Neverwinter Forest and he's stolen the strands of sunlight

AW -- anyone who might want an opportunity to meet @Cypress and @Rannoch if they're also inclined to join?

The day marked one month of his two boys, and while Scimitar had remained somber the past few weeks following the news of his older son’s death, he found a certain amount of solace with the presence of Rannoch and Cypress. They were becoming more curious with each passing day, and now, they’re hearing had finally sharpened to greater heights. Because of this, the regal was tied more closely to the den, eager to keep careful watch over his two scamps.
 
The sun filtered through the trees as morning smoothed across the Forest. His form stretched languidly outside of the den, and while he was in and out of sleep for the most part, the dark agouti wolf kept careful watch upon the den entrance, should either pup wake up and pop their little face out.

Soft morning light filtered into the den, gently reaching towards Rannoch as he woke at his brother’s side. He had just woken from a nap and was rather drowsy from it all. Eventually, as he allowed this sensation to roll off as he woke, the boy gathered himself onto his paws and turned his attention towards the den entrance. His milky eyes caught sight of his father’s form and instantly his expression brightened as this realization came to him. “Dah!” The screech came from within the den before Rannoch made his way to his father.

He galloped clumsily from the shelter and into the open, his tail waving as he rounded around his father. He always cherished his time with his father and getting a little time alone before Cypress made his appearance only made the moment better. As he pulled alongside Scimitar, Rannoch pressed his head to his father’s shoulder and he looked up with loving eyes. “Dah!” he greeted happily as he pulled away from his father’s shoulder to get a better look.

The returning of prey brought great luck to the young huntress, and soon enough she found a plump rabbit hanging limp in her jaws. She was not hungry however, and instead decided to bring it to Scimitar and his family. What better use of the meat?

So the white eared female set off at a brisk trot, tail waving elegantly in the wind. As she neared the den, she slowed down, peering through the undergrowth at the large frame of her alpha. Stomach churned with uneeded nerves, but she forced herself to press on, moving through the bushes to reveal herself to Scimitar. Just as she arrived, a small pupped popped his head out of the den, squeaking his own version of 'dad'. Astra did not know the name of the babe, but she did know that he was the cutest thing she's seen in a long while. 

Green hues flickered to her lord and she dipped her head to him, dropping the prey on the ground and lowering her body so she could be at eye level of both the puppy and her basking leader. "I-I, uh, brought you some prey," she told him with hopeful eyes, glancing at the puppy once more. Damn he was cute.

The sensation of movement did not trouble the soot sprite; he and Rannoch, although mostly inclined to sleep like the dead, kicked and squirmed enough as they dreamed to render the Neverwinter prince fairly immune to being jostled out of his slumber. That being said, the sensation of aloneness was far more concerning — and the chill that gradually replaced the reassuring warmth of Rannoch’s closeness roused Cypress immediately. Before he was fully awake, he bumbled to his paws and blindly careened into his mother like a tiny, fluffy drunk. He nosed at her abdomen, kneading his paws instinctively, but did not nurse for long at the sound of an unfamiliar voice outside the den and Rannoch’s joyous shriek. It broke through the cotton stuffing of his plush, oversized ears, and his fur puffed out like a furious kitten’s as he stalked toward the den entrance and exploded out of it like a spiky cannonball of intrepid exuberance.

His attention was first claimed by his brother and father — howling his joy in a tinny, piping howl that creaked and cracked down the middle, he scampered over to them so ebulliently that he couldn’t stop himself by the time he got there. He tripped over his oversized paws with a soft thwup! and careened forward on his chest with his rump in the air like a fawn on an icy lake, the inertia from his gallop parallel parking him neatly beside his dust bunny brother. With a babyish sneeze, “Nah!” he giggled delightedly at this turn of events, his misty blue eyes turning then to his father. The steady whirring of his tail threatened to send him airborne — seeing Scimitar was always a special treat, for although the Frostfur patriarch was as attentive and loving as his mother, his duties brought him away from the den more often than Eshe. “Dah,” half-chirped, half-crooned the shadow-wrapped boy. “Awuffoo!” I love you!

This left the new female, whose dark fur and bright eyes at first reminded him of Allure — but she sounded different and she certainly smelled different. She had brought with her a fluffy heap of something that smelled distractingly like food, and the rumble of Cypress’ bottomless pit of a stomach clamored in answer. If she had brought it, certainly it was for Rannoch and Cypress to take — wasn’t it? Indulgence left Cypress without caution, and he padded curiously toward the proffered food and toward the female who had brought it along. “Wooah?” he squeaked out a bit uncertainly, feeling that this must be — no, couldn’t possibly be — his sister. They looked so alike to his baby eyes, he found himself confused, and the confusion introduced a new edge of uncertainty that made him hesitant. “Wooah?” he repeated, looking to Rannoch for verification that this was totally weird.

He was given an enthusiastic and equally rambunctious greeting – he expected no less from the curious and rowdy boys, and as Rannoch’s silver face poked out of the den, Scimitar’s own broke in to a grin. He shifted his weight, turning his large form toward the boy as he toddled up alongside his father, and bending down, the Alpha cast a playful nip to his son’s ear before nudging him.
 
It was then the gentle sound of pawfalls turned one ear back, and blinking, Scimitar cast his eyes upon a nervous Astra. The ebony she-wolf had been within their ranks close from the beginning of the pack’s founding, and had proven to be one of their more loyal members, alongside @Mazi and @Goldhawk. “Astra,” he greeting with a rumble, nosing Rannoch before standing up now. His gaze fell to the prey, and he smiled, dipping his muzzle in gratitude. “Thank you.”
 
He paused then as Cypress exploded from the den with just as much energy as his brother had only moments before. There was a streak of black, and then the boy tripped – and swiftly, the cinnamon wolf would sweep forward, his muzzle smoothing over the boy to ensure he was fine, despite the harmless fall.
 
“This is Cypress,” he noted, casting his eyes back to their visitor, noting the boys sudden fascination with her. “And that rascal is Rannoch.”

Two soon turned to three as another wolf slinked onto the scene. Unlike Rannoch her approach had been timid, reserved and to this the prince perked his brows. What was wrong? Hierarchy was an ideal that was far from his basic knowledge and this left the child at a loss of words as she dropped the morsel before them. Despite the urge to launch forward and grab what she had gifted them, Rannoch remained at his father’s side, knowing he wouldn’t be too pleased with those actions. Guiltily, he looked up to his father for a moment before turning his attention back to Astra and wagged his tail to show his appreciation for the gift, even though he couldn’t properly enjoy it.

He very much wanted to go and explore this new wolf, but as these thoughts almost drove him in her direction another wolf came onto the scene. The drumming of smaller paws drew his attention in the direction of the den and when Rannoch realized who was busting out the Rannoch’s own paws danced excitedly. “Cy!!” the silver boy greeted quickly with a bright smile. Though it had been mere minutes since they had seen each other it had felt like eons to the prince. He was used to being constantly at Cypress’ side and anytime he was alone he felt as if something were missing.

Cypress arrived with a lack of his normal enthusiasm. Tilting his head in response, Rannoch looked to his brother with worried eyes. What was wrong?  But as Cypress made his confusion apparent (to Rannoch at least) the realization overcame him with sheer force. How had he not noticed it?!  “Wooooah!” he echoed, trotting over to his brother’s side. Did she know Allure? Were they best friends like him and Cy? Several unsaid questions swirled in his head as he looked up to the new wolf with a smile and spoke the only question that he knew, “La?” Do you know her?

Astra smiled down at the puppies, tail thumping against the ground. "H-hi, you guys!" She said gently, eyeing both with wide green eyes. Scimitar greatly took the prey, and the boys inspected it. Cypress seemed very interested in the catch until he really noticed her. He walked up to her and chirped a couple words she did not understand. Rannoch followed and she frowned, unable to understand them. She glanced at Scimitar for help. Maybe he knew what they were saying? He was there dad after all.

I am not sure if @Astra’s body is still lowered to be down to the boys’ level, but if not, please let me know and I can change this! Also, I used “paw” about a billion times in this thread. @_@ Sorry!

Cypress had emerged from the den moments after Scimitar had spoken Astra’s name, but as smart as the puppy was, he might not have been able to pick up on the social cue anyway — names for Cypress and Rannoch were generally spoken slowly, with great emphasis on the ownership of them. He felt no shame as he padded up to her, his tiny paws aiming to clamber unhindered over her outstretched forelegs, but her sudden frown of confusion stilled him completely. Was he in trouble? Had he done a Bad Thing? He stood with three paws on the ground and one just short of touching hers. He was wholly and utterly sure now that she wasn’t Allure, and informed Rannoch of this in a voice that shook. Too nervous to move from his crouched position, “N-Nah,” he squeaked out. “No Wooah, no Wooah.”

With exquisite slowness that would have been an animator’s nightmare, Cypress inched his paw away from Astra’s in a careful rewind and placed it on the ground. He was quite near to her, his muzzle only centimeters from her white-tipped paw; all four of his little feet clustered together beneath him as he made his small form even smaller and bent his head. In truth, he resembled little more than a shrub of obsidian fur — a brooding black robin.

It never occurred to the father that the boys would confuse their sister with Astra – and so as he watched them babble to one another, eliciting a conversation they both seemed quite privy to, he noted Astra, like him, did not understand any of it, and he gave a gentle shake of his muzzle, unable to help her. “I usually nod and smile – or distract them with something else. @Eshe is the brilliant one who seems to understand every word they say.” His mate was a woman of many wonders.
 
Stepping forward to nose both boys – his nose lingering attentively to Cypress who was completely crouched now, he felt amusement quirk at the corners of his mouth at their reaction to perhaps the most gentle-natured pack mate they had. “Astra,” he spoke, the word forming more slowly now as he lifted his muzzle to indicate the Epsilon to them. “Pack.”

N-Nah. Cypress’ tone started Rannoch and quickly her turned his attention to his dark sibling with concern upon his face. “Cy?” He watched on as his brother crouched and broke the news and with this new information Rannoch’s attention shifted quickly. “No La?” he asked, dumbfounded by the revelation. His eyes quickly sought those of the other and studied on in silences. Moments ticked on as he looked on with hard eyes and furrowed brow as he attempted to name the wolf before them. But, as moments crept on, he became more inconfident that he even knew who this wolf was.

She had to have been a wolf on good terms by the way that his father had greeted her. As his tiny wrecked at attempting to solve this mystery he sat and stared at her, the emotion fading as he fell deeper and deeper into thought. He was only jostled from his thoughts once his father began to speak. Turning his attention to the alpha, Rannoch watched on silently. Astra. His attention returned to Astra and he nodded. The next word was one he knew quite fondly: pack. “Awsta!” His attempt at the other’s name was sloppy at best. “ ‘M Nowch!” Despite his previous introduction he felt inclined to introduced himself as Eshe had taught them.

And so, as he introduced the boys to Astra, the father cast her a gentle smile before stretching himself out upon the ground. His children held a curious nature, and as they made themselves familiar with the she-wolf, the cinnamon wolf remained content to simply watch for now -- and revel in the current moment where his pack was at peace.