Swiftcurrent Creek Palindrome

Set at the den, where Arric and Arlette are staying.

At nearly four weeks of age Burdock had ceased to look like mishapen, black and furry potato, but more like a... well, tall, proud, fierce and hungry wolf still trapped inside the shape of potato. But with legs. And a stubby and short tail. And... ears that heard everything and understood absolutely nothing. Black bead-like eyes with a bluish tint and a hint of something devillish about them.

So - this fine specimen of a beast-to-be was sitting at the mouth of the den one early morning, while the rest of his family was sound asleep. He looked around both curious and with a look of someone, who knew and owned everything.

With having pups, one would become a light sleeper. Arlette lifted her head as some of her senses seemed to register something. She wasn't sure what made it set off but when she looked up she noticed a silhouette sitting at the entrance of the den. The mother slowly straightened into more of an upright lie down, watching the child but not intervening. She almost wanted to call him back but also didn't want to create a wrong impression of what was outside of the den.

She realized that it was perhaps time to show them that outside world today. The mother yawned. Once they went outside the pups would be confronted with more danger, but she knew she would be unable to protect them from everything. They were growing too quickly. Yet, it was also exciting. She should show them plants and the wildlife. She smiled softly, it was better to think positively she decided.

Burdock was so consumed by his surroundings that he did not hear or notice his mother waking and watching him attentively. Since sight was a newly acquired skill, he needed time to practice with it a bit. Like - learn to focus on certain objects, get used to the color palette and catch the sight of movement. What surprised and amazed him at the same time was the sheer size of the world around him. It was huge and he was very much aware of his own smallness in it. Not for a second, however, did this realization intimidate him. Not the least. Rather... the world welcomed him and Burdock felt as an integral part of it right away. 

A small smile lit up his features, he got to his feet, let out a cheerful yip and off he went in the huge outside. Add a nice music track to it as well. 

Arlette watched her son. It was always a delight to see their personalities come out. Clearly her son was not fearful, and why should he be? He had never had anything to be fearful off. She watched as he stepped forward out into the world, taking it all in with every step. She watched him proudly. She could see Arric in him, clearly yes, the dark fur and the white circle, but also in the way he took this on. The mother moved out of the den after him, just to keep an eye on things. She doubted he would go too far, but if he did she would be there to guide him home, to his family.

She pulled herself out of the den and couldn't help but stretch her limbs. The mother let out a low groan, she was getting a little stiffer. Perhaps her age. With a quick shake of her fur, her attention was back on her son. Not sure if he was still so focussed on his surroundings that he was still unaware of her presence, or if by making a sound she had gained his attention.

Burdock continued to chug right along, puffing and huffing like a tiny little train. By now he had mastered walking in a near perfect straight line, watching the ground intently. Then all of a sudden the horizontal plane ended and he was nose to - well - nose with, what was a tree trunk, but appeared like a huge, brown wall to him.

Huh! 

He stopped, pondered, then it finally occurred to him to look up first. For a moment there it seemed as if he was seriously pondering to simply ignore the rules of gravity and charge upwards (and - who knows - the combination of Arric's and Arlette's genes might have achieved just that). Then he turned to look left first, then right and then he a lightbulb finally lit above his head. He took a turn and continued his trajectory. 

Needless to say that he was still so focussed on the journey that he was completely oblivious of his mother's watchful gaze in the vicinity. 

It seemed her son was absolutely clueless about her presence which was exactly proving her point that supervision was necessary. Arlette watched as he explored, showing actually great intellect by looking left to right. The dark little pup seemed to want to go around the trunk. Arlette pushed herself up and then slowly walked closer. She was not going to lose her baby in the undergrowth if it came to it. Her eyes stayed watchful but she didn't correct him. Actually, this could be a great lesson for him to learn how to come back home. She moved with him, but since she was taller she could look over the log, deciding to move more to the other side of it, if he would walk fully around it he might run into his mother. Still she loved watching him explore.

Burdock peered around the tree curiously and learned that the world continued even beyond there. This was a very interesting discovery, which needed to be explored further. Without hesitation he was on the move again, trying to find balance between watching, what was going on beneath his feet and keeping an eye on, what awaited him on the path forward. Not any easy task, if you have just learned, how to use your legs properly. 

Despite this he made a conisderable progress up until he came face-to-feet (?) with a set of white paws. He paused, brow furrowed, pondered and then looked up. Somewhere wa-a-a-a-y above (from his viewpoint Arlette's head was somewhere, where the sky began) stood mom. Burdock grinned at her and wagged his tail.

Arlette had to smile as well when her son had found her. Honestly, how could she not melt with that cute grin and tail wag from the child. She hummed softly and leaned down to greet him with a lick and nuzzle. Her tail was wagging as well, no hit of anger towards the child. Hello, exploring outside the den, are you? Her voice warm as the looked around. They were safe here she reminded herself.

Want to play a game? She asked him, he was probably too little to understand what she had been saying but still, she would wait for his reaction. Perhaps the unknown was more exciting to him than his mother. One could never know with children.

Burdock may have been too little to understand the spoken language, but he was pretty good at reading the intonation of his mom's voice. He could easily tell apart a very definite "NO" from a "Come on" - the nuances inbetween were a little obscure for him at the moment, but did not matter that much at this particular age anyway. 

So, in response to Valette's inquiry, the little guy just grinned even more and wagged his tail happily, waiting for his mom to take the initiative. 

The mother knew that he was probably a little small for that but at least he seemed to respond wel to her. She sank through her front legs to see how he would respond to that. It might be something new for him. Still the mother had an idea about this type of play. A game of tag and chase. In which she might get him back into the den, tired, with play. She wagged her tail to entice him to copy her behavior. If he did she would jump away and see if he would follow her.

Yeah, even this display of play-bow was a bit too complex for Burdock to understand. Mainly because his field of vision could not fit in the whole image of Arlette. He could either focus on her rear and tail or look at her face or see her paws. Rather than copying her, his previously lovely and charming grin turned into one of a little devil's. With a battle-yip he pounced at Arlette's face. A bold move from a guy, who was the size of his mom's head. 

The mother was quickly taught about her error when the child jumped onto her face. It did not hurt but she was too slow to pull away. She chuckled and nudged him with her muzzle to unbalance him. The mother then jumped back and bowed again, this time with more distance for reaction time. Probably her coloring worked in her favor as it now stood out against the background. She had moved a little closer to the den see if the pup would pounce on her again.

Burdock was at an age, when he did not have much forethought. Quite the contrary - he was impulsive, quick to act and - lo and behold - think about the consequences later. Or not at all, because he was equally incapable of linking together, how his actions impacted the results. So - he felt a bit taken aback, when he lost the footing and was suddenly looking at the world from a different angle, all the while his tiny legs and body squirmed to get back to the usual position. On the tenth attempt he managed, looked around, feeling very confused for a bit and then spotted his mom once again. 

Once the figurative lightbulb lit above his head he yelled out happily and bounded towards her. With no particular plan in mind.

Arlette chuckled at the cuteness of her son. She watched how he tumbled. She did not move to help, she first wanted to see if he could get back on his feet on his own. He managed to do so after a few tries. She hummed proudly and watched as she bounded in her direction. The mother jumped to the side and turned to face him in a play bow, slowly leading him back to the den. She might be able to convince him to go back into it when thy reached that point.

Burdock engaged in the game, completely unaware that he was being tricked. He followed his mom's gentle lead and by the time they reached the den he felt too tired to protest being taken back in to the rest of his siblings. He protested weakly, when his mom began to wash him, but that was all.