Now that freedom was upon her, she never wanted to return to the den of her birth. She wanted to full every day with exploration and games. She wanted to reach the stars and bring one back as a feather to wear in her coat, which would outshine the world. She wanted.. To not go to close to the water, which she had discovered was freezing cold, and felt like it was biting her toes with little tiny teeth.

She raced from the den’s entrance to start the day exploring, feeling the eyes of her mother on her as she did so. She knew, vaguely, that Shaye was always there, watching over her, even when she couldn’t see her mother. She liked that Shaye didn’t interrupt, just stood in the background like some invisible safeguard.

She ran straight into Poem, growling as she went, aiming to bowl her sister over with the force over her run, already letting loose a tone of growls, little teeth aiming for her toes, just like the water had to Motif.

""

Poem breathed in the crisp winter air. Her breath was released with a cloud of fog and the young girl watched in wonder as it floated and twisted and dissipated into the clear air. A wide grin overtook her face, the sun’s light would glint off her baby teeth. She backed up eagerly as she exhaled again, swishing her striped white tail behind her. She giggled softly before rushing forward again, her chest breaking the snows surface in front of her. Poem loved playing outside, adored the freedom awarded to her by her mother.

The pup knew Shaye lingered just out of sight, but she wasn’t overbearing while she watched them. This gave Poem a strong feeling of self sufficiency, she didn’t need her momma to kiss every booboo. She did eventually need her to warm her toes though, and despite her reluctance to admit it, coming in to the den to warm her feet always seemed to be her favorite part. She was far from ready yet though, and her tiny body wasn’t even shivering yet.

Poem looked about her, wondering where she wanted to go next. She didn’t much enjoy her mother’s enforced boundaries, but for now she would accept them. The small Destruction couldn’t even fathom how much there would be to explore, but for now she’d amuse herself with seeing all of the allowed places. She turned to head in her chosen direction when suddenly she was tumbling around in the snow.

With a pronounced ’oomph’ she tumbled underneath the sudden appearance of her sister. Poem squealed excitedly in turn, feeling the nibbling of her white toes. Unable to make such loud noises inside the den Poem let her lungs loose before seeking to bite at Motif’s ears.

Her pounce had knocked Poem over, and now Motif was on top of her, the toes her prize! She nibbled at them, finding the fur cold in her teeth, but Poem’s squeak only enticed her to nibble further, tickling the soles of her sisters feet.

She released her sister and flopped overtop of her, back on her sister, eyes on the sky. “‘ish so big ” she commented, indicating with a paw the sky, and then Abaven, encompassing the whole world outside of their den. She still had so much to explore, and see and do. So many toes to nibble, and wolves to tumble! Just so long as she had her sister by her side, she knew she could conquer anything in the world.

“Mumma said the rocks near the water sometimes have s-sal-aman-aders” she tumbled over the long word. “She said they hard to find in winter but I bet we prove her wrong!”

""

Motif was on her, and Poem was unable to bite at her sister’s ears like she wanted to. She squealed in defiance, but the action quickly turned to giggles as Motif switched to tickling more than nibbling. Poem released a peal of laughter, unable to move from beneath her sister’s weight before she finally relinquished her grip. She gasped for air as her giggles reduced to gasps as Motif readjusted herself on top of her.

Poem followed her litter mate’s gaze as her similar blue and violet gaze searched the endless sky above them. Everything really was so big, especially compared to the two of them. She felt so tiny in the big world, so much different from the feelings she had in the den. She ruled the roost inside, but out here she was not as confident. However those feelings of insecurity didn’t stop her curiosity. Poem wanted to explore everything, see all the world had to offer. She was going to do it with Motif at her side.

Motif already had an idea of what they might be up to today. Despite how cold the weather was they needed to play near the water. Some places in the rapids had nice little beaches where the water was slow enough to freeze. Daddy had told them very specifically to stay off the ice, but they didn’t have to go on the ice to catch salamanders. That was if they could find them.

Poem felt herself grinning widely at the challenge. If mommy said they couldn’t she was going to find a way to do it. She was stubborn enough she might just find a salamander in the dead of winter. The girls pushed her sister off her back, and with a wicked look she challenged her to race. With no warning Poem leapt away and ran as fast as she could towards the bank of the river.

She gave her tail a happy wag behind her, and waited for her sister to agree. She often let Poem take the lead, her older sister had a strong, determined personality, and it was easy for Motif to fall into line. Instead of agreement, Poem challenged her to a race, taking off without any warning.

Motif yelped in surprise, tail going a million miles an hour behind her as she leaped after her littermate. She slipped in the soft snow, scrambled forward, and put everything into racing. Her balance was precarious, and she occasionally tripped over her large paws.

Poem bet her to the rapids, and Motif was breathing heavily as she arrived, laughing joyously as she skidded in beside her sister and came to a stop against her side. “No fair!” she commented on Poem’s easy head start, but she was laughing, so there was no real conviction to the words.