Stone Circle I deserve it, I know I hurt you with the truth

@Valette

Burr Saefyn, Explorer Extraordinaire, was on another epic quest. His roving paws took him far and wide throughout the central packlands in search of wonderful discoveries, with no shortage of dangerous obstacles and puzzles (if he did say so himself), and it was on one such jaunt that he finally found it: the fabled Cave of One Million Treasures! Okay, so Rowana had probably made that name up, but Burr hadn't questioned the value of the place, and now he undoubtedly stood before it. The entrance was a warm, yawning abyss into the earth from which enticing smells wafted and the promise of adventure and daring dos was overwhelming.

The pup poised on his toes for an instant, peering at the dark hole in the ground, then gathered his courage. He swallowed thickly with his lips turned down at the corners in a shaky expression of determination, and then he crept toward the cave entrance. Burr imagined it to be three or four-fold its real size, the exaggeration amplified by his relatively small frame, so that as he drew near it seemed to tower high over him. He imagined the cave looked a little like a mouth and he quailed momentarily, but he was Burr Saefyn, Explorer Extraordinaire, and he would not be daunted!

He leaned forward and poked his head into the dark entryway, blinking against the gloom, and paused in wait for the first of what was sure to be a hundred daring challenges that he would boldly overcome to find the treasure at the end.

Valette was happily curled up around her precious babies. Autumn had come early in her opinion and the female disliked to let her pups wander too far. She didn't like them being too close to the den entrance. The rain had been coming down hard. The sounds of it made her doze off and relax. Today there were fewer rain showers but Valette kept the pups close anyway. The mother's ear twitched when she heard something close to her den.

The mother was hyper alert to anything that came close to her den. These footfalls didn't sound familiar or as heavy as some adult wolves. She slowly turned her head so see someone peeking in. She had the advantage of having a dark fur matching with the darkness of the den. Valette realized it was a child. But even a child could be dangerous to her and it didn't even ask permission to get this close. To make matters worse the child stuck his head even further in her den.

A deep snarl came from her throat as the protective mother lunged forward to the den entrance. Her teeth were bared fully. Valette who was normally very kind looked extremely vicious. Because she knew it was a child she didn't fully attack it with her teeth and maul the other to death for being this close to her young. Valette did want him to be disciplined. As she came from the den entrance, she moved forward and grabbed him by his scruff, maybe a bit harshly, but it was loose skin her opinion. To then press the young pup against the ground. Her tail was up and a dominant growl came from her throat.

Permission to PP from Burr's player! (Let me know if you want some things changed!)

Steph had been curled against her mother's warm body, seeking the heat that it offered. She wasn't yet able to control the temperature of her own body, but snuggling against her mother and siblings kept her plenty warm. She had been in a deep sleep, her belly full and her body needing nothing else except to snooze.

Then, all hell seemed to break loose in Steph's tiny world. A loud, scary sound reached her newly opened years, and suddenly Mom's big form was moving, sending Steph rolling several times over before she stopped. In her life until now, she had been mostly quiet. But, so startled and scared, she wailed loudly. She had no idea what was going on, and she voiced her fear for the world to hear. Would she wake @Clary and @Ezra? It was quite possible the commotion already had.

Clary had been daydreaming, snuggled up between Steph and Ezra and listening to their soft breathing and the heavy rhythm which raged somewhere beyond her world. She hadn't yet given up her attempts to crawl past the Great Warmth to discover the Unknown, but the art of escape proved exhausting, and even she needed rest. One day, the Great Warmth would let her see the Unknown. Yup, Clary was sure of that. But today she remained content to disappear into the abstract realm of smell and touch, and this strange new thing to her - sound.

Sound, which suddenly seemed to rip the world apart.

Clary didn't have time, or capacity, to understand what happened in the mouth of the Unknown. All she knew was that the Great Warmth had torn herself away, quick and with a sound, unlike anything Clary's ears had heard before. Guttural, and she felt a new thing - fear. She let out a wail - and fell silent to a louder and more wrenching cry. Steph. The noise prompted a response in her she couldn't make sense of, and her world unfolded to a realm beyond smell and touch and sound. She swung her head toward the sound of her sister, and for the first time, her tiny eyelids pried open.

Sight. She staggered in surprise. Sure, she'd always known things had shape and form - having felt the warmth of her siblings and the Great Warmth, but to see them. The walls she'd scooted against, the brother she'd probably crawled over more times than she would ever be able to count. Clary didn't really understand, but she accepted this reality with as much ease as she'd accepted the plunge into this colder, wider world. The little girl swung her head around until could see a light blur - the Unknown - and she felt a tremor of excitement before her fuzzy sight fixed instead on where she could smell her sister and hear her wails. With a quick crawl, she pushed herself away from Ezra's side and scuttled closer to Steph with a quiet whimper and a nuzzle against her, to try and calm both Steph's fear and her own.

The pudgy explorer's nose twitched once, twice before he saw something stir in the deep shadows of the cavern. His heart thrummed in his chest and his eyes widened, but he didn't get much longer to dream up the terrible monster before it became very, very real. Up until now, his imagination had spurred most of his adventures in Easthollow. Shallow dens were huge labyrinths in his mind. The pale aspen forest that many of the wolves frequented took on a darker aspect in Burr's scariest adventures, and a truly colourful one in his most imaginative. Never had any of his fanciful quests resulted in any danger or harm—until now.

He couldn't find his feet fast enough to stumble away from the dark form that shot up and out of the den. His blue-and-gold eyes widened and his face twisted into an expression of unspeakable horror as the flash of white teeth came for him, but he was unable to see or comprehend what was happening. Valette moved so quickly and so deliberately that Burr could barely loose a fearful shriek before she was on him. Her teeth tore against the loose skin of his neck, shredding fur and skin in a rough scrape, and he was shoved forcefully to the ground, where he shook pitifully, screamed, and lost control of his bladder and bowels at the same time.

Sept 11 8:20am: Changed thread status to private following Illecebra's entrance, as we have enough participants for now!

Valette loosened her grip a bit at the shriek coming from the pup. She was not a little bit phased by him releasing pee and bowel movements. Her pups did that too and she had to clean that up as well. The mother decided that she caused enough terror with the young child. Her tail was up and the hair on her neck was raised. She let go of the child who would only have to deal with a superficial bite mark. Valette didn't taste any blood. She kept her teeth bared.

She was certain he learned his lesson to at least use his nose to see if a den was used or not. He could have lost an eye if it was a fox or badger. Valette's ears turned to the fearful screams of her young ones. Her heart sunk. She wanted to rush back to them and assure them they would be fine. Her hazel eyes fell on the young boy. "No one is welcome in the alpha den without my permission," she growled and kept her stature large and dominant. Her head and tail raised. "Now go. Go back to your mother," she added, baring her teeth again and snapping them close at his feet to make him start moving.

Valette turned to her den and got inside. She made soft whining noises and started licking Steph. "Don't worry little ones," she spoke softly. He nose nudged them close to her belly. She licked the girls and made sure they were tucked against the warmest spots of her body. She grabbed Ezra and also made sure he was all A-okay. Valette lifted her head to see through the entrance if the little explorer had been gone or not.

I wonder what @Illecebra will think of this, haha xD

MOMMY IS LATE TO SAVE THE DAY

Illecebra had just gotten back from sneaking away to hunt when the terrified shriek of a baby hit her ears. After a moment of frozen shock she realized it her her baby boy that had let out that wail. Running toward the sound and releasing a snarl she watched Valette release her son and slink back into her den. She could guess what had happened, assuming Burr was curious about something in the den and not knowing that a mother and her newborns were to be avoided, had stuck his tiny nose somehwhere it didn't belong. On the other paw her baby boy was in pain, and she had just watched another female release her fangs from his scruff. She couldn't give a damn why what had happened had happened.

Standing over Burr she cast a fierce glance inside the den and met Valette's intense stare for a few seconds before looking away again. "He's just a boy. He wouldn't have eaten them." she spat out though her tone was slightly more hushed than it would have been. She knew all too well (having been one herself) that a nursing mother was not something to mess with. Turning her back on the den that reeked of milk and puppy urine, she nudged Burr gently "Come dear, let's go get you cleaned up. We need to talk about what's off limits okay?" she cooed soothingly and using her nose attempted to herd the small boy back to their den.

The fear made time go by so slowly, and it seemed like forever before a familiar form touched her. Steph's head swiveled towards her sister, Clary, and she nuzzled her. She quieted somewhat, but whimpers were still vocalized for several more moments. Valette returned, and Steph nosed her mother, her fears finally dimishing with each familiar tongue stroke.

She had no idea what had happened, she probably wouldn't even remember this soon, but the feelings of confusion and fear whirled within her. Instincitvely, hungry or not, she latched on to her favorite teat and began to suckle. She didn't drink much; it was more a soothing action than anything. Before long, she was fast asleep once more.

Last post from me unless needed, so feel free to skip if there is another round!

Like Mary, this will also be my last, unless needed again <3

Her sister returned her touch and quieted some, but the whimpers still came, soft and striking. Clary remained pressed against the darker girl, without much understanding of what was going on or what to do. Helpless, she could only whimper herself, tiny sounds she hoped could still her sister, or maybe bring the Great Warmth toward them.

Through her blurred and squinty eyes, she saw a shift in the light, and a dark shadow covered them. Clary lifted her head to shoo the blackness away - she realized quick she couldn't see her sister without the light - until she touched her nose against the roving snout of the Great Warmth. Her stubby tail thumped upon the ground. So this was what the One looked like. She blinked and squinted - with the narrowness of her eyes, there wasn't much to the motion - and gladly crawled at the Great Warmth's prompt to nestle in the nook of her belly, always stealing glanced up at the dark blur that was her Giver.

Clary settled into her favourite spot, with one side pressed against Steph and the other against Ezra. Their heartbeats calmed her, and the familiar sound of her sister's suckling ebbed through her ears. Clary's eyes felt heavy, and they sagged until they closed. Somewhere beyond her, the rhythmic tap continued against the ground of the Unknown, and as sleep took hold, she drifted into a dream filled with sound, and scent - and this blurry thing called sight.

Valette's voice was harsh as thunder over his head, but Burr heard zero percent of what she said. His brain was whirling into overdrive and the only thing he could focus on was the frantic pounding of his heart and the whoosh of blood in his ears. Her growl sounded like the din of some horrendous beast ready to bite him in two. He hardly even noticed that he was wet and messy, two things he hadn't been moments ago, and when she let him go, he was off running blindly.

If he hadn't collided with Illecebra's legs, the terrified pup might have kept on going for who knows how long before his wits returned to him. Long enough to cross the borders, surely. Luckily, he ran into his mother's legs before he could get too far, and though he screamed loudly when at first he thought he was being attacked by the monstrous wolf from the cave again, he calmed down when her voice reached him. Burr didn't much care what she was saying. He whimpered and pressed his face into his mother's fur and trembled. Valette had already disappeared into her den but even if she hadn't, Burr was far too afraid to look back.

He just wanted to go home, which was where Illecebra was leading him, and he followed her on a sort of auto-pilot.