Table by Vethysnia

Long legs took the girl into a bow as she stretched out her shoulders and yawned quite loudly, ears pulling back as her body enjoyed a moment of fully stretching out from nose to tail. The girl was growing rapidly. A lot of height had been gained quickly, which left the young woman tired as her body tried to recover from the strain of her growth spurt. She was finally getting tall, like her parents. In fact, it wouldn't be long till she more than surpassed her mother in height. Of course, Caelestis still suffered from the gangly legs, large paws and over sized ears of a child. She wasn't even lucky enough to have fully taken on the look of a yearling yet, which frustrated the brown girl to no end, though she couldn't exactly do anything about it. Ugh.

Shaking out her fur, the rangy child set to wandering through one of the lands she'd found herself residing in. It was weird to suddenly be in the home of another pack, though since she was young and clueless about what was odd and what was not she would grow to accept this change of homes quickly. Of course it was not really their home, since they'd not officially joined, but it was close enough for now. Eventually she ceased walking as she heard something scampering through the underbrush nearby. Looking around with wide mismatched eyes, the girl found herself unnerved for a moment. After holding her breath seemingly for ages, a bunny appeared nearby and Caelestis relaxed. That was silly of her.

Sitting down and staring at the rabbit, the girl wondered where the members of the pack were. She hadn't really met anybody except for Brandr and Sparrow. They were nice and all, but she wanted to meet more of the ones who lived here.

Lark was slowly, but steadily, trying to get his motivation. Spending more time with Lillie had certainly improved his mood, but the general... quietness of Abaven was really starting to get to him. It wasn't anyone's fault, but that didn't mean it didn't suck even still. The oversized man let out a grunt as he wandered through the thicket, glad that the land was coming back to life after winter slowly seeped away. An unfamiliar scent touched his nose as he moved through the lands, and instantly he stiffened. He was protective over his home, despite everything that had happened, and thinking there might be intruders was distressing. Quickly he redirected himself toward the scent, but was surprised at what he saw - it was merely a child, a yearling at best, and she smelled vaguely of Abaven despite her scent also being unfamiliar. His movements had been sudden, and he watched as a rabbit started to hop away from her, startled by his approach. Lark paused before clearing his throat, announcing his arrival to the girl. "Hey," he started, realizing suddenly how long it'd been since he'd spoke to anyone new. And a child, no less. Awkward. "Are you - uh - new to Abaven or something?" He cocked his head as he watched her, wondering if she'd be startled too by his approach or if she'd heard his pawsteps.

Table by Vethysnia

Watching the bunny for an extended period of time and wondering what she might find to do that was just a bit more entertaining, she hadn't actually expected anyone to show up. Totally absorbed in watching the little brown rabbit slowly meander about, nibbling on whatever bits of new spring grass it could find as it moved, she wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings. For some time she just stayed like that, watching the little prey animal without really doing much herself. When it suddenly skittered off in a startled panic, Caelestis frowned, looking around at last. Who - or what - had scared the furry little creature she'd used to entertain herself?

Hearing the footfalls of an approaching stranger, the girl spun around to look for whoever it was, ears flat and eyes wide in unmistakable surprise. Looking the man over, she noted that he was very tall and all brown like her dad. But dad's coat looked way cooler to her, not that she was rude enough to say that out loud of course. She'd never hear the end of it from her mother if Caelum found out... Enough parent talk though, she finally got to meet someone new! Standing a little taller on her gangly tween pup limbs, Caelestis replied carefully, "I am." Striking mismatched eyes of seafoam and rose would widen once more as she asked, "You're a pack member, right?"

With the one track mind that often afflicted youngsters like her, Cael would find a new topic to focus on in this stranger. Settling a little bit closer, but not too close, she stared him down in the way only a kid could. "My name's Caelestis, what's yours?"

Lark had never really had a lot of experience around pups. Sure, there'd been his youngest siblings, but that was different than other random kids. He hadn't even made an effort with the kids that his father had taken into the pack.. that had been strangely painful for him, even if he didn't admit it much, even to himself. He wasn't sure how to approach this girl, not really, but figured he'd give it an honest effort anyway. Abaven had to grow, after all, so making newcomers feel welcome - even if that wasn't part of his usual skillset - was something he figured he should try to achieve. He frowned as the rabbit hopped off, and the girl spun around, looking confused and a bit panicked all at once. Of course, the expression faded as she perked up, standing up tall and starting to speak to him. At her question, he nodded, and a slow gentle smile made its way across his features.  "Indeed," he answered with a chuckle.  "Been here since almost the beginning of Abaven." He wasn't even sure how long his father had been ruling over Abaven when he'd first had him and his littermates, but it felt like he'd always been part of Abaven. Growing up here, it was all he had ever known. He wondered what this girl's early childhood had been like. Had she been born in a pack, or was this her first time in one? He demeanor gave him no concrete evidence either way. She seemed like a normal enough kid, pretty polite and with an eager mismatched stare. "Nice to meet you, then, Caelestis. My name's Lark. Did you join on your own, or do you have family with you?" He tried not talking to her like she was a kid - he remembered hating being spoken to like he was small and helpless, so he'd try talking to her like he would with anyone else.

Studying the man carefully, she eventually decided he seemed okay. At his words she would perk up a bit more and can't her head ever so slightly while trying not to look too interested. "Oh, that sounds pretty cool. What was it like then?" A slave to her own sense of curiosity as most children were, Cael was curious what this pack might have been like in its early days. She didn't know a lot about packs since she was rather young, but it sure seemed quiet. So far he was the only wolf other than Brandr and Sparrow that she'd managed to run into. Of course, she also had a hard time escaping her parents watchful eyes these days...

  Dipping her head and smiling sweetly, Caelestis then took on a thoughtful look as she tried to decide how to answer him. "It's nice to meet you too. I came here with my mom and dad. An' well, I guess we aren't officially members, Sparrow said we could stay." glancing to the side a moment the child debated how much she was allowed to share. It was probably Sparrow's job to tell her pack mates about what happened. Oh well. "The pack we were in before was taken over, so mom took me here so we could be safe. Dad took a bit longer to get here." she shrugged, having come mostly to terms with the reality of her new situation it was no longer a big deal to her, though perhaps hearing someone so young talk like life changing events were no big deal would be a shock to others. Her explanation was incomplete, so she was willing to elaborate if he asked.

What was Abaven like then? How could he even describe it? This pack was nearly all he had ever known, and while a lot had changed, it was hard to classify exactly how in words. "Well, Abaven used to be quite a bit larger, for starters," he explained, letting a gentle smile tug at his lips. "And my father used to be our leader. There used to be quite a few of my siblings here, too, but now it's just me and my sister who's in charge." Even Sandpiper had gone missing, a fact that weighed heavily on his heart - but what could he do about it now? The general quietness, and smallness of the pack about summed up the major changes, and he figured that'd be enough to satiate this young one's curiosity for now. She explained that she'd come here with her mom and dad, after their pack had been taken over. He wondered if they would be here permanently, or if they were simply staying awhile - at least Sparrow had taken after her dad in that regard, who would've welcomed a family in need, hoping they they might stay and contribute to Abaven in the end. Lark decided having more young faces in Abaven was a good thing, and hopefully the addition of them would help lift everyone's spirits. "Are you liking it so far? Compared to your old pack?" He asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. He knew it was a bit quiet overall, but hopefully she wasn't hating it here. At least she had two packs to judge now - he had no idea about any but Abaven, so in some way she was a bit more worldly than he was.

Table by Vethysnia

Caelestis couldn't decide if she was surprised the pack used to be bigger before. It was difficult to imagine a plethora of wolves going about their daily tasks throughout the territory; as it was she could go exploring all day and hardly see a soul. That kind of made her sad, actually. It would be cool to have all kinds of wolves around to talk to and hang out with. She could spar everybody and have adventures with friends! Yeah, more members was better. "That sounds pretty great to me." she mused, pausing to eye Lark a moment before asking tentatively, "Do you miss your siblings? All of mine are older and... not around." According to her mother at least one or two survived the attack on her parent's pack way back when, but Caelestis had yet to meet them if they were even still hanging around. The child longed for some kind of sibling relationship, but she put on a happy face around her parents so as not to upset them. It wasn't their fault she was the only one this time.

Shrugging a shoulder the girl let out a soft 'eh', mulling over her response as mismatched eyes turned skyward. "It's okay. I mean, Dragoste was pretty quiet too. The alpha's had kids, but one went missing and I never really met the other. Uh, I met a few members and went to a meeting. I dunno, maybe it was cause I was pretty small then, but I like it here more I guess." For the most part they seemed the same from her point of view, but it was the perspective of a kid after all. She craved entertainment to help drain her seemingly endless and overwhelming amounts of energy. So far she just took care of amusing herself by running all over the place with her parents occasionally trying to track her down and make her keep still. Eventually they seemed to start to give up though. That made the game less fun.

Brightening a little as she recalled Brandr's words when they arrived, Cael chirped, "Brandr said he'd maybe give me hunting lessons, though! But, I kind of wanna learn to fight more. My dad taught me a little, and mom too, but I wanna get better. I also like going on adventures all around. Do you like going exploring?" Her eyes seemed to widen to several times their normal size as she suddenly gasped, staring at Lark as she asked in a half plead, half whine, "Would you go exploring with me? Pleaaaase? It'll be fun, and then my mom won't even get mad if I have someone with me!" Giddiness welled up inside her chest, leaving the girl so excited she spun in a few circles, tail flailing wildly in all directions. Returning to stare Lark down with those big puppy eyes, she whined softly in a sly attempt to melt the man and get the 'yes' response she sought.

The question made him pause. Did he miss his siblings? Of course he did, even the ones that he'd seemed to grow apart from as he got older. He would give almost anything to have them all back here, but it wasn't exactly something he let himself stop and think about often, either. "I do miss them," he admitted finally, deciding there was no harm in divulging some of his feelings to this young girl. It seemed she could relate, though, which he appreciated. "But then again.. sometimes siblings can be more trouble than they're worth. You think you'd get along with them great just because you're related, but it doesn't always work out that way," Lark offered with a gentle shrug. He still would've preferred having them around, sure, but not all family matters were quite as easy as he hoped they would be; he wondered if Caelestis was still young enough that she hadn't fully figured that out yet. But.. then again, she'd already been through quite a bit at her young age. Having her pack taken over, and her family having to relocate and all that. It was more hardship than he'd dealt with at her age, that was for sure, unless his mom leaving counted.. though he really couldn't even remember how old he'd been the first time she'd left. Hearing that Caelestis liked it more here, she guessed, was enough to lighten the mood again and make him grin. "Well, good! I hope your parents decide to stay. We could use with some new fun wolves around here," he admitted playfully, beaming at her. Something about a pup being around made his spirit feel a bit lighter, like maybe everything wasn't so depressingly foreboding, or at least had the potential to not be. Maybe all Abaven needed was some new faces to lighten up the mood and bring something new to the group? She said Brandr had suggested hunting lessons, but also wanted to learn to fight, as well as explore. "Hey, if you end up sticking around, I could teach you a bit about fighting when you get older." His raised his brows speculatively. He wasn't an expert by any means, but he knew the basics and could probably teach her a thing or two. Exploring, though? He could definitely get down with that. And surely her parents would be happy knowing she was being watched by an older packmate? "I mean.. I guess I could take you somewhere cool," he offered tentatively. It was hard to say no to the girl.. she was pretty adorable for a pup, and the whining only helped her cause tenfold. He sighed, defeated. "Where do you want to go? Just don't say you want to cross the rapids. If you try, I'll drag you back home by your scruff." He remembered crossing them as a youngster.. and though exhilarating, it'd been quite dangerous. He wasn't going to get the newest and youngest member of Abaven killed today.

Digesting his words with a serious expression she decided she might just never know how she'd feel about her won remaining siblings. What were they even doing now? Were they exploring? Starting families? She often wondered if they remembered the event that destroyed her parents old home, but she guessed she'd never know or have a chance to tell them the same sort of thing happened when she was tiny.

Her expression lightened at his last words, bright jewel-like eyes flicking shut she she giggled, "I bet they can be annoying sometimes."

"Me too, it would be nice to live here. Although, mom and dad are only fun when I'm good. Otherwise they're running all over the place going 'get back here right now' and stuff." Suddenly she glanced about, as though one of them might come flying out of the bushes or something to drag her back to the den at any moment. Looking up at Lark she grinned, "I like to wake up early and do a lot of wandering. Sometimes they don't like that, but I can't help it. Exploring's fun!"

Features positively radiant with excitement as it filled every inch of her body, the girl gushed excitedly, "Would you really? That'd be suuuper cool, I wanna do lots and lots of sparring and get really good someday." One day she wanted to be the very best fighter possible, maybe the best one ever! Buuut, that would take forever, and she'd have to beat up a lot of wolves so she figured juist doing her personal best was good enough for now. That left more time for wandering.

Bouncing about as she managed to convince this new acquaintance to go adventuring, she spun several more circles, only stopping when she was a tiny bit dizzy, fur a little askew and a toothy smile parting her lips. The girl didn't pause to think, but opted to brainstorm aloud as the many possibilities whirred through her mind. "Uhm, well, there's the beach, or a lake, or high cliffs, or we could climb a mountain, or swim down a river- or, oh, maybe explore a cave or something and find treasure!" A silly smile showed she was half joking, though the idea still sounded fun. They could pretend to be pirates, and carry home lots of shiny treasure and be famous or something!

Who would've known he'd spend a portion of his day discussing such serious topics with a young girl, one of Abaven's newest members? He nearly snorted at the thought. Funny how life worked, sometimes. Either way, he was grateful that Caelestis didn't seem too fixated on talking about siblings - both of theirs weren't around, and dwelling too much on it wouldn't do either of them any good. Instead, talking about her new home was a much better topic. He chuckled at her assessment of her parents, amused at how she thought of them. His own parents - especially his father, who'd had a lot on his plate with running Abaven as well as taking care of all his kids - had been much more relaxed in their parenting style. While he'd once thought his father was perfect, he couldn't help but wonder how jaded he'd been in his assessment of him when he was younger. "Eh. Sounds like they care about you a whole lot," Lark offered with a slow shrug. "Staying here might be a good choice, then. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a bunch of other wolves looking out for you." He could imagine why two parents might be wary of their kid wandering off alone, especially if they were rogues.. maybe staying in Abaven might be the right choice for them, then. He could only hope; it really was nice to have new faces around. Seeing her excitement at his proposal was wildly contagious, and he found himself chuckling lightly. "Yep, when you're bigger I'll teach you all I know about fighting. Until then, we'll just have to settle on adventures. Sound good?" Lark shot the girl a wide, playful grin. "There's some pretty cool cliffs to the east of here I can take you sometime, and some caves to the West across the rapids when you get older?"

A half-hearted shrug was all the child had to offer along with a mumbled "I guess" Did her parents have to fret and worry over her though? Sure, they generally didn't put much effort into actually stopping her from running all over the nearby lands as she pleased, but it made her feel a little teeny bit guilty to know they worried about her. Dang parents and their loving concern. So rude.

Giggling, Caelestis flashed a mischievous smile at Lark before replying, "I'm sure they wouldn't, but I bet I could still keep everybody on their toes! I'm pretty good at sneakin' around, you know." That sounded like a fun game come to think of it! They should all play hide and seek together. Did packs do that? They should. They definitely should, and Caelestis wanted to make something cool like that happen.

Dancing from one paw to the other in her elated state, Caelestis could only manage a few vigorous nods to Lark's words. Adventures sounded amazing! In fact, why wait? Bouncing closer she would fix Lark with her wide, hopeful eyes and squeak, "Canwegonow? Pleeeease, please Lark, I wanna see the cliffs!" Rearing onto her hind legs, she sought to place her front paws on Lark's chest for a more effective begging position close to his face. After that she'd move on to trying to grab his tail and pulling in an effort to drag him on an adventure with her.

Ah, some day Caelestis would hopefully learn to appreciate her parents, even if they seemed a bit annoying and a bit overbearing right now. Someday she would appreciate it.. maybe when she had children of her own and realized just how it felt to have wolves looking after you. The thought even made him feel weird, so he shook it off and happily focused on something else. "Good at sneakin' around, huh?" Lark chuckled, amused at her words and at the image of Caelestis doing this sneakin' she spoke of.  "That sounds like a lot of fun. Better be careful, though. You know it wasn't all that long ago I was your age and I was pretty good at sneaking around too, so I know all your tricks," Lark teased her, knowing she'd never know that he hadn't had a very adventurous childhood. He certainly hadn't spent much time outside of Abaven, and much of his youth hadn't exactly been spent playing and adventuring as Caelestis might be able to spend the remainer of hers.. Another gentle laugh left his lips at her eagerness. "Right now? Hmmm..." He snorted as she moved closer at put her paws on his chest. God, how could he say no to her? Caelestis was adorable, even if he had a feeling she'd drive him crazy after awhile. He even got a sneak peak of it, by the way she tugged at his tail. "Fine, fine. But if your parents yell at me I'm telling them you said it was okay to bring you!" He feigned seriousness as he stood up and headed toward the cliffs, urging her to follow. -exit Lark!-

"Mhm!" she confirmed, nodding in the gravely serious manner of a child that all to often sent adults into fits of laughter at their overly serious attitude towards simple things. She eyed him suspiciously as he stated that he totally knew all her tricks. Impossible! Was this a challenge? Cause she would gladly accept it, and sneak right up on Lark and scare the heck outta him if it was the last thing she did! "Betchya I can surprise you."

At first she was worried that he would say they couldn't go today, but a little begging did the trick and then they were off! Giggling, she shrugged. "Awh, it'll be fine," she said dismissively. They'd be happy to have an extra pair of eyes watching her anyways, right? Even if she did get in trouble, sure wouldn't be the first time so the child figured the reward was much greater than the risk and pressed on, bounding excitedly after Lark.

-exit Caelestis-