Phoenix Maplewood you are the bubbles to my bath

The forest was vastly different from the plains. Instead of tall grasses, there were these giant brown trunks that led into bushy tops. Trees they were called. She'd learned this. And they had leaves. And the sticky stuff that oozed out of them was called sap. And sometimes they dropped their leaves because they were starting to turn colors and stuff. They were green most of the year, but since it was fall now they were all sorts of colors. Yellows and reds and oranges. They were all kinds of pretty and stuff. She liked them.

Sart was roaming the inner territories admiring the leaves. They weren't quite close enough for all of them to be falling yet. Here and there one would fall and she chase after it and pounce on it simply because it moved and she a strange urge to chase after it. The leaf crackled beneath her tiny paws and she laughed with glee at it all before something else caught her attention. Something was falling. And it was spinning.

With wide, curious and fascinated eyes, Sart watched as the maple seeds fell from the trees. They spun, twirling like little dancers in the air as they spiraled to the ground. She chased after these too, trying to snatch them out of the air with jaws as they spun to the ground. Oh no! She missed that one, but she pounced on it all the same. Then, she hunkered down and waited for another to fall so she could chase after that one too.

Autumn had rapidly descended upon the maplewood. Perhaps that is why they called it fall, as any attempt to prolong the inevitable would simply be met with the futility of acting against nature. Like a natural stumble, there was no turning back now. The leaves of the maplewood had begun to change shade, thus singling the long march to winter. If Reek hadn't known what would soon come, he may have found himself wrapped up in the beauty of the forest. The reds, the oranges; a forest on fire. But beneath his happy, optimistic shell, rested a realist— unfazed by the cosmetic changes.

Preparations were to be made. This was a simple fact. Caches needed to be stocked.  Herbs needed to be gathered. The works. These tasks would have been difficult enough on their own, but Reek was now providing for three. Despite Saena being his mate, Reek expected no help from her.  The coy-pups were his burden alone. Nevertheless, he never once regretted his decision as to pull the pups out of the plains and relocate them here. His plan remained unshaken.  
After a full day patrolling the borders and hunting what he could for the pups, Reek finally allowed himself a break. Even though he was dog tired, Reek still couldn't sit still so he set off through the territory and watched the orange glow of the sun shine thought the changing leaves as he walked. Eventually, he came upon one of the pups he provided for. Sart. Smiling, he watched from a distance as she snapped at the spinning maple seeds.

The twirly things were by far her favorite. The way they spun, spiraling like little helicopters, was absolutely fascinating. She lowered on her forepaws, rump in the air and wiggling like a cat as she prepared to jump for the next one. There! She sprung, prancing through the glade to pounce on it with her paws as soon as it landed. Got it! She squeed in delight as she picked the fragile seeds up in her tiny teeth. She pierced it, accidentally crushing the maple seeds. Her ears fell before she noticed another falling. Distracted, she forgot the broken one beneath her paws and went for the other.

In her prancing, she realized she was not alone. She nearly ran into Reek before she realized he was here. Her eyes widened as she stepped back a few paces and remembered her sister's voice pressing through her mind. Bow. Sart lowered herself, puppy bottom in the air with her tail tucked as she abandoned her game to bow before Reek. She said nothing. There was a strange sort of tension between the coyote pups and the wolves here. She felt it and didn't know what to do about it. So bowing it was.

Reek lost himself for a moment as he watched the pup at play. He almost felt a twinge of envy for her childlike sense of wonder and her ability to experience the world as new. No matter how hard Reek tried to retain his pup-like demeanor, the effort was futile. The bitterness of age and experience had already taken root long ago. No matter how wide he smiled or how much he joked, the damage, it was irrevocable. But, Sart, she was young, and Reek wished to preserve that childlike innocence for as long as he could and protect her from the bittering forces of the world.

But soon, once she took notice of Reek (by nearly bounding square into him), her little game drew to an abrupt close. She prostrated herself before him with a bow causing Reek to raise a wolfen brow in confusion. What would make her think she would need to bow? Especially for him? Reek refrained from asking, seeing as the coyote pup was far too young to give an appropriate answer. "You don't have to do that Sart," he mentioned before gently nudging her out of her prostrate position. "Do you want to play?" he asked with a childlike grin.

Head low, tail tucked, rump in the air, she peeked upwards at him and then lowered her eyes too. Ears flattened against her head. She wasn't quite sure what the protocol here was, but she'd figure it out. Oh wait. Her bum was up. She lowered that too, tucking her hind paws beneath her as she crouched and made herself as small a bundle of tiny fur as possible.

Reek spoke. She peeked again, peering up at him with one eye open as she contemplated his words. "Dun hafta do what?" she asked finally, deciding it was worth asking. He nudged her and she flopped over on her side. A paw ended up tucked over her nose and she peered out from underneath it, glancing up at him as he asked if she wanted to play.

Her question was immediately forgotten as she hopped back to her feet and bowed again, this time more spirited than before. Her tiny tail wagged above her head as she bounced around and landed in that low bow a few times, yipping all the while. "Let's play Week! I wanna play!" She had no idea what, but everything was fascinating so pretty much anything would do. "I was chase being twirly thingies."

In the short time he had spent in his guardianship of the coyote pups, Reek had already discerned that Sart had a much deeper well of playful enthusiasm than her sister. But, beyond her zest for life was her ability to trust. Perhaps the social experiment had not been completely spoiled by Saena's actions after all.  The thought that his work wouldn't go to waste brought a smile to Reek's face— That, and the bouncing coyote beneath his feet was surely helping.

As soon as the word play passed Reek's lips, Sart's confusion over prostration gave way into enthusiastic bouncing. Reek grinned, and lowered the front of his body to the coyote's level, allowing his rump to sway in the air as he engaged in an excited play-bow. How he would even play with one this young, Reek had no idea. Despite his connection to children, this sort of thing was a first for Reek. Above all, he didn't want to break her.

Instead of making the first move, he shot Sart a quick smile and said, "Come and get me little one!" before he braced himself and prepared to gently counter the pup's incoming onslaught.

Reek echoed her. He sank down into a bow that was far larger than her own given their difference in size. Sart's eyes widened. Was he really going to play? Really? She hadn't really had a playmate before. Regipre always seemed more interested in watching things than in doing anything with her so the idea of a playmate was extremely exciting.

However, when Reek asked her to "come and get him" she suddenly realized she had no idea what to do with the invitation. She stared at him for a moment, her tail still wagging until it slowed and eventually stopped only to sag a little to the left. How was she supposed to "get" him. She wasn't quite sure what that looked like.

Her mental collapse brought on a physical response. She fell over on to the ground and lay on her side, looking at him with a sad look of failure. "I dunna know hows," she whined as she tucked her nose back between her paws and curled into a fetal position.

He watched with excited anticipation as the coyote continued to bounce around with gusto.  But, her youthful energy soon faded as she crumpled to the floor in confusion— which only further amplified Reek's own confusion in turn. His helicoptering tail ceased it's whirring motion.  He rose from his play bow and stared blankly at the pup.

"What? You mean—" Reek was dumbfounded. "What?" he repeated incredulously. How could she not know how to play? He'd seen her do it. She chased butterflies and maple-seeds alike, how was this the crux of confusion? Perhaps she had never had the chance to play with another; Reggie seemed to be the type that was above having fun. Poor kid, she didn't know what she was missing.

"Come'ere, I'll teach you," he beckoned. There was no way he would let her go without teaching her the basics of playtime. Reek figured he'd start with something simple. Chase. "I'm going to take off into the woods, and you're going to try and catch me? Does that sound fun Sart?"

"Teach me?" she inquired, lifted her head from where it had been tucked beneath a paw. She flipped herself to her stomach and watched him as he tried to explain what it meant to come and get him. Week was gonna run. She was going to try to catch him? How? She tipped her head in confusion and stared at him blankly. What was he talking about.

"I dun get it," Sart said after a while. He was so big! And she was so little. She wasn't so sure how she was supposed to catch him. Maybe it was something akin to that hunting thing she was supposed to learn? But she hadn't been teached that quite yet so she didn't know where to start. Running maybe? She needed a demonstration.

Oh! Idea! "Maybe Sart take off and Week try catch?" Yeah. That would work. Sart hopped up to her paws, took a deep breath, and started running.

His suggestions were met with only more confusion. The coyote's expression gave her away.  Reek's wide smile faltered for a moment; play was turning into hard work, and Reek racked his brain for even simpler ideas to show Sart something fun.  Thankfully, before Reek could suggest something else, the proverbial lightbulb went off over Sart's head with a play revelation. "Now you're getting it!" exclaimed Reek, partially relieved that this particular pressure of pseudo-fatherhood was now off his back.  

She took off into the wood as fast as her stubby little legs could take her and Reek counted to five in head before setting off in pursuit. She was slow; her motor skills had not yet been finely developed. Normally, Reek would have made short work on coyote. His long and lanky strides would win out every time. But instead, he took off after her in a slow, feigned-run and allowed her to have her distance as she wove through the trees.

And when she eventually tired out, Reek would move in for the catch.

Sart took off at a run. Every now and then, she'd flip her head over her shoulder to see if Reek was following. He was. She'd giggle and take off again, finding a clumsy burst of speed to push her further and further into the forest. She popped behind a tree. When he got close, she darted off to the next one with a bright little smile on her face that was thrilled to wait for the next time he found her new little hide-y hole.

She had no idea if she was playing the game right, but she was having fun all the same. Regipre didn't really like playing. Her sister seemed more the type to watch and stare. Her brother? Sart didn't really remember much of him. Since their mother had really always been out hunting and such, she didn't have much experience with interacting with others. Her little world truly was narrow, but this was proving to be a lot of fun.

At the sight of a bush in the distance, Sart jumped straight into it. She twisted within the branches as she shuffled her body around to peek through the limbs back at Reek. She giggled. He wouldn't be able to to chase her in here. She had disappeared.

They bobbed and weaved from tree to tree, laughing with every stride. While Reek had always approached life with a childlike, jovial optimism, he couldn't remember the last time he had genuinely had so much fun— and with a coyote no less. Sart had very quickly taken on the role of a surrogate daughter, at least, Reek felt that way. He held a different attachment to her than her sister. She was receptive, Regipre on the other-hand, was a closed book.

"I'ma gonna get you," he called out playfully to the scurrying pup. He sped up his approach. Closer. Closer. But before Reek could reach out and wrap the pup up in a rolling tumble, she darted beneath the cover of a bush— completely out of sight.

Her giggles gave her away, but Reek played along. "Oh no," he whispered. "Where'd she go?" He circled the bush a couple times before approaching the rear. He poked his head under the brush and chittered an excited, "Boo!"

She was so sneaky hiding in her bush. Reek would never be able to find her. Sart peered out between the thinning branches and watched as the dark wolf approached her and looked around. She giggled. Sart was super good at this hiding thing. She could hide in here forevers and he'd never ever ever find her!

His taunting only caused her to giggle more. The bush rattled with her laughing, but as long as she was inside the bush she could neither be seen, nor heard. It was the most perfectest hiding place of all times ever. He circled. She eventually quieted and watched him. Then all of a sudden —

"Eeeee!" she squealed. In her sudden bit of playful fright, Sart flopped out of the bush and topped out onto the ground. "You founded me!" She flipped over to her stomach and lay there spread eagle, her tiny tail waving behind her as she looked up to him. "Did I's come and get you right?"

Wanna finish it up here and have another soon?

His ploy worked and she flopped right out of the bush like a happy little rag doll. While she may have not been to one to actually come and get him, Reek wasn't about to spoil all the fun that she had by correcting her. "You did fantastic Sart!" he beamed before placing a sloppy wet lick across her forehead as a congratulations. It was unfortunate that her sister wasn't much of a playmate, however, Reek was more than content to fill in that role whenever he could.

"I bet you've worked up quite an appetite," he added, smiling down at the prone puppy. "Come one, let's go get you something." Nudging her flank slightly with his muzzle, Reek turned and ventured further into the maplewood under the assumption that the coyote would follow.