Sun Mote Copse Yeah, I'm a keeper

It was really, really weird how quick things went back to slow and quiet the instant she returned home from every trip.  Cool!  And relaxing!  But also weird.  A part of her felt a little guilty, but she had totally done her best.  And she'd gotten, like, a ton of wolves willing to report in with information.  So instead of one scout (her) she had... a whole bunch of scouts.  And that was wayyy better, right?

Right.

Honestly, though, she'd been lonely, and she wasn't in any hurry to go back on the solo road.  Just thinking about it made her go all grey (hah, get it?!).  But she'd already been gone for so long that she, once again, felt completely out of the loop.  Fennec and Figment were both gone?  But all the other kids were still here, and most of the familiar faces.  That was too bad, she'd liked Figment.

With a little sigh, Maia trekked a slow trail through the copse, eyes running over the midsummer trees and growth.  The place was sure pretty in summer... but had anyone even really noticed she was gone?  Wow, that was a weird thought.

Alyx wasn't where she was supposed to be, but hanging around the rendezvous was starting to get borrr-ing. So she took a little detour out into the woods and just kept on going. So what if she was only two months old? As long as she stayed within the bounds of the pack's claim, no one would worry, right? Right.

So off she went, scampering through the copse on chubby little legs until she stumbled across Maia. Hi! she greeted emphatically, blue eyes roving with interest over this newcomer, only to halt on the beige markings around her throat. Wooooo, she said, craning her neck for a closer look, only to giggle. You's pink like Rosie!

P...pink? She was delighted by the unexpected enthusiasm, but the question came out before she could properly think.  She'd never even considered that descriptor! Though the smile said she didn't mind.

I'm Maia.  Hi! She'd let the pup explain before asking who she was.  She should probably know, but an unfortunate side effect of travel was... well.. traveling?

Ya! said Alyx, offering up no elaboration to substantiate her claim. If Maia ever met Rosie, she'd probably spot the parallel then. Alyx herself was a little too short-sighted to realize that when an adult repeated something in a baffled tone, she was supposed to supply more information, not simply confirm.

Luckily, she had a few social graces and knew that the proper response to Maia's introduction was, hi Maia, I's Alyx! Then, without any preamble, she launched into an excited series of questions: D'ya knows mommy an' daddy? D'ya knows Q? D'ya like th'f'owers? Are you a Fy'bird too?

Maia had to stifle a laugh as her expectation was only met with simple confirmation.  She'd walked right into that one!  It came out more snort than anything else.

I do! I think! Not Q, though, or flowers.  Unless you mean flowers in general, I LOVE flowers in general.  My favorites are the blue ones. She had to stop a moment, and count back, before she recalled the final rapid fire question.  Umm... oh! Yeah, total Firebird! Do you know Wraen?

Oh, said Alyx, sucking in a big breath, Q's my scissor an' she looks like me bu' she's stinky and likes mud an' I hates mud! Mud is the grossest! By the end of her explanation, her voice grew reedy with the lack of breath remaining in her lungs. She exhaled sharply and sucked in another breath, granting Maia enough time to finish her responses.

F'owers are so preeeeelly, Alyx cooed, sweeping a quick look at their surroundings in search of some. Oooh! she exclaimed, prancing over to the nearest seeding dandelion. This ones are f'uffpuffs! she announced proudly, lifting a paw to bat at the flower. The stem bent and snapped, sending seeds scattering into the wind to a chorus of girlish giggles. I dunno Wraen, she shared, looking back over her shoulder. That was a lie, but not an intentional one, mind you. She'd met the pack's Sovereign before but she just didn't know, or else couldn't recall, her name.

Is Wraen a f'ower?

It wasn't the easiest thing, following Alyx's torrent of words, but Maia caught most of them.  One thing she could credit herself with, raised in an environment of collaborative storymaking... she was an excellent active listener.  And she and Wraen's games only served to keep that skill sharp.  You know, if you make a wish on a fluffpuff, the floaties will carry it to the fairies, and they might just answer it. Maia said.  She loved the name the girl had given the flower way too much to even think of correcting it.

She's pretty like one, but nope!  She's my sister!  It surprised her a bit that the pup didn't know her, but it didn't occur to her to think the name might be a step too much for one her age.  Sisters get better as you get older, I think, she added, a little conspiratorially.  She couldn't remember having too much of an opinion of Wraen when she was a kid, not outside of babysitter.  They definitely didn't have the relationship then that they had now.

Really?! exclaimed Alyx, who didn't know anything about fairies, but she did know about wishes. She knew about making wishes on falling stars, but she never realized she could make wishes on flowers! Are fairies f'owers too? she wondered. If they were, maybe she could appeal to them with how much she loved flowers, and then maybe they would be more willing to grant her wish!

Maybe Quetzal would get better when she was older. Presently, Alyx thought she was too mature to get along well with her twin. The fact she thought so was testament to how immature she still was—but don't tell her that! The polite thing to do now would be to ask about Maia's sister, but Alyx was neither polite nor good at pretending to be. Not yet, anyway. The previous topic was too interesting for her to care much about anything else.

If I wish to be a Sobrun so everyone hasta do what I say, will th'fairies answer that?

No, but some of them live in them and take care of them.  Maia answered, pulling that from a few of the older stories her mother had shared with her.  It took her a minute to figure out what Alyx meant with the next part... she thought so little of the Sovereign title since her sister held it.  It was to odd to think of her as anything aside from just plain 'Wraen'.

Fairies are way too playful to care about royalty.  But if you are nice to them, then they might.  It tickled her that Alyx already had her sights set so high.  What would be the first thing you'd tell everyone to do?  She couldn't resist.

sorry! I let her slide.  We can wrap this or keep it going, I don't mind either way!

Gonna wrap here! Thanks for the thread!

Wow, cool. So the flowers had their own little caretakers. Alyx thought it was curious she’d never seen one before, but maybe they were invidibble or indivisible. Whatever that big word someone had used once or twice when telling a story. And they were playful! What an awesome 2-for-1 combo. Alyx adored them already.

Except they wouldn’t answer her wish to be Sobrun, but that was okay. Maia asking what her first order of business would be was plenty stimulating enough. Weeeeeeeeeell, said Alyx, musing, and then began a long list of things she would do as Sovereign. None of them would better the pack in any way. Most of them involved getting wolves to do things for her so she never had to do any work again. She would even decree that mom or dad or Towma had to carry her everywhere so her royal feet never touched the ground.

Yes, life would be great under Sovereign Alyx, and if Maia was shocked or bothered by these plans of hers by the time they parted ways, the little wolverine never noticed.