Where it all began
Puppy play date! Zee-rius and Tam-sin fams
11-20-2020, 06:41 PM
This was a tremendous day! Finally, after being kept locked down in the Hallows, Artorias and his siblings were being allowed to set foot beyond their borders! Ever since he'd first laid eyes on the vast, expansive world from his first minute outside the den, the little black and blue pup had known he wanted to see it all! Even just around the Hallows there had been so much to see and do, but over the past couple of weeks, he'd ventured almost everywhere his little legs (and his protective parents and their companions) would allow him to go. On more than one occasion, Artorias had meandered near the edges of their territory, watching the waters of the rivers cut through dense forests and daydreaming about what lay beyond. Oh, how badly he wanted to explore it all! And now, after weeks of waiting, the time had come at last!
Following closely behind Tamsyn, Artorias bounded along behind the black woman's legs, taking an extreme amount of self-restraint to not rush ahead and see what was coming over the next hill or past the next tree. She had already fussed at him once when he tried to run ahead and nudged him back in line, much to the boy's protests and grumbles. What was the point of adventuring if you had to keep holding back? Besides, it wasn't like he was trying to run away or anything; he just wanted to see what was around the bend! Actually, come to think of it, he wasn't even sure where they were going. Mama and Mom had told them that they were going to visit some friends, but that was it. Who were these friends? Would they be friends with them too? Would they all be adults, or would there be wolves their age too? Mysteries abounded as they walked past the border separating their home from the outside lands. Despite his young age, Artorias could already smell the scents of other wolves marking the hardline between their lands, smells he hadn't met before. His ears perked up while his tiny black nose twitched. They were officially outside of home.
Flooded with excitement and energy, Artorias yapped and bounced behind Tamsyn, occasionally falling back to Rudyard's side to dance around his brother as they walked. Rudy was like his partner in crime, and the two brothers had already formed a strong fraternal bond. He hoped his other siblings were as stoked to be going outside the pack lands as he was! The trees of the forest gave way to open grasslands, covered only by the cloudless blue sky and warm sunshine as opposed to a canopy of leaves. Artorias had never seen somewhere so open before. He could practically see for miles around! "Whooooa!" the boy exclaimed while rustling through the high grasses. His black and blue fur stood out in stark contrast from the verdant greens and muted browns of the autumn grasses. Wide eyes scanned his surroundings, taking them in with awe. This was just outside his front door?! How many other types of lands existed that he couldn't even imagine?! His mother's call caught the pup's attention for a second before he returned to roaming around the grasslands, sniffing anything and everything he could find. He was going to have so many adventures here!
Tamsyn laid out the rules for them. Be good and don't wander off. Of course, Artorias rolled his eyes, but he knew better than to test the consequences of disobeying his parents. "Yes, Mama," he agreed, drawing out his voice in the way that children did when reluctantly accepting what an adult told them to do. Artorias pushed his small snout through the grasses, sniffing the ground and snapping his jaws at grasshoppers as they leapt for safety away from the miniature wolf. He hoped his mothers' friends showed up soon. He wanted to keep exploring, and them all just sitting here waiting was the exact opposite of exploring.
"Speech" — Thoughts