Rhaegara was slowly learning the lay of the land. She was learning the various nooks and crannies and what her responsibilities were within the pack. She knew the circle that she wished to enter, how she wished to learn to fight, and eventually she hoped to craft some armor as well though she needed to remember to find Cairo and ask him for some tips on the matter… but for now she was looking for a different kind of knowledge. She was looking to learn more about the pack by getting to know those she would now call family in some of the most basic senses.

What kind of packmate would she be if she did not know her packmates, after all? She was wandering about, no real aim or direction, but a fierce and determined look on her eyes as she looked for anyone she might be able to get to know in turn. She told herself that when she found someone, she would approach them, introduce them to Carlys, and perhaps get to know them a little more if they would oblige her that much.

"Rhae" "Carlys"

Laughter and piggy grunts filled the air. A light dusting was all the snow that had fallen so far, and that had quickly melted away leaving mud in its wake. Arne stomped about in puddles, Arvid on his heels. The young boy, with a cheeky smile on his face had started it, allowing his rear paw to slip and fling mud into the wathogs face. Arvid had frozen mid stride, a mischievous grin in his eye as he quickly dropped his head and used his tushes to rain chunks of grassy mud down on the young wolf. It was then that Arne realised he had small tusks too, and with barely a thought he dug his own into the dirt in retaliation. What resulted... was a battlefield of churned earth and uprooted grasses, deep, uneven furrows filled with water and mud and two thoroughly mud coated boys. They were too busy tossing earth at each other to notice the newcomer, Arne loping on too long legs to move in and tackle the warthog into submission.

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

She was minding her own business when she found the scent, following it curiously, wondering what she would find at the end of her path. Rhaegara wasn’t quite sure what to make of the sight in front of her. A warthog and a little pup both digging around in the dirt, sparring back and forth, uprooting everything in turn. Her head cocked to the side in confusion, though a glimmer of amusement lingered behind copper orbs. “Fighting with the Spirits, are you?” She couldn’t help but ask with a soft tease, making her presence known since it was clear the boy and his friend had not noticed her prior to this. She had a soft grin on her face.

“What are your names?” She asked curiously, her tail thumping lightly against the ground as she took a sitting position, Carlys settling on her shoulder. “My name is Rhaegara… and this is Carlys, my friend.” She introduced the bird who just gave a small squawk of a greeting to him.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

At the sound of a grown ups voice, the boy turned his ears back against his skull, assuming already they would be in trouble for this, but finishing his tackle all the same, ending in a muddy seat. Allowing his laughter to trail off, he finally swung his head towards the older wolf, icy blue eyes meeting warmer tones with a lopsided grin and the wet thud of his tail in the mud highlighting the inherent mischief of the boy. "Somethin’ like that!" Aww mum was gonna be so mad at bedtime, and he hated baths.

She introduced herself and his eyes slid from her, to her bird and back. "I’m Arne and this is Arvid," He motioned to the warthog that was still happily flopping about in the mud. It looked comfy, so he leaned back and flopped onto his back too, wriggling from side to side. "Ma’s gonna be really mad when I go home, but it too much fun." He paused in his wriggling to try and meet her eye from his sprawled position on the ground, legs pointed straight at the sky. "Do you like mud?"

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

Rhae found it admittedly a little adorable, listening and smirking as the mischievous nature of the boy. She didn’t know the boy’s mother, but she imagined she wouldn’t be too pleased to have her child return home all muddy. Arne and Arvid. It appeared his playmate was also his friend similar to how Carlys was hers. She chuckled softly at his words, her head tilting to the side as he continued to make a mess in the muck. “I imagine she will be, if you go home all muddy like that.” She agreed contently before chuckling again as he exposed his belly upward.

He met her eyes and she tilted her head back and forth as if considering. “I like it, from time to time.” She mused as she settled decidedly next to the mud pile that he was playing in. “But too much mud and you might get the muddsies.” It was some illness that Rhaegara made up off the top of her head to see if she could catch his interest with such things.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

This lady seemed ok. She wasn’t trying to stop him from having fun, and she wasn’t trying to get away from their mud fight either. When she mentioned the muddsies though, he rolled back to his stomach, legs spread out sphynx-like beneath him. His ears turned back and his brows furrowed over light blue eyes. "What’sa muddsies?" He asked, throwing a concerned look to Arvid who was likewise frozen on his belly, before suddenly pushing up onto spindly legs and suddenly finding himself very engrossed in some fresh grass that was outside of their mud pit. Why, he was even dragging his body through that grass to get the mud off his hide. The boy felt utterly betrayed, it had to be made up right?

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

A healthy amount of adventure and playing as a child was good for any pup, and she herself wished she’d been able to have more of it. It seemed the term caught his interest and she found herself cursing internally. Shit. Now she had to actually come up with a story for it, didn’t she? Clearly, she had not thought this through. She took a seat, letting her legs fall in front of her to mimic his sphinx-like appearance. “The muddsies are an illness you can get from playing in mud too often. In moderation, it’s fine, but if you’re constantly playing in it, you get a nasty cold and a fever to boot. I didn’t believe my parents about it until it was too late. I had to sit in the den for a whole moon with the muddsies while my siblings still got to run around and play.” She pulled the story from thin air with a soft frown on her face.

“But I reckon your parents have warned you plenty about it, right? You’ve got nothing to worry about as long as you’re listening to ‘em about it.” She brushed it off nonchalantly. Carlys nodded to show her support of her best friend, agreeing with her story despite knowing the lies behind it.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"