Blacktail Deer Plateau spring brings life into the darkness

One/some/all of the kids? Grandma Forrest has stories to tell!

The smells of early spring were beginning to waft around here and there, though the visuals hadn't yet come into bloom. Forrest wondered whether she would see rosebuds or puppy tails first, wondered whether she would first hear the leaps of salmon or the cries of a mother in full bloom.

She sighed and stopped fussing with the poorly buried cache she'd hidden a day or two before, then made up her mind to try meeting the little ones that Dawn had eluded to at the border. On her way toward the pond, she hummed a low song under her breath and wondered just who the wind would bring to her side.

a wild dauntless appears!

dauntless'd caught the scent of a new wolf within the territory. as it is intermingled with dawn's and a few other's he makes the safe assumption that she's been accepted into the pack and does not immediately alter his course to introduce himself. he hunts first, catching the fox and dispatches it relatively quickly. it hangs limply from betwixt his jaws as he makes his way towards one of morningside's food caches. he finds the nearest one — the one close to catfish pond — and buries the fox corpse after doing a quick sort thru and getting rid of the meat that is spoiled before it gets rancid. when he's finished dauntless heads to the pond to wash the blood that's staining his muzzle, and when he reaches the bank he begins to clean his muzzle, giving pause to the small bath when as his ears, alert atop his skull, pick up soft humming. he glimpses over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the woman garbed in ivory. with a flare of his nostrils dauntless deduces that she's the newest member that he scented earlier and lets out a low chuff to announce his presence, providing she hadn't already seen him.

Forrest looked up with a Hm? to find an older pup not far off in the distance. He looked healthy and bright, and based on his friendly greeting, she figured that he wouldn't be as reserved as the other's she'd met. A soldier? she called out with a warm grin, I'm pleased to meet you. She always enjoyed the company of little ones more than she did adults; they had more imagination, more wiggle room.

dauntless had gone through a phase when he'd been meek but he'd grown out of that fairly quick. he had little time for timidness, after all, and the borders wasn't a place for it. a soldier? she inquired though it sounded like less of a question and more of an assessment. it's not something he'd ever considered himself to be, per say, but he supposes it's a good noun to describe him. soldiers protected their home and hearth and those that were more precious to them than life itself. "that obvious, huh?" dauntless inquires with a swivel of his ears and a small ghost of a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. "you're new here?" now it was dauntless's turn to make a question into a statement. she smelled of dawn and a few others but her scent was still unique enough to tell him that she hadn't been with them long ( besides he hadn't seen her at the meeting and that was tell-tale enough ). "i'm dauntless." he introduces himself figuring that it was good to interject before they get too far in conversation. though in truth, she would learn it sooner or later, he thinks, even if he'd have forgotten to give it to her, but as he's trying to make an effort to get to know wolves outside of his immediate circle ( which consisted of his sisters, family and burr ) it strikes him as prudent to introduce himself.

Forrest nodded her head in response to the boy's inquiry. Dauntless, she thought, was a name quite befitting of a soldier. Her own name didn't hold much meaning, outside of it being hers. Everywhere she went, she was known by name, unlike some of the packs she'd worked in with three Sarahs here and four Bartholomew's there. Forrest Evergreen. I've been accepted as the pack's midwife for the season. Her eyes were bright with promise, having run away from their jaded destiny for as long as possible. 

There was a pause, giving Forrest time to recall Dawn's mentioning of pups already living within the borders. It clicked then that this soldier was one of them, drawing an amicable grin across her features. Who're your parents, Dauntless? They seem to have raised a wonderful young man. A gentleman, if you please.

dauntless's gaze, irises more green today than they are brown, follow the movement of her head as she nods her confirmation of his own assessment. he makes a small hum in the back of his throat when she offers that she's been accepted into the pack as midwife for the season after her name. though he wonders how catori will feel about a relative stranger being midwife — though perhaps there was plenty of time for the two women to get to know one another between now and whenever ( the details of heat and pregnancy and all that are hazy to dauntless but mostly because he's at the stage of his life were it's all kind of awkward ) — it inevitably makes sense. his ears perk forth and then swivel to the side before they move to rest at half mast atop his skull at her question regarding his parents. "grayday's my dad and pema and catori are my mothers." their situation is unique and likely unorthodox and dauntless abruptly feels the need to explain lest his companion jumps to wild conclusions about it due to dauntless' fact stating vagueness. it is normal to him and he thinks he's better for having both pema and catori as stable maternal figures in his life.

"catori is my dad's new mate, but her and pema fill the role that khoe, the woman who gave birth to me and my sisters —" he doesn't call her mother, doesn't dare. she is not worthy of that title to him. it belongs to the two women who have been more of (a) mother(s) to him than the one who gave him life. "— left in her wake." he offers in sheepish explanation, assuming that if he left it as vague as he first spoke it that the inquiry would pop up eventually. dauntless accepts her compliment with a slight warm to his cheeks and a dip of his head but uses it to humble himself. "ah, i have my days," there is something that is both charming and bit beguiling about his grin. "but thank you. i'm sure my parents would be happy to hear it." he says with a light laugh.

Forrest listened with perked ears and slitted eyes, her mind focused on the soldier's words. I see, she muttered. It wasn't in her nature to openly talk down on anyone, especially in the presence of their children (claimed or not), though there were a few thoughts that she wanted so badly to speak on in those first few seconds. With a sigh, Forrest summoned them away and resolved to this, Well, I wish Khoe knew what she was missing out on. 

It sounds like you have quite the family, she said, trying to change the mood, Though it isn't the strangest arrangement I've ever seen. Wanna hear a story? I'll make it quick if you'd prefer.

he offers a lofty shrug of his shoulders on the topic of khoe. he can't say that he ever truly knew her and though her abandonment had confused him and hurt him at first, he had two great moms because of it. "my sisters are great, too." he says with an air of pride, feeling the instinctual need to include them too. his sisters were a lot of the reason why he was the way he was, too. they were massive influences in his life just as much as grayday, pema and catori were. "sure do!" he grins earnestly, chest rising with unbridled superbia. "they're the best," he admits not realizing that he may be terribly biased. "i wouldn't trade them for the world." his family is his rock, his inspiration, his drive to do and be better and it does not escape dauntless's knowledge that he's fortunate to have them. "yeah, i'm down for a story." dauntless invites, settling back upon his haunches. "i'm not in a hurry, so you can make it as long as you'd like." he encourages, brushing aside the notion that he doesn't have time ( or worse yet wouldn't make time ) to listen to her tale.

Forrest nodded her head and got to thinking about which story she would tell. She'd once treated a harem of women under the guard of their mate, though that tale seemed a bit too mature for a youngster, even being the soldier that he was. There was the story of the woman who had raised her daughter's children as a favor, to offer her a second chance. It was heartwarming but didn't feature enough adventure. Forrest gave a defeated sigh and looked to Dauntless, Forgive me, my memory isn't as good as it used to be, sadly.

Then, as if it had been placed there by the divine hand of an angel, the perfect story came to mind. Alright, she whispered, then motioned for him to come closer. Back when I was just learning my craft, I was working below my aunt as an apprentice. I started out just going to meetings with expectant mothers, though I had never assisted with a birth myself. It wasn't until about a year into my training that I actually had the chance and believe me, it was quite the experience. Forrest chuckled and shook her head.

Their pack wasn't far from where we had settled. It was the end of breeding season and the prime of, as we called it, rug-rat season. Oh, women from every walk of life were settling into their dens to give birth with anxious fathers waiting just outside. It's funny now that I think about it — those poor men were probably scared out of their wits! Where was I? Ah, yes, that's right.

In the aforementioned pack, there was a substantial number of expectant mothers. One, in particular, had taken quite a liking to me. She called me Sunset and I called her Rise. She was an older woman, about the age I am now, and this was supposed to be her last litter. Because of the circumstances, I made sure that everything was perfect for her, this was where the story got a bit uncomfortable, and Forrest hoped that Dauntless didn't mind, She was a little overdue, the poor thing, so we kept her on bedrest for the weeks leading up to the birth.

It didn't take long, but it seemed like forever. All four of her newborns were healthy and alive, but Rise wasn't. It had been difficult on her body and she fell ill. I remember sitting beside her for days trying to get her to eat something, anything!; but her body was failing her. Rise passed not long after that...

Forrest sighed and shook her head, trying to hold back the choke in her throat. ...and I was sure that the pups would follow. I was devastated, absolutely devastated, but something wonderful happened. She smiled then and looked up at Dauntless from where her eyes had been trained on her paws, The men brought Rise's body to the river and put her to rest there. I had been holding the pups around my own belly in an effort to keep them warm, but as soon as Rise was out of sight, the other women of her pack who had also just given birth came and took them away from me, one by one.

Two of the pups went to her youngest sisters while the other two found homes with her daughters. I had never seen anyone but a birth mother taking care of her children, but this...it changed me, seeing such love and compassion. I would never have imagined that someone, out of the kindness of their heart, would give a child a second chance. I went back to visit them every once and a while. I watched them grow up and find themselves. For a while, I even kept one of the girls as my apprentice, but she wasn't too sure that the job was for her after seeing some things. Forrest laughed and wondered if her joke had gone over the boy's head. Well, that's my story. I wish I could better remember the details...

the whole topic of birth goes right over dauntless's head, and he's not sure the direction this story is meant to head. he's never considered that he would one day be a father but he's still a kid himself! but dauntless morningside is ( sometimes ) courteous and doesn't have the heart to tell the woman that this story doesn't very much interest him. a ear splays back and flutters against his skull while the other swivels to the side as she finishes with the death of this woman and the scattering of her children and dauntless wonders if he's supposed to apply that to his own situation even though the circumstances were absolutely nothing alike. "that was, ah, a nice story." but something that dauntless ultimately thought his sisters might enjoy more than him. he draws in a breath and offers her an awkward quirk of his lips in something of a smile hoping that she wasn't too offended by his cringeworthy compliment.

You're kind, Forrest cooed after a hearty chuckle. She hadn't expected much from Dauntless, but seeing how he would react to her tale served as a good way to place him somewhere on her compass. Some boys his age might have tried cutting her short or left before she could finish, others might have surprised her with a familiar interest. You don't have to spare me. I know boys your age are more interested in, bah, I don't know. It's been so long since I've had one. 

Forrest's children were all grown, or quite near. Her last litter, the youngest of her line (so far as she was aware) would be turning one soon and going their seperate ways, if they hadn't already. Hell, for all she knew, she might have had an entire brood of grandchildren running only a few miles away. You know, you remind me of one of my boys.

dauntless feels awkward even as she coos her compliment at him. there is a subtle shift of his weight and a swivel of his left ear ever so slightly to the side of his head. he offers with a small chuckle as if it would ease some of the awkwardness and guilt he felt about not being all that interested in her story about birth. she doesn't appear to hold it against him which is reassuring. there are times when he tends to lack a filter between his brain and mouth and he doesn't mean to come across as tactless but knows that he does ( usually after he's said something and it was too late to take it back ). "oh yeah?" dauntless inquires in a soft, contemplative hum as she tells him that he reminds her of one of her boys. "is that a good thing orrrr...?" he teases ever so slightly. he tries to tread more carefully now: he doesn't know anything about her or her son that he reminds her of and doesn't want to accidentally insult anyone.

After another hearty chuckle, Forrest fervently assured Dauntless that, Yes! It is a good thing, a very good thing. All of her children had been angels in their own way; Baby Winter had been the youngest and the wisest, while Blossom, her eldest, had always been the goofball of the group. But there was one child in particular who Dauntless brought to mind: Leaf, the guardian of them all. 

My son, Leaf, he was so considerate. And, my goodness, no one could have ever torn him from his sisters! I think that you'll grow up to be a lot like him, a protector of sorts. Maybe that's who he already was, Forrest didn't know. After all, it had already been established that Dauntless was a soldier!

i hope you don't mind that i just went ahead and concluded + archived this. :-)

forrest assures him that it's a good thing that he reminds her of one of her boys and yet dauntless can't shake that it makes him feel a little awkward to be compared to someone else. the memory of her kids seems incredibly private to him and though she tells him willingly and of her own accord he can't help the feeling like he's eavesdropping on a conversation he shouldn't be. "well, thanks." dauntless offers as graciously as he can, feeling that secondary swell of awkwardness as she states that she thinks he'll grow up to be like her son. a part of him thinks that he's just being ridiculous — she's being kind and offering him compliments; yet he's still on the path of self discovery and there's no telling who he'll grow up to be ...even for himself!

"i should probably get to my patrols," dauntless offers as a ( perhaps random ) explanation that she hadn't asked for. "i'll catch you later, forrest." he gives her a small, soft smile before he takes his leave and makes his way towards the borders.