Lost Creek Hollow if you want, you can marry

i think they are allowed outside of the den about now - maybe @Ashlar ? ofc any one else welcome <3

storms could not be contained, and that's exactly what little sionnach was once she got a taste of the world outside her den. more than once @Rannoch had to insistently shepherd her back to the den, and more than once she had redirected her rage onto a sibling (probably @Aengus given he liked to stick his fat nose where it didn't belong). a few times she had even tried to slip past @Liffey, but the mother proved a better babysitter than milkmaid, and had dragged her back kicking and screaming each time.

today was different; the last time both her parents had been out hunting or doing whatever it was parents did when they weren't spending time with their most valued offspring, @Deshyr had been there, and sionnach had been mesmerized by the pinging song of rain. (she had also thrown up, but that was besides the point -- her food obviously hadn't been prepared right.) but today, the skies were silent, and a warm and gentle sun smiled down upon them.

that sun just so happened to illuminate the world outside of the den perfectly, and sionnach was especially invested in testing her boundaries today. more curious than anything was the glittering pool of a puddle just outside of the den's perimeter. she had tried to get to it earlier in the week, but had been snatched almost immediately. slyly glancing this way and that, sionnach confirmed no parent was watching -- it was then she launched into a full-blown puppy bumble towards the puddle, streaking with all the desperation of an incarcerated man making his jailbreak.

The other children fascinated Ashlar, but he did not visit them often.  He spent most of his time with @Mona or @Gannet, a tiny shadow trailing at their heels, too shy to approach much of anyone else.  He was learning that the world was a large place, larger than he could comprehend, and full of terrifying things.  He'd seen birds and liked them and their songs, but he'd also seen foxes and did not like them.  

It was his mother's turn to be haunted today, and he made a game of trying to step where her paws placed, though the wide stride forced him to follow in a rollicking hop.  He giggled delightedly as he did with the fun of it.  

As they passed by the site of Liffey's den, Ashlar spotted a shock of light against the green.  He watched with wide, gold-turning eyes as Sionnach tumbled out to play in a puddle.  For an instant he was frozen between the desire to join in what was obviously more fun than simple paw-hopping and the fear of new.  He took a few hops forward, then stopped, waiting for something to push him one way or the other.

CANNONBALL!

unfortunately for all who would come into close contact with sionnach in the next few hours, she hit her mark. with a plop! sionnach was now one with the puddle, and she wallowed in it with the same joyous affinity one would expect from a geased pig.

she splashed around in the puddle, delighted by the splatter of water and the scintillating prismatic colors. she would have played forever in this mini-mire, if she hadn't seen ashlar frozen not so far from her. she stood at attention immediately, her ears flopping over as she stared at him with a wide o of her mouth. who was he?! stealing a glance back to the den, she did not see any adult coming to tell her she was bad for playing in the dirt, and no adult was ushering him away...

sionnach was emboldened by the lack of parental and/or babysitting supervision. she growled at the brown cub, lowered her chest into the water, and then gave a loud and demanding PLAY-WITH-ME-YAP! of taunting encouragement before clattering about the puddle at clumsy scooting-canter.

That definitely did it.  At first Ashlar was startled when she splashed to invite him, and he jumped a bit.  But then a wide smile split his muzzle and he yelled a cheerful nonsense response that was part words, part happy exclamation.  

He ran forward and mimicked exactly what she'd done by splashing into the water next to her.  They'd both be soaked and muddy at the end of it, but he was so thrilled!  Then he skidded sideways as well.  He did not know what she wanted to play but most games were chase or be chased, and he wanted to see what she intended.

yeesh, it took him a moment. sionnach was too busy taming mud, of course, to comment some witty but devastating remark about how slow he was -- but by the time sionnach's author thinks of something clever, ashlar was right next to sionnach having a grand old time.

sionnach was pleased to stomp about, delighted by the splatter of dark liquid that went every which way and obnoxiously painted her pelt a different color (she could just see the milkmaid griping about how filthy she was, when she came in for supper). however, ashlar didn't have the same luck -- sionnach froze as she realized other than he was obviously muddy, he really wasn't a concerningly different shade of color. marching up to him with a bossy coo, sionnach slomped through the thickest of mud (accruing a thick grime of muddy sheen in the process) before she made to the grass patch besides them. ripping at the grass like a cat on catnip, sionnach then rolled fervently in her own mess -- staining her pelt green and brown in the process.

It didn't bother Ashlar that he didn't show the mud, but Sionnach apparently felt differently.  He was delighted just wallowing.  As he splashed his paws he crooned, babbling nonsense that Sionnach likely couldn't understand.  But if she could, it was how neat this puddle was and how cool she was for finding it.

When she bossily demanded that he needed to roll in the grass, Ashlar cheerfully complied.  She did not need to tell him twice.  

Unfortunately for them both (but fortunately for Mona), aside from the bits of grass that now coated him, Ashlar's coat did not take to the green either.  He rolled and squirmed enthusiastically in the mess but did not stain.  The cool grass felt very nice on his back, though, and he eyaaa'd enthusiastically.

the funny thing about baby-babble, is that only they seem to understand it. for whatever reason, children shared a universal language not understood by adults. ashlar's babbles, unintelligible to anyone not cool enough to be a baby, were perfectly understood by sionnach -- she even launched into her own squealing speech, babbling with authority towards the brown puppy, happy to have a conversation with a like-minded individual.

rolling in the grass, sionnach rose proudly and looked at her work. her fur was smeared with dirt, and a sickly green stained her feet and back. tufts of grass stuck out like quills from the mud that caked her back like armor; this was good work, indeed.

babbling still, sionnach inspected ashlar's work too. of course, it was of an inferior quality - he lacked the pelt color she did, so the change was not quite so remarkable. sniffing ashlar's face with a playful, wet nose, sionnach brushed right by the tyke and started splashing in the mud anew.

Ashlar waited with baited breath for approval and, when he received it, felt a happiness only acceptance by peers could bring.  Her sniff and brush meant to him that he was in the club with her, and likewise, he felt the same.

Splashing in the shallower mud was fun, but Ashlar wasn't completely content.  So he began to dig at one end of the soggy turf.  Hopefully the mud hole he delved would be big enough for a whole other level of wallowing.

sionnach probably would have been content to play in the mud all day, so it was a good thing ashlar was along to show her the error of her ways. no sooner had she announced her approval of him, did he march elsewhere: sionnach watched him with a supervisor's critical eye, wondering just what could be more enticing than a mud-puddle.

stumbling towards him on mudflecked legs, sionnach inspected ashlar's new game: he was hauling his paws into the earth, heaving flings of mud behind him. "oOoOoo." the girl babbled, diving down into the mud-pit he had crafted. the mud here was cooler, and felt better -- therefore sionnach assumed he had built the pit for her, his rightful queen, ofc -- and with a flop, the girl plopped down into the shallow bowl and mumbled contently to herself.

He... wait.  Just as he got it good and deep, Sionnach came over and doused herself in it.  Ashlar sat back and just stared a moment, as if sorting out if arguing would be worth the energy.  Evidently he decided it wasn't because, without a word, he set to digging again.  This time his pit was next to the other one.

As he dug, he started to sing a little nonsense song, probably something similar to a song mama had sang to him.  It set a good rhythm to dig to, and he kept it going as he happily carved himself a little bath next to his friend's.  Provided that no more thieves snuck in (and Sionnach didn't decide she needed a new one to soak in) as soon as he finished he'd flop into it with a hearty splash.

nope, sionnach was firmly entrenched -- hah, get it? she slipped an arm around the hole's lip, lounging there like a dos equis spokesperson, her paw dangling. coolly, the girl watched her friend dig his new hole, listening contently as mud spilled into the depression. there was another song in the air besides the splatter and shift of mudwater; ashlar's little voice crooned from the dirt, tickling sionnach's ears.

focusing her wobbly sights on the boy, sionnach offered her own racuous rendition of mona's song to the mix.. it had all of the synchronity of shrieking train brakes being engaged, but hey, nothing like songs around a campfire dirt-hole, right?

She definitely did not harmonize, but Ashlar didn't mind.  He was just happy he had someone to sing along with him and, with that happiness, began to splash his little puddle with the song.

Ashlar splattered himself with quite a bit more mud by doing so, but the mud felt so nice on the relatively hot day that this seemed a bonus.

ashlar's voice was definitely smoother as it climbed skyward, vaulting past the raucuous shrieks that sionnach called 'singing'. somewhere, a bird was probably wondering what all this hullaboo was -- but sionnach was uncaring, and continued her own simple song without metronome or beat.

her song only ceased as ashlar begun to splash; the splatter landed atop her grimy coat, rivulets pouring down sionnach's creamy but dirt-soaked belly. she lifted her nose inquiringly, snuffed at the air for a beat, and then rose. the effect of which looked something like the loch ness monster rising from slop -- with mud streaking and splattering, sionnach marched over to ashlar and draped her body right across his own. rolling over with a growl, she squirmed in the sloppy pit and playfully nipped at his chin.

wrapping this.  Hopefully someday I can bring this boy back

She began to play and Ashlar joined in with his usual easy eagerness.  He was not a leader but a follower always, much like his baba before him.  Other wilder wolves drew him, and when he played with Sionnach, she made him feel bolder.

As he let loose a few small and playful growls, he emerged from his own puddle to give her a muddy, wrestling hug, and likely they'd remain mired until parents came to collect their sodden swamp creatures.

<3

luckily for ashlar, sionnach happened to be the best ringleader. she was a natural born instigator, so it just so happened, she was made bolder by an audience too. she was having a great deal of fun spoiling her fur's natural color in the mud-pit, and even threw in some mirroring growls and jumps of play.

of course, when liffey came to collect her and shoo ashlar off with a disapproving glance, there were many objections to be had.. but as always, the parent unit was bullishly triumphant, and sionnach swore she would escape as soon as her parents were asleep and find ashlar again.