Sigleif was doing her best to hunt for her family. Of course, that meant both 'feed them' and 'find them' but she was more or less ignoring that latter part. Sindre had been right next to the pups so she was almost certain they were fine, but if her stomach was growling theirs definitely were too. Plus, if she returned with a meal maybe Sin wouldn't be too peeved at her for getting lost. She'd more or less given up hope of reconnecting with the guard that was meant to be escorting them to meet up with her Uncle Kassander, and didn't have even the slightest idea where they would start with that. You know, if they didn't die of starvation first. As far as Leif was concerned, that was still a pretty big "if." She was by no means a hunter, but she and her sister at least had had some practice, and it wasn't like there was anyone else to look after their gaggle of baby siblings. Her mother had sent some guards along with them, though Leif was unsure how many in total because a few had strict orders to stay out of contact lest they be carrying disease. She like to pretend it was an entire legion, and even though it was desperately unlikely, they hadn't run into any struggle on the way here. At least until that spring storm had hit them with the rage of a bull moose, multiplied by how many stars were in the sky. She still shuddered to think about it. There was no time for that now, though! She had a job to do. She turned her nose to the air, and resumed her search for siblings and food alike. "Talk" "You" Think

Oh we were sea bound and aimless at best...

How dare Sigleif go hunting without the rest of them? Dómari was a good hunter, a great one even! With a fierce growl he sprang into the nearest mud puddle, paws sliding in the goop, sending it spraying up around him as his jaws fastened around a stick which he began to shake violently. He wanted to go to and it wasn’t fair! Sitting down with a plop the rotund boy chewed thoughtfully on the stick. Surely he wasn’t the only one awake. It wasn’t that early out. Securing his prize tightly in his jaws he bounded towards the river which was rushing past, fueled by the heavy spring storm. With a little wiggle he turned his head sharply and tossed the stick into the river letting out a yelp of excitement as it plopped in and was whisked swiftly down stream. That was fun… time to do it again! Scampering back toward the makeshift den site he started hunting for more sticks.

Some kind of kerfuffle startled Sindre awake, her eyes snapping wide open. She was instantly afraid that one of her siblings had gotten into trouble and her blurry vision swam with images of puppies covered in porcupine quills and skunk stink. The yearling lurched forward and poked her head through the tangle of vines that made up her temporary shelter. Her gaze darted around in search of the problem. "Oh, please," she thought to herself, "don't let it be a bear." Of course what she laid eyes on wasn't a bear or a porcupine or an indignant skunk, but it was most certainly still a problem. Sin's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She'd been prepared to risk life and limb for that little loud mouth and what was he doing? Just being a noisy pest. "Little brothers," she groused to herself. If they weren't dirty they were noisy and if they weren't either of those they were getting into trouble out of earshot. Of course she was painting with broad strokes, but eh. It was too early for fair assessments. She slunk back under the bush and flopped down again, intent on going back to sleep. Let the bears have him now. Sindre pinched her eyes shut and scowled into the darkness, her expression suggesting that she intended to force herself back to sleep by sheer force of will if necessary. The yearling was a little low on sleep as of late. While she might not have shown it she was genuinely concerned for the safety of her siblings and without the guard she was trying to shoulder far too much responsibility. What if they couldn't catch enough food? What if another storm rolled in and split the group again? Those kinds of questions were keeping her up at night. An innocent and clearly excited yelp was too much for the sleep deprived yearling. In an instant her irritation spilled over and she half wormed, half lunged through the vines so she could hiss in a low voice, "Dom! Shut UP. I'm trying to SLEEP. God, you're so annoying." "Talk" "You" Think

She was sleeeepy. A yawn parted her jaws, and she squeaked softly as the yawn made her mouth so wide it almost hurt. Ahh, she just wanted to sleep! Well, or eat, she was pretty hungry as well... but she was so comfy, snuggled up to Sindre and her siblings... until Domari, of course, got up. She could feel Sindre moving and standing, but she simply mrr'd softly and curled up in a tighter ball, red-tipped ears folding back to block out the sounds. Still, she noticed when Sindre flopped back in - and she wiggled towards her warm older sister, trying to fall asleep again. Of course, now that Sin and Dom woke her up, her mind wouldn't stop whirring. She thought back to the day all her siblings left, with their escort. She didn't really mind it; she was leaving her mother behind, though, and that bothered her. But she had her brothers (as annoying as they all were) and her older sistaters, and all was okay... until the storm. Vaska prided herself on not being afraid of anything, but when that storm hit, she was terrified beyond belief. Getting separated from the guards and temporarily her siblings - oh gods, let that never happen again.

Huffing, Vas fliopped a bit, trying to burrow into Sindre's side... who instantly moved as Dom's yelp was heard. Vaska whined angrily, cracking an eye and peering blurrily at Sindre, who hissed something not-so-quietly. "So am I, Sin!" she grumbled at her sister. She just wanted to sleep. Why could they all shut up? And on top of that, she was deprived her precious warmth that she was nuzzled up to. Grumbling still, she instead scooted closer to her brothers, pressing her grey and red fur against theirs for extra warmth. .

"Speech"

Sigleif was lucky to spot a hare before her brother began his splashing. It was occupied with... well, something. Sig had seen too few as a hunter (as compared to an idiot pup) to have paid them much mind. It was snuffling around there in the dirt, paying her no mind. She knew rabbits were skittish, and fast to boot, but it was catch it or starve. She kept her body as still as possible and waited for the best possible moment, like her mother had shown her. She still remembered the first time Mother had taken her and Sin out to follow tracks. She had sneezed and spooked a herd of deer. None of that this time around. It was hard to bundle up all the energy she felt in her body, hard not to make a hasty jerking movement or twitch or breathe or anything that might alert the hare to her presence. But she picture her baby siblings waiting back... well, wherever they were, and it steadied her. In an explosive burst of speed she flung herself forward and before the hare could bolt more than a bound she came down upon it. Its brown pelt was soft beneath her paws and it nearly squirmed out from beneath her, but her jaws landed a clumsy bite at the nape of it's neck, and she dispatched it honorably. Surely it would be enough to hold the youngest of them over for another day. Her and Sindre would make due with whatever else they could find. Only then did she heard the great 'sploosh!' of Domari tossing about his finds. Faintly she heard Sindre's voice, an unintelligible murmur in the wind, and she smiled. She had been on the right trail after all! She clamped her jaws down around the rodent's still-twitching body and took off in their direction. She came across the bank of the river, it's pungent odor of plant rot and mud more evident with ever step she took. Heading north, it was not long at all before she found her brother Dom causing a fuss. She snickered, not deigning a greeting for the troublesome tyke, instead flaunting her catch and attempting to tickle his snout with the tip of her tail as she swung her path close beside him. "C'mon," she garbled, struggling to speak around the rabbit, "Lesh go fine' 'eh oders." She hoped Dom would know the way back to their den. She wouldn't admit it, but Sig still wasn't quite sure and her sense of smell was overwhelmed by the blood and pelt of what she carried. "Talk" "You" Think

Alarik was wide awake, and had been for a pretty long time. Unlike his restless brother, however, he stayed close to his family this morning instead of going out and adventuring. Tucked comfortably in the pile of warm fur, he rolled onto his back and tucked his legs up by his belly. He looked at the leaves intertwining above his head in the bush they slept under, rich ochre eyes blinking dreamily as he lost himself to his imagination. This was not an uncommon thing for Alarik to do. He often drifted off into little daydreams like this, and was quite content. At least he wasn't being noisy and waking the others. His little tail thumped softly against the earthen floor of their temporary shelter as he dreamed up battles with dragons and other fierce beasts. When the splash of the stick reached his ears, he imagined that it was one of the vile creatures, approaching the safety of their little shelter. He had to protect his family from the beast! The battle was his to be won! Abandoning his idle dreaming, he rolled to his feet and managed to step on his already cranky sister on his way out of the tangled vines. He ran toward his brother, nearly tripping over his feet once, and tackled him to the ground with a mighty puppy growl. "Surr-ander, beast!" he cried. "You are no match for me!" He struggled with his brother for a little while, trying to keep him pinned. He couldn't help giggling as he played; he knew knights weren't supposed to giggle, but he was having too much fun! But then Alarik saw his big sister walking past, a freshly caught rabbit hanging from her jaws. He licked his lips; he was hungry. "Okay Siggy!" he said cheerfully, hopping off his brother and following the larger wolf. He hoped he would be as big as her someday. Then he could easily catch rabbits too. And dragons, of course. "Talk" "You" Think

Seizing a stick in his jaws Dómari turned around and scampered back toward the river just as his sister Sindre’s voice called out through the bushes.  "Dom! Shut UP. I'm trying to SLEEP. God, you're so annoying."  With a huff Dóm dropped his stick, turned to his sister and blew a raspberry at her.  Yea that would show her!  The sun was up so she should be to and he wanted to play now not later.  Grabbing his stick he approached the river once more and with a toss of his head threw it into the river and cheered watching the river carry the stick off on new adventures.  They were little rafts or… or the bodies of his enemies! “Bwhahaha!  The great pirate Isakov will never surrender this river to the likes of you cretins.”

Soon the stick was gone from sight.  Hmm… he needed more bodies.  How about a rock?  As Dómari worked away, claws scratching at the earth around a particularly large rock he planned to roll into the river.  He was so intent on his prize that he almost didn’t notice Sigleif’s return until her tail tickled the tip of his nose making him jump.  The boy quickly recovered when he saw the rabbit, his little stomach grumbling in response but he glared up at Sigleif.  “Siggy, how come you didn’t wait for me!  I wanted to go hunting to, I bet I’d be great at it or I could watch your back and make sure bears don’t get you when you’re hunting.  I’m ferocious and I’ve been practicing watch this!”  He lunged forward with a little puppy growl as he tried to get ahold of a dangling rabbit foot and shake his head to show how tough he was.

Distracted once again Dómari failed to notice his brother’s approach, the roar of the water partially drowning out the battle cry as he was tackled to the ground. “Ow! Alarik!” He snarled and snapped, little jaws seeking to land wherever they could as he rolled with his brother along the ground his earlier irritation giving way to play.  “I am more than a match for you sir Alarik!”  With a shove and a wiggle he untangled himself from his brother and spun to face the other.  “You’re a long way from home sir Alarik and the dread pirate Isakov does not take kindly to trespassers!  Away with you if you value your limbs!”

Play soon fell to the wayside though at the prospect of breakfast and Dómari quickly raced after Sigleif.  “Can I have a back leg this time?  Please, please, please, please…”

"Speech" "You"

Behind her, a voice complained, "So am I, Sin!" Sindre's ears flicked back and her eyes rolled heavenward in exasperation. She couldn't win. Reprimand one for being annoying and get snipped at by another, because unlike yelping and throwing things, whispering was too freakin' loud! Alarik busted out from under the bush and took off after Domari. Immediately the two boys started hooting, hollering and making a fuss, as she was beginning to think all boys did. Sindre sighed. "Fine," she groused to herself as she turned around and flopped back down in the hole she'd dug to sleep in. Let the hooligans run amok. With the leaves overhead blocking out most of the light she could, maybe, sleep in a little longer. If she had to stuff leaves in her ears, fine. She'd do it. "Talk" "You" Think