Bramblepoint that's my music

During a recent trip to visit her mother, Towhee had unwittingly planted an idea in her daughter's head. Meerkat hatched a plan and spent several days preparing and trying to spread the word throughout Firefly Glen, Moonspear and Redhawk Caldera. Puppy party in Bramblepoint! There'll be fun and games for all, was her message for any willing ear, just wait for my call!

This afternoon, she was finally ready. Meerkat stood atop one of many logs she'd rolled into a clearing in Bramblepoint. She'd arranged them in a circle and set each on its end, propped up and supported by small stones. The circle was a little misshapen but it would serve her purposes just fine. She eyed her handiwork one last time, then nodded to herself and tipped her snout toward the cloudless blue November sky to call for all the pups in the three surrounding packs.

This is open to any of the following toons: @Sialuk @Mira @Altair @Ciri @Elke @Mintaka @Saviguk @Caelum @Alyx @Primrose @Quetzal

Rounds are open. I'll post a new one every 4-5 days.

Once I know who's present via the first round, we're gonna have some fun with the dice! :)

There was something exciting about meeting up with lots of other wolves her age. She knew her cousins well, and she'd even met the two other puppies in Moonspear, but she had yet to meet the Redhawk puppies aside from Meerkat.

Sixsix squawked at her from above, but he had no bone for her today. Apparently he was just along to observe and keep her safe. That was perfectly fine with Sialuk. It happened that she was the first one here, and she woofed at Meerkat to greet her.

There was a sense that the logs were out of place in the circle, as though they had been moved here, and Sialuk was curious to see how they would be used.

Bramblepoint. 

Elke couldnt recall having passed through it on the way here. Then again, her train of thought had been marred by the harsh and very long stretch and not to mention, the thought of not seeing her father or her former home for some time... 

Since arriving at Moonspear, she had not left the mountain. She was a curious child but it only stretched so far as the safety of her mee home. She wouldnt stray, knowing good and well yet not to. However, the woodland out past a stretch of flatland was easy to see in the distance and between here and there were only family and allies to the Spearian Empire, as it were. 

As it were, she should trail along behind the white girl she had formally met, Sialuk, family in some form or another. Using her fresh scent to guide her outside of the mountains and into the woodland she came along soon after to the setting- a large clearing in the woodland, fallen logs arranged in a circled manner that was not natural. Had Meerkat done all this? Elke smiled quietly to the other adolescent and waved her tail as she came to settle not far from Sia's side.

Caelum came to the meeting, though he didn't really understand how it worked. Was he supposed to talk to others, and if so, what about? Caelum glanced around as he arrived. There was a circle of logs there, and the sandy girl -- wasn't her name Meerkat? -- who had moved to Firefly Glen was there. So was his cousin and someone else who smelled of Moonspear but who he didn't know. He glanced at the other children and stood somewhere at the edge of the circle, waiting to see what would happen next.

Mintaka had followed Caelum down, excited for this new venture, and stopped with him at the edge of the circle. There were fewer children here than she had expected there to be, but that was alright. Maybe they'd be able to have fun anyway.

"Thanks for doing this today," she told Meerkat, tail swishing behind her as she took in the circle of logs. "You look like you worked really hard on it. What're these for?"

Guys, it means a lot to me (and Meerkat) to have you here!

Rounds are still open, so there's no specific posting order. I'll start another in 5-7 days!

Some might have been disappointed by the low turnout, though Meerkat didn't even know how many the pups numbered between the three packs. Of course, she knew this wasn't all of them but she was just delighted to have four of her peers, plus a crow, attend her impromptu bash. Maybe if this small group had fun, word would spread and she could throw another, larger party sometime in the future. Perhaps she could even include the adults. What a shindig that would be!

"Hey there, Lil' Ms Fierce! You're not so lil' anymore though, are you? Who's your friend?" Meerkat greeted Sialuk first.

To her second arrival—the only face she didn't recognize—she said, "Hi there! I don't think we've met. My name's Meerkat." She stretched out a paw to bump against her new friend's.

Caelum was the third to appear. She hardly knew him aside from a face and a name but today would change that! "Hi, Caelum, how're you?" Meerkat greeted enthusiastically, making note of his slightly discomfited demeanor. She gestured, inviting him to come closer.

Finally, there was Mintaka. Like Caelum, Meerkat knew her on a very superficial level and looked forward to getting to know her better today. The acknowledgement and question was a great start, pleasing her. "Hey, Mintaka, thanks for coming! I'm glad you asked..."

Positioning herself to ascertain the whole (if small) group, she announced, "We're going to play Musical Stumps today!" But before she explained how the game would work, she looked at Sialuk in particular and said, "Hey, Ms Fierce, does Sixsix know how to sing, by any chance...?"

Caelum had studied that adults often said 'how are you', so when Meerkat asked this to him he could only assume that she had looked at adults and had learned from them, like he did. He knew that there were a lot of answers one could give, but 'good' was the best answer of all. And there was nothing not-good that day, so with a wiggle of his nose as he thought about this Caelum answered: Good. He did not quite realise that he should ask the question back, too, to truly finish this polite conversation they were having.

His sister had come with and she immediately asked about the stumps that were put down. Caelum had not even stopped to think about the stumps, really. He stared at them and wondered why Mintaka was always so curious. That was kind of strange to him. Why would anyone need to know everything? Meerkat did not mind explaining, though, and Caelum looked at Meerkat as she seemed happy with the questions, even. This, too, seemed weird to Caelum, but he sat down and listened to the explanation that Meerkat would surely give soon.

Elke, Caelum, and Mintaka joined them. Sialuk was curious as to why nobody from other packs came to join them. Perhaps the Moonspear youth were too intimidating for others to appear, or perhaps it merely amplified the strength of her cousins. She was a little bit disappointed that she would not get to meet anybody new today, but perhaps that was okay.

She had all but forgotten the nickname Meerkat had given her, and she grinned when it was mentioned. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to reveal her guide's name when Meerkat asked, but she figured that the bird would have said so if he wanted to keep it a secret. Or he never would have revealed his name at all.

His name is Sixsix, Sialuk said, casting a quick glance to the bird who looked at her when she said his name.

When Meerkat asked about Sixsix singing, she shrugged.

I have only ever heard him caw, she said, and he only does that when he wants my attention.

Sialuk got the feeling that Meerkat thought he was more of a pet than a guide, but she did not bother to explain that. It seemed too nuanced and not something she was keen on going into with the whole group when there was clearly a plan in place.

The little northern girl couldnt help but feel, well, a little out of place once she was aware that it seemed their spokesperson knew everyone except for herself. She was 'that new girl in town' it would seem though that didnt stop Meerkat's extreme friendliness. She introduced herself, nudging a paw into her as she did so. A soft smile given, she looks over the sandy brown girl who had called them here. I'm Elke. 

Pale eyes glanced over the other two pups which had gathered who now she knew by name thanks to Meerkat though by name only even though they were of the same pack as she. She realizes more and more how much larger Moonspear is then Sagtannet even though she hadn't much of a connection with the wolves in that pack, either. 

Ms. Fierce, as she was so nicknamed, was asked about someone- Sixsix, who she learned was the crow, the same crow which had been with her the first time they had met. A companion? How neat! Elke didnt quite think she would want someone hanging around her all day, every day though. 

Without song, Elke was left to wonder just how 'musical' this tree stump game was gonna get...

I wanted to keep this moving! I'll post the next round in roughly one week. :)

Sixsix didn't sing and only talked under specific circumstances. That was just as well, as Meerkat realized she wouldn't know how to explain the rules to a bird. "That's okay," she replied, smiling warmly at Sialuk and her feathered cohort, "I'll just do the singing. Forgive me if it's terrible," she quipped, turning to address the group at large.

"Okay, so," she said in the next moment, moving toward the logs and quickly drawing four of them away from the larger circle, placing them into a square pattern. Meerkat paused, then realized she couldn't participate fairly if she was in charge of singing. So she knocked one over onto the ground, leaving three.

"I'm going to start singing. While I'm singing, you guys run in circles around the logs. Bonus points if you bust some silly dance moves." Her eyes crinkled at the corners. "When I stop, you have to jump onto a log. There's only three, so whoever doesn't get a log is out. Then we knock over another log and start another round. It goes like that until there's a winner. Any questions?"

Caelum didn't notice the bird with Sialuk at first, or he might've acted sooner. He just waited around, staring straight into space with the occasional blink of his eyes, for Meerkat to start them up. By the time he saw the bird, it was because Meerkat referenced it and Caelum stared intently at it from then on. Even while Meerkat explained what they were going to do he stared at it, and his tail twitched while he felt his instincts prodding at him to take the prize. It was right there in front of them. Didn't anyone else see it? They must be dumb or simply had not noticed, he concluded, and he started to think about how he could get close enough to grab the bird.

Meanwhile, Meerkat explained the game as if there was not a bird in their middle. Caelum nodded, though his gaze was still fixed on Sialuk's bird the whole time. He licked his lips during question time, but waited for everyone else to start moving before he would come closer, as he knew that it would look suspicious to everyone, bird included, if he approached right now. It hadn't even occurred to him that the bird must be with someone, as he didn't think that befriending birds was a thing.

Elke listens carefully as Meerkat gaze out instruction as she had decided that she would be the one to sing then. To this, a small smile plays over Elke's lips, who did find it funny that she would hear the girl sing when she herself didn’t even think she would be any good at it. Meerkat, though only having met her but a few moments ago, seemed very happy, bold, not turned off by worry of failure or what others might think. She felt she and her sister had been like this, once, until life outside their little bubble had tarnished them.

Elke, in meeting Sialuk and in Meerkat, knew that she would do her best to be a far more confidant, strong wolf. She was not a basted daughter, she kept thinking to herself, she was Ostrega. A smile still settled to her pale face, she began to move forward to the logs and as so, passed by the black young wolf with a whisper, They are bound to each other... Flower eyes falling to the bird which he hungrily stared at and then their snowy cousin.

Sixsix, upon noticing the glances from Caelum, took flight and perched high above on a tree. Sialuk did not mind, knowing not everybody understood what their connection was like. She was a witch (a good one), and they were not witches.

Meerkat explained the rules of the game, and the raindrop listened intently, wondering what the purpose of this game was. To see who was fastest? Who was smartest? Who could push somebody off a log? She supposed she was about to find out.

I figure we could wrap this with a fade! I did some rolls if you want to incorporate the results in your posts. Thank you for participating! :)

No one spoke, so Meerkat took that to mean they understood the principles of the game. She clapped her paws together merrily and announced, "Okay, great! Let's get this shit started then!" She wiggled her eyebrows as she swore, laughing lightly as she moved into a position just a few feet away from the newer, smaller circle.

Unaware that Sixsix had momentarily stolen the show, Meerkat waited until everyone was more or less in position before she cleared her throat and began to sing one of the very, very few songs she knew. "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg! The Batmobile lost a wheel and the Joker got away..." She sucked in a breath and quickly repeated, "Jingle bells, Batman s—"

Her voice cut off abruptly and she watched to see what happened when the "music" stopped and the four pups scrambled for the three logs. She giggled madly as she observed, hoping they were enjoying playing as much as she was enjoying hosting. Sure, she wished more pups had shown up—she felt her siblings' absence in particular today—but Meerkat would still call it a success.

Last one from me!

The singing began, and Sialuk rounded the stumps, keeping her eyes on the three that were open. Unfortunately, she was all the way on the opposite side of it when the singing stopped, and Sialuk was out of luck. Being the first one out was a bit of a bummer, but she laughed anyway, taking a seat on the sidelines to watch the rest of the game unfold as, one-by-one, her pack mates were removed from the game.

Just as Elke told him that the bird was 'bound to' his cousin, the bird flew away. Caelum looked at it, knowing he could not longer catch it now. Birds and wolves are not bound, he replied matter-of-factly, as if he knew it so certainly because he was reciting it from an encyclopedia. He glanced up at it and sighed — it was gone now, so he focused back onto Meerkat and the game.

As it began Caelum played along. Sialuk was out first and laughed (Caelum was unsure why, because she just lost). He was the next one to be out, and Caelum took a seat beside his cousin.

The next to be out was Elke, and so it was his sister Mintaka that won the game. Though Caelum had lost, his blood had won. Congratulations, he chuffed proudly at his sister. He did not think to thank Meerkat for the game — he didn't really realise that this was polite or necessary in any way, not understanding insecurities others might have very well — before they headed off, though overall he had enjoyed himself.