Redhawk Caldera cardinal direction

Anyone but hoping for @Towhee!

Lagan was bigger now, almost a year old. Two more months and he was practically an adult. His lisp was withering away, if he tried hard enough he could probably rid himself of it, now it was more of a lazy habit than a problem. His silvery grey fur was becoming less downy and more slick. His puppy fat was becoming muscle, his big apple green eyes well, they were still big and green. Not everything had changed, but he was definitely an adolescent now, and soon enough, a young man.

Lagan was poking around the rendezvous site, bored out of his wits. Ever since he'd gone out exploring that one time, he'd been rather restless. The pups were getting older, he felt like they didn't need him as much, and so he was trying to find something new, his own thing. It seemed like everyone he knew was good at something, and even though he didn't like to admit it, Lagan didn't really have a talent. He'd only come to that conclusion this very day, thus the reason for his bored sulking.

The blackthorn boy decided he had to do something to get his mind off of his talent predicament, so he did what he knew best. Play. He bounded over to where Towhee and some of the other pups were, and he prodded the black and red furred girl eagerly. His tail wagging behind him, he hoped she would be down to play.

Towhee was tangled up with @Phox when Lagan approached, though she quickly released her favorite brother's ear and lifted herself off him to spring at the Eta. -Lagan!- she signed happily, affection clear in the way she gestured. -What game do you want to play?- she wondered, lips and forelegs both moving rapidly. She had gotten so fluent at the sign language that sometimes the others needed to slow her down in order to understand her. Her head tilted as she wondered if Lagan might need her to repeat herself.

When you get a chance, wanna let me know how fluent he's meant to be at the conlang? :D

Towhee whirled around to face him, and Lagan's face lit up happily. He adored the girl, he adored all of the firebirds, but Teehee was special. He caught the gist of her signing, though some of it just looked like the girl was doing an interpretive dance. He thought for a moment, then decided. How about hide and seek? He said out loud, then signed it for her sake. You can play too if you want Phoxie! He added, peering around Towhees big head to look at her brother.

Although the firebirds were close as a whole, Orca had been more than a little withdrawn lately. There wasn't any real reason for it; since moving to the rendezvous site, she had taken to exploring on her own. Naturally, she still interacted with her siblings on a regular basis -- but when compared to the relationship between Phox and Towhee, for instance, she appeared to be something of an outsider. She didn't seem to mind, though.

She had been excavating a shallow hole nearby when Lagan invited Towhee and Phox to join him in a game of hide and seek. Orca looked up and watched her siblings and cousin for a moment, before approaching slowly. "Can I play?" she asked, adding the sign for "play" for Towhee's benefit.

Lagan suggested hide-and-seek and Towhee grinned, liking the sound of that (pun intended). Before she could sign a response, he turned and invited Phox to play too. But the darkest Firebird was suddenly bounding toward the nearby @Titmouse, the two boys clashing together in a flurry of flailing paws and wagging tails as they began wrestling. Towhee rolled her eyes fondly, then turned around just in time to see Orca ask if she could join.

Smiling at her sister, Towhee bobbed her head eagerly. -Yes, play with us! Who's it?- Her eyes shifted between Lagan and Orca, her butt wriggling and tail waving with good-natured impatience.

Phox didn't really respond to Lagan's question, he went off to play with Titty instead. Ok, bye! Lagan called to them, before looking back to Towhee. It looked like it was just him and her, until an unexpected player arrived on the scene. Orca hadn't been too involved lately, he didn't see or play with her as much as he did Tow and the others. He was more than glad to see her here now though, playing along with them. Of course you can join! Lagan said encouragingly.

Towhee asked who was it, and before anyone else could respond, he flung his paw up to bop his own nose and shouted, Nose goes! Not it! He watched the other two pups, waiting to see which one would come out first. Whoever was last would be it.

She was pleased when both her cousin and sister invited her to play. She was briefly distracted when Phox romped away, and watched him tussle with Titmouse for a brief moment, then she turned back to grin up at Lagan.

Orca didn't exactly understand what he meant by "nose goes," but she was very good at mimicry. So when he tapped his own snout with his paw, she imitated him, scrunching up her snout with a giggle as she pressed her dark toes against it.

Because Lagan's paw flung upward even as he said, "Nose goes!" Towhee wasn't able to read his lips. She peered at him curiously, then turned her head sideways to see Orca mimicking him. Not wanting to be left out, the Xi lifted her toes to press her own nose. She still didn't understand why she or any of them was doing it, nor what it meant, so her orange eyes rolled back to Lagan's face as she arched an eyebrow questioningly. Was this somehow part of the game...?

The fact that the younger kids didn't know what nose goes was, was precisely why Lagan had chosen it as their method of choosing who's it. It may have been a cheap move, but he hated being it, especially when just the other day he'd passed a log that would be perfect for the occasion of a hide and seek game. Towhee seemed the most confused, and he felt kind of bad about that, so he quickly tried to explain, this time without his paw on his face so she had a clear view of his mouth. He signed a couple words to make sure she got it.

Nose goes? Somebody says, 'nose goes' and then everybody else has to put their paw on their nose. The last person to do it is it! He said, looking from Orca to Teehee. Seeing as it had been a bit unfair, Lagan shook his head and said. Since I was the only one who got it, we can try again I guess. Ok ready? 3, 2, 1...

Orca squinted, looking up at Lagan studiously with her paw still resting on her nose. He tried to explain what he meant by "nose goes" and how it would determine who would be the seeker in their game of hide and seek. While it should have made sense to the youngsters, Orca's attention span got the better of her and as he counted down, intending for them to touch their snouts again, she jumped forward and tapped Lagan on the shoulder.

"You're it!" she yelped, then turned and bolted away, her gait stilted by the fit of laughter that seized her. Never mind the fact that her actions more closely aligned with tag than hide and seek. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see how Towhee and Lagan had reacted.

Lagan made an attempt to explain and Towhee thought she understood. But then he gave her whiplash by starting to count down. Unable to actually hear the numbers, it took her an extra beat to figure out what he was doing and what it meant. In the end, it didn't matter because Orca suddenly darted forward and proclaimed him the seeker.

Towhee read that signal loud and clear. With a sudden squeal, she bounded after Orca. When her sister looked back at her, the Xi motioned with her snout to, "Hurry up!" She then bolted in a perpendicular direction away from Orca, trying to move out of Lagan's line of sight and find somewhere to hide.

She wound up in Raven's badger den near one edge of the rendezvous site. Careful not to disturb the caregiver's things, Towhee tiptoed to the back and crouched. She wouldn't be able to hear anyone coming but she kept her eyes fixed steadily on the small sliver she could see of the outdoors.

Lagan's excited expression melted into a confused look as Orca shot forward and tagged him on the shoulder. What? What did that mean? This is not how one plays the sacred game of nose goes! If it had been Liffey who had cheated like that, Lagan would've likely chased after her and started a game of wrestle instead, or complained over dramatically. However since it was the firebird girls, he wouldn't bother them. They probably hadn't understood him the second time anyway. He just smiled instead, and closed his eyes.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen... eighteennineteentwenty ready or not here I come! He said, speeding up drastically towards the end then jumping into action. Hide and seek was a relatively easy game for a wolf, who's sense of smell can lead him or her to the hider quickly. But Lagan didn't want to make the game end so quickly, so instead he took the long route, loudly narrating his every step. I'm walking towards this log. I'm walking over this log, I'm looking towards Raven's den, now I'm walking towards Raven's den. Is that two bottomless pits of doom I see in there or is it just Orca's eye holes? He asked, shuffling towards the den.

Orca shrieked with laughter, delighted when Towhee raced away from Lagan. The Blackthorn boy, much like his father, was patient with the younger pups and happily obliged his new role as "it." He kept counting, and Orca's paws scrabbled in the dirt and grass as she suddenly changed direction, following Towhee.

Rather than find her own hiding place, she slipped into the badger den as well, likely obscuring her sister from view. Her breath came out in quiet giggles as she gazed out into the daylight, listening to Lagan's dictation as he meandered purposefully around the rendezvous site. He came closer and closer, and Orca's body tensed with anticipation. When he peered inside and locked eyes with her, she yipped and then darted out of the badger den, attempting to slip past Lagan without getting tagged -- but in reality, she was probably right within range of his paw if he reached for her.

Something dark suddenly blocked her view and Towhee blurted an overly loud, "Hey!" as Orca squeezed herself into the den. "This is my spot, Orca," she complained, though she quickly fell silent as her sister's body tensed. She couldn't hear Lagan coming but her sister could. Now was time to be quiet, as they were supposed to be hiding from him. Towhee huffed, then hunched down behind the other girl...

...right as Orca decided to spring right back out of the den. "Hey!" Towhee cried again, sounding a little put out and impatient. She jumped up and hovered in the doorway a moment, waiting to see if Lagan would chase after Orca or turn and go after her—in which case she would have to make a quick escape to the left or right.

Lagan's tail wagged when his apple green eyes fell on the eyes of Orca. She shrieked and flew from the cage like a bat out of hell, slow enough for him to tag. He reached out as if to tag her, and dramatically missed, hoping to amuse the kiddos. Oh no! He said, as he stumbled and shook his head. When he got back up, Orca had already gotten far enough away. So instead he turned to face Towhee, who was waiting at the entrance to the den. He jumped right then left, trying to have her make the first move.

Somehow, Lagan didn't manage to tag Orca -- which just sent her into another fit of high-pitched laughter as she vaulted away from him. She ran for a short while, then whirled around, tongue lolling, to see what was happening behind her.

Lagan was sidestepping in front of the badger den, and Orca watched eagerly to see if Towhee would escape.

Towhee was at a disadvantage during hide-and-seek. When hiding, she couldn't hear the seeker's approach. When seeking, she couldn't depend on audio cues to help her locate her targets. But it didn't bother her much, if she even thought about it at all. And, besides, this had morphed into a game of tag now. That didn't require hearing in any way whatsoever.

Orca managed to dodge a fumbling Lagan—his odd movements caused Towhee to pause and quirk an eyebrow—and then he came lumbering in her direction. Towhee squeaked and darted madly to the right, hoping to evade him even as she sensed one of those big gray paws descending to clap her on her white-streaked shoulders.

Lagan's little fumbling show made Orca laugh, but Towhee just looked confused. Figured, the girl could be a tough one woman crowd at times. Plus, she had bigger things to deal with than laughing at Lagan, first she had to evade him. When she darted right, Lagan gently reached down and bopped her right on the shoulders, making her "it". Without another word, the boy scampered back towards Orca and dropped into a playbow, trying to insinuate a game of chase. He even stuck out his tongue and wagged it at Towhee for good measure.

Orca watched the exchange between Towhee and Lagan, then yipped in surprise when Lagan suddenly turned his sights on her. He loped towards her and she skittered backwards, almost tripping over her own feet. When he dropped his shoulders and rested on his elbows with his rump in the air, she stopped moving and immediately imitated him.

She held the sloped position for a long moment, then leaped towards him, ready to chase. "Come on, Towhee!" she yelled, even though her sister couldn't hear her.

A strange noise (not unlike a blast of flatulence) escaped Towhee when she felt her pack mate's paw make contact. She dropped and even rolled but it was too late. She was it now and Lagan was already spinning and taking off in Orca's direction. She unwittingly blew another raspberry even as she rolled back onto her feet and darted toward the two of them.

She didn't hear Orca's cry, nor really discern how the game had changed. There was only one thing on Towhee's mind at the moment: tagging one of them, preferably Orca so her sister could have a turn. Circling the pair like a shark, the Xi waited until her litter mate was at a disadvantage (dipped forward in a playful bow) before diving in and attempting to tackle the girl's upraised rump.

Lagan and Orca jeered Towhee on, wagging their tails excitedly and telling her to come on. The small girl made her way towards her prey and circled them, as if she were singling out the weakest link. As soon as Orca moved into a bowing position, the little predator launched herself at the other pup's booty. Lagan scrambled away from her as quickly as possible, leaving Orca to deal with her own problems. He watched the two intently, waiting to see who came out of the fray, "it".

Although Orca's attention was focused on Lagan, she became aware of Towhee slowly circling them. She glanced from Lagan to Towhee and back again. Before she could really make any headway in her movement towards Lagan, Towhee had sprung, successfully planting her forepaws on her sister's hindquarters with enough momentum to send her stumbling to the ground.

Orca tumbled but quickly recovered. She gave herself a shake, then looked back at her sister and cousin, trying to decide which wolf she should pursue next. But -- perhaps annoyingly -- she changed the rules again. "Can't catch me!" she taunted, throwing in a quick sign for "catch" as she turned tail and ran away from her playmates.

She managed to grab her sister's butt, effectively tapping her as the new chaser. But Orca decided to flip the script—and rob Towhee of her sense of satisfaction—by running away rather than toward either one of her possible targets. Towhee froze, an eyebrow quirked in confusion. This game was beginning to give her whiplash. It was still fun but she was growing a little weary of the rules changing.

-You go get her,- she signed at Lagan. -I'm going to get something to eat.- Because all this playing had given her a ferocious appetite. She turned and began trotting off in search of Raven or her godparents to badger them for food, taking a quick detour to affectionately smack her brothers (who had slumped in the shade to pant off their wrestling match) first.

My last post—thanks for the thread! :D

I'll archive :)

Lagan watched, giggles in his throats as the two pups romped about. Towhee affectively capturing Orca's buttocks, but Orca changed the rules. It seemed the girl preferred to be the chasee and not the chaser. Lagan started after her, pausing when he noticed Towhee wasn't following. She signed for him to go on, she was going to get... something. The sign for food was lost in translation, partly due to the fact at he kept looking between the signing Teehee and the quickly disappearing Orca.

Ok! I'll get 'we for ya Towhee. He called back to her before turning and speeding off excitedly after the pup. As much as he'd like to think he was their babysitter, it was more often that he was just a brother, playing along with them with the same enthusiasm they gave to him.