Sun Mote Copse who’s afraid of little old me?

Tag for reference!

Otter and @Skipjack had been growing like weeds, transforming from little puptatos into something resembling a wolf. She could walk and hear now, and with these new abilities came new experiences. She was now allowed to explore further away from Meerkat, and today, she ventured all the way to the entryway of The Taigh.

She was not prepared for what was outside the communal den.

Wonderstruck by the sheer massiveness of the world outside—and how bright it was!—she squinted against the sunlight and reclined onto her haunches as she marveled at the sights and smells of the outdoors.

She still felt pretty tired and weak, though she’d definitely made the right decision coming to the copse to rest and recuperate. Today, Towhee felt strong enough to get out and roam the territory a bit. She was considering trying a border patrol when she spotted Otter sitting just outside The Taigh.

Hey, kiddo, want to go exploring with g-ma? she quipped to the blue-eyed youngster.

"Hey, kiddo, want to go exploring with g-ma?" Towhee asked.

Otter craned her head back to look up at her grandmother, her eyes wide as a smile crept onto her face. Bah! she replied quickly and enthusiastically; a resounding yes!

She couldn’t read Otter’s lips to save her life, though the expression on her face was clear enough: she was totally game. Towhee grinned and bent to nuzzle the top of the little girl’s head, then raised her head to cast her eyes around for the best destination.

Guess a border patrol’s out, she mused aloud. Why don’t we check out Seal’s Nook?

Towhee began padding in that direction, keeping her pace slow not just for the child’s sake but her own as well. She’d lost some muscle definition these past couple weeks. She didn’t think she’d ever been this lean in her entire adult life. She hoped to regain her strength, starting with… well, literal baby steps.

Towhee's words went in one ear and out the other, but Otter followed with a hurried and stumbled crawl. She was still getting used to walking—especially far distances!—and did her best to keep pace with her grandmother.

There was so much to take in as they walked through the territory. Otter stopped occasionally to investigate a smell, examine something that caught her eye, or simply catch her breath.

She was transfixed on an ant hill when she stopped for the fourth or fifth (or was it sixth?) time in the short span that'd passed. Feeling like she wanted Towhee to see this, she called to her with an excited shriek as she plopped down next to the mound.

The bungalow of aspens wasn’t very from the cottage at all, though it took some time to get there on account of their snail’s pace. Towhee grinned as her granddaughter stopped and started, honestly glad for the leisurely stroll. The ground was cool and soft underfoot, the air bracing. She felt stronger just being out here, moving around a little.

Once they were tucked in the nook, she took a seat. This freed up her forelegs to make signing easier. Just as she was about to say something to Otter both aloud and in Ptero, the little girl plopped down beside what looked like an anthill. She hastily rolled back onto all fours.

She hadn’t heard the shriek, though she nosed over the Bairn before looking at the small mound. Towhee let out a sigh of relief when they weren’t fire ants. Her skin crawled at the thought of something like that biting someone so small. They were painful enough for a full-grown wolf.

-“Look but don’t touch. These ones shouldn’t bite but we don’t want to bother them, do we?”- Towhee said, resuming a seat beside the child, fully expecting her to defy the command.

Although Otter understood what Towhee told her, the temptation to do the opposite was all-consuming. She swung her head to look down and study the anthill, marveling at all the tiny critters that scurried on and around the mound. She squirmed in her seat, bit her lip as she watched, and quickly lost the battle against herself; it was too much for her to simply ignore what she'd been told not to do.

With a bark, she scrambled onto all fours, reared, and smashed her paws down next to the anthill, killing a few ants.

Otter did what Towhee expected she might. When she was a little older, she might consider rebuking her granddaughter’s defiance. But she was too young and innocent for a proper scolding and, anyway, Towhee might be the type of grandmother to let her grandchildren get away with murder.

-“I see that you’ve got a killer’s instincts,”- she drawled as Otter smashed some innocent ants into oblivion. -“I won’t stop you, though don’t come crying to me if they do decide to bite,”- Towhee added with a playful smirk.

Weeeeeeeee! Otter chimed in as she pounced again, as Towhee's words went in one ear and out the other. She was far too preoccupied with killing the masses to pay too much attention to her grandmother's words.

After some time of stomping about, the ants decided to fight back! They began to crawl up her legs, weaving through fur tendrils. Their plan worked; she stopped immediately, looked down in horror, and screamed.

Maybe she should've listened.

Otter took it upon herself to systematically destroy legions of ants. It was likely only a matter of time before she knocked down the entire anthill. Towhee watched all this with an arched eyebrow, an amused smile playing about her lips.

When the little girl suddenly noticed the ants crawling all over her, Towhee recognized the soundless scream. She should probably leap in and brush them off Otter in case they were biting her, though there was an important life lesson here.

-“You have ants in your pants!”- she teased. -“What did I tell you? I believe I said, ‘look and don’t touch.’ Then I think I recall saying, ‘don’t come crying to me’…”-

Despite her words, she moved in and began brushing her broad paws over Otter’s little legs. It wasn’t that effective. Towhee glanced around, wishing they were a bit nearer the loch. A good dunk in there would relieve Otter of her myriad stowaways.

-“Maybe you should stop, drop and roll,”- she suggested after a moment.

Otter didn't have much time to ruminate over Towhee's statement—what were pants?—as many ants were crawling up her legs. There wasn't much room for anything else in her train of thought could handle; she was overwhelmed, scared, and unsure of what to do in her current predicament. Thankfully, a lifeline was given in the form of her grandmother's suggestion to stop, drop, and roll.

She fell to the ground quickly and began to roll, taking out the entire ant hill as she rolled over it. She continued this for a few more moments until she decided it wouldn't work. When that occurred, she sprang onto all fours and began to bolt back towards the communal den.

MAWMEE! she screeched. MAWMEEEE HEEP! Meerkat always knew what to do.

Let me know if you mind the power-play! We can probably wrap here? :)

This time, Otter did as she was told. Towhee stood watch, cringing a little bit when the pup’s haphazard movements knocked out the anthill. She felt a little bad for the ants, though she was more concerned about the fact that the child was probably going to be covered in them now…

Abruptly, Otter sprang to her feet and bolted away. Towhee had no idea she was crying for her mother. After a couple blinks, she dashed after the youngster to make sure she made it safely to her destination. It proved to be The Taigh, where a clearly bewildered Meerkat popped her head out of the den.

-“She has ants in her pants. I suggest taking her to Fish’s Loch and giving her a dunk to get rid of them,”- Towhee said to her. -“Skip still inside? I’ll keep an eye on him.”-

After Meerkat steered her upset child toward the small lake south of the communal den, Towhee peeked inside. She was thinking of taking her grandson out now, seeing as her exploration had been thwarted. But the little boy was sound asleep in the corner. He didn’t even stir when Towhee accidentally kicked a bone that went skittering across the floor.

I think the universe is trying to tell me something, she sighed to herself, slouching to the floor and obeying the implied command to take it easy.

All good and sounds like a plan! :)

What happened next was a blur—finding Meerkat, being corralled and subsequently dunked in the south lake, and returning to The Taigh. But by the time all that had occurred, all the ants were gone, and she couldn't have been happier to be normal again. Despite her growing fatigue, Otter followed Meerkat home with a bounce in her step.

When they returned, Otter quickly sought out Skipjack and saw him sleeping. Taking a cue from him, she curled herself around him and made herself comfortable. She fell asleep soon after, forgetting the eventful afternoon she'd just had.