Northstar Vale Step it

Tiny lights danced along the cool cavern floor. Each one a small pinprick of brightness in the darker den. Baby blue eyes narrowed as he watched them winking in and out of existence, a path to follow into a golden halo beyond the yawning mouth of the den entrance. 

Big enough to fit his giant of a father. Mother was much easier to reach for cuddles, but dad wasn't so bad. He snorted and slowly stood on shaking limbs. He had seen mama do this, it couldn't be too hard right. Just lift and step. Once, then twice, and soon you'd be running.

The warmth of the day hit his face like a slap and he stood blinking awkwardly in the light that pierced the pupil of his sky eyes. He stepped further, bending, small black nose twitching, to sniff at the stuff on the ground. It smelled like the den, but fresher?

He nipped at one of the green blades, tongue darting out and a small gag at the foreign feeling on it.  

blech

Rhonen has a tag-along. Deja watched as Rhonen waddled straight out of the den. Inspired by his brother, the young chap managed to rise to his own feet and follow along. Completely naive to the dangers of the world, he clumsily waltzed out into the sun.

The early autumn warmth felt good on his back. He wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going, however, and walked straight into Rhonen, who was sampling some of the native cuisine.

Rhonen himself wasn't entirely sure of what waited them outside, but he wasn't about to change his mind. And besides their father was there anyway, watching them. He had awoken as soon as they moved. 

Just as Rhonen gagged and tried to get the taste off his tongue. Deja ran right into his bum, pushing his face into the dirt and his front paws folded under. So for a brief moment. All Deja would see was a fuzzy butt in the air, while Rhonen wiggled and wheezed.

Head lifted as he spat out small clods of dirt and licked along his little wee fangs that had pierced some of the grass.


Yuck!

Deja was oblivious that he had caused Rhonen to fall headfirst into the sand.

“Yuck?” Deja said with a tilt of his round little head as he inspected his brother. “Wha you doin’?” he asked, wondering why Rhonen would ever decide to eat roughage in the first place.

Dddejjja!! You pushed me inna dirt. It yucky. I tasting grass. It to is yucky.

He sighed and wrinkled his nose at the ground
 He righted himself further and bumped his brother with nose.

wanna go on venture?

That was a lofty accusation! Surely he had done no sure thing! Deja wrinkled his nose, about to refute his brother when, suddenly, he became distracted by the idea of an adventure.

Immediately, Deja forgot he was about to get into a quarrel. “Okay!” he exclaimed as he pressed his nose into Rhonen’s.

“Where we go?” he asked.

Rhonen hmmed. He hadn't that far ahead. Why did he have to think of wverything. Gosh. Deja could pull some of his own weight, especially since he'd pushed Rhonen into the dirt after all. But Rhonene rinkled his nose at his brothers nose booop.

He lifted a paw. Over dere in the trees? Bet lotta bugs!

Trees! Bugs!

“Okay!” Deja agreed with excitement. “Race ya!”

Then, he dug his wee heels into the ground and began to run as fast as he could towards the trees. However, Deja was not soo coordinated yet and moved like a drunken sailor.

Rhonen was not as fast as his brother and his larger than hia body paws made him tumble and stumble, but there was a smile on his face. 

Upon arrival to the trees he aniffed at the dirt, sneezed and then went in search of bugs.

Last from me!

Deja giggled and laughed as he raced Rhonen. He hit the tree with force, tagging it in victory… but it was all good fun.

Then, he began to comb the moss and grass for bugs with his brother, happy to play any game with him.