Stone Circle Mud slipping and sliding.

PUPS! @Taktuq @Ikiaq @Kallik Other Packmates welcome

Yes, it had been raining. It had been raining a lot. But Valette wanted to do something nice with the pups, something fun to break the patterns a bit. When she woke up this morning when to fetch them at the rendezvous site. Normally she would do this in the wintertime when there was snow and ice, but since the ground was so wet it would work as well. Where the forest made way for the plains, and where the ground sloped down a small mudslide had formed by one of the cracks from the earthquakes.

She woofed to the pups and told them to follow her. They were going to do something fun. She guided them to the mudslide and grinned. "Who is ready for some fun?," she asked with a smile, and then had her eyes go over the four of them @Selamuit seemed like he would want to try it. So she picked him and told him to lie down between her paws, as she went to lie down to. Then Valette kicked off with her hindlegs and down they went. Valette grinned as they slipped down on their bellies, Selamuit safe between her stretched front legs. Within seconds they were down the slope which was a short run uphill. Valette came back covered in mud. "Who is next?," she beamed.

Charles was coincidentally around when he heard Valette's voice -- who is ready for some fun -- and he genuinely didn't know what the word fun meant. Charles' vocabulary was rather underdeveloped as it was, anyway, because he had only had his aunt and mother and his aunt had shunned him, then died, and his mother did not seem to like him very much. She certainly didn't have a lot of fun, and so the word had simply never passed her lips towards him. If it had, he might have asked her what it was.

This piqued the coywolf's curiosity and so Charles headed over. He stared as Valette and one of the smaller pups slid down the hill and watched with mild confusion as he did so. He didn't ask the question on his mind though -- why tho?! -- and instead simply watched to see what would happen next.

Kallik was pretty wary at first. He was excited to spend time with Valette, but as usual, worried about leaving the rendezvous site. But since it was Valette leading them, he went despite his anxiety over the unknown. 

He stared down the muddy slope with suspicion, his mind coming up with multiple ways this could go badly. He took a few steps back and looked at Valette with a questioning look, wondering how this would be fun at all. He watched silently as his brother settled between her front legs, eyes widening as they slid down the hill. When they landed at the bottom, covered in mud, Kallik peered down. He was surprised at how fine they looked; they actually looked like they were having fun. A man he had never seen before came to watch as well, and Kallik regarded him with mild interest before looking back down at his family. 

When Valette came back to the top and asked who wanted to go next, there was a few moment's hesitation before he stepped forward. His tail wagged and his expression was expectant—he wanted to go next.

Continuing this thread to keep it active! @Ikiaq and @Taktuq still welcome!!

Valette noticed that Charles had joined them when she reached the top again. He looked questioningly at her it seemed. Valette grinned at him. "Hi Charles," she greeted. "Come to join our fun?," she asked him. She was unaware of the true upbringing the boy had, she felt that Laurel had been a good mother to him. Another something she had missed really by respecting Laurel's withdraw nature. Valette turned to the children again and was so proud of Kallik for stepping forward. She motioned him to come closer when the boy stepped forward.

Valette greeted him with a lick and a snuggle, before laying down again at the top of the mudslide. She looked at Kallik that she was ready and that he could come and sit between her front paws. It was heart warming to see that the boy was starting to be more comfortable outside the rendezvous site. "Ready?," she asked, she didn't gave him much time to reconsider though. She flashed a smile at Charles and the other pups before she pushed off with her hind legs. Valette made sure to not push off too hard.

Sliding down they went, for Valette a mild slope, and the mud was far slower than ice, but she was certain it would give Kallik enough thrill. She kept her front paws steady so Kallik couldn't slip away and was safe between her front paws. Her belly was already slick to the sliding was much smoother. They slipped down, Valette laughing, and slowly came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Valette wagged her tail and grinned at Kallik. "Wasn't that fun?," she grinned.

Charles blinked as Valette asked him if he was here to join in the 'fun'. He didn't know what that word was, but he also didn't want to ask because it would make him look stupid. While Charles was not the most sociable wolf, he also didn't want to look dumb so he remained silent at first and eventually he said: Maybe. I'll watch the babies go first. Because he wasn't a baby anymore, and it seemed more like a baby thing to do.

Charles silently waited and watched as one the pups eagerly stepped forward when Valette asked who would go next. They slid down the hill and Charles stared, wide-eyed, not sure what to make of this and all the while still wondering why they were doing this.

Ikiaq was concerned, watching his brothers and aunt slide down the mud hill. The boy was always wary of stuff like this, but after watching Selamuit and Kallik both successfully slide down, he kind of wanted to try as well. 

Brown eyes flickered over to the older male - he didn't really know him all that well, but he seemed interested in it too. 

"You wanna go with me?" he asked the older boy, patting a paw down on the larger brown wolf's own.

Kallik reveled in Valette's affection, offering a few small kisses to her chin in return. He settled between her front legs when her look suggested she was ready, nodding his answer when she asked if he was also ready. Then they were off, down the muddy hill. It was startling at first, gravity pulling them down the slick decline and taking some of his feeling of control away. But he felt Valette's arms snug around him, and he knew she wouldn't let him fall or get hurt. 

Her laughing only further relaxed him, so that by the time they were nearing the bottom, a soft, quiet laugh escaped his throat. It was just one small huff of sound, but it was the first time he could really remember making it in a long time. They came to relatively gentle stop and he grinned up at her as she asked if it had been fun. His tail beat against her, flinging mud in their faces, and he beamed up at her and nodded. He wanted to do that again. He offered her a few more kisses to her chin in thanks before taking a few steps forward and shaking mud from his stained fur. Then he looked to Valette for direction.

Valette didn't bother shaking herself off since she knew that she would get muddy again. It was these moments that she was the happiest with the kids smiling and looking so happy. She grinned at Kallik, clearly, he had liked the sliding as well. Valette started to climb the hill and look at Charles and Ikiaq. She trotted to the top. "Charles have you already decided if you want to go as well?," she asked with a smile. The female looked at Ikiaq. "Want to go with me or with Charles? Otherwise Kallik might steal your spot," she offered.

She then looked from Charles to the pups. Her eyes lit up, the mud trail was wide enough. "We can do a race? Charles and Iki, and Kallik and me. The first one down wins!," she challenged the others and went to lie down at the start of the mudslide. Her tail wagging.

When one of the kids came up to him to ask him to slide down the hill, Charles blinked in surprise. He didn't know what to say right away, but it wasn't long before Valette had already reached the top and asked him if he wanted to take Ikiaq or if she should. He wasn't sure why Valette asked Ikiaq about it, 'cause the guy had made it pretty clear he wanted to go with the coolest dude here. Little dude said he wanted to go with the coolest, he said with a grin. Let's get ready. Charles hadn't ever done this before, but he didn't feel very nervous. It looked pretty easy.

Valette proposed a race then, and Charles said, Yeah alright, let's race. C'mon lil' dude, let's beat some asses. Charles lay down at the start of the mud slide himself, ready to race. He didn't remember feeling excited for anything in his life, really, but this was pretty.. uh.. fun, he supposed? It was a pretty foreign feeling.

Asses? Ikiaq hadn't heard that word before, and he certainly didn't want to beat anyone, but...

He wanted to win. 

Charles invited him over, and Ikiaq ran to slide in between the older male's forelimbs, tail thumping the ground. "We can win!" he urged, casting a glance at the other brown male behind him. Usually, he'd be terrified of stuff like this, but it looked like so much fun! How could it be dangerous?