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All siblings welcome!

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Time rolled on, and the Callosum children grew with each passing day.

Most of them, anyway.

Nikolai frowned. While his siblings were quick to put on puppy fat and size, he seemed to have fallen regrettably behind. Was he not eating enough? He'd have to take it up with Mama and see about getting in some extra meals - at this rate, even Solana, Yelena and Hazel were outpacing him, and they were girls!

He wouldn't even think about Hemlock or Magnus. They were already nearly half a head taller, and Stellan...

Stellan was soft. He wasn't terribly worried. His meekness would keep him short, surely.

But the rest!

Stupid, he muttered under his breath. Already the pups were old enough to venture outside the den, and Nikolai decided to take out his frustrations on a pebble, kicking it with all his might. The rock went careening through the air -

- Nik squinted.

Straight toward a small figure just up ahead.

He wondered if it would hit.

Stellan was having a peaceful morning.

He enjoyed the chilled northern breeze that caressed his sides, the familiar, sharpened scents of the alpine trees that bit into his nose, and the quiet laziness that enveloped the early-morning day.

He had not been able to chase the sun this morning, but it had been alright—he had told himself—he would try again tomorrow. For now, he remained as stationary as a statue as his gaze had slipped closed and he allowed himself the pleasant minutes of just basking in the warmth of the summer’s light.

It was nice.

Warmth, peace, serenity all balanced by the steady inhale of his breath—In and out and—

BONK.

His eyes flung open, wide as can be, as a sharpening pain radiated like a knife squarely skewered into his skull. He had yelped somewhere between the thing hitting him and his eyes flinging open; but when his gaze turned toward the world around him, he could not quite make out what had hit him.

Stellan sent a suspicious glare toward the sky.

Was it raining?

Though he could not quite recall rain ever feeling like that…

Ow... he mumbled quietly to himself as he stood from his once meditative stance and sent a glance toward the ground below him.

It was then that he spied the rock that had certainly not been there before.

He bent down to sniff at it.

Where had it come from? The sky? The trees?

OOC

Stellan, Nikolai —

The morning rose and so did the little girl, wandering off into the first rays of morning light. One would never know she was afraid of the world, for she took it on with a fearsome little grin. But she did worry about being away from her family. She was a bit co-dependent, but with each passing day, she grew just a bit braver.

And today she wandered to their neighbor's den.

She knew Sølvi, the nice golden woman, who often came to care for them when mother and father needed to go on patrol. Solvi had kids, too, and Eden was naturally ... curious. She wanted to know about them and what they were like. Were they as big and cool and tough as her siblings?! It seemed hard to believe that anyone could be as cool as her sisters and brothers. Especially Finn.

Did Solvi have a Finn, too?!

So, Eden, with her biggest and bravest smile, would wander across the little field toward the Callsoum den. She would take a quick look over her shoulder, wondering if anyone had followed her ... and so far, she was in the clear. ( Shiloh was a bit of a shadow. She wasn't sure why. She'd only fallen down one hill.)

"Ow..."

Eden would whip around, finding herself nearing another child. A Solvi-Kid! Oh! The sound pressed past her lips, ears tilting forward as she looked toward the rock that had just somehow ... magically ... fallen from the sky. With a helpful smile, Eden would lower her head, picking up the pebble in her teeth and taking it a few steps closer to the unnamed boy. This yours? Her tiny muzzle would lower, placing the sharp, irregular rock at the stranger's feet before wagging her tail.

She'd observe the rock for a moment, hazel eyes twinkling. Kinda sharp ...

Why'd he have that, anyway?

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