Lost Creek Hollow Wild things

She hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a familiar and welcome face materialized from the green backdrop of the woods. Larkspur paused and swiveled to face her mother, breaking into a grin and wriggling her tail as the hollow's Alpha female closed the gap between them. Spur bounced on her heels to lick at her dam's chin, then batted affectionately at Harlyn's forelegs for good measure.

"I'm thirsty!" she announced. She paused then, the forest falling into a hushed silence around them so that she could detect the distant burbling of the creek again. "Do you hear that, mommy?" the little Pi asked in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "It's wadoo!" Spur had long since learned the correct pronunciation of water, yet she couldn't resist the childish term. She offered her mother a cheeky smile.