Emberwood the summer of our discontent

set the morning after this. @Star and/or @Calcifer are welcome to jump in!

Marble knew what she wanted to do the moment she woke up that morning. She wiggled her way out of her sleeping mother's embrace, blinked the sleep from her eyes, and wandered away from Sagtannet's temporary camp (with her favorite rock in her jaws of course).

As she strolled through the woods she'd briefly stare at the trees she came across. They were very eye-catching, but not interesting enough to stop for. Marble wanted to study the greatest one of them all. 

After passing by a few dozen aspens, she spots it. The One. She didn't know what exactly drew her towards it. Maybe it was the color or the angle. Maybe it was the way the bark looked slightly different from the rest. Whatever it may be, it was mesmerizing. Marble approached the tree and ran her tiny paw down the trunk.

Star gave her children a hefty load of independence and freedom, but it didn't mean she didn't care for them. When she awoke without Marble against her, she sniffed the earth- a natural hunter- and began to track, temporarily leaving Calcifer in the care of her packmates. Luckily, children her age couldn't travel very far.

When she found Marble some good yards away from the camp, the girl had her pale paw against a large tree, testing the feeling of its side. Beautiful, isn't it? Star murmured as she trod over to her daughter, settling beside her for a moment. She was no naturalist, but she wanted to encourage the girl's interests and pursuits, and so if Marble could turn this interest into something that would one day be useful, Star was entirely here for it.

The girl recognized Mother's voice instantly. She spun around with a little smile on her face. She was happy Star was here. Now she evaluate these strange trees with her. Marble was under the assumption that she too had never seen any like this.

The pup rounded the tree to look at Mother without straining her neck. Then she quickly nodded her head. They were very beautiful indeed. It made her wonder what other species could be out there. Perhaps she'd travel the world just to discover them all.

Star chuckled when Marble spun towards her with a little smile. She nodded in answer to the question- as usual. It was then than Star noticed the rock between her jaws, which caused another amused snort. Which is your favorite- the one you think is best- rock, or tree? Star questioned with a tone of real interest, and as she spoke she would motion towards the tree and Marble's rock, each in turn with an outstretched white paw.

Rock or tree: which did she prefer? Choosing between the two was the hardest thing Mother could ask of her. Marble's face scrunched up as she pondered.

These trees were very interesting. Admittedly they were more interesting than her rocks in the moment. But she couldn't bring herself to pick them over her beloved treasures. They were smaller, easy to carry, unique from eachother. They were very important to her.

Marble lifted her head to bring attention to her rock, and emphasized her choice with an enthusiastic grunt.

The way Marble answered with a little grunt was amusing, but Star was not surprised. Not surprised by her answer, either. Star almost thought to suggest they search for rocks in the forest- for surely, they must have slightly different compositions here than those ones from Sawtooth- but Star knew better than to peel her away from this huge tree. Instead she was quiet then, not wanting to distract her daughter, but sniffing among the tangled roots for any little pebbles that might make a nice gift.

She stepped back to allow Mother more space to study. That was what she was doing, Marble assumed, and that elated her. It was good to know someone had the same amount of interest in nature as she did. That someone being her mom made it even better.

Marble leaned forward to get the best view. Every so often she’d give an encouraging chuff, or a little giggle.

If only Marble knew that Star's temporary interest in nature was only because of her, she might've been disappointed. As it was, though, Star intended to make her happy with whatever present she could find. She felt and heard her daughter encouraging her on, and smiled- hadn't meant to steal her attention, but ultimately as long as this brought her joy... soon enough Star found something among the tree roots. It was a little brown pebble, not especially exciting in her opinion, but wore smooth edges and a happy gleam. Star plucked it out and placed it down before her daughter with a little awkward grin.

Mother doesn’t complete the search empty handed. She pulls out a small pebble and presents it to Marble with a smile. It wasn’t the most flashy rock she’s ever seen. It certainly couldn’t compete with some of her favorites. Had she found it on her own she would’ve passed it up, but this was a unique situation. This one was hand picked by Mother, and thus worthy enough to be added to her collection.

After a very thorough look-over, Marble hummed, followed by a nod. Then she moved her own rock to the side of her mouth in order to carry the new one.

gonna wrap if thats ok : )

 

It seemed Star's little pebble didn't necessarily impress her daughter upon first inspection- the girl did not squeal with delight, nor did her tail wag- rather, she had the intent focus of a professor-archeologist across her pale face, dusting off fossils with a fine precision and deciding how much cash they could grab. In the end, Marble didn't criticize the findings at all, at least not aloud. She hummed and nodded, lifting the new rock and accepting it as her own- causing Star to smile gently. If only she knew what categorized that pebble as acceptable, she would've been touched even further. For now all she could do was uselessly wonder, as she watched her child go about her search.