Blacktail Deer Plateau Making a Home

@Dauntless, You and me Sarah, lets get this started :)

Today Pema was looking round the territory near the rendevous site of the pups. It seemed to be a social highway with all the attention the pups comanded. She though it would be a good way to stay involved with the other members of the pups and even watch the pups from a distance, from the entrance of her den. Not wanting to be too close she wan't making her den at the rendevous site, but neiboring to it. 

Her goal was to find some sort of structure that would hold above her. She could have chosen a small cave within the side of the mountain, but in winter stone was cold and overall not very comfortable compared to dirt or the ground. She eventually came across a tree with a few exposed large roots. It also grew on top of alittle bit of a hill. The perfect stop. She imagined the entrance to her den residing between two of the roots. From there she could dig into and below the hill.

She turned around and say that she could see one of the puppies already outside of their own den. With a small smile she turned back around and began to dig out her entrance.

Cool! Thanks for starting.

Dauntless had wandered sleepily out of the den and sat down near the entrance to yawn and shake his head vigorously to wake himself. He and his sisters were getting older, and they could now explore some and interact with the other pack members without their parents needing to be present. Dauntless was not sure where his sisters were - they were not in the den so he assumed they were off exploring.

It took him a few moments to become aware of another wolf not too far off digging determinedly at the base of a tree. Dauntless sat up a little in interest and pricked his ears in her direction. He had seen this wolf around before and knew her to be new to the pack. He was curious, but he was also shy. So instead of going over to see what she was up to, he just waited and watched from his spot as he wondered what she was doing.

She had gotten a few feet in and had begun to create a small mound of dirt she was digging up. Taking a moment to rest her legs and paws she caught her breath. She looked around, just because, and caught the sight of a small brown pup she had meet a few days earlier by the name of Dauntless. He had been watching her, Pema didn't know for how long, but he didn't say hello or anything. She hadn't gotten a chance to really meet him in person other then when Grayday first introduced all of his kids.

"Hey there." she said lightly to sound kind, but also because she was slightly short of breath. Maybe he was shy.

Instinctively, Dauntless ducked himself down into the grass when the large wolf addressed him. His tiny, bear-like eyes looked quickly back and forth for his father or sisters. Seeing that they were not around, he looked shyly back toward the other wolf. Her paws and muzzle were dirty from her digging, which he found to be humorous. He thought briefly of Lavender and Easy, wherever they were. Neither one of them would be afraid to address an adult wolf. It was only that Dauntless was used to them taking the lead...

"Hello," he answered her bravely, sitting up a little so he could see her over the grass he was attempting to hide himself in. He blinked his dark brown eyes as he stared at her.

He took a step back from her and even looked back towards the rendezous site, to many look for renforcements or a way to eascape. But eventually he truned back to her saying hello. He was a rather shy little thing compared to his sisters. Hid brown coat and rounded ears made him look more like a bear cub then a wolf pup almost. She didn't mean to startle the little boy so she lowered her voice to a more soothing tone, attemping to lure him closer with compliments. "How are you doing today handsome?"

Dauntless's tiny mouth split open into a doggy grin at her soothing words and soft tone. It helped that she thought he was handsome. He decided in that instant that he liked her. He leaned forward, his tiny nose sniffing at the air to better catch her scent. When that did not work as well as he wanted, he took a few tentative steps forward, his paws shuffling a bit along the pine needled ground. He paused shyly a few times, but eventually made his way all the way over to her so his tiny body was positioned just underneath her head. He reached up and licked her submissively under the chin a few times.

Inch by inch he made his way closer to her making small pauses along the way. A friendly smile rested on her face as he approched. When he reach up for her chin she lowered her head and sat down. Allowing him to give her little licks while she sniffed and nose touched him gently. She had gotten him to approach, but maybe now she could get him to open up a bit. Maybe something fun could draw it out. "I've been digging my den, do you want to see it?" she asked gesturing to the beginnings of the den she had dug out. She though that maybe the den or mount of light dirt would entise him.

He panted happily as the female gently sniffed at him. Her breath felt warm and comforting. In a way, it reminded him of his mother's who had been absent for several weeks now. Dauntless could now tell by the demeanor of the pack that she was not coming back... He was glad the other wolf suggested looking at the den when she did. He had been about to be overtaken by sadness. He nodded eagerly and wagged his little tail back and forth, standing on all four feet as he looked past her to the hole she had been digging. He wondered if, when she was done, there would be room for one small puppy.

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With how fast his tail was wagging she assumed he was very excited to see the den, or was excited that it was there. He didn't say much, but luckily for Pema he seemed rather expressive. I made him seem so young, not speaking. She had heard Easy say so many thing that it was obvious that if he wanted to he could most liley speak. But she didn't mind it too much. As long as he was happy. She still had quite a ways to go before her den would be finished, but didn't want to shoo Dauntless. "It still has a long ways to go. Do you want to help me?"

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His eyes widened in wonder when the gentle wolf offered for him to help, and in all of the naivety of youth, he thought she actually needed his help. Dauntless had never been needed by anyone before, and he felt his mind opening up to all sorts of new possibilities. He was quiet and reserved by nature, making it easy for his sisters to steal the spotlight. Usually, they did most of the talking while Dauntless would hang back. The sudden disappearance of his mother did not help either. The pups had been counting on her to take them out and teach them about the world, which was why it had not even occurred to Dauntless yet to introduce himself to this kind wolf. Nevertheless, he was eager to try out this new concept of being of help and so he wagged his tail affirmatively, gave the wolf a tiny little smile and then bounded around in the small hole as he sniffed at the sides.

His face lit up as his tail began to wag immensely bringing a smile to Pema's face. She was becomming alot more used to his silence. It made his reactions so much more meaningful and genuine. As he rushed into the den Pema followed behind, watching as he sniffed around inside. Though cute he wasn't neccarily helping her, at least not yet. She entered into the den herself, to the side of Dauntless saying to him, "Ok so this is what you have to do." she began as she showed him what to do as she spoke. "You need to take your paw like this. Dig your claws into the ground, push down and then pull back." she demonstrated slowly and waited to see what he would do next.

His dark brown eyes observed the larger wolf in silence as she showed him how to use his paws to dig. After a few seconds, he gave a little yip of understanding and quickly came alongside her to dig into the soft side of the earth. He knew how to play this game! He had practiced digging at all sorts of things with his sisters. He used his little paws to dig furiously at the earth, and then turned his head up to look at the female wolf to see if she approved of his actions so far.

She was almost startled when he made a yipping nose in agreement with her instruction. The first noises that she had ever heard him make. Watching as he dig fieriously with his little paws, flicking dirt back little by little. When he looked back up at her she encouraged him by saying, "Keep going. Your so good at this." she then proceeded to dig along side of him.

After awhile of the two digging the sun was beginning to set when she paused to check and see how he was doing.

Dauntless panted happily at the other wolf's approval and he turned to dig more at the side of the earth. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she joined him and dug at a much calmer pace alongside him. Keeping half an eye on her, he slowly mimicked her antics and was able to more efficiently move the soft dirt.

As the sun began to set overhead, Dauntless grew tired. Even though it was growing dark, he had not yet heard his sisters or father come back. He did not wonder where they were, though. His sisters were much more adventurous than he was, and as for Grayday.... well, being the leader of the pack kept him away from the pups many night. Dauntless looked at the kind female wolf with large, soulful brown eyes when she came to check on him. Normally he would just curl up by himself and wait for the return of his natal family, but he really liked this wolf and hoped she would let him share her space with her.

"Can we stay here... together?" he asked her in his quiet, shy voice as he peeked at her beneath his dark rimmed eye lashes.

They had done a great job at excovating out Pema's den, but she could see that Dauntless was getting tired. Seeing the color change of the light as it entered the den she looked out to see that the sun was setting. The den was nearly done, Pema would just need to do a few touch ups here and there later to make sure everything smoothed out nicely. 

Then Dauntless spoke, the first time she had ever heard his sweet voice. When she had checked the time outside she hadn't seen Grayday around. She wondered how often his duties to the pack kept him away from the pups. She didn't blame him, it was his job, but she was happy to be there for the pups when he wasn't able to be around. "Sure we can sweety. You can come over whenever you like." she told him, nuzzling the fur on the top of his head.

She brushed the remaining loose dirt out of the den to make room for them to lie down. Curling herself up in a corner of the den, she invited Dauntless to snuggle at her side.

Dauntless followed her happily when she invited him to her side. He became suddenly hesitant as he started edging himself in next to her. In his young naivety, he had expected her to feel just like his mother Khoe. He was surprised to find, however, that her body felt much different against him. Her coat was much thicker than Dauntless's mothers, causing it to feel cool against the pups shorter fur. He shivered a little, but she was so nice and they had worked so hard on the den and he was so tired that he squeezed himself closer to her instead.

"My name is Dauntless," he said suddenly, without any preamble, into the silence. He felt himself relaxing as the heat from Pema's body slowly started to radiate toward his. He tilted his chin up and looked at the other wolf with wide brown eyes, expecting her to introduce herself in return.

He came to her side hesitantly, but she was patient and let him take his time. After all this was the first time the two had had a moment together other then when Grayday breafly introduced them. But she hoped that even though they didn't know eachother too well that he felt safe with her and knew that she would be willing to be his friend and care for him.

He have her his name. She already knew it, but she smiled knowing that he was willing to give it to her. "That's a nice name... My name is Pema." she introduced herself knowing that it was sometime hard for pup to remember names.