Fox's Glade it's a slow cinnamon summer and your spell's pulling me under

@Clay

she stands tentatively at the meadow's edge. just behind her the world is bathed in golden, flowers swaying their colourful heads and everything's a merry hum. in front of her; the woods loom before her all dark and muted. she peers hard against the gloom but her eyes struggle to adjust after the harsh lighting of the exposed flatland. still, despite the nerves and lingering guilt at venturing somewhere her parents haven't approved and the frank fact that after the little patch of paradise behind her the forest was intimidating; there was an itch to her paws that she just couldn't shake that begged her to let them roam on. she really couldn't help it, ever since their first outing with their parents, polaris had felt a restlessness at being confined within the borders just knowing what lay out there waiting to be discovered. she struggled to comprehend how her parents, and any of the wolves in her pack at that, seemed content to reside in this one patch of land for the rest of their days. of course, she didn't want to leave either; she loved her family too much! but that wouldn't stop her exploring what she could.

plus, if zephyr and helios could handle running away from home; she was pretty sure she could manage a few trees. so with a determined little inhale; the little dove passed the invisible line and stepped into the shade. in all honesty, it wasn't actually that dark. the trees were well spaced and sun filtered down with ease; dappling the earth at her paws in pretty, shifting patterns. marveling at all this she feels lighter than she has in a while, when she was away by herself like this she could pretend all the drama with her family didn't exist. all there was was her and the beautiful world. so with the naivety of a child yet to experience the cruelties of the world /siding the whole; 'my brother killed a baby' thing/ she walked on, bi-eyes wide with wonder until she came to the edge of the trees because...well turns out this wasn't just a forest. 

she falls back into a sitting position; partially because she still tired easily and because she'd come to the edge of the glade and....right now all she could really think was wow.

I promise I rarely write this long, haha. It was mostly just to set the mood and give background!

The gentle summer breeze ruffled his pelt, pushing his cheek fur outwards and battering it against his face at random intervals as gusts of wind swirled around him. It was an annoying, and every time it happened the boy made his displeasure known by shaking his head violently before looking behind with a scowl to shield his face.

His father, @Greyback, was accompanying him from behind with a slow gate to keep distance. Clay had begged the Easthollow Patriarch to take him out earlier in the day for a chance to roam. But his father, stern as ever, had denied at first. Whether it be his insistent whining or his persuasion to see the world, Clay had eventually won his father over.

'Why do I have to have puffy cheeks.' He thought. His father's cheek fur wasn't as puffy as his— they were just long; swaying gently in the breeze and giving the elder an ethereal look. Clay never understood how his father managed to look well groomed, he himself was always dirty and messy. It was probably an adult thing.

Bounding up the hill in a commotion of gleeful yips, the boy watched as grass tore and flowers flew. Yellow dusting of pollen had now coated his paws and legs, leaving him to look as if he was half-flower himself. "Hurry up!" He shouted back at Greyback, excited and wanting to pick up the pace.

However, when he turned back he noticed a figure in the distance— their body white as snow. Clay blinked and craned his head, attempting to make out the stranger. It had failed. And when all else fails the boy was quick to do what he did best. "HEY!" he shouted, his voice screeching and breaking the air as he propelled himself forward with a wagging tail. It was a wolf! A stranger! Clay had never met another wolf outside of Easthollow before.

she had just started to come around from the mind numbing euphoria to engulf her at the beauty of her find. the first few moments had been spent doing nothing but ogling the little patch of heaven. the sun filtered down, bathing everything in its golden hues as flowers danced and the soft sound of a creek babbling through randomly strewn boulders was also present. it reminded her of a mixture of the meadow and her home, what more could you want? anyway she was just coming down from her nature high and preparing to actually step from the patch of shade she still lingered under when something came hurtling at her at full speed, letting out an ecstatic HEY as it thundered towards her.

instinctively she lets out a startled yelp and flails backwards only to crash rather ungracefully into the thick trunk behind her. grunting now she shakes her head and stumbles as she straightens, a little dazed. a few groggy blinks have her looking at none other than a boy who also seems to be around the same age as her. she smiles now, ducking her head a little bashfully, aware that her little stunt probably wasn't a great start and she didn't want to look silly in front of someone else her age! there's excitement wiggling in now too though, she'd only met pups from a different pack once before and she hadn't gotten much in between lainie and helios, plus their parents hadn't let them stay long either. but there was another kid here and she didn't have to share!

having fully recovered by now, her tail wags at her haunches as she grins back; "hey! sorry you gave me a bit of a- oh!" of course she instinctively went with speaking french, a mistake she'd made last time too. shaking her head she tries again /gosh was she making a mess of this/ "sorry my family speaks french..i was just saying you gave me a fright! but, it's okay of course" she wrinkles her nose a little, searching his face curiously- she really wasn't used to speaking to pups that weren't siblings- why was it so much harder? he's quite small too but stockier than the wispy girl, pretty colours too- she especially likes his eyes. they suit the setting well. "i'm polaris...from swiftcurrent creek? who are you?" her head tilts to the side in a quick, bird like manner. he smells like other wolves but its not familiar so he's not from the same pack as the other pups. funny that, she wondered what it was that made different pack scents so distinct from each other. they were all just wolves after all.

Greyback trailed behind in son with lanquidity, his paw-steps pounding and tongue lolling out of his jaws in exhaustion. If it was hot the man would of chalked it up to that. However, the gentle breeze provided plenty of coolness to the day's sun. Perhaps it was just that he wasn't as young as he used to be. The elder had noticed it recently. 'It' being his lack of energy and speed— something that would remain as 'It' and not be brought up. Preferably ever.

"It is you that should slow down, Clay," Greyback huffed back at his son before dashing closer to close the distance. However, just as he neared the boy had shot like an arrow across the field, his voice raised in a holler. Greyback could only bark one out himself in attempt to slow the boy down.  

Seconds passed before he had caught up once again, seeing a young pup in the distance tumble over in surprise. Greyback shook his head at that, giving as exasperated sigh. "Clay, mind your manners," He reminded before looking over to the stranger. She looked to be around the same age as his pups—perhaps a bit older...but she was alone?

Greyback twisted his head around and sniffed at the air in attempt to catch other scents. It was only when she spoke did his ear swivel towards her in confusion before recognizing the scent and accent. Swiftcurrent Creek were allies with Easthollow, and although the man hadn't gotten to know them too well, he was quick to trust them. "It's nice to meet you, young one. But where are your parents? You're awfully young to be far from the safety of your borders."

Clay watched curiously as the girl tumbled backwards with a yelp. His tail was on high alert, feeling only slightly bad that he had caused her to loose her composure. Luckily, she had recovered quickly and bounced back up with a wagging tail and.... strange words? Clay tipped his head at them. He didn't understand until there was a pause and an apology. French?

As she spoke he peered at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. She was... pretty. All of his siblings and most of his family were dark in color save for a few. Arlette was white, but her eyes scared him a little. Grandpappy Kove was white like Kiran, but they were both bland in his opinion. He continued to oogle the girl until he was snapped back into reality by his father's voice.

Had he missed something? There was a silence now and he wagged his tail in embarrassment. She must have introduced herself, but he hadn't heard her name. He didn't want to ask again, it would be too awkward. "Um.. I'm Clay from Easthollow Miss. This is my father," He pointed to Greyback with his nose. "Greyback. He's the paa.. um.. patriarch?" He looked back at his father for confirmation on the word before turning back to her and leaning in. "it's like a leader thing." he whispered.

"Do you... want to be friends?" He questioned. Clay had never had a friend. His siblings were kinda like friends, but they were too overbearing and pushy. And the other pups never seemed to want to talk to him... not that Clay had never given them the chance.