But everybody knows my name,

Her eldest son, Warwick, was one who looked closely like herself. The Queen held a rich of dark brown colors, she was known as one of the purest Deorwines that were, and one of desired coats.. Though her children, most held holy and a mixture of cursed, only one held closest to her own. She wondered too when the litter would show their true eye color, would he also bare the same orange?

Yet to see their newly changed eyes, she sought out the young prince @Warwick, for it was now his time for a walk to elkshire. She peaked within the den, and prodded his growing body with her nose, a small nudge to his sleeping form. Perhaps he might've heard the rest of his siblings adventure.. Now it was his turn.

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With Summer nearing its end, there was a fresh dewy mist that filled the pup's lungs as he reached for that deep breath when prompted by his dams muzzle. Immediately pushing all four limbs outwards, and twisting his head from side to side, seeking that alleviating stretch, he slowly woke into the new dawn.
 
A silence and stillness meant none of his other siblings had yet stirred from the nest, one that now had become marginally cozy with the ever-growing litter.
 
He turned to be met with Mothers’ warm autumnal eyes, with his own now subtly dripped with a golden glaze over the yielding blues.
‘Morning Mother’, the duke whispered, deterring any other family members from awakening in this precious moment, a moment that was so rare to have just his Mother and himself.
 
Failing to keep up with the tempo in which his legs were sprouting, he inelegantly pushed himself up, nearly falling over in the process, mentally cursing his imbalance. Regardless of his unprincely manner, his tail swung enthusiastically and his tongue swept at his Mothers’ chin in an adoring greeting.

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"Good morning Warwick," did the mother greet her son back. She was greeted by the coming of but a yellow gaze, a smile to her face as now the colors were coming to form. Though much like his mother, the sole difference to be was definitely now the gaze they carried ; she of fiery pumpkins, but he like yellow of the fireflies. She licked his head and rubbed back, a comfort that within the end, all that had happened.. She had them.

"Come now, before your brother and sisters awake. Let us go for a walk."

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Engrossed with the mini bath he was receiving, his eyes closed and he smiled, indulging in the affection from his dam.

All came to an abrupt halt though, when Mother summoned him, to leave their stale nest that was heavy with bodies.
 
With the excitement of the unknown, of an adventure, his tail was uncontrollably waving from side to side, and the energy swayed his little bottom. He followed his dear Mama outside. Keeping to her flank wherever she’d lead them.

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Can be a single post unless she's noticed/interacted with.   :)

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She slept soundly, until the sibling against which her back had been pressed removed himself from her. Feeling his absence, Maral's dozing was interrupted. The dark-furred Déorwine blinked against the light of a new dawn that beamed into the royal chambers, and hoisted herself up onto her elbows to glance at the empty space at her side.

A quick look around confirmed the absence not only of Warwick but of their mother, too. Still feeling drowsy, Maral parted her jaws in a wide yawn and gathered to her paws to step carefully over @Edith's limbs and toward the den's entrance. At the threshold she paused and studied the forest before her, dark gaze quick to find the retreating forms of both her sole parent and her lookalike cub. The sight awakened something unpleasant within her and although she did not much appreciate the feeling of being left behind, Maral was not so disobedient to follow without invitation.

There was little she could do but look longingly after the duo, with the bitter taste of jealousy on her tongue.


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Though the attempt to slip out was not unnoticed, she looked back momentarily to see one of her daughters slink out, and watch. She could only offer a smile, and a paw to her own lip as a 'shh' to the other. The hope to not stir the rest, for all seemed to be a bit jealous once they realized @Calhoun got his own adventure. She then had decided they all would go on their little outting if so choose, and soon, Maral would have her time.

The mother did not invite her, for the moment was her sons turn, "What is one place you would like to go in all of The Elk's Crown, Warwick?" as the two would walk further away from the den of slumbering children.

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As they moved away from their regal residence, he felt his Mother pause and turn, and instinct was to parrot this, his head turning to glance in the direction of their den, and his eyes fell on his sister.

Her own eyes told the story of her feelings, and the duke couldn’t help but stick his tongue out at her in the delight of being singled out by their dam, with little regard for his siblings’ emotions.

Boys will be boys and all that.

The sweet, refined voice of his mother came next to divert his attention. He paused, with the line of his brow creasing, abundant he was in deep thought, searching his small mind of what secret or whispers he’d heard others speak of.

It then came to him, of the species all spoke so highly of. ‘Can we see the Elk, Mother? Where they live?’, his eyes glossed with curiosity.

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She nudged him slightly, like a slight warning to not further entice his sister. She could understand the jealousy that would form further, as most caused but some trouble earlier. Celnes didn't linger too long on that though, nor vocally tell him off. Rather the two would continue walking, as he asked excitingly to see the herd. She paused in thought for a moment, a humming for a moment as she wondered to which area in particular, to go.

"We call the herds main land, 'Little Thicket,' and the King could be there.. Though next to it is 'Little Fawn Grove,' where the herds babies are being guarded." The Queen so explained to her son, as the two would turn slightly from their straight path and closer into the woods. As the two areas were close to each other, only a few trees to make a line between so, she saw no harm in bringing on both.

Though for Little Thicket.. They would need to keep a distance, for the King of elk were there.

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When he had turned from taunting his sister so, he acknowledged the nudge, but with a giggle that oozed mischievousness. The child was conscious of his doings, though what was life without a bit of humor… — at others’ expense and his sole gain that was.
 
Their trail took a turn, deeper into the woodlands, of which he would eventually care to patrol later on in his prime adulthood. The land and domain that was his home, his mothers' pride.
 
The light of dawn would accentuate the flecks of amber in his eyes, and these were shimmering with curiosity. Taking it in and heartily attempting to commit all to memory, the winding paths and footways that would link to every corner of Elkshires’ claim.
 
His mother would share the names of the herds’ territory, where they'd seek comfort and refuge within the protected lands and trees. ‘Lit’l ficket’’, he tasted the word and tried to mirror his mothers' pronunciation. ‘Lit’all fawn grove’, his voice but a mutter as he did so.
 
The duke would trot every so often to keep up with his dams pace, keen and eager to learn more and he didn’t want to be left behind.

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They were growing fast, she thought. Some part of her was rather pleased at the development, for it meant soon they could help along the borders. Yet, the motherly instinct somewhat is saddened by their growth, the factor they will become a being of their own persona, not something she gave birth to of a soundless mind. The Queen chuckled at his attempts to pronounce so, almost getting it, but still a bit always from perfection. Some of them as well couldn't do 'mother,' though she was rather quick to attempt to correct them. 'Muvah,' in particular, seemed to stick to some.

When the walk continued on with but a mindless looking about, only finally, did they approach a clear. Her ears flickered at the sound of moving elk, and the scent of them so. No other wolf was currently around ; solely them and the herd. Her paw moved a part of a bush that was blocking the view, letting Warwick see them in all their glory.

They laid within a clearing, though none were young. Further away would be the clearing of the fawn, but at the moment all that there was the male elk and the doe's who had yet to breed. The sun shined down of them as the sun was coming up, a glorious look of golden across the brown pelt. Celnes looked down at Warwick, a pride tingling from the perfection that was his own ; to be a Déorwine, was to be closest to the elk, and he was her pride and joy.

"Don't be too loud or you'll upset them."

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Little legs grew tired from the endless journey, but his motivation for sourcing the herd, drove his paws to carry him onwards, without faltering in mothers' stride.
 
The silence twisted between them, only the breaths of his heavy panting would be heard, with his tongue bouncing around unsupervised. All he kept thinking of was what he would be boasting to his siblings when he got back!
 
Upon reaching the grounds of which the hooves of the Elk frequented, his dam slowed, and he zig-zagged between her front legs, sitting between them under her chest. She brushed the shrub in front of them as if it were the curtain to a backstage of a prestigious theatre.
 
And he sat silent. In awe. In admiration of the strange creatures. All perfect replicas of his bull caretaker.
 
‘Woooow’, he whispered loudly, paying wise attention to his mothers' warning. But after a few moments of watching each, of all the settled doe quietly mowing the fields here, his head fell back into the blanket of his mothers breast, gazing up toward the underside of her chin, ‘Can we get closer?’. Specifically more impressed with the bulls here, he wanted to test his limits and boundaries right now, like the curious soldier he was.

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"We must keep a distance," She so warned her son, shaking her head at his suggestion, "only very few allow us to get near. We must respect their decision - for as predators, they will always be wary if we were to turn on them." Though the Elk may have settled with the wolves entering the land and remaining to refrain from hunting them, there was always a line between the two. In the end they were predators with teeth and claws, and they were herbivores without so ; naturally to be hunted one way or another by something that was not of their own forest. The stag's didn't enjoy when they got too close to the doe's, especially those carrying children.

"Only if they invite you. Do you see any, that are approaching?" but rules were different, if the elk were to approach them. She licked his head, and motioned forward to watch any that peered at them with a curiosity.

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The prince simply nodded his head, in mute understanding. Though in the child's mind, really, swirled the words: what was the occasional rule to perhaps not obey blindly? Now that he knew the route, he was sure to bring a daring sibling he could find in the form of a sister or brother.
 
But then mother offered up a small pass, a clearance if they were to approach, and he seized this, immediately leaning forth to scan the herd, though none had been the wiser of their discreet act of surveillance.
 
Instead, he opted for a clearing of his throat, which may or may not have resulted in a nip or batter to the head from his queen, a telling off for disturbing the grazing elk. His plan, albeit sly, worked. The closest to them, a doe, much to the duke's dismay, was alerted and watched the duo with ease of caution, no doubt only seeing their ruler overlooking them, bypassing a camouflaged pup.

He daren’t over-step the mark with his mother, on such a treasured outing, and opted for another question for a tale to be told.
 
‘Why would we turn on them? Are they bad?’

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"Sometimes it is in defense. You see the stag's with their antlers?" her paw raised and pointed toward the clearing. Though some were still young, an occasional stray of elk held but a beauty of points. Yet, it still couldn't be compared to that of the king himself a monarch in the hidden that almost was that of a guarded, to his own kind. He preferred to stay hidden away, and even the Queen, rarely saw him. Though in his stead, Vaskian often was the leader, and she wondered.. If the two ever duked it out.

"If you upset them too much they'll come at you with those. Only in that case, it is alright to harm them. That is, self-defense. Understand?" Her gaze aligned to the nearest of doe's, who gazed at them with but a wariness. She was not @Vivian, but that of a female elk. A gaze upon them without a sound, another that was without such a blessing of the High Elk themselves, and did not tough of wolf speak. Though in respect, a subtle nod was given from the Queen to the other, as she swept back her gaze to her son.

"That does not mean they are bad.. For them, it is but surviving in areas with predators such as us, and thus, need to defend their own life."

Then did the Déorwine mother look back at the rest, a scavenging eye for any hostile males.. None took that stance, and she felt it was relatively safe, "Approach with a calmness and caution," she so warned.

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"You see the stags with their antlers?" His eyes darted to and fro to locate the thickset bulls that would don the large branches of bones, a display so impressive in its own right. He merely nodded, now dived into another story told.
 
"If you upset them too much they'll come at you with those. Only in that case, it is alright to harm them. That is, self-defense. Understand? That does not mean they are bad.. For them, it is but surviving in areas with predators such as us, and thus, need to defend their own life."
 
‘Yes, mother, but what-’, he’d been cut off as she invited the inquisitive prince forth. Triggered by this thrill of peril, the dark pupils that dripped in the middle of honey eyes, dilated and he used all his energy to concentrate. A paw drew from beneath his gangly frame and timidly moved ahead. A mere meter was put between his darling queen and him and he looked behind to see if this was okay, of if she were to pursue him.

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She stepped forward from the area, making herself known to the deer - but her presence carried not of a thread, and no attempt of hunting. She made sure her tail was to be low and head not too high in the matter, as the other elk looked over in but a curiosity, and a wariness to be. Some even stepped away, fleeting further into The Elk's Crown.. Though she sat, any more attempts to go further would most likely scare them away, but her son, was interested them in the time being. Celnes did not want to ruin that.

The Queen smiled at Warwick, a reassuring look to go further, "if she seems frightened or angry, we must respect that, and turn away."

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She stepped forward from the area, making herself known to the deer - but her presence carried not of a thread, and no attempt of hunting. She made sure her tail was to be low and head not too high in the matter, as the other elk looked over in but a curiosity, and a wariness to be. Some even stepped away, fleeting further into The Elk's Crown.. Though she sat, any more attempts to go further would most likely scare them away, but her son, was interested them in the time being. Celnes did not want to ruin that.

The Queen smiled at Warwick, a reassuring look to go further, "if she seems frightened or angry, we must respect that, and turn away."

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His mother joined his side, and carried on the pursuit, guiding him further. As she did so, he studied the way she collected herself, her streamlined, imperturbable poise. And the baby duke refined his own, perfecting his stance of pacific nature.
 
He was now a little frightened of the bulls, and the peril they carried, one he was not aware of until this very moment.
 
His mother was still, and so was he. And there was a reason for this, he watched as the silent leaps of does retreated back into the arms of the trees of Elkshire. Only a few remained, in unsighted bravery, or curiosity.
 
A green light was once more offered, and he decided to take the plunge this time. A doe, stood tall and motionless. He walked slowly forward, hesitant in some moments, but in others, he pushed on. She remained calm, perhaps completely unthreatened by the minute predator.
 
Reaching a few meters before her, he was still within an outstretched eye of his dam. Though his frame trembled in slight apprehension. ‘Hello’, he whispered, in a hushed tone so delicate that maybe even the fine ears of the elk couldn’t perceive it.

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"Only very few can speak our tongue. The herd, cannot. We will never know of their names." She told her son as he greeted the doe. Though he may try to speak, she knew in the end that the other would never motion toward wolfspeak like that of the divine deer and elk. She too was shocked even at the thought of them being able to, but her own were not used to such ways hearing that of Vaskian speak on occasion. 

"Come back now Warwick, she looks a bit fearful." Perhaps their lingering presence was now giving them a but of a scare. She could see in the back some of them moving away and retreating to further away from the place, and the Queen felt it was an appropriate time to move back from them. It was best to retreat away before the bulls started to grow aggressive.. She thought, an eye toward them in the background who never once, took their gaze away from them.

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A silence came between them, his greeting unanswerable, but little did he know this. His queen shedding light on this just as he was to echo it a little louder, misinterpreting the quietness. The young Dukes’ ears horizontal now, a little deflated from this revelation. Sad times.
 
The sacred elk stomped a foot, with just enough warning to make the Duke take heed. His mother even faster to take note of its action, and the way most had now escaped his vision. Still mindful, he didn’t turn his back on the prey, instead warily taking careful paces in reverse, acknowledging his mothers' order first, ‘Okay’.
 
When he knew he was in the clearing, the prince made haste to his dam, unaware a breath had been held and he panted in exasperation of the whole experience. Taking his time, watching as the last elk disappeared through the sentinel of trees that’d curtain the wide field.
 
‘What now, mother?’, was he to get another invitation to go elsewhere in their rounds?

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"We'll finish the day with patrolling, before heading back to the rest." She looked at her Prince as he seemed a bit too excited over the ordeal - and energy had yet to be lost. Celnes felt it simply wouldn't be looked upon fondly to take him back without proper exercise, and hummed when she thought of the suggestion. Though he was young, she could take him through her rounds near the the royal den - that of marking and sniffling to make sure it was safe. Soon they too would learn to do the same, as the borders would be filled with clear Elkshire scent - and too following her path around.

The Elk's Crown was the most important, but when had time did they mark the forests around. For the time being, she would wisk her small prince to around the kingdom of the crown, awaiting for his joints to grow sore and tired. To ware him out, and then take back to their home of others. Surely so, the rest would soon follow the same experience.

wrap here?

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Their quality day out seemed not at an end just yet, the dukes tail embodied his joy and swayed from side to side as his dam would let him in on another quest.

He would keep to his mothers flank or rear, attached as close as he could the whole journey, enjoying the new sights and smells. Ears tall and eager to receive new information of all levels of importance, to swell the sponge of his knowledge about their home.

When his mother guided them back toward their royal den, he'd nudge his queen with the tip of his nose, a little kiss, with eyes full to the brim with joy, 'Thank you for today, I had lots of fun', a smile followed his words, and thereafter went to check his stockpile of leaves, unaware the weather was to turn for the worst in the coming days and he'd lose his precious collection.

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im happy to end on my side, can close here or up to you if you would like to reply/close

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