Hearthwood River All Sail

Anyone welcome - though maybe @Kjors and/or @Atropos

- JUNE 7 - Mid-morning, Light rain

drip-drop, drip-drop. The sound called the pale pup out of his dreams, blurry eyes fluttering open to gaze around the den. The snuck space was dim, blurred shapes outlined faintly around him, all three so familiar. As usual he'd snuggled down between his sisters, acting as a barrier to take the blunt of the kicking and biting. He didn't really mind, in fact he found it kind of cozy, it had become his usual and he doubted he'd even be able to sleep if it stopped. Right now, his smaller sister was surprisingly quiet though, sleeping soundly against his back. Everyone else seemed to be asleep too, undisturbed by the continuous dripping outside. The sound made his floppy ears twitch, preventing any further attempts at sleep, and stirring his curiosity. As quietly as he could, the pale boy wiggled himself free of his family, turning his small nose towards the den entrance, where grey-green light filtered in. Though his legs were still wobbly and his eyes hazy, Kyrios wasted no time in making his way towards the strange light, gazing out into the clearing where their new den had been dug. He couldn't see the rain, only hear the ever persistent drip-drop. He growled lowly in frustration, challenging the strange noise to show itself, ready to defend his sisters. Nothing happened though, and the young boy tentatively stepped out, one shaky step at a time. The first raindrop hit his back like a tiny prickle, making him jump in surprise, a bark escaping his tiny maw. One more found his nose, again causing him to jolt, shaking his head wildly. He was being attacked by an invisible enemy! Word count: 278 ”Speech”

CaptDanger @DA & vw1956stock @DA

(This post was last modified: Jun 10, 2016, 11:36 AM by Kyrios.)

The absence of heat and kickable siblings eventually pulled Atropos from her sleep, an unwelcome feeling of solitude. While the dreams of affectionately climbing on and tackling her family members faded away, her blue eyes creaked open to see the empty space around her. There was a particular heuristic white brother missing from this pile. Her tiny brow frowned at his absence, taking her heat and comfort with him. She lifted her head gingerly, blinking the fatigue away easily, as it was clear from the den’s light that they had slept long into the morning. Propping herself up on her forelegs into a lazy sit, she looked around the new den, eying Bennet’s dark fur against a silver blanket. A yawn escaped her tiny maw accompanied with a soft squeal, standing to move away from her family to shake her ears out, stumbling as she did so. A surprised bark that she knew to be her brother’s caught her attention and she whipped her features to face the opening of the den. What was he doing out there?
 
Realizing that this was the new territory that they had only begun seeing from time to time, she wondered if she should bother to wake the others. When she glanced back, they were still sleeping and so she allowed herself the quick excitement of exploring alone. She trotted clumsily to the opening of the den, slowing as she got closer. Before leaving the safety of the den’s roof, she spotted Kyrios dancing wildly to avoid his hidden attacker and whined for his attention. Her maw opened in a smile at her brother’s silly movements, but when she moved to join him in the grey morning, a drop from the above foliage planted itself right on the top of her tiny snout. This caused her to emit a mix of a yelp-bark in surprise, much like the one she had made to investigate, reversing quickly back into the cover of the den. Her pale face gazed impossibly upwards to see if she could find the origin of their investigation, but could not identify anything. She emitted a soft, confused whine, understanding her brother’s battle now. She gladly stayed at the mouth of the den, just far in enough to avoid any further assault like her brother’s.

A prick at his hip, he turned to snap at the attack, then another hit his head and he jerked it upward, looking desperately fir any sign of the enemy. But there was nothing, more tickling touches continued to hit him all over, but there was nothing to see, no one to turn his righteous anger at. The soft call from the den made him spin around, jaws parting to warn his sister, but too late. Clearly hit by the same foe, Atty jumped back, yelping, and Ky's ears flattened back, teeth clenching in a silent snarl. It was one thing for this ghost-beast to attack him, but even touching his sister… And what about Beany, and Moma? No way, not on his watch! With an angry bark, the pale boy spun again, backing towards the den entrance as he postured at the empty air, challenging the invisible intruder with his best threat display. Still there was nothing, no sign of any danger, anything that could cause them harm. And as he slipped all the way into the shelter of the bush-roots above, next to his sister, the prickling stopped as well. His anger bleached into confusion and he tilted his head, making a questioning sound as he looked over at his twin. He still felt threatened, something was challenging him, keeping him from the world, and his sisters with him. His ears tentatively perked as he looked back out into the gray-lit world, still cloudy eyes wide as he tried desperately to understand; What was this? Nervously, he started opening and closing his mouth, clicking his teeth together as an outlet, while he tried his hardest to wrap his head around this new thing in his ever expanding universe. Word count: 290 ”Speech”

CaptDanger @DA & vw1956stock @DA

Atropos watched her brother get increasingly more agitated as the invisible assaults continued. What the heck was going on? While she stayed comfortably inside the safety of the den's roof, her brother fearlessly defended her and their bode. As he finally began coming towards the den, her tail wagged anxiously. She rushed him as he joined her in safety and she arched her nose over her back to check him over, like their mother did every time she stopped them from having fun. It was the thing to do when you were worried, she assumed. He seemed unharmed, other than his sour mood. Good then.

What did surprise her is when her snout came back wet. Wet? She sniffed her brother, but was unable to make sense of any smell or indication that may have been being given at the time. Instead, she also looked outside again. She dared to know more and leaned her nose outside the den just a tad, gazing ever upwards to the expansive and sockdolager grey sky. When the expected assault came to her nose once more, the pale Stark jumped back with a grunt and went cross-eyed trying to see her nose. Her tiny tongue left her mouth as she tried to taste the wetness that was around her muzzle. Water!?

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

As his sister checked over his back, the boy returned the gesture by gently pressing his head against her chest, sniffing her to make sure she was unharmed as well. She seemed to be fine, and he whined in a mix of relief and confusion, looking up at her. They were both curious and adventurous creatures, itching to get to the bottom of this new mystery, but Kyrios, at the same time, was consumed by his protective sense, his need to keep his sisters safe beyond all else. This was why, when Atropos leaned forwards he growled a worried warning, watching her with anxiously widened eyes as she gazed upwards. He tried to be ready, tightening all his muscles so he could spring at the foe as soon it attacked, even if it was invisible. The pale girl jumped back, and her equally pale brother lunged forwards, snapping at the open air, without hitting anything. As he could have expected. Quickly he turned his attention back, biting a lip in worry as he looked at his sister, searching for wounds or any other sign of hurt. Salmon tongue went to her nose, and he reached to touch it with his own, happy to see no blood. Instead he saw her face light up, and made a questioning sound, almost unconsciously shaking his shoulders, he was wet. A drop of water that had loosened from the fur atop his head made its way down his face, trailing the length of his muzzle as he looked at his twin, so focused on her discovery that he was missing his own. Word count: 268 ”Speech”

CaptDanger @DA & vw1956stock @DA

The young Stark took for granted her brother's protective nature. It went unnoticed, mostly since it did not dawn on her that he could be any different than he was anyway. Certainly it might bother her in the future when independence was of important to her, but for now, it was just Kyri and that was the only way Kyris did things. He was certainly not impressed by her gall in figuring out their mystery. But her baby hunch and curiosity could not be quelled! She ignored his warning growls, and allowed him to check her over as many times as he needed to, but her discovery was imminent. While she knew what the taste of water was, she didn't fully understand exactly what she had figured out. There was water on her nose.. but how..

Her brother's nose bumped hers worriedly, and she turned to him with a new sense of urgency. She sniffed his muzzle and found her own surprise! More water! She licked his snout a number of times just to ensure it was indeed what she thought. It was water! Without warning, she darted out of the den and into the spitting rain towards the glistening plants. She knew this would likely elicit a response from her brother, but she had bigger things to worry about! She bustled into the lush, green plants outside their den. Atropos was immediately thrilled to find water spraying all over her as she knocked into the leaves. It fell on her nose and her back, as well as from the sky. "W-water, Kyri!" She exclaimed, turning around to face her brother, whom she expected to be nearby, as always. Her tail wagged fervently, and she had a big grin on her face. Her now soaked muzzle was soaked, giving her snout a spiky and darkened look to it, and while the coolness from her entire pelt gave her a slight chill, her excitement was dulling it enough not to be bothered.