Northstar Vale soft leaves

they were growing.

the air was brisk today as tamar led her brood from their den. "we are only going a short ways!" she called to bold little @Antigone. she nosed @Zulema and urged @Zosime along.

"look!" she said, and there was a late autumn bumblebee, prodding the barren end of a sunflower stalk.

she had been babbling a song at a particularly pretty looking leaf. yellow and green, dappled some. she hardly grasped the concept of autumn, but she enjoyed the fiery hues to the world around her. colors that matched the family!

"look!"

and look she did! bumbling ahead to catch a glimpse at the flower. then the...thing! a thing was on the flower. so zosime, with little understanding of the world still, opened her mouth as if she might chomp down on the flower and the thing on it.

Zulema stirred from her slumber as her mother prodded her, beckoning her to follow. The little wolf slowly blinked, stretching out her paws and yawning as she stood up. Once she had gotten up she immediately went to follow Tamar with enthusiasm.

At the sight of the creature, Zulema initially planned to pounce on the bug, but the buzzing noise had her leery. She extended her nose to sniff at it but shied away, stepping backwards. Zulema instead chose back away and hide between her mother's legs to look at it as her sister stepped forward.

tamar threw out a paw!

she hoped to stop zosime. "not that! it will hurt," she warned her daughter.

zulema hid behind her, which tamar found to be a normal reaction. "it is a bee," she informed them both. "they help to make all the flowers and trees that you can see."

a paw! then words!

zosime was in brief shock. surprise. confused! her mother explained it would hurt, but zosime knew so little about the concept!

beeee, she drew out with a wagging tail. content to not eat the flower as she had originally wished. bee make treee. tree make beeee. this sung, out of tune thanks to a puppy voice.

we no eat bee! she finished her little song with.

Zulema's first reaction to her mother's explanation was to gaze around at their surroundings that this bee helped to support. Despite her initial first reaction to look in wonder at the trees and flowers, her sister's singing caught her attention. She giggled and pranced forward to her sisters side. Zulema didn't want to eat the bee anyway, she was unsettled just at the buzzing sound.

❝Why bee hurt?❞ She said, not knowing much of the concept either but she had a general idea, like when she would trip and fall during her experience of learning to walk and run.

Zulema looked back up to her mother and cocked her head while resting her body weight on Zosime.

PPing antigone! <3

she looked at her sweet girls.

"we no eat bee," she repeated. "bees have a sting. in their — butts!" she laughed aloud.

"it can hurt! ouch!" she said, repeating it twice for each of them.

she laughed, leaning along her sister. filled with giggles and delight at her mother's words.

BUTTS! she declared loud and proud to her sister. ouch! butts!

❝No eat bee.❞ Zulema closed her eyes and nodded exaggeratedly in confirmation as her sister's laughter rang through the air.

Zosime's laughter never failed to make her own bubble up in her chest. She didn't quite understand how the creature could have a sting in their butts, but Zulema believed everything her mother told her blindly.

❝Is bee nice?❞

tamar covered her mouth with a paw.

behind it she laughed helplessly at zosime's antics. "bees make nice things. like honey. it is very sweet and we can eat it."

now she reached to tickle them both, joy in her eyes.

she had already been struck by a case of the giggles. this only continued as her mother saw it fit to tickle them! so she leaned into her sister, tongue poking between her teeth when she was not barking with laughter.

she adored them. fully, wholly.