The Sentinels Well we hurt each other

ooc: packmates, who wish to meet the kids and kids themselves are very welcome! :)

Osprey had seen Dante off that morning and, though she had put up a happy face, spoken words of encouragement and wished him luck and safe return as soon as possible, she did not tell him that her heart broke a bit more every time he had to leave. It wasn't that caring for three infants was too much for her - after all the nature had equipped her with knowledge and instincts as old as the wolf-kind itself - she knew what to do and her mate did not have yet much place to join in. Or that she would not feel safe, where she had settled at the moment. Not even the lonliness and her missing his calming presence, their precious moments shared together dearly. No - it was the fact that there was nothing she could do to help to alleviate the burden her mate had to carry. 

After she had made sure that the kids were fed, clean and asleep, she settled once again right outside the den entrance and regarded the world around her with a rather unhappy expression.

time and time again deirdre had tried to hunt within the ocean. three times she had failed utterly and completely; she knew she needed to be taught and guided, but foolishly she exhausted her efforts alone. on the morrow, she would request her fathers aid on this front; she wanted to help donnelaith in its trying times. many insisted that she and emaleth eat in these times, though deirdre wished all others would eat, too. she comprehended the world had changed in a way that did not bode well for those that walked upon it, but any moment she could deirdre exerted her efforts in doing whatever she could to make it right.

she had heard osprey had her children; as she escaped the ocean today, beaten and tired, it was her friend she thought of. as she thought of the woman, there came a glowing light—deirdre knew what it meant, and did not question it. she did not sprint after it, either, as she usually might; she moved slowly, keeping her energy in check as her father had bid. the babe soon came upon the whelping den and then, the phosphorous whisp was gone; she paused here, letting out an excited little whine, smelling something so very new to her and wondering what, exactly, it meant.

Osprey had dosed off, without noticing - sleeping the waking hours off had become the best way to preserve energy lately and pass the time. Without Dante and having others wandering the territories beyond Donnelaith in search for food, had left the elder alone.

Sensing the presence of another woke the elder imeadiately and in the first moments of returning to full consciousness, she reacted with aggression, growling at the supposed enemy in warning. However, once she recognized the face, her scowl dissolved, leaving her happy and smiling. She hardly had any visitors lately, therefore Deirdre's presence was a welcome change. 

"How are you doing, little sorcerer?" she asked, skipping a formal greeting.

deirdre was welcomed, met first with a growl but then with a smile. it was the latter that caused her to draw nearer, slowly, her eyes alight with excitement. osprey! i have heard that you have had babies! she gasped at the word, not yet sure what the word even meant, truly. ...may i see them? her tail waved behind her gingerly; a cursory sniff revealed nothing to her but the bare thread of new life, that osprey had done well in hiding.

"The news travel fast around here," Osprey joked about the fact that Deirdre was among the first of packmates, who had come to see the children and who weren't related to either her or Dante. But there was no ill-tone to the sentence and she softened the meaning with a kind smile. She was glad to have a company.

"Maybe not just yet - they are sleeping and it's way easier to wake them up than to make them to take their naps," she declined politely. "You will have to bear with my company for time being and then we will see, if the little guys are in mood of meeting their future friend and mentor."

deirdre smiled at osprey's words. for she had heard, but had been advised to keep away for some amount of time before visiting her friend. it was nothing against her -- or any of donnelaith -- simply the way of a mother! she was glad to be here now, and glad to be received so well by the woman she very much so adored.

i am always happy to be in your company, deirdre beamed, i patiently await the day i will be able to meet my new friends! deirdre paused, tilting her head -- one word she had not heard, and thus would soon add to her vocabularly once 'twas explained to her: mentor?

Osprey chuckled a little about the girl's very adult-like way of speaking that somehow did not fit with her still childish features. She had to remind herself though that Dierdre had grown up quite a bit and was almost six months old. Not so much of a kid anymore. 

"Mentor is someone, who teaches and gives advice. Either in a certain field or... life knowledge in general," she explained. "And I have learned so far that you are quite good with a lot of things - so, perhaps, you won't mind sharing."

the explanation did as it was meant to, and deirdre beamed at the trust placed in her by her friend. oh, i would love to! of course i will mentor them, she admitted and accepted this freely, her tail beating the earth gently behind her. what are they like, your children? this she wondered--did they have personalities? did they talk, yet? could they hear?

"At the moment they are very small and not very exciting - they eat and sleep and cry a lot inbetween," Osprey explained with a smile, taking a moment then to turn and look inside the den. She had thought she had heard one of the kids whimpering, but all seemed to nice and calm now.

"But in a matter of weeks they will have grown into something that resembles wolves more," she went on. "And then - if you would so like - you will be able to play and look after them," she was looking forward to the day, when she would be able to steal a moment for herself again.

as osprey spoke on the functions of the babes, deirdre listened with interest. eat, sleep, cry--she let out a little sigh. it sounds lovely, except, perhaps, for the crying. do they laugh? can they laugh? as osprey went on, deirdre shifted in anxious excitement, tail waving behind her at the mention of her ability to see them.

i would love that, she breathed eagerly. i will come and see them then! she withdrew some from osprey, and rest her head on her legs for a moment. have you been eating well? i tried to cash some fish, but... she frowned.

"Not yet, but soon they will be able to do that too," Osprey replied. She had always found that the laughter of young children was the most adorable sound in the world, because it was honest and true to the heart. As the kids grew into young adults, their laugh changed to one that was more strained, artificiala. 

"Don't worry about me, dear," she shook her head in response to the girl's next question. "Dante is pretty good at providing me for now and I am not that weak not to be able to hunt for myself," though it was true that there could be more food. "How have you been faring?" she asked.

eep!!! maybe we can fade this one out since i hopped into your latest one :)

deirdre smiled at the thought of the babes laughter. i have heard that it is the laughter of children that bring about the fae, her tail waved at the thought of hearing the sound of their joy for the first time.

though as far as not fretting over osprey? i cannot help it, she admitted with a small, anxious smile, though quieted as osprey spoke again. she had never thought osprey as weak, and could scarcely imagine it, and so her grin grew a bit wider--though not in a vindictive manner--at osprey's defense. well, i would not see you become weak in this time. though i am glad to hear you are doing alright, she shifted to nose the woman, the gesture laden with the affection she bore for her. i have been doing alright myself. i am learning to hunt in the waters, she confided, her tail swaying between her hocks. in these times, i have found a lot in the ocean--more than i have found on land, she hummed.

Osprey was about to ask, what kind of treasures the girl had found in the ocean, when the dark cub, who was the biggest of them all, managed to roll away from the warm pile of the other two siblings and ended up whining loudly on the cold den floor. The elder smiled at the girl apologetically and then left her, going inside the den, where the whines were joined by the mewls of the girls. 

"Let's settle this nicely now..." she told in a soothing voice, first grooming her son so that he was simply unable to make noise between the licks, then she placed him tenderly by the rest of the group. There she lied down next to them, offering her warmth. Few minutes later everything was settled and everyone was sleeping. Including the tired mother, who had entirely forgotten about her visitor outside.