Sun Mote Copse Down the road and on the right-hand side

About time Niamh met some of the other wigglers. Guess these guys are more movers and shakers now, than wigglers, haha. Free to assume Niamh hasn't met any of them yet- she's been more or less hermiting with her kids.

@Avery @Sugar Glider @Penn @Crow @Finley @Elwood @Eljay @Elfie @Weejay

Though the kids were getting harder to handle, it was even harder for Niamh to stay cooped up with them all the time. They were getting better at getting around, which meant that keeping them in one place was a trick and a half- but they seemed to listen to their father pretty well, so Niamh felt alright leaving them with their Dad, so that she could finally go out and meet some of the other new additions to the pack. Finley had already come to visit her, as had Eljay- so she planned to make two stops, and repay them for their pleasant company. 

They were both far better parents than she was, as far as she could tell. Taking a note from Finley, Niamh had gone out in search of a gift to bring for the newest set of Finwoods. And then she remembered- both families now lived together, or so she thought. Eljay had moved in with his parents, right? Bringing their two families together, to make it easier for him to cope and to take care of his own two kids, rather than roughing it on his own. She half-hoped she'd be able to do the same soon- moving her kids to the rendez-vous site where all the pups could play together...And where her two could learn some manners. It'd be a bit of a shock for them, she figured- especially where they were the youngest kids in the pack. They'd have some catching up to do in order to be able to keep up with the others- but at least it would tire them out, right?

She caught a pheasant and carried that with her, until she arrived at her destination, dropped it, and called out. "Come 'n' get it, Childlings," She said, somewhat awkwardly. How was she supposed to treat someone else's kids? Was she supposed to Mom them too? And if she did...Well, her parenting techniques were definitely different than Eljay's or Finley's or Elwood's. Hopefully, though, she wouldn't have to worry about them being a challenge, like Bronco. "Auntie Niamh's here," She called out. She was an auntie, right? At least to Finley's kids, for sure. But how she was related to Eljay's kids she'd never really know, unless someone told her. It would definitely have freaked Niamh out to know that she was Weejay and Elfie's great-aunt. That would've made her feel old and creepy- so it's probably best that she didn't figure that out yet.

"Go on," Elwood said, encouraging Avery to leave the den to visit with Aunt Niamh. But the puppy stayed stubbornly stuck to his right foreleg, her body positioned carefully behind it as she peeked out at the unfamiliar she-wolf. Elwood rolled his eyes. "It's just a phase," he explained to Niamh, giving his leg a shake in hopes of dislodging his daughter.

Avery shook her head and stuck her lower lip out in her customary pout. But she ducked her head to the side in order to glance at her siblings; perhaps if they were a bit more outgoing, she would follow their lead.

Unlike his far more polite sister, Pox was on it. He needed only to glance at his father and hear his encouragement to go darting out the door to go see what was going on out there, completely unconcerned that the encouragement had not actually been directed at him. He was also completely unconcerned when Finley called out to him, "No tackling!", which was evidenced by the fact that he was going full-tilt linebacker at his aunt.

Fortunately, the boy was distracted mid-sprint by the gift she had brought, so it was the dead pheasant that was pounced. He toppled over it with zero grace whatsoever, but rolled back onto all fours with an eager wag of his tail to go sniff it all over. With a sigh, Fin perched herself at the mouth of the den and smiled at her sister-in-law. "See? Blackthorns everywhere. The pack is so screwed," she grinned, watching as Pox began to growl and gave the bird's wing a good chomp.

The kids were encouraged by both parents to come out and meet their aunt, who waited expectantly for them. As per usual, the kids were mostly greyscale in colour- a few markings here and there, with the soft dorsal strips marking she knew to expect, but they definitely differed in personality. The first to emerge did so only when Elwood literally had to peel her from his leg, and continued to stay at a distance, cautious. "S'OK." Niamh said. "I'm a stranger to ya right now. Not supposed to talk to strangers," She said, quoting something that her parents had tried to teach her when she'd been young. She gave the little girl a wink, and then turned her attention as another little Finwood came barrelling out of the den toward her. 

She lowered herself down into a play-bow, ready to absorb the impact from the little fella that was charging toward her- but his attention was grabbed by the pheasant, and he went for that instead. She chuckled. "So what're your names?" She asked the kids, fully expecting their parents to answer for them.

"Not supposed to talk to strangers," the stranger had said, and, eyes wide, Avery did just that. Her mouth clammed shut, lips pressed tightly together, even as Pox and Finley emerged from the den as well. Elwood made another effort to push her out into the open air, but she shook her head even more fiercely than before and he sighed good-naturedly and rolled his eyes.

Avery watched as Pox barreled into the gift brought by Stranger Auntie Niamh. Her curiosity was piqued, but she was still feeling too fearful to approach on her own. She glanced at her dad, then her mom, then to Pox and the bird carcass, and back again no less than three times before she slowly began to tiptoe away from Elwood's leg. She took two steps and then froze when Stranger Auntie Niamh asked for her name; her lips remained pursed.

"That's Avery," Elwood introduced for her, then gestured at Pox with his snout. "He's Foxegrine. Sugar Glider and Crow are around here somewhere," he added.

This bird thing was SO COOL! It smelled like woods and dirt and wind and blood, all things he liked. He grabbed a wing in his little jaws and tugged, a little, rumbly growl echoing out of his chest as he did so. The adults were speaking around him, but he was unconcerned. At least, he was until he heard his own name spoken. At that, he looked up at Elwood, then glanced at the pretty yellow wolf, to whom he shouted "I'm a POX!" before merrily returning to the pheasant. He dug his teeth again into the wing and gave it a vigorous shake as Fin snorted with laughter over her son's innocently astute proclamation.

Just like her own two children, there was a pretty big difference in the personalities of two of Elwood's kids. Similarly, the little girl was quite a bit more reserved, though Avery seemed a bit more shy and nervous than Nellie was. Nellie was sweet and polite, and her shyness could be worn away easily as soon as she was introduced. Pox- boisterous and playful, went straight for the gift he'd been given, and thogh Avery had taken a few steps forward, she froze as soon as she was asked for her name. 

She chuckled at the pronunciation of Foxegrine's name and sent a glance to Finley, who seemed just as amused. "Pox, eh? You're a tough guy!" She said, before she settled down onto the ground, laying half on her side so that perhaps Avery might relax a bit more. She left the louder pup to chew and play with the pheasant, and turned a soft gaze toward the shy girl- but chose not to ask her more questions, as it seemed to make her nervous. "I like their names." She said, to Elwood. "Crazy to think someday they'll be adults; unless they decide never to grow up, like us," She laughed.

Pox made up for Avery's silence with a loud announcement of his own, then dug back into his prize. Avery remained rooted to the spot for a few seconds longer as the adults conversed around her -- "Yeah, I don't think they're growing up anytime soon," Elwood quipped with a laugh, although it was likely that Pox would disagree with him. He was already growing too big for his britches.

Back to Avery -- she finally unfroze and began to creep closer to Pox, moving as if in slow motion. She sent a furtive glance in Stranger Auntie Niamh's direction, but continued to tiptoe towards her brother. When she reached him, she peered over his shoulder, eyes glued to the bird's wing. She wanted it, but knew she couldn't take it from him -- would he be willing to share? Her tail-tip wiggled appeasingly as she gave her brother a beseeching smile.

Pox barely paid attention as the adults spoke and his sister crept forward to partake in his fun. He was too busy throttling the wing with all his might. By the seventh time he'd jerked his head to and fro, he dropped the wing to the ground to take a moment to catch his breath. His eyes were still glued to the treasure, thoughts of his intentions racing. He wanted to tear it to shreds, and so he dove back down to grab at it with his teeth, latching onto a few loose feathers and ripping them free with a hard tug.

The action proved to be extremely satisfying, like popping bubble wrap. He spat the feathers out and went back in to grab a few more, quickly deciding he very much liked this new game and setting his focus upon it while the adults conversed and Avery sniffed about beside him.