With the pups all old enough to travel Valentine had made the executive decision to leave Fireside with them. As proud of his son he was, the loosey goosey atmosphere wasn't quite what he wanted for his kids. Whoa, what. Did he say his kids? He meant Jupiter's kids. Anyway, he'd loaded his kids up in Jupiter's cart, hitched it to a donkey Tyrian had acquired during the plague, and set off for rogue lands. Valentine had made it clear to both Jupiter and Motif that they were welcome to tag along, but he'd also made it clear that he would not be deterred. These pups were the future and he intended to give them the best chance at life.

Both the cart and the donkey were too small to carry all the pups all the time, so the kiddos were taking turns. Even with that, when the donkey reached the muddy river all progress ground to a halt as the wheels became mired. When no amount of swearing or threatening could move the cart Valentine figuratively threw his hands up and decided to take a break. He sighed. "Alright, kiddos. We're going to stop here awhile. You can play but stay close because if anything grabs ya I ain't running it down, you understand?" It was hard to say whether or not he meant it.

Ao was the smallest and despite trying her hardest was oftentimes the first one to start falling behind, subsequently she was also the puppy that would most travel in the donkey’s cart. The little star speckled pup hated the fact. She wanted to be out, using her own four legs, walking beside pop and exploring everything before them. She just wasn’t quite there yet. Not that it mattered all too much yet as the cart was suddenly stuck. No matter who got out or pushed it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Or so her pop’s cursing led her to believe.

She hopped out of the cart, secretly delighted by the satisfying squelch as her dainty black paws were sucked into the mud. A tiny giggle left her lips as she lifted now muddy paws and started to explore, mindful to heed the warning of getting snatched up. Immediately her attention led her to the waters so she meandered in the direction of the shore.

"Aoede Regni"

Ulmaria bounded after the cart, stopping every now and then to grab a random plant and stuff it in the little bag her lemur companion was carrying. However, as the journey dragged on she started to slow, instead just focusing on walking. She yawned and sighed heavily, when at last they came to a stop. Hooray! She was going to get a drink then look for a few herbs and then nap. Assuming Valentine let them rest that long.

She scrambled to the edge of the water and proceeded to drink. She felt her lemur companion grab onto her tail to stabalize her and she growled a little. She was a big girl! She could drink on her own! Thirst quenched she sat back at the sand and gazed out at the massive river. "Woooow, there's so much water!" This wasn't at all like the little creek in the range.

Kal had been in the cart and out and back in more than once.  The boy loved looking over the edge but, you know, sometimes you can look a bit too far.  Once the ground was muddy it didn’t matter if he fell out, the ground was plenty soft.  So it was by the time the cart was stuck in the mud Kal was already a muddy little wolf himself.  He had tried wiping mud off of himself a few times but had only really managed to make it worse.  Eventually, he gave up on the whole matter.  If he spent all his time worrying about a bit of mud he’d miss out on this opportunity to play.

Looking around the brilliant pup realized he could actually combine play and cleaning!  That river looked about as impressive as you could get.  His wide-eyed gaze grew as he neared it.  The boy tapped at the water with a paw, it was cool to the touch and he grinned.  Touching turned into kicking the water with one front paw.  Even better!  Stepping in a bit farther he got both his front paws into the water, his back paws just barely not on the water.  Lowering his chest he starts kicking up the water with large splashes, water gets on his belly, legs, face, and chest to get off some bits of mud, and make some spots just all the muddier as the water mixes in.  Really though, it's fun regardless!


"Speech"

Kore stays out of the cart as much as his little puppy legs will allow. There are others who need the space more and being on the ground allows the galaxy hued boy to keep watch over his siblings. Small bodies jostle around the cart, often jockeying for the best position to jump into mud puddles or other things. The purple clad boy falls back, skirting the edges of groups while keeping the cart in view. Kal has already managed to get completely covered in mud and Kore shakes his head at his clumsy sibling. Bright eyes look up to the cart, spying Ao in the back. He offers her a smile as the group comes to screeching halt. With a small sigh of relief, the purple boy makes his way off the muddy road to take a seat and listens to the beautiful strings of expletives his grandfather throws out. Oh, he had never heard that one before. Might need to use it.

When their pops lets the pups knows they are taking a break, Kore stands and shakes out his coat. Eyes watch Ao as she jumps out of the cart and slowly starts to make her way to the shore. Another pup streaks off toward the water with Kal hot on her heels. Huffing a sigh, Kore calls out to Aoede, “Sis! Can you keep an eye on Kal? You know how he is.” The pup throws her wink as he makes his way to where his grandfather stands at the head of the cart. Looking up at the older man, Kore asks, “How can I help grandfather?” The title of grandfather is not spoken as insult, it is given to the man because he is the oldest and, in Kore’s mind, the wisest. He stands there, awaiting direction.


"Kore Regni"

They'd taken off... taken off to go to bigger and more wild places. Really, Ivy was pretty excited about that. Just a few days ago he'd said something to Lo about wanting to explore more... now they had the chance. Still, there was a bit of a pit in his stomach. What if mom couldn't find them now that they'd gone? Would she know how to track them down? Maybe. He hoped. Still, all he could do was hum her lullabies to himself, to Lotus, just barely loud enough for either of them to hear over the clipping of the donkey's hooves. Self-soothing behaviors were the name of the game, after all. It wasn't like Ivy could carry a blankie, after all.

The donkey was tired, or something. Valentine said they could go do... well, kinda do whatever? Ivy would take that. He smirked at his grandfather's words, gaze swinging among his siblings. As Kore crossed to speak to Valen, the blue boy wrinkled his nose, mumbling something under his breath that sounded a whole lot like kissass. Unless anyone was directly by his side, it wasn't loud enough to hear, but the sentiment remained the same.

"Anyone wanna find something to hunt with me?" Ivy shouted to his siblings, tail wagging. "We can bring back somethin' big enough for everyone," he cast the words over his shoulder, already tracking off their roughly beaten trail, nose to the ground. Right, if he had help, they could take down something bigger. Something the could all enjoy... already, the boy felt as if he was always hungry. Maybe it was because he was always moving.

"Words"

if anyone wants to join Ivy in hunting, I put a starter up here

Motif walked beside Valentine, her attachment to the kids stronger than any ties to the Fireside pack itself. And while she knew she should make her way home to Abaven eventually, she didn’t feel quite up to that yet. These little ones needed a motherly presence, both litters having lost their mothers. She knew she could not and would not fill that role, but they still needed a female in their life. Someone to ask the questions they would not feel comfortable asking Valentine.

When the cart got stuck, and Valentine set the pups out to explore, Motif also sent her caracal and raven to keep an eye on them. She moved to help Aeode hop out of the cart, but the dark blue sparkled wolf had already made the jump. Grinning at the tiny girl, she sent her caracol to keep her company, with her raven giving a more general watch over them all.

She smiled at Kore as the boy came up to Valentine and her, asking if there was anything he could do to help. She let Valentine answer that, as the man in charge, and made her way over to the donkey.

"Motif Destruction"

Leaving Fireside was no small thing. It was the only place Lotus had ever known. He gave the sheep a fond wave goodbye, having enjoyed teasing and chasing them when no one was looking. The den that was their mothers was the hardest to leave, though they had been shipped into a different den with Auntie Motif long before this day. Motif was not his mother, but she still gave good cuddles, so he was glad the woman was coming with them.

Lotus (naturally) stuck close to Ivy through the trip. He enjoyed the way Ivy remembered their mothers songs and hummed the lullabies in his soft tones by Lo’s ear. Lotus knew he could never replicate them, or remember the words, but Ivy did. He held a piece of their mother with those songs, and only added to the long list on why he loved Ivy the most.

When they came to a stop, and their grandfather gave them permission to explore, he hopped down beside Ivy and shook out his coat. He snickered softly at his brother's words and straightened at the mention of a hunt. “I’m in” He said, stating the obvious.

"Speech"