Sun Mote Copse could it have been another blonde.

hoping for some new roomies, but all welcome! :D @Elfie @Weejay

Penn was entirely confused by these new roommates that had joined him, his parents and his siblings. It had been super exciting at first--I mean, new things were always exciting as fuck. But almost immediately, they had proven themelves to be boring. And worse, his mother had told him he had to be quiet and something called... polite.

The fuck was that shit about?

But, no matter his disobedience to that request, the newbies were a somber lot and his parents had turned into a couple of sad sacks too. The only interesting thing going on was this awesome meat soup crap they had just begun attempting to feed him, which he was about.

Penn had just finished munching happily on some of such slop when he decided to give his niece and nephew another shot at proving he was wrong about how lame they were. He bounced merrily up to them, diving into a play bow in front of where the brother and sister were laying and gave them each a ferocious growl.

Predictably, Weejay was in little mood to play in the days following her mother's death. She skulked around the den, pushed out only when forced by an adult -- and even attempts by her brother to cheer her up were met with somber eyes and no smile.

Presently, she had finished a meal doled out by one of the caretakers, and she was about to go curl up in Daddy's lap when a bouncy puppy overtook her. Surprised and unprepared, Weejay rolled back with a protective snarl, her stubby tail flagged defensively above her. Penn had taken her by surprise, and normally Weejay would have loved to play, but it was hard rousing enough spirit for play as of late.

Weejay's response to the boy's sudden intrusion on her misery was completely understandable. Any other wolf likely would've seen it coming and would've known better than to even try to engage her in this fight. Any other wolf would also likely have seen her defensive display and realized they should back off and let the girl have her space. They would've left her alone and gone off to find someone more willing to play with.

But Pox was kind of a moron for more reasons than the simple fact that he was a toddler. So, he not only didn't leave her alone, but saw her snarly face and aggressive posturing as a sign that she too wanted to play, which was AWESOME because he was TOTALLY into this now. The boy giggled as his tail wagged furiously over his own wriggling bum and he darted forward to try and nab her nose.

That little defensive snarl was probably the first time Weejay had ever shown teeth; unfortunately for her, it was not very effective. She was used to Elfie, who while sometimes bullheaded, was at least receptive and sensitive to her moods enough to leave her alone if she really pushed for it... but this puppy was different, and came back at her with a vengeace.

Weejay had plenty of time to step out of the way, to get up or react or even push Pox away.... but... she didn't. Grief had a way of making people process things differently, and for Weejay, she was just so out-of-sorts and sad, that she just wasn't present in that moment... so... Pox got exactly what he aimed for, and landed a riotously painful bite right on Weejay's tender snozz.

She blinked in surprise, the pain slow to register and even slower to leave; it bloomed across her face, stinging her eyes with tears. A low wail pressed from her mouth in agony and she blundered backwards, completely and totally cowed by a puppy literally a quarter her size.

Pox beamed over his success and dug his teeth in hard as he could. He wasn't aware yet that doing things like this could actually cause pain. He only knew that it was fun to bite and to chew, and the snouts of other puppies were perfectly acceptable chew toys as far as he was concerned.

It wasn't until she began to cry that he considered that something might be wrong. Not with what he was doing, of course--what he had done was landed one sweet ass bite that the whole world ought to be in awe of. No, her wailing was the weird thing because there was absolutely no reason for her to be doing it. Pox released her as she stumbled away from him, peering at her with a face full of curiosity. He took a tentative step forward and asked her what was wrong with a frown, "Issbaa?"

Huddled as far away from Pox as she could manage, Weejay swiped her chubby paws at her nose and whimpered pitifully; it hurt, it really hecking hurt -- how could a puppy so small and cute cause so much pain?

Pox's actions earned him nothing but a very cold stare as he approached. Weejay hunched her back and sat up stiffly, her pained cries shifting into a warning, blubbering growl.. that probably sounded hilarous mixed together, now that I think about it.

She didn't answer him. Not exactly, anyway, unless the continued tears were supposed to be his answer. The boy frowned at her when those cries turned into something that sounded like a growl but also sounded like when you stuck your snout into water and blew bubbles. Not unpleasant, but super peculiar.

Pox spent only another thirty seconds wondering before he decided he didn't care. "P'ay!" he demanded insistently, bowing down and slapping a paw on the ground like the ref ringing the bell to begin the wrestling match.

It took more than thirty seconds for Weejay to get over herself. After all, nothing smarts like a strike to the nose. Her tears were still hot on her face as Pox-Penn-Tiny Demon decided he had better things to do, like bully playing out of her. Bewildered, Weejay sat upright while rubbing her nose. "No!"

She was not going to play - not when he had handled her face so indelicately! Shuffling her body around so that her back was to the chompy child, Weejay sniffed loudly and rested her head on her paws, exhaling a loud and solemn sigh.

For one, happy moment, Pox had thought for sure that his older niece would cave and agree to play with him. After all, who the crap didn't want to play?? That moment was brief, though, becasue it shortly because clear that Weejay was the rare weirdo that was not down with having fun. The boy frowned at her as she shouted a No! in his face, straightening as he decided to shout right back at her.

"WHY!" he yelled, his bottom lip protruding slightly as he stared at her, trying to figure her out. He wondered too why his parents had brought this trio of weirdies into their den. Elfie was okay, generally. But Weejay and Eljay were a couple of real lame-o's.

Weejay's back was turned to Pox, but that didn't stop her from flinching as Pox's tiny roar overcame her. WHY!? He had bellowed, his voice fraught with affront. Why indeed -- could it have anything to do with her still smarting schnozz?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Weejay was not at the age where she could easily muster up a crippling comeback.. so.. she did exactly what lame-o's like herself were frequently found guilty doing: she took the high road, and flat out ignored the tyke at her back.

Take... that!

Pox's frown only deepened when Weejay didn't promptly turn around and inform him exactly why it was she didn't wish to play. He figured there had to be some lame-o reason for it, but whatever it was, she wasn't fessin' up to it. 

Unless... she hadn't heard him?

THAT WAS IT.

"ISSAY WHY!!" the boy bellowed once again, louder this time. He wagged his tail and smiled at the sound of his voice echoing within the den, even as his acoustically sensitive sister squeaked in dismay behind him and his mother said his name sharply, warning him to quiet down. He paid those two no mind. Instead, he padded a little closer to Weejay, trying to peek around her backside to see her face and check to make sure she'd heard him this time.

Ignoring didn't do the trick: a second loud bellow followed, insistent and rousing the other den inhabitants with mutterings of disapproval. Weejay glanced to them and then rose abruptly, turning around and sweeping past Pox with a haughty sniff.

She decided she could go out to the flower patch, and do her ignoring there. Little did she realize that Pox's insistence to play would probably compel him to follow after her, thus doing the exact opposite of ending her torment.

HE DID IT! Pox positively beamed with pride and glee when he managed to rouse Weejay to her paws. He dropped into a play bow once again, expecting her to lunge at him at any second. He kept right on grinning expectantly even as she stepped past him and made for the exit. He was pretty sure this was just a clever trick--make him think she was leaving when really, she was about to leap back around and give him a good tackle! In fact, he was so convinced of this that he remained bowed and ready even as he saw her sihlouette glowing against the light of the den's mouth and then disappear.

Pox decided to take stock of his options then. He could wait for her to come back (there was totally still a chance of that!), he could give up and try to engage one of the other pups, or he could follow her and try again. It took him about three seconds to decide that he was going to follow her and try again. Penn Blackthorn didn't just give up, okay. He kept going until he got exactly what he wanted. So, with a grin, he raced towards the mouth of the den to follow Weejay.

Finley Blackthorn, however, was perfectly capable of recognizing when enough was enough. She appeared out of no where like a damn ninja and before he even realized what was happening, he heard a "Nope!" and was suddenly in the air, clutched tightly in his mother's jaws. Pox shrieked in protest and squirmed like mad, trying to free himself. Unfortunately, Fin was a weeeeee bit stronger than he was. Plus, he hadn't just gotten his sense of stubborn determination out of no where. Mama Fin was clearly the queen of that shit.

Within a moment, he found himself planted between Finley's arms. She set to grooming him into submission, keeping him firmly in place no matter how he cried and kicked and struggled to get free. He reached through his mother's arms for Weejay, calling nonsensically to her for help as though his detainment wasn't exactly what his niece had been hoping for. Fin, for her part, just smirked and kept on keeping on.

Weejay was just about to break through the shadow that hung across the den's mouth when she heard a din behind her. Turning around, she saw vengeance in the form of due punishment: Pox had been seized by Finley, and was being groomed within an inch of his life.

There wasn't much Weejay could do. A sparkle of commiseration shown in her eyes, perhaps -- but it was overshadowed by a giggle of mirth at Pox's expense. Thus freed from the tiny tyrant, Weejay turned around and wobbled towards the flowerpatch. She noticed there was a singe of red on one of the goldenrod leaves she had inexpertly planted -- perhaps this was the first sign that Weejay possed a halfling green thumb.

Weejay did not come to his rescue, no matter how Pox howled for her. Desperate, the boy looked around for his other siblings, but none of them seemed inclined to save him either. Apparently he was trapped, defeated, and without hope.

Sullen, the boy eventually settled into his mother's arms and pouted while he was groomed. It slowly began to feel nice, though liberty certainly would've felt better. His eyes slowly began to glaze over as he stared out the den's entrance and considered this. And even as he drifted off to sleep, he watched after his cousin with a single thought in his head.

Soon...

And when he awoke hours later...

He wouldn't remember any of that. Because he's a toddler.