Stone Circle Why should I worry?
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#1
AW!

Steph was a pro at leaving the den whenever she wanted to go looking for Murdock. Interestingly enough, nothing else had gotten her attention enough to steer her away from safety of the hole. If Murdock wasn't on her mind, she had no inclination of wandering. But, as had happened before, Steph felt like seeing him, and since the first two time had gone just fine, she knew of no reason why she couldn't go look for him again. 

And, so, she bounded off, mid-day, insearch of him. She took the exact way she had last time, though a little ways away from the den, she was compeletly lost. But, not without hope. Her tail wagged with the excitement of seeing him. She had no thought that she wouldn't find him, as she had been lucky thus far. She simply kept walking, looking ahead for when he came into view.
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#2
This time, Murdock wasn't sleeping, but was seeking Steph out in turn. He'd caught a little doormouse earlier that day, and had spent the hours since carefully breaking two of its legs so it would make a nice gift for his tiny friend. Not the most ethical use of his time, but something to do none the less.

Predictably, he ran into the girl long before he reached the den. Murdock wondered if Valette punished her for this sort of behaviour. Something told him that he certainly shouldn't be encouraging it, but that was the nice thing about her not being his kid - punishing her was someone else's job.

"Hey, Stephie! I gotcha a present," said Murdock, laying the doormouse at his paws. It made a feeble attempt at escaping, but he was quick to snap a paw down over its tail.
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#3
I knew you couldn't resist! lol


Once again, her excersion was rewarded with the sight of Murdock. Her tail wagged happily as she exclaimed, "Moo-doo!" Learning how to talk was tough, but Steph was perfectly confident that "Moo-doo" was Murdock's name. At least how she could pronounce it. 

Her ears perked when he admitted he had something for her. The mouse at his paw had her attention immediately, and she lowered her head to sniff at it. The mouse squeaked and Steph was immediately excited. She barked at it, pranced in place a moment, and then pawed at the future meal. It squealed again, probably in pain from its broken legs, but Steph had no knowlege of that. It's tiny little voice edged her on, and she grabbed at the mouse with her teeth. Not accustomed to the feel of it in her mouth, she flipped it into the air and it landed in the dirt. She pawed it some more before looking over to Moo-doo. She was loosing interest, especially since she had no idea she was supposed to eat it.
The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone ~Geothe
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#4
Never <3
"Moo-doo?" demanded Murdock, balking at the silly nickname. "Hold on, now, shorty - that's not my name!" He snatched the mouse back (not that she was properly appreciating it either way) and hid it under his paws. Whether or not she wanted it, he was going to use it as incentive until she stopped butchering his name. Perhaps having it withheld from her would add to its appeal.

"Say Mur. Muuur," he instructed, moving his head down to her level so that she could see the way his mouth moved. He wasn't sure if she was old enough to be learning real words yet, but if she could handle his real nickname, he thought he might go about trying to teach her other words as well.

Valette was going to hate him.
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#5
Steph was accustomed to Moodoo being very playful, so when he took her play mouse away, her face fell into a rather deep frown and she whined her displeasure. Then, it went from upset, to determination. Steph was not to be outdone.

She knew what he wanted her to say, and even if she thought she could say it, if Murdock wasn't going to give her what she wanted, she certainly wasn't going to give him what he wanted. So, in the loudest voice she had ever mustered, she hollared back at him, "MOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her expression was a little vindictive, and all mischievious.
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#6
She was quiet for a moment - Pouting, Murdock thought smugly - but soon seemed to rally. He watched curiously as several emotions flickered across her face before she opened her mouth. He was sure he was about to get what he wanted, but then - but then he was half-deaf, staring at Steph in shock. He hadn't known such a tiny girl could make such a big noise.

"You little shit," he said with an incredulous laugh. "Stop that - it's Mur. You don't get the mouse until you say it. And I won't teach you the game we were gonna play, or anything else, either. Ever."

If this argument didn't work, the male would most likely give up and play with her anyway. He hadn't caught the mouse to have her pout or yell at him, and at the end of the day, it wasn't really worth the effort to teach her to say his name correctly. What did it matter what she called him? What did it matter if she won this little battle?
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#7
He laughed, and Steph giggled along with him, and then repeated, "Ew 'ittle' 'hit." She had no idea what she was saying, but she found it hilarious. And, for added laughs, she said "Mooooo," again, though this time it wasn't bellowed.

She wagged her tail and grinned proudly, as if she'd achieved something. Then, looking expectantly at the mouse, she waited to see if she would get it back. She wasn't really sure what to do with it, or what she wanted to do with it, but something told her she wanted it.
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#8
"Shit - don't say that, either," said the male, realizing his error. And then - "Shit!" He'd said it again! And... and again. He really needed to watch his mouth. "Okay, fine. Moo," he agreed, deciding that it was best to quit while he was ahead - or, at least, before he lost any more ground.

He lifted his paws off the mouse, only to pluck it off the ground in his own jaws. After giving it a quick shake, he bowed down near Steph once more, a low growl announcing the name of this game - Tug. It had been one of his favorites as a child. Hell, he still liked it as an adult. Hopefully, Stephie would feel the same way.
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#9
He kept repeating a word and Steph assumed she should be, too. Sit, sit, sit, she sang, not realizing she was saying a completly different, innocent word. She was giddy when he repeated Moo, thinking it was a big game.

He finally lifted his paw off the mouse, and then picked it up before she could grab it. High spirited, Steph wasn't frowning this time. Instead, the gears were turning in her head, trying to figure out how to get the mouse from him. Then, she watched as he lowered his head with a low growl. Steph grinned, knowing the game from playing with her siblings, and latched on to whatever part of the mouse she could. She braced herself and began to tug against Moo.
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#10
Thankfully, the girl wasn't too good at playback just yet. She got the pronunciation all wrong, and Murdock latched onto this mistake with fervor. "Yeah - Sit, sit sit!" he chanted, hoping that the repetition of this word would wash the oath from her tiny little brain. If that didn't work, then tug certainly would.

He was surprised at the ferocitity with which she descended on the doormouse, considering its initial lukewarm reception. He supposed she just didn't know what to do with it, but the taste of blood would soon set her straight.

Murdock mostly stayed still, but waggled his head from side-to-side on occassion, dragging her this way and that. He was careful not to jerk to hard, not wanting to hurt her little neck, but half the fun of tug was being swung around by a bigger wolf, wasn't it? Sadly, that part of the game was now lost to the male, but he could still facillitate for the younger generations.
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#11
Steph got into the game with gusto, sinking her baby teeth into the soft meat of the mouse. A little blood trickled into her mouth, an odd taste, but not offensive. She tugged and tugged, moving back and forth in an effort to get the entire mouse from him. Moo was a lot bigger, and a lot stronger, though. What took her great effort might have not even been half a thought to the larger male. 

Still, Steph was no put off. She growled playfully as she continued to tug, and her teeth were digging deeper and deeper into the mouse's body. Suddenly, the mouse broke and Steph was flug back. She rolled head over heel, coming to rest on her side. She was upright quickly, half the mouse hanging out of her jaws, a grin surrounding it as she looked over to Moo and wagged her tail.
The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone ~Geothe
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#12
The game, unfortunately, ended before too long. Murdock ate his half of the mouse in one quick swallow before standing and padding over to where Stephie'd fallen. "You okay, Stephie?" he asked, running his nose over her pelt. She seemed alright - hopefully none of her tiny little spaghetti limbs had broken in the tumble. "You're fine," he decided, still not quite convinced.

The male backed up a few steps and slapped the ground with his paws, encouraging her to come toward him. He wouldn't be confident she was unharmed until he saw her happy, bouncy walk again.

"C'mere, Stephie..." he cajoled, tail waving hopefully. "Come to Moo. Don't be broken, okay?"
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#13
Moo came over quickly and nosed her, and Steph let out a muffled bark around her half of the mouse. Her tail wagged as she set the mouse on the ground and sniffed it. It was interesting, that red stuff that gooed out from the carcass. She licked at the mouse before grabbed it within her teeth again. This time, she chomped down and experienced some of the tiny bones breaking beneath her force. A few more chomps, and the mouse was gliding down her throat. Steph licked her chomped, sniffing the ground as if there was something she might have missed. There wasn't. 

Steph had been ignoring Moo up until this point, but now that the mouse was gone, her attention was on him once again. She wagged her tail and bounded over to him, barking playfully. She had no idea he was trying to see if she was injured or not; she just thought they were playing again. Instead of stopping at his head, she ran right past him, assuming he would chase after her.
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#14
She wasn't acting hurt. Murdock watched with trepidation as she quickly consumed her own half of the mouse - something he hadn't really intended, when he'd given it to her. Somehow, he thought she'd get a few more hours of fun out of it before inevitably growing bored. He hadn't even realized she was at the solids stage just yet, though he'd assumed she'd enjoy the taste of blood just as much as the next wolf.

But it seemed like she'd eaten the mouse without a problem, so Murdock wasn't going to worry about it. He was just getting to like this new position as babysitter - he was done pretending that wasn't what he was doing - and he wasn't going to waste time fretting when he could be having fun instead.

"I'm gonna getchya!" he called after the tiny girl, eagerly giving chase. She was far too slow to escape his long legs, but he let her keep ahead of him for the fun of it, breathing sharp breaths on her hocks when he thought she was getting complacent.
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#15
Steph giggled with delight at his mock threat of getting her. She knew she wasn't faster than him, but that didn't keep her from running in circles around the area. As soon as she would slow, she'd feel his breath on her fur and it would give her the motivation to speed up again. 

When she was done running, she turned to face him, letting out play growl as she attempted to meet him head on and pounce him when he was close enough.
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#16
Chase couldn't keep the girl occupied forever. Honestly, it was pretty dull to Murdock as well. He'd bear with it for as long as it made her happy, but the stunted motions made his joints ache, and he was always worried she'd trip and fall and it'd be all his fault.

When she turned to face him, Murdock eagerly lowered himself to the ground, challenging her with a sharp boof. His hindquarters were raised, and his tail was happily wagging. Life, after all, did not get much better than this. And then Stephie came right at him - Murdock grinned and opened his jaws, mouthing at whatever part of her was closest. He wouldn't lose this game.
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#17
Excitement bubbled up in her when Murdock went down into his play stance. She went after
him, her intent to run past him. However, his open jaws came for her, and she squealed in
surprised delight. Her own jaws attempted to go for his muzzle, though she didn’t put any force
behind it. She would have simply tapped it with her teeth.

Instead of running away again, Steph reared up on her hind legs, her front legs waiving in the
air as she struggled to maintain her balance. She teetered back and forth before falling forward.
If Murdock stayed where he was, she would fall on his head. If he moved, she might miss and
hit the ground
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#18
A burst of laughter escaped the male as Steph's fighing moves fell a little flat, and she fell right onto his face. His nose was right against her little tummy - a circumstance he quickly attemptied to captialize on by huffing a tickling breath through his nostrils.

"You're supposed to make me fall down, Stephie," he teased, lifting his head and pawing at his face to get rid of the dust she'd left behind. "C'mon - give us a good bite, yeah?"

He lowered his head, ears pressed forward in interested. He wondered if she would really bite him, or if she would be too sweet to carry it out. Mostly, he'd said it to make her laugh, but since he had asked, he wouldn't resent her if she decided to take the invitation at face value.
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#19
The pup fell forward onto Moo's face, and she giggled when she felt his breath run through the soft fur of her belly. She backed off of him, possibly stepping on an eye in the process as she wasn't very coordinated in reversing. She put a foot or so between them, then eyed the male she had come to know as a father-figure.

He was prompting her to bite him, and not knowing any differently, she followed his instructions. She growled playfully and went for his ear. As per his intructions, she gave her best, not realizing her sharp puppy teeth might actually break the thin skin of his floppy ear.
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#20
His brow shot up in surprise at Stephie's easy acceptance of his instruction - and going for his ear, no less. He was a bit surprised that she'd go for such a vulnerable area, but also a bit admiring. She had gumption, this girl.

"Yowtch!" he exclaimed, overplaying his reaction just a bit. Not all that much, because it really did hurt, but he might not have been so vocal about it if he wasn't trying to entertain Steph. Dramatically, the male rolled over on his side, being careful to keep most of his weight off of Steph, should she happen to get caught underneath him.

"You got me," he groaned, peeking around to see if she was pleased by his reaction.
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#21
While she did bite down, she didn't keep a grab on his ear. Playing with Clary and Ezra, she learned what she could get away with, and what was too far. A nip was okay, a grab with teeth was not. She giggled as he hollared and rolled over, and she went with him, ending up sprawled over his shoulder blade.

I got'cha, now I'm gonna eat'cha! she vowed, and then opened her jaws to go for his neck. He had thicker fur there, like her momma, so Steph figured he probably wouldn't even feel her bite if she landed it. She growled playfully as she tried anyways.
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#22
"No, no! Anything but that!" Murdock cried, feigning mortal terror in the face of being consumed. Stephie sure was a bundle of fun when she wasn't busy being a brat. Carefully, the male began scrabbling at his attacker with his forepaws, 'trying desperately' to dislodge her from his throat.

"That tickles," he added sulkily, wondering if she'd take pity on him, or if it would only encourage her to try harder.
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#23
Steph couldn't maintain any amount of seriousness, and she giggled when he attempted to paw at her to dislodge her. She did her best to continue to eat him, but when he annouced that it only "tickled", she knew she wasn't getting anywhere.

With a laugh, she rolled off of Moo, landing on the ground beside him. She let her body fall to her side, pawing at Moo's shoulder, but the pup was beginning to run on empty as far as her energy storage was concerned. Still, it was hard to stop playing.
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#24
Murdock remained settled on his side, feeling rather tired himself. This was not because of the game, but because Murdock was always ready to take a nap, no matter the situation. For now, he held off on actually closing his eyes and simply grinned at the little girl that was still trying to annoy him to death. He wondered if his own kids would have been just as dear to him, or if their bond would have run even deeper than his and Steph's did.

Somehow, he guessed it would be closer to the former.

"How'd you get so cool, huh?" he asked her, booping his nose against hers. "Did I teach you all that?"
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#25
She giggled and nodded her head against the ground, Yup, I learned it from you! she replied, happy to give him credit. She yawned unexpectedly then, her body winning the fight on nap time. She shifted so that she could place herself against Moo, and curled up to close her eyes. She never thought of Moo having to go, or be anywhere else, mostly because why wouldn't he want to be with her? She assumed their time spent together would simply not end.

She was quick to fall asleep under the protection of Murdock, not a care in the world while he was there.

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The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone ~Geothe
Sunny is allowed in all threads, open or private, created by Steph