Redhawk Caldera There will always be a valley

tagging for reference but if you want join! :D. And let me know if his ducklingness is an issue <3

Gannet was growing steadily, and as he developed it was quickly becoming apparent how opposite the oldest and second children were turning out to be.  His father's current state was a matter of delight to Gannet who took every opportunity to cuddle up to any available adult in vicinity.

Ferret's rambunctious pestering didn't bother the quiet child much, and he would often play in return.  But the real source of fascination lately came with @Eljay, who Gannet would follow at any opportunity.  Maybe it was the fact he was closer their age than any other adult.

Now that they were at the rendezvous point, and their parents had begun allowing them time to roam, Gannet was making good on exploring when no one was available for naps.  He was currently, and somewhat industriously, scrabbling his paws at a bit of earth in hopes of expanding it into a hole.  Digging was definitely one of the young boy's favorite pastimes.

When Peter was not being picked on by Ferret or much to his annoyment following him around, he was sleeping. Though his soul had forgotten already much of it's travels before the birth in the realms of stars, now and then he would still have vivid dreams of that wondrous place in time and space. More often, however, he was dreaming about simpler things - such as running around, playing or eating. 

He had taken a nap now and woken at the best moment of a wonderful dream, which he forgot instantly the moment he opened his eyes, but the feeling that something very, very good had happened still lingered. The boy yawned and stretched, cast a glance around and then ambled out of the space of living to see, what was going on outside. 

Which turned out to be a good thing to do, because he spotted one of his brothers. He let out an excited whimper and approached him with a wagging tail - first curious about the hole his sibling was making and second - wondering, if he would be up for a hug.

He was interrupted in his digging when he heard a whimper and turned his head to see Peter approaching.  He hopped excited, his own tail flailing as he greeted his brother with a bump of his little muzzle.  Hole summarily forgotten, he lifted a dirty paw and tapped Peter's shoulder, grinning with tongue out.  Did he want to play?  He might have been absent of the need to dominate that some other puppies had, but he still loved a good tussel.

Had it not been for differences in size and coat color (Peter was way smaller and brown), Peter and Gannet could be considered twins. Similar character-wise - two people-loving, affection-seeking and peaceful souls. The wagging-rate of the runt's tail increased, when his brother lost interest in digging and turned his attention to him. He sat down imediately, studied the paw that had been put on his shoulder for exactly three seconds and then leaned over to grab it... changing his mind in the last second, deciding to raise both of his forepaws up and attempt to wrap them around his sibling's chest. A hug he wanted, a hug he was about to get.

It almost looked like his brother was going to go for it, and Gannet opened his mouth in prepared retaliation.... But instead was wrapped in a hug at the last moment.

Taken by surprise and overbalanced, he fell, likely taking Peter down with him.  Rather unfazed by this turn of events, he reached out with head and forelegs, fully intending to return the favor of a hug from the ground.

They both lost balance and Peter fell over giggling by the sudden turn of events. Then he reached out to Gannet, held him in a mutually agreed embrace for a while. When it felt that it was quite enough, Peter reached over to grab his brother by the ear first and then attempt to mouth and slobber the side of his white, flawless face.

*rolls in mega late*

Eljay wasn't sure how he had managed to garner the love of two of Uncle P and Aunt Fox' pups, but he wasn't about to question how things were. He just hoped that they wouldn't turn out meek like him, but then again, they had siblings that they lived with and contended with. With a rowdy brother like lil' Bandit, Eljay was pretty sure that they weren't allowed to become too meek, or they'd just be crying all the time. It would be okay, hopefully. Eljay spent a lot of time pupsitting, and though it still terrified him every time, he also enjoyed every moment of it.

As Eljay arrived at the rendezvous site today, he found two of his favourite pups tumbling around together to emphasise his point in case. They'd be fine. Right? "Hey boys!" Eljay said with a wag of his tail as he looked down at them.

holy cow sorry guys! Looks like 2am posting is my future hehe

Gannet let out a little bark of happy protest when his brother grabbed his ear.  He'd enjoyed the cuddling, but play was good too! One sooty paw came up and attempted to push on Peter's muzzle, a gentle and playful move as he tugged lightly by moving his head.

Then happiness turned to absolute delight as another of Gannet's favorites showed up.  Eljay!!  He whined in greeting, wiggling ecstatically and hoping to be released so he could jump and give a proper full-on greeting.

With the arrival of Peter's fourth favorite person in the pack (the first being mommy, daddy coming second and Gannet - third) the little boy let go of his brother imediately, leaping over to his babysitter. His greeting consisted of happy yipping, excited jumping up and attempts to get hold of his friend's tufts of fur. Eventually he remained standing on his hind legs, tail still wagging and his head tilted to the side and pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Wrufff!" he barked at him, asking for actiond.

Eljay's tail whirred in excitement as the boys greeted him with utmost delight. Eljay was kind of scared of lil' Bandit, but the other three pups had, so far, been delightful little boys. Peter was first to get to his side, since he'd had his brother pinned, and Gannet soon followed. Eljay planted licks on both their foreheads, but soon his presence alone wasn't enough any longer — Peter asked for action, and Eljay was glad to see that the boy had grown not only physically, but clearly in his head too, for it seemed so short ago that he'd been scared of a fox' tail that Eljay'd brought.

After greetings were exchanged, Eljay leaned down to the ground with his front in a play bow and he batted his right paw to the ground a couple of times, inviting the boys to play with him (even though he wasn't very good at playing, because he'd never had any siblings to practise with).

knife edge omg rush post

Peter obliged and let him up, and Gannet hopped sideways, rump waggling and tail going a mile a minute.  He met Eljay's greeting with a hearty chin lick of his own, then watched as Peter requested play.  Did he want to play?  Maybe!

He watched a minute longer, then skipped in and attacked uncle Eljay's hind leg, grasping the ankle and biting gently with small play noms.

Kittens and social cats in general possess an amazing amount of tolerance and the skill of making you feel welcome, even if they see you for the first time in their lives. After a brief greeting to quench the curiosity and mark you as one of the shared territory they will either walk away or... make a use of you. You can become a handy ladder to the upper shelves or windowsills, you can be a living and breathing furniture and a cuddle-dispensing machine or your shoe-laces no matter, how smart your knots are, need just a pair of sharp claws to undo them.

In a way Peter and Gannet so similar in their docile and friendly natures were those kittens - it did not matter that Eljay was a little awkward, when inviting the little boys for a game or that he probably knew nothing of the "proper child-rearing and mental-stimulation" rulebook. He was there, he had just made it clear that he wanted to be useful and, when Gannet went for their baby-sitter's heels, Peter pounced at the extended forepaws.

After his invitation had been extended, Gannet was quick to pounce on Eljay. With a playful growl he intended to turn around, but when he tried he felt a weight at his front legs suddenly, and he realised Peter had gone and attacked them.

"Oh no, you guys double teaming, I can't win!" Eljay said, words painted with giggles, and he tumbled to the ground from where he continued to swat his paws at Peter and Gannet, silently inviting them to climb all over him.

GOSH SORRY I FAIL do we wanna wrap this?

When Eljay obliged by falling over, it was only natural for Gannet to take the opening that offered.  He braved the swats and with a rumble, more purr than growl really, proceeded to crawl up on their temporary sitter.  The comfort of closeness was a thing he loved more than anything, and he buried his face in Eljay's fur happily, little tail thumping behind.

Patting out with both front paws, he rolled over on his side, then overbalancing to slide off of his perch almost immediately.  He was unfazed, however, and with a happy giggle proceeded to attempt the climb once more.

ooc: last post from me - need to wrap up things myself.

While Gannet was busy taking the front on Eljay's chest, Peter moved on to sniff and nudge the babysitter's face with his muzzle. Eventually he settled down on his belly and planted a lot of licks on the older boy's face, eyes, cheek and mouth - wherever he could get. After all - why shouldn't a grooming-spell be just as good attack as any other?

let's wrap! My last post! Starr let's have a new one soon with these two :)

The boys climbed all over him and showered him in licks. Eljay giggled because it tickled him but he did not object -- simply allowed it to happen and hoping to build the confidence of the pups in the process.

"I love you, Gann and Petey," Eljay said softly and wherever he could he tried to shower the boys in loving licks.