Swiftcurrent Creek Edible spry sky

Relonikiv sensed change in the air. There were signs of it elsewhere too: in the patches of brown revealed by the melting snow; in the snap, crackle and pop of thawing ice in the creek; in the music of songbirds that woke him each morning now. There was also something more abstract shifting around him. His guardians were restless and often away tending to business of some sort or another, leaving the two young pups under the watchful eye of someone else.

At least, that was the case usually. Intentionally or not, Relonikiv and Julius were entirely left to their own devices today. By now, the boundaries of their rendezvous site had been ingrained, so the younger of the two stayed within the invisible fence line. Still, he felt a strange sense of freedom as he loped in circles around the clearing and, at length, Relonikiv realized that there was no one there to stop him should he bust out of the playpen...

Brother bonding time!

While Relonikiv was restlessly running in circles, Julius was content to lay in a patch of sunlight. There seemed to be more of it lately, and Julius decided that the little bit of it that did get absorbed with his white fur felt good on his face. But soon, the footfalls of his brother got irritating. Deciding that he couldn't lay in the sun peacefully, he would join Relonikiv in his romping.

Without any words, Julius got up and charged towards Relonikiv, getting in front of his path. Letting out a playful growl, he reared up on his hind legs, grappling with Relonikiv's shoulders with his front legs.

Before he could think about acting on his thoughts, a wild Julius appeared, rearing up in front of him like some winter stallion. Relonikiv yapped in surprise, hastily backpedaling. Then he realized it was only his brother and he smiled, batting at Julius even as his brother's forelimbs wrapped around his dusty neck. His tail waved and her let Julius cling to him for a moment before he took a few backward steps and shrugged off the larger pup's embrace.

"Wanna go a'venture?" Relonikiv asked, peering sideways at the wilderness beyond the rendezvous site. He didn't know he was doing it when he made puppy eyes at Julius, their wide depths as much silver as they were blue these days.

When Relonikiv shrugged him off after a few moments, Julius made no attempt to retaliate. Besides, he didn't have enough time to before a question was sprung upon him. Also sprung upon him were Relonikiv's puppy eyes. Before he could even decide if he wanted to go on an adventure himself, he found himself asking why he would ever do anything to make his adorable younger brother unhappy.

As much as it seemed otherwise at time, adventuring wasn't a no-no in Julius' mind. As long as he wasn't leaving any family behind, he was fine with it. Bazi and Scimitar weren't here to begin with, so he couldn't leave them. As long as he could return to the rendezvous site that he had grown attached to at the end of the day, he had no problem with going off with Relonikiv, so Julius agreed. "A'venture! We go on a'venture!"

Relonikiv smiled broadly when Julius agreed to accompany him on an "a'venture." Tail wagging, he nudged the white pup's shoulder, briefly met his eyes, then turned and took perhaps half a dozen steps. They carried him just beyond the invisible boundary line. He then slowed and stopped. He didn't feel any different. No one came crashing out of the brush to scold him. Nothing happened at all. The little whelp took a few more steps, chewing pensively at his lip, then decided no harm would fall upon him. Smiling and waving his tail again, he looked over his shoulder at Julius.

"Jule, come?" As ever, he wasn't the type to make a demand, so it came out as an eager question. "Come a'venture wif me!" He giggled, spinning in a circle and making a halfhearted attempt to nip at the tip of his own tail. He then paused, forepaws braced, as he waited for Julius to break out of the skookum house and join him.

Relonikiv was the first to break the rules, the first to go where they weren't supposed to. It was okay to walk past the invisible boundary apparently, because Relonikiv looked fine. He even invited Julius over the line. "Me come, Loniki." Even more of Relonikiv's long name had been learned. It wouldn't be long until he could say it all. "Me come a'venture!"

After saying the words, Julius bounded after his brother, moving past the boundary and then some. Once at Relonikiv's side, he looked around. He was a bad boy now! Yet, it didn't seem too bad. But, there was one problem. "Where we go?" Julius asked. He knew they were going to go outside the allowed area, but where to now?

I'm editing a conclusion, since Sydney's left the game.

Julius quickly joined him. In response to his brother's query, Relonikiv began walking in a random direction. "O'er here!" he said as if he had a particular destination in mind. He did not. And leading was strange. He slowed down, secretly hoping Julius would overtake him and take the lead. Julius was much more suited to the role, with Relonikiv fitting in perfectly as his supporting role and sidekick.

"Treeth," the runt observed astutely as they drew near to a small forest. "Thooo many treeth!" He looked to Julius, wondering if the older boy would want to head in there. It looked a bit shadowy, yet otherwise innocuous. Relonikiv felt a small thread of trepidation, yet the nearness of Julius helped quash it.

Just as he'd hoped, Julius took the lead, heading right into the thick woodland. Relonikiv remained right at his elder brother's heels, exclaiming every now and then as something caught his attention. They romped there in the small, shadowy copse for a while, even starting up a rousing game that was somewhere in between hide and seek and Marco Polo.

They lost track of time. At some point, their departure from the rendezvous site was discovered and a summoning howl was sent up into the air. Giggling nervously, the two young pups scrambled back home, hoping they weren't in too much trouble.