Blacktail Deer Plateau stay gold, ponyboy

This is meant for @Amelie but anyone's welcome! :)

"Daaaad," Junior drawled. She thought she knew what the word meant now, though she didn't say it for this reason but because nine times out of ten, Peregrine gave her some form of reward for it. He had now engineered a nearly Pavlovian response from his daughter (or was it the other way around?). "Daaad!" It only took two times for him to look up from what he was doing and pay her some attention. His smile was reward enough... for now.

Turning, Osprey Jr. galloped across the clearing in front of her family's den. It had rained the night before and the ground was damp underfoot. She slipped in the grass but managed to avoid falling and busting her ass. She made it to the far side of the clearing, where the grass gave way to dirt, which was now mud. There was a filthy puddle there and, having recently discovered a great love of water, Junior splashed into it without batting an eyelash.

In less than a minute, she was slathered in a thin gruel of what looked like diarrhea but, mercifully, smelled only like wet earth. Giggling and shrieking with delight, she eventually toppled onto her side, then rolled onto her back, likely permanently staining her white underarm patches and flinging bits of muddy water into the air.

time to meet the babes <33

It'd been more than a couple hours after Amelie's chat with Peregrine, ever since he had walked away she had wore a bright smile on her face, it it had been up to her she would've gone to see the pups right away, but she knew it wasn't prudent to go so early.

She had just been accepted by the alpha, going to his home to see his pups right after would be disrespectful, give it time Amelie, she told herself as she had tried to entertain herself with other stuff. Running errands for Blue for example.

Still, running from place to place hadn't been enough to take the pups of her mind, so being the curious girl she was she decided not to wait any longer. She followed her nose, trailing behind the particular scent of milk and poo pups wore on their fur.

When a high pitched shriek of laughter and the word Dad reached her ears, Amelie smiled to herself knowing she was close to her target. Like the time he had trailed the raccoon for water, it was beginning to be clear that the young girl had qualities of a tracker.

As she trotted closer, with her tail and ears down knowing Peregrine could be present, she spotted the little thing. Flopping in a puddle of mud, covering its tiny head with a mask of brown.

Amelie approached with a smile, meeting the baby girl's blue eyes with hers, "Are you getting a facial dear?" she woofed sweetly, wagging her tail at the baby.

Well, one, at least. :)

Junior didn't notice her visitor until she spoke. The mud-slathered pup rolled over onto her belly and pushed herself to her feet, craning her head upward to sniff at the stranger. "Bwoo," she chattered, recognizing the Beta female's scent, even if this wolf wasn't Blue Willow. "Bwooooo, whewe?" she yapped, suddenly giving the Healer's youthful ward a suspicious glance.

Stepping out of the mud puddle, Osprey Jr. thrust her dirty muzzle against the stranger's. "Wawa!" she crowed after deciding to trust her. (Peregrine watched from across the clearing, appearing interested but unperturbed by the guest.) "Wawawawa," she sang, then turned to splash her already-filthy forepaws in the watery sludge.

After doing that for a few seconds, she paused and looked up at the older youngster. "Pway?" she questioned, then suddenly decided to tell, not ask. "Pway! Pway! Pway wawaaa!" Osprey slapped the dirty water forcefully, splattering mud all over herself and, most likely, her guest.

Amelie chuckled as she watched the pup roll over her side covering herself with more mud, as she heard the pup blabber she realized she had not learned how to speak but Amelie spoke to her anyways. "Sorry to interrupt your mud bath" she barked lowering her snout to touch he babe's nose when she sniffed her up.

The puppy began to mumble incomprehensibly and the teen girl just watched her with curious eyes.,She then lowered herself in a way they could look at each other face to face and spoke slowly knowing the girl had not yet mastered the art of talking. "Hello my name is Amelie" she barked with a smile, "AAA MEE LIEE" she cooed hoping the girl would mimick.

Then the little thing began to splash the filthy water all over herself and Amelie in the process. The girl flinched and gave a tiny shriek of surpise mixed with laughter. She looked at the puppy with a mischiveous look across her face and when she invited her to play, Amelie immediately responded by crouching into a play bow. "Give me your best shot girl" she barked, her tail waving behind her.

Junior gave no indication that she comprehended anything the older child said, still insistently screaming, "Pway!" instead. She didn't even hear Amelie's playful screech over the sound of her own voice, though she paused when the juvenile moved into a playfully bowed position. "Pway wawaaa," Junior said to this, once again kicking at the water like a wild stallion pawing the dusty plain.

Jumping into the mucky puddle, Osprey stomped around to show Amelie what she wanted. "Pway, Am-lee!" she shouted, revealing that she had absorbed the girl's introduction after all, even if she could barely pronounce her name. "Pway Jun-yaw!" It would be some time yet before she learned the value of pronouns and prepositional phrases.

waaaaa she is so adorable asdfghjkl

Amelie gave a sharp bark to gain the pup's attention as she didn't seem to even notice she was already awaiting her first move. Then after squeaking some more and trashing her tiny paws on the puddle, the baby turned to face Amelie and her eyes lit up with what seemed to be pure joy and splashed the dirty water harder pronouncing-or trying to at least- Amelie's name.

The older black girl gave a little, awww, when she heard this, and reached out her snout to poke the babe's side gently. Then she bounced back into her play bow, her front paws placed firmly in the muddy soil and her rear in the air.

:D

Amelie didn't splash into the muddle puddle as desired, yet at least her feet now dipped into it. Excited by this development, Osprey Jr. began kicking and flailing, sending filthy water in every direction, more effectively slathering herself and surely splattering her playmate's anterior. Upon noticing this, she began to kick harder, now squealing delightedly as she literally slung mud all over the place.

When her muscles protested, she finally ceased and bounded out of the puddle. She padded around its rim, then abruptly decided to throw herself into the grass and begin rolling around like a wild child. Much of the mud smeared off in the grass, though certainly not all of it. When she stood up a moment later, her formerly black fur was a sticky brown mess, tufts sticking up here and there. Osprey licked her lips proudly, making a slight face at the taste of the stuff.

Amelie squeaked as she felt the sticky brown blobs splash against her fur, staining her chest and cheeks. The teen shook herself to get rid of the filthy material-without success. Osprey Jr. didn't care much about looks now, her world was nothing but a big playground filled with chew toys and games, but later on when she reached Amelie's age that would change and boys and looks wouldn't seem so icky after all.

The young girl gave a sigh and watched the little babe exit the puddle, already getting bored with it. Then as she proceeded to roll in the grass, Amelie figured that was a game she felt more comfortable with; she ran next to the pup and flopped to her side, her hind legs trashing in the air as she squealed. Then she rolled on to her side just in time to see the little girl stand up, her hair pointing in every possible direction and cringing as she licked mud of her snout.

Amelie found the little look on her face hilarious, she threw her head back, her eyes tightly shut as laughter erupted from her throat.

Amelie laughed uproariously, the sound causing Osprey's muddy little ears to twitch and swivel. Her own lips parted and she made a sound that could only be called a cackle. The mud-caked puppy romped closer to her youthful companion and nipped playfully at her before bounding away before Amelie could retaliate.

"Am-lee fun-ny!" Junior crowed, the way she spoke breaking words into distinct syllables. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" she added, an emphatic imitation of laughter she'd probably picked up from her father.

An idea struck the youngster and she froze, then screamed, "TAG!" and took off running before giving Amelie even half a second to process the invitation to play another game.

The tiny pup bounded over the girl and gave a daring nip close to Amelie's face, the older girl tried to push her off her feet with her muzzle but the baby was far gone, laughing as she waddled away. Amelie tapped her tail against the ground and flashed the girl a bright smile.

Then the mud covered pup gazed at her and yelled at the top of her lungs inviting Amelie to play again.The teen gave a sharp yap and jumped to her feet, trotting quickly after the baby. Of course it was easy for the older girl to reach her, since Osprey's short stubby legs didn't compare to Amelie's slim limbs.

Amelie hovered over the little thing for a second, encouraging her to pick up her pace, then leaning over the babe she pushed her gently with the tip of her snout, "Tag!" she yelled back and turned sharply, ready to run when the girl began to follow.

Junior ran with all her might, yet in what seemed only seconds, Amelie caught up with her and tagged her. The pup squealed at the contact, then whirled, a storm cloud breaking out on her young brow. "NO!" she shouted, refusing to give chase even as the juvenile sprinted away. "NO!" she yelled again, having difficulty articulating why she was upset. "AM-LEE TAG, TAG JUN-YAW," she finally spat in a broken sentence, furrowing her brow reproachfully, as if it was Amelie playing the game wrong and not herself.

Still the little girl seemed not to know the real purpose of the game, when Amelie nudged her gently, she twirled around, her tiny face contorted into an ugly frown. The stubborn baby was determined to hold her stance, yelling furiously at Amelie as if to scold her for tagging her in the first place.

Amelie blinked warmly at the pup and approached with slowly towards her, her neck lowered so that they could meet face to face. "You have to tag me now" she explained giving her a gentle smile at the end.

Then resuming their little game, she pressed her nose agaisnt the babe's chest and whispered "Tag", then she took a step back and poised herself into an inviting play bow, "Tag me, Junior!" she invited with a sharp yap.

An unfazed Amelie returned to stand in front of the bullheaded puppy, calmly explaining the game's rules to her. "NO," Junior yelled belligerently, frowning deeper still and essentially refusing to listen. "NO, JUN-YAW NO TAG, NO." She now began to shake her head rapidly back and further to further display her displeasure.

But then the elder youth tapped her chest and bowed playfully. It was a signal to which Osprey Jr. reacted despite herself; it was instinctive. "BAD AM-LEE!" she shouted even as she bounced toward the juvenile, sooty paws flailing. Although she now appeared to be playing along, it was less about genuine cooperation than about punishing Amelie for playing the game the wrong (in Junior's eyes) way.

Instead of running -as she was supposed to- Amelie dropped onto the floor, her bright golden eyes shining with the reflection of the babe's little face. She had dropped to her level so they could meet face to face, eye to eye.

She gave a soft whimper and reached out her muzzle to touch the girl's nose with her own in an attempt to calm her down. "Alright, Junior," she cooed softly, "Amelie tag Junior then Junior tag Amelie!" she insisted wanting to teach the girl the proper rules of the game.

Deep in the back of her mind she knew arguing with the pup was a lost cause, little kids could be stubborn and girls were more likely to be specially finicky. Amelie had been so herself when she was Osprey's age. Still the persistent ebony coated girl wanted to try to reason with the pup.

With the rules established, Amelie stretched her neck again, to lick a ruffled piece of hair standing on the girl's cheek.

Amelie stooped down to put herself on the pup's level, which meant she put her face right in the line of fire. Osprey Jr.'s tiny paw struck her snout with a loud thwack! Although Osprey never shied from the chance to beat someone into submission, she hadn't expected to make impact and so she froze, blue eyes widening. She'd just smacked an adult (she didn't know Amelie was still a juvenile) right in the mouth! Her ears splayed, expecting rebuke.

Instead, the unfazed teenager continued trying to coax the pup to play the game correctly. Relieved not to be getting spanked for her bad behavior, Junior suddenly felt a smidgen more cooperative. Either way, though, she was pretty sure she'd just tagged Amelie (right on the face!) and so it was the older wolf's turn to chase again.

Giggling, Junior sprang a few feet away, then glanced back. She wasn't actually whose turn it was to chase and be chased, though as soon as Amelie gave any indication, she would run like a bat out of hell.

Amelie was caught off guard by the bitch slap, she simply pulled her head away, shaking her muzzle and lashing her pink tongue over it before turning back to the babe. She decided not to say anything since the girl herself seemed to be ashamed of what she'd done.

Then the babe backed away, turning to face Amelie only when she was a few feet away, as if teasing the older female to chase her. Amelie wagged her tail and slowly parted her mouth, revealing a mischeveous smile, "Run, or I'm going to get ya!" she yelled and jumped to her paws, trotting towards the little girl, at a pace she could give Peregrine's daughter room to outrun her.

When Amelie gave the awaited signal, Osprey Jr. shrieked girlishly and dug her blunt claws into the earth, pushing herself forward into a short-legged lope. She ran to the furthest edge of the clearing, then buzzed the shrubbery as she ran around the outer fringe like a racehorse running on the outside loop of the track.

When she dared glance back at Amelie, her tongue dangled from her mouth like a piece of sticky bubblegum, scores of tiny bubbles frothed at the edge of her black lips and her little chest hitched with her rapid breaths. Her eyes didn't immediately locate the juvenile, though when Junior did spot her, she used the last of her breath to scream and collapsed suddenly to the ground.

Jr's avatar tho <3

The following seconds played out in slow motion -at least in Amelie's mind they did. Like one of those documentaries on the discovery channel, where they show a lion leaping after a gazelle through the neverending savannah, taking long, powerful strides after the galloping creature.

That's how it might've looked like from a far -of course without all the grace of a gazelle and the force of a lion. Especially considering what happened after the adolescent chased the baby for a while. The older girl had her eyes locked on the target, her mouth parted slightly and the tip of her tongue peering through the small opening. She certaintly looked like a hunter -like she was born for that moment right there..

Suddenly the whole lion-gazelle fantasy went to waste when the pup came tumbling down, crashing head-first into the ground. Amelie stopped abruptly and hovered over the girl. Knowing that showing extreme preocupation might alter the little baby, she remained calm, and gently nudged the girl's shoulder. "We're not playing dead silly" she barked giving her a lick on the head, "Are you alright?"

That's a wrap, methinks! Thanks for playing! :)

She lay there, panting loudly, tongue lolling and little black (and brown; they were still flecked with muck) flanks heaving. She didn't move when Amelie approached and hovered over her, though her blue eyes flicked upward. Junior made a groaning noise low in her throat but, for the moment, didn't have the breath to spare for speech.

When she finally caught her wind somewhat, Osprey Jr. simply declared, "Jun-yaw dead-uh," and closed her eyes. She was all played out and didn't want to move. And if Amelie didn't pester her, she would probably fall asleep right where she'd fallen.