Sleepy Fox Hollow spätjahr

mahler laid poppies out upon a flat stone beside the water. by now his children came and went; he saw their long limbs carrying them energetically about, and wondered if he and wylla might add more to their number in the spring.
"@Isa," he called after a time, coming to find her. "come on patrol vith me please." the gargoyle smiled at his daughter, setting off at an easy clip.

Isa had spent much time with her fur in a ruffle after her latest run-in with her brother and the audacity of his statements. She wrinkled her nose when she heard her father call, rising as she immediately answered him, her own mission afoot as she sought to beat her brother at his own game.
 
“Vader.” She greeted, running a nose to bump at his shoulder. “Emmer said I don’t know nothin’.” What was a sibling’s love without a little tension, after all? “And he said he’d fight me but I don’t know how to fight.” And it pained her to admit. “He just kept laughing at me and it was awful.” The girl did not hesitate to drop all of her plights on him.

mahler hid the chuckles that threatened to swell his cheeks. "vell, that vas not so nice of emmerich, vas it?" he asked rhetorically, seeking to validate isa rather than truly seek an answer.
"vhy do i not teach you a few things, ja? that vay, the next time deine bruder says something so false, you can teach him a lesson." 
it would be their way, mahler decided.

Her nose wrinkled once more as she shook her head to his rhetorical question. “It really wasn’t! I never do anything to him!” She protested, though it was the furthest from the truth. She made an active effort to give her brother hell, but for him to retaliate? That just crossed too far of a line, and she could never have that fly, not on her watch.
 
“Yes please, vader. I vant to teach him a big lesson about how I can be tough. “ She stated, practically bouncing at an idea that had once disgusted her. Fighting was hardly dignitary, but the competitive girl would not have her bruder best her at anything.

"a big lesson, very vell, isa." he set off at a firm lope; he knew she would follow. at length they came to a sunny little clearing near the greenstone; he arranged them near the great surface and cleared his throat.
mahler paced a few feet away and then turned to face isa.
"attack me. pretend i am emmerich und i have just said a very rude thing." his eyes shone with humour.

She would become the best wolf to ever walk the earth, and in doing so she would put her brother in his place once and for all. It was a driving passion of hers, and it gained more ground any time he opened his mouth to ridicule her. How dare he? She was a princess.
 
She followed her father, watching as he set himself up a few feet away before facing her, telling her to attack him. She looked at him, her nose wrinkling before she barreled at him blindly, her maw open as if she’d bite him anywhere she could grab with no real strategy to any of her movements, having never fought before and never deigning herself to spar with her brothers in their ‘barbaric’ habits.

mahler allowed isa to catch his forearm with her teeth. then he tightened his muscles and turned his shoulder into her bite, seeking to gently tip the girl.
"before you act, decide vhere you vant to bite," the guardian instructed. "do not rush." he chuckled, shook the child away, and lowered his head. "try again."

Isa found a sense of thrill and satisfaction when her teeth made contact with his forarm, but she had no measure of her balance and easily tipped when he turned his shoulder into her bite, falling over with a hmmmph and wrinkling her nose.
 
What had he done that for?!
 
He began to explain and she sighed, stubbornly pushing up onto her paws as she moved to place some distance between them, looking at him carefully. She knew where she wanted to bite! But she didn’t know how to do so without getting thrown off again like her father had so rudely done. She moved forward, a slower pace this time though it was more thought out as she aimed to push her paws up and bite his shoulder this time.

isa moved more decisively and for her efforts, mahler allowed her little teeth to cut more deeply against his pelt. "very good!" he praised, pretending to pull away with a limp. "strike again!" he encouraged with a laugh, demonstrating how her bite had 'wounded' him for the time being.
he hoped it would be of encouragement to the girl.

Isa was met with praise, a major motivation for her as she took a step back, watching as her father limp. Rare cracks in the holier-than-thou attitude began to show as the concern came in, a frown on her features. “Did I hurt you, Vader?” She asked, concerned, wondering what herbs might be used.
 
For all the smack she gave her brother, she had never considered the true consequences of an actual fight… of wounding one another. Her fights with Emmerich were just words, never harming one another despite how they might wish to… perhaps a bruise or two but nothing more.
 
But here, she had hurt her father, and she decided she did not like the feelings that came with that.

mahler stopped his funnery at once as he saw the concern cross isa's features. "not at all, liebling!" he lifted each paw and waggled it to demonstrate. "i am quite vell."
he saw a moment to teach, however, and sat down. "if i vas hurt, vhat herbs might you use for a vound like that?" his eyes shone; he wanted to see if any of his teachings had yet lodged.

She calmed when she saw that he was still well. She did not know what she might have done had she actually injured him. She did not wish to bring him harm in any capacity. Her brothers were a different story, but never her Vader.
 
Her head tilted to the side as he asked her of herbs. “Marigold to prevent infection, Vader… and cobwebs to help seal the wound until it closes.” She recalled from their teachings, though she hoped to never see her father injured.

he nodded. "very good, isa." he grinned. "if i vas ever truly injured, i know that you vould be right there to help me."
mahler let out his breath and shook his ruff; he snorted and looked at the girl. "come vith me to the pharmacy, i vill show you vhere i keep the marigold."