Heartleaf Creek see you very soon

Her lips twitched up into more of a sly grin at Viorel's words, knowing that offering the children a chance to do something that were not normally allowed to do, and making it seem like it was a menial task, would be just the thing to get them all excited. It definitely was when she was just a pup herself. She met his glance briefly, "This is a rare chance to see all the boring adult stuff we get up to every day." Her words had a slight teasing tone, knowing that to the pups, anything the adults did that they themselves could not was inherently interesting simply for the fact that it was something only the adults could do.

Clover let the others go ahead, taking a couple moments to glance over her shoulder and check if any of the other children were still going to arrive. While Violet was not as rambunctious as the rest of the lot, Clover knew her daughter still liked to be included, and was a little surprised that neither her nor Oleander had shown up, but perhaps they were asleep or otherwise caught up in affairs that were much more interesting than a family meeting. Even Vanadis had not shown up, but it was likely she was busy tending to other chores. Finally, Clover began to follow after Viorel and the children, happily taking up the rear to ensure none of them got up to anything too rowdy while they were out over the border.

Final round! This will be archived on the 31st (or before if all posts are in early)

Viorel was getting to retort that maybe his son should be scared of him, when all of the others arrived and the thought slipped from his mind. Archer still seemed standoffish from his sister, but it pleased the father greatly to see that Eros was more accepting, both of Margo and also Clover. Grinning from ear to ear he nodded, ”For real!” The other two had nothing to say except for long drawn out cools, and then Clover was teasing them as well. Winking at her, the same charm as the first day they met, the whole blended family was off.

The father first, Archer, then Margo, then Eros, and finally Clover taking up the rear to make sure there were no stragglers. And, suddenly, a fish falling from the sky with the screech of a displeased eagle above them. Chuckling, he launched into their lesson, ”As you can see, anything can happen when you’re out past the borders, so it’s important to always stay on your toes and be alert.” He knew that his children had mixed feelings about fish, and so he chose to leave it behind and keep walking, they had more to see.

For the father, they were not far from the borders at all, and there was nothing out of the ordinary, but he was well aware this was all new to the kids. Tail swishing loosely behind him he continued, ”The adults cross the borders for a bunch of different reasons, they could be hunting, or following the nearby herds. Scouting out potential predators, meeting with other packs, you moms both look for herbs for medicine, sometimes just for fun.” And, in the case of Vanadis and Viorel, sometimes to sneak off and blow off some steam for a while.

Taking on a more serious tone, he continued, ”But, there are dangers out here, for you kids, but also for wolves who are grown up too. So, until you’ve grown bigger you are absolutely not allowed to leave the borders unless you have an adult with you.” Glancing over his shoulder, Viorel made sure to grin encouragingly, knowing that some of his children are a little more timid, ”Any questions?”

The other children were not long behind Archer's enthusiasm, both of them professing how cool the trip was going to be. Archer grinned at h is brother over his shoulder, and even offered a smile to the Sobber, if only try to be at least a little nice. The other mama took up the rear, and then Archer was turning his attention back to the path in front of him.

The fish dropping from the sky took him by surprise and he skittered sideways into his Da's paws. Archer quickly bounced back to his place, not wanting to trip of Da and definitely not wanting to appear scared. He was just startled really, and he nodded along with Da's instructions. He glanced up at the eagle soaring above with a small shudder. He'd learned to pay attention to his surroundings to avoid Eros's scare tactics; now he needed to add the sky to that. He didn't like the thought of being scooped up by some flying monster.

But Da was moving on, taking them even further beyond Home's borders. It smelled different out here; there was no family smell to wrap around him like there was at the Backwater. He wrinkled his nose; it was funny. He bounded forward again, so he was ahead of Da, so he could smell the air without the others' scent there to influence it.

He liked the smell of Home, but this smelled... nice.

Archer swiveled his ears back to hear Da's explanation on why the adults might leave. He hadn't realized they ventured out quite so much! He looked around him with wide eyes. There was so much to do!

Da's warning rang in his ears and bounced around Archer's brain. There were things that could hurt Ma and Da? Archer found that hard to believe. But he would heed Da's order - for now. "How long?" he asked. "I'm tough! he glanced back at his brother and half-sister, though didn't voice that he thought they might not be as ready as he was to explore beyond Home alone.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Margo's eyes slightly widened at the falling sky fish as they began their venture into the great unknown.  She hadn't heard or seen the eagle, being too caught up in all the excitement to focus on what might be going on up in the air, though she had heard what her father had said afterward.  Anything could happen out here.  Anything.  Even fish rain.  The young girl made a well established mental note of that.  After a moment staring at the fish with her maw agape, the Valle tried to sneak a glance around to see how everyone else was fairing with the news of strange weather outside their home area.  When she noticed that seemingly nobody else was reacting the same way she had, she did her best to compose herself and continued on with the lot of them.

"Horbs"  Marguerite repeated the word with a soft smile.  She wanted to be like momma one day in that regard.  She wanted to collect funny plants that made everyone feel better too.  That smile faded slightly as papa continued on with his lecture.  Seems it would be a while before she'd be able to do that.  Margo supposed she could always ask mama to take her out and help her identify fabulous flora, but the girl didn't want to bother mama if she didn't have to.  She listened in anticipation as her brother asked how long it was going to take for them to be able to come out here alone.   She might not have been tough enough, or even smart enough, but she liked to think that she was kind enough.  Nothing was going to hurt her, because she'd just make sure she made friends with them fast enough that they wouldn't want to.  She'd even been practicing her technique ever since that scale worm bit her nose a couple days back.

Boring? Eros peered sideways at Mama Clo, only just starting to pick up on things like sarcasm. He had a feeling she was joking. She had to be, because if adult life was boring then... then why grow up at all?! The question weighed heavily on his mind as he bustled after his siblings, continuously glancing over his shoulder along the way in order to ensure that Clover was still with them.

He hadn't seen the stink meat fall. Eros just heard a thwak that was very much out of place, jumping as though someone had barked right in his ear. Feeding off the others' surprise as well, he eyed the fish with much suspicion and distaste. Where the fluff had that come from?

Viorel didn't explain, instead warning his children: anything can happen outside of the pack's protection. Good to know, Eros thought to himself. No wonder the adults were so insistent on them staying nearby. Could... could fish kill you? How big did they get anyway? Did they have fangs like he did? So many questions, but they were moving and Da' was still talking. Eros caught up to his sister, and siddled up against her side while keeping an even closer eye on Clover behind them.

Whatever came their way, he'd fight it tooth and claw like him and Aunt Mo' had that dumb bird.

Any questions? he heard Father ask, and piped up right after his brother did.

"Are fish every wheres?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 31, 2021, 06:35 AM by Eros.)

Having been in the rear Clover had not noticed the eagle above until it screeched, and she watched with an amused expression as the bird dropped a fish, startling the pups each in their own ways; Archer dashed sideways momentarily into Viorel's paws, Margo simply stared silently at the fish, and Eros jumped into the air. The fish was long dead, and it lay unmoving on the ground as the group moved onwards, even further away from the borders. She considered grabbing the fish, but figured that the eagle would like its meal back, and maybe she would find some herbs to bring back and would need use of her mouth to carry it.

Clover stayed silent as Viorel began his explanation of what the adults got up to beyond the borders, feeling that this was his moment to teach the children about the world. She would chip in if there was something specific that she could teach, but for now she would simply act as a mostly silent companion, offering encouragement should any of the pups need it. A soft chuckle left her maw at Archer's question, knowing that he would likely be itching to go exploring for the next months to come. There would come a day when they would be old enough to go out on their own, and it would be a bittersweet moment, but until then she could only imagine the difficulty they as parents would have in keeping any of the children from wandering too far.

How long? The father did not really know, and after a quick glance back at the silent Clover, he stumbled across an answer. Looking back towards Archer he grinned, ”Well, once you’re as tall as I am and can hunt for yourself, then you can go out alone.” Viorel had no idea when that would be, but it seemed like a fair enough assumption so his son would be able to protect himself. Margo had stumbled into his paws, but seemed content enough that they might find herbs out here.

Allowing his family to walk past him, Viorel took the rear, ”fish are usually only in the water, but we aren’t the only ones who eat them, so sometimes you might find other animals have brought them to weird places.” He himself had once seen a fish head high up in a tree, certainly far from where you might expect to see it. Nudging Clover’s shoulder he leaned into Margo’s interest, rewarding her for speaking up which was something she didn’t always do. ”Maybe Clover can show us her favourite place to find herbs, she knows better than I do.” He really had had no official plan anyways, at least this would be a lesson.

Walking the last of the line, Viorel couldn’t help but smile as they trucked along, what a strange little family they were.

FADE