Broken Antler Fen we live a cute life, sounds fantastic

yee <3

This cold weather was something Ivy did not appreciate.  She'd spent a lot of time cuddled up to any available parent or sibling and much less time exploring the ever-expanding world around them.  It was nice.. for a while.  The itch to roam had been impossible to ignore today, though, so she bit back her complaints (for now) and found herself standing alone at the den's entrance.

After a sassy huff, the pale girl took a few steps out into the sunshine.  She couldn't have chosen a better day, honestly.  It was still chilly and she could see her breath (which was weird in its own way!), but at least the sun beat a bit of warmth down onto her back.  Ivy cast a look back to the den where she imagined some of her siblings were - probably parents too, - though she didn't know who was around.  The girl had been so singularly set on not being cooped up inside that she didn't even register who else was around.  Taking a wild guess, she called out randomly: Ma'o?  Words were hard.  But maybe @Mato was in there after all!

<33 yee thanks sis!

It was in light of of his sister’s call that Mato stirred from Pearl’s side. He hadn’t been doing anything in particular, but, the child was thankful for an escape from it all. He often felt restless when it came to doing nothing and often found himself getting into mischief when this happened.

His eyes were shining bright as he pulled himself from the family den but despite this he still blinked rapidly as he became accustomed to the light. Finding his sister easily, Mato cleared the distance between them and greeted her with a nudge to the cheek. “Iv!” He chirped as he pulled away the embrace, his head tilting as curiosity came across his mind. “Whassa do?” He asked, voicing said interest.

Huh.  Guesswork did pay off.  An overwhelming sense of pride - however undserved - reflected in the huge smile she greeted Mato with.  Ma'o! the girl repeated happily.  She snorted playfully when her brother pressed his nose to her cheek but returned the gesture with one of her own.

As for what she was doing?  Well, that was a little more.. complicated.  I 'unno, she admitted with a shrug, her pale ears pinning back against her skull.  Bo.. Ivy paused.  What was the word?  She'd heard it before.  .. wed?  It was as good a guess as any, though she couldn't help the pout that settled upon her tiny face.  Neither one of them had very good verbal skills yet, so she wasn't sure how to further explain how she felt.  How frustrating!

Ivy’s reply confused the child and quickly his brows rose at the strange word she offered. “Bo… wed?” he hesitated, not exactly sure what this word meant. After all, Ivy seemed relatively downcast. Feeling the need to cheer up his sister, the boy dove into a play bow and looked to her encouragingly.

“Iv pay?” he asked, his tail tipping as he asked. Perhaps playing would help her look happier! He cared a great deal for all his siblings, though, the child found himself often gravitating to Ivy for his greatest adventures. As such, he felt the responsibility of making her feel better, just as he did for all of his siblings.

Mato didn't understand.  Ivy's pout grew a bit more intense at that.  She didn't know how to explain herself and was seconds away from letting out a frustrated squeal before Mato swtiched things up a bit.  Pay?  She blinked, her expression caught halfway between her childish pout and and a look of cautious glee.  Play.  Play!

A wide smile spread across her pale gray maw.  Of course, play!  Her stubby little tail wagged rapidly, her butt wiggling right along with it due to to sheer force, and she let out a playful growl.  The smaller girl didn't delve right into a play bow, but instead she lifted one foreleg to swat at Mato's head.  They both knew she'd never win a play fight, but Ivy appreciated that her brother wanted to lift her spirits anyway.  Pay! she agree happily.

There was the smile that Mato loved! The Rho brightened considerable at his sister’s shift in expression. He watched as she leaned forward to swat a paw at his face. Thrown off by her sudden attack, she easily landed her blow. He looked up at her, shocked for a moment, but then the expression shifted into determination. It was his turn to counted her attack.

“Iv!” He exclaimed, wriggling his rear as he readied himself for the launching of his attack. Suddenly, he sprung himself at his pale sibling, hoping to easily pounce her. In their play fights, Mato usually won due to his size. But, perhaps, Ivy would use the element of surprise to her advantage.

She gasped dramatically when her paw hit Mato.  She landed a blow.  Wait.. Ivy blinked.  She actually landed a blow?  Her pale eyes widened.  So caught off guard was she that when her brother pounced she went down easily.  Eeee! she squealed loudly, her decibel level probably breaking some sort of all-time puppy high.

Maa'o!  Ivy landed on her back and wriggled around for a minute before she rolled out from underneath her brother.  Instead of standing up and pouncing back at him, she turned to lay on her side and kicked all four of her legs out.  Tactically speaking, the smallest of the litter had no idea if her move would even work but hey, at least it was something.

He landed! Looking down to his sister with shining eyes, the child with the lightened fur kept his hold non his sister light to make sure he wasn’t hurting her in any way. More giggles followed as she wriggled underneath his hold. He found the urge to reach down and tickle her exposed belly, but by the time he wished to push the plan into action, Ivy had already rolled herself from his hold.

A playful growl followed as his sister made her next move. His tail waved madly at this and he pranced after her. “Iv!” He exclaimed, finding her move both silly and unexpected. Crouching down before he flailing legs, Mato reached his neck forward and extended his jaws, hoping to catch her toes in his mouth.