Stone Circle going on an adventure

It wasn't like Laurel paid that good attention these days and Charles, being used to being in the spotlight, grew so bored of being ignored. He decided to wander off that day, because adventure might be better than staying here, being bored. The child yipped excitedly as he galopped through the Hollow, running and running until he could no more. His tongue lolled from his mouth as he stood and gawped at the large stone circle. Ooowow, he brought out in surprise; he hadn't been here before, not that he remembered. His tail wagged excitedly as he bounced up to the stones while the sun started to set. They were so huge!

Charles bounded up to a random one (whoever joins may decide which) and said, Hi! to it as though it was another wolf standing in front of him, but it did not speak.

Valette turned her head when she heard a 'hi'. She frowned as it sounded like a child but not one of her own. The Matriarch had been watching the bison herd down on the fields. She could not see one that was injured or might be sick. Still, it was nice to see the interactions or which female was about the give birth. The calves were sometimes better to grab if the adults weren't protecting it.

The female turned and saw one of Laurel's pups. She was pretty sure it was Charles since he had the most white. "Hello," she returned, but coming from another side of the Mother stone. She stepped into his vision, curiously looking at the child. "You're Charles, right?," she asked the pup. He looked interested in the stones! Valette was always willing to talk about the stones.

A voice came from the other side of the stone he'd been talking to, and Charles blinked his eyes as he received a 'hello' back. Then his smile broadened, happy that the stone was talking back to him. He didn't actually think too much of it; Charles had a vivid enough imagination, and this world was all about him, of course, so it made sense everything he'd talk to would find their voice and talk back. Words were still something he was learning, however, and they did not yet hold the same gravity they did to the adults all around him. He was mostly still shouting things and seeing how the world reacted.

A wolf stepped into view and Charles looked up at her. He recognised his name, and repeated, Hi! to the wolf, then the part of her sentence he had understood in confirmation: Char! Yap-yap! Though it was likely he'd have repeated his siblings' names if she had spoken those, too. Charles looked up at the mother stone and walked further up to it. He put his front paws on the stone and looked up with interest. What'ssat?

Valette chuckled at the cute pup. They would grow up so fast. Valette dipped her head to him in greeting. "I'm Valette," she spoke in return. The female then glanced up at the stone that he asked about. "It is a Stone. A special Stone," she confirmed to him. She wasn't going in detail about them as the pup was probably too young to understand how special the stones were. She had not even told her kids yet and they were a few months.

Tet! the pup babbled after she introduced herself. It was yet to be discerned whether it was an attempt to say her name, copied some of what she said or if he was just saying random things. Charles studied the stones, distracted from the new wolf by watching them.

He licked the stone he had been inspecting and said, in response to Valette mentioning it as a stone, None. Then Charles sniffed the stone and he squatted down to pee by its side, because it was pretty cool so may as well make it his, right?

Valette gave him a nod when he repeated her name into a shorter one. She could work with that. She wouldn't mind him calling her that. However, she didn't approve of what he did next. She watched as he explored and then went down to pee on it. Valette's motherly side instantly snapped forward and nipped him hard in correction. "No," she added with a clear and very strict warning. The stones weren't for claiming and she was going to make that very clear.

Playtime with this new friend was quickly interupted when he decided to have a wee by the stone. He had barely got out a drop or two when he was nipped and called a 'no' at. Charles wasn't very used to being corrected in this manner; he was used to either receiving no attention at all or getting harshly put to the ground if he was committing offence.

Charles remained on the ground and looked up at Valette with big shimmering eyes and a wobbly lip, silently trying to garner sympathy because he'd found out that that tactic worked well enough whenever his brothers were teasing him or whenever he'd done something bad and Laurel got angry.

Valette kept her stance, her maw close to the pup to nip him again if he would dare to pee further. It seemed she had startled the pup. Then his face turned with a wobbly lip and hurt pups eyes. Valette's tail curled up dominantly and kept her hazel green eyes on the pup. She had dealt with far worse sad puppy eyes over the years of being a mother. The matriarch also had the experience of putting any wolf in their place so she was not even remotely affected by the boy.

"No," she repeated strictly. She bared her teeth as a warning to get her point across. She would nip him again if he dared to get closer. She was not sure if the pup could understand so many words but her body language was more than clear. He was not allowed to pee on the stones, and in this moment, not to get close to it. Valette was strict, but fair. If he would take his distance she would have no problems and it would mean the pup understood her point.

Rather than giving in at the sight of his adorable eyes, he wasn't given what he wanted and instead faced with adversity. Charles shrunk back further at the 'no' and he whimpered loudly, a soft whine to show his displeasure. His body language was submissibe altogether, and when she moved on to get him to leave, instead he dropped to the ground, on his back, rolling over. He'd been here times before with his brothers; the only thing that would save him was this ultimate gesture of submission.

His tongue flickered out as he nervously licked his lips and whined softly while he exposed his belly. His body was rigid otherwise; too afraid to move and show further weakness and risk getting punished for something or other.

Valette watched as the pup displayed complete submission. The female was pleased to see it and then stepped closer to nose over the child, also to tell him that his submission was accepted by her. She nudged him in saying he could go back to his feet. Valette was usually firm with children but in a fair way. Perhaps she got more firm now she had three boys to teach. They had been testing her a bit.

He fully expected to get gnawed at, because that's what his brothers would do. So the soft approach was a surprise to Charles. Instinctively he knew how to react to it and Charles remained on the ground, cringing at the touch, but then after a second or five carefully got up from the ground. His body remained submissive, tail tucked and head held low, as he looked up at Valette and then started to slink away from the stones.