White Fir Notch Push My Clouds Away

Private for @Hawthorne Time for some friendly bonding.
Cloudy with rain showers. Noon.

Reach for the stars

From a cloudy gray sky, rain cascaded down. Each water droplet moistened the earth and the leaves of trees and bushes alike. The rain was a steady beat, neither torrential nor a sprinkling of water. Considering it was the middle of summer, this passing shower was most welcomed. Jynx found it to be refreshing...a cooling relief from the every day heat of the season. She would not be found holed up in her den, or sheltered by one of the many fir trees. Instead, she was enjoying herself. Content to let the cooling water soak through her fur, chilling her skin pleasantly.

With her pups older now and able to be left alone for only short periods of time, she had slowly begun resuming her normal routine. Straying from the den, weaving through the territory and checking up on each of her subordinates. Borders she attended to as well, but with Emrys on hand, the task was easily split between the two leaders. With prey plentiful at this time of year, and the pups developing a taste for meat, she was getting back in the routine of her usual solitary hunting trips. She went after small game, such as rabbits, mice, voles and the occasional fish. Each successful hunt was followed by her immediate return to the den with the catch gripped in her jaws, accompanied with encouraging words for her children. Winter had been hard on the pack, and there was no telling if the next one would be any different. She wanted them to grow up strong.

Just because Jynx had two pups of her own to look after, didn't mean that the jet black female belonging to Sylva, was overlooked. At first, she had been skeptical of how the lowest ranking member of the pack would fare, raising a child. Given her track record, Jynx had more than enough reason to question Sylva's credibility. Though still very much distrusting of the healer, she did not avoid her completely. In fact, she checked in on the mother daughter duo when time allowed for it. Her air around Sylva was still stern, but by no means cold. It would be some time before Hawthorne would be ready to understand why her own mother was at the bottom of the pecking order. Now that Eylan and Arwyn were older, she could afford to seek out the Riverflow pup for some catching up on their relationship. Having already passed by the den today, and seen no one home, Jynx assumed that they were out playing or exploring. 

Contently, the russet tinted agouti laid amidst the dampened grass, just inches from the bank of the stream that cut through their territory. Her black tipped tail flicked lazily, slowly back and forth, while her summer coat had taken on a slightly disheveled look from the rain. Clearly enjoying herself and the refreshing weather, her eyes were set on the current of the water before her. Searching...watching intently for any signs of migrating fish. She was not in hunting mode; simply watchful, and her thoughts and concerns of the past and future, were laid aside for the moment.

Hawthorne had spent the morning romping and learning with her mother before they headed back towards the main area. Of course, if mama wanted to rest or eat the younger Riverflow didn't have much interest in it. She took bounding off towards the water for a bit more play time. Perhaps she could have gone to drag Elyan and Arwyn out to play with her some. Elyan was a pretty cool kid in her mind and Arwyn wasn't too bad either but Hawthorne was definitely still trying to figure out her feelings for the pale girl. At least the pale girl's brother, Elyan, had stuck up for her when the birds had been running wild and rampant.

As she neared the water he tail swung behind her wildly. Although it wasn't the brightest day and a bit of rain had been evident a swim still sounded nice. Or even just splashing about. The idea of going to find a nice muddy puddle had crossed the Notch child's mind but she figured she'd make it easy on mama and play in the clean water.

In her puppy eagerness to play, she didn't notice the tawny form of Jynx resting a few yards away. Hawthorne went straight for what she had been hoping for this whole time. The water. She really didn't go into the deeper parts of the stream because they didn't quite catch her fancy yet. She like the shore where the mud could squish between her toes and dirty her paws. So that's just what she aimed to do as she leaned forward in order to push into the soft mud of the riverbank. Hawthorne couldn't hold back a loud giggle as she felt the mud doing its job. She'd be able to wash herself off and no body would ever know about her muddy play time. Well, nobody but Jynx, who she still hadn't noticed just yet.

 

She was so relaxed, so lost in her own little world, that she did not hear the footsteps of someone else moving into the vicinity. Only when she heard the squish of paws in the mud and an accompanying childish giggle, did her head turn. Met with the dark form of Hawthorne, she let her eyes rest on the child who was so delighted by getting dirty. With an amused chuckle of her own, Jynx couldn't exactly blame her. The mud was cool to the touch, squishy beneath the toes and it went everywhere. Besides, kids were kids, and there was no harm in getting filthy. Nothing a decent bath wouldn't fix afterwards, of course. 

With a soft shake of her fur as she rose to her paws, she approached the muddy bank where Hawthorne played. She seemed unaware that someone was now watching her, and Jynx wondered how long it would be until she noticed. Just feet away, she hovered quietly, her expression observant yet soft. She wondered how the child's own mother, Sylva, would react to seeing her own daughter dirty like this. But as she recalled, Sylva was fond of the water in her own peculiar way, so it was no surprise that her own offspring was here, so close to the stream. She wondered if Hawthorne would develop the same love for water as her mother had.

Deciding she had waited long enough, she stepped closer. Allowing the mud to squish deliberately under her paws, alerting the pup that she had company. With an easy flick of her tail she breezed past the child, stepping into the first few inches of the water, which slowly washed away the dirt from her paws. She didn't mind this rainy day, and the dark pup didn't seem to either. "Hey there kiddo. Out enjoying the weather too, huh?" 

Summer will end soon enough,
and childhood as well.

Hawthorne Riverflow

The Riverflow stopped her squishing when she heard a louder muddy squish. Her head lifted and her wide smile fell into a shy smile as the tawny form of Jynx approached her. Hawthorne's tail submissively wagged between her tails as the female lead walked into the water.While Hawthorne enjoyed the water, she was here to make a muddy mess.

Her head nodded softly at Jynx's questions, her features gently warming at the little nickname of kiddo. "Yeah." She sheepishly answered. Hawthorne hadn't interacted much with the female and while she knew she was generally nice (being Elyan and Arwyn's mom and all) she was still a bit startled by the presence of an adult. "Ya gonna tell my mom?" Oversized ears pressed back against her darkening head. How would her mother feel if Jynx told her that she had been making a mess at the stream? Would she be a little upset? Was Jynx upset? She didn't seem like it but sometimes adults were so hard to understand with their big fancy words and always changing tones.

Looking back down at her muddied paws she took a few steps towards the tawny female. Now in the water, the mud seemed to run off and head down stream. That was a rather easy clean up and interesting concept. Still wasn't as fun as making a mess in the muddy banks, though.