Hearthwood River a little dirt never hurt

Oksana had spent the entirety of the morning curled up in the safety of the den, drifting in and out of sleep. The sound of the rains gentle pitter-patter upon the ground outside had made the dark pup incredibly drowsy and before long she had be lulled into a deep sleep which had stripped hours from her day. Now however, the rain was receding and the repetitive sound which had hummed within her ears was now replaced with occasional birdsong breaking through the afternoon silence.

A single ear flickered upon her crown and a moment later her dark lashes fluttered open as the dark pup finally stirred awake. Dark puppy blue eyes glanced around the darkness of the den, soon noticing the absence of her mother. A frown creased her forehead and her ears pressed back against her head as she began to grow anxious. Rising to her paws, Oksana made her way clumsily towards the sunlit entrance of the den, her slender tail waving uneasily behind her as she clambered up to peer outside.

A small whine whistled past her lips when she failed to catch sight of the familiar dark shape of her mother and her little heart sunk at the prospect of being left all alone again. However, Oksana refused to believe that her mother had wandered off very far – she always appeared when she called her! So she tentatively stepped out into the world, leaving the comfort of the den in search of @Inna, only to find that the ground beneath her paws was cold and damp and muddy.

A squeak erupted from the pup as she tried to left each paw up off the muddy ground, which only made things worse, as her efforts to escape the wet soil sent her small body tumbling over. Stumbling to her paws, Oksana gave her pelt a shake before she bound back towards the den. Only once she was safely inside the protective arc of the entrance tunnel did she lift her small muzzle to sing a warbling howl demanding for her mother, her saviour, to appear.

With the morning came the rain and a long nap session for Inna curled around her daughter after she'd spent some time watching her sleep. The sound of the rain outside had been continuous throughout the morning. The Ebony Baranski was content to stay dry inside the den with her daughter. It was as she'd talked about with Lachesis weeks before, he hated the idea of leaving Oksana for more than a few minutes at a time. The girl was her only child and she seemed to be rather attached to her mother. In a didn't mind, she was glad for it and hoped it would continue for she didn't want to end up like Her own mother. She didn't want to ever lose her daughter, she wanted her there in Hearthwood always.

Toward the afternoon Inna’s eyes fluttered open and she realized the sound of the rain didn't seem so strong. Her gaze fell on Oksana with a lick to her crown before she slipped away to move toward the den entrance. There she was again as she always seemed to be, torn between staying with her daughter and going out. She knew she would have to eventually and knew if she didn't start taking the steps she never would. She feared that it would also keep Oksana from venturing out on her own as well. She couldn't do that to her daughter.

It was with that thought that Inna made the decision to go and quench the thirst that she'd had all morning. The river wasn't too far from the den, luckily far enough it hadn't been flooded. A quick trip there and back and hopefully in the meantime Oksana wouldn't wake. It would be a start for her and something that as she stood at the mouth of the den she knew was necessary. So she moved away slowly at first always looking back until she was far enough away that she picked up her pace. She quickly reached the river, the ground was still somewhat soggy especially with the morning rain but it seemed the river was holding. She lowered her head the water and quickly got her drink.

It was on her way back she heard her daughter's call for her pushing Inna to reach the den as fast as she could. “I'm here my love, there isn't anything to worry about,” she told her daughter as she licked her head before pulling her into an embrace. “What has you so upset Sana?” She asked her daughter as she pulled back to look at her child.

It was just as she had anticipated. She howled and her mother came running. The small dark pup felt a wave of relief wash over her as she spotted the larger ebony shape of her mother as she raced towards her. Oksana let out a loud bark, an attempt to warn @Inna of the sticky mud which had formed outside the entrance of the den as she approached, but her warning went ignored. The pup watched as her mother strode right through the area of moist soil without a moment of hesitation, the mud apparently not perceived as a threat by the more experienced adult.

A frown had worked its way onto her youthful features as her navy blue eyes remained fixed suspiciously upon the area of ground that had stained her tiny paws a deeper shade of brown and caused her to tumble over – but the comforting tones of her mother’s voice and the tender lick then placed upon her crown caused the pup’s expression to soften. Oksana nuzzled her face firmly into the thick soft fur of her mother as she was pulled into her embrace and her tiny nostrils flared as she inhaled her familiar earthy scent.

Comforted by her mother’s presence, Oksana wasted no time in trying to point out the danger that Inna had so carelessly trodden through. Stepping towards the entrance of the den, just as she had done before, the small dark pup moved hesitantly towards sodden area of soil which lingered just outside. Her muzzle stretch forwards, paws straining to remain on the dry earth at the mouth of the den, as she attempted to gently touch her nose to the mud. The posture made her unsteady however and her small body wobbled for a moment before she fell back onto her hind end with a squeak.

Glancing back around to her mother with a concerned look, Oksana then bravely reached out to touch her muddied forepaw to the wet dirt again before twisting around awkwardly on her rear to hold up the dirty paw to Inna, a whimper conveying her worry.

In the time that Oksana had been in the world Inna had hoped she'd made it clear to her daughter that her mother would always be there for her. She never wanted her child to feel alone in the world so when her daughter’s howl sounded through the trees of their home Inna was at her side as quickly as she could be. The loud bark that Oksana let out Inna thought was due to the fact her daughter was happy to see her. Inna did notice the frown as her ebony pup looked at the ground outside the den, perhaps there had been something there that had upset her daughter.

Thinking that was what it had to be she comforted her from whatever had upset her as she thought that was what was needed. Which she felt she was doing the right thing for Oksana as she felt her nuzzle into her fur. She held her for a long moment before she finally asked her what was upsetting her so. As her mother it was her job to make better whatever was worrying her child. Since she had yet to learn to speak Inna was patient with her to allow her the chance to convey what she was feeling.

She watched as her pup went back to the den entrance and stretch her dark little body toward an area on the ground. Inna stepped next to her daughter to inspect the ground looking for anything that might have offended the her daughter. As she inspected she heard a tiny thud and squeak before she quickly looked back at Oksana who was in her rump, “Oh, Sana. Are you okay?” She asked nudging her cheek. She was worried she might have been hurt, “Maybe we should see Lachesis or Lorcan have you checked out.”

However, her daughter was up once more this time reaching her paw out to touch the ground in front of the den. She then held her muddy paws up to Inna which the new mother then inspected for any injury as her pup whined. Finding nothing she could only assume it was the mud that was so upsetting to Oksana. Inna held up her own paw that was muddy, “It won't hurt you my love, just make you dirty. See…” she said before stepping into the muddy area that had captured her daughter's attention. She then picked her paws up and put them down a couple of times, “You try. It doesn't hurt to get a little dirty sometimes,” she said with a smile of reassurance.

The small pup hadn’t noticed the movement of her mother behind her, as she had been too focused on touching the muddy patch outside with the tip of her nose. However, as she wobbled back, unsteady limbs buckling beneath her, she was happy to find her mother standing right next to her. Her puppy blue eyes closed briefly, enjoying the gentle touch Inna offered to her cheek, before they opened again when she noticed the worry in her voice.

Oksana looked up to her mother, neck straining as she tried to catch a glimpse of the familiar face somewhere above her. Dark lips parted subtly as she wondered if her mother had finally come to notice the danger of the mud outside, but when she realised that the adult’s attention seemed to be focused entirely on her, she tried again – determined to make Inna understand.

A look of concern washed over her features as her mother came to realise what her antics were all about, watching as she too lifted her dirt covered paw to be inspected. Navy blue eyes flickered anxiously from her small paw to the much larger paw of her mother, worried by the mud which now coated both of them. Glancing up, she looked to Inna for comfort, hoping that she would act quickly to lick them both clean before something bad happened.

Inna did no such thing however and a look of blatant shock swept over the pups face as Oksana watched her mother deliberately place her paw into the mud a second time. Dark ears pressed back against her head and slender tail curled underneath her as she anxiously waited to see what happened next. To her horror, Inna slapped her paw down again, inadvertently causing small specks of mud to dot the pups face. Oksana looked up to her mother again, navy blue eyes wide in panic – but then @Inna smiled and instinctively the pup understood that to mean that all was okay.

Tilting her head curiously to one side, Oksana once again observed the mud outside the den, before she toddled over to stand between the protection of her mother’s large paws. With a final glance up to her mother for reassurance, Oksana did her best to copy the movements her mother had made and slapped a single forepaw down into the mud. Her action didn’t cause a spray of dirt like her mother’s had, but she looked up to the adult proudly all the same, a smile finally working its way across her charcoal lips.

Her daughter seemed so concerned with the ground outside the den, to Inna it was just a patch of mud. She'd played in it plenty of times before so couldn't see what was so concerning to her child. As always when her daughter fell back on her rump In a was there to comfort her and make sure she was okay but she did worry that perhaps a visit with Oksana's father or Lachesis would be in order. Of course what would Lorcan say when he found out Oksana had been hurt, Inna shook that thought out of her head, surely he knew puppies got themselves in all sorts of binds.

It was clear that a visit with one of the healers wasn't necessary as Oksana was up again trying her hardest to make Inna understand. The older Baranski watched her daughter closely doing everything she could to understand what her daughter was trying to tell her. She was starting to get frustrated with herself for not understanding what had the little ebony cub so upset. Then finally Oksana lifted her muddy paw for Inna to see and then finally the new mother understood. Hoping that seeing her own larger mud covered paw would help her daughter understand it wasn't anything to worry about and could sometimes be fun.

Now that Oksana had showed her what was wrong it came to Inna to make her feel better about it. The older Baranski felt the best way to do that was show her daughter the mud wouldn't hurt her. So that was what she set out to do buy placing her paw into the mud before looking to her daughter. The posture which her daughter took on pushed In a to further show her that the mud wasn't anything to be worried about. Putting her paw into the mud a few times more spraying them both with the brown substance before smiling down at Oksana.

She then waited for her daughter's reaction and what she would do next now that she felt she'd showed her cub it was safe. Oksana came to stand between her paws and Inna licked her muzzle for the reassurance she sought from her mother. Then she proceeded to mimic Inna’s motions of putting her paw into the mud, “That's my girl,” she told her with a smile, “It's called mud,” she finally told her daughter, “And it's much more fun when it's raining,” she added with a laugh as she remembered the last time she'd played in the rain. “Go on go have fun,” she told her daughter with a small nudge to her shoulder.

As little Oksana positioned herself between her mother’s paws for protection should anything go wrong, she strained her neck upwards to glance up to meet the deep orange eyes of her mother for reassurance. Her mother offered a comforting lick to her muzzle, which the small pup immediately returned with numerous tiny licks of appreciation and an excitedly wagging tail. Feeling more positive now, Oksana finally slapped a single forepaw bravely at the edge of the muddy patch, stumpy ears perking up at the strange sound the action made, before she smiled up proudly to her mother.

The smile spread across her mother’s lips reassured her that she had done a good job and this only fuelled her excitement and curiosity. Now that she understood mud not to be a problem, her initial fear of it was completely replaced with fascination. Her small ears perked up at the single word which her mother seemed to emphasise, the tone of it sounding different to other noises which seemed to spill softly from her lips. Navy blue eyes peered back down to the wet soil as the dark pup toddled forwards more confidently, her slender tail wagging all the while.

“Mmmm-” She tried to repeat, but only having heard the word once, she couldn’t quite get her mind around the rest of the sounds the adult had made. Content with the attempt she had made, she glanced back up to her mother for a moment, a mischievous grin spreading across her charcoal lips as she noticed her mother’s songbird laugh. Oksana loved that sound and it, along with the gentle nudge offered by @Inna, encouraged her to repeat the action which she had copied off of her mother before.

The dark pup lifted her forepaw again and slapped it down into the mud, more confidently now and repeated the action a number of times, each time hitting the dirt a little harder. A girlish giggle erupted from her and her small body wriggled with amusement before she decided to take things a step further and place all of her paws into the mud. Now standing at the very centre of the muddy patch, her front half lowered into a play bow and she barked a warning at the ground in preparation for what she had planned next. With all of her strength, Oksana jumped up and splashed in the mud with all four of her tiny paws, causing a small spray of dirt to erupt all around her.

High-pitched giggles filled the air and her small salmon pink tongue licked awkwardly at the mud which now stained more of her dark face before Oksana turned back around to face her mother and bowed down in an invitation for Inna to play.

With her daughter between her paws she gave her a lick to reassure her and encourage her that everything was okay. Her lick was returned by several tiny licks to her own muzzle bringing a smile to her maw. Then she watched as her daughter slapped her tiny paw against the mud as she had done before. In that moment she was proud of not only Oksana but herself for being able to understand what her daughter was telling her. It was these sorts of things she had worried about as she lay in the den with her cub tucked safely against her. She had more confidence that she would be a good mother to Oksana.

Her smile never left her features as she looked upon her daughter playing in the mud, though she felt most parents would frown upon it. Inna felt it was important that Oksana understand it was okay to get dirty. Of all the things she could be angry at the pup for this was most certainly not one of them. It to Inna was one of those small things in life her daughter needed to learn to enjoy when there were other more serious things that could happen. Inna explained to Oksana that what she was playing in was mud.

When the younger Baranski did her best to say the word Inna felt the pride for her daughter grow and a sense of relief that she was trying to talk. “That's right Sana you're doing so well,” she encouraged her daughter. When her daughter gave her a mischievous look Inna wasn't sure she liked that look, she knew what it meant. She laughed anyway not wanting g to spoil the Cubs fun. With a little more encouragement Oksana was at the mud copying her mother quite a few more times.

Inna watched her daughter as she played in the mud as she always watched her but this time was different. She was seeing her child learn about something for the first time in her life. Part of her wished Lorcan could be there to see his daughter but the other part of her wanted to keep this moment for herself. Her heart swelled and she fell even more in love with her daughter as the giggle sounded from Oksana. It seemed that the cub had finally found her enthusiasm for playing in the mud as she placed all four of her paws into the to soggy dirt and before Inna knew it she was presenting a play bow and barking before she started bouncing up and down in the mud getting herself and Inna dirty with the spray of mud.

Inna couldn't help but join in with her daughter giggles laughing as Oksana seemed to trying and lick the mud from her face. That was forgotten as the cub presented her mother with an invitation to play. Inna didn't hesitate to accept the invitation as she rose to stand before lowering her front end into a play bow of her own. Her tail waved high over her back as she then nudged her daughter gently before she jumped up and landed in the mud splashing them both.

Oksana felt overjoyed when her mother lowered herself to mirror her play bow and her slender puppy tail wagged excitedly behind her before she let out a challenging bark over the sound of her mother’s laughter. A playful growl rumbled in her small chest as Inna leant forwards to nudge her and the dark pup did her best to avoid the physical contact by leaping to one side. Steadying her wobbling legs, the pup squared her stance ready to playfully dive out of the way should her mother attempt to nudge her into the mud again.

However, her mother caught her by surprise when she jumped up, causing thick mud to splatter across them both. Navy blue eyes widened for a moment before clenching shut as the brown substance slapped her across her face and side, but the moment her lashes fluttered open, she was overcome with a fit of giggles.

Bouncing up and down, not caring anymore where the mud sprayed, Oksana charged forwards towards the larger dark shape of her mother. Stubby ears were perked forwards and her muzzle wrinkled mischievously as she waddled over at some speed before colliding into Inna’s right hind paw with a growl. Her mouth soon latched around her mother’s ankle before the dark pup then proceeded to try and drag her mother down into the mud. Of course, her efforts were futile, but that didn’t stop Oksana from trying.

When that didn’t work, the pup refocused her attention onto her mother’s swaying tail, another growl rumbling in her chest as she toddled over. Planting her rear end into the mud, Oksana crouched down to brace herself before she jumped up in an attempt to latch on to the bushy appendage. She failed of course, and promptly landed back on her rear before wobbling over straight back into the muddy puddle, covering her body completely in the sticky brown substance.

A concerned expressed pulled at her features as she glanced across apprehensively to Inna, only for a cheeky grin to tug at one corner of her mouth a moment later as the dark pup flashed an innocent look across to her mother.