Whitestone Monadnock we better keep on keeping it lit

Kara is approx. 3 weeks old at the time of this thread.
@Craw also open if Odin or Morg wanna pop in :)
Light drizzle, 44F/7C, 5pm

The sun would have been well past its highest point if it was visible through the thick cloud cover but as it was it had been drizzling all day. Kára was beyond bored of staring out at the grey landscape and the novelty of the allowed play space in front of the den had worn off. At first it had been so new and exciting and the pup couldn't have imagined anything better than being able to play in the sunshine with her brother. Now though the sun had been hiding all day and she had already explored every nook and cranny their allotted area had to offer.

Even during her afternoon nap that day she had dreamed of running well past their small clearing and out over the rocky terrain. Her paws had twitched in her slumber as images of playing tag and hide and seek with @Odin floated through her head. Where hiding spots would be endless instead of the limited ones they had quickly memorized cutting that particular game short. Anytime they tried to play tag they would wander too far and would be ushered back by one of the adults. It was torture as far as she was concerned being able to see everything else their home was but not being able to get there.

So this evening she had slipped out of the den as silently as possible, holding in her excited giggling until she was a foot or so from the opening. Glancing over her shoulder Kára leaped forward with glee, flouncing past their silent marker and onward. She had no mal-intentions but being the pup that she was had no idea that this exploration could put herself in danger, or her brother if he followed, all she knew was that she was bored.

Casual mentions of @Capable and @Celandine to imply they've spent time together prior to this thread, let me know if that's a problem <3

While the pair were young enough, there had been no real need for anyone to watch the den if Morganna was nearby. She was perfectly vigilant and able to keep control of two newborns, only requiring another pair of eyes if she wished to escape for any period of time. As Kára and Odin grew, though, so did their curiosity, and certainly the little copper child was eager to push boundaries as soon as she discovered there were any to test. Aware that the three of them had been resting in the den, Craw had not been concerned by spending the midday exploring around the base of the monadnock with the pack's other two women. He had wanted to know where, exactly, they had found and killed those coyotes the night they had arrived here, so that he would be better prepared to deal with them in case those particular vermin were not the only ones which had once called this place home.

On strolling back up the increasingly familiar trail back up to the large flat face of their territory, Craw made for the line of white boulders which signalled Morganna's den, instinctively wanting to check in before going about his afternoon. It was probably a good thing that he did; though his eyes sought out the line of rocks which indicated her den, the sight of a small red shape caught his attention as it dashed off across the flat.

With no sign of Morganna outside of the den, he assumed that this was a breach of rules rather than a sanctioned play, and wondered if this meant that Odin had already vanished or was still to be sleeping soundly with his mother. "Kára," he called as he came to a standstill, enough sternness in his rough tone to demand acknowledgement. He wouldn't chase after her unless necessary - that gave off the wrong message. She would come to him.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

 

The girl had been sure that she was home free. Her muzzle had just pushed past the first few blades of dried grass when a sudden stern tone called out for her. Unaware that she had even had a spectator Kára skidded to a halt, turning in surprise. The white of her puppy blue eyes had at first been visible but when the scarred male came into her view they returned to normal. Tail wagged behind her enthusiastically and the pup practically bounced in place as she called out, "Cer!" She was too young to be able to pronounce his full name but she seemed happy with her attempt as she beamed up at him.

It was her mother who was always the one to scold her when she had gotten too far, this was the first time she had been caught by anyone else. To be honest she did not fully realize that she would be trouble with Craw as she thought as long as she fooled her mother things were fine.  Instead of approaching him as she should have with guilt instead her tail flew behind her carelessly and her tongue dangled out the side of her smile. Perhaps Craw wanted to come adventure with her!

 

Well... she did come to him. At the sound of her name, the child had turned, wide-eyed and perhaps surprised at being caught, but any guilt or disappointment which might have followed never came. Instead her face flushed with happiness and pleasure at the sight of him, which took Craw momentarily off-guard - not only that she was so shameless, but that he caused such simple joy.

It softened his edges. She bounced towards him with an enthusiastic attempt at his name, and clearly either did not know she'd been naughty or that he might be inclined to scold her. Craw stepped forward to meet her, lowering his head so that he could bop her with the bridge of his muzzle. If she had so much pent-up energy that she just had to try and escape, then perhaps it would be best to expend some of it. With a low, playful growl in his throat, he made to roll her over with his muzzle and provoke her into some mismatched wrestling, her versus his nose. Her exuberance was catching, and she had answered his call willingly and enthusiastically, so there was hardly a need for scolding.

 

Kára was completely oblivious to Craw's momentary floundering at her excitement, like most pups she was too wrapped up in her own emotions to notice other's. Instead she skipped towards him, tongue lolling comically out the side of her maw until she reached him and lapped at her own nose. The pup turned her kisses onto his much larger muzzle when her reached down to bop her. Slobbery as they may be there was no doubting the adoration the child felt for the man and most of the pack really. Kára's environment was stable and caring, each member tending to her mother's needs and in turn her own. This was quickly building her foundation of trust and would eventually build her into a happy albeit mischievous adolescent.

His growl was met with one of her own, something she had just recently learned to do and would do with any allowing circumstance. Suddenly she was flopped over in the dirt. Kára had been distracted with glee by her own growl and hadn't seen the nose attack coming. Suddenly she was on her paws again growling playfully, sprinting forward she closed her eyes and tipped her forehead downwards. If all went well then she could head butt this nose foe and the girl had to hold back a giggle at the thought. Cer was silly!

 

She was gonna grow up to be ferocious, he could tell. Not for the first time, he wondered where the vibrant colour in her pelt had come from, but it was nothing more than an idle curiosity - who knew how many donors Morganna had gathered to create these two? For all Craw knew of how genetics worked, perhaps they had really did have multiple fathers' blood running through their own. Would that make a wolf stronger, he wondered?

The edges of Morganna's coat shone with copper in the sunlight, her pelt a warm kind of darkness. He could see her influence in Kara perfectly well. As the girl charged back, determined to retaliate against his most unfair behaviour, Craw lowered his head so that it would be within perfect striking range of the little avenging child. He held his head vertically so that his nose pointed straight down, ready to receive her attack on the scarred bridge of his muzzle. Her head clonked against the bone audibly, and once more he struck, twisting his nose around and over her to push the girl onto her back, wriggling his nose into her belly to tickle and provoke, expecting kicking feet and milk teeth.

 

Oh this was going so well. Her charge was perfect and as she peaked from beneath her fiery lids she saw his nose right before her and she clenched her eyes shut once more. Just in time for the - THUD. She hit his muzzle hard enough that for a moment Kára saw stars swimming around her and she stumbled back a few steps. Yelping in surprise that her attack hadn't hurt only him but also herself the girl chewed her lip for a second pondering this. It didn't hurt really when she head butted Odin so why did it hurt when she head butted Cer? Was it because he was a big?

Kára didn't have long to think about that predicament however because almost as soon as she began wondering the nose foe was back. Knocking gently into her side but firm enough to send her toppling into the dirt she tried to lunge back at but suddenly she felt strange. It was like a thousand ants crawled all over her and she tingled excitedly, shrieking in giggles until she could hardly breathe. Tiny paws flew about without warning or care as her laughter resounded around them every once and a while colliding with the big. When her sides began to ache from laughter she wheezed, "Cer no! No Cer!" Her voice was alight with amusement, how had he done that?

 

Few things in life were as genuinely innocent and pure as a very young child, and though Craw was very much past that stage himself - indeed, he had barely had the opportunity to experience it, thrust into a hard world of lofty expectations almost immediately - he could relish it as a third party. The sound of her carefree, gleeful shrieks only encouraged him, her unrestrained screaming laughter doubling down on his merciless assault. It was a most one-sided attack, the girl helpless under his assault, but then her laughter faltered and breathing became more desperate and she cried out.

The tickling stopped instantly; nose pressed into her belly, he heard her laboured breaths, saw the delight on her face. With a smile of his own brought his nose up from her bellybutton to her head, dragging his tongue along the way with a wet slurp as it came off the underside of her chin and back into his mouth.

Lowering his nose back within reach of her, in case she wanted to wrestle with it some more, he rumbled softly: "Were you exploring?"

Sorry this took forever! Fell free to archive after your post and pp Kara going to nap again

 

Her laughter only seemed to intensify the tickling which in turn brought out more laughter. This of course was bad news once her sides cramped up but thankfully Cer was quick to stop his tickle attack as soon as she cried out. It took her a moment or two to get her breath back as her body was still wracked with the occasional giggle that Kára just could not hold back. Eventually though she was able to breathe more soundly, just in time to be on the receiving end of a long slurping kiss.

This was met with even more giggles as the pup scrambled to her feet. Dolling out what she had been given ten-fold the Archer pup set to work at licking every inch of the big that she could manage. His nose close to her face and a little bit higher up where she could reach by jumping and his paws and ankles. Even his tail got a few solid kissed.

His question earned him a full-faced beaming smile that practically split Kára's face open as the red tail beat against the air behind her. Hopping in place with excitement once more she managed to yip, "Yes yes yes!"  But with her final jump before she could leap in the air again a yawn overtook her, causing her puppy blue eyes to water slightly at the edges. All of a sudden she was so tired!