Blacktail Deer Plateau sugar lime blue

All welcome, particularly those who I've power-played like crazy in this post, lol... *also summons @Blue Willow to come caretake us?!*:)

A perfect spring day saw all seven members of the family outdoors, the three adults acting as buoys dragging an invisible net to create an imperceptible playpen around the four miniatures. They frolicked and frog-marched and somersaulted among themselves, for the most part content to stay within the unseen boundaries—or, at least, too distracted by one another to even notice the confinement at all.

Osprey Jr. was, of course, the exception. Leaving the other three rolling in the mud puddle in the den's doorway, she made a sudden beeline for the gap between Peregrine and Kisu. The former swept to his feet and sprang in front of her, cutting off her path and earning a dirty glare and an indignant huff from the youngster. The young father just tipped his head innocently and grinned at her, then shook his head no.

"Nnnnngggrrrrr," was Osprey Jr.'s response to that, the sound not quite speech but close enough to convey a strong message. She gnashed her little milk teeth to drive it home.

Then the blackest pup spun on her heel and pretended to head back toward the trio of mud puppies. Unaware that she was giving herself away, she glanced repeatedly over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her (all three were now eyeballing the little troublemaker), then made another run for it, now launching herself at the space between Peregrine and Hawkeye... only to trip on her own paws and fall flat on her face in between her parents.

Blue Willow dropped by with her daily gift of sustenance for at least one of the adults taking care of the pups. She smiled as she watched from the edge as Osprey Jr was trying to escape. Her laugh blew towards them as she came into view laughing at the sweet little pups antics.

Blue Willow came over to the adults dropping her gift at the edge she laughed again and spoke to all three adults first "hello Hawkeye, Peregrine Kisu. She averted her eyes from the adults and watched Jr as she fell flat and she had to bite her tongue hard to not laugh in the middle of talking. "Oh little one I don't think you're getting out of there today. She backed up and sat down for a moment to offer conversation to the adults if they wanted it and her paws as a plaything for the little one or little ones depending.

She wasn't one to cry after a fall; typically, she brushed herself off and went on her way without even batting an eyelash. Presently, Osprey Jr. grumbled under her breath, revealing her frustration at her inability to escape as well as her own lack of coordination. Huffing and puffing, she pushed herself back onto all fours and looked upward just in time to catch Blue Willow's arrival.

The sight of Blue Willow generated a happy reaction from the black puppy, despite her moodiness a moment ago. She sprang onto her paws and ran unsteadily to greet the Healer, her plump rump swinging and her ratlike tail whipping hither and thither. She barked softly and bounced, then suddenly noticed the dead animal (a hare) near the medic's feet and bounded toward that instead.

She sniffed the carcass for a minute, then looked self-consciously over one raven shoulder as if to make sure the other pups wouldn't come up and threaten her newfound plaything. Once assured that the other three were still wrestling several yards away, Osprey Jr. pinned the slain hare down with her little forepaws, latched onto a piece of flesh and fur with her sharp little teeth and proceeded to tear it apart.

Blue Willow chuckled again at the little puppy as she grumbled to herself about falling. She watched as she brushed herself off and stood. Blue willow offered her a smile as she made her way towards her with a wagging of her tail.

Blue Willow sat and waited while the little one chewed and ripped up the hair, though she had brought it for someone to eat. She could not begrudge the little girl from a new toy. She lay down so she was a little closer to Junior and spoke quietly "Having fun little one. She watched closely to make sure the pup would not choke on the small pieces.

Osprey's blue eyes lifted when Blue Willow spoke to her but she did not stop tearing at the rabbit's silken fur. She began to growl and shake her head wildly when the rabbit's pelt ripped suddenly free from its flesh. Junior fell hard onto her haunches, causing her to blink and work her jaw open to drop the shred of fur. Ignoring her smarting rump, she pounced back toward the carcass, now sniffing madly at the exposed muscle meat and the trickles of blood resulting from the trauma inflicted by her milk teeth.

She licked at the red liquid, savoring the taste of it, which reminded her of the chewed meat her parents and uncles provided to complement the milk that still made up the pups' primary diet. It would be a few more weeks before Hawkeye began to truly wean them, though, and they had yet to taste fresh meat unprocessed by adult teeth. Osprey didn't even realize that what lay in front of her was food necessarily, though it did smell delicious.

After lapping up the last of the blood, Junior latched onto the exposed, pink and glistening flesh. She shook her head again, soon tearing off a chunk. Rather than chew and swallow it, Junior turned and began to parade around with the gob of meat clutched in her teeth. She even made a point to stop in front of Hawkeye first, then Blue Willow, then Peregrine and, finally, Kisu to show them her prize.

Blue Willow reached out a paw to steady the youngster, but Jr was on her feet before Willow even had a chance. She chuckled lightly as the young girl sniffed at the open wound now, she had completely desicated the carcass before her but was obviously still not done.

Blue Willow was watching her closely making sure the little one didn't try and take a bit out of the rabbit. Her little stomach would not process it correctly and it would probably give her a severe belly ache. She smiled as jr just sniffed at it.

Blue Willow smiled at the prize "Well met Junior you did well with that prize. She smiled as JR paraded around proud as punch.

Each of the adults feigned interest in the strip of rabbit meat. Kisu even gave it a playful tug, though Osprey Jr. growled her most savage growl and he gave a small grin and let go. Flicking her tail indignantly, she turned her back on him and romped back toward her parents and Blue Willow, who sat between them with the rabbit's remains slopped in a pile next to her feet.

As was typical for the young, she promptly lost interest in the chunk of meat, which she spat out at her father's feet (he waited to make sure she was done with it before bolting it like a piece of jerky). The smell of it had roused her hunger, so she padded closer to her mother, nosing along the Alpha female's ribcage until she found a teat. She shoved herself beneath Hawkeye's foreleg and suckled aggressively for a moment before Hawkeye's patience thinned and she nudged the pushy puppy away.

Smacking her lips, Osprey Jr. turned and considered joining the other pups again but it appeared they'd all slumped into a pile just inside the den's mouth. Junior curled her lip at this; she wasn't about to waste the day on a nap. Nonetheless, her jaws split wide open in a very large yawn as she sauntered back to Blue Willow, who was the most enticing if only because she was the least familiar.

"Raaaaaw?" Osprey yawped at the Healer, prancing in front of her. No one could be quite sure what the word was supposed to mean, though her shining blue eyes lifted and she smiled, a little kid just wanting someone to play with her.

Blue Willow smiled and held out her paw for the alpha princess to play with. She moved it back and forth and waited to see what the little one would do. She chuckled at her again and waved her paw like an offering.

She also pushed away the remains of the rabbit so that she didn't plop her feet in it or anything and in case someone wanted to finish it off. Unless the puppies woke up and decided they wanted to play with it too.

The Healer offered a paw, which Osprey Jr. batted at much like a small black kitten. Keeping with the metaphor, she followed the paw as it twitched to and fro, pouncing it and giving it a little nibble before backing away... wash, rinse, repeat. Blue Willow quite likely grew bored of the game well before little Junior did, though eventually the silky black pup grew disinterested in the foot that twitched like a dying animal.

"Zzzaaa!" she suddenly squawked at the medic, gazing up at her imploringly. "Da, da, da, da, da!" Although Osprey was as loud as any of the other pups, these were some of her first "words," even if they were really nothing but babbling. "Pa, pa, pa!" she squealed, sitting down and rotating her head to peer at each of the adults in turn, her tail wiggling like a small black worm behind her.

Even though Blue Willow grew bored with the game she kept it up to amuse the black child in front of her. She did not mind at all, the tiring way the child kept attacking her foot.

Blue Willow smiled and nodded "Yes you dada is there I'm not sure who papa is though. She knew the child probably didn't understand her yet, but she liked to talk to her. She was innately happy that she got to witness the child's first words it warmed her from the inside out.

When Blue Willow repeated some of the words back to Osprey Jr., it made the child pause and stare up at her in wonder. Even more emphatically now, she loudly declared, "Da, da, da! Pa, pa, pa! Da, da, da!" She then closed her mouth and leaned forward expectantly, hoping to hear the Healer mimic her again. It clearly delighted her.

Blue Willow mimicked the little pup and also leaned forward so she was near Jr's nose and she repeated the words "DADA PAPA dada. She then smiled and spoke some more gibberish "mama ohoh... She smiled again and allowed her eyes to dance at the little one, but keeping them slightly averted after all even though they were pups they were alpha's pups and they were going to be highly regarded though they would not understand that yet.

She shifted her weight and laid down so that she was a little more comfortable as she was certain she was in for a long day of mimicking and playing with Jr.

The medic bent down and touched noses with her while repeating back the words and throwing a few new ones into the mix. The pup's blue eyes widened excitedly at this development and she stood up partway only to sink back down to her haunches.

"PA, PA!" Osprey Jr. opined loudly. Watching the adult's lips moving, she then did her best to parrot. "Oooooooooh!" Her eyes twinkled. "Nnn... na, na? Na, na, na!" It didn't sound quite the same but Osprey didn't even realize it. She beamed proudly, pink tongue lolling from her blunt muzzle.

Blue Willow slung her belly to the ground to put herself even more on the pup's level. Osprey Jr. bent forward to sniff noses with her, tail tapping. Her head then cocked and she voiced almost inquisitively, "Ooooogh?"

Blue Willow laughed and nuzzled Jr "Very good little one. MAMA PAPA. She laughed again at the sheer enjoyment that jr was showing it was so nice to see her learning new things and her innocence and curiosity was catching. Blue Willow herself was very curious and she liked that others held the same trait.

Blue CHuckled and said quietly Blue you can call me Blue. She knew the little one would probably not be able to get her name on the first try or even remotely soon, but she was offering it just the same, though her full name was far too long for the poor girl to have to repeat.

Thanks for another fun thread! :D

Although she was proud of herself and, moreover, Blue Willow seemed proud of her too, Osprey Jr. didn't actually realize she was saying particular words, nor did she have any understanding of their meaning. To her, they were merely noises and fun ones at that. She enjoyed this game of copying one another, though as with all games, little Osprey eventually grew bored of it.

"Pbbbbbt," was her final contribution to the gobbledygook conversation before she abruptly turned away and padded over to her mother. She slumped wearily against Hawkeye's leg, staring back at Blue Willow, then tipped her head up toward her mother's chin. She reared up and tried to nibble it, an instinctive way of begging for regurgitated meat. Her mother had nothing to offer, however, and pushed the puppy back into the center of the proverbial playpen.

With a quiet huff, she sprawled right in the center of the grassy area, her eyes wandering from the adults to the rest of the pups piled a few feet away. Her chin sank to her paws and she kept her blue eyes open for a few minutes before weariness stealthily crept over her. Osprey Jr.'s entire body relaxed and she rolled onto her side, then slowly but surely flopped onto her back, as was her preferred sleeping position. She then went totally limp, her legs sticking out at awkward angles and the tufts of white fur beneath each exposed to the world.