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The pups often accompanied their parents on forays away from the den, so there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the occasion as Meerkat led @Stingray, @Swordfish and @Mercy toward the distant Corsair Beach today. But she knew that it was about time for them to begin staying at the rendezvous site, so she hoped that they took to it. Then they could settle there, giving the whole family of five a bit more breathing room and the pups plenty more space to grow into pack life.

When they arrived at the sandbar, she coaxed, Go ahead and explore as much as you like! @Aminthe and @Quennell should be around here somewhere… and your da (@Njord) should stop by whenever he’s done with his patrol.

Swordfish was already tired when they arrived at the sandbar. His expression was lethargic, almost exasperated. Their mom seemed to think that it would be a fun excursion for them. Stingray appeared to be rather pleased, as he bounced along, racing ahead in rare moments to return with something peculiar looking. It seemed to be the natural state of things. Ray with his joyful curiosity, Fish with his penchant for lazy days, and Vix… well, Swordfish didn’t watch Vixen very often. Perhaps she was better at finding sleeping places than he was.

Once they had been set free on the beach, the young boy plodded a few pathetic steps from his mom. He sniffed at the sand. With one doleful expression back to her, Swordfish plopped onto his rear end with a wet sound. He wanted to know when they could go home.

No wanna, he mumbled with a pout.

Ray was having the time of his life... Until they got to the beach, that is.

By now, it was well established that Stingray wasn't a fan of sand. It turned his coat to itchy grit, wedged itself in between all his toes, burned his paws when the sun was high in the sky, and was unpleasant to walk on. It got all over everything, even food, and biting into it made his eyes water. He liked the little crabs that sometimes popped out of it, but they were just as quick to scurry away, and his paws were too clumsy on the slippy sand for him to ever catch one before it disappeared.

An ordinary day would see him countering his brother's pouting by trying to drag him unwillingly into a game, but today, Swordfish was his comrade-in-defiance. Stingray made his way over to his brother, shaking his paws now and again, and dropped to the ground so he was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with his sibling. Ma would have to take them seriously if they teamed up, he thought. He hoped Vix would join them. Three against one meant they would definitely win.

No! he agreed.

I’m going by this map for reference.

The boys’ reactions did not particularly surprise her. Meerkat made a fond tsk sound and pointed at Mercy, who’d heard the word “go” and hadn’t needed to be told twice. She was almost out of sight and the young mother had to bite her tongue from calling out to her. They were meant to venture on their own a bit.

Taking a breath, Meerkat motioned for the boys to follow her as she led them toward a bend in the stream. The water was shallow here, so she felt confident leading her sons to the grassy peninsula across the way. Hopefully Ray and Fish would find it more to their liking.

Aminthe had no such aversion to the sand or anything, really; she was brave and curious and always willing to explore. So she had enjoyed her time in their new area. She chased the water and collected sea shells and played with whoever was available. It was a good life. She was smaller than normal still and spoke like someone younger, but that never stopped her.

So when she saw the young children with Meerkat, she practically vibrated with excitement as she ran over to them. They were making their way to the grasses and the seastar was definitely going with them. She ran to each puppy and wagged her tail, offering a few swipes of her tongue in greeting if they would allow it.

Vixen had just taken off like she was ready to dive into the sea. Swordfish watched her from over his shoulder and scowled. He didn’t think that she had any idea how little fun they were having. He had believed that his brother might have joined her. It seemed that Ray’s aversion to the touch of sand was something that had carried over from their first visit to the beach.

Swordfish felt himself grow pleased when Stingray joined him, speaking his defiance with a firm voice and a firmer plant of his butt. Fish nudged his brother and nodded his head. Solidarity, Ray… together, we can’t be moved.

Meerkat did not seem to think that there was any issue with her boys denying her trip. She motioned for them to investigate a small bend where grass stretched out beside water. Swordfish watched her with the same scowl he had given his sister. He didn’t really feel like walking, either. Turning away from mom, Swordfish lowered his torso to the ground where he could rest and glanced from the edge of his eyes toward Stingray.

What do you think?

The stranger was not even a blip on his radar. Aminthe could dance and prance and it would not draw his eye.

No such luck with Vix. She was already off and running, apparently a shining paragon of what Meerkat wanted her children to do. Well, phooey on her. Ray was happy to run and play, too, just not here in the sand.

Meerkat wanted to lead them away. Swordfish planted himself right where he was, leaving Ray conflicted. Where ma was going was grassy and lacked sand, but he had to present a united front with his brother if they had any hope of protesting this unwanted move. He craned his head toward Meerkat, whining softly in his throat, but kept himself rooted in place next to his prone brother.

Until Aminthe came along and slapped him in the face with her wet, excited tongue. Bleck, said Stingray as he stumbled away from her and Fish alike, doing his best to keep up the worker-on-strike act with a deep scowl, but his wagging tail betrayed his excitement about meeting someone new despite his paws slipping in the sand.

The boys proved rather obstinate despite her effort to strike a compromise. Meerkat canted her head at them, ears twitching at Ray’s soft whine. Were they simply a little overwhelmed? Perhaps they just needed a bit more encouragement.

When Aminthe arrived, she provided just that in the form of sloppy kisses. Meerkat laughed, though her sons didn’t appear to appreciate the older pup’s forwardness. She felt a tiny bit of fond exasperation. They were being such party poopers!

But then she spotted Ray’s wagging tail and Meerkat smiled as she said, Hey Aminthe, tell them about all the fun they’ll have here. Better yet, we should show them. She paused for a beat, thinking, before suggesting, Maybe we could play hide-and-seek? Or what about tag?

Aminthe seemed rather keen on a rousing game of tag. Determined to strike a balance between demonstrating to her sons that this was a fun place to hang and not forcing them to do something they didn’t want to do, Meerkat cried, Okay, I’m it! and chased after the little girl.

If Fish and Ray wanted to join in with the fun, then that was up to them. If not, she would frolic with Aminthe for a little while before going home and trying again some other day.