Broken Antler Fen Whistle

@Mato

She found herself headed towards the den where she knew the puppies would most likely be.  She was having a good day so far, earlier that morning she had successful caught a decent sized fish... although it had taken her some time to catch it in the first place and then had placed it in one of the caches.  Now as she headed towards the pups, she carried a stick in her mouth, wondering if they were old enough to play, which they probably were, because after all it had been over a month since there birth.

As she reached the den, she let out a playful growl and lay the stick gently on the ground before her.  If her tail had still been useful she would have wagged it, but she just gave a playbow instead as she waited to see if anyone would come out to play.

Thanks again for starting and so sorry for my delay! <3

 
Mato had discovered his tail. His eyes were trained to his tear as his tail tipped slowly from side to side. There was a very apparent sense of concentration about his features as he watched, but, despite this, the child did not move. He merely watched on as his tail did the work.

It was in the midst of this that his attention shifted at the sight of Odette. Quickly, he jumped to his paws, forgetting his tail, and raced so that he stand before her. “Od!” He chirped upon arrival, his tail wagging in way of greeting her. Soon enough, he caught sight of the stick and became all the more interested. “Wassa?” he asked, looking from the ground and back to his elder sibling.

Her heart warmed as one of them came running up to her, calling out her name... or rather a nickname.  As he raced up to her she tried to remember which one this was.  She was pretty sure this one was Mato though, so she'd just go with that.

"Hey Mato," she yipped playfully once he was reached her, asking what the stick was.  "That's a stick, you can play with it like this."  She grabbed one end, a playful growl rumbling in her throat, eyes sparkling.   "You can grab the other side and pull it away from me to beat me.  It's called tug-o-war."  Hopefully Mato understood, but just in case she nudged the stick closer to him, then grabbed the end facing her.

Sorry! D:

Odette offered Mato an explanation of the uses of the stick before him and as she spoke, Mato’s eyes fell to the plaything before him. Confused at first at her explanation, these concerns were soon explained by his actions. His eyes widened to her playful growl and his tail tipped happily to and fro as she stirred from excitement from within.

Launching forward suddenly, once she had explained what was to be done, Mato latched onto the stick. Obviously, he had not gotten the full message of what “tug of war” really meant, and instead stood in place, looking up to his sister hopefully, wondering if he was doing this right.

A smile adorned her muzzle as she held the stick, Mato latching on but not quiet getting the main point of the game which was to try and tug the stick away from the other.  So she gave a shake of her head, the stick shifting from side to side.

Odie found herself hoping that some instinct or realization in Mato would make him understand that the point of the game was the take the stick away from the other.  Of course if he did she'd probably just let him win to make him happy and let him entertain the idea of playing this game again.

Mato’s grip tightened as the stick was moved and as that happened, something clicked in his mind that this, perhaps, this was supposed to be fun. Between his instinct and the expression on her face, Mato’s expression brightened. Tugging gently in response, the boy growled, wondering what Oddette would do in turn of his actions.

He got it and gave a playful tug.  Her eyes lit up at his response.  She had done it!  She'd taught her little brother a new game.  If her tail had still been in use she would have waged it, but that was something she could do no more.

In turn Odette gave two more playful tugs, this time a little harder, her eyes glowing with a playful challenge.  Then she watched Mato and waited to see if he would fully get the hang of how this game actually worked.

It was just as he was getting the hang of the game that Odette increased the difficulty for the young boy. With a playful glint in his eye, Mato held on for dear life as he attempted to hold his own in this back and forth. When he had successfully held on, the child took his turn and attempted to wriggle the stick from out of Odette’s grip. He did this by thrusting his head back and forth vigorously a he growled, hoping that this combination would free the stick from his sister’s grasp.

He was adorable when he played competitively.  Back and forth his head went, shaking the stick.  She purposely let the stick hang loosely on her end and then fall out.  If her tail had still been in use at the moment it would have wagged happily.

"Good job Mato!  You won."  She exclaimed to her little brother.  "You're so strong," she praised him, then leaned forward to try and nuzzle him.  "Great job."

Aha! He had done it! As he shook with all his might, Mato soon found the stick to be solely in his position. Realizing this the pup swept his milky eyes down to the stick with a look of disbelief, as if questioning the reality of it all. This truth only struck when praise was offered. 

His tail whipped happily, and he dropped the stick as he looked up to Odette with a large grin. "Bah!" he exclaimed, not knowing how to express his thought into complete phrases. Reaching up, he fell into the embrace with his sister.