Word count: 244

Ajax stopped a paw down hard and savoured the sound of the dry, crisp leaves crunching under paw. It wasn't quite as satisfying as splashing about the in the shallows, but it was a close enough second. More than enough to make the trip out here worthwhile, that and he had the bestest company in the form of his buddies Scald and Rexx. The pirates were all just one big family at this point and for what it was worth, they might as well have been his brothers. If not in blood than certainly in arms. Kneading on the spot, he happily crunched and squashed all the fallen leaves under paw. Knowing his playmates such peace wouldn't last, whenever they all got together someone always started a fight. Sometimes it was him, sometimes it was one of them. Didn't really matter in the end, no one was keeping count. Still, he couldn't help but notice a lot of leaves were the same colour as his fur.  All orange and bright, dappled with splodges of brown where they were starting to die. He turned around on the spot, and dug his paws into the leaf litter before promptly kicking them up into the air, making it rain leaves like an april shower. If some landed on Rexx's or Skalds faces then...oh well. No harm done and they knew him well enough by now to realise he was just playing, doing as a puppy did best. W E T

Scald was more than happy to follow his brother, Rexx, and their best buddy, Ajax out toward the ravine. With the three of them together, surely they would be safe from any harm! Well, the harm that wouldn't be doled out by each other at least. They kind of had a tendency to get into play fights, a lot. But that was what being a pup was all about! If they weren't trying to pummel each other, would they really be friends? Quickly distracted by the first crunch his paw made atop a bed of fallen leaves, his eyes grew wide. Whoa, this was a different experience. His other paw slapped forward and made another loud crunch. Oh, this was cool. Way different than the way the sand would dig between his toes or the ocean water dampened his legs. Prancing from one paw to the other as he squealed with laughter, Scald enjoyed the way the leaves fell from the trees and shifted around on the ground. While he definitely wasn't paying attention to what Ajax or Rexx was doing, he looked up just in time to get a face full of leaves. Sputtering the icky taste out of his mouth as he gasped in surprise, Scald leaned down into a play bow. "Oh, you'll get it now!" He barked in that taunting and playful tone that all puppies had as he dug his muzzle under the leaves before flinging them up into the air. Hoping it was aimed in either boy's direction, Scald let out a jolly laugh. word count: 504

Rexx bounded ahead in the far reaches of the ravine - a definitely very safe place for young pups to jump and roam. Fear meant nothing to him when his friend and brother were both here, by his side. The top heavy boy glanced back at them as he loped at the front of their little pirate pack, a mischievous grin curling his tusked lips. The protruding teeth were already more formidable than the day before, nearing their adult size. In fact, the trio were all shooting up in height like weeds, depending on their builds they were both bulking in muscle or stretching into longer limbs. The end of their childhoods were on the horizon, but yet it felt so far away. Each day they were together he cherished deeply. Not that he'd say that aloud - he wasn't one to speak in cliches. But he really, truly enjoyed these moments. More than anything. He, too, crunched the abundance of auburn, ochre and fiery leaves beneath his large paws, nub tail wagging as he boldly swished his way through the swath of leaves in a wide=stepped gait, making sure they flew everywhere - even skidding around on his hind paws to ensure a generous smattering of fallen leaves fell on his two partners also. "Got both of ya now!" He yelled out playfully, sinking into a play bow to match Scald's as he waited for one of them to strike again. The light in his eyes and the grin splitting his lips was enough to tell anyone that he was having a wonderful time - no work, and all play. word count: 269 "speech"