Redhawk Caldera one jump ahead of the breadline

All welcome! BACK DATED TO JULY 26TH!

 
It was only a matter of time until Fiadh became mobile. She had undergone the process of learning how to stand for the majority of the morning and, despite her fatigue, she set forward with determination well into the afternoon. Fiadh's movements were almost like an unspoken procedure as she attempted to stand; she stood, she wobbled and then she toppled over. But even with the numerous failed attempts under her belt, she persisted. 

There was a fire in her baby blue eyes as she hoisted herself from the ground to stand again. Once in position, Fiadh sucked in a sharp breath and awaited the inevitable.

*making all kinds of assumptions here* @Finley, if this isn't OK just let me know and I'll edit/delete! <3 Finley helped Rayray with her siblings so much, it only makes sense that she'd return the favor! :D

Raven understood all too well the strain that motherhood put on one, especially in those first months when the puppies demanded attention literally ALL the time. She had absolutely zero regrets about her days nursing and raising her siblings -- it was an experience that had changed her in so many wonderful ways, had taught her so much and had truly made her grow up and understand her priorities. But man. She would not be doing it again anytime soon. That shit had been rough.

And now Finley was dealing with it all over again. She knew this wasn't the alpha's first time raising kids by any means, but the lines in her face and the red edges of her eyes told Raven that her aunt was in serious need of a break. Raven didn't have anything particularly important to do today, so she'd offered to watch the pups for a few hours while Finley took a break and had some time away to herself. The pups had been fed recently, so they would be fine for a while. As Raven affectionately shooed her aunt away, she settled herself amidst the lumpy pile of vaguely wolf-shaped fuzzballs and smiled at just how damned adorable they were. They were all fairly still -- probably sleeping off the milk coma -- but one, the baby girl whose name she thought might be Fiadh, was busily attempting to learn to stand. The dark theta remained still for a time, an idiotically adoring smile stuck on her face as she watched the tiny child do her thing.

A HOUKIE!! <3 Thank you for joining!

 
Surprisingly, the inevitable did not occur. Despite Fiadh's fatigue, she somehow remained upright. It was difficult for her to comprehend the different outcome, even though it was the very response that nature urged her towards, and for a moment she found herself dumbfounded. Of course, given her short attention span, Fiadh was not pre occupied for long. Instead, as she became more accustomed to her surroundings, she scented an oddity: Raven. 

Raven's scent that had so easily blended into the background that Fiadh had forgotten that the dark-haired medic had taken the place of her mother. But, despite Finley's absence, the child was glad to see the stand-in caretaker. Shuffling on uneasy paws, Fiadh positioned herself so that she could look to the other wolf head-on. 

Without overthinking about clearing the distance between them, as instinct took the wheel once more, Fiadh ventured forward an unsteady step towards Raven with a wagging tail. Unlike standing, that had taken so much time, the stepping portion of this evolution was a lot easier for her to get a hold of and was practically second nature from the get go.

Following her ambitions, she toddled forward until she stood right before the medic. With her task accomplished, Fiadh reclined heavily onto her hindquarters to sit. This whole day had taken a toll on her, and it showed in that way her tiny shoulders hunched forward. Despite this, her expression was as sunny as ever as she looked up to the caretaker.

OMG. <3 Fi is so precious. <333 I am so stoked to thread with you!

As the child fumbled around to look at her, Raven thought her heart might explode. She just couldn't handle how adorable the tiny girl was. She had a brief flashback to when her own siblings had been this young, and a small part of her missed it. Puppies were so amazing, and they always held such a powerful grip on her heart. There was not a shadow of a doubt that Raven would love these children as her own, just as she had her brothers and sisters. It was the way of the wolf, but more than that, it was the way of Raven.

She felt a thrill as Fiadh began to toddle toward her, and she smiled and made encouraging motions to the girl. After a few wobbly moments, Fi sat down in front of Raven, clearly tired but proud of herself. The healer praised the girl by showering her with gentle kisses, hoping she understood that she'd done a very good job. Learning to walk was hard work for one so young and weak, and what had just happened was a monumental achievement. Honestly, Raven was honored she'd been able to witness it. Smiling and wagging her tail, she backed away from the girl a few feet, beckoning her to try again.

<3 <3 <3 SAME!!! So sorry for my delay!

 

Showered in an array of kisses and various affectionate prods, Fiadh saw the reward that came from walking. She had always been a sucker for the praise and recognition followed her achievements, and it appeared that what had come after her toddling seemed to be the biggest reward to date. This was motivation enough for Fiadh to continue her efforts in hopes of getting more love. 

When Raven distanced herself, the child swiveled her seated position to follow where her dark-furred caretaker went. When Fiadh was beckoned, she quickly forgot the fatigue that plagued her tiny body. Raven's excitement was contagious, and the Sigma quickly fell victim to the sensation. So with her new spurt of energy, she did as she had been prompted to. With her eyes shining brightly, and her whip-like tail waving at her haunches, she walked again. Thankfully for her, the distance between herself and the Caldera's Medic was significantly shorter than her previous jaunt, and she quickly found herself before Raven once more. 

With some energy left to her name, Fiadh remained standing as she tipped her muzzle back to look to Raven with a broad smile that seemed to say, "Did you see that?! I did it!" as she anticipated whatever affection she would be given for her efforts.

No worries! As you can see, I tend to have delays myself, haha. :)

Raven knew that this was a real challenge for the girl, and she felt such overwhelming pride in the child's grit and determination to try. As one tiny paw was placed in front of the other, bringing the little grey fuzzball closer to her, Raven encouraged her with approving nods and an ever-present smile. She remembered when her own "kids" -- the siblings she had raised herself only mere months ago -- had begun taking their own steps. She remembered how excited she'd been when each of them had begun to fumble and wobble about, exploring their space and making mischief for their caretakers. Oh, what a wonderful thing to witness!

When Fiadh had finally reached her again, Raven saw her beaming grin and understood the look in the girl's stormy blue eyes. "Yes! Yes!" she exclaimed softly, knowing the puppy couldn't hear her but saying it anyway. "My smart, strong girl! You did so good!" Positively vibrating with excitement and delight, she gently pulled the child closer to her in a hug and covered her with kisses and nuzzles. She couldn't wait to tell Aunt Flea when she came back!

Like Fiadh had anticipated, Raven celebrated her efforts. Greeted with kissed and nuzzles, the Rho accepted all of her caretaker's affections with a smile. Once she was repositioned closer to Raven, Fiadh allowed her fatigue to overcome her. Falling heavily to her right,  and colliding whatever limb was closest to the child, Fiadh leaned onto the other wolf for support. Though she was not the most comfortable, she did not indicate that she felt anything but happiness. With smiling eyes still trained on the medic, she watched and wagged her tail.

Erhmagerd, I am sorry this took so long! Ack!

As the little one succumbed to her tiredness, she leaned her minuscule weight against one of Raven's forelegs and smiled sweetly up at her. The medic felt her heart implode (again, for the zillionth time) in her chest and gently tucked a paw around her and pulled her closer to her chest, where the soft black fur might offer some warmth and comfort. She briefly contemplated telling the child a story but quickly scrapped that idea, imagining that the still-deaf child wouldn't find a story nearly as engaging as Raven herself would. A moment later, though, a scurrying motion caught her eye and she spied a beetle picking its way around the other sleeping pups in an attempt to get outside. Grinning, she reached a paw over and flipped the bug back toward Fiadh. It was a relatively harmless beetle, not one of those scary horned things, and Raven wondered what the girl would do.

You're totally fine, love! I took just as long!

Fiadh found herself growing more fatigued as Raven pulled her closer and cradled her against her breast. Breathing deeper, as sleep slowly came upon the young child, Fiadh was nearly asleep by the time that Raven reached forward to flip the bug in her direction. Focusing on the movement, Fiadh turned towards the disturbance sleepily and quickly spotted the insect. Instantly intrigued, as she had never seen a bug in such an unfavorable position, Fiadh pulled herself away from the warmth of the caretaker's chest to get a better look at it.

Curiosity brought Fiadh to her belly drove her to slither closer to the flailing creature. Though she had come in contact with several of these creatures in her short existence, she concluded that this one was different than the others. With this conclusion made, and once she stopped before the insect, Fiadh investigated the creature in the only way that she knew how to.

Reaching forward, Fiadh fearlessly grabbed the bug so that she could see what it tasted like. Holding the creature captive for a moment, as it flailed helplessly in her mouth, Fiadh found herself not liking the way that it reacted to her sampling. In the most unladylike manner that she could muster, she returned the bug to where it belonged. Once it was freed, and as it thrashed in a pool of saliva, Fiadh turned to her caretaker with displeasure in an attempt to voice how she felt about everything that had just happened.

Want to wrap it up here? :) I DEMAND MORE FIADH THREADS SOON<3

Raven giggled at the girl's obvious disapproval, the deadpan look Fiadh giving her eliciting more amusement than remorse. She probably should have felt bad for momentarily disturbing the girl's rest, but...she was just too cute. With a shake of her head, Raven kissed the top of the girl's head and gently flipped the bug toward the mouth of the den, allowing him to scurry away with a fresh coating of puppy slobber on his carapace. Gesturing toward her chest again, she invited Fiadh to snuggle up and settle down for the nap she so clearly needed. It'd been a busy day for the little one, and Raven couldn't wait to share it with Finley when she returned.

Works for me! Thanks for the thread! YES, I DEMAND MORE RAVEN THREADS!! <3 <3 <3

 
Fiadh's disapproval ceased to exist once Raven had taken care of the slobbery remains. Instead of considering on the bug's wellbeing, as it had been roughed up considerably by the two wolves, the Rho returned to the warmth of the medic's breast. Assuming her position amongst the woman's downy-haired chest, Fiadh fell asleep easily as the past few hours had been jammed pack with unusual occurrences. Once asleep, the Rho would nap for quite some time as she dreamt about all of the events that had happened before her nap.