Dragoncrest Cliffs don't bend over in the garden, granny, you know them taters got eyes

This is for a game of hide and seek with @Dacio but would love if others joined in so tagging the other puppies! Set a few days in the future. @Kiwi, @Silkie, @Tux, @Opalia, @Sequoia. I'll reply in a week to give everyone a chance to pop in and we'll go from there! Also, good for a trade thread! Mercenary/tactician, scout/rogue. <3

It takes a few days before Mallaidh feels up to doing anything and perhaps a few more before she can put proper weight on her ankle. The swelling has come down and the punctures in her shoulders don’t hurt so much, either, so she allows herself to get back to work as soon as she feels she can walk more than a few hundred yards and not need to stop.
 
When she finishes the border patrol of the eastern edge, she shakes out her foot proper, and looks down at her ankle. It’s swollen, but only a little—a little rest well be enough but she’s sure @Rose will complain—but it doesn’t stop her. She moves through the redwoods with a little more energy than she’s had in days and trots a familiar path that leads to the local watering hole.

Finally brave enough to secure the real borders on his own, Tux trailed the opposite direction of Mallaidh.  He did not yet have a structured routine and as such his mark was not as strong as the adults, but he was doing his best... and that the only way to get better was, well, by doing. 
Since the pair were headed in opposite directions it only made sense that they'd meet up somewhere in the middle.  He'd never actually met the Kru before, but it didn't stop him from trotting up as soon as he caught sight of her, a lopsided smile on his face.  Hei, he calls, much more comfortable with his (soon-to-be) fellow packmate than he is the leadership like the Fleimkepa.  Taking a break?

At the lake's edge, Dacio dipped his muzzle to lap at its crisp surface. Pastel eyes closed over gently as he savoured the coolness, drinking deep to satisfy the thirst that led him there. Quenched, the boy lifted his head and flicked his salmon tongue toward his chin to catch any stray droplets, and blinked in the direction of his mother. @Portia rummaged nearby, having likely caught a whiff of some herb for her stores, and he smiled gently as her peridot gaze rose briefly to meet her own.

At four months of age, Dacio was fast outgrowing his sisters in height and quickly catching up to his dam. He still remained close to her much of the time, though was growing bolder when venturing out of sight. She didn't worry as she once did, as the pups were no longer easy prey for other predators, and as such Dacio's confidence was better able to blossom.

He quietly left the medic to her business and followed a familiar trail, where he picked up Tux' scent. Pace quickening, he jogged with the hope of catching up to his fellow Goufa and his tail swished happily when he spotted him. Another figure stood nearby and, shyly curious, Dacio's gaze lingered on the dark-pointed wolfess as he paused alongside his friend with a fond bump of his snout to a raven flank.

On setting off from her mini-watch, the first goal had actually been tracking down her brother, and then to likely stick her nose into whatever he was doing for a while to help keep her busy until their dad came back around and she could follow him instead. But, wandering a zig-zag of a trail, she had been sidetracked here and there enough by scents and signs to slow her up and almost threaten to distract her entirely.

She stuck to it though, even if just barely, and now that underfoot things were more becoming more clear, she was starting to get herself focused again.

Stepping lightly, she trailed after him with her nose low, and came upon him and the small gathering probably not long after he arrived too. As soon as she realized there were more wolves than just her littermate, she slowed herself down and perked up--what even was this, anyway? She squinted, first at her brother, then at the others, settling lastly on Mallaidh. Since Dacio was here (and presumably involved), she wasn't going to miss out and wasted no time stalking towards him to join in.

Quick cameo!

Sequoia had been searching for Kiwi (her new idol and role model), but instead she found Dacio and Opalia along with Mallaidh and Tux. The former were lame, in her opinion, and the latter two she didn't know well enough to have a solid opinion. None of them were Kiwi, and so instead of sticking around, Sequoia avoided the watering hole all together, passing by the group with a glance and continuing on her way. Whatever they were doing (if they were doing anything) couldn't be nearly as fun as whatever she could get up to with Kiwi.

Since it's four of us, I don't mind if there's a post order or not, as long as you guys don't! But I'd like to keep weekly rounds! So please reply by next Thursday. <3

It surprises her when a child (if you could call it that) comes up to her. He isn’t as big as she is but she’s rather familiar with the ages of the children. She’d been around when they’d been born, though she hadn’t been around them, so it takes a moment to acknowledge he isn’t an adult.
 
Her mouth opens to answer the question when another child, smaller, approaches, and she snaps her teeth together and offers a smile.
 
Then another one.
 
And then, in the distance, she spots the straggler, but she doesn’t stick around and keeps going.
 
She’s never been around so many puppies before. She swallows the new lump in her throat.
 
“Hey guys,” she tells them with a sweep of her tail, trying to hide the sudden anxiety. Kiwi is the closest thing to dealing with puppies and it had been… interesting. A mini Blixen. It surprises her she hasn’t shown up in this new influx of children. Did they expect something from her? She shifts a little, adjusting the weight distribution to give her ankle a break. “I’m Mallaidh… I, um,” she trails off, keeping the awkward smile on her features while she gives the kids a chance to… decide it is they want to do.

He also hadn't seen so many in the same spot; Hougeda had been big enough that they'd all kind of floated around.  There's a brief, childish anxiety that begins to bubble, and it pops when Dacio arrives at his side.  He's decided out of all of the other kids, Dacio is his favorite... but that might just be because he didn't see much of the others.  Hei, he says to Dacio, and then again to that other girl — Mallaidh.  Hei.  I'm Tux, 'n this is Dacio.  He cast an anxious glance at that one other girl, Dacio's sister, who he didn't yet know the name of.

Too absorbed in trying to figure out what was afoot here and how it might pertain to her, she didn't see Sequoia turn her nose up to the gathered bunch. Instead, Opalia had settled into her own spot. Introductions followed after a pause, but she was too busy looking from wolf to wolf to find it awkward. Hei. I'm Opalia, she added with a short, sharp little nod since the boys had their bases covered already, names and all. While she knew her brother spent time with the dark older boy, maybe the golden goufa didn't realize to what entire extent yet.

Eager to find out what brought them all together (was the watering hole always this popular?) right here and now, she decided to chime in again. What're ya doing? All here? she asked, passing a curious glance over them each. Mallaidh most definitely though, and she really wanted to pin her mismatched eyes on Dacio too just in case he might know something she didn't.

Dacio regarded Tux' greeting with a flick of an ear, though his frosty green gaze continued to linger on the dark-faced adult. He picked up on her anxiety immediately, which intensified his own. His charcoal tail gave a nervous twitch when the Drageda wolfess introduced himself, though he was thankful that Tux offered one on his behalf.

Opalia made an appearance, and he blinked briefly in her direction when he caught sight of Sequoia's approach. His piebald sister did not pause to interact with them, instead opting to pass the group by.

It didn't bother him, though Dacio did fleetingly wonder where she might be heading. He remained silent for the time being, turning his head to look curiously between his companions.

SO SORRY it took so long. Work got really busy for a while. <3 Shouldn't happen again.

Tux. Dacio. Opalia. All names she’s heard in some way, shape, or form, but now she can put faces on them. It doesn’t make it any easier or less awkward, so she offers them a smile and opens her mouth to introduce herself. She snaps her teeth together, remembering she’d already done that. Now what? They’re just… little wolves, right? I mean, Tux is already gigantic and the other two don’t seem terribly far behind. They’ve got have something in common. Plus, she’d been that age once but her own childhood memories are foggy and confusing but that’s some drama for another post.

“So what are you guys doing? Um, want to play a game?” she offers. She’d played a few games as a kid, before spending a good majority on her own. Then she joined Drageda and was faced with a war on the horizon, leaving any room for games. Maybe that’s the case for the puppies here; she’d never really played games with Blixen aside from tussling and she’d never really considered how children were raised her. Mallaidh clears her throat. “Like tag or hide-and-seek?”

Both Mallaidh and Dacio's sister — Opalia — ask what he'd been doing, and he shuffles.  I was just on a patrol, but I finished up and I ran into Mallaidh, he says generally, at nobody in particular.  His ears perk at the mention of tag and he thinks of Ephraim; his heart squeezes for a second as he thinks of nomi and Etoille and he really hopes they're okay.  

Hide-and-seek doesn't cause the same thing, so he's quick to offer, Um, maybe we play the second one?

She glanced around, and learned a little more. As for her? I was just kinda looking for Dacio.. she offered, her tone meant to say it hadn't been a desperate search, and the little shrug at his direction let him know that it was just because she hadn't found anything else better yet--nothing important. Patrolling hadn't really captured her all too well today either (and she was secretly glad to hear Tux had finished his patrols), so that left her here, full of questions.

Opalia was all ears, and open to whatever. She nodded at both suggestions Mallaidh provided them, and continued when Tux narrowed it down to the second one. Feeling game enough to try her luck at either, or whichever, Opalia wasn't going to resist so long as she could entertain herself. Yeah, I can.. hide? Or seek? she offered to say she agreed with that, and was good to go once they were all on the same page about it.

Derp, sorry I held this up!

He was content to listen, having never been a child to enjoy attention being on him, so refrained from answering Mallaidh's question. Tux shared that he'd been patrolling and, more surprisingly, Opalia announced that she'd been looking for him. Eyes widening slightly, young Dacio turned to look her way and stared at her for an awkward moment, before he shuffled his paws and managed a timid little smile. His sisters had never been overly fond of him, he felt, so it warmed him to hear that the golden youth openly admit she'd been trailing him.

The adult went on to suggest a game, which was a great distanction from the discomfort that previously unsettled him. He nodded his raven-tipped crown with budding excitement, and his expression bloomed to a bright grin as his dark tail swished to attention. "Hide and seek!" Dacio echoed the other pups, recalling the game he'd played with Kiwi and eager for another opportunity.

They all agreed to hide-and-seek and Mallaidh wags her tail happily. Getting the younger wolves to like her might weigh benefit in her favor when Heda returns. She’s already returned Kiwi from danger and if she can entertain and (indirectly) train the younger brood, surely they’ll all know he’s doing well enough back in Drageda.

“I’ll seek!” she chimes in. “Okay, so Hougeda and outside of Drageda are off limits,” she informs. They’ll keep it primarily in the redwoods so they have some parameters. “I’ll turn around and close my eyes and start counting. Go!” Quickly, once they’ve gotten the idea, she turns around and waits to hear scurrying little feet before she starts to count.

He flashes a glance at Dacio and Opalia before he turns quickly on his heels.  He's bigger than either of them, which means it might be harder to hide, but he has the advantage when it comes to color.  He's dark, where both of them are pale.  The redwoods have caused what snow that had fallen to not reach the ground yet; he finds the biggest sequoia tree he can find and nestles in its shadow beside a large rock, making sure to cover his pale white parts and the flashes of gold on either side of his face.  He slows his breathing and waits, hoping that nobody hides near him to ruin the illusion.

If Mallaidh would seek, then they would hide--and just like that, it was decided with a few outlines to guide them. Opalia gave half a nod back and didn't wait much longer than that; her lightness was not making the dark foresty bits the most advantageous to her.. so she would try to use her fleet feet and small enough size to get a lot of distance between her and the seeker. Maybe if she was lucky, she could sneak off relatively undetected.. especially if she kept quick and light about it. So that was her plan, anyway.

She turned on a dime and took off after the shortest glance to the boys. Hopefully they wouldn't get any ideas from her.. but she set off at her fiercest dart until she found a place less forest and more open. By the time she made it there, she was panting, but satisfied in her progress with a glance over her shoulder. She bee-lined it towards the biggest rock in the area, and tucked herself in right behind it--as underneath it as she could get, and made herself small. Very small.

Then, she waited without a sound.

His dark tail continued to sway and he smiled brightly, making to look excitedly toward each of the other juveniles before blinking up curiously at Mallaidh. Charcoal ears pressed forward to listen eagerly for what she had to say, and while she held his attention he stole a glance at the forest around them to sneakily aid in choosing his hiding spot.

The two-toned Gona turned away then, and the children scattered at once. Dacio bolted into the woods, cirling around trees and boulders as he tried to find the perfect place to hide, and felt that luck was on his side as he hurriedly squeezed himself into a hollowed log and hunkered down to wait.

Mallaidh starts to count (or wait, rather, since who knows if wolves know basic mathematics) until she can’t hear running footsteps anymore. She gives them time to choose their hiding spot and hunker down. Idly, she thinks about how much she missed growing up with other puppies. Her littermates. They’ve scattered across the world, it seems, and those precious months of bonding will not come back to any of them, no matter how they try.

Perhaps taking a bit longer than intended, she shakes her head and turns, picking a random path. Her nose wrinkles a little, discerning which way to go and which scent to try and follow first. She trots along, picking up after Opalia’s scent first and weasels through the redwoods. At some point she loses it and distracts herself with another when Dacio’s passes next, and easily she locates it to a hollowed out log.

With a bit of good natured laughter and wag of her tail, she gives him a tag before she darts off, leaving him to search for herself and the others.

For a while they play, back and forth, and eventually once everyone gets a run through and hiding and seeking, they finish for the day.