Sun Mote Copse a badass 11 year old

First word(s) thread :))

With a little more confidence than before, little Nellie hopped out of the den to greet the day. Her ears had perked up a while ago and what the adults were saying was beginning to make a little sense to her. They had called her "Nellie", and her pesky brother "Bronco". Whenever she heard either one, she made sure to return to the one calling. The sky was "blue" with "clouds" and the "sun" floating in it, while the ground was covered in "grass". She could name little things like that in her head and was incredibly proud of herself for it, but she hadn't started saying anything really. She was a bit of a late bloomer, but who knows, maybe today was the day.

The other pups weren't quite old enough yet to come join the rest at the rendezvous site. Pox had been told this a few times (like thirty), but finally he had annoyed his mother enough with his insatiable curiosity that she had agreed to take him on a trip to go meet his cousins.

Now whether the boy was excited because he desperately wanted to meet Bronco and Nellie or he was excited because he'd finally nagged a yes out of Finley, no one knows. Except I do. He was just thrilled to have won the battle. Which isn't to say he wasn't excited to get to go on the trip, because he was always down for meeting some new playmates. He just also really liked to win.

Fortunate smiled on Pox one again that day for one of said new playmates was sitting just outside the den when they arrived. Pox made to spring at her and shower her face with HI I'M POX kisses, but Finley stuck a paw out to trip him. He stumbled and fell over, then looked up at her with a seriously why are you always doing that look on his face. Fin just quirked a brow at him and Pox, knowing what that meant, huffed and let her approach first.

"Hey Nellie," Fin greeted with a gentle smile and wag of her tail, "I brought you guys someone new to meet. This is my son, Pox. He's your cousin! Well, one of them anyway." Pox crowded Fin's back legs and grinned at her, waiting impatiently to be set loose on his new friend.

Apparently she had timed her morning routine perfectly. In the distance she saw the vague shape of two wolves, one much bigger than the other. She jumped up on her feet and, somewhat impatiently, started pacing because she knew she wasn't allowed far from the den yet. Unlike Bronco, Nellie followed the few rules laid out by Mother and Father, almost as if she knew she'd get praised for it.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and, when the pair was but a few steps away, decided to approach ever so cautiously. She let out a small giggle when the other pup got tripped up by aunty Fin, but stayed quiet for the rest. "Hey Nellie - meet - son - cousin - one" was all she could really understand. So this Pox was a son of aunt Fin, brought here to meet her because he was one of her cousins. Or was Pox her son and Aunt Fin the cousin? With a puzzled look on her face did she blankly stare at the duo, a salmon tongue blepping out of her mouth as she concentrated.

Pox was vibrating with anticipation by the time Fin looked back at him and said, Pox, this is your cousin, Nellie. You can go say 'hi' and play now, but nicely. The pup ignored everything after the word go and sprang forward to bounce right up to his cousin, at which point he promptly stuck his nose out to sniff eagerly at her face and everywhere else--the usual cursory puppy get-to-know-you before the real play actually began.

Her short life flashed before her eyes as the grey washed shark lunged at her with all his might. She was already a small poof of fur, but it bristled in surprise and terror before he stopped just inches away and began sniffing her. Was this how you greeted someone? Quietly did Nellie take notes for whenever she was going to meet all her other cousins. Carefully did she also stick her snout out giving him a few sniffs in return. Her little blue eyes were fixed upon her aunty though, seeking for any kind of sign that this was indeed how you did it.

His cousin seemed nervous, Pox noted as he inspected her. But of course, she would be, because apparently Nellie was a she. He stepped back and frowned upon realizing this. Girls were dumb. They were boring and they never wanted to play fun games, just boring ones like picking flowers and digging. Pox frowned up at Fin, feeling as though he had been duped. She quirked that brow again, though, and he huffed and turned back to his cousin.

"D'you wanna play a game?" he asked sullenly, fully expecting her to say yeah, let's tell stories or something beeeeeyooooooooooooooond lame like that because she was a girl and that's what they did. Damnit.

She, too, wasn't very fond of kids of the opposite gender. She assumed they were all like her brother, rude, unreasonable, making trouble wherever they went... But hey, Nellie played with the cards she was dealt, in this case it was Pox.

She gathered herself quickly and was already set on a game she wanted to play. She stuck out her paw carefully, booping Pox's shoulder after which she grinned widely. Tag. She said in the same way someone would say "checkmate". Her very first word was linked to her favorite game. She leaped away then to get a fair distance between them, looking over her shoulder afterwards to see if this game even appeased her play-partner for the day.

Pox, unfortunately, was absolutely like her brother--Rude, obnoxious, and all about making trouble. Fortunately, though, Finley was there, and he knew better than to be those things while she was watching. That being said, he was already considering how he could get out of this when Nellie shocked the hell out of him by bopping him lightly on the shoulder and murmuring "tag" before bounding away from him. He blinked after her, startled for he'd never considered that she might actually want to do something fun. It was just so unlikely... I mean, she was a girl.

His uncertainty disappeared within the blink of an eye. If Nellie wanted to play, then Pox was going to play. The boy's face split into a grin as he sprang after her, trying to close the distance between them so he could tag her and run away.

Luckily for Pox, Nellie was a bit of a tomboy. Of course, she still wasn't someone who went looking for trouble or liked the really gross stuff boys found so great, but she wasn't about to go asking to have tea parties with everyone. She was mommy's little girl, but as soon as her looming presence was missing she turned into a more adventurous young lady.

She grinned back at him, hopping away over the grass as he started chasing her. Though she'd one day be built for speed and agility, she was still dragging along a lot of puppy-fluff with her. Her short, stubby legs couldn't go very fast or far for that matter, giving the somewhat older Pox the upper-paw.

Pox bounded after Nellie eagerly. He was the second smallest of his litter (no pup alive has ever been smaller than Sugar), so he usually never got to be the strongest or the fasted. Thus it pleased him immensely to find that he actually got to experience those advantages in this game. Thus, when he came within tagging distance, he was a little too........ enthusiastic.

He came up behind Nellie within a couple dozen seconds, his eyes gleaming fiendishly. When he came within reach, instead of bopping a paw against her shoulder and darting off in the other direction, he sprang at her rump with paws outstretched and jaws open wide. It was more like a tackle, aimed at her ass. It's possible he doesn't know how to play tag.

She knew she really shouldn't look over her shoulder to see what the hell Pox was up to. It slowed her down, and she'd be unable to see where she was going, but darn it - tag was just so fun, and it wasn't like it mattered who won. Hell, she wasn't even sure how someone would "win" a game of tag.

After some debate within her mind, she did peek over her shoulder just at the right moment. Pox hung in the air, forelimbs outstretched as if he was already holding her rump, and her expression turned from curious to "oh shit.". With a small peep was she tackled, sending the both of them to a thundering halt and down to the earth.

Pox grinned triumphantly as he knocked his cousin to the ground, immediately reaching towards her muzzle with gaping jaws. The whole tag thing was definitely lost on him as he began to play his little dominance game, which eventually lead into an all out brawl. Nellie was tiny, but she was enough of an opponent to keep him entertained until it was time to head back home with Finley.