Stone Circle Unleash your heart and soul

for @Valette
other tag for reference

He had mostly adjusted to being at the rendezvous site, developed new routines, and found new things to pass the time. It didn't feel as safe here as it did in the den, but there was always someone around to watch over them. Of course, he preferred it when the one watching them was dad or Valette, so when it was one of the other pack mates, he would usually sulk around and be distant. Except for when it was @Polaris; she had been nice to him at time when he was seized by terror and uncertainty, and he wouldn't quickly forget that. When she was here, he often stayed close and quietly watched her. 

Valette was with them today, though, and Kallik had completely glued himself to her—not unusual for him. He was curled up between her front legs, his head resting on her paw as he watched the sunny day pass by. He was his usual silent self, but he felt content where he was currently. He had no desire to play or explore; he just wanted to be right where he was, curled up against Valette. A warm breeze caressed his face and he yawned and stretched, leaning back to rest against her chest. He would stay there for as long as she would let him.

Ever since Siarut had been so strict on his son she had noticed that Kallik had stopped wandering all together. Sure, the pups had not been like her other children since they had been through something far too early in their life. Kallik had not strayed too far from her, but this was definitely something new. As much as she wanted to snuggle him with kisses and cuddles. Valette didn't want to reward him too much by making sitting with her extra fun. Still, her heart warmed when she came to her and felt safe enough to sleep.

The Matriarch booped her nose against his crown to let him know she was about to get up. The nice thing about Kallik snuggled against her, made her take her breather as well, instead of running around and taking care of the pack. She pushed herself to her feet. Wondering how she would get Kallik comfortable exploring or at least asking questions. He never really asked anything. The others were kept busy. "Do you want to come with me today?," she asked then. There were still a few things she liked to do and perhaps if Kallik was just allowed to follow her and be around her he would get more comfortable in the territory. Now was the time for him to be exposed to things. "You would help me a lot," she added, to convince him.

Much like any other comforting moment in his life, this one came to an end way too soon. He felt her nose brush the top of his head, and he straightened up to allow her to move. He thought she might be leaving and his heart raced a little in chest at the thought of someone else coming in her place. 

He shifted into a sitting position and peered up at her worriedly as she stood. Her question had him looking down, his face twisting in deep thought as if she had asked him something far more serious. He couldn't help the spike of fear in his chest at the thought of leaving. What if something bad happened? Or he did something else to disappoint dad? It was really risky, and as much as he loved Valette and longed to be near her, he was heavily leaning towards answering her question with a somber shake of his head and then stalking off to hide somewhere. 

But then her next words had him looking back at her again. He wondered how he could possibly help her and would have probably asked if he could, but instead he just stared at her with confusion for a few moments. His expression quickly shifted into acceptance, though, and he stood and offered a dip of his head, gesturing his agreement to go with her. If he was with Valette, maybe nothing bad would happen? But he wasn't completely convinced, so even as he agreed to go with her, he was still tense and obviously worried.

Valette's face softened when she saw the terror on the pup's face. He was so worried to go. She wanted him to know how wonderful the world was and that he shouldn't be afraid. She had hoped that the promise of being with her would coax him to explore more but it seemed that he wasn't ready yet. She would respect that if he really didn't want to go away from the site.

She was in luck, since her words had convinced him a little. Valette instantly grinned and wagged her tail. "Thank you," she smiled, wanting to see how happy that made her. She stepped close and gave him a few kisses of gratitude. She knew that he was still tense but she would make it a good experience for him. She started to walk to the edge of the clearing.

Valette would take a slow place so nothing would overwhelm him. The matriarch wanted him to see more of Easthollow. She might be able to think of things he could help her with, like grab little things, or maybe count some rabbits or deer if they could get close. Maybe even that was too much, and would already be a little walk be enough for him. She would see. First she wanted him next to her and away from the rendezvous site.

She seemed genuinely happy that he agreed to go with her, and the fact that he could do something to make her that happy made warmth spread in his chest; it wasn't often lately that he felt something so positive so strongly, and that would stick with him for a long time. He leaned into her affection, lifting his muzzle to offer her a few kisses in return. 

The second she started to move, he immediately followed, glued as close to her side as he could be and still allow her the room to walk. At first, he was so focused on staying as close to Valette as possible, that his gaze never left her; he had no idea where they were going or what was happening around him, just that she was safe and he needed to stay close. But after a few moments, some of the tension started to fade away, and he was able to look around occasionally with interest. He was a little curious about where they were going, and it showed in his expression as he looked up to Valette after his most recent scan of their surroundings.

Valette smiled when she had the pup in tow with her. She moved at a pace that he could easily keep up with. it was good to see the young male lean in to the affection and really blossom from it. She was still certain that a firm hand would do more damage than a warm embrace. Valette continued to move through the forest. Normally she would take a pup to one of her favorite places, the stone circle, but since the young male had his mother buried there she decided against it to bring him there. Not yet.

She wanted to show him the wildlife through, and perhaps watching the bison was a bit scary for a young pup. Especially if something were to happen and a bison decided to charge at them. She chose something safer, rabbits. As they got closer Valette started to move more slowly. "We have to be quieter now," she whispered. Valette was bigger so she stalked low to the forest ground, between some bushes. She blended perfectly with the floor. She looked at Kallik who she motioned to come between her front paws again, just as how he was snuggled before they left.

Before them rabbits were feeding, digging, and making themselves busy. They were unaware as of now that they had a predator lurking. "Rabbits," she whispered. Rabbits were more fun to watch than bison, far more active.

She made it easy for him to keep close, for which he was grateful. The longer they walked, the more comfortable he became with the change, the nervous tension slowly easing from his muscles as he began to see that maybe this wasn't so bad. It wasn't something he would do on his own for a long time, but he felt safe enough with Valette that he was willing to give exploring another chance as long as she was there. 

Kallik was completely focused on her, so when she began to slow, he did as well, looking up to her curiously to see why. He picked up the scent of something interesting, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. She told him they had to be quieter, and he nodded, careful to keep his steps light and his breathing easy. Valette crouched down, motioning for him to come sit between her front legs, and Kallik silently trotted forward and planted himself in front of her. Motion caught his eye as soon as he was settled, and he looked in front of them to see tiny creatures scurrying about. Some appeared and disappeared through small openings in the ground. Some nibbled on leafy greens. None of them seemed to register their presence, at least not for now. His gaze was glued to them as they moved, the urge to chase surprising him. He ignored it, though, far too insecure about everything just yet and perfectly content to sit close to Valette and just watch. 

When she whispered that they were called rabbits, he peered up at her with a small frown and nodded slightly. Then he settled his gaze back on the busy creatures and watched them go about their day. He wondered what they were doing. They all seemed to move about so quickly, that he was curious how the adults even caught one—questions that would go unasked for now.

Valette smiled as she looked down at the pup. It was very cute how he was sitting between her paws. Relieved that the young pup was at least interested in the rabbits before them. She wanted to tell him more about rabbits but that she could do always later when or if he had questions. "Remember when I taught you and your siblings how to count?,' she whispered by his ear. "Can you tell me how many?," she asked him. Maybe it was too much for him. There were only 5 or 6 out and about. But she had asked him to help her and this seemed like a good small task for him to do.

But she could understand if it was all too overwhelming for the youngster and that he might not want to count the rabbits. Still, the matriarch would want to keep him challenged and want to explore more with him so he could see that the world was not so bad as he thought it was (and who could blame him!). "One, two, three.... four....," she started to count softly in his ear. Hoping he might be bold enough to whisper the number that came after.

Her question pulled his focus from the rabbits. He did remember, and he wanted to answer, but he couldn't. He couldn't make the words form in his throat and move from his mouth. It was frustrating, and it made his chest tighten and his heart beat faster. He swallowed and his worried gaze moved from Valette to the rabbits and then back to Valette once more. 

She then whispered the first few numbers in his ear, and he swallowed again. He didn't want to disappoint her or make her not want to take him out on adventures anymore; he liked being with Valette. So he drew in a deep breath and whispered: f-f-five, his voice sounding weird from disuse. He looked at her with surprise, unsure how he had just managed to actually speak a word. Of course, he would probably only be able to recreate it with her for a while, but it was still progress. Maybe things weren't going to be as bad as he thought they would be.

Valette's heart jolted when she heard the boy speak probably for the first time! She felt a warm happiness spread through her. It was so hard not to wag her tail and make a noise. It seemed they both looked at each other with surprise for that brief moment. Valette then beamed at Kallik. "Very good!!," she whispered, though perhaps a bit too excited. The bushes rustled and the rabbits stiffened. Valette stilled as well. Though the rabbits were alert now and they decided to be safe then sorry. They dashed for their burrow.

Valette's tail started to wag, not caring that it made a noise. "So proud of you, Kallik," she beamed and started to shower him with kisses for a brief moment. The female then slowly got up and stepped forward to the open clearing the rabbits just were. She motioned for Kallik to come closer. She sniffed the floor, the smell of the rabbits was clearly there. "This is the smell of rabbit," she explained. Since there were some poops and paw prints there to check out for him as well.

thank you for my kudos!! <3

Kallik didn't even notice that Valette's whispered excitement had startled the rabbits; he was still too stunned over what he had just managed to do. His heart swelled under her praise, and he grinned up at her. She was proud of him and not disappointed; the way that made him feel would follow him for a long time. He returned her kisses with a few of his own, getting to his feet immediately after she did. 

Valette walked out to where the rabbits had been, and only then did the boy notice that they were all gone. She urged him to come closer and then began sniffing the ground, explaining that the scent around them was the smell of rabbits. Kallik lowered his nose then and began to inspect the ground, the overpowering scent one he would forever associate with the small creatures. He walked a little farther, taking notice of the tiny paw prints and the pebble-like poop scattering the ground around them. It smelled strange and he was suddenly struck with a question. He picked up one of the dark stool pebbles in his mouth and chewed it. He scrunched his nose and looked at Valette, shaking his head. It didn't taste very good.

Welcome! <3

Valette's heart probably melted further when the boy grinned at her. It was not often that the boy was smiling and looking happy. Valette knew that the other had lots to be proud of as he had really gotten out of his comfort zone. She was so proud of him, she didn't doubt that the other knew this. The female grinned at the boy as he started to explore where the rabbits had been. She chuckled when he tried to eat the poop, of course, pups explored everything with their mouth.

"It is the poop, not for eating. But excellent for tracking,' she explained. "If you see or smell poop rabbits have been here," she explained. The female couldn't help but explain a bit of her favorite hobby, hunting. Perhaps Kallik would be a great hunter one day, a silent killer. "Do you want to do some more or go back to your siblings?," she asked the boy. She wanted him to make some decisions as well. Plus if he had enough of this then that was more than okay. She knew it would take a lot of small steps.

He looked at the round droppings, putting her description with them in his mind. Poop; if there was poop around, then there were rabbits around. He was sure that knowledge would come in handy at some point later on. Why else would Velette take the time to explain it to him?

He thought for a few moments about her next question. He had ventured out of his comfort zone today more than he had in a while. The thought of returning home, to something familiar like dad and his siblings was comforting. But he also really liked spending time with Valette, just the two of them. When he had made up his mind, he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, very serious and dramatic. Then he looked up at her and quietly whispered: m-more. He wanted to learn a few more things and spend more time with her before returning home.

mobile post sorry!

Valette smiled proudly at her son when he was so brave he wanted to explore more. The female took him around the forest, showing him the birds they happen to come across and told him some more facts about the forest before they returned how. Valette was beaming with pride. Unable to hide her smile and wagging tail

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