Larksong Grotto suffering without speech, i knew you would return

when indra came upon the small clearing where she had met seff, she knew there was no turning back now. there, set demurely in the dirt, was the ragged band of jimson weed seff had identified as poisonous. indra swallowed her doubts, fueling a courage she did not know she had -- this was for her, and laurel. this would get their father back.

indra licked her lips, her mouth dry with fear. she tore from the ground a small piece of neighboring fern, her muzzle scrunched in unpleasantry as the acrid taste hit her tongue. gingerly she worked the weed, bashing it down with a paw until the stalk broke and the stem with lavender flower adorned spilled to the ground. she bared her little teeth and picked the weed up gently with the fern somewhat haphazardly placed over it, attempting to ferry the plant without contact.

she made it to the den with this makeshift transport with minimal mishaps. it was a shame she was not more clever, she could have devised the fern like a sling to prevent the weed from ever touching her tongue. at the mouth of the den she placed the weed at her feet, keeping it partially obscured. quietly she peered in, looking for @Tapat or @Astik. once -- and if -- they came out she would smile to them sweetly and push the enticing 'stick' in their direction as if in invitation to play.

but indra was not playing.

in truth, indra did not know what compelled her to be so drastic. perhaps it was her incapability of rational thought. perhaps it was her youthful naivette. she hadn't really thought this through. she was too young to understand the permanence of death, she just understood that the weed served as an avenue to get her and laurel closer to their father. she hadn't really considered what killing really was; all she knew was that she and laurel were miserable, and reek had replaced them with two bawling babes that weren't even as cute as her or her sister.

she gulped, feeling somewhat sickly as she awaited the two pups to show from the den.

SURPRISE TAGS EVERYWHERE! so obvi, i'm hoping indra gets caught before pups chew on the 'toy' .. but do you two care to join? and maybe @Jhala or @Hiram once they post?

Tapat was in the den curiously exploring. He was often found in or around the den now they were allowed to do more. Tapat did have some memory issues that were starting to develop more throughly. He knew that if he would go too far that he would get lost and couldn't remember. He thought it was related to his parents, not wanting to leave them too much because then he might forget. He knew them, and he knew his brother. It was what was important.

When another came close to the den the pup looked up curiously. He had always been very curious and very playful too. He peeked outside pretty soon after the other wolf had poked her head inside. It wasn't his mother, and frankly he didn't even know who she was but he jumped forward with his tail wagging. He didn't even see the plant by her feet. He jumped from side to side and giggled cutely. Tapat made playful growls and made several bows, eager to play.

Subconsciously, Astik was already programmed to stick close to his brother. Something felt off, and while he didn't really understand it, it felt right to be with his pale counterpart regardless. So when Tapat bounced off to the den entrance, Astik followed, wondering where Jhala was. "Maamamama," he babbled to his brother as they made their way forward, but Tapat seemed far from concerned about the whereabouts of their mother.

At the entrance stood the reddish wolf that called Reek or Hiram dad. Astik figured that either Reek or Hiram was her father, and the other was theirs-- but he'd yet to figure out the difference between Reek and Hiram... they were just so similar. "Inn... Paaa-- isin," he babbled to her, nosing Tapat. Indra might not understand them, but Tapat would certainly receive the baby talk as a coherent sentence-- a reminder that 'hey! this Indra, Tapat, it's Indra, remember her?' He was trying to get him to calm down a bit, because Indra didn't look to happy, but the excitement rubbed off on him, so his stubby legs buckled and he followed his brother into a play bow, fat tail wiggling on his fat little rump.

Though her children were preoccupied, Jhala figured the pair were still fast asleep in the den-- or at least making good decisions inside the den. She was protective over them, and knew that they needed to be watched over, but they were old enough now to sit and stay, and she trusted Hiram to be nearby. So she had gone out and gotten her own toy for them-- an antler, the velvety coating still almost perfectly in tact. She'd helped take the beast down the previous day with a few of her packmates, so it was still pretty fresh. She also carried a hunk of meat with her, excited for the pups to try some... they were old enough now, right? she forgot. 

But when she arrived she saw Indra, her two babies bouncing over one another. She wasn't immediately put off by seeing Indra at her den, but something felt off. She was raised on situation training and battling, so she was good at deciding a good egg from a bad egg in most situations. So for now, her ears fell slightly and she stepped forward. Indra was not as bratty as Laurel, so she tried her damndest not to be rude to her. "Hey Indra... just visiting?" she asked the child quietly. She noticed the plant at her feet, but wasn't a medic, so she didn't understand the situation quite as well as she could've. "I think Reek went out-- he'll be back soon if ya' wanna wait for him with us." 

indra felt her heart hammer against her chest, and a cold feeling seeped her spine as the first child became visible. a white thing, a pale thing -- pure. not like her.

tapat. the red child lowered her thin frame to the cold ground, nearly level with the gnarled gneiss of the den floor. as the puppy blithely playbowed she cheerlessly mimicked the movement, nudging the stick towards the pup with a feebly fake play growl. as she did so astik appeared, the darker counterpart to the pairing. indra reclined slightly on her long legs, trying to switch targets: if tapat wasn't receptive to playing with a stick, perhaps astik would be: indra gingerly seized the stick between two teeth and swung it towards the pup in a gesture of tug-o-war, sucking her tongue back and breathing raggedly.

she froze as a shadow hit the den: a dark form spilled over from the bright mouth and indra felt chilled to her soul. jhala. instantly blanched by terror, and perhaps horror for what she had just tried to do, indra swung wide and scrambled wildly away from the female with a dull cry of fear. she stumbled from the den with her legs flying every which way and fled into the thicket lest jhala realize her sinister intentions.

Tapat was more than excited to play with the stick Indra offered to him. Though the boy was quick to be distracted and once his brother came up next to him, babbling, Tapat turned to him, stick forgotten instantly. He nosed back through his fur. "Paaa in!!," he returned to his bother. The pale boy then saw the stick again, probably intended for his brother, but Tapat was just as excited to jump after it again, tail wagging excitedly.

Their mother was there again, and Tapat instantly recognized her. It was quite soothing for him to have two wolves around he recognized. He yipped at her and ran towards his mother. He jumped up against her front leg, completely missing that Indra just fled into the thicket. When he did hear the rustling the pup turned around, now only seeing his brother. He already forgotten about the play session with Indra though what he did see was something green. That needed to be explored! Tapat curiously stepped towards it, ready to play with it.

Magdalyn, feel free to PP him by dragging, lifting or blocking him from going to the plant! :3

i'm so sorry i literally suck ugh.

Astik stared, and was shocked that Tapat lunged for it. Maybe it was not for him-- or maybe it was for both of them!! Whatever it was, if Tapat thought it was fun, he should too! "Ma!" he squealed, ignoring Indra as she dove away, instead opting to lunge for the stick with his pale brother. He didn't think of any consequences-- because according to him there were none-- and instead focusing on the exitmenet the stick rose in him.

again i still suck

when Indra bolted, Jhala leapt right for her babies, shielding them from whatever they were going for. Astik-- being the bulkier of the two, smushed his nose into his mother's side but kept standing, his main emotion now being confusion. Jhala laid in front of both Sun Goslings, their poor innocent selves probably confused and a bit scared. she wrapped herself around the two children, craning her neck to see what they were going after. she couldn't tell what it was-- some sort of plant-- but it brought tears to her eyes. she was a big woman who was a role-model when it came to toning down her emotions, she'd do anything she could to appear bigger and stronger... but not now. 

she almost forgot to breathe, her chest clenching and her paws curling. she let out a loud howl, panic rising in every bone in her body. she howled and howled, willing @Hiram to come right away... he might've been inside, she couldn't remember, but she wanted this object identified now, and she wanted Indra found even faster.

You don't! <3

Tapat also bounced into his mother's soft side. He however didn't stay balanced and toppled over. It was a good thing because it distracted him from what he wanted to do in the first place. He pushed himself to his feet and shook out his fur. A smile instantly on his lips not understanding his mother's worry. The pale pup was surrounded by his mother and he rather liked that. He moved closer to her trying to give her muzzle a few licks. "Mamaaa," he chirped, plant forgotten.

He turned to his brother and snuggled against him. "Tikkk," he hummed and nipped his fur playfully. Tapat carried no confusion seeing that he had forgotten what the panic had been all about. Another attack on him and he didn't even realize there had been someone trying to get rid of him. When her momma howled he couldn't help but to join in, though his tones were completely overruled by his mother.

he was stopped mid-leap! to his poor realization, and the fat child plopped heavily at his mothers side. he echoed his brothers "mama," but when Tapat's attention turned towards him Astik couldn't help but be distracted. her eyes welled with tears, something that Astik understood as discontent because he and Tapat very often used tears as a way to get what they wanted. her howl was a weird sound, but not a foreign one, and though he didn't forget the weird shift in his mothers mood, he followed along w his brother and howled with Jhala.