Stone Circle Let it go

Steph had not been out of the den in a couple days now. Not since returning from her encounter of the scary male wolf. But, curiosity would not allow her to stay couped up forever.

It was mid-day, and her head finally popped out of the den, looking around to see if the male was there. He wasn't, though neither was anyone else. That suited her just fine. She walked a few feet and sat back on her haunches, soaking up the warmth of the sun. There was a crisp in the air that she hadn't remembered before, and she couldn't decide if she liked it or not. But, with the sun out, she didn't feel bad. 

She looked around, a little bored, but not feeling adventurous enough to explore beyond the den area. The young pup spotted a stick and bounded over to it. She picked it up and pranced around with it, as if she had gotten a prize.

Sunny woke up from a nap outside his den, where he had stretched out on the ground in the warmth of the sun. It was one of those days where the air was chilled but in the patches of sunlight there was eough warmth to make the most pleasant of feelings. He lifted his head and blinked the sleep from his eyes licking his maw and embarrassed to find that he had been drooling. Pushing himself off the ground he walked toward the center of the den area, looking to see if he could find someone who would want to have a chat or take a walk.


It was quiet today Sunny noticed as he walked, seeing nobody around. He figured everyone was out doing something or resting within the walls of their den. Up ahead he saw a small little figure bumbling around with something in it's mouth. Moving closer he realized it was one of Valette's pups and he sat down on the ground, giving a gentle chuff to let her know he was there so she wouldn't startle.

It was a lazy sort of day, lived in the denial that summer had slipped them by and winter loomed ever closer. Early morning she had spent in the hunt; stocking the caches as she could. She found herself back by the dens soon enough, however, attracted by the movement of one of Valette's pups. She was not the first to arrive; Sunny beat her there. But just as well; the pups might like someone who could speak to them better than one who could not. She sat silently beside the boy, offering him a benign smile before turning her attention to the prancing pup, smile playing at her muzzle.

It wasn't long before Steph's ears picked up a sound and she turned to see what it was. A gray male sat at the edge of the small clearing, and Steph regarded him a moment, watching to see what his body language would tell her. Was he friend or foe?

Before she could decide, another, lighter gray, wolf approached and sat next to him. This one had scars that littered her face, and Steph looked, unabashed since manners had not been taught yet. 

Feeling these two were friends, Steph pranced over to them, stick in maw as she approached the male first. She dropped the stick at his paws, expecting him to have just as much fun with it as she had. She turned her attention to the girl, her nose attempting to sniff the scars on her face. Though, Steph had no idea what they were. For all she knew, they were just unique markings that caught her eye. 

But, her attention didn't stay focused for very long before she was on to the next thing that captivated her. It just so happened to be the girl's tail. Steph pounced without warning, her sharp teeth attempting to grab her intended target.

Sunny held still though he gave a few light wags of his tail to show that he was friendly, before his ears flicked and he heard Keoni approach. He turned to watch her move closer to him his heart fluttering in that weird familiar way it always did when Keoni was around. He smiled back at her, his signature goofy lopsided smile that honestly could have been charming or made him look foolish. Looking back toward the pup he remained silent and lowered his head slightly as she bounded over to him, dropping her stick at his paws. "Thank you!" he said politely and placed a paw over the stick and lowered his muzzle to it, grabbing it in his larger jaws and chewing on it before lifting it up and smiling around the wood.

Much to his amusement the girl turned her attention onto Keoni, sniffing at her scars before turning to look at her fluffy tail. Sunny dropped the stick and watched, a deep chuckle leaving his maw as the pup attacked Keoni's tail.

The girl moved to sniff at her scars, and Keoni's ears flicked back warily before she realized that the girl had likely never seen anything like them before. She hummed softly, one of the few vocalizations she could make easily, gaze watching the girl as her interest abruptly shifted to her own feather tail. Luckily for Keoni, she caught on quickly to the pup's train of thought and flicked her tail away at the last moment. She teased it before the girl again, mirth dancing in her gaze and still humming happily.

Steph hadn't realized that the tail might move before she got to it, and therefore wasn't prepared for it not to be in place once she pounces. Her jaw hit the dirt as she skid, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tail move again. She got back up to her feet quickly and went after it again, a playful little growl coming from her throat naturally. 

A deep laugh caught her attention, and her gaze went to the male as her tail wagged in response. Now that he had her attention, she thought he looked like a good pouncing victim, and went up on her rear legs while attempting to bring her front legs down on his lower back. He was sitting, so this wouldn't be so hard, as long as he didn't move. But, while she hadn't anticipated the tail of the girl moving, she learned quickly. Instead of assuming he would stay put, she put her weight on her back legs so that if he did move, she wouldn't fall back on her face.

Sunny winced as the small girl faceplanted to the dirt when Keoni moved her tail away, but he quickly noticed that it wasn't the light furred female who had the pup's attention anymore but him instead. He watched over his shoulder as she reared up but he made no move to get away, instead he slid down onto his belly so that if she wanted to she could clamber on up and attack him.

He had no problem with letting the pup go at it, and to even encourage him he turned his head over his shoulder and attempted to place a slobbery lick at her face. laughing again he turned around, his tail thumping a pattern into the dirt below him as he gave keoni a goofy grin and rolled his eyes motioning to the pup behind him. Pups huh?... the silent gesture seemed to say in a playful manner as he knew all too well that he was still young and considered a pup among the adults. He hoped she would know that he was trying to be kind and helpful by using bodily communication and not trying to pity or baby her.

for a while longer the pair played with the tiny girl, Keoni's heart warming with affection for her tiny (sort-of) sister. soon, however, when the older pair were tired of being chomped on and the girl weary, she led Steph back to Valette, parting ways with Sunny soon after.