Sun Mote Copse i will go

Firebirds people? :D

After Eljay had finally made the decision to join Wiffle's pack, he was already panicked over all of the stuff he had yet to do. He needed to go to the Redhawks plateau to let mommy and daddy know -- and ask them when they were coming, too -- and of course let Quixote and Raven know. Well, Raven already sorta knew, since she was there when Wiffle asked, but he wanted to be sure that she was totally okay with his departure nonetheless. The thought of telling her made him feel anxious because of how upset she had been with him when he'd gone off to join Drageda (well, gone off to do something, at least, and ended up at Drageda) on his own. But she'd seemed okay when Wiffle invited him to join her new pack, and she seemed okay with the whole new pack, and while Eljay didn't often leave his pack the two packs were quite close to one another...

But first it was time for a bit of exploring of the territory that Wiffle had picked for the Firebirds. Eljay truthfully thought there were better choices: Redhawk Caldera, for example. He longed to go back there, some day, but he wasn't sure it was in the cards. Sometimes it felt as though he was the only one who felt that way about the Caldera, as if he was chasing some unrealistic dream. But still, as he trailed through the copse, so far he liked it better than Heron Lake Plateau, at least, a place that he had never liked. And possibly the only thing he'd ever openly disliked.

The sun was beginning to set as Eljay wandered the tall-treed forest. It set his grey fur ablaze and made speckles of sunlight playfully dance across his back as he sniffed out the area. His feet crunched in the snow as he excitedly found his way through the place, glad to be somewhere... well, somewhere not-Heron-Lake-Plateau. And feeling a little guilty about it.

Kite was not supposed to leave the plateau unattended, but for all her wibbles and wobbles, she possessed a blue ribbon sniffer, and she was hot on Eljay’s trail. The little bobblehead didn’t yet realize that she had an exceptional sense of smell — or an exceptional anything, for that matter. It was something she took for granted, because it was all she’d ever known. Must’ve been all that nose-grabbing she’d done as an infant — maybe she’d gained extra sniffer points via osNOSEsis. Get it? Like osmosis?

Something her nose couldn’t tell her was that she was technically trespassing. Firebirds and Redhawks smelled mostly the same to her right now, even if she hadn’t really gotten to know Wildfire or her tagalongs. Raven was awfully fond of the oddly-painted, strikingly petite female, so Kite was prepared to like her just on principle — and being that the woman was her aunt, everyone just smelled like family anymore.

Eljay didn’t smell sad or worried, and there was an eager bounce in his step, so Kite jittered up behind him with a spring in her step. She had zero points in stealth, so he would’ve heard her coming, and whatever his reaction was, she greeted him with unflappable enthusiasm. “Hi, Eljay!” she chirped, her tail whipping wildly at her hips. “What’re you doing? Where’re you going? Where are we?”

haha, Kite's awesome. <3 thanks for joining!

There was a sudden sound behind him, and Eljay turned around, startled at first at the speed of the other creature nearing. But as he turned around, he wasn't startled -- it was just Kite, nothing to worry about. Wait, what? Kite? he blurted out and blinked. He was surprised to find her on the Copse's doorstep; or rather, inside of it. Did.. did you..? He was about to ask if she'd joined the Firebirds, but that didn't really make sense in any way.

There was a bit of short circuit in his brain as he just stood and stared for a few seconds before finally finding himself back. He still wasn't sure right away what to do about the situation, though. Uh.. Why -- why are you here? Did you -- Do you know this is.. this is Wildfire's pack? I -- She -- I joined her pack, it's.. Like a sister pack to the Redhawks, so I'm -- I can still visit, and, uh.. Eljay had no idea how to ask and say what he wanted to ask and say. He'd wanted to just say good bye to the pups when he had told mommy and daddy too, but hadn't been able to find Kite then. That would've prevented this pinnacle of awkward rambling.

“Did I what?” Kite asked uncertainly, her brow furrowing as she drew closer to him, one shaky step after the other. She quailed when he asked why she was here — it wasn’t the reception she expected. “Wildfire’s pack?” she asked, her tangerine eyes wide with surprise and confusion. For reasons she couldn’t quite explain or define, she felt a surge of terrible jealousy that was quickly swallowed up by a feeling of deep and harrowing loss. “But you’re our sitter,” she protested hesitantly, her oversized ears falling back against her nape. Suddenly, all the quiet conversations between Raven and Quixote were starting to make sense — and so was the weird tension she’d felt around the plateau — and the comingled scents of anger and grief. Did he like Kiwi and Sequoia better than he liked Kite and her siblings?

“Eljay, how come?” she asked, then shook her head to indicate that he didn’t have to answer that. “Promise you’ll visit?” she hiccupped, sucking in a slow, deep breath. A sister pack was still family, so why did she feel so bad?

Oh, no, uh, nothing, he muttered. I thought maybe you'd -- anyway, it doesn't matter. Eljay was such a tease sometimes, and while he realised that he was, the answer to the question was really dumb, so he'd rather Kite think he was a tease than dumb, for the moment. Maybe if she pressed harder he'd cave.

Eljay frowned, a look of guilt and pain in his eyes when Kite said that he was their sitter. I'm sorry, he blurted instantly, his words heartfelt though hasty. He found it really hard to answer her 'how come', because truthfully, he didn't know. All he knew was that the thought of losing Wildfire after she had only just returned to Redhawk territory was terrible, and also he really disliked the Plateau (but he wouldn't tell Kite that, because she still lived there). Wildfire's been my friend forever. I didn't want to... I didn't want to lose her again, he tried to explain, though he figured that it would be pretty hard for Kite to wrap her head around.

Of course I'll visit! he was quick to say, and he smiled briefly, a glimmer of hope that Kite wouldn't totally hate him for leaving. You'll always be my pups -- I mean, my - ah... Eljay tried to find a different word than 'my pups', because that sounded like he was their actual father, but although he had felt more strongly towards them than any of his baby siblings or other pups he had watched, it seemed inappropriate to use a word with such suggestion. But what else were they? Was there such a thing as a puppysittee, or a word for it? Eljay drew a blank.

After a beat, “You’re funny, Eljay,” Kite decided with a tentative smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, instinctively picking up the dropped stitch that marred their conversation. “You don’t have to be sorry,” she mumbled, thinking privately that she didn’t want to lose him, but it didn’t look like she had much of a choice. “If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me, too. You should be happy!” She forced her tail into a little flutter of a wag, and oddly, the muscle memory associated with the gesture did buoy her quickly flagging spirits.

“You’ll always be my pups,” did sound sort of funny, and Kite’s eyes twinkled mischievously — but she didn’t comment on it. She put her tongue between her teeth, thinking of a good substitute word. “We’ll always be your pups,” she agreed staunchly, “but if you don’t like that word, then we can make up a new one. Only for me’n Owen, Phoebs, and Vasa, though, okay?”

It seemed Kite picked it up quite well. Eljay was relieved for this, though he still felt a little guilty for just leaving like that. How could he leave 'his' pups? It was amazing how empathic Kite was for such a young girl -- though admittedly, they were no longer quite as tiny as Eljay might treat them in his mind at times -- and how it seemed that she just wanted him to be happy. It made Eljay feel like crying, but he stopped that from happening because it'd look really weird. Instead he said, which came out super heartfelt because of how full Kite had made his heart, Oh, you're so sweet, Kite! He smiled and wagged his tail, too, as Kite wagged hers. He'd make sure to visit loads -- these pups would always have a special place in his heart.

Kite seemed to agree the word was a little funky, and suggested making up their own word. Yeah! Eljay agreed easily. Kite wasn't just sweet and empathic, but smart and creative, too. How about... Though he already guessed Kite would probably have a better word than he in mind, Uh.. Rascals? They had been rascals at times, after all. But it somehow just wasn't the right word either.

Apologies for the wait!

“Oh, you’re so sweet, Kite!”

The whirring of Kite’s tail sped up exponentially. If she’d been born a Disney cartoon, she would’ve levitated at the compliment, but alas, she was only human, after all a semi-realistic wolf character. “I like Rascals,” she agreed enthusiastically, dancing a jittering circle around the Firebird. Maybe Eljay didn’t think it presented a perfect fit, but it was certainly good enough for Kite. Most importantly, it was something that’d come organically from Eljay, not from her. If she had volunteered the word, it would’ve carried less weight and seemed less special.

Besides — they were rascals.

“What are the rules?” she asked, getting down to the brass tax. “When we visit, we can call and ask to play with you? Do you already have favorite places and things to do here? It looks and smells so nice.”

Kite said that she liked rascals, so he decided to stick with that for now. He smiled sweetly when Kite went on to ask about the rules. How nice of her -- it didn't even occur to Eljay that she might not understand entirely what this sister pack deal meant, or how to act around the borders of another pack and the likes. But instead of assuming, she simply asked. His heart swelled at this.

You can call for me at the borders, and I'll come running right away, Eljay said with a smile. I'm still exploring and joined here just now, so I don't have a lot of favourite spots yet. How about I make one, and I'll tell you about it next time we see each other? Eljay was glad that Kite liked it here, and he wondered with a pang if any of the pups would want to come live here when they were older. But if they did, then he wanted it to be their choice, without any influence, so Eljay decided against suggesting it in any way.