Moonspear and it has to grow!

The dark male of the litter poked himself out of the den, freshly rested, and with a quick skim of the nearby, he found scents and sights of his family scattered here and there around him. He flung back his head and announced himself with a "Arrwhoowoo," just so there would be no doubts who was awake and up. With that said, he began a devoted little plod out into the relative open of the summer afternoon to explore.

He was just beginning to gain his footing when it came to being out and about more. His light-furred sisters had wasted no time, and while he wasn't held back by a crippled limb like Ran was, he just was not always as quick on the uptake as Vela and Galaxy. But he was doing as he should and was finding a he just took a little longer than they did. The more frequent trips out of the den and around the nearby swatch of mountainside was doing him good, though, and he was finding himself encouraged to explore more and be less generally clingy (this was a lesson often in his mother's tone) instead.

As easily distracted as the gangly boy was, he stopped at a twig to pick it up and toss it up into the air above him, before bouncing away to a notable and particularly round stone nearby. He rolled it with his nose once, then yipping with satisfaction at his outcome, he did it again.

She ate such a huge dinner that instead of playing afterward, Galaxy crawled to the back of the den to snooze. She napped for about an hour before rousing again and gamboling out of the den, not in the least held back by her overstuffed belly. She spotted Jarilo and sprang in his direction, ears up and tail waving.

"Jawiyo!" she crowed, watching as he tossed a twig into the air—"Think fast!" echoed somewhere in the back of Galaxy's head—before moving onto a stone, which he rolled with his nose. Galaxy made a grab for the abandoned stick, snatching it with her teeth and swinging it around with a playful growl before attempting to poke her busybody brother with it.

His eyes were glued to the stone, all busied with studying the smooth, very satisfying roll of it with or without his sister's presence--which he remained largely oblivious to in favor of the roundness. Only when she made her bid for the stick did it get him to pick his head up, though she was already poking at him by the time he did. "AY," he barked in protest, then whipped his rump around away from her and the poker.

The game of it registered a few seconds later. Something about sight of the twig in her teeth and not his anymore riled it out of him, and her playful growls egged him on too. He yapped again, patted the ground with his forepaws, then tried to go after the stick himself to snatch it back.

Her brother didn't seem to appreciate the prodding very much, which earned a grin from Galaxy. But she quickly straightened her face and clamped her teeth on the branch when Jarilo sprang at it and began to pull on it. Calling on many memories of tug-o'-war as Scion, Galaxy not only tightened her jaw but stiffened the column of her neck even as she dug her little white peets into the soil underfoot to better brace herself.

He got his teeth on it--so that was a good start! Morale was soaring at a new height and the boy was encouraged to tighten up and tug too. But, his heavier sister planted her feet and promptly elevated herself to probably basically immovable, at least by him.. so courage plateaued, and he had to rethink this with a determined glint.

If sheer force alone wasn't going to be enough, he'd try adding a new tactic of make a lot of noise. Shrill growls and whatever else he could do with his mouth still clamped like a vice, Jarilo flattened down and tugged in fierce little bursts with his ugly cacophony at full blast. All in all, pretty bothersome at best.

It quickly became clear that Jarilo wasn't going to win the stick from Galaxy through brute strength, no matter how hard he tried or how loud he growled. The white pup grinned at his efforts, her smile growing a little smug when an idea suddenly came to her. She let him yank for a few more seconds before suddenly opening her mouth and letting go of the stick, blue eyes dancing as he (presumably!) flew backward.

For all his ruckus, she effortlessly maintained control of the stick, and therefore, the situation and him all at once. When she let go, his momentum flung him back into a tangled heap of legs and awkwardness. He needed a second to reorient after that tumble, but what mattered most of all was the prize itself--the stick was his!!

Jarilo clamped it merrily and hauled himself back up, heading back for Galaxy immediately next. He veered off enough to circle just out of her reach, and picked up the prettiest prance he knew to flaunt the twig sticking from his big toothy grin.

He flew backward. Though that had been her plan all along, Galaxy experienced a sudden and intense bolt of fear. Oh smuck! What if she'd hurt him? What if she'd killed him by accident, like Tacoma had done to Scion? Fortunately, Jarilo swiftly recovered and bounded back to his feet, the stick grasped triumphantly in his jaws. He swung it tauntingly in her face, though the little white pup was still breathing a little hard as she came down from the sudden feeling of panic and only blinked.

Thankfully, she recovered quickly herself and soon bounced on the balls of her feet before lunging at Jarilo's stick again. She might've left him alone to enjoy his prize if he hadn't tried rubbing it in her face. Although there was absolutely no malice in her actions—she was back to smiling like a dandy—Galaxy had every intention of showing him what's what.

He didn't sense the inner panic in her. He had the stick instead, so that was the loudest, most prevailing thought bouncing around in his head until she regrouped and went for him! That sent him darting away wider around her and yipping through clenched teeth.

Game on once more, he had already determined that she outmatched him in brute force, so he didn't try to fight back head-on. She'd easily be able to body him out of the twig if it came down to that, so his next best maneuver was dreadfully simple: run. Jarilo tucked his butt partially beneath himself and began to book it away from his sister, gleefully speeding off in no particular direction.

Until his drag race fun was cut short: Mama was calling for them! OH NO. Knowing better than to delay on getting to where she said he should be, he circled back, going past Galaxy, and headed towards the den at the same zoom. He guessed she would be on the way too, but didn't delay any to find out.

Rather than repeat their earlier tug-o'-war, Jarilo attempted to pivot and take off with the stick. Galaxy immediately sprang after him, ignoring their mother's voice when she summoned them. Her brother, however, made an about-face and began running toward the den.

Brown noser! Galaxy thought playfully even as she dove forward, stretching out a pale foreleg in the hopes of sweeping one or both of his hind feet out from beneath him.

He was too caught up in gaining speed that he saw Galaxy coming for him far too late to veer out of the way. Not with his present coordination, certainly, so in the first stride he went to make with his hind legs swept out from beneath him, he instead forward face first for the dirt--"OOF" he gasped, losing the stick then when he'd lost the air in his lungs. But in true, resilient-puppy form, he gave it a roll and twisted his body until he was upright again.. but now without the stick, he had two problems. Mama was going to squish him if he didn't come soon and potentially even worse, the stick was free for Galaxy's pickings. While he tried to shake off, he looked around in a hurry.

Galaxy felt equal parts terrible and triumphant when her move succeeded. She dug her heels into the earth and stood over him, blinking down to make sure she hadn't killed him on accident. But Jarilo was just fine; he even sprang back onto all fours within seconds. He began looking around frantically.

Before he could, Galaxy located and snatched up the stick. But instead of withholding it, she offered it to him with a few wags of her white tail: an (almost literal) olive branch. She then turned, stride carefree as she strolled into the den.

Still getting his bearings back by the time he noticed what was going on, he snapped his teeth playfully towards Galaxy's offer, aiming to take it back (she offered!!) more gently than his mouthiness suggested. But since there was little fun in accepting what was given over peacefully, he wasn't as obnoxious about it this time. He went trailing after her to the den too, waiting to see what their mama wanted with them from the shady confines of their home.