Redhawk Caldera tiddlywinks

@Clover HERE U GO BB<3 (Tagging Kim for reference!)

Though there was a subtle hint of winter in the breeze, the sun was nevertheless warm and pleasant on her back as she made her way toward the rendezvous site. She wanted to see what the kiddos were up to today. She'd been so busy of late that she hadn't had much time to spend with them, but she didn't want to miss out on too much. So she specifically made time for it today, and to be honest, she really looked forward to it. Since the discovery of Nightjar's remains, she'd been feeling very down and forlorn. Perhaps some time with a bundle of rambunctious puppies would give her the cheer she very much needed.

It looked like Uncle @Elwood was on watch today, and she traded greetings with him. Three of the pups appeared to be napping, but Clover was up and pilfering about. "Psst!" Raven hissed to get her attention. "C'mere!" She motioned for the silvery pup to come a few yards away from the other pups so as not to wake them.

Hell yeah she was pilfering about. With her siblings napping, Clover dominated the scene totally. Their rocks, their twigs, their bones—hers, now!!!!! You snooze you lose. And Clover totally didn't snooze. 

Her big sister came across her right as she was squatting and marking her newest tree-branch. It once belonged to Tegan, but not anymore. Hide your kids, hide your toys, Clover's peeing on everything. She made eye contact with Raven as she whizzed, grinning. Lookit all my stuff!!!! she hollered, not at all mindful of her slumbering siblings. Clover grabbed the stick that had literally been partially under her brother, tugging it out from beneath him like the tiny tyrant she was. But he didn't rouse, and neither did Lucca as she thwapped him right across the face with said tiny branch. She marched proudly over to Raven with a shit-eating grin.

ACTUAL PHOTO OF CLOVER WHEN ASKED TO DO ANYTHING QUIETLY XDDDD

If Raven could have facepalmed, she definitely would have done so as Clover shouted at her and then proceeded to yank a stick out from under one sleeping pup and whack another over the head with it. As the child shambled awkwardly toward her with the little stick in her teeth, Raven marveled for a moment at how much she'd grown in such a short time. Puppies were like that -- blink one time and they were five inches taller. Raven managed to lure the little monster far enough from the others that they wouldn't disturb them too much, then turned and glanced appreciatively at the tiny branch in Clover's teeth. "Well now!" she said, her voice awed and reverent. "That's a mighty fine stick you've got there!"

LMFAO YUP

 

Clover grinned at Raven's compliment, nodding her head emphatically. YEAH! I've got the magic stick!!! she declared. To ask how it was magic was at the expense of any of her napping siblings—Lagan included, who snoozed nearby as well. Clover had single-handedly found out that she could wake up any of her family by consistently dropping the stick on them, or else poking them mercilessly with it. She liked this stick. 

It was far better to wake them up with a wrestling match though, but this stick was a good stick, all things considered, and now it was hers again. Tegan got it back for a little while, but never had it for too long. Clover plopped herself down and began to chew on it, tail waving behind her.

LMFAO THAT LINK

The child puffed up at Raven's praise, which elicited a grin from the delta. She was just too cute! And so full of life and enthusiasm and confidence. Raven hoped that she kept those qualities as she matured. She would be an unstoppable force if she did. She thought briefly back to her own childhood, reflecting with some regret that she had spent so much time locked up in her own head, reclusive and withdrawn. She pushed all of that aside now, focusing fully on Clover as she chewed rather vigorously on the stick. "That's good for your teeth and gums," she remarked with approval. "You're going to have the biggest, sharpest teeth!"

Clover didn't pause even as she chewed to ask, iddis???? 'owr??? Translation: it is? How? ...and not even thirty seconds later, the stick snapped in two. It was through with its days of abuse via the Blackthorn clan, and Clover let out a gasp of utter horror. Wh---whuh!!! She sprang to all fours and circled it, flabbergasted by what just transpired. m'stick!!! And after several contemplative moment, Clover stomped and huffed, Tegan... yeah, it was his fault. Stinky fart-butt, she shot him a glare, and he snored on. 

Can we get a new one? She looked back to Raven, appealing to her with puppy-dog eyes. I need it!!! For my sharpestest, biggest teeths!!! She was still working on grammar, but Clover definitely had the big-eyed look down pat.

The twig snapped with an audible crack, and Clover was immediately outraged. Raven gasped dramatically, her yellow eyes wide and a look of amazement and surprise on her face. "Wow! Your teeth are so sharp and so strong, that stick never stood a chance! Let's go find you something better!" She corralled the crazy kid over toward the trees, shooting Elwood a questioning look just to check and make sure he was cool with them wandering around. Fall had stripped most of the leaves from the trees, though many evergreens still stood lush and verdant in their midst. All around them were a zillion sticks, limbs, and twigs of every size and shape, and Raven gestured Clover toward them. "Okay, go pick one out that you like. This will be your special, magic stick, so make sure it's a good one!"

Where they went wasn't too far from the rendezvous—in fact, her parents could likely still see them—but it was still new to Clover, who was easily distracted by anything and everything and still had so much to discover. There were sticks galore here, and Clover was literally a kid at a candy shop as she zig-zagged around, attempting to mark every single one in the vicinity.

She took approximately ten more sticks than she could carry in her mouth and plopped them at Raven's feet, before attempting to race off again to claim some more with a cackle.

Raven watched Clover's antics with amusement. How much pee can one child possibly produce? she wondered as Clover proceeded to mark literally every single stick and twig in sight. The cacophony of her racing about sounded like a herd of bison in the forest, but neither of them really cared at all. She laughed out loud when Clover dropped a small pile of sticks at her feet, then scampered off to find more. She chided herself inwardly, because by now she ought to know that when it came to anything involving Clover, she was always going to get what she bargained for.

Clover bounced around, trying to collect more sticks. 

That was when one stick moved. 

Cue her dropping all sticks presently in her mouth and looking to Raven, deciding aloud: I WANT THAT MAGIC STICK!!!! before scampering after it. It slithered away, and Clover was quite curious about this stick. She had never seen one move alone before... Yes, she definitely wanted this one. Tegan had never wielded one of these kinds of sticks before, or Fiadh, or Lucca, either! Clover lifted her leg to pee on it when it stilled, but the instant she did so it slithered again.

At first Raven didn't realize what was going on, figuring Clover was just after another ordinary stick. But when she saw the leaves stir a few paces ahead of the girl, she got curious and went to see what it was. When it dawned on her that it was a snake (sprinkled with pee, of course), she called to Clover, "Hey! Hold up! Get back!" She hopped forward and grabbed Clover's tail to stop her.

Raven attempted to corral her, and Clover was dissatisfied by this... as any rambunctious kid would be. What???? No!!! We gotta get it, Ray!!! ah, but she was had! Letting out a little yowl as her tail was grasped by Raven, Clover scowled and was stilled for a moment. It's the coolest stick ever! And she would have it! Clover attempted to lunge toward the pile of leaves before her, though the snake wasn't hiding in that particular bunch. Anyway, Raven had a true grip on her, proverbial kryptonite to this super-pup.

The pup struggled against Raven's hold on her tail, flailing and yowling her protests for all the world to hear. After a moment of this, she released the girl but reached an arm around her chest to hold her back. "Listen, she said in Clover's ear, a mildly stern note in her voice. "That's not a stick, silly. It's called a snake. And they can bite you and make you very sick. You have to stay away from it." Raven didn't really know how to identify dangerous snakes from harmless ones, so she just considered all of them unsafe and she didn't want Clover getting hurt.

Clover knew when to be obedient, and it was when adults used voices like the one her sister just did. But that didn't mean she was happy about it. In fact, as she listened, she grumped and sighed. When Raven explained, Clover looked back to her. Why's it look so much like a stick then? That was mighty confusing to the girl. And also, by kid logic, totally stupid. It was good to know now though that all sticks might just deserve a second look. She didn't want to get sick after all.

Clover was clearly dismayed at having to sit still for a minute, and she fussed and sulked and whined the whole time. But Raven did not loosen her hold on the girl, and she maintained a terse tone with the girl. It was important that she learn to recognize danger and avoid it, even this young. "They look like sticks to trick you into coming close so they can bite you," she explained. "Anytime you see a stick that moves, don't touch it. Okay?" She kissed the top of the girl's head to let her know she wasn't in trouble or anything, then released her and sat back.

Clover relented, for now. She simply nodded, grumpy that she hadn't been able to get her way but at least understanding why that was. Snakes are dumb, she determined. That they looked like sticks was really the dumb part, but she could not articulate that properly—and so her young mind decided that they, as a whole, must be dumb. Especially if they bit others.

Wrapping this one up! I LOVE CLOVER LET'S THREAD AGAIN SOON<333

"Yes they are," Raven agreed emphatically, though she actually disagreed -- snakes were, in fact, very clever predators. "But it would be dumber to get bitten by one. So be careful, okay?" And with that, she let the subject go and it was back to playtime. But since there were snakes in the area, she felt it might be best if they moved to more open ground. "Hey, why don't you grab some good sticks and we'll go show Dad and the others how cool they are?"

Raven deployed a very clever tactic.

Clover did not want to be dumb, after all.

And so she nodded to her words, agreeing then that she wouldn't mess around with snakes. At her sisters suggestion, Clover nodded and ran for her collection. She stuffed as many sticks in her mouth that she possibly could (breaking her own previous record and looking all the more ridiculous for it) before she raced in the direction of her snoozing family. Her hooting and hollering for them was blessedly muffled by all that was in her mouth.