Hearthwood River all these things will come to you in time

@Matheo for some sibling time <3 Mild pp of Matty, here.

Ris had learned to strongly prefer the outside world ever since her first expedition from the den several days prior. She loved everything about the light world, from the other wolves she was meeting to the little fronds of leaves she got to play with. There was so much to do. So much to learn and see and experience, and her brother was missing absolutely every bit of it because wouldn't leave the den. It was frustrating to the younger Tainn, who hated any sort of idleness at all. The inside of the den was just so boring.

Of course, this wasn't to say that she was frustrated with her brother... necessarily. It was more that she just wanted him out, and she wanted him out now. The pup was determined, after a day of playing out in the clearing - and a little further, but Kisla didn't need to know that - to get Matheo to at least play with her a little bit. The smaller pup was all stamina and energy, and it seemed that her supply of them both was only growing day by day. So, during dusk of a beautiful, sunny day, the silver girl teetered back into the den and immediately spotted Matheo's dozing form halfway illuminated by the fading light outside.

Clumsily, with puppy coordination, Ris toddled over and tried to jump on him. She managed about halfway, with her belly pressing on his back and all four of her paws off the ground. A tiny, sharp squeak of laughter escaped her, and she nosed at her littermate's ear imploringly.

On the contrary, Mathéo did leave the den – when their mother blessed it.  And for that reason, he did not leave nearly as often as his younger sister, though her absence did not go unnoticed.  Even as a wee pup, he simply had more restraint, though such a concept was lost on the young boy.  At the moment, he was focused entirely on his nap; their mother had fed them a few hours prior, and a full stomach reliably put the elder of the pair out like a light.  He would have remained blissfully unaware of his sibling’s riotous behavior too, had not a sudden weight dropped upon his back.
 
It was nothing like Kisla, not gentle touches of a practiced mother.
 
So the young Tainn jolted violently, attempting to squirt out from underneath the sudden intrusion.  Only when he was free and turned about did he realize it was Risaela.  His pounding heart began to slow and he sighed, wrinkling his nose as he squinted at her blurry shape.  It was so much more difficult to see in the dark.  But what did she want?  And why did she--?
 
Mathéo keened sharply as needle-like teeth grabbed ahold of his soft ear.  One paw came up in an aimless swat and he pulled back, acutely disinterested in the sudden pain.  Pain had never happened before – he did not like.

Ris, being impatient as she was, had not eaten as much as Mat had and, therefore, had had less of a full stomach to send her to sleep. Sure, she was a little hungry now, and she kind of regretted leaving her meal, but her desire for play was driving her wandering paws to move. She probably should listen to her mother more, but the pup had a natural inclination toward the chaos and thrill of newness and - though it was unintentional as she had no grasp of the concept of right and wrong - disobedience.

Matheo woke immediately and rolled away from her, and for a moment the both of them were a tangle of puppy legs as they tried to gain their balance. It was then that her sibling wrinkled his nose and Ris grabbed for his ear, and Mat let out a shrill cry that sent the girl back on her heels. The paw that swung knocked her nose, but it only cause a slight discomfort in comparison to what the pup had already experienced by tumbling out of the clearing. She wasn't overly-familiar with pain, but she had experienced small doses of it and, while it wasn't enjoyable, it certainly hadn't been the worst thing ever.

The worst thing ever was being stuck in the den.

But regardless, Ris was absolutely terrified that she'd damaged her sibling, and let out a soft, soundless breath of air that would have been a whine if she'd been more vocal. Her ears pinned back as far as their floppiness allowed, and she crept forward to try and see if he still had his ear. She tried to drop a few licks to his cheek and the spot she'd hurt, in the only sort of apology she was capable of.

As soon as Ris let go of his ear, the horrible, sharp, burn of pain began to subside, leaving only a tiny ghost in its memory.  The boy gave a flick of his ear, and then another – it soon became clear that everything would return back to normal and he gave a small sigh, relieved he would not have to continue to bear the brunt of the unwelcome surprise.  The small, breathy noise was lost on him, muffled as the world was until his ears began to lift, but the tiny licks did not go unnoticed.
 
Mathéo wuffled softly, turning his face and returning the loving expression.  His love for his family, even at this age, was nothing less than true-blue in its entirety.   As soon as he’d expressed discomfort, she had stopped – there was no reason to hold anything against her!  So the young boy thrummed and pressed muzzle to muzzle, content.
 
Content enough, in fact, that after a few more minutes of puppy cuddling, he bumping his shoulder into his sister’s gently.  Once he had her attention, Théo tossed his muzzle towards the entrance of their little home and began his leisurely plod towards the sunshine.  It was warm, and felt nice – as long as they stayed near the mouth, he saw no reason to deny his sister this.

Though she had more of a tendency to lean toward the chaotic, even at this age, Ris felt as much love for their small family as her brother did. The cuddles and nuzzles were almost as good as the sunshine and bugs and puddles. Not quite as exciting, but it made her feel all warm and cozy inside - like nothing at all could go wrong in the world. In fact, she'd almost forgotten about the outside world at all.

Until Theo pulled away and gestured right to it, of course.

Another tiny, awed gasp escaped the pup as her littermate turned to head up toward the entrance. Her littermate finally wanted to go outside without their mother's say-so! Excitement danced in her chest like bubbles rising up in water, and she followed him at a much-less-leisurely pace, her entire body trembling and wriggling about with anticipation.

The girl tumbled out of the entrance in grand fashion, bumping her nose on the ground and wincing, but ultimately hopping back up like the fall didn't even happen at all. She instead turned to her sibling and wriggled joyously, bouncing on all four paws and falling into a messy play bow, then giving a clumsy spin as if to say Isn't this the best thing ever??

Because to her, it really was the best thing ever - and now it was even better that Matheo was outside to share it with!

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

To no one’s great surprise, Risaela was utterly delighted that he even looked at the entrance of the den.  He might have rolled his eyes, but no one had taught the pup any manner of sarcasm yet.  So he did the only thing he knew how to do, and he smiled.  His tiny tail gave a meager wag as the sun warmed his backside – truthfully, Mathéo would have been happy to spend the rest of their playtime right there .
 
Sadly, this was probably not to be.  His sister’s sense of adventure was far greater than his own.
 
Her entire body wiggled with glee and Mathéo could feel something fall into the pit of his stomach.  What was she up to?  Was this good?  Was she actually just happy to be doing something in the sunshine, or was she going to try to bellyache when he didn’t want to go out any further into the family grounds?  The pup sighed softly, ears falling to half-mast.  He couldn’t predict it.  Not even close.  So he stood where he was at the mouth, plopping his squishy bottom back down into the dirt to bask in the sun.  Content, he gave Risa a quiet whine.
 
This was good, right?  No more, right?

For the moment, Risaela was perfectly content to just hang around the entrance. When she started to do her little puppywiggledance of excitement at being out from the dark, stifling den, her brother let out an uncomfortable sigh. She turned to look back at him and he whined, apparently not wanting to go further than just right around the mouth of their little home. She gave him a toothy grin in response, in her own, makeshift-reassuring way. It was important to her that she convey that this was good - this was fine and dandy for her. She was just happy he'd come out with her!

Her own squishy rump wriggled behind her, and she fell into a puppy play bow, blue eyes wide and encouraging. She wasn't going to try and get him to go further than the clearing, but she figured that, since they were out there, why not have some fun? There was nothing wrong with that. She didn't think she was asking too much. After all, there was so much more room out here than in the den, and that was perfect for wrestling and playing.

A tiny woof exited her maw, a little bit of a verbal encouragement for her more hesitant brother to come out of his shell and enjoy himself. It was something she would, in the future, do a lot of - but for now, it was just to get him to come to her and have some fun.

 

The longer Mathéo waited, the more anxiety started to bubble up in his chest and into his throat.  For all that the sunshine felt good on his downy fur (and truly, it did, he could not complain about the gentle spring warmth), the boy continued to worry that this somehow would not be enough.  That Risaela would not be happy, or, even worse, that his sister would be so unhappy with him that she marched off into the wilderness.
 
But she didn’t do that.  She didn’t even cry.
 
And to his great surprise (written all across his face), the young Tainn bowed down in an invitation to play, right there at the mouth of the den.  Where they were supposed to be, even though there mama wasn’t there to enforce the rules at that very moment.  The puppy’s ears flipped forward and he got back to his feet, stubby tail wiggling behind him.  Playing was fine.  Playing was more than fine, and the fact that Risaela was willing to play right here, right now, was more than a good enough compromise for her brother.  He stamped his thick paws against the ground before skittering closer, answering her tiny woof with one of his own.  His muzzle bumped hers, and then Mathéo skittered away again, happy to play a game of tag right where they were.

Do you want to fade and archive soon? (mild pp of theo sorry ;.;)

Matheo seemed surprised at first - which, honestly, he had every right to be. Risaela had never been - and would never be - accused of being good at sitting complacently or being content with stability and unchanging surroundings. But Theo was the exception. Ris didn't want to pull him too far out of his comfort zone or make him unhappy, and he'd done so well to come this far that day. She'd expected him to want to stay in the darkness without their mother present, but she was grateful he didn't.

He reciprocated her play-bow and woof, and then took it a step forward by pattering forward and nudging her muzzle with his own, then running away again. Effectively beginning a game of tag. Risaela's tail whipped back and forth so hard that she almost threw herself off balance, and she wriggled her rump before bouncing after him joyfully.

She wasn't quite as fast as her brother, but she did have more experience with actually moving around and finding her balance than him, and so she managed to catch up enough to leap over and plant both of her forepaws to the base of his tail, tagging him back. She wagged her tail with a giggle and spun off to run in the opposite direction.