Secret Woodlands Talkin' to myself at night because I can't forget

@Mirren

The boy was a rather bold one and his courage, determination, and confidence were growing every day. His jet black fur was freshly groomed down as he narrowed his eyes slightly. He was gonna try to sneak out earlier than when the others would awaken though he knew he'd only get a few minutes to play. Slowly he shifted, getting up while trying not to shake his mother and wake her in the process. A small grin as he slowly moved backwards to find his mother not stirring. He rushed towards the den entrance. He got out his special stick from a small crack and he started to pounce on it like it was some kind of prey. His vision and ears were improving daily and he was just overall a happy pup. It never occurred to him to try and see other pack wolves anymore.

His denim blue eyes would find their way to his target as he got up and went for another attack on the stick. He wanted to be a fierce warrior who could take down any wolf that stood in his path. He wanted to be a heroic wolf who protected his pack who protected him in his puphood like at the current time. He had a wicked grin on his muzzle as he continued to attack the stick which he imagined as a wolf threatening the pups of the pack. No, better yet, a badger. "Yhhhou ehhvill bbaaggdddgger!" He exclaimed as he went in for another attack. After his last attack he yawned slightly. It was amazing how fast the pup could go from full energy to no energy. He should be heading back to see his mother but he felt like he could spend a few more minutes in the face of the rising sun. He loved the sunrise feeling even if he couldn't see it.

He'd woken early.

It wasn't so out of the ordinary now─it seemed like the older he got, the less sleep there was to be had. In addition, there was so much to do. Much of Nina's time was preoccupied by the children and to lessen the load she carried on her shoulders, Mirren had taken to patrolling and marking the borders on a daily basis, first thing in the morning or after breakfast. As much as he disliked peeling himself away from his mate in the wee hours of the morning, he took his duties more seriously then was actually necessary. This morning was no different, and it was with a quiet sigh and a long stretch that the dark-featured Tainn left his girl and their quaint den behind, venturing into what was left of the night's fading darkness.

The sound of his large paws in the dew-dampened earth was quiet, save for the swishing of the grasses as they brushed past his creamy legs. Sleep was still present in his teardrop-shaped, golden eyes as they peered through the shadows. In the distance, the sky began to lighten and the navy shades of the evening were elegantly fading into violet. It was beautiful, really─watching the sun rise over the mountains. Some days, it reminded him of the view from creek where a vast majority of his best memories were made. A half-sided grin pulled a side of his lips as he stood beneath the canopy of the forest, stretching his neck to catch a long glimpse of the horizon.

Before Mirren could venture too far from the heart of the Woodlands, a most devious and familiar sound broke over the otherwise peaceful landscape─a kid. It was amazing how fast they were growing, and although their eyes still held the icy blue hue of their birth, with each passing day there was more personality behind them. He was unsure which one it was out of the den at such an hour, and there was only one way to find out, and he didn't have to go very far.

"Yhhhou ehhvill bbaaggdddgger!" The Tainn emerged onto the scene, slipping through the trunks of the trees quietly enough not to disturb the boy. Yet.

His watchful gaze cast over the sable prince as he attacked his fierce foe, a knobby stick that by now was crunched to hell and slobbery with puppy-breath-drool. The battle seemed to have taken a toll on Pacem, who yawned either from sleepiness or boredom. A mischievous expression wrapped itself across Mirren's face as he made his grand entrance: stumbling and tripping and flopping exaggeratedly with a plop on the grass before the young prince, where he proceeded to play dead in child's play fashion. "Mama badger got me, kid...I-I'm a-a-a-a...g-gggoner!" A theatrical hiss escaped his lungs as he breathed his last breath before laying belly-up, statue-still...He opened a single eye to peek at the boy before squeezing it tightly shut.

Pacem had not noticed Mirren by sound, scent, or appearance until the boy came tripping out in a playful way as he exclaimed that the mother badger had gotten him. I've only taken on baby badgers though! He piped to himself as he looked at the adult who was obviously just playing with him. Mirren didn't look like he'd been attacked by a mama badger but the boy would play along either way. "Oh noessssss!" He called out in a fake horror as he looked to a slightly larger stick on the outside of the den that he'd passed up as he had been fine with the baby badger stick. He leapt at it with a growl as he tore at it fiercely. "DIHHHH EVVVVIHHHHLLL MAHMAHH BAJJJJER!!"

When he finally saw himself as slaying the mighty foe he trotted back over to the boy with a smile on his muzzle and a soft look in his denim blue eyes. "Arrhhhe yohhhu alrihhht wohhhllff?" He asked in a rather slurred voice with a curiosity peak in his mind. Why was this wolf playing along with what he was pretending to fight? How did this wolf even know what the boy had been fighting? There were all questions that started to fill him up. It didn't matter for perhaps the man just wanted to play. His front paws lifted up, so he was propped in a half standing up-ish looking way, and his paws went on the man's side as he looked at him curiously.