September 11th; Afternoon; Partly cloudy; Current Temperature: 52º F/ 11º C

It had been two weeks since the girl had stumbled into the dark stranger that was seemingly Kade's doppelganger and it was with an enthusiastic skip in her step that she met the widened banks of Jasper Rocks. The shallow pools that she had once played with were no longer there, but she did not even think of frowning. The scent of her father wafted briefly past her, a signal that told her it was 'okay' for her to explore this part of Cedarwood. Feasting her eyes on the current of the creek, she confidently strode up to the edge of the water and craned her neck downward to indulge herself in the sweetness of the water. The coolness instantly slaked her thirst and with refreshed senses, she peered about.

Half of her wanted to find the coal-pelted man but another part hoped she wouldn't see a hair on his hide. Her curiosity had been quenched and, today, she was on the lookout for something new. The large triangular peaks that were her ears inclined forward atop her skull and she wandered toward where Borden had been roughly an hour or two ago. She sniffed warily, raising a brow as her eyes came to settle on two cracked and apparently weather-worn boulders. It was unknown to her why her parents, let alone her father, occasionally visited this particular spot.

She carefully navigated her way through the grass and seated herself on top of one of the smaller rocks before the large landmarks. He must have been seated here for a long time, she managed to work out, balancing herself in her tight sitting position. But why?

Why, why, why, why, why? Her mustard-hued eyes ogled at the places where her nose began to pick up a curious scent. Something she couldn't yet place in her memory. She slowly stepped off the smooth rock and stood up to place both of her large forepaws against the rough, speckled side of the boulder that remained intact. Hmm. She continued to glare at the sight, unaware that this was the place where two of her older brothers, discovered dead by the time they had been her age more than a year ago, had been laid to rest.

She sniffed and snuffled about, her forehead and brows gradually wrinkling in frustration. All her concentration was lost however when the sound of shuffling dirt accompanied by the clearly audible snapping of a branch underfoot. The girl glanced over her shoulder, her golden eyes rounding on the familiar, lanky form of her brother with a sharp glare. Renier she could have easily expected to track her down, but... Ryvet? Well, now, this was just something else to Taima's surprise. Usually, she assumed he was up to his own brand of mischief, either on his own or with Renier. Never in a million years would she have expected Ryvet to even try and attempt to even nose about her business.

The expression softened as she noticed how he had been low to the ground, seemingly trying to hide in the grass, and how his eyes had seemed to be focused on her. He appeared to be apologetic but she misread his body language and looked him over again. Then suddenly it clicked. She dropped onto all four of her large paws and her ears turned forward, not at all impressed by his streptious attempt at stalking. Her tail waved about behind her and she sneered as she took a step toward him, "Didn't Dad ever teach you to pick up yer feet?" She cracked another grin, "I bet I could have heard that a mile away."

Ryvet's pout was just enough to wipe her sneer away and Taima's brows rose when she heard that her brother thought sneaking about was hard. "Wellllllll," she began, sighing back and rolling her eyes. "Just takes practice and ya gotta make sure you don't step on anyth--" She took notice of the impishness that was forming on his ashen features and scowled back. The darkening mask on her face seemed to accentuate her expression.

"Whut?"

She might have expected an ambush before Ryvet had somewhat stomped on a hidden twig, but after his confession about not being able to prowl as quietly as a skilled or upcoming hunter could, she was clearly taken by surprise. He successfully tackled her and she was shoved onto the ground. The grass tickled her neck, sides, and ears, but she was not laughing. Not when her sibling's jowls were closing in on her crown. She let out a playful growl, attempting to push and elbow Ryvet away from her. She felt his teeth and lips clamp onto her ear.

Her muzzle wrinkled, and with a bark she tried to at least get onto her side so she could use her hind legs to defend herself. No one, she decided, would ever catch her belly up. It was obviously a given that she and her brothers were just about matched in speed (given that she, in comparison to Calla, could keep up in pace with them), but in the strength department, it was painfully evident that maybe she would have to utilize some staying power if she was to find a way to 'even' out the fight or make it come close to a 'draw.'

Everywhere from her ear down the side of her face Ryvet had bombarded her with spittle. Strings went from the tuffs of her inner ears, the crown of her head, along her neck, and her brow bone to his ebony lips. YUUUCK! Cooties! Ryvet began to snicker and the girl, once able to get her bearings, allowed her tail to lift in an impressive plume at her back. There was no way he was gonna win this one. Especially since he had ambushed her by surprise.

"You're gunna pay for thaaat!" she barked, revolted that the scent of his terrible breath now coated her face. She raised a paw to rub her nose against her paw as if the action would get rid of the odor of her brother's slobber from her nostrils. Though he was still able to keep hold of her bat-like ears, continuing to coat them with drool, she looked at him in the corner of a narrowed eye. Her hackles began to rise and she waited for the opportunity to strike, to quickly shuffle around and bowl him over just as he had been able to do to her. A snarl ripped from her vocal chords but as soon as she quieted, she sealed her lips, ready to return the favor as soon as she was given the chance to get to his ears, neck, and face. Did her brothers think she couldn't play rough or even muster up a spitball as gross as they could? Well, maybe today she could prove that they thought wrong all along if they had.

Ryvet was off within the blink of an eye. Taima started after him just barely a few leaps behind. Her eyes were still narrowed in vengeance, but the frown she bore lifted into a smirk as she saw her brother slip on a pile of leaves. She would have dodged that if she had been in his place. "HAAA!" she barked. He tried to get up but she made an attempt to make sure his effort was in vain.

She lifted her paws in one last bound, prepared to take him down since he seemingly and readily braced himself for her attack. She buried her nose into his neck, nibbling it lighting with the means to tickle him first while she tried to get him to roll over. "Gotcha!"