Redtail Rise Hell is worth all that, natural habitat

He had probably sulked for a few days following the whole debacle with Masquerade, resenting @Aventus greatly for punishing him when he’d done nothing wrong. But all of it was a faded memory now. Atreus gave it very little thought, even if the effects of that day would linger in his subconscious indefinitely.

He and @Ancelin were still a couple weeks shy of a move to the rendezvous site, yet they’d begun accompanying their parents here and there around the rise. Today, they trailed @Arielle for a little while before she guided them back toward the whelping den. Not far from their destination, they passed a pile of dung.

The little boy couldn’t resist. He approached it, gave it a sniff and promptly began rolling in the mess.

Mother had been furious, and her sister cowed, after the run in with the others like them, but not.  Redd knew this because of the scents lingering on Masquerade.  The rust of blood, the stink of fear, and the warmth of kin.  It was a compelling combination and despite any dire warnings that may have been given otherwise, Redd would see for herself.

She lurked and watched but was unwilling to show herself until Arielle had departed view momentarily.  She knew that she was perhaps not supposed to be here, but revealing herself to one her size did not contain the risks the larger did.  She did not have to obey one who did not stand above her.

She slunk forward and then stood, watching with ears erect as the other rolled in something that reeked strongly.  She was more interested by this than disgusted.  Why did he wish to disguise his scent?

just a cameo!

when atreus veered off the path, ancelin came along too. he laughed and chortled, hugging a big clump of sunwarmed shit to his chest and dragging his ruff through as much of it as —
the boy flipped to his paws. little chunks of poo flew from his hackles. it was the red girl who had caught the grasshopper. ancelin boofed to her softly. did she want to come and roll in the droppings too?

Too busy making an utter mess of himself, Atreus didn’t realize they were being watched until Ancelin made a noise. He righted himself in the slop, eyes narrowing to slits when he spotted the older girl lingering nearby. It wasn’t the same one who’d attacked him, yet the resemblance—particularly the red fur—made his hackles prickle indignantly.

NO, he said emphatically, leering at the unwelcome stranger. Go away, he rumbled, sloppy tail poking straight out behind him and beginning to curve upward right along with the lift of his upper lip.

The other was here too.  Redd acknowledged his arrival with a flicker of her gaze, but it was drawn back as she was noticed and the boy told her to leave.

She did not need to listen.  He was neither life-giver nor hunter and his head did not rest above hers.  If he hoped to make her, she would be able to fight.

Redd's golden eyes narrowed skeptically for a moment.  Then she sat down and yawned, expansively, with a clear indication of how she felt about his orders.

sneaking another in :o

ancelin's ears laid back. atreus didn't want her around. but the red pup didn't look like she was about to leave. in fact — it seemed like a challenge.
he swallowed and turned back to roll in the poop, but it wasn't nearly as fun now.

Not only didn’t she heed his order, she made a point of yawning boredly in his face. Atreus narrowed his own eyes, his teeth clenching. Excepting his own brother, the other pups around here sucked.

He spared his litter mate a glance. Ancelin seemed determined to ignore the tension, slopping about it in the dung pile. A muscle jumped in Atreus’s jaw as he then looked around for their mother, wishing she would make the horrible little girl leave.

But he didn’t see her, so Atreus knew he must take it upon himself to enforce his command. He stomped toward Redd. He knew he was smaller in size, yet Atreus was nothing if not bullheaded.

Fug, he barked, planting his feet about a yard from his cousin, off.

He was angry.  She didn't understand it, and continued to watch, neither rising to the challenge nor moving to leave.  He neither owned this space nor commanded her - and she was interested in them.  She had no desire to fight others who were pack, so his irritation was more baffling than anything she disliked.

Would he attack?  She tilted her head, interest sharpening a bit more even at that thought.  She would see, perhaps.  Her tail swished quietly behind her, but otherwise she waited in silence.  If he really wished to drive her away, he would need to give a stronger reason than this.  Home held far less intriguing things.

She remained utterly unmoved by his aggressive advances. Atreus began breathing hard, indignant fury building at her audacity. She wasn’t wanted here, so why did she insist on loitering?

He considered attacking, though the noises Ancelin made behind him stilled him. He twitched, wondering if he might invite harm upon his brother somehow if he started a fight. His lip curled as he realized their parents would probably interfere too, punishing him wrongly again.

Taking a page out of her own book, he glowered at her and then turned away with a huff, deciding to ignore her. He slouched back to his brother, directing a nip at Ancelin that hit a little harder than intended due to his pent-up energy.

Scowling to himself, he took a seat beside his litter mate, perpendicular to their obnoxious cousin. Atreus refused to look at her directly, though he kept her in his peripheral sights as he scooped a pawful of dung and smeared it against Ancelin’s cheek.

He seemed to accept her presence at length.  She watched for a while, giving it a long moment, before Redd began to creep closer.  She did not want to fight with them, but she did want to know about what they were doing.  If she was able, she would inch close enough to stick her own paw in the dung.  It was unclear if they would accept this.

ancelin yelped lowly but did nothing else. atreus' harshness instigated his own; he slammed a crumbling turd toward his brother's head, then tried to shove him down into the dungheap.
wrestling dispelled a lot of his own tensions. ancelin took a moment to aim a piece of poop at their cousin, flinging it hard with the intention of hitting her right in the face.

Atreus barked out a laugh when his brother slopped some dung over his head, then promptly tackled him into the mess of it. He let himself topple over beneath Ancelin’s weight, rolling onto his back so he could aim a few kangaroo kicks at his brother’s belly.

When Ancelin paused to fling some feces at their cousin, Atreus turned to glance at her, his expression growing surly at the reminder. He pushed away from his litter mate, then climbed out of their makeshift “mud” puddle altogether.

He didn’t want to engage her, though he wouldn’t stop Ancelin. Atreus would just linger nearby, a sulky look on his face as he tried to find the balance between keeping an eye on his brother and pretending their cousin did not exist.

At first, her interest had been in finding what they were doing.  They didn't seem to notice as she inched closer, but she pulled up abruptly when one stopped wrestling in order to fling something that hit her square in the face.  It did not hurt, but somehow, it felt different than other things.  This was punctuated by the fact that her other cousin proceeded to look briefly, then move further away, entirely disengaging.

Redd stopped for a moment, staring at the both of them.  Then she let out a quiet huff and turned away.  It suddenly wasn't worth it anymore to find out why they were so fascinated, and it was clear that she was not going to be allowed to join the game.  They would simply leave as she drew in.  Something had changed in that moment, made it feel less like a game and more like the slight it was intended to be.  She preferred to leave than linger in the sensation.  They'd finally managed to hurt her feelings.

last for me! <3

he'd thrown the poop clod in good faith, wanting to invite her into their game. 
but when ancelin looked up, it was to see her moving away.
atreus was still cold between them despite their playing, and now he glanced to his brother. "she was gonna play with us," he said plaintively.
ancelin was suddenly done with the poop. he scampered off, unsure what to do with the odd tight feeling in his chest.

He could feel the weight of their older cousin’s stare. Atreus wanted to challenge it, though he kept his cheek turned the other way, reminding himself to ignore her lest he bring trouble down on his brother’s head along with his own.

An absolutely enormous cave cricket leaped across his line of vision. Atreus snapped his teeth at it but it was much too quick for him, quickly vanishing into the brush. He thought of giving chase but his brother’s doleful voice stilled him.

Before Atreus could reply, his litter mate ran away. Only then did he realize Redd had gone too. His brows lifted as he tried to make sense of the last thirty seconds. He peered after the cricket, then off in the direction Ancelin had gone.

In the end, he just sat there and let out a nettled huff.