It was autumn again, and now Vali was a year older than before. A smile flitted across her face as she remembered last autumn, when she whined to Bass about how she was getting old. Well, now she really was getting old. Six years... Vali chuckled in amusement as she stood, her nose seeking out her old friend. Well, if she was old, then he was practically ancient; he was older than her by a few seasons. She snorted to herself as she stepped in front of Bass' den. "Hey, old man," she teased gently. "Get out here before the brown on your nose starts turning white too." Okay, she didn't feel bad one bit. This was hilarious.

"Speech" "You" Think

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He had been asleep. Had. When Vali's voice called out to him he let out a groan, rolling over and ignoring her at first. He was nice and comfy, he didn't want to get up just yet. The pups had kept him up late last night with questions and he just wanted a little more sleep. It wasn't until she called out again, once again calling him old, that he remembered it was autumn. That meant that Vali was a year older as well, and also in heat. Huffing, he curled into a tighter circle. "You're one to talk." He tossed in her direction, not too much louder than a mumble. There was no way he was getting up, if she really wanted to get him then she would have to come in here and drag him out. Bass was very stubborn, that much she should know by now. "Speech"

She... sort of heard the groan. And then there was a distinct lack of noise. She cocked her head, a 'really?' look on her face, but it only took her smart-ass comment to get a retort... and Vali cracked a grin. "Huh, I don't know, I think the fur on my ears is still pretty dark!" As if for emphasis, Vali rapidly twitched her ears back and forth, even though Bass couldn't exactly see her right now. And... wouldn't, because as far as the medic could tell, he hadn't moved. Eyeing the den and letting out a very loud and pointed huff, she dropped down onto her belly, wiggling her body into the den. "Fine then. If your joints hurt too much to crawl out of this den of yours, I suppose I'll just have to join you." Oh man, he really was making it all sorts of easy to retort back. And, of course, it kept her mind off of other things.

"Speech" "You" Think

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He was quite content to just ignore her, wrapping his tail around nose. Nope, not even her sly little age comments would get him to move. At all. Pale ears clung to his skull to try to shut out Vali's calls. He could hear her sliding into his den, mumbling something under his breath as she scooted closer. Growling at her joints comment, he rolled over onto his other side and peeked at her with half lidded eyes. He waited until she was closer before letting out an even louder growl, quickly springing to his paws before rolling over top of Vali, capturing her in his limbs. Letting out a series of growls and snarls he twisted them around until his back struck the wall of the cave. Leaning down he encased her ear in his mouth, pinching it between his teeth, gently grating them back and forth. With one more mumble he dug his nose into her scruff, breathing in his scent before a light snore sounded. Wrapped up in her warmth and scent, it felt like home. It was too comforting not to fall asleep. "Speech"

At the sleepy growl and the half-asleep glare, Vali laughed quietly, tilting her head in a 'are-you-serious?' sort of manner, but of course an amused one. She pressed on anyway, her eyes gleaming with challenge - like she dared him to stop her. She wasn't expecting what came next. In a flurry of limbs, and a high pitched, undignified squeak, Vali found herself quickly trapped by Bass. At his growls, she snarled back, biting and nipping as they flailed across the den until a stop, and she froze as her ear was bit. She growled lightly, though it trailed off after a few seconds... especially once Bass just started using her neck as a pillow and... started snoring. Huffing in disbelief, and just a little bit of laughter, she stared down at Bass. Despite all the flailing, though, this was actually extremely comfortable... but nope, she was wayyy too awake to sleep. And so she moved her head up, slowly enough to hopefully not make the mostly sleeping Bass wonder, and scooted her head a bit forward so his muzzle was more resting on top of the bottom of her neck... and her jaws were near his ears. Grinning in triumph, she immediately started returning the favor from earlier, delivering sharp nips and nibbles in a very clear wake up call.

"Speech" "You" Think

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Her scent, while sharp with her heat, didn't bother him too much. They had been friends for so long that he really hardly noticed it. Besides, her plush neck was too comfortable to not fall asleep on. Only half sleeping, he felt her shift and gripped her tightly in his arms, not letting her wiggle away. It seemed that she was only shifting though, instead just resting her head on top of his. Huffing, he was about to let himself actually fall asleep when she started to nip on his ear. Growling, he flicked the sensitive appendage away from him but she kept at it. Bass let out another groan, releasing his grip on the pale woman and rolling to his paws. "Fine, fine, I'm up." He muttered, blinking his sleepy eyes and glancing down at the woman. A smirk crossed his lips at the sight of her, her fur puffed up in places with dirt and debris stuck to it. His tail wagged a few times behind him as he stepped over her, exiting his den to shake out his coat. Without hesitation he jumped up on the top of his den, the stone warmed by the sun already. He only stood up for a moment before he stretched out each limb. It was bring and pretty warm today, the leaves well on their way of changing. Glancing around, he waited for Vali to join him. "Did you wake me up for a reason, or did you just want to call me old?" He asked over his shoulder, folding himself down to his rump with a chuckle. Curling his tail against him, Bass looked across the plains. There were a few wolves here and there, but no one close enough to really call on. Flicking his ears in thought, a yawn parted his jaws before he snapped them back down with a click. A lovely autumn day, really. He didn't mind getting woken up for that. "Speech"

Success! Her plan worked! Although, she'd almost been tempted to stop when he cuddled her more tightly, her heart warming at the gesture. But she persisted, a smile on her face, one that turned into a wicked grin when he growled, groaned, and finally muttered at her. "Good!" she chirped back to his grumble, her tone just oozing with the satisfaction she felt at her plan working. That, and well, it was fun acting as a child again. When he actually stood up, she stayed flopped on the ground, her tail thumping the ground in return - until he stepped over her and left the den. She followed as well, blinking against the light as she glanced over to the top of the den - where Bass already rested.

She shook herself roughly resettling her fur and shaking most of the dirt off, before stretching herself. It was only then that she hopped up next to Bass, throwing herself down rather ungracefully. She snorted at his question, a smile playing at the edge of her lips. "The reason was to spend time with you, but I just couldn't help myself when the opportunity arose." And she really couldn't; it was just way too much fun.

"Speech" "You" Think

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Bass' ears flicked towards the pale female as she got out of his den, quickly joining him on top of his stone den. With a sigh he looked out across the plain, spotting the herd of deer moving quickly towards the thicket. He narrowed his eyes towards them, concidering a hunt, but was quick to remember that he had a younger man here now who was in charge of all of that. Bass smiled, it was so amazing to see the pack growing day by day, even after all this time. Abaven had had their fair share of trials throughout the years, but they were still here. He had realized that he had to let go of thinking that his pack wasn't enough, that it wasn't leveling up to be what he had planned. They were what they were, but it was sad how long it took Bass to finally realize that. Blinking out of his thoughts when Vali spoke, glancing down at the flopped over wolf. He chuckled, leaning over to playfully tug on her ear again. "Well then, miss one-year-older, what did you have in mind for today?" He asked as he pulled back, swatting the tip of his tail towards her flank. "Speech"

She followed his gaze, although her eyes were qickly drawn instead to the young figure near the herd of deer, and she laughed quietly. It was a tiny, gangly figure, and while she couldn't tell which one it was, she was pretty sure it was one of the pups. "Look there," she murmured quietly. "I think those deer are in for a fight of their life!" She chuckled again, shaking her head.

She huffed as Bass tugged on her ear and she growled at him sternly, leaning forward to nip at his jaw in retaliation. The growl faded to a smirk as he spoke again, and she snorted. "Don't remind me that I'm getting old!" she chastised him. She twisted around and tried to bite his tail, growling at him, although it quickly turned into laughter. "I'm not sure!" She really didn't know.

"Speech" "You" Think

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Watching the deer for a moment, he kept a careful eye on them in case anything went wrong, even as Vali spoke. Chuckling when the dam nipped at his chin, he let out a playful growl in return. "Calling you old just makes me even older. I'm surprised I'm not bound to my den with nasty herbs rubbed all over me." He teased softly, looking back to check on the pups who were teasing the herd. While he didn't mind a few games, he just hoped that they didn't chase them off the land completely. "I'm content to do whatever you'd like, honestly. Even if it's just sitting here in the sun all day." Bass said softly, his head lifted up so that his gaze could trail after the herd as they spooked towards the boundary line. Sighing softly, he had to let out a soft chuckle as the sun warmed his back. It would be a fine day to just relax. Duties could come a bit later, right? Shifting so that his paws hung off the stone, he kicked his back legs off to one side and lay there alert, glancing at the horizon from time to time. Well, as relaxed as an alpha could be, he supposed. "Speech"