Redhawk Caldera come on over

pups maybe?? :D @Gannet @Peter @Whip (didn't tag Ferret since we have a thread going on but if you want to you're welcome too ofc )

Eljay had been spending lots and lots of time at the Redhawk den lately. He felt happy when he was hanging around being useful, and he just wanted to get out of his parents' way. He had always been very clingy to them and maybe it was time to give them some space, Eljay sadly realised. Already he wished that he could just spend time with mommy, lay down by her side and cover his face with her soft fluffy fur. But she probably didn't want that, Eljay thought sourly, even though he loved her more than anything in the world. And so he would give her some space while he could work on his caretaker trade and prepare watching the babies fulltime for a day or so in the future when Uncle P and Aunt Fox needed to get away for a moment.

Eljay had found the remnants of a fox somewhere, probably killed by another pack member or maybe another animal. Among the remnants Eljay had found half a tail, and though it was patchy and lots of fur was missing he had taken it and was bringing it to the Redhawk den so that he could let the puppies play with it. Feeling in an uncharacteristic good mood, Eljay trotted up to the den carrying the patchy piece of fox tail and after putting it down he softly called out, "Puppies, c'm on out!" hoping they would come; with the watchful eye of aunt Fox and uncle P in the background, of course.

Ever since that first trip outside the smallest of the cubs hadn't peeked out of the den, preferring the comforting warmth and known corners to the big, scary and cold world outside. The other puppies were up and around, not sleeping nearly enough as they should have (or so the boy thought, being pretty annoyed, when one of his brothers woke him up yet again to invite him for a game or using him as a toy). But not the one Peregrine had christened Smol. He was a good kid - occasional bouts of colics aside, he still spent a lot time sleeping. 

He was doing this now too, when a gust of wind brought a very rancid smell with it and hit the kid's nostrils hard - his eyes snapped open and he sneezed: "A-choo!" It helped for a while, but the odour was still there and it did not go away, when Smol changed his location a little. After casting a look around, he got to his feet and went in the direction of the source, his gait unstable from lack of use and therefore him stumbling and falling often. Eventually with slow progress he arrived at the den's mouth and his eyes met two giant paws. His gaze slowly traveled upwards, until the tiny head was arched backwards so that the boy lost balance and fell on his bottom.

He remained there, staring at the giant with his eyes narrowed to slits, a furrowed brow and mouth shamelessly agape.

It took a little while for one of the puppies to come out; maybe it was nap time and the others were all asleep, Eljay thought. A smile spread across his face when one of the pups came out. It was brownish with a white spot on his face. Eljay's tail wagged invitingly as he looked at the littlest of the litter and said, "Hiya!" The pup looked at him but then fell on his butt. Eljay tried to save him by saying, "Watch out!" but halfway through his words the pup was already on its bottom. "Oops," Eljay said with a smile on his face, and he lowered his body to the ground, hoping that it would make him less intimidating for the little pup.

He nosed the piece of fox tail over to the pup and said, "I brought this for you, little dude." He wasn't sure what this one was named, but it didn't really matter because as long as it was only one, 'little dude' would do just fine to name him.

The giant lowered himself to the ground so that he was in the eyelevel of the cub, who shuffled a little further away from him, while still scrutinizing the unknown wolf's face. And brow still furrowed. And mouth. Open. It would have lasted for a while, had not the rotting fox tail been tossed in the kid's direction. The rancid odour hit his nostrils again and the expression change from that of wonder and curiosity to the one a person, who has received a blow on it's face, has. 

With ears drawn back, he tried to lean back as much as possible, losing balance in the process and falling on his back. "Eeeep!" he yelped and with feet flailing in the air and tiny body squirming he tried to get back to his feet.

"Oh no!" Eljay said and he instinctively retracted from the panicking puppy, unaware what was causing him to be afraid. Eljay lowered his body flat to the ground and nosed away the fur he'd brought, trying to eliminate all alien factors for the boy in hopes one of them was what was causing him so much anguish.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," he said in a soothing, soft voice, and Eljay reached out his nose to lick the pup's tummy (unaware that helping him back to his feet would have been a more appreciated thing, figuring he could get back up himself for the moment). Eljay remained low to the ground and tried to make himself as small and non-threatening as he could for the pup.

The concept of being tough and courageous was not known to the young cub, therefore he shamelessly let his anguish known to the world by crying. His vocal cords were unable yet to make the sound go up in decibels, but the tone grew more shrill and ear-piercing with every passing second. The boy had learned so far that this drew attention and that without any effort from his side, someone would help him. 

It had worked every, single time and it worked this time too. Something was done, except this time no one picked him up to return him in the right position. Oh no - the ticklish feeling on the tummy (not entirely unpleasant), made him fall silent and attempt to lift his tiny head to peek over his round belly at the "attacker". "Grumph," he rolled to his side with a grunt, then drew himself to his feet and shook his coat. With this little ritual done, he resumed staring at the stranger, his little tail beginning to wag and then he went down in a play-bow: "Wuuu!"

The touch had the desired effects, and Eljay giggled as the little pup rolled to its side after falling silent, luckily stopping his cries. "You're so cute," Eljay said in a whispery soft voice, as though he was afraid his voice alone would break the little pup.

The pup came upright again then and looked at him, after which he went into a play bow. Eljay considered doing the same or getting the piece of fox fur again, but he was afraid to startle the pup again. And he knew that nobody wanted the pups to turn out like him, so he somehow had to encourage them to be brave without doing anything too scary. "Raawr," Eljay said and he moved a paw forward to carefully bat at the puppy, hoping to make him play with his paw. He kept close to the ground all the while as to not seem too threatening.

Cute or not the little cub was in a predator mode now. His mouth was filled with tiny, needle sharp milk-teeth that were just itching to be put to use. And, when his opponent surprised him by batting him on the head and letting out a sound he had never heard before, he stopped to think a bit, his mouth shaped in a little "o". "Ruuh!" he finally exclaimed and lunged forward trying to pounce at the nearest body part (which happened to be one of the big forepaws) to him.

Things just got cuter when the little pup stopped to think at Eljay's next move, as though he wasn't sure what to think. Then eventually he decided to continue his assault and Eljay's tail batted the earth gently as he watched the little pup approach, encouraged enough to do so.

Much like with lil' Bandit (though this one didn't have a nickname yet) Eljay exclaimed, "Oh no, such a fierce warrior!" as he watched the pup pounce at one of his paws. He moved the assaulted paw, but only by a little bit as to not shake off the pup or discourage him, only to try and taunt him further and encourage him to attack more.

The boy's moment of victory was very short, because the paw he had attacked moved away. He stopped and cast his glance curiously from the spot, where the aforementioned body part had been and where it was located now. He plopped down on his butt and thought for a while. Great minds deal with great problems, depending on their age, of course. 

When no solution came, the cub decided to repeat the action and see, what happened. He got to his feet and made another leap in the direction of the paw.

For a moment it seemed that the boy was discouraged by Eljay's action and he bit his lip while he tried to think of what he could do. An onlooker might be amused by the pair of them; the pup trying to solve the situation while the adult tried very muchly the same. Yet before Eljay could think of an obvious solution, the pup once more attacked his paw.

This time Eljay decided not to move his paw away because he was afraid to discourage the pup once more. Instead he rolled his paw over onto its side as though submitting to the pup, hoping that would make the pup feel good about his victory this time.

Peter did not know much yet about the customs of dominance and hierarchy, therefore the very fact that after his attack his prey somehow moved and changed an appearance, did not play any role in order to make him feel victorious. Instead, he let go of the phalanx he had grabbed with his milk teeth, plopped down to his belly and examined the leathery pawpads and the spaces between them. The smell was entirely different and, feeling both curious and puzzled, he nuzzled the fur, taking in long sniffs, while his mind tried to unravel the flow of information the palette of scents brought with it.

The puppy seemed to have played enough for now, and Eljay watched him with a soft smile on his face. He really did like looking after the pups a lot; they were so cute. When the pup started to explore the spaces between his paw pads, Eljay giggled, squinting his eyes a little, because the feeling tickled. He felt the instinct to retreat his paw, but didn't want to take this new playtoy and exploration thing from the puppy, so Eljay held his breath trying not to roll around in ticklish laughter.

Peter's new friend burst out in series of giggles, making the boy pause in what he was doing and look up at Eljay curiously. Then his own muzzle broke into a smile and his tail began to tap behind him. He recognized the sound, which meant that things were good and pleasant. He scooted closer to the other boy, stopped inches away from his chest and appeared to be thinking something. Then he made a decision and simply lied down between Eljay's outstretched paws, resting his little head on top of one of them and sighing in a content manner. Life was good.

finish and have a new one? :D

The tickling eventually stopped. Eljay looked at the puppy as he seemed to be in thought and then came closer to plant himself between Eljay's paws. "Aw," Eljay softly commented, a smile curving up his lips, and he was content just to lay there and watch the pup for a bit, amazed and intrigued that this pup could be lil' Bandit's brother, but also that he had somehow gained the pup's trust.