Wapun Meadow Emotions you don't understand upon viewing the sunset

Set equidistance from Diaspora, Easthollow and Swiftcurrent Creek. If any of the older pups from those packs would wander out this far, maybe we can have a pup hang out sesh! @Lainie @Helios @Clay @West Tyree @Newt @Polaris @Zephyr

A part of Dragomir believed, as he descended from Arrow Lake into the vibrant meadow below, that if he returned to where he last saw Vercingetorix, is father would return. It was a foolish thought and perhaps even more foolish to go alone, but he felt like he was a big boy now and could manage this small trip without his mother's fretful presence. He loved her dearly but even at the tender age of two-and-a-half months, Dragomir was building both his confidence and his independence, and needed to step out from under his worrisome dam's shadow now and again.

Bees buzzed busily around his head as he pressed through the tall grass, attentive but relaxed. No harm had ever befallen him in his life and he had no reason to be afraid now. His eyes landed on a brightly coloured butterfly that dipped low over a cluster of wild roses; with a wagging tail, the cub dipped into a smooth crouch and began to stalk it.

Just when she hit the peak of boredom, her parents decided to allow them to go outside the pack lands with chaperones. Her whole body was quivering with excitement by the time they actually left that when she got there and spotted an unfamiliar puppy she jauntily paraded forward and yipped at him "Hi! You're new! Wanna be fwens?".

Powerplaying Dadvik @Kavik & Zephyr with permission! ❤

Helios is skeptical. Of course, he trusts his father to lead them well, and never has the man ever proved the trust Helios has placed in him wrong. But it is the first time they have crossed Swiftcurrent Creek borders into the unknown.

They take many breaks. Kavik explains various questions Helios has about objects he's not seen prior, and the eldest child sticks close to @Zephyr. @Alessia having the troublesome duty of making sure none of them run off, which Lainie seems to have a knack for. The terrain is notably different out here than it is at home. Eventually, Helios decides it isn't as bad as he assumed.

At the age of three months, the raven boy has begun to show colors of gold across him. Undersides lightening from their initial dark, chocolate brown, to appear touched by the sun itself. Helios is not sure what to think of it, but his parents do not seem concerned. So he accepts it as it is. It does, however, hinder his ability to camouflage in the shadows as he once did. Now he stands out like a sore thumb, which is why it comes to a surprise when he hears the thrashing amongst the tall grass and wildflowers a few feet away from his resting point.

Popping out of the foliage is not a sibling, but a stranger. Helios rises to a sit, brushing against Zephyr's side as his silver sibling lays next to him. Lainie is the first to speak, having noticed the stranger from a different angle.

« Who are you? » French rolls off his tongue better the older he gets, and he remains expressionless—lacking aggression or pleasure in this turn of events. But Helios is certainly curious.

He isn't quite sure what to think of the world beyond the pack's borders. It's big... and scary. His father's presence is soothing, though, and Helios's proximity brings a confidence he would not have otherwise possessed. He even manages to relax a little — until something suddenly appears from the tall grasses. No, someone. He flinches a little and sits up abruptly, pressing into Helios as he eyes the newcomer, squinting a little against the brightness. He sees the sun in the other boy's eyes, under his pads, creeping through in slivers between the strands of his fur. And he does not like it one bit. Helios, He murmurs, hushed. Why is he so bright? He does not understand yet that his brother cannot see what he sees, so he wonders why Helios, typically averse to the sun, seems unbothered.

she had never been so excited! she'd had to put all her efforts into refraining from using up all of her limited energy before even setting a paw outside of the border but still couldn't help but at least shift from paw to paw with giddy anticipation.

finally papa leads them from the home where they'd only just started getting used to what it had to offer and suddenly the idea of finding their territory big and intimidating seemed very, very silly. because it was massive out here. there's a few moments where all she can do is blink like a deer in the headlights, a little overwhelmed by how far everything stretched away but the shock didn't last too long and she was quick to resume skipping alongside her siblings- drawing courage from their presence. papa too, he'd never let anything bad happen to them. as if to make sure of this she'd trot close to him for a while- pressing her little grey body against his legs as best as she good without tripping him up whilst gazing wide eyed at the world passing them by.

it wouldn't be too long until curiosity got the better of her and she'd grow brave enough to break away- tail waving to and fro as she hopped about sniffing at all the pretty plants and marvelling at the unique sights. she was in her absolute element, turning with a desire to beckon helios over to see a particularly pretty flower but seeing him so focused on zeph held her back as she looked away a little peevishly, brought on by nothing more than natural sibling competitiveness. finally she'd hear lainie speak in that confident voice of hers and would glance up quickly- seeing only papa and her two brothers. quickly abandoning whatever she'd been inspecting now, she'd hop over to where the two sat to see what they looked at- leaning in close to her brothers now, earlier misgivings completely forgotten. at the realisation that it was a pup from a different pack her eyes would widen curiously, tail wagging with an increased speed at the boy's presence.

a quick look would be shot up at her father- they'd never met a non swiftcurrent wolf before but he didn't seem to protest so she'd turn back to the newcomer with a warm grin. she'd been trying to remember to speak english around wolves outside of her family and would've stuck to that now, especially since it was what papa spoke anyway but helios threw her with his french so subconciously she'd fall into the same tongue as her brother, uttering a simple "hey there", suddenly feeling a little bashful as her eyes flitted from small paws to the boy and back again.

both herself and her brother were rovers, though he didn't seem as especially keen to follow her around as she did him, it seemed. this was driven in part by loneliness and also by the fear that he'd best her in some way. she'd yet to complete a successful hunt of any kind, and dad had seemingly gone away again - if he showed up again, she wanted to be the one to find him first, not Dago. 

speaking of, he came into sight then, the tall grass bending around him. he wasn't alone, either; a quartet of other pups, with their attention, focused on her brother. she's not entirely sure what to think of this, so she moves to his side, having never considered that there might be more pups outside of die'spor. "hi! I isi. please what want?" caught somewhat off guard, she resorted to what she'd been practising at the border, though this was far from die'spor.

For a while it was just Dragomir and the butterfly alone in the meadow. He honed in on it in the singular way he did when he was intensely focused. Perhaps that was why he failed to see the pair of adults and their four pups coming toward him. The butterfly was black with numerous dots of pale yellow and pale blue lining the outer edges of its wings. Dragomir didn't have a hope in hell of catching it—butterflies seemed to have almost supernatural senses and it would become aware of him long before he got that close, no matter how stealthy he was—but soon it didn't matter. It sense the large group of wolves and fluttered away on its own.

Out of the grass popped an aggressively cheerful black-furred pup. She could have been his doppelganger but for the handful of silver hairs that had begun to sprout from Dragomir's hackles and the fact she was a little larger (due to being a fair bit older than him). Ordinarily Dragomir was outgoing and confident, but when faced with a complete stranger his size with oodles more confidence than he had, he found his words muddled in his mouth. Hi, was all he was able to get out before things escalated rapidly.

Now there were two others: another black pup, this one shot through with threads of gold, and a grey pup who was thin and little, even littler than Dragomir, who was tall for his age. He was a darker shade than Isilmë. If Dragomir felt unsure about the appearance of one unfamiliar pup, then he was utterly overwhelmed by there now being three. It didn't help that they spoke in a language he didn't understand, and for Dragomir, who had three languages and snatches of a fourth from his missing uncle, that was quite a feat.

Thank god Isilmë showed up when she did, for now a fourth unfamiliar pup made themselves known, again speaking in that strange new tongue, and Dragomir just wanted to go home already. He didn't appreciate the disadvantaged feeling of being surrounded by strangers all of a sudden; any normal friendliness he might have displayed to one or two pups was hidden beneath a wave of abrupt anxiety. Thankfully, Isi was much more extroverted and was quick to march up and ask what they all wanted. Yeah. What did they want with him? Isi, he murmured quietly to his sister, don't like this.

@Sadiq is welcome to join for progress toward their trade, but please no more after that! Wasn't expecting this to turn into a large group thread. So that this doesn't get too bogged down, I'm going to put a time limit of 5 days per person to post. If someone hasn't posted within 5 days of their turn starting, they become skippable. This is just so we can keep things moving! ^_^

Post order is Dragomir > Lainie > Helios > Zephyr > Polaris > Isilmë

Ugh.

Why was it that her siblings always had to be included in the awesome stuff? She loved them to death but it was clear to the young but bright girl nothing would ever go positively when they were all together. Helios and Polaris greeted and question them in french which was dumb and Zephyr looked a little freaked out so she sighed with exasperation and took over Hi! I Lainie, that Helios, Polaris, Zephyr, Papa" she spoke more softly though her tail still whipped around behind her "We splorin! You Splorin too?" she asked and then turned to look at her siblings, backing closer to them when she realised she was much closer than the rest of them.

Since more than 15 days have passed (5 each for Helios, Zephyr and Polaris), I'm skipping y'all to keep this going. I'll be powerplaying Isilmë until she can reactivate. Hop back in when you can!

The gilded cub and his seeming sister remained huddled together, watching him and Isi and saying nothing. The mottled cub, too, seemed to defer to her sister, who gladly pressed forward with the social pleasantries. Dragomir was thankful for this; her cheery manner put him a little more at ease than the more reserved (or downright dour) behaviours of the other three. Still, he pressed his side nervously into his silver sibling's flank and allowed her to take the lead. Hi! I Isi. She'd just said that, Dragomir thought, and he giggled bashfully at the representation, earning a tug of his ear. Turning back, his sister said with all the diligence of a true border guard, Please what bring Die'spor?

Blinking, Dragomir peered at his sister, then erupted into louder giggles. Isi, he softly informed, this no Die'spor. She knew that, of course, she just fell into old habits easily. Dragomir was a more thoughtful sort but didn't often rehearse his greetings, so he chewed on his lip and glanced between all the gathered pups. To the three who had spoken a different language, he didn't know what to say. Helios, Polaris, Zephyr. His gaze drifted up to the tall black wolf nearby, their alleged Papa, and he frowned a little. Hi Lainie, he tried, his voice strangely timid.

I's Drago, he introduced, licking his lips to soothe his nerves. Yeah, 'splorin. Lookin' for papa, right Isi? he elaborated, frowning softly. Papa not here. You know? It seemed unlikely that these unfamiliar pups would know where they could find Vercingetorix, but it was worth a shot.