Flowers or no flowers, Maera would not be stopped from exploring her new home. The biggest mistake she had ever made was to neglect the world outside the four walls of the den while still at the Creek. She had been a victim of her own laziness, her own lethargy had been the one who cut her wings. It was only now that she was millions of miles away, that she missed the flowers and muddy puddles of the Creek. She would not make the same mistake again.

She had woken up in record time. There was no complaining or grunting, it was as if she had taken off a metaphorical pijama that contained the source of her lazy-nature and she had dressed herself in determination.

With her eyes wide open and her tail wriggling in the air, she tip-toed to the den's entrance, carefully placing her clown feet so that she wouldn't disturb her slumbering and non-slumbering siblings. Once outside, the little girl craned her neck and glued her nose to the ground. Then she began pacing the surrounding area of the den's mouth, ocassionally snorting up dirt or little pieces of hair left behind.

Jökull was always snuggled up against somebody. Preferred it that way, resting her heavy head down on someone after a long day of exploring, sharing in their warmth and fondness should he or she were willing to give or receive. She was starting to become aware of how much she relished preening/being cleaned. Not that she had anything against being dirty. She just...liked the sensation of her tongue gliding against fur.
        The only drawback? Fur balls. Yuck.
        A pointed sound drew her away from dreams of cleanliness. Opening her eyes, she lazily rolled away from her brothers to get up and stretch. She did this for quite some time, pacing to the mouth of the den to analyze whatever was going on outside. Maera had her nose to the earth, sniffling and snorting. Was she looking for something?
         “Mae,” she droned to draw her sister's attention away. “Wha are you doin'?”

Just as the first-born was climbing out the den's mouth, one of those pesky hairballs (not digested) was sucked into her nose.After a long fit of sneezes, the girl was able to get rid of the pesky tickling on her nostrils, but she didn't continue her journey before swiping her tongue over her nose a couple of times, just for good measure. Then as she was readying herself to continue, a familiar voice called her name.

Maera spun around like a ballerina, her lip curling into a toothy smile that would've seemed silly to an adult --Danica. "JOJO!" she greeted her loudly, her tail waving invitingly as she padded quickly to meet her sister.
Once they stood face to face, the fire child swinged her head from side to side, as if she were looking for any spies in the area. Then with a hushed voice, a first for Maera, she whispered,"Lookin' fo' a treashuuure".

"Wanna help?" she barked invitingly, her hazel eyes sinking into her big sister, and part-time hero's own eyes.

Being groggy still, Jökull had not anticipated Maera to twirl about to address her with a lopsided grin. Exuberance colored the fiery girl's words, calling to her endearingly. Jojo? Hm. That would take some getting used to. So long as Maera was the only one to say it.
        “Hiii,” she merrily greeted with a slothful wag of her tail. Perplexed into silence by Maera's succor, Jökull made an 'O' with her mouth. Treasure, huh? Wonder what treasure we could find around here, thought Jökull whilst heartily meeting her sister's gilded gaze.
        “Yeah! But...what kinds of treashuuure we lookin' for?” She had to ask if she was to be of any use to Maera. Perhaps she had a specific object or locality in mind?

The little girl's tail began swishing erratically as her sister agreed to take part in her treasure hunt. It was usually Jokull who decided the games, but she was happy that this time the ashen babe was following her lead. A happy yap followed with a little juggle of her bum was Maera's response, that before answering Jokull's question in a low , confidential tone.

"Pwetty things" she whispered, pushing her snout against her sister's earlobe. Then with a last mischivoues wink, something she had learned from adults, she spun around and continued sniffing the ground, inspecting every inch like a crime scene.

Thought the explanation given was reallly vague, Maera was confident that whatever Jokull found would be useful and would make a nice gift for either Mommy or Daddy. Or if it was super special, it would go directly to the Ultraconfidential Girl Club*.

[size=x-small]*A small hollow log she had found on a previous expedition, which so far contained a feather and a stick[/size]

What with the way Maera was acting, Jökull thought her sister was hording a bunch of knickknacks away from snoopy vagabonds. All this whispering and skulking about...Who could say for sure Maera was not doing just that?
         “Pwetty things...” Jökull wondered what constituted as “pwetty things.” Was Maera talking about plants? The kind that are vibrant, colorful, and emit an unspoiled odor? What were they called again...? Flowers is what Tuwawi called them. Ah, yes, she remembered how Maera had taken a liking to these “flower” things back at the Creek. But, let's not ponder on that – now was not the time for gloomy recollections.
        “You is pwetty,” piped up Jökull. It was an unrehearsed observation while trailing behind Maera wherever she went. Maera looked so much like mommy it wasn't even funny. The only differences between Tuwawi and Maera was their size and their eyes. Even so, Jökull had somehow gathered that Maera was not looking for compliments.

Though Maera was still far from becoming a professional hoarder, she was on her way. What had started with a silly joke of hiding a stick one of her brothers had been playing with for herself had turned into a very serious hobby that had brought her to find her own secret clubhouse. Now, that her collection was quickly growing -- a feather and a stick were all that laid in the treasure chest so far-- Maera found the need to get an acomplice. And who would be better than Jokull?

The Sveijarn sisters had been partners in crime since the days they laid in their mother's womb, or at least that's how Maera thought of it. That's why she had decided to spill her secret to Jokull and no one else, because if there was someone she'd like to take with her if everything went down in flames it was her. (though it sounded a little selfish that way)

But selfishness was one of Maera's greatest not-virtues. Especially now that she was getting into keeping collections. As her sister began to think of pretty things that could be of use, the little Mini-Tuwawi wiggled with excitement, her ears pricked towards her so not one of Jo's brilliant ideas was missed.

However when the older girl made her observation, Maera didn't answer with much etiquette. Not knowing that her sister was in fact giving her a compliment, the girl flicked her tail around and met her eyes to Jokull's own. "Yes but another thing, smaller" she barked bluntly, uncounciously accepting the compliment given but still paying to attention to it. Besides she could not stay at the Club forever, they needed things that could be easily hidden and light for them to carry.

With a thoughtful, hmm, Maera spun on her feet, determined to teach Jokull the art of treasure-hunting. "Like dis, you sniff, you find" she barked, feigning to follow a track while snorting up dirt as she went.