ten inches of fanta

An outsider, or maybe another pup followed? :) @Xan @Nanook @Desna

Sesi was in puppy-sized trouble.

A vole had crossed her path earlier that morning, bursting out of the shrubbery the girl was inspecting and high-tailing it the hell out of there. Hunter's instinct had driven the pup to follow, sprinting after her prey on ungainly limbs until it disappeared out of sight. But rather than turn back home, Sesi put her nose to the ground and continued the pursuit in stealth mode. Slowly, snuffling the ground like a truffle hog, she put yards between herself and home.

Until she hit the scent markers at the edge of the territory.

Sesi's head flew up, startled by the intensity of the smell. For the first time in hours, she took the time to look at her surroundings. Left, right, back. None of it seemed familiar, and she was suddenly aware of being very alone - at some point, the rumble of adult voices had faded away, and she had not noticed. Sesi's heart began to flutter in her chest. She froze and shrank, tail curling and ears falling flat against her silvery head. Where was this?

/throws Xan
TIME FOR SOME BROTHER-SISTER BONDING KINDA MAYBE ;v;

Ever since Scarlett had taken the boy to view the main border of the valley, the idea of entering the outside world had become almost too enticing. He wanted to explore it, to see what was out there, but refrained from doing so. The trek to the entrance itself was long, and tiring on his little limbs, making him certain that leaving would not yet be a good idea. Still, the outside called to him over and over again. Eventually, he'd decided to give in slightly, and go visit the borders again. This time, however, he thought he'd be on his own. After crossing the river at a shallow part, a section he could walk through without the water rising up over his head, he found his assumption of being alone to be false.

Xan watched as his sister followed after something, nose to the ground and seemingly oblivious as to where she was going. Curious, he followed after her, doing his best to be light on his feet—which wasn't nearly as easy as it appeared to be. Nevertheless, he tried, attempting to walk on his tiptoes up until the point where Sesi stopped. He, too, then stopped, and observed her actions. The boy had learned that she wasn't exactly the boldest of the children, often taking cover in the den, rather than going out to explore. Assuming that was the cause of her behavior now, he approached her slowly, trying not to startle her. While he didn't recognize Desna as being his sister, and sometimes butted heads with Nanook, the silvery girl had never really done anything to offend him. She'd been accepted as being his sister, just as the other light grey girl had been, and her personality kept him from feeling the need to argue with her. If anything, witnessing the way she currently held herself awoke what little brotherly instincts he had, rather than irritating him.

"Sesi?" he questioned, drawing closer to her. His head turned, looking between the girl and the entrance, before focusing his oddly coloured gaze directly on her. "Don't be scared, it's just the borders." As if that made things any better. "They aren't scary, they get peed on," Xan said, voice taking on a tone that was much friendlier that any way he'd ever spoken before. He even scrunched his nose up to add onto what he'd said, possibly trying to make a joke, but most likely failing.

Sesi was moments away from wailing for Desna or mother when someone spoke her name. She blinked back tears, ears cupping forward to catch her brother's soothing, strangely adult voice. Even as a pup, Xan possessed a quiet confidence that went beyond blustering baby bravado - the kind exhibited in buckets (and with a smile) by Desna. Both had similar effects on Sesi, whose nerves were grounded by the presence of someone braver. She sniffled loudly, looking between Xan's calm face and the distant beyond. "Wha's der?" she asked, eyeing the Big Scary beyond the invisible line of pee. Even though she wasn't crying, everything about her posture was closed and tense.

<3

While he'd succeeded in keeping her from tears, he was not so sure he'd be able to answer her question. His own gaze drifted to the border, looking out past it and into the world beyond. That's what was out there, right? The rest of the world? Had to be. The adults would go out there, and another wolf had come from there in order to meet those in the pack. Wolves didn't just appear and disspear into thin air, he knew that much. The specifics of what lingered beyond the valley walls evaded him, much to his own disappointment, but he felt confident enough in what he did know to answer. "A lot of things," Xan finally said, turning his head back to look at the silvery girl. "There's packs and other wolves." Something he learned when the man known as 'Viggo' had come to their borders, back when the young albino was out with their mother.

An idea hatched in the child's head, then, fueled by his own curiosity. With a rather mischievous glint in his eyes, he glanced around them, checking to see if anyone else was around. Seeing no one, his vision was once again glued to the face of his sister, the glint not faltering for even a second. "We can go see what's there," the young troublemaker stated, his tone of confidence signaling that he actually believed what he was saying. He'd gone up the valley's path with their mother and got a closer look at what was out there, so who was to tell him he couldn't take Sesi up to see the same thing? The idea of potential threats was chained down in the back of his mind, too, leaving him with no voice to urge him away from the idea.

Other wolves. Sesi stared at her brother, digesting the wisps of information that escaped him. She had never considered that there might be others - and now that she did, her instinct was to believe that they were dangerous and bad. The thought made her ears wilt and her tear ducts tickle. Xan's attemt to coax her further away was met with a resolute placing of one small fuzzy but on the ground. "No," she told him, shaking her head. Sesi had barely explored past the rendezvous site; today's venture had been an unhappy accident, and she was not willing to push her luck any further. Who was to say that a Big Dangerous wouldn't come and get them? There were no adults around, and no walls to keep the bad guys out. Sesi's lower lip wobbled, and she could barley choke out the words when she pleaded with her brother to escort her back. "I wan' go home now."

@Sesi Perhaps we can wrap this up?

There was a sliver of hope in the boy’s chest, the feeling growing as he watched his little sister. He wanted to go out there, to see what was there without their mother’s presence hovering over him. He didn’t mind bringing Sesi along, and actually found himself wanting her to follow. She was always so fearful of what was around them, it made her boring when it came to adventures. Maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to turn her around, if only for a moment. The idea of that happening was crushed before it had any real time to flourish, however, with one word. No. He stared at her after that, disbelief clearly visible in his features. She told him ‘no’. He didn’t like that, especially since it was her answer towards the suggestion of exploring. “Âng,” he said then, slipping into the tongue of their father without noticing. “Let’s go.” Xan looked in the direction of the outside world. He wanted to see what was out there, to see where the strangers came from.
 
Looking back at Sesi, he was met with an odd expression, and a pleading tone. To that, he frowned, obviously disliking how things were going. “No fun…” he muttered, nose scrunching as he pouted. He looked in the direction that housed their sleeping space, thinking for a moment before returning his attention to his sibling. “Why home?” he questioned, having yet to decide what he was going to do. “Why not out there?”