Sun Mote Copse here's the situation--i kinda kicked your dog into the sun.

Fin was bored. It was rather early in the morning and for some reason, her body had decided it was time to be wide awake even though she was clearly the minority in that respect within the den. She watched with a bittersweet sort of joy as Eljay slept at his father's side with Elfie and Weejay tucked against him. And actually... She had to blink a few times to get the rest of the sleep out of her eyes, but yeah, she wasn't seeing things. Pox had snuggled himself into their pile as well. He was wedged between his niece and nephew facing Eljay's side with his head craned skyward where he'd decided his older brother's side would make the perfect pillow. The little traitor... Fin thought with a grin, shaking her head with wonder as to how that could possibly be comfortable for him before turning her attention away again.

She removed herself quietly from her mate's other side and stepped gingerly around the rest of her sleeping children to head out towards the mouth of the den. She paused, her eyes lingering briefly on @Sugar Glider as she considered plucking the tiny girl up and forcing her to come along. She thought better of it though and trotted outside. After performing the usual bodily functions that followed after a good night's sleep, she crept back to seat herself comfortably at the mouth of the den, her eyes lazily slipping across the landscape as she thought about her life and the universe in general. More specifically, whether or not she ought to try and find some breakfast for her family, or just sit and wait until one of them woke up to play with her.

if you have time! since you've made like a billion threads for me that I've failed to join...

The smallest Blackthorn didn't stir when her mother rose and stepped outdoors, nor would she have roused until much later in the day if not for a fat fly that drifted almost lazily into the den. It made a brief pit stop on the proverbial door frame, rubbing its tiny legs together mischievously, before taking flight again. One of Sugar's ears twitched as it registered the buzzing, though still she did not wake. Only when the fly circled the den almost lazily, then lit on the other ear and gave it a bite did the pup suddenly thrash awake.

Fortunately for everyone else still soundly sleep, Sugar didn't cry out. She sat up blearily even as the fly escaped back out the door and into the morning sunshine. She then frowned and rubbed at her ear with a foreleg before realizing she needed to urinate. The little tyke stood slowly and padded towards the den's mouth, squinting against the glare as she stepped outside and pausing with a small start when she found Finley blocking the way.

"Somet'in' bits'd," Sugar slurred as she crouched and brought up a hind leg to bat at her smarting ear. As she did so, she suddenly remembered her full bladder and set her foot back down and squatted properly, emptying it right then and there.

Woke up to play with her it is! Fin heard movement in the den, but didn't think too much of it at first. They were small sounds, which probably meant someone was just adjusting their snuggle. Soon enough though, a puppy magically appeared at her side. Her littlest one. Which made sense now that she hadn't realized she was coming. All of her daughter's movements were small.

"Well good morning, Small," she greeted with a wag of her tail, then frowned as she tried to make sense of the information she'd been given. She was definitely going to need a repeat of that one. "Sometin bits'd?" she prompted, hoping for a bit more clarification. Was she hungry?

"Yeah," Sugar concurred. No further explanation was forthcoming.

She finished her toilet, lifted her hips and kicked a bit of soil over the wet patch, then peered around at the sunlit dooryard a moment. Her black eyes squinted against the brightness, which made them ache and water. Sugar wanted to go back inside and sleep some more, though she looked up at her mother and saw the she-wolf gazing at her almost expectantly. She couldn't know what her dam wanted, though she smiled up at her, head cocking endearingly.

Some of the other pups were louder than her, already talking endlessly and mastering their vocabularies. Sugar was quieter by nature and spoke sort of sparingly thus far. Perhaps she seemed dumb (pun intended) or simply taciturn. True to form, she remained silent, lips pursed a little as she awaited some sort of command from Finley.

Ah, well. Her daughter didn't provide any further explanation for her commentary, so Fin simply nodded as though she agreed and let it go. She didn't appear to be hurt or anything, so whatever it was at least wasn't dire by any means.

That settled, a grin curled across Finley's muzzle as she thought up something to do that day. "What say you and I go get ourselves into trouble?" she offered playfully. That was typically a very dangerous thing to come out of Finley Blackthorn's mouth. It usually lead to bear baiting or mountain climbing. At least, it had back when she'd been younger and fitter.

But even at her wildest, she would never have voluntarily put her own children in any kind of danger, so she had no intention of doing that today. But she did thing it might be to take the girl on a little jaunt a bit further from home than she'd ever gone before.

Her mother posed a question and Sugar blinked, considering. She didn't particularly enjoy getting into trouble, as it usually meant a rebuke of some kind. But if it was her mother herself inviting her to get into it, then surely Sugar wouldn't be punished later? As she worked this out in her wee brain, a smile began to creep over her elfish features.

"Okay, Finley!" she replied, using the term others did when addressing her mother but stretching out the syllables a bit. "We can has digs?" Sugar wanted to know. Digging was her favorite hobby as of late and, whatever else they got themselves into this morning, she would be happiest if it involved some dirt between her toes.

Fin gave an amused smirk to her daughter as she used her full name. It was an odd habit the girl had picked up, but not one that particularly bothered her. Just so long as Sugar understood that Fin was her mommerz, it was all good in her book. With a wag of her tail, she stood to lead the way to adventure.

"Alright, I can arrange some digs," Fin said, "But first, we gotta do the travellers stretch to make our legs all loosey noodley, like this." She bowed as low as she could then to stretch her forearms out as far ahead of her as possible, then smoothly reached forward to stick out first one back leg and then the other with her neck craned skyward. Finally, with a little flourish, she gave her coat a good shake and trotted a couple of steps forward, turning her head as she went to see if her daughter had taken it all in.

"C'mon, little squirrel. Your turn!" she encouraged with a smile.

Her mother said a whole lot of words that sounded rather comical when strung together, then demonstrated what she meant by dipping forward into a luxurious stretch. Sugar watched as Finley reached out her forelegs, her rump in the air, before kicking out each hind leg in turn and arching her head. It almost looked like she was getting ready to howl, which made the pup's ears slide backward in uncertain anticipation (howls tended to be very loud). But all Finley did was straighten up with a solid shake, then look to her progeny, inviting Sugar to give it a try.

She licked her lips, then dropped her anterior so that her tiny bum wiggled in the air, small tail feathering to and fro. She kneaded her little white toes in the earth, enjoying the sensation immensely. Forgetting the step with her back legs, Sugar then bounced back upward and then shook herself so emphatically that she stumbled sideways. When all was said and done, she looked up at her mother for approval before bounding to stand beside Finley, black beetle eyes glimmering expectantly.

"Diggy, diggy, dig, dig!" she chanted softly, rear end wiggling a little.

Her daughter made an excellent attempt at the travellers stretch, but decided to take some creative liberties and make some modest alterations to the procedure. Fin smiled as the little girl stumbled from shaking so vigorously, then gave an approving nod when she saw Sugar's eyes search for hers. "Diggitty dig dig in-diggitty-deed!" she agreed brightly before setting off with her daughter (presumably) in tow.

They didn't really go all that far from the den. Had she taken a direct route, they would've been there in about five minutes. To make it more fun and exciting, however, Fin took the pup on a twisty, turny, backwards and forwards journey, using the trees and brush and rocks and such that littered the forest floor to make it seem as though they'd travelled through a whole labyrinth. When at last they arrived to the little clearing. There was nothing at all remarkable about it, but Fin suspected there didn't really need to be. The pups were still young enough that everything was new and exciting, so hopefully not-remarkable would be just the amount of remarkable required.

"What do you think, Small?" Fin asked, turned to her daughter with a grin.

It pleased her when her mother parroted her words back at her. Although not at all prone to outbursts or high volumes of any kind, Sugar's excitement prompted her to shout one final, "DIGS!" And that was their cue, Finley striding off into the forest and her miniature bounding (only a little clumsily) in her wake.

Sugar was too caught up in their destination to enjoy the journey as much as she should have otherwise. The scenery slipped by, unseen, as she trailed expectantly after her mother. Only when Finley paused did the youth suddenly become aware of anything besides her dam. Her black eyes flew wide as she was prompted to check out her surroundings, all of which were utterly unfamiliar to her.

It was all a lot to take in but Sugar did her best, sitting still and silently scoping out this alien landscape. Eventually her attention drifted downward, to where her white toes were clutching the soil. She wriggled them, feeling the soft earth shift beneath her feet. Yes, this was a prime site for excavation. Sugar directed a beaming smile up at Finley in the heartbeat before she plunged her little forelegs into the dirt and began to fling it every which way.

Fin watched her daughter closely as they reached their destination. There was a look on her face that was very familiar--one that the mother had very quickly learned to recognize and understand. "You okay? You got the 'whelmies?" she asked gently, smiling and wagging her tail in a reassuring way. She knew her tiny pup was easily overwhelmed, but she also would not baby the girl and make it seem like there was really anything to feel overwhelmed by.

As usual, Sugar Glider got over her "whelmies" and began to dig eagerly into the soil. Fin stepped back, out of the way of the dirty spray and moved to lie down and take her usual role of supervisor. Before she did so, though, she paused and considered for a moment. When was the last time she dug a hole just for the fun of it? Her daughter was certainly having a blast. Maybe she ought to give it a try.

Turning so she faced her pup, but left a good amount of space between them, Finley dug her own paws into the earth and began to scoop out a few divets. She smiled and gave a soft chuckle. It wasn't actually all that fun, but that only made it even more amusing to her now that Sugar Glider seemed to think it was. So, she kept on digging.

The copycat game continued! Sugar paused to watch as her mother followed suit, a beaming smile taking over the youngster's face. Her tail wagged so fast and hard, it was all but a blur. "Diggies!" she squeaked joyfully before resuming her own enthusiastic tilling.

Although the pup certainly derived pleasure from the mere act of pulling soil from the earth and flinging it elsewhere, creating a hole where there hadn't been one before, what really enchanted her was finding nature-made buried treasure: roots, stones, worms and all the other odds and ends that tended to get covered in dirt over time.

The tiny archaeologist's first discovery today was an empty turtle shell, at least most of one. There was a crack in it, with a big shard missing, and it was very brittle to the touch. Sugar didn't take note of these things consciously as her little claws tugged the dirt away to expose it. As soon as she feasibly could, she reached down and grasped the exposed edge with her teeth, then brought her head upward.

"F'ey!" she called around the carapace stuck in her teeth. "'Ook!" The force of her breath caused the shell to tumble from her toothy grasp, earning another crack as it dropped to the ground between her tiny white toes.

Fin kept on digging as her daughter did, though she didn't have any luck actually finding anything. She didn't really mind. It was growing more fun as she went, and soon enough, she was elbow-deep with dirt all over her stomach and her legs. She paused only when Sugar called for her attention, at which point her eyes widened in delighted surprise at what the pup had managed to unearth.

"Woah! Whatcha got there?" she asked, taking a step closer to inspect the object, "It looks like a turtle shell." Fin sniffed at it, but it was far too old and saturated with earth to still smell like the animal it had once encased. Not that she really needed the scent to confirm for her--it was fairly obvious what it was.

Oblivious to the additional fissure in her artifact, Sugar Glider bent down to pick it up again when Finley approached to sniff at it. The pup's tail waved at her mother's interest, head tilting as she referred to the object as a turtle shell. She'd heard the word "shell" before in some context, though "turtle" was brand new to her.

"Tuddle?" she repeated to the best of her ability, wanting to know more about her findings.

It hadn't occurred to her that Sugar wouldn't know what a turtle was, but when it did, it was like DUH. She's a toddler. Fin smiled and nodded and ignored her own stupidity. "Yeah! They're like little green lizard-ish animals with scale-y skin and they live inside of shells, like this," Fin explained, once again proving to me that it is freaking hard to describe things in nature and I'm thankful we have Google images, "When they're scared, they can pull their heads and legs into the shell and it'll protect them from getting hurt 'cause the shell is so strong."

Not realizing another duh moment was likely upcoming (because how would Sugar know what a lizard is if she didn't even know of turtles yet), she just peered down into the hole Sugar had carved, wondering if there might be more things buried in there.

Although she didn't comprehend everything her mother said, Sugar listened with wide eyes, their dark depths glistering with fascination. Her mental image only bore a vague resemblance to an actual turtle, though she didn't know any better. She peered down at the cracked shell, brow slowly furrowing. If the shell was meant to protect the turtle, then where was it?

She bent to sniff at it, seeing no sign of any living creature, even when she nosed it, flipping it over. When it came to rest with its interior facing upward, an idea suddenly struck Sugar. She applied her teeth to the shell again, then carefully moved over to her hole. She was not nearly coordinated enough to use it as a scoop, though she did think to drop it, then kick some dirt into it. The sight made her emit a muffled squeak of joy.

She'd forgotten all about the shell's prior resident as she looked at Finley and said again (more clearly now that her mouth wasn't occupied), "Look!" And then in the very next breath, "Ky keeps?"

Sugar didn't question what a turtle (or a lizard) was any further. Fin would've been okay with being asked of course, but I would have struggled so thank you. She watched as the pup picked up her treasure and moved back to the hole, curious as to what she'd come up with to do with it. She had personally considered picking it up and putting it on Sugar's back and turning her into a turtle, but she didn't want to give her the whelmies again. So, she just watched.

When she was commanded to look, Fin merely lifted her brows as though impressed (and she kind of was, but she hadn't figured out the point yet). "Cool!" she commented with a big grin like the supportive mother she was. She didn't totally understand the question she was asked either, but once again, supportive mother mode dictated she proclaim, "Yeah keeps!" with as much enthusiasm as she could muster in hopes of making her daughter smile.

According to her mother, she could keep her newfound scoop. Sugar not only smiled, she beamed. She then returned her attention to the shell and resumed filling it with dirt. When it was nearly overflowing, she made to pick it up again, though it was very heavy and unwieldy now. She managed to lift one side off the ground about an inch, only to drop it and half its contents back into the hole.

Instead of getting frustrated, Sugar simply repeated the process, patiently refilling the shell with dirt. When she finished this time, she pushed it with her snout. It slid back down into the small shallow several times before the pup managed to impel it out of the hole. Once on more even ground, it became easier to propel it along with her nose, though it did have a habit of careening off to one side or another.

After a little while of scooting around her new toy (her new tool), Sugar paused to catch her breath. She looked around for Finley and shot her mother a quick smile before abruptly declaring, "I wunt beckfist!"

Well, whatever Fin had agreed to, it sure made Sugar happy. That worked for her. The mother grinned broadly at the look she was given, then watched as the pup went on doing her thing.

Fin considered trying to help her lift the shell, but her daughter seemed to be determined enough to get it done for herself that she didn't require any assistance. So, Fin went back to digging, intrigued now to see if she might be able to uncover something else that Sugar could take home as a prize. She kept an eye on the girl as she toddled around, though, and stopped when a new request was eventually made.

"Sure! What do you say we go dig one out of a cache?" Fin suggested, anticipating Sugar might be eager to do a little more digging.

Finley said two words that made the pup's rump wriggle excitedly: "dig" and "cache." She associated the latter with breakfast, which was her word for any meal, regardless of time of day. "Yasss!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically if not particularly loudly.

Sugar bent down to pluck her new plaything off the ground, tipping it into the air and marching toward her mother. The shell was obscuring much of her view, so she bumped into Finley and dropped it. With a giggle, she captured it again, this time carrying it so it hugged against her chin. Holding onto it tightly, she peered up at her mother expectantly.

She was right--Sugar was down with more digging. Fin smiled at her pup, amused by how much she enjoyed something so simple. Now that she knew that there was treasure to be found, she did understand a bit better. But when had the girl discovered there could be things found in the earth? Had she just innately known? Finley had known, but only after being shown and she'd never been so fascinated by it like her daughter clearly was. It was just one of those silly puppy things that she would likely miss one day when Sugar grew out of it.

For now, though, she'd enjoy it "Well, come on! We's about to go adventure again!" Fin announced happily before setting off once more. She didn't need to take a twisty-windy path this time for it to be a bit of a journey, but she had confidence that her kid was up for whatever it took to get some more diggities in.

We want to wrap up here? :D

!

There was another word of which she was rather fond: "adventure." Tiny body thrumming with excited energy, Sugar clutched her new toy tightly as she romped after her mother, eagerly looking forward to the prospect of digging up some breakfast.