Shadewood but now there's ice in my veins, oh

@Melaneus @Lycabas @Pyraethus and anybody in the pack who’d like to drop by! This is set before Themis went to Nimbus Summit, so April the 28th

The kids were pretty grown now.

Metis hadn’t quite grown out of biting yet, but Themis knew she would soon. Hopefully. The boys weren’t much trouble either, so she counted herself pretty damn lucky.

It was today, on this morning of mornings, that it was time to shove her children from the nest though. She started with Metis, plopping her into the leaf litter outside her den and ignoring the squall she received in return. Then she returned for the rest of the boys, grabbing the fire child first, and nudging the other two gently with one of her paws.

U’nda’em! She managed around her mouthful, plopping Pyraethus outside the den.

Children! This! She gestured to the ground

Is dirt!

the boy stretched his legs in indignation.  he liked to walk, and he could do it all by himself (thank you, mooom).  he did not have the opportunity to be upset for long.

pyraethus was dense.  he made a heavy sound when he was dropped outside the den, but he did not seem disturbed by it.  dirt, he echoed, swiping a paw against the ground and noticing how it yielded to his touch.

is everywhere. he stated.

If anyone needed to be carried it was Lycabas.

He groaned and resisted his mother's ushering, unhappy to oblige. She virtually had to shove him out into the morning light. As they were corralled onto the leafy ground, the burr of a child nipped whoever was nearest to him out of frustration, and then laid down in an act of defiance. He squinted, watching his mother signal to the ground as she encouraged them to speak.

He started to look elsewhere, disinterested. And as his eyesight adjusted, he noticed a beetle crawling nearby that was much more impressive. Unsurprisingly, he went after it.