She woke up at the break of dawn, the sound of light rain pattered against the earth. Looking at her brothers and parents asleep she silently wiggled her way out of the heap to the den entrance. She wanted to go outside, to stop being afraid for once and be brave. And there was only one way to do it, to just step outside by herself. Light blue eyes peered outside in the raining gloom, swallowing the lump in her throat and padded outside. The rain was cool against her skin, soon drenching her little body. Something about the rain was soothing, like the caress from her mother or the warmth of her father. Head lifted to watch the rain fall, a soft smile curving her lips. As she moved farther from the den, mud squished between her toes making her giggle ever so softly. The rain seemed to purify everything it touched, rinsing it of dirt and impurities. The sound as it landed was the only thing she could hear now, drowning and muffling any other noise. For once she could enjoy everything at a slow pace. Instead of taking everything in at once every time she stepped out of the den. It was a relief to the young girl and she would take a moment to close her eyes and just breath in the rain cloaked earth. Eyes opened as a sharp scent drew her attention, head lowered and body slightly crouched as she tracked down it tangy sharp smell. Coming to a bush with large broad leaves she eyes the plant. Mind puzzled over if it was safe or not before teeth pulled off a leaf to chew on. The scent grew stronger as her teeth cut the leaf, spilling it's mint juices on her tongue. Tail wagging she stood the chewing on the leaf happily. Loach and Ar should be here, they'd like this. But she couldn't risk waking up her parents too. Speech Thought Others

The patter of rain on the ground pulled Laoch out of his deep sleep, making him grumble and roll onto his back fussily. He thought he would bump into Shikoba in his movement, but her form was mysteriously absent and he went rolling all the way over onto his other side because of it. He flopped over onto his side with a soft thud and a confused snort, his sleepy gaze darting around in a sudden panic. Where was she? The black pup pulled himself to his paws and took a better look around. Momma, Daddy, Ardal... but no Shikoba. His ears flicked back and he padded over to the entrance of the den. She couldn't have gone outside, she hardly went outside when everyone else was out there! But when he peered out into the rain there she was, her little pale form drenched from the rain. Glancing back at their family to make sure he hadn't woken anyone else up he darted out into the rain, his paws that were too large for his small body splashing through the mud. He bounded up to her, his two-tone gaze wide and excited. "Shi! You're outside! Why're you in the rain?" He looked at the plant she had bee standing in front of and he sniffed it just as curiously, its bright scent making him wrinkle his nose a bit, more from surprise that from it being a bad smell. "What's that?" Speech Thought Others

With the strong sharp taste of the leaf, everything seemed clear to her. Like the plant had made her nose more clear and her mind more alive and alert. Though when Laoch called out she jumped, shrinking down and looking back at him almost guiltily. But when he stood by her excited and happy to see her out her own her own she sat down with her head slightly lifted up. She did feel proud of herself. She was outside, and went out all by herself! She continued to chew her plant till it was all crumbled up and dry and spat out the remains of it.Hi Laochie...Rain feels good. And plant taste good. She replied back in a voice as soft as a whisper. Her words were few when spoken, right to the point. There were very few she talked to but Laoch was the one she talked to the most, if she ever did. She adored her brother, he was brave and strong. She wished she could be like him. In a way they were opposites. While Laoch was brave and adventurous, Shikoba was shy and cautious. But she relied on her brother a lot. He told he if it was safe or not, if everything would be ok. Ears twitched before she suddenly pulling more leaves off the bush and held them out to Laoch. Chew it..Dont swallow leaf. She mumbled, tail wagging slowly, wanting to share her discovery. Speech Thought Others

His sister's quiet nature was something that he was used to. In fact, he couldn't imagine her being any other way. For him, it wasn't strange, it was simply how she was and he loved her just how she was. His ears turned forward to listen to her quiet, broken sentence. He wasn't sure if he could agree with her about the rain, but he had to assume she was right about the taste of the leaf. He couldn't say he really say he quite liked being drenched like she seemed to, but he wasn't going to leave her out here by herself. His two-toned gaze followed her curiously as she suddenly turned to pull off some more of the leaves. He sniffed at the leaves, more with curiosity than caution, before gently taking them from her and starting to chew on them as she instructed. He trusted that she wouldn't give him anything that wasn't good for him so he didn't hesitate to follow her lead. He blinked with surprise as he chewed it, the bright, sharp flavor of it clearing his nose. It felt like he was more awake and aware and he smiled, his slender tail thumping against the muddy ground. "That's awesome! What is that? Why does it taste like that?" he asked around a mouthful of the chewed up leaves. He knew Shi told him not to swallow it so when it started not to taste so good any more he spit it back out onto the ground. Speech Thought Others