Redhawk Caldera Once upon a time

"Poppins!" Wildfire echoed him, ceasing her movement to watch Elwood for a moment. He approached another indent in the dry creek bed, so the pup bounded over to join him. "Poppins?" she said again, more inquisitively this time, her head tilted to one side as she gazed at his face before letting her golden eyes drop to the shallow in the earth. She struck out a paw and put it over the print, hiding it from view. She giggled.

Not more than three seconds later, a huge yawn overtook her, splitting the cub's jaws and causing a shiver to travel all the way from the tip of Wildfire's nose to the end of her black tail. She dropped to her haunches, blinking against the tears that welled in her eyes. Even though sleepiness was creeping over her, she tried to resist it. There was no time for sleep when there was so much to explore.

Wildfire's pronunciation of the word "pawprints" could not have been more adorable, and the corners of Elwood's eyes wrinkled jovially as he smiled down at her. "Yes, pawprints," he confirmed, enunciating the word a bit more than before so that she could hear the syllables and consonants. As soon as he did, she opened her mouth -- but instead of more verbalizations, a yawn escaped.

"Okay, now it's really time to head back," he said softly, reaching out to nudge the pup, who had fallen into a sitting position. Before she could protest, he added, "I'll take you on another adventure soon, I promise." He then took a step towards home, watching Wildfire to make sure that she would follow him.

As soon as Elwood indicated that it was time to go back, Wildfire shook her head. "Nooo," she drawled in a complaining tone. She didn't have the energy to put up more of a fight, though. In fact, she accepted defeat within three seconds. "O-K." She enunciated each letter separately and clearly, then was overtaken by yet another yawn. Her uncle's promise caused her to smile blearily at him.

Slowly, the puppy rose back onto her feet and followed as Elwood turned to begin the trek home. Her paw hit something and her golden eyes dropped. It was a small, jagged piece of stone (in fact, a shard of quartzite). If Wildfire had known anything about marine life, she might have compared it to a shark's tooth. But it was a pale lavender color, with paler speckles throughout. It was pretty, so she grabbed it with her teeth. Fortunately, she was able to use her tongue to maneuver it toward the back of her mouth, so she picked up the hoof as well, carrying both.

Meanwhile, her godfather had gotten a bit ahead of her. "Ate!" Wildfire cried out, her voice muffled by the two objects in her mouth. She scrambled to catch up with the Beta male, trotting close at his heels as they returned to the den. Upon arriving, she would deposit both her old toy and new find in her stockpile, the latter likely taking her escort by surprise. Then she would nap, hard.

Elwood didn't know that Wildfire had paused until he heard her cry out for him to wait. He immediately obliged, pausing and looking back over his shoulder to find the pup racing towards him with her beloved hoof still clutched in her mouth. The Beta male gave an affectionate shake of his head, then continued on his way with Wildfire right behind him. This time, he listened for the pitter patter of her feet to stop, indicating that she had been distracted; but she stayed with him until they approached the den, where Peregrine was waiting for them.

"Special delivery," he quipped, coming to a halt outside the burrow and watching as Wildfire scooted past him and dropped not one but two items on the ground. He leaned in to look at the smaller object, realizing that she must have picked it up when she fell behind. It was a rock, purple in coloration, though he didn't know its classification. What a sneaky little thing, he thought with a smile, then bid a brief farewell to Peregrine and departed.