was sorry.
"ummmm," he mused, tilting his head to one side. "we go see da birds?" by this he meant where a little flock of sparrows came to feed in the valley, a berry-patch near its entrance. his eyes blinked imploringly at the woman, tail swaying a bit behind his round haunches.

She smiled as Merrick sealed her improving mood with a respectful lick to the chin. When he mentioned seeing the birds, she knew exactly what birds he meant; she'd seen him stare at the sparrows from time to time. Laurel nodded and said: "Alright, let's go see 'em."

She nosed Merrick's shoulder in encouragement to go and lead the way while she came into motion, then adapting her pace to however slow or fast Merrick was headed to the place.

gonna slap an ending on this <3

laurel might have punished him, but merrick was visibly thrilled at her next words. and she would take him to see the birds! with a little cry of delight, the boy started off at a run. however, memories of what had recently occurred flared fresh in his mind, and merrick instead slowed to a respectful trot. they moved off together and it was not long before he was counting the birds for laurel, stumbling over his numbers and yet armed with a child's confidence.