Lost Creek Hollow Wild things

Oh so slowly, Larkspur roused from an afternoon nap. She lifted her head, smacking her lips as she peered groggily around the den. With a yawn and a stretch, she rolled onto all fours and padded out into the soft green light of the forest. It was very—almost eerily—still and quiet. She blinked the last remaining tendrils of sleep out of her big baby blues and swiveled in a slow circle, looking for any sign of @Mordecai, @Harlyn, @Silas or @Pippin and finding nothing.

Although this struck her as strange and a vague sense of disquiet threaded down her rust-stained spine, Spur didn't move or speak or do much of anything. She just stood there, blinking owlishly at the surrounding woods. In the distance, she could hear the reassuring burble of the creek, which made the little Pi suddenly aware of a very bad case of cottonmouth. She popped her lips again, then began meandering in the direction of the sound of moving water.

Harlyn walked tiredly back to the den after another uneventful trip to the borders. On one hand, she was thankful to have had a quiet trip as she knew perfectly well the many terrible things she could have encountered. But no excitement also meant that her missing packmate(s?) had not returned, and that weighed heavily on her heart.

Fortunately though, there was nothing like a cute little kid to ease that weight, and Harlyn spotted one fairly soon upon reaching the densite. She smiled softly as she spotted the little dollop of buttermilk and gold in the deep shade of the Hollow. She moved in an arch to sidle up behind the little wolf, reaching once she got close enough to nudge her little bum with a grin. "And where might you be headed, my little sundrop?" she cooed, moving to the girl's side.

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.

Harlyn's tail swayed as she leaned to receive her daughter's affections. She was quick to explain what it was she was up to, and the alpha was pleased to hear that she was doing a good job of locating the source of relief on her own. When the little wolf glanced aroud, Harlyn leaned back to let her figure it out on her own. She didn't confirm whether or not she too heard the water (aka wadoo), but instead gave a soft laugh at her explanation and fixed her with an encouraging grin.

"Larkspur, you know it's pronouced 'water'," Harlyn admonished gently, chuckling as she did so because she knew the child was just being silly. Even so, the alpha found it hard to resist her instructive nature. Keeping her paws firmly planted until the golden pup took charge, Harlyn decided to give her daughter the chance to further exercise her skills, "Why don't you lead the way to it, hm?"

"Water," the young pup agreed with a grin, exemplifying her ability to enunciate. "Okay!" Spur added agreeably when Harlyn suggested she head the expedition to the source of the water. "Shhh," she said, hushing her mother unnecessarily and cocking her head so she could listen for that quiet, musical burbling.

"This way!" she announced after a beat, springing off to the right. Despite her long legs and gawky gait, Larkspur did not so much as stumble as she moved through the woodsy underbrush. She was quite agile, actually, moving as if she had been, well, born and raised in a forest.

Somewhere not far in a shadowed swatch of creekside forest, he lies in wait.

His pale underbelly is pressed against the cool earth of the ground, while from above, he unknowingly takes full advantage of his darker counter-shading. He stalks low, slow, and as quietly as he can (his system is not yet perfect, after all).

Today, he's most motivated to test his capabilities in sneaking. It's all spurred into motion by his growing urge for the hunt himself -- although he may not exactly interpret these instinctual cues as such, he just knows it sounds like a good thing to do for today. His appetite, and body that just seems to sprawl out in a new direction by the day, all further encourage him to just do it. He's eventually going to need to step up from pouncing on dirt clods all day, anyway.

He creeps beneath some brush all bright green with new growth and settles at its edge, just where the shadow spread beneath it. Silas then hunkers down low. A series of noises (conversation, but he can't make it out) from nearby makes him pause and since he cannot yet identify it, he listens for more hints. The sound of the nearby creek muffle the sounds to his swiveling ears but he tries anyway before stalking closer.

Harlyn nodded her approval when her daughter correctly pronounced the word, then fell into step behind her as she took off. She suppressed a yawn that came knocking upon her throat and shivered it off. She didn't want to start yawning and make Larkspur think she was boring her. She needed to start getting some actual sleep and soon, otherwise it wouldn't matter if they stayed or went - she'd be dead from exhaustion long before they made a move.

The matriarch was unaware that as they went, they were being stalked. She should have been considering the state of things; that any minute they could be invaded by a murderous cougar. But, that was another reason she needed desperately to start sleeping again. Her fatigue was affecting her ability to remain alert.

Equally oblivious to the lurker in the underbrush, Larkspur continued gliding through the woods like some sort of nimble forest spirit. At length, the trees and shrubs began to thin ahead of her and Spur cried, "We're almost there!" and glanced over her shoulder to make sure her mother was still right behind her.

Facing forward, Larkspur darted to the edge of the stream, digging her creamy toes into the soft soil and leaning over the water. She stared at her rippling reflection for a moment, then gazed downstream at the smooth, chuckling rapids. Spur then dipped down and broke the image of her own face with her tongue, lapping vigorously but somehow daintily.

The source(s?!) of the sounds gets louder, and this works well to lure him forward as well. His nose quivers eagerly in search and he feels his breath wanting to speed up in anticipation of what, exactly, he isn't quite sure.. but it's an exciting feeling pooling in the bottom of his chest. He lurks in a slow, slithering motion beneath the shadow of the Hollows, weaving and winding.

There are certainly moments where he struggles to adhere to his mission of stealth. Sometimes, the cover doesn't line up well enough or he nearly trips over his paws as he navigates over roots and leaves alike. He can finally catch firm scent of them now -- and this is good motivation, with a hearty reward at the end, so he's faster and maybe a little less attentive to the details of sneaking, but it still functions well for fledgling attempts.

It's sight of them that confirms he's doing this right first, and then follows a hearty swell of satisfaction.

He bursts from the cover and comes darting into their tranquil creekside scene panting and wagging his tail, obviously pleased.

Harlyn chuckled softly at Larkspur's call. She knew perfectly well that they were nearly to the water source, but it was touching that her daughter took such care as to reassure her that their long and arduous journey was near to its end. She couldn't say that she was relieved by the news; the matriarch was rather enjoying herself as she watched her young charge explore. It was relaxing in a way, and it seemed so very long since she'd felt quite this level of contentment.

But her ease was not meant to last. At the sound of brush crackling beneath paws, Harlyn spun and moved protectively over Larkspur. It took her only seconds to realize the attacker was her own son, and instantly she shrunk back with a sigh of relief. Silas had frightened her with his surprise attack, but she smarted now more over the fact that he'd been able to surprise them at all. She'd let her guard down and it was unacceptable. Inwardly she scolded herself mercilessly, but outwardly she smiled and wagged her tail.

Her little ears twitched at the shuffling sounds behind her. Larkspur lifted her head, licking her chops as she turned to find her mother standing over her. Her lips pursed in slight surprise, then she noticed Silas nearby. Spur's face immediately brightened into a smile. Oblivious to her brother's ambush and its effect on their mother, the little Pi wound around Harlyn's leg and bounded toward her brother.

"Silas!" she exclaimed, just happy to see him. "Look, I found the creek!" Larkspur added excitedly, motioning toward the water, clearly proud of her achievement.

Silas fell back his ears, and when he notices his mother's response, he starts to get a little uneasy for half a second when he reads her expression. His excitement wants to wane if he thinks about it too much, but overpowers soon after he sees Larkspur. His sister's warm reaction redirects him and he's right back to be being just as thrilled as he had been before.

"An' I found you," he yips and bounces towards his sister to plant happy licks of congratulation for her own successful search all over her face. Afterward, he bounds to the creek himself for a big, well-deserved drink.

Harlyn felt guilty when she saw her son's reaction. She clearly had frightened him, but he settled quickly enough when Larkspur called out to him. She smiled at them as they greeted each other and let herself fade into the background a bit. She stepped towards the stream herself and took a few gulps of water before straightening and setting her gaze to the woods. The alpha had settled from her previous tension at Silas's surprise attack, but he had reminded her to take precaution of their surroundings. The Hollow was not the safe place it had once been, and Harlyn found herself having a difficult time accepting that truth.

Spur's brow furrowed at her brother's declaration. She wasn't stupid, yet the logic somehow escaped her and she felt the need to insist, "Nu-uh! I was right here the whole time!" Well, she had been traipsing through the hollow with her mother, of course, but at no point had Larkspur been lost and in need of finding. The same couldn't be said for the creek, however; it was right there in the name!

All this was said with a cheeky, amenable smile, of course. Spur brushed her nose over Silas's cheek and said, "Wanna play in the water?" before quickly shooting the nearby Harlyn and asking, "Mommy, can we play in the water?"

He wrinkles up his face at Larkspur's comment since he doesn't really have the articulation to argue otherwise. Well, besides "Nuh-uh, but not where I was," which was puncuated with a drippy tongue-out at her and a few furious tail wags. It made little sense outside his head but he stuck to it, since he believed it worked. Silas just decided that maybe they just didn't understand the full triumph of his sneak somehow, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Yesss," he whispers with a drawn out need and eyeballs the water eagerly. His paws tapdance the ground gently and soon enough, he joins his sister in beaming their mother with his sweetest look until she granted the necessary permissions.

Her children seemed to get into some sort of argument, but Harlyn was at a loss to discern what points either of them were trying to make. She shook her head fondly with a soft chuckle and let them be. Until one was screaming or another crying, she would not interfere. It was up to them to figure out their differences amongst themselves. Unless they attempted to do so by violent or otherwise foolish means, Harlyn would remain quiet and allow them to learn for themselves how to handle such situations.

The druid stepped back quietly before slipping down onto her stomach in a sphinx-like position. It was then that Larkspur caught her attention with an eager question, and Silas too turned his little doe-eyes upon her in a plaintive plea. She was moved to thoughtlessly give them anything they wanted in that instant, but Harlyn resisted momentarily to inspect the water in which they wanted to play. It was a gently running stream; not deep enough at any point nearby that the water would be deeper than their tummies, and not moving swift enough to knock even a mouse off of its feet. So Harlyn looked back at their little faces, happy to acquiesce to their pleas.

"You may," Harlyn replied with a soft smile, "Just be careful, and don't wander far."

The Alpha female did not answer right away, turning to glance at the creek. Spur's already big, blue eyes widened even more, silently pleading for Harlyn to say yes. Luckily, the pups' mother did not make them wait long. "You may," she said and Larkspur let slip a joyful little squeal even as she pivoted on a nimble little foot to face the water again. The rest of her dam's words were lost in the sound of splashing as the small Pi—so uninhibited when in the presence of her loved ones—dove right into the shallows.

"C'mon, Silas!" she called louder than was really necessary, grinning hugely as she scooped water with one of her little paws and then shook it in her brother's general direction.

i probably won't be posting much for the rest of the week because i have five days to finish five cosplays lolol, so i'd be ok with y'all posting around me or pp-ing him for a bit if you wanna keep going so i don't hold it up >_>

Permission granted! His tail picks up a faster rhythm that sways his whole rump and he can't stop the happy yap he offers in return.

His sister outpaces him with ease; she's already on her way by the time he manages his far less graceful pivot. Soon after, she's already calling for him and he yaps again for her. He's going plenty fast and knows he'll get there soon enough. This barrels him right into the water, and his sister's splash for him all at once but he certainly doesn't mind. Since he intended to get as soggy as possible here, this all just works out.

He'll counter with his own splash back. The darker pup rears up and slaps the water with his front paws, although it does somewhat spill into a lowgrade belly-flop in the end when his forelimbs slip forward. He does manage to soak himself, too.

Harlyn's heart swooned as she watched the joy spread across her childrens' faces. It was so easy to make them happy, and yet she felt so wonderful as though she had accomplished a lifelong dream after years of hard work. But in a way, she really had. And the proof of her achievement was right there before her, happily splashing into the little stream in a flurry of giggling and wagging tails. The mother sighed contentedly as she watched, happy to sit on the sidelines to allow them to play together.

Think I'll actually conclude this one! :) <3

A sharp squeal escaped Larkspur's lips when her brother slapped a wave of water in her general direction. The cold droplets on her shoulder earned a shiver, yet she kept smiling despite her momentary discomfort. She plunged slightly deeper, angling toward Silas, and dipped her snout beneath the surface as if preparing to blow bubbles. Instead, she jerked her muzzle upward again and spat a spout of water in the other pup's direction. Mouth still halfway full, she suddenly started to giggle, causing her to splutter out the rest, which dribbled all over her golden face.

By the time their wet and wild romp ended an hour later, Spur was soaking wet and exhausted. Yet still she smiled as she slogged out of the creek. She paused on the shore, bracing her four petite paws, and gave her small body a mighty shake. She then wearily trotted over to Harlyn, rubbing against her mother like a (very damp) cat before flopping down right beside her on the sun-dappled bank. She situated herself so that several points of her body touched her mother's.

"C'mon, Silas!" Larkspur called without lifting her head, releasing a contented sigh as she closed her eyes. She meant to wait for her brother to join the cuddle puddle but before she knew it, she fell fast asleep.