Stone Circle adventure is out there.

When Leta roused from her midday nap, the figure of her mother or her father was not present—at least, not inside the den. She sprung to a stand and gazed at the denmouth, and then looked around her. Each of her siblings were accounted for, and Leta grabbed her tawny rabbit-fur (new—her mother had wisely discarded of the old one, not that Leta could recognize that at her age) and attempted to wake them. When none seemed to budge yet, Leta again looked to the opening of their whelping den.

Minutes later, her mocha head popped out of it, rabbit-fur in tow. She had not the astute powers of observation that all adults did, and so when she saw no one, she thought that no one was there (though if @Valette or @Greyback were not there, @Ira or another sitter surely would be). She saw what she saw, and did not have the thought to look all around her... the innocent naivety of most children, herself included, was that if she did not see it, it could not see her—and that no one was there at all. 

On a mission to find someone, Leta the adventurer began her journey and began to create a small amount of distance between herself and home, tail waving all the while.

Note: Whoever might be babysitting, she's definitely in ear and eyeshot—she hasn't really gone anywhere yet, just walking away!

marten had grown plenty in the time he was traveling with indra and laurel. grown older, grown bigger, and grown smarter. that being said, he had been a pup when he was part of the hollow... older than when they were at the valley, but still young. his responsibilities were minimal. and when they were traveling, what they needed was always fairly obvious. he had a small group of wolves that were always with him. he hunted when they hunted, slept when they slept, and walked when they walked. understanding exactly what his role within easthollow was was... confusing. but he at least understood that he needed to be contributing somehow. 

so he tried.

trying to teach himself the art of healing, marten had picked some leaves that he regarded as potentially important herbs. they were dandelions, so he was on the right track, but marten didn't have a clue what they might be used for... or if they truly were important. he was bringing them to maybe indra, but he wasn't sure if his mama would know. the next best wolf was his aunt, valette, because he figured she might be able to point him to a wolf within the pack who was a healer. that wolf could maybe help him. but that was when he spotted the young girl. marten paused in his tracks -- this was his... cousin, right? surely, he thought, valette would've told him if there were any other pups in the pack. though, to be fair, he didn't know which one this was.

he stared at her for a minute before tilting his head to one side. hey there, friend, he called out with enthusiasm, hoping the pup would come talk to him, my names marten -- i'm your cousin.

Whether or not she got very far, she was not sure. Everything was magnificent and distracting, and Leta looked all around her while she ambled around until there before her stood who she thought was her older sister at first glance. White, and where Leta stood she could only see the same shade in the others eye as Arlette. So she bounded toward them, whipping her toy along as she went and hearing it snap in the wind, and only when he spoke did she hear that she had been wrong. 

Well, that did not matter; strangers she had seen were never bad but always good, and boldness had been encouraged from their first outing. Leta was clearly happy to see her new friend, and she dropped her toy of choice to greet him with enthusiasm, charging to meet him with kisses and excited yaps.

ah! she bounded right up to him. marten was overjoyed to see such excitement, though he wasn't sure that she understood what he said. bummer -- when did they learn to speak? he wished he could talk to her now. he wondered if he should find his cousin arlette sometime... he didn't know too many wolves his own age. 

either way, he was preoccupied. 

he dropped the dandelions, accepting the influx of excited kisses and yips, giving a few happy yips of his own. such different atmosphere than traveling with indra and laurel had been! this reminded him of the days where he lived with rupert. he wondered what the toad was up to now. 

do you have a name? he asked her brightly, tail wagging as he looked upon her with curiosity and fondness. then he repeated, i'm marten!

She was quickly distracted by what he dropped. What was this? Familiar, but she had never seen them plucked. Suddenly, a dandelion was in her mouth—but just as quickly as it was in, it was out with a pah!!! pah!!! pehpehpeh, making every effort to rid of the coppery floral taste that had accosted her tastebuds. Her disappointment was soon forgotten as Marten spoke again. 

His question was met first with the sharp tilt of her head, before she turned on her heel, grabbed the rabbit furs, and then turned back to him. She deposited it before his paws and nosed it, babbling with a smile as her head then tilted in the opposite direction. It was as though she asked, is this what you want? She had yet to place names upon others, but things would soon begin to fall into place there as it was impressed upon her.

Arlette almost had a heart attack when she kept counting three heads and not four. She whined in shock. Her mother was going to kill her. After her panic settled she realized Leta was gone. "Leta!," she called out, her voice catching as there was clearly some panic with the big sister. She took her nose to the ground and tried to track her. She moved to the edges of the clearing when she heard someone speaking.

Arlette approached the sound and shocked to see someone who looked like her! She watched him in amazement, and with him was a bundle of fluff clearly fully okay. "Oh god, you found her, thank you," she let out and approached her little sister. "Did you say your name was Marten? Are you new? You also have a red eye!!," she instantly beamed, wanting to say a 100 things at once. Arlette did make sure to check her little sister if she had no wounds but she seemed A-okay.

marten watched as the pup became immediately interested in his maybe herbs — which she immediately devoured. and then spit back up. a little disappointed he no longer had plants to show someone, marten figured he’d just leave them and try again another day. he hoped they didn’t make the kid sick... (they wouldn’t — not that marten knew) 

it was then that she deposited the fur that she’d been carrying at his feet. marten was actually incredibly honored by the offering, blinking at surprise at the pup as his expression turned to an appreciative one, his lower lip pouting as he felt the gesture deep in his core. how kind of this small pup. marten could have cried. for me? he questioned even though she could not understand him, thank you, but that is yours. 

even so, he still dipped his head to nose the thing. it was then that he heard a voice — frantic but friendly — from behind him. he turned to see a... wolf that looked surprisingly like him. a prettier kind of white than him, though, marten was always just a little dirty looking. she spoke a lot, but marten let her finish. oh — yeah I’m marten. you’re... arlette, right? he asked, remembering the name valette had given him, we’re cousins, actually. the last part was added with a wag of his tail and a broad smile, despite the fact that — as always — indra was his only true family.

Had Leta understood him, she would have been mortified. No, her blanket was not meant for him to keep—but he could inspect it, if he wanted to, and admire it too. Though her kind nature would have perhaps silenced her entirely, in the end, if he really wanted it. But he nosed it back to her, and Leta was made quite happy by this, taking it again into her jaws and worrying at it with her teeth.

Familiar sounds caused Leta to pause, and when she found the source and recognized it, Leta let out a loud squeal of happiness before dragging her rabbit furs with her to her sister, who was not that other wolf, though they looked alike, what with the one eye—that had been enough for Leta, implicitly trusting as she was. She dropped her favored toy and moved to bounce all around her sister, so excited as she whimpered and whined that she may have peed, though only a little—it was sprayed helter skelter, though, by the fan that was her tail.

Arlette grinned when Leta was so pleased to see her. The older sister made sure to greet her excitedly. She didn't want to let the other know what she was in trouble. Arlette was just glad she found her sister and that she would just have to get her back to her siblings. Plus, if she stood for excitement and fun Leta was probably more eager to follow her.

Marten already knew her name, interesting! She had been talked about! "Yes! How did you know?," she asked with a kind smile, and a bit of surprise that he knew. "I can tell!!," she beamed. "I never saw anyone with red eyes until now! I thought I was the only one, except our grandmother. I never knew her, but yeah, apparently we have her genes!! Or well, you half of it," she chuckled. Babbling excitedly about this. "Great to meet you!! I'm going to bring Leta back to her siblings, you can walk with me if you like," she smiled. Leta would probably follow two wolves instead of being left alone.

Arlette grinned at Leta. "Let's go home," she offered her younger sibling and bumped to the right direction with her nose. "So nice that you joined us, Marten! I don't have a lot of wolves my age in this pack. It is nice to have someone of around the same age."