PLEASE NOTE THIS POST IS NOW PRIVATE.  We've gone several levels of replies in and don't want to be derailed. Thanks for understanding!  <3

Aerndis scrambled down the rocky path with fierce determination glowing in her citrine eyes. The boys were always going off exploring so she was going to to. Maybe she'd go hunting and catch something really awesome like a moose. Wouldn't mama be impressed? She was wandering around the mountainside when a spark of darkness caught her eye.  She turned to stare at the gaping maw of a cave entrance standing out starkly against the snow. Curious she trotted over to the entrance and snipped lightly at the rocks. The thick, heady smell of clay reached out to meet her. She wanted to know what was in there but what if this was where some of the snow monsters lived?  Good!  She'd be the first to kill one and bring it back. Scrambling into the cave she crouched down and began to stalk through the dark. "Talk" "You" Think

"Говорить"

Divo had told her of a cave she had found, one with teeth and how she'd met a boy with a really good stick there. Drawn by the notion of adventure and maybe also getting to find a good stick the girl had made the trek there herself. But neither a boy or a stick she found, instead just a damp musty cave. Which of course was Awesome! Darya was having a blast! First she had barked at the teeth in the cave mouth and when it didn't chomp down on her had ventured further in, eyes wide as she explored the dim surroundings.

At some point she had worked up the courage to try drinking from one of the various puddles of water she had found; fully convinced it was cave saliva. It had tasted musty and not good at all. So definitely saliva. Now she was nosing at a small hole she had found in the wall. She could get her muzzle in it but try as she might her face just kept getting in the way.

So there she was, nose as deep as she could get it in the stone wall, chest pressed to the ground and her rump high with tail beating furiously as she tried desperately to some how fit herself into the hole, unaware of any signs of an approach from behind.

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It was so dark down here! Aerndis could barely see but she kept on traveling. As she navigated she came to a spot where light shone down from a crack in the cave ceiling. With a grin she pounced on the sliver of light that touched the floor. Neat! Above her were spiky things that hung and dripped and there were so many new smells she almost didn't know what to investigate first. A light echoing bark caught her attention and she turned her head to the entrance for a moment wondering what that was but when nothing followed she shrugged and carried on her little journey. Aerndis explored a smaller chamber of the cave, pausing when she thought she saw something on the ceiling but it was to dark for her to tell and there wasn't anything of particular note in the cave so she wandered back to the main path and started down another way. As she turned to go down toward another cavern she noticed something strange and furry moving not far away. It was so dark that she couldn't be certain what it was at first. Was it a baby snow monster? Aerndis crouched down and stalked closer until she realized it was another wolf! One not much bigger than her. A wicked little grin spread across her face as she raced forward and screamed at the top of her lungs. "BOO!" "Talk" "You" Think

"Говорить"

Darya was going to get into this hole if it was the last thing she did, she just had to find the right way to fold her face into it, she grunted and wriggled and pushed and struggled all the while totally oblivious to the looming threat. "BOO!" The noise was loud and sudden and startling! Darya would have screamed if her nose hadn't been shoved into a hole, instead a very muffled yelp escaped her. At the same time she jumped, but because of her particular position instead of a slight, startled jolt, her back legs gave a great push and she slammed the top of her head into the rock wall.

The now stunned girl stumbled back, pulling her whole muzzle free and falling back heavily on to her haunches. "Ай!" She whined, gently rubbing a fore paw along the tender spot on her skull. "Это больно!" She turned her attention in the direction of the noise, lips parting to let out another pained complaint, when she saw the other pup. Her jaw snapped shut with an audible click and hellfire gaze went wide. The strange pup in front of her reminded her of Jupiter and Orion, they all had those markings under their eyes didn't they? Still Darya didn't know this one so even as her head throbbed she was suddenly overcoming with shyness.

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Aerndis laughed as the girl jumped and a muffled yelp echoed around the hole the girls head had been sticking into. Aerndis danced out of the way as the girl stumbled back speaking strange words. What was this? It didn't occur to her that the stranger might not speak the common tongue so she just rattled off a greeting. "Hi!" Aerndis chirped. "Those were some interesting words, what do they mean? My name is Aerndis. Why were you sticking your head in that hole?" Aerndis was wary about sticking her head in weird holes without good reason. Had the other girl seen something cool? Perhaps it had been a frog or something shiny? "Talk" "You" Think

"Говорить"

The other girl spoke, each question melding into the last so quickly she only really caught every other word and just stood there eyes wide. "э-э" She said, her voice tentative. "Darya not speak tongue very good, slow please..." She hoped the other pup would understand she might need to hear the things she had said again, but slower.  

She took a few cautious steps back and away from the other pup still visibly shaken. The girl certainly wasn't super eager to get to know this pup who had startled her and who spoke so fast that she couldn't keep up.

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Aerndis danced from paw to paw, energy seeming to shimmy throughout her body as the other girl stared at her with wide eyes. Was it because of her coat? She bet it was because of her coat. The girl spoke funny! Aerndis giggled and nodded. "Ok, sorry! Darya is a pretty name. My name is Aerndis." She hadn't met anyone that spoke a different language before and she wondered how best to explain herself. Maybe the other girl could teach her her language and they could speak that way? Well… maybe. That would take a lot of time though. "Why did you put your head in there?" She lifted a paw and gestured toward the hole, head tilting to the side to accent her question. "Talk" "You" Think

"Говорить"

There was a bit of a flush of blood to her face as the other pup complimented her name. She still wasn't so sure how to deal with compliments from others, her family made sense but strangers? She just didn't know... Still she cautiously responded in kind. "Aerndis pretty as well. " She offered tentatively, the girl seemed friendly enough and if she was one of Jupiter's or Orion's siblings then she was probably an alright enough wolf...

Aerndis spoke again, indicating the hole Darya had been busy trying to shove her face into only a few minutes ago. "Эта," she began looking back over her shoulder at the hole. "Darya wanted explore hole, but Darya not fit." It sounded silly now that she said it, it seemed obvious now that she wouldn't have fit in the hole... but well... she still wanted to know what was in there.

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Aerndis grinned as Darya said her name was pretty to. "Thanks!" she chirped. It was nice to hang around with another girl for once. Not that she didn't love her brothers but boys could get overwhelming after awhile. Darya stated that she was wanting to explore but couldn't fit through the hole. Aerndis nodded. "Oh, I see. Yea, I hate it when that happens! So, do you like to explore to? One day I'm going to explore all of the North. Do you want to explore these caves with me? I bet we can find some neat stuff. I want to see a bat. Do you think there are any bats down here?" "Talk" "You" Think