White Fir Notch i can dish it out

Early Afternoon, Sunny, 62 ° F, 17 ° C

She had toddled out of the den the morning. The young Riverflow never went too far from the den's entrance for multiple reasons. Mainly because it was the safest place she knew and for now her heart did not have the desire to wander too far.

From a distance, she'd likely look like nothing more than a dark splatter on the ground. Which was relatively what she was. Legs sprawled out as she laid there soaking up the sun. It was warm like her mother but it wasn't nearly as comfortable. The light didn't have plush fur or food for her. Hawthorne supposed she'd have to settle, though. This beat hiding in the back of the den while mom ran an errand or two.

There was a sound in the distance, though. One she was not familiar with. It startled her greatly as baby blue eyes widened to try and see where that noise had come from. It was high pitched and a bit like a squawk. Mother had never made such a noise which surely knocked her off the list.

She laid there debating if it would be worth getting up to examine. As another call sounded out she figured that was her cue from it. Tiredly she stood up as her developing eyes blinked. In her best attempt to make contact she called back. Of course, what was meant to be a bark could have easily been confused for a sneeze. One day she would be able to make that sound but for now, she could practice with a bird in the distance.

There was so much to do lately that Emrys sometimes felt like he was always on the move, so much so that he didn't get back to Jynx and the pups until later in the day.  They were growing so fast and he didn't want to miss a single moment of it.  However Nauja had been on his mind since she'd been gone, he'd been worried about the new member.  She hadn't been gone long but he checked the border for her each morning.  He didn't know much about her but he didn't feel that the task he'd sent her on was in that would be too difficult for the subordinate. He knew that she was needed at home but he needed her out there too. It had been a tough decision and one not made lightly.

After checking the border he checked the caches to make sure that they were well stocked with three pups in the notch to feed they needed to be.  Satisfied with them he moved on to check on @Ishtar as he'd been worried about her too.  Since her joining she had seemed shy which he hoped would wear off once she'd been in the pack for a little while.

By afternoon he felt it was time to return to his mate and their children, he wanted to spend some time with them before he needed to get back out there taking care of his evening duties. Something stopped him as he made his usual pass of Sylva's den.  He'd considered putting a guard outside the den but he felt she would be stupid to drag Hawthorne around the lore with her being so young.  However he wouldn't put it past her after the stupid mistakes she had made.  He felt that if she ever did try to take Hawthorne out now he might have to step in.

A loud high pitched sound reached his ears followed by another puppyhish sound.  He decided to find out what was going on. When he came to Sylva's den he found little Hawthorne outside.  Emrys looked around for Sylva but did not see any sign that she was around so he approached the the pup. “Hello again Hawthorne, what are you doing outside your den,” he said with a smile as he got down to her level.

(This post was last modified: May 30, 2017, 10:03 PM by Emrys.)

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She had expected it to just be her and the creature making that sound. Instead, a voice called out to her, a pale coated wolf which was a warning sign that it was not her mother. Wide eyes blinked as she processed his words the best a child could. Which wasn't very much. His voice hadn't sounded threatening, though and something about him was familiar.

Before she could try and greet him properly that darned bird made a sound again and it drew her attention. Her blue eyes moved towards the direction it came from as she let out another puppyish bark, her tail beginning to wiggle about softly. It was a friend out there! Well, and there was also perhaps a friend right here. Was the mostly strange wolf a friend? He was on her level and didn't seem very scary.

Maybe he would like to talk to her just like the bird out there had. The young Riverflow let out a soft bark this time. A silly grin spreading across her face as her rump wiggled softly. Usually, she could get her mother to play like this. Hawthorne had every right to believe that he too would play with her if she acted like this.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

The little pup was still so young but Emrys felt that she was doing well in her growth but he still liked to keep an eye on her just as he did his own pups. After Jynx stillborn he worried about the pups, his own and Hawthorne alike that something would happen to them and he wouldn't be able to help. How he felt about was something hadn't spoken to Jynx yet but he would when the time was right. For now he concentrated on her and helping her through and their pups as well as making sure the pack was okay and moving forward.

It was times like running into little Hawthorne that brightened his day just a little bit more. Despite everything that had happened with Sylva he cared about the dark little ball of fur. Do when he heard her little puppy sound he had to go and check in her. Finding that Sylva wasn't around he felt he should make sure the child didn't hurt herself. He took notice after joining her that something had caught her attention, his gaze followed hers. He smiled, “That's a bird,” he told her, “When you're bigger you can chase them which can be a lot of fun.” Emrys didn't expect Hawthorne to say anything, he knew it was much too soon for that bit he thought talking to her might help with that skill.

His smile didn't leave his maw as he watched her wiggle and the silly grin as he watched her from his laying position. Her puppy blue eyes made him wonder what color they would he once they changed. Her bark seemed to him to be an invitation as she continued to wiggle in front of him. He reached out and gave her a quick but gentle tap with his nose, “It's it play that you would like?” He asked the child. It seemed the most logical thing that she would want then unless of course she was hungry which he wasn't sure he could help with that.

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She eagerly listened to his voice even if the words didn't make much sense. Hawthorne simply let her tail continue to wave behind her as he continued to make those sounds with his mouth. As long as he didn't change his tone, the young girl would like him. Not to mention he didn't seem to corral her back into the den or dampen her small day outside. That was also a bonus in the young Riverflow's mind.

To anyone else, his gentle tap would not have been more than a tap but to her, it was an invitation. A soft yip as all the warning she gave as she reached out a peppered paw to swat at the pale man's nose. As a mere child, she wouldn't have enough pressure to do real harm to him. Hawthorne was just returning his own tap in a different way.

Not so gracefully the Riverflow child bounded a few steps away from the pale man. Her tail did it's best to raise up and wag in the air as her front end dropped down. Her bird friend in the distance could wait for now. There was some much closer right now who seemed to wish to play.

She tried her best to imitate a growl despite how weak it might sound. At least Hawthorne was willing to try.

The thought of how Sylva would feel if she saw him playing with her daughter did occur to the pale alpha. It didn't really matter to him, Hawthorne would never be punished for her mother's selfish actions. She was a part of the pack, he and Jynx saw her as such and therefore she needed to be treated as the other members. Part of that was making a point to spend time with all the members of the notch from time to time. Make sure they were doing well and got whatever needs they had taken care of, Hawthorne was no different.

Her full attention seemed to be on him at that point as he spoke about the bird, her little wisp of a tail waving behind her. Once he’d lowered himself to his stomach the real games began as she barked at him. She took the nudge he gave her like a big girl before she swatted at his nose with her paw. Before she was bounding away from him. Emrys chased her the few steps she'd​ gone before lowering himself into a play bow in front of her his tail waving slowly over his back as he mimicked her movements.

Then a moment later he was back up on all fours taking a step toward her to gently nudge her before jumping away. He let out a sharp bark as her invitation to come after him before he dropped back down to his stomach so that he was one more on her level as he waited for her. He'd never player with a pup before and hoped that he was doing a good job of it.

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The girl couldn't have been happier when he played along with her. His much larger form was interesting to watch move. He seemed to have the whole walking and moving thing down much better than her. That didn't stop her, though! It was obvious already that Hawthorne would not be easily discouraged.

Baby blue eyes watched as he seemed to copy her movements. With a joyous feeling, she barked back at him. The young girl's bark had not even half the power of his own but that was okay. If he had understood her sounds before surely he would understand them now! She did her best to focus on his pale form. Another nudge was felt against her and she squeaked. Not out of fear, though. Simply surprise. Her mind wasn't so speedy yet nor did it understand planning things and agility was out of the question for the still clumsy girl.

Hawthorne was quick to spring into action once he lowered himself. Her paws awkwardly carrying her more towards his side. With a mere yap as her warning, she attempted to jump onto his back. She really had no idea what she would do if she succeeded. Maybe she would just climb over him like he was a jungle gym just like she did with her mom.

As he played with the girl he thought of his own children and how they would he her age soon. He looked forward to playing with them as he was her now and as he went on mimicking her movements he wondered it they would play the same as her or maybe they each had their own ideas of how it should go. So many new things that he had to learn where pups were concerned but spending this time with Hawthorne gave him a boost that he hadn't had in a while, since Gent left he supposed. The worry about if he would be a good father was slowly starting to fade but he felt that wouldn't ever be completely gone. He'd also been sad about his lost pup, Gent and Raela leaving the notch for good, and he was sad for his mate who didn't deserve to lose child before she could even meet it. Though he supposed in a really horrible way it might be for the better.

She seemed to be elated that he was mimicking her movements to the point that she too had barked. His might have been louder but that didn't deter her she was a determined little girl which made him chuckle as she didn't best, “That's very good Hawthorne,” he encouraged even though he wasn't sure if she could understand him. He hoped the sound of his voice would be enough to help her understand that she'd done well with her bark. With his next nudge came a squeak from the girl and he could tell that the girl yaf been surprised by the touch

He didn't have to wait for her to.figure out what to do once he'd lowered himself to the ground. She came toward him her little paws carrying her as fast as they could across the ground. He wasn't sure what the pup had in mind to do so when the yap came he knew something was coming. Then her little black and grey body was flying, sort of in her attempt to jump on him. When he saw what she was up to he rolled onto his side so she would land there instead of on his back.

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Hawthorne very much enjoyed this friend. He played along like mother would despite their differences. She would deem him a good play friend.

As he chuckled and said more of those words she let her tongue roll out of her mouth with that silly grin. The Riverflow was happy that his tone didn't seem to waver from that nice tone. Although she wasn't very pleased when he rolled onto his side. Instead of landing on the male's back she landed on his side with a soft oof. Her paws reaching forward in some attempt to haul herself up onto the large creature better.

She thought she was doing rather well until she accidentally pulled herself too far and rolled over him completely. Hawthorne blinked out of surprise. There was many things that did and would surprise her as she learned. She had just learned her first lesson in climbing.

Determined to keep playtime going she wiggled up towards the pale male's head and gently tugged on his ear for a moment. It was a more bold move than she had usually done but he didn't seem like he would mind. Of course, Hawthorne hadn't really met anyone else which meant she didn't truly grasp that others might not enjoy everything she could do with her mother.