Rudy had put some deep thought into how to help his new friend and adopted sister.  He couldn’t begin to understand her sense of fear but it was a troubling thing.  Being open to just Rudy or Rudy and all his other siblings wouldn’t be enough.  He wanted her to feel safe with everyone here but, admittedly he wanted her to feel perfectly safe around him.  The motley grey pup had never really shown any concern for his siblings to this extent but he knew even if some were quieter they were still fine.  The fear he had felt in Tika had just felt wrong through his every fiber.  How could someone else's fear be so palpable to him?  He had to save her from herself. Playing and talking with her would surely help, right?  Rudy had found himself a nice spot to spy from earlier so he could think.  If anything interesting happened he should be well hidden to listen in but little attention was given right now to the hiding.  It was probably some of the best hiding he had ever done!  His brain had focus inward on a serious topic that kept his tail from wagging or his body from squirming.  How long did he spend there?  Not long enough to spy on anyone but long enough that he started to feel his mouth get dry after a time. His final decision was that he should try and get her a gift.  Maybe showing he thought of her would help her realize how serious he was about wanting to help her?  Now he could easily come up with ideas of what to give a gift to his sisters but this was somehow different.  He’d just grab whatever was lying around and sell it as a well thought out gift to give one of them.  He wanted something that really said he cared.  Once more he was following his gut and it assured him this was important even if he couldn’t fully understand his own logic. In the end, he would have to ask a girl what would be most meaningful to a girl.  Bowen had met Tika already so that meant not only would she know what girls liked in general but she might have a good idea for Tika also.  Well, maybe asking his sister for advice would make her happy also?  Rudy did love his sisters but tended to follow the assumption they should know that so he didn’t need to express it much.   With his decision made he would head towards the areas Bowen tended to be at most often.  He wouldn’t pounce her, she wouldn’t find it nearly as fun as Art did and right now he didn’t want to upset her for sure.  You don’t upset the wolves you are about to ask advice from, even sisters. "Rudyard"

Bowen was rinsing rocks in the river, looking for any that might be particularly shiny. She'd found some strange glittering stone that was a golden color. The stone was bumpy and weird, but she rather liked it. After tucking the stone into her pack, she continued sifting through the riverbed. They weren't really supposed to be near the water, but how else was she supposed to wash off the rocks to see if they were shiny or not? Caramel ears perked as she heard approaching paws and the girl turned her head. A smile pulled up her maw. The corners of emerald eyes lifted as well. She was kind of surprised that he hadn't snuck up on her, but she wasn't complaining. Tail wagging, she took a step towards her bigger sibling. "Hey, Rudy. Want to look for shiny rocks?" Yeah, she was still a little childish compared to the rest of them, but she was the baby. "Bowen Arrow"

Did he want to look for shiny rocks? No, not really.  On the other hand, he loved his little sister and he did want her help. “Uhm, I can help for a little bit, sure but, I need some help first, ok?” What did his sister define as shiny enough to qualify as ‘shiny’?  Maybe it would be ok and if nothing else he’d spend a few minutes playing with Bowen, something he really hadn’t done much of lately.  She wasn’t interested in all of his favorite things like hunting and fighting but that was alright. “So, it's about Tika.  You spent time with her right?” Well, more than just time in the den and he assumed Bowen could figure that part out.  “Something has her scared’sh and I want to fix it cause she's family now.”  Sure, he got her to play a bit but that was a temporary fix and he knew it.  He needed to do more than one round of games and chatting to make her fully feel at home. “So, I thought maybe if I got her a gift of some sort would help?  Um, what type of thing would a girl like as a gift?  You know, something extra special.”  Probably something more than shiny rocks. Rudy’s gaze dipped into the water that she was cleaning off her rocks in.  “Did you find the rocks in water?” That would be a surprise with how Bowen was generally pretty well behaved.  His littlest sister certainly wasn’t a risk-taker by any means. "Rudyard"

Rudy seemed a little distracted, but he agreed to help her search for rocks for a bit. Some help was better than no help, so she nodded in agreement. The girls viridian gaze went back to the rocks and pebbles that littered the shore as she searched for more shiny things to add to her collection. She sifted through the stones, tossing boring and plain ones out into the rushing river. Not that it was terribly rushing. She'd chosen this spot because the water was so calm. Too turbulent and she wouldn't have been able to see through the water on the bank due to all of the foam. Caramel tipped ears turned as her brother began to speak. Tika? He wanted to talk about Tika? He spoke about the older girl being scared and Bowen nodded. She had definitely noticed that the patchwork pup was skittish. Bowen didn't exactly know why, herself. There was no danger in the Hallows. Their moms kept everything safe. The only reason she could think of was maybe that someone had hurt Tika before. Wherever she came from, maybe it was bad. Rudy's next query had her turning her attention completely from the water, her gaze now focused solely on her spotted brother. He wanted to give Tika a gift? Interesting. The small girl tilted her head a bit, one brow raising. "All girls are different, Rudy. I like treasure. Mom would like weapons or something. Mama would like flowers." She gave her head a shake and looked out over the river, deep in thought. After a while, she turned back to Rudyard. "I don't think Tika feels safe yet. I think something made her really scared before she came here. So give her something that will make her feel safe." Bowen nodded in approval of her own words. "Maybe a big, soft fur all of her own. Not just one of the ones that mom lets us use. Something that belongs to her." When asked if Bowen had been looking for rocks in the water, she laughed and shot him a mischievous glance. "Yeah, mom said I could because I wasn't," she cleared her throat and attempted to speak in her mother's voice, "'some dumb pup that would get washed downstream'" A little snicker left her before she started sifting through rocks again. "Bowen Arrow"

Rudy’s focused gaze skimmed the water, stepping close to the edge a paw dipping in to nudge little rocks this way and that to see what mystery might be below them. Sparkly.  Sparkly.  Grey surely wasn’t sparkly.  There was a flat black one Rudy thought was kind of cool looking though it wasn’t shiny? Using Lying down so he stretch farther he managed to pull in the rock.  Rudy of course couldn’t have liked one closer to the shore, right?  Still, he hadn’t gone in the water and only got on the very edge, “This one isn’t shiny but its really smooth and the black is super dark, is that good?” Bowen was easy enough in his mind to get something for.  He’d just find something different and bright and assume she’d like it.  There was no limit to tree or feather or oddity in his mind, it just had to look different and even if he didn’t always get the best thing it still showed he tried.  That was how he’d hunt for his sister though and this was Tika who was sis instead of sister. Mom with weapons made sense but Tika definitely didn’t seem the sort to want weapons.  Mama liked flowers?  Would Tika like flowers?  Rudy’s brow furrowed as he tried to imagine if that would be right but then Bowen came up with a better idea!  “That’s great Bowen! I’ll find her a great fur!  Something super soft, and It’ll be just for her!” Yup, Rudy had found an idea he liked for latching onto.  Rudy flattened his ears back at Bowen’s variation of their mom, “Heyyy, did she really say that?  I’m not dumb enough to get washed downstream. You don’t think I’d really do that, do you?” She got a hopeful look before looking back into the river at all the different rocks. "Rudyard"

The rock that Rudy chose wasn't one that she would have chosen, but because he picked it, it was officially special. The girl took it from his paws and slid it into the little sack around her neck. With a smile that made her eyes squint, she went back to looking for rocks beside him. It didn't matter who she was treasure hunting with, Bowen was always glad to have company. It was even better with the company was her family though. Rudy seemed to like the idea of getting a fur for Tika and Bowen's little tail wagged furiously. "I think she'd really like to have something of her own." She nodded again in approval of her idea. If Tika was anything like Bowen, the gift would be extra special because it was given to her by someone that cared. Bowen laughed aloud as her brother seemed saddened by her reenactment of their mother. "She was just joking. I don't think you'd get taken downstream." She grinned playfully. "You might get a little wet though." "Bowen Arrow"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Rudy was clearly happy now that one problem was solved.  With that question out of the way, it was easier to focus on helping out Bowen in this search for shiny rocks.  “Of course I wouldn’t,” scoffed with a bit of drama to show it was all in good fun, “besides,” Rudy looked up with a roguish grin, “I’m getting bigger all the time.  I can wade through deeper water without it being a problem I’m sure!”

It was tempting to find the perfect depth pool to prove himself but this probably wasn’t the best time to get in trouble.  He was going to be asking mom for help with hunting and getting into trouble wouldn’t up his odds of getting to go.  Also, while he did love Bowen he wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t snitch on him for doing it.  Rudyard really did try to behave but it was hard when a part of his mind argued with wanting to test himself or prove himself or grow too curious to think about the rules until it was done.  Self-control might be one of the hardest lessons Rudy would have to learn.

Rudy worked on turning over a larger flat rock that had blocked his easy digging in one spot. He could have just moved over a bit and been fine but it was like some small challenge to make the rock leave instead of Rudy moving.  Eventually, the rock was flipped with plenty of little creatures rushing off.  He had no idea what they were just super pale and tiny and didn’t really look fish-like.  The baby shrimp had rushed off to find a new hiding spot.  Below the rock though were more small rocks and grit.  He dug out a curious looking one and once out of the water found a portion of it was a boring grey but the other half was practically clear with jagged edges.  He had found a bit of quartz.  “How about this? It’s real shiny up top?”  Surely Bowen would like this one? Couldn’t get much shinier than that!

Bo gave an amused snort as Rudy defended himself against the statement. Their mother was implying that the boys were less cautious than the girls. She believed it to be true simply by observing her brothers. Rudyard was probably a little more careless than Artorias, but they were both boys. Boys were prone to danger, it seemed. As long as Rudy was careful in the water though, Bowen didn't care what he did. She wasn't a tattle-tail by any means. Sifting through the stones, she didn't find much else that interested her. Not until Rudy brought a particularly interesting stone over for her inspection. Taking it from him, she turned the stone over and gasped, green eyes flying open wide. "This one is so pretty! Wow, that's a really good rock!" Putting it with the others, the small girl grinned up at her brother. "Thank you! I'm sure Tika will be just as happy with whatever type of fur you give her." Bo's little tail swished happily back and forth as she moved her attention back to the interesting rock that her brother had found. "Bowen Arrow"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Rudy had found a rock his sister liked, excellent.  The water didn’t feel cold despite the fall weather, though from what Rudy understood once winter was here that would change.  Bowen got a small flagging wave of his tail and gentle nudging of his head against her shoulder with a wink back at her.

“Sometimes I just get lucky huh?”  Rudy was ok if he caught prey once or twice by luck or beat Art in a spar by luck on occasion and so was the same with finding a pretty rock for his Sister.  Of course, talent was better but Rudy had no plans to ever study rock finding  He took a few more steps away as if he’d leave but then turned his head again, “So, what else are you collecting anyway?  I guess if I see something I could scoop it up for you.”  

Bowen was small and maybe even more it was her lack of interest in fighting that made it hard to not want to make her happy when he was around her.  She was sweet and obviously enjoyed having him around.  Maybe he’d get Bowen a gift for helping him out.  Were all shiny rocks just near the water?  Rudy hadn’t really paid attention to them in the past.  

Having decided that she had enough rocks, Bowen began to rinse her soiled paws in the river. Ears perked as Rudy asked what else she liked. The girl chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, I dunno." Paws clean, she picked up her little bag and moved back towards Rudy. "Pretty things. Shiny things. Interesting things. Things that no one else has." Again she shook her head and shrugged. "Special things." Standing on her tip toes, she placed a little kiss on her brother's cheek. "Thanks for being so nice, Rudy." Bowen loved her brothers and sisters. In her mind, there was no chance of them ever not being close and happy together. They were a nice, good family and she hoped that Rudy's gift to Tika would make her realize that. It made her sad that Tika was sad. This was a safe place and it would make her so happy if Tika would feel safe here too. "Bowen Arrow"