Sunlight slanted down through the trees, and Aiyana was just wandering around, drinking in the morning. After all, no morning was like the other, so there was also reason to relax and drink the new day in every day. The air was crisper than it had been when she was younger, but still the sun was pleasantly warm upon her black back. Soft moss cushioned her large paws, bowing down under her slim weight and slowly bouncing up again when she passed. The sound of birds filled her ears, and the faint tinkling of the river.

She liked the river.

She happened to pass by the area near the den again, and stopped. Rissa was out now, sitting there looking forlorn. While her sister could be terribly annoying, Aiyana did like her - most of the time. Grunting to herself, the black pup wriggled her way over, now through grass instead of moss. She yipped, once, then remained silent as she approached, coming up close enough to give her shoulder a rather rough nudge before, playfully, trying to stick her cold nose in her ear.

Well, for once her tardy sister had been on the way somewhere! (No, Rissa would never escape the fact that she'd been last out of the den.) She mock growled and the black pup gave her a wolfish grin, shaking her head but still receiving a bat of paws on her head, but it was all in good spirit and her black tail was wagging. The damn thing ruined her stealth all the time - if she'd wanted to pretend to be angry at Rissa... well, she could've fooled a blind badger, but not her sister, so she didn't even bother trying. Instead, she just nipped after the retreating paws, drinking in her sister's garbled babble. Why did she always talk so much, and why couldn't she took properly like the pack? It was hard to understand her sometimes!

But she did pick out the thing Rissa wanted to do: climb the den. And, what? Help her up! Pff, fat chance, sister! "Race," she chirped in her customary fashion - and then she was off, short, stout legs carrying her across the uneven terrain as her tail wagged behind her. At one point she nearly faceplanted, but she recovered from disaster and kept on running, until she reached the base of the den. For a moment she paused and scrunched up her face, but then she reared up on her tiny hind legs and placed her large front paws on a fairly flat rock surface. She grunted under her breath and heaved herself up on her belly on it, and awkwardly crawled up until she was standing on it. Now just the rest of the way...

She'd won that one.

Aiyana was, perhaps, a tad leggier, and when it came down to it, not really as strong as Rissa. Pin fights meant, most often, a loss, but sometimes Rissa got tired faster, and then the black girl could pin her little sister. And she never wasted her chances. With a little growl she stood upon her rock, wagging her tail and watching as Rissa, on her tail basically, clambered up beside her. She considered herself the winner then, because her sister started talking again, so the race was off. Curiously, she tilted her head. "Tor," she hummed under her breath, wondering where their brother was - perhaps off exploring the Grove with one of the adults. He could handle himself, and so she wasn't worried. Rissa was moving on, though, and she would not let herself be left behind.

A small yip of a laugh escaped her when Rissa got stuck on the flat rock, but she also found that it meant having to wait while her awkward, clumsy sister scrambled up. Not that she was much better, when it was her turn... She really hoped Rissa was too preoccupied with the view, for the first time, Aiyana didn't put enough strength into her leap and just bonked her nose on the rock's edge. The second time she crouched properly, and sprang up, landing about halfway again. Unceremoniously she wriggled onto it, and came to her feet. Queens? She frowned. She didn't want to be a queen! She.. she.. she wanted to be a big wolf. That was what she wanted to be. Nodding to herself, she peered at the edge of the next rock to possibly get to. It looked to be too far to be able to jump it... Without saying a word, she walked in the other direction, careful of falling down. Perhaps there was a way higher, around here?

Rissa's howl caught her attention, and her black head snapped around. Well, she could hardly let her sister claim the spot alone! Such non-verbal communication - growls, howls, yips and yaps - were all part of Aiyana's natural vocabulary, and after a moment, her own head tipped back and a high-pitched, fluctuating sound piped out of her throat. It still didn't shake the soul and earth the way her father's did, but she was getting somewhat steadier. The sound died out into silence, and Rissa began to assess the heap, too. Go up? Of course. Aiy's tail wagged once in approval and she peered at the ledge. Just maybe...

But then Rissa broke in again, and the black girl frowned, and turned around. Down? D'uh, stupid question. "Same way," she said with a child's arrogant certainty. How hard could it be, really? She wasn't concerned about getting down. Instead, she went to place where the next semi-flat platform was, and gauged the distance. Unless she'd slide when coming up... She crouched, then took off, flexing her muscles and surging into the air. This time she actually had enough excess energy to land on all paws, and nearly into the face of the rock in front of her. With her tail trying to aid her balance she braced herself against the angled surface, blunt claws scrabbling against it. Finally she stilled, and looked down at Rissa.

"Careful," she wandered, before gingerly walking up the small slope to make room for her sister to get up behind her. And just in case Rissa would be a klutz, she kept an eye on her, ready to interfere...

Her caution was perhaps good, but she had no need to intervene. It seemed that the warm-up on the way up plus Aiy's warning had made Rissa put a real effort into the jump, though her bigger sister did flinch when she nearly slipped, ready to leap to the rescue. Before she could, Rissa had righted herself, and Aiyana gave her a milk-teeth grin. As her sister joined her on the highest perch of the pile, Aiy peered out at the woods. What if someone disapproved? But why would they? For a moment she frowned, then got caught up in her sister's joy.

"Up, up, up!" she chirped for no real reason at all, joy in her voice as she ducked her sister's paw. While that was a great offense in itself, she had enough brains not to start a brawl up here. It'd be a long fall, so she settled for another nose-in-the-ear, grinning from ear to ear. Well, if they'd found cause for howling to the world down there... So much better up here! With mischief in her murky eyes, Aiyana tossed her little head back again, and this time her voice was slightly stronger, carrying further; high-pitched and wobbly as always, but there was something proud in it as she announced to all of Swift River that they were on top of the world and everyone had to come and submit to them, this instant! With her eyes half-lidded she still stole a glance at Rissa, hoping she'd join in.