you tore down our tree so now we will tear you down!!

Truthfully, Shinrei didn't mind being whapped awake by his brother's paw - he was rather used to it, considering all of their littermates were growing at an exponential rate and the birth den was getting more cramped by the day. What once was a warm comfort became more claustrophobic in his opinion. Thus, he blinked his eyes awake and yawned as he emerged from the den, doing his best to ignore the throbbing of his forepaws in order to keep up the pace with Jiro. "C'mon bro, follow me," He said in their native tongue, making Shinrei sigh softly as he picked through the undergrowth of the beginnings of the Oaks. "Yeah, yeah. Right behind you," He said back.

As they reached a rather muddy creek, Shinrei did his best to carefully traipse around the puddles of murky water that lay near the creek's edge, though it didn't prevent his paws from sinking into the thick pools of mud, either. Even as Jiro bellyflopped into the waters and teased him for being a slowpoke, he simply shook himself as dry as he could, rolling his eyes slightly. He wasn't fussy, so he bit his tongue of any complaint before it could be heard. He didn't like how it would disappoint his parents to see him all filthy, but at the same time, it was to be expected with children, no? He followed closely by Jiro's side, suddenly hearing the thump of fallen lumber not far from where they traveled.

As Jiro looked to him for some recognition of what exactly made the noise, Shinrei shrugged. "Let's check it out then. Unless you want to wade around like a fish." Ah, he'd definitely inherited a bone-dry sense of humor, but it was his best attempt at a teasing banter he could. He began making his way towards the source of the noise, creeping slowly, wondering if his brother had the courage to follow.