Secret Woodlands yeah i've been to jupiter

She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about all of this. The thought of going somewhere both new and far away had excited her, and the trip itself had claimed its ups and down. There was a lot the trio had seen on their way here, quite a bit to learn about traveling and living outside of the Notch's shielded valley. Now they were at their destination, able to rest their paws and undertake what was supposed to be the reward to all that walking; meeting with children their own age. Except, Lucia had run into other monthlings before, and she hadn't been all that impressed. In fact, they had attacked her with a dead fish.

Three others, just like them. Two girls and a boy. It was rather familiar, except their coats and eyes were extremely wrong, and none of them were as small as she was. Staring them down, Lucia decided she would not be the first to act all friendly and say hello. Her gold gaze shifted to Aleris, wondering if her sister would take the responsible lead as she usually did. Someone would have to, and Ryker probably couldn't even see who they were meeting so she was pretty sure he'd be no help.

They better not have any dead, stinky things lying within reach.

He’d never met another pup his age… well, apart from his sisters but did they really count? He lived with them… and new friends was exciting. It had him bouncing up and down on the inside though he remained quiet, looking at them curiously, studying them and nothing the differences. Both of the girls looked like him though their eyes were a different colors than his. Cin’s eyes had never changed from the blue that he’d been born with. The boy had a different pelt but his eyes seemed to be a similar shade. It was quite interesting. Ryker was the first one to speak, a soft grin growing on Cin’s features.

Finally, another boy! He’d been surrounded by girls his age and it almost drove him insane, especially with Flair and her antics, though he hoped that she’d behave appropriately for this meeting. “I’m Cináed!” He greeted with a friendly tone in return with a soft wag to his tail. He was so use to towering over others with his size that he wasn’t even fazed by it anymore by the fact that Lucia was so much smaller. It almost reminded him of Duck, but at the same time it didn’t.

“It’s nice to meet you too, and welcome to the Woodlands!” He’d picked up a thing or two from the adults revolving around how to act around guests, and figured he could be an ambassador of sorts while his parents talked with theirs. Puppy ambassador! He loved the sound of it already! “I hope so too! It’d be nice to have other pups to play with sometimes.” He loved his sisters, and he hoped they knew that, but they all did need that exposure, outside of the pack. The pack was their family, and family was everything, but it didn’t have to be the only thing… if that made any sense.

The whole proposition of this journey was very much to Aleris' liking. She was always up for new places and faces, and this one promised both. It would be the furthest from home she had ever gone, and with Mom and Dad nearby there wasn't much they had to worry about anyway. She was sure that her father could scare off anything he wanted to. She liked to wander ahead, though not too far from their sight (as she had been reminded a few times). The great expanse of the so called “black berry fields” was unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was so flat and open. The pack hunted here once in a while, she knew, and they had even seen some deer there as they passed through. It was so tempting to try and chase them, but her parents insisted they continue.

She promised she would come back for them someday. Mom told them how she and Dad had lived near this place a while ago, before they moved to the mountains and then the Notch. The walk seemed to be taking forever when the dense woods grew up on the horizon. The foliage was so thick, nearly impenetrably so. It was worse than the patches of those bushes they'd tramped by. Apparently the wolves they were visiting, the ones that lived here, could get around the brambles without much trouble at all, just like she and Gent had learned to traverse the berry bushes. Aleris would have to ask the kids how, she was no good at it.

Once the adults had gotten the boring talking out of the way the kids were free to hang out. The eldest Lieris girl wasn't sure if she would like them, but she hoped so. Playing with Lucia and Ryker was fun, so maybe having more of them around would be even more so. At last they could really see each other, and Aleris watched with amusement as her little sister tried to 'stand her ground' so to speak. Everyone was taller than her, for sure. Ryker had done an admirable job of not embarrassing himself or being a general clutz so far.

She met Lucia's interested gaze, sure that she would probably have to be the one that started things. Aleris even opened her mouth to speak, but to her amusement it was Ryker who was boldest of all. She smiled, watching him introduce himself and act much like the grown-ups had just minutes ago at the border. It was so strange to be inside another pack's land. She kind of wanted to explore it soon. The other boy took well to her brother's words. It was remarkable how much he resembled their father, or, would have, had his eyes not been so much richer of a blue. Actually, this one looked just like his dad, who also looked sort of like her dad. Their moms were sorta alike too. Weird.

He was the bigger of his group, but it was the red one that caught Aleris' attention. Her hair was stunning, unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was so bright and rich! She looked like a maple leaf. "I'm Aleris," she announced to everyone once this strangely named boy had stopped speaking. "Aleris Lieris, and this is Lucia." She thought her name was pretty fun to say. The girl motioned to the small black fuzz at her side, wagging her tail as she did so. She waited then, glancing over the group for reactions to her 'pretty cool' name.

It had unnerved her so, when their parents had asked them to come along to the border, like it always did when anyone told her what to do. The promise of meeting other pups kept her on good behavior though; Meaning she constrained herself to moping quietly in the back while the adults made their introductions. Then, before she even knew it, the six of them were left to their own devises, the adults wandering off to do whatever boring, adult things it was they did. Flair glared suspiciously at the newcomers, studying them openly as they undoubtedly did the same. they made an interesting gradient, from the smallest, darkest one; over her big sister with the lighter markings; and to the boy, in between in size, with a coat more like his mothers and eyes, blue as Cinàed's, but much paler, like his own farther instead of theirs.

They were an odd bunch; Much like us I suppose… Already showing very different personalities. Flair's gaze shifted between them, first the boy as he spoke, Ryker, a quiet tsk leaving her lips at the introduction. Of course her brother jumped on it immediately, eager to make a good impression. In the mean time the bigger girl stepped forwards, giving her own name; Aleris Lieris, it sounded odd. With a small sigh, the Woodland girl met her green eyes briefly; "Flair." She grunted it unceremoniously, still weary of these newcomers. The memory of her last meeting with age mates was still fresh in her mind, though the Notch pups seemed much more well-mannered; Shame..!

And yet, amber eyes drifted to the third one, still silent; Lucia… It was pretty. So was she; Pale, jasmine-golden eyes and that dark fur with its undertones of both russet and smoke. A light smirk curled the flame-pelted girls lips, a swish to her tail as she asked: "Can't y' speak?" Gaze twinkling lightly at the taunt, perhaps this one wasn't as cordial as the others; One can hope!

Word count: 333

Thoughts ”Speech”

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