Blacktail Deer Plateau Fun fun it's time for fun

I'm going to assume that Blue got permission from the adults to dig up the area around the den. @Saena @Osprey Jr @Pura @Tytonidae @Peregrine @Hawkeye @Kisu and @Atticus some of the adults can join in to play too :)

Blue Willow's mind had been churning for weeks as she thought of a different things she could do to help both the adults and the pups. The adults it was easy enough to get them food and patrol the borders and heal where she was needed, the pups were a different category all their own and she found she was unsure what she wanted to do. She had decided that she wanted to have a game that helped them to increase the skills they possesed but she was unsure how to do it, then she had remembered the scavenger hunt her mother had given her. Now she knew very well that the little ones were far too young to do what she had done, but she had though and planned and she thought she had a good idea what she could do. She had gotten prior permission and now today she had begun to set things into motion.

She had woken far before dawn and had left the pack lands searching for just the right things. She had feathers and sticks and bones and pretty little stones and even some herbs mostly rose hips as they were abundant, though she had been careful being that she was using the most of her stock for Osprey senior. Finally the last thing for the morning to do was catch a rabbit and that is what she did.

She ran to the area in front of the alpha's den and she began swiftly to dig holes and place her prizes in them. Then with a small dab of paw and nose she would place a tuft of rabbit fur or rabbit blood on top. Finally, she took the rabbit and buried it near the bushes and then she sat in the clearing and waited for the others to walk up her tongue lolling from her mouth in fun.

Yay, my first thread with you! :) Sorry this got kinda long. I'm feeling wordy tonight.

Atticus felt more at peace now than he had in a while. Things with Peregrine seemed to be back to normal, as far as he could tell. Things with Hawkeye were still kind of a weird question mark, but as they hadn't crossed paths since their last incredibly awkward and bitter encounter, Atticus preferred simply to not think about it. She was his brother's girl now, mother to his children. And oddly enough, he was okay with that. It would take some time for the residual feelings to sort themselves out, and until then things would continue to be weird and uncomfortable. But ultimately, he was okay with it. Some distant, almost subconscious part of him knew that his heart hadn't truly been in it anyway. His affection for her had been a side effect of his raging hormones and her well-timed estrus, and he simply hadn't been able to understand what was going on. He still didn't understand. But it didn't matter anymore. He was past that now.

Now, there were babies to provide for -- his nieces and nephew. He wasn't sure how Pura and Saena were related to him, since he hadn't really been very clear on Pied's relation to him, but as far as he was concerned they were all Peregrine's kids now, and that made him their uncle. That also made him their provider and protector -- one of many. He had spent the morning hunting and had managed to run down a fresh rabbit and had scavenged the leftover, day-old carcass of what looked like a deer. There wasn't much left of it, but he had taken a few meaty portions and buried those, along with his fresher kills, in a cache not far from the Alphas' den.

Now, he thought he'd drop by to check in with Perry and see how the little fuzzballs were doing. As he padded toward his brother's den, though, he spied a different wolf nearby. He didn't recognize her at first but then a glint of sunlight on her blue-black pelt, along with a whiff of her scent on the gentle breeze, told him it was Blue Willow, his pack's healer and newly-promoted Beta. He'd been so occupied with his own family issues these last few months that he'd never taken the time to get to know her very well, though of course he knew her in passing as a fellow packmate. Now, as he looked at her, he remembered what Peregrine had said when last they'd talked. She really was a gorgeous wolf, lithe and graceful with a unique silver-blue sheen on her coat that he'd never seen before. She looked upon the scene of his brother's home with amusement and satisfaction glittering in her peridot eyes. He approached her, with a grin on his face and a friendly wave of his tail -- though he was suddenly self-conscious about the little bits of dried blood that still streaked his face and neck. "Mornin', Blue Willow. What are you up to?"

Blue Willow looked at the blue black wolf coming towards her and wagged her tail. "Ah the elusive Atticus. She smiled at him and dipped her head, almost wriggling like a pup in her excitement to share her plan.

She immediately started to speak "Well I've been trying to figure out a way to help the pups learn for the last few weeks now. And I remembered a game I played with my mother. A scavenger hunt if you will of sorts. She stopped talking to form her thoughts and continue while also barreling down memory lane as quickly as her mind could go. Her mother would hide things for her to find feathers bones the like and she would find them. Granted she had been a good deal older than the babies, thus the use of her rabbit fur and blood.

She smiled again and continued "So I decided to do something like it. I've been up since dawn gathering bits and baubles for them feathers, bones, sticks, a few shiny rocks from the creek bottom and a rabbit is my last gather. I then came over here with prior permission of course and dug some holes and buried the different things and then I used the rabbits fur and blood and put it on top of the holes cause i tried to disguise them so now the pups have to use their sense of smell to find them and the ultimate prize is the rabbit over there. They can't eat it yet, but Osprey Jr was perfectly content to tear one apart the other day and the others maybe keen on the idea too. She suddenly got very shy thinking perhaps her idea was silly or to advanced for the pups, but she couldn't help it she had wanted to play and teach at the same time, even though the parents were perfectly capable of teaching the little ones. "What do you think? She turned green eyed gaze to him.

She seemed excited to the point of implosion at the chance to share her game with someone, and her whole face lit up as she explained it to him. It was so cute, the way she grinned and chattered at him and couldn't sit still in her anticipation of the fun to come. He listened, his smile growing ever wider as he began to understand what she was doing and how cool it would be. The pups were going to love this. It was a little too complex for them to grasp on their own, but with some guidance and direction, he thought that it was an excellent learning activity for them and a fun challenge for their growing minds.

She asked him what he thought of the idea, and he waved his tail and smiled brightly at her. "I think it's awesome!" he assured her, already imagining the kids going wild with excitement at the various prizes hidden in each "cache". He remembered being particularly fond of feathers and seashells when he was a pup. "It'll be a fun challenge for the kiddos. They'll love it. Is there anything I can do to help? Or are you ready for the pups to come out?"

It was no secret that Blue Willow talked a lot, she just couldn't help it. She was a friendly open wolf by nature. She was also a very action orientated wolf and was hardly ever not busy. She often blamed it on her traveling gene that she had been given.

Blue smiled at his prize and her eyes lit up "Oh good for a moment i was afraid it was too much, they'll need help of course from the adults. She tilted her head as he continued to speak. She looked around thoughtfully and then nodded "Well you can certainly check my holes and make sure they are disguised at least fairly well, since I want them to find them primarily with the scent and rather the disturbed dirt. But after that then yes I would love for them to come out ,but they are probably still sleeping the dears.

Since I don't feel like throwing both my characters into a single thread, I'm going to power-play Perry a little bit here... :)

"Sleeping? Pah! Guess again," came Peregrine's familiar deep timbre as he stepped out of the den, a jolly Osprey bouncing at his heels. "This crotch fruit has been up since the butt crack of dawn. She's all yours." The Alpha male bent down his head and gave Osprey Jr. a gentle shove with his muzzle, pushing her toward the Healer and his brother.

Not that she needed the encouragement. Upon sighting the familiar figures of Blue Willow and Atticus, Osprey hopped toward them like a bunny rabbit. "Ba, ba, baaasss!" she screeched with childish glee, her whiplike tail whirling behind her. She reached the Healer first, gave her foreleg a head-butt, then spun and pounced Uncle Atticus's paw.

Peregrine, meanwhile, glided to a seat just beyond the other two adults, murmuring a sly, "Guess I don't have to matchmake after all, huh?" in Atticus's ear and smirking as he settled down. Louder, he said, "I can't wait to see what the minis make of your game, Willow. And don't be afraid to shake her off, Atti," he added when he noticed Osprey Jr. treating the other male's paw like a choice cut of steak.

Lmfao, I love that he called his own child "crotch fruit" right in front of her. L-O-effin'-L.

Obviously he and Blue Willow didn't know one another well, but Peregrine had nevertheless planted the seeds of interest in Atticus's mind. She really did seem pretty down-to-earth, like Perry had said, and super sweet and outgoing. But Atticus felt so awkward and foolish in her presence, and caught himself overanalyzing everything he said and did. It was his own fault -- he wasn't good with girls at all, even in just casual situations. Ugh!

With a grin, he moved from cache to cache, checking over her work but knowing she'd done a fine job. "Looks good to me," he commented. "It'll be fun helping them figure out what to do." He paused at one hole, gently patting some dirt into place with a paw, before moving on to the next one. "This reminds me of when I was a kid. One of my older sisters--hey!" He suddenly saw Peregrine emerge from the den with a rambunctious Junior at his heels. Clearly, she'd been harassing him for hours, and he was more than happy to let her become their problem for a while. The cute little puppy, as fat and clumsy and awkward as could be, came charging toward them with cries of glee. She met Blue Willow first, headbutting the Beta's foreleg, then quickly fell upon one of Atti's front paws like a fuzzy, four-legged piranha. He grinned and tousled the fuzz on her head with his tongue. "Hey there, kiddo. Been hecklin' your dad all morning, eh? Good work."

Perry was beside him a moment later, muttering about matchmaking in his ear. "Shut up, dickhead!" he attempted to whisper in a non-obvious way, tossing a wide-eyed look of alarm at his brother. He cast a quick, furtive glance at Blue Willow, hoping she hadn't overheard. This was promptly interrupted by a particularly sharp pinch from the toddler on his paw, and while he grimaced a bit, he made no effort to shake her off. He loved every bit of it.

Blue Willow snorted at Peregrine's choice of words. His foul mouth was still taking some serious getting used to for the female. She would not have him as her friend any other way of course it was part of his character but like now he still would catch her off guard with some of his words and she would never repeat them, it just wasn't very Blue like.

Blue Willow smiled and gave the pup a quick lick on the head before she ran to her uncle and she followed her with her eyes mirth shining out as she chuckled. She love to watch these pups, she did not spend much time with the others it seemed that Pura and Junior were the most adventurous but she was okay with that.

Blue Willow chuckled at the brothers whispering she did not know what it was about, but she was glad to see them so close. She smiled at Peregrine "Thank's Perry I hope so I'll need your Help and Atticus's probably and maybe one more one adult for each pup? That is if the other pups are awake? Or should I just let Junior play today She was a bit disappointed that the other pups were not out yet, but maybe they were just a little slower than Jr she could hope right.

/flings Pura in

For once, Pura had slept through the night - on his back and wedged tightly between Ty and Saēna. It was clear that he would become a champion snorer, and whatever unfortunate female eventually won his heart would have to put up with both that and a tendency towards night-time flailing. Whenever a particularly exciting dream journeyed through the pup’s simple mind, his tiny legs pumped erratically and slippery strings of drool began to make their way towards the ground. By the time O.J.’s departure from the snoozing glut of pups had roused him, the ground beneath Pura Virtúte’s head was moist.

What a catch.

Some grunting and whinging accompanied Pura’s attempt to do a sit-up, which eventually required Hawkeye to step in and give the pup a gentle nudge. He shot out of the den like a bullet, flabby pup-gut swinging merrily as he bounded after Osprey Jr., announcing himself to all with an enthusiastic ”Bu-pa bu-pa!” In other words - Pura Virúte wishes to join you for play and tomfoolery.

Like her, he aimed for Blue Willow first, stopping to chew softly on her foreleg by way of greeting. He did the same to Peregrine, and turned to repeat the greeting a third time with Atticus. But he wasn’t entirely familiar with the alpha’s brother, and had to stop for a good ol’ stare before getting stuck in. He looked like a blue-eyed Uncle Perry, and that was apparently enough for Pura. With a happy bark, he threw himself head-first at Atticus’ other paw and began to sniff and nibble enthusiastically at the much bigger wolf’s toes. Feet were probably the most exciting thing in the world - Kisu and co could only pray that this was something he grew out of before reaching sexual maturity.

Kisu came up quickly, dropping a rabbit near Blue Willow's feet and then promptly picking his son up off of Atticus' feet. A thick "Sowrrr" came from his mouth, which was supposed to have been a 'sorry'.

The colorful male placed his son in the middle of the group and quipped. "You better not be getting a foot fetish, son. Especially with your uncle." He had forgotten about the rabbit by now, keeping an eye on his drooling and playful pup.

edited to show that Kisu knows Atticus

Though the three other pups had proven to be rambunctious and uncontrollable, Saēna's absolute obedience was, rather than a relief, somewhat troubling. The girl had no desire to rough-house with her siblings, preferring to sit apart from them and watch. She rarely ventured to escape the den, only being enticed by Pura's involvement in anything. Any invitation to do so by the other children elicited submission from the patchy girl until they eventually bounded off to do something else. Timidity defined her, and it was uncertain whether she would eventually grow out of it or not. Presently, it seemed that Saēna was somewhat antisocial... But in reality, she was just remarkably shy, and naturally not much of a dominant wolf.

Her poor experiences with the outdoors contributed, of course. She hesitated to step foot outside unless forced to do so, if only because she was frightened that another spider would bite her. This was a strong contrast to Junior and Pura, who took every opportunity they could get to go outdoors.

Still, Saēna wasn't entirely a fun-sucking puppy, so when Junior and Pura quit the den for the morning, the latter rousing her from her nap with a violent kick and leaving her to flounder in a pool of his saliva, she reluctantly followed them. A look from Hawkeye when she huddled near the side of the doorway with her tail curled under her was enough to force her out into the open. The sun cut across the plateau and illuminated the stark white girl, who moved with extremely quick, choppy steps to hide behind Peregrine's left foreleg. It might have made more sense for her to seek Kisu's comfort, but Saēna had spent a lot more time with her dark foster father... And, probably breaking her true father's heart in the process, she trusted him more.

From there, she peeked out at the gathered adults. Her experiences with any of them had been limited. Blue Willow's scent was prevalent on her father's coat a lot of the time, and so was Atticus', but having never interacted with them, she refused to reach out to them like her siblings. Pura lunged for Atticus and Saēna's little heart pounded nervously. When her brother and Junior weren't ground into paste by the large black male's large teeth, nor molested by the black female beside him, she poked a little further out from her hiding place, staring up at both of the adults shyly.

I was waiting for @Tytonidae to pop in here but I didn't want to hold it up too long, so here we go! :)

"The others—" Peregrine began to say when Pura and Kisu swept onto the scene from different directions, the latter dropping a slain rabbit at Blue Willow's feet before plucking up his son off Atticus's and depositing him in the center of the growing gathering. His daughter had appeared too, though she hung back bashfully. Saēna was turning out to be the shyster of the blended litter.

Although she had one of her uncle's paws all to herself, Osprey Jr. grunted when Pura flanked her and began to nosh Atticus's other foot. She hopped sideways, using her hip to push against him, in the hopes of shoving him away. She growled through the big black toes in her mouth, asserting her dominance over and possession of Atticus's paws.

When Junior saw Kisu out of the corner of her eye, she unwittingly let go of her chew toy and sprang toward the familiar male. He was somewhere between an uncle, like Atticus, and a daddy, like Peregrine—not that Osprey knew their names nor titles at this point in her young life. The tiny inkblot barked loudly at the reddish male, her tail whipping back and forth, before she turned to resume chewing on her other uncle's limbs.

As she turned, she spotted Saēna creeping on the outskirts of the melee. Osprey Jr. instinctively spotted what she perceived to be weakness and, with a sharply playful growl, launched toward the younger girl. Osprey Jr. enjoyed every opportunity to dominate her smaller cous-lings, particularly Saēna. With youthful vigor, she gnashed her teeth at the reticent pup, her slender tail lifting over her haunches. She paused very briefly, giving Saēna the chance to submit before she forced her to do so.

Sorry for the hold-up, guize. Been outta town since late last week. :) Also, @Kisu, although we haven't had a thread between Atticus and Kisu, we can probably assume that they at least know one another in passing. As close as they both are to the Alpha pair, it wouldn't make sense for them not to have a basic familiarity with one another.

Suddenly, Atticus was surrounded by a flurry of activity. Little gunmetal grey Pura, in all his smelly and clumsy glory, came bustling out of the den and quickly joined Junior in nomming on Atticus's paws. The Theta was beginning to fear that his front paws might become stumps, though of course it didn't hurt or bother him at all. He thought the kids were adorable, and their attraction to him was endearing. A moment later, Kisu joined them and plucked his son away with a muffled apology to Atticus, who shrugged with a grin and waved his tail in greeting to his packmate. Osprey Junior was all over the place, running and assaulting one adult after another.

A moment later, Junior locked onto a new target -- tiny, pale Saēna had emerged hesitantly from the den and come to see what all the noise was about. Quiet as she was admist all the chaos brought by the more extraverted two, Atticus hadn't even noticed the little white pup's arrival until he followed Junior's gaze. Saēna hung by Peregrine and Atticus smiled at her fondly, but made no attempt to go to her. He knew that he would most likely only frighten her; she would come to him herself, on her own terms, when she was ready. Suddenly, Junior charged toward Saēna and attempted to dominate her in the way puppies liked to do to one another. Atti grinned, feeling pride in his bold, fearless niece. After a moment, he glanced at Blue Willow, awaiting her direction. This was her game she'd put together, after all. He didn't know if she wanted to wait until the other kids joined them or if she wanted to go ahead and get started, so he just followed her lead.

One minute Blue was disappointed that there weren't as many as she would have liked and the next she was assaulted on all sides by babies, and males.

First came Pura iheadfirst and paw over tail to oo and ahh and gum up her paws for a few minutes before he moved onto his uncles paws.

Kisu the poor widower had dropped a rabbit by her paws as he went to gather up his son. His words about a foot fetish caused her to chuckle low.

Saena even made an appearance and Blue got down low to look her at eye level "hello. She whispered. Then she slowly stood back up and looked around. She was guessing that this was all there was going to be so with a small smile at everyone she stood back up and spoke quietly but loud enough for her voice to carry. "Now I am going to need one adult for each pup to help them and then one of us will be the odd out. Doesn't matter to me one way or another. She smiled here's what I did she motioned with her paw at all the little holes that she had dug around and then down at the rabbit beside her even though it wasn't the one she had caught. I've buried little bits and baubles and each tiny treasure has either blood or fur on it. I figured the pups could sniff it out and then dig for their treasures? Of course us adults will have to guide them at least at first until they get the hang of it? Any questions or concerns? She hoped she explained it right now that she was faced with more than one adult she was nervous and a little bit worried. Pups were not a problem with her and usually adults weren't either, but being the center of attention tended to have that effect.

Pura protested loudly when Kisu cut him off, kicking and squirming until he was eventually returned to the ground. By this point, Saēna had emerged from the den, creeping forward at the speed of a particularly unwilling caterpillar. Atticus could count himself lucky - his toes would live to see another day.

Osprey Jr. seized on the opportunity to bully the smallest Virtúte - Pura was no match for the larger pup either, but he often pretended that this was not the case. Today was no different; the larger of Kisu's offspring toddled into the fray, tail raised at the base in a display of confidence but not flying high over his back in the manner favoured by Jr. She was quickly becoming known as the feistiest of the pups, but Pura challenged her with increased vigour for every half-pound he gained. He approached diagonally from the rear, play-biting at the darker pup's shoulder to draw her attention away from little Saēna. Somewhere in the background, Blue Willow conspired with the other adults.

Saēna would have been content to remain on the very edge of the gathering for its entirety, but unfortunately she was quickly singled out by Osprey Jr., who promptly galloped toward her. Any attention given to her by any of the adults was quickly shut out as she zeroed in on the pup immediately charging her. Now was her chance! She would raise her head high like Osprey and Pura liked to do, she would pull her tail up and she would flag it over her rump and proclaim herself queen of the pups, she would...

...Flop uselessly to the ground with a sharp whine as soon as the larger pup got close. If Saēna planned to one day stand up for herself, she wasn't showing any promise here. Though surely the constant torment of the older, more dominant cubs was a sin, none of the adults seemed quick to step in and stop it. It was a natural part of wolf life, and she was naturally complicit with every instance of dominance, even though it was so totally unfair. Pura seemed to share this mindset and he came to her rescue, or so it seemed. She stared up at him with huge eyes as though to communicate her thoughts: My hero!

Whatever was happening with the adults was quite beyond her, though, and she had almost forgotten about their presence.

Although the adults were attempting to orchestrate some sort of organized scavenger hunt, the pups were simply too busy declaring anarchy. Osprey Jr. successfully pushed Saēna into the dirt, though for every action, there is, of course, an equal and opposite reaction. She learned Newton's third law of motion when Pura bit at her shoulder. Perhaps he didn't mean to sink his teeth in so hard or so far, yet his pointy little fangs punctured flesh and earned a surprised squeal from Junior.

Wheeling away from Saēna and forgetting the pale girl entirely, Osprey arched her neck, the small cords popping out as she tried to inspect the fresh wound beneath her dark, silky fur. She licked at it, then eventually let it alone and fixed her gaze on the only boy child. Her eyes were not unlike those of a hawk spotting prey and formulating a strategy to execute and devour it.

With a bellow of childish fury, Junior sprang at Pura like a tigress, hoping to bite and claw at him until he became nothing but a pile of gray, freckled mush.

Atticus listened to Blue Willow and nodded, understanding her instructions, but when he looked at the pups, he realized that their game was going to be starting anytime soon. The kids were entangled in a squealing, snarling bundle of limbs and fuzz and tiny teeth and adorable fury. Their uncle sat back and watched with amusement, a grin playing over his face. Always, visions of Bones at that age played through his mind and he was aware of all he had missed. He watched his brother's children as if they, somehow, filled a void inside him. "Good luck breaking that mess up," he commented to Blue Willow and Peregrine after a few minutes of watching the pups wrestle and fight. "Maybe we should just give them a few minutes to run themselves down before we ask them to concentrate? They're so fulla piss 'n' vinegar…"

Blue Willow sat back down and laughed at the comical mess, though she was thinking about saving the poor Saena, sweet thing that she was she was always getting the dominant end of Junior.

Blue Willow's eyes went a little wide, though mirth laughed out of them and she spoke quietly You and your family certainly have a penchant for cursing. And I must say you all do it so eloquently. Though she was uncomfortable saying the words herself and sometimes when they were particularly bad words she was even surprised to hear them, but she was so used to Peregrine using them that it almost didn't even phase her anymore, almost. Occasionally a word would still choke her up and cause her semi prudish brain to freeze. Now she was certain if it was anyone but the two brothers she probably would be deeply offended and a little put off, but for some unknown reason even to herself, she could not imagine any of them without that small quirk and it was slightly endearing from those two.

She got to her feet and smiling wickedly she tapped the pups with her paws to get them to look around trying to figure out what was going on and hopefully get them to look at her instead of biting and squealing and rolling in a ball of fur and cuteness.

Sorry guys!

Junior took the bait - Saēna was spared, for the moment, and Pura became the target of her wrath instead. Not until there was no possible escape did he taste blood, becoming instantly wide-eyed and open-eared at the strange taste of it. It was tangy and metallic and all-together wonderful, but when he looked up to see where it had come from, his cousin was just about to retaliate.

He squared himself against her attack, roaring something similarly threatening back but stopping abruptly when the weight of her bowled him onto his side. They tussled and snarled, Pura scratching and snapping desperately beneath the weight of Junior's paws. Eventually, a sharp tap on the head distracted the losing pup, and he turned his head upside-down to see where the interruption had come from - exposing his throat and belly to Junior in the process.

Kisu watched the ruckus and fought a smirk. At Atticus' words and Blue Willow's reaction, he let out a chuckle. Though he himself would not swear around the children, for it was not in his character, he found the other males using such words highly amusing.

He watched Blue's attempt to round up the pups, and wondered if it would work. "Pura Virtúte. Saēna." He said sternly, with a look that showed he meant business. "Come over here." The single father waited patiently for his pups to stand before him, ready to punish them if necessary.

I'm gonna pull out of here just 'cause I'm trying to wrap up Saēna's old threads.

Saēna was a much more selfish child than her brother. She might not have been the strongest or the most willing to get hurt, and she certainly wasn't the bravest, but she was both an attention whore and an opportunist. Today, she left the attention whoring to the other cubs, but rather than rushing in to save her brother from Osprey Jr.'s fury, she quietly slunk away, back toward the den.

She didn't want to play whatever game they were going to be playing anymore. Any adult that got in her way was given a strong blast of her shrillest screams, until they finally allowed her to go back to the quiet and dank of the den, where she was safe from her siblings' dominance tussles.

They went at each other like alley cats fighting over a female in heat. They might've torn one another to pieces if not for a few firm raps on the head. Lips still wrinkled back from her teeth, Osprey Jr. blinked upward at the disruption and saw several adult faces hovering over hers, Blue Willow's being the closest. She didn't look particularly irritated, though right then, Kisu's terse voice commanded his son and daughter to his side and, just like that, the tussle was over.

Shooting Pura several threatening glares, Junior slunk around Blue Willow, then wound around her hind leg like an oversized kitten while still looking in her cousling's direction. She spotted Saēna skulking away toward the den and thought of giving chase, yet a reproachful look from Kisu told her to leave the pale girl alone.

She might have descended into childish misery at being thwarted twice but Peregrine clucked his tongue, effectively commanding Junior's attention. "Blue Willow is trying to play a game here," he said in an impatient yet playful tone. "Pay attention, damn it!"

It was amusing, watching the adults attempt to regain control of the wild pack of children. Atticus noticed Saēna slipping back toward the den, looking rather sulky and reclusive as she went. She was such a shy child; he wondered if she'd ever grow out of it, or if she'd be a bashful pushover in adulthood. Sitting back, he grinned and, glancing between the pups and Blue Willow, waited to see what came next.

Blue Willow was unsure how to corral and make them listen and understand. She wasn't even sure if she could. She lifted her eyes to the adults and raised an eyebrow at Peregrine. She turned her head to look as Jr wound around her leg. She briefly thought about getting Saena and making her play but if she didn't want to, why make her.

With that in mind she bent down and put a piece of the rabbit she had saved and looking a the pups she said as calmly and simple as she could Smell this and then Fetch! She was unsure if they would get it, but she sure hoped so if not she would help thinking about it she bent down sniffed at it once and then turning her larger body than the babes sniffed toward sthe ground until she found one of her small holes, She knew it was there of course, but she was showing them and with a few quick movements she dug and then pulled out the pretty bauble and showed them. Then pointing her nose again she said Now you find some.