Blacktail Deer Plateau the slow bang

This is for @Hawkeye!

Tytonidae had grown quite a bit since she had arrived into the world. She was nearing two whole months old, and she had learned quite a bit during that time. She was close with her siblings, couslings, and her parents. Since the moment she had discovered her voice, Ty had used it whenever she got the chance to. It seemed to get her the most attention out of all the things she was capable of. And saying words was the best attention-getter, she had learned.

“Maaaaa!” she screeched from outside the den. “Maaaaaa, go!” Tytonidae wanted desperately, right now, at the brink of dawn, to go on an adventure. And she wanted Ma to come with her. Pa was asleep, and it just seemed like a mother/daughter thing to do. Pa was totally fine for most things, but right now, Ty craved her mother's attention more than his, so she was being subjected to her incessant whining. “Ma, GO!” she barked, growing more and more impatient by the second.

ooc: hihihi

Trying to sleep in for the first time in a long time just wasn't going to happen this morning. Hawkeye slipped away from the other pups and swept a lick across Peregrine's face before exiting the den.

Hawkeye pushed her head against Ty's, smiling at how vocal the pup was. "Why don't you lead the way?" The mother was always slightly haunted by Tytonidae's eye color being identical to her dead brother's, but they were gorgeous either way. The glowed like emerald stones being hit by the sun. Ty was definitely special, with the sparkle in her eye only proving that further.

Finally, after what seemed like three eternities back-to-back, Hawkeye arose and exited the den. Ty's tail whirled around excitedly, already curious about what the day would bring. She was a bright and happy child, despite her occasional bratty outbursts. “Lead way?” she gaped, feeling quite flattered that she would get to decide where they went today. Once she had gotten over the initial shock, Ty was bounding out and away from the densite, Hawkeye surely on her heels.

The young girl was not quite sure where she wanted to go, but she picked a direction and stuck with it. When they came to a large, fallen tree trunk, Ty stared at it with wide eyes. “Big tree,” she whispered in amazement, glancing to Hawkeye. “Why it fall over?”

Hawkeye smiled at the girl, which was very easy, when she seemed so genuinely and innocently surprised that she was allowed to be the leader this time.

Soon they came to a fallen tree, and, of course, Ty was ever-so-curious of what had happened. Hawkeye hmm'd for a moment knowing this could go one of two ways; she could tell the truth of why the tree had fallen, or she could tell Tytonidae a story. Looking down at the girl who still held tightly onto the question, Hawkeye had her answer.

"Well, long before you were born and before I was even born, there were creatures called giants. They walked on two legs instead of four. They were as tall as the trees and very ugly. When they would get mad, their roars would knock down trees!

"But, now, trees fall because they are old or struck by lightning, which is bright light from the sky. I don't know why this particular tree fell, but how about you decide?" Hawkeye smiled once more at her pup that was still so small. She momentarily thought about her growing up in no time and maybe being as tall as she was, but she would have to wait and see.

Ty plopped on her bum, listening wide-eyed as her mother explained what had happened to the tree. She tried to imagine what it would be like to walk on two legs, and when Hawkeye was finished telling the story, Ty thought it best to act like one of these giants. She didn't bother answering the question, and instead rose to her feet and put her two front paws up on a different tree so that she was standing on her hind legs.

“I’mma knock it down!” she declared, pushing herself backward and flopping into a twisted mess on her back. Unwilling to believe that a tree could best her, she turned to Hawkeye. “Help!” she said, scratching at the bark. “Wanna knock down!” If giants could do it, so could she!

HOLY SHIT I was about to message you to thread and I just saw that I never replied!! I am SO sorry!!

Hawkeye tried to ignore the wide-eyed babe so she didn't laugh, though she gave a small chuckle the first time Tytonidae declared that she wanted to knock the tree down.

After the second attempt, the large black wolf's mouth parted and a brief "uhh..." escaped her mouth. Shit she thought. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Hawkeye thought back to the gypsy stories she was told, knowing that there was something missing from the shortened tale that she had told her daughter.

Her faraway eyes brightened as she recollected the story she heard when she was not much older than Ty. "I would help, but we can only turn into giants when it's a harvest moon!" Or was it a blue moon? ...Shit Hawkeye hoped that this would maybe make Tytonidae lose interest.

Thinking quickly (because if Ty was like her mother, she'd never quit), she poked her nose into her daughter's little fuzzy belly (d'aww) and jumped back, exclaiming: "You're IT! Bet you can't catch me, little girl!" Hawkeye turned, tail raising high in the air as she pranced away from the pup.

No worries! :)

Ty furrowed her brow at her mother's words, wondering how they could get more moons. Before she could inquire further, however, Hawkeye was inviting her to a game of chase. Tytonidae pushed herself off of the tree and propelled toward her parental unit with all the force that her puppy body held. She laughed as she did this, making it more difficult to keep up with her mother, but she didn't mind in the least.

“I’mma catch youuuu!” she proclaimed, punctuating her last word with an elongated howl.

Hawkeye laughed, looking behind herself. Turning her head back around, she burst forward. She spotted a tree root and slowed a bit, purposely tripping over the thick brown wood growing into the earth. Hawkeye fell dramatically onto her back calling out, "Oh no! I need to get up before the monstrous Ty gets me!"

Looking out of the corner of her eye to make sure her daughter was close, she wriggled on her back like a turtle who got stuck; she was trying to buy time until the girl reached her.

Mind fading out with your next post? Trying to wrap up some of these older threads. :)

For a moment, Tytonidae thought that she had lost her mother. Feelings of half-terror and half-excitement rushed through her, and the charcoal smudge was laughing and whining and running all at once. Just as quickly as she had "lost" Hawkeye, her mother was soon found on the ground, having tripped over a root and was presently laying on her back. Ty barked with glee, rushing over and lapping her mother's face with loving kisses.

All the terror-excitement had used up most of the girl's energy, and she collapsed next to her much larger mother, wriggling her way beside Hawkeye. “Take nap?” she suggested, giving her mother a final lick on her cheek.

Hawkeye smiled and rolled over, pulling her daughter into her chest and nuzzling her. She looked down at her daughter and said, "I love you, Ty," and then gently rested her head upon her daughter's.

Seconds later, the mother heard heavy breathing from Tytonidae. She resisted the urge to laugh. The girl reminded Hawkeye so much of her brother. Not wanting to wake her daughter, the large female shifted slightly to be able to rest her head on the ground while holding her daughter.