Heron Lake Plateau make me feel

Tags are for reference! Sorry it took me so long to reply to this, Iris! The tag notification got buried in my PM box. >_>

Lately, the pups were a nightmare symphony that consisted of four distinct chords. Each one of them knew precisely how to pluck her nerves just like guitar strings, and while she loved them and wouldn't trade any of this for the world, Raven was feeling a bit frazzled. Had her younger siblings ever been this much of a handful? If they had, she couldn't remember it. @Vasa and @Owen were the biggest troublemakers: two headstrong, stubborn pups hell-bent on doing things their own way and taking no shit from that doormat they called "mom". @Phoebe and @Kite seemed to be a bit more level-headed, but it didn't take much temptation for them to follow the bolder two around in their mischief. Raven knew that these traits would one day yield strong, independent wolves who could handle whatever life threw at them -- and she was grateful for that! really! -- but man, was it war in the trenches right now.

The pups were permitted to play freely outside the den now, but she had just retrieved Vasa and Owen from their 8,756th attempt to run off out of her sight that day and her patience was beginning to wear thin. In a brief flash of wicked villainy, she contemplated foisting them off on one of her trusty puppysitters for a while and getting some alone time to decompress. But she actually wanted her sitters to keep sitting, and nothing runs off a good babysitter like a couple of demon children dialed up to 11.

As if the universe had heard her thoughts, she heard the familiar voice of one of her oldest friends and favorite sitters approaching the den site. Oh thank god, she thought. Another warrior to help me corral these evil little minions. As Eljay drew near, Raven flashed him a warm smile and her tail thumped the ground behind her as she lay in the grass. "Hey!" she greeted him, as the toothily-grinning pups realized they now had a new target to beat up and began to toddle toward him, tiny tails wagging to and fro.