The pup's senses were starting to get better, although he remained slow. At nearly four weeks of age, the pup did not seem very responsive yet. It was tentatively trying out its new senses, and now recognised most of the important wolves in its life. It could see and its hearing got better by the day, too. With his sense of hearing improving, the pup also started to make a bit more sound. It was by no means a busy or noisy pup just yet, but he was getting there.
Late for its age, today for the first time, the pup started to stand upon its legs, using them for what it had been given them instead of only using them to peddle across the earth.
With determination, the pup would get up, walk from one side of the den to the next, and collapse again on the other side. After a couple of moments it would try again, and occasionally it let out an excited "awoogle!" as though it was trying to cheer itself on.
Just when she thought her baby couldn't get any more adorable, he did something miraculous like this - opening his eyes, finding his voice, and now walking. Walking! Well, sort of walking... More like stumbling. Either way, it was impressive as hell, and Fin couldn't stop smiling as he toddled back and forth across the den, periodically giving a happy little howl that made her heart explode.
"My goodness," Fin commented softly as he pulled himself back up after a little fall and proceeded to walk back to the other side of the den, "Maybe you will be a little outrider after all." She grinned broadly at him.
The pup was involved in his little game of exploration, of finding his feet and walking, unaware that he was very slow at it. The pup dedicated itself to this process fully, seemingly having shed the pessimism of its early life, where it would just lay and be quiet. He was still the quiet sort of pup, not causing much of a ruckuss most of the time, and sensitive to boot: if something did get him upset, it was usually because his mother was being loud, or because they had too many visitors, or because someone was having an argument nearby, mild or heavy.
Upon hearing his mother's voice, the pup turned his head to her and grinned. He looked funny, with his legs parted and his hips swaying back and forth while he tried hard to keep his balance.
"Awmg!" the pup nonsensically told its mother, his little tail wiggling back and forth at the end of his butt, making his hindquarters sway back and forth in disbalance even more.
thanks for joining, mom :D
My baby was in need! <3
Fin listened as her son responded with what she supposed counted as a word, even if she didn't know its definition.
"You're right, I didn't think of that," she replied as though she had any idea what he'd tried to say, and that he'd be able to understand her in turn.
She'd slowly been trying to introduce him to new things. It was just little stuff - Fin would bring him a stick or a fancy stone. Sometimes she'd bring a bit of fur back from a kill or give him a little shin bone to cut his teeth on. The beta didn't have any such things for her son today, but she did have an idea.
Picking herself up onto all fours, Finley stole towards the doorway and exited the den. She turned around just outside and crouched down, peeking back in at Eljay while her tail wagged gently over her.
[b]"Come here, little Jay," [/b]she crooned sweetly, wanting to lure him outside for a little excursion. Maybe they could find a present for him together today.
The pup looked at his mother when she spoke, with tilted head and confused face, as though it was trying to understand what she said but just couldn't, really. Then he continued his walking maneuvres, while keeping a watchful eye on his mother as she made for the entrance of the den. He was curious if she had something to bring to him today; the pup loved to sniff new items, in particular, and occassionally nibble on (some of; he was picky) them.
When his mother called out his name, little Jay got into motion. "Yay!" he yipped in mimicking of his name. It was a different name for every wolf, and his mother's name for him was not always the same, but little Jay did not mind. He bravely got to his feet after his latest fall and started to wobble to the den's mouth, which he had occassionally visited but not very often exited up to this point.
Her son regarded her with a confused but intrigued expression, and soon enough he was happily toddling after her. Finley grinned, mistaking his attempt at pronouncing his own name for a self-encouraging cheer. "Yay!" she repeated supportively, wriggling back a few paces to draw him out even further - happy to see him taking to it with little fear. But of course, that wasn't a surprise - he was a Blackthorn. Only the super lame Blackthorns were scared of stuff, and Fin certainly did not intend to have passed down the super lame Blackthorn genes to her son.
"What a brave boy!" she crooned to him as she lured him further away from the den, pausing eventually simply so that she could admire her little one with a wag of her tail. She didn't really have any idea where she was taking him. Everything about them was rather mundane to her and the last time she'd tried to make a toy of the mundane, it had ended up with Wildfire nearly choking to death on a pinecone. So, she decided to wait and see if little Eljay's instincts would be their guide that day, though she was ready to intervene whenever necessary.
The way his mother said his name (or so he thought) made little Jay's tail wiggle. She sounded so happy! Extremely sensitive to emotions, this made little Jay happy, too. He soon fell flat on his face, but it didn't seem to bother him too much, and on wobbly legs he got up again to further follow his mother.
When his mother stopped and let him lead the way, little Jay stopped beside her. He swayed back and forth in disbalance and looked up to his mother for guidance while he stayed close to her side.
As soon as Jay reached her side, he stopped and gazed up at her expectantly. She looked at his eyes, so big and so round and so happy, and her heart threatened to melt as it did each and every time she saw him like this. He had been so quiet all of his life. It was such a gift to see him full of joy and excitement. Hell, it was a miracle to see him at all - a thought that had a way of popping into her mind rather often in moments like these.
She shook her head lightly to push the thoughts away, as much as she loved them. There was the matter of her timid son to be attended to, and the fact that he had come to her side and stopped. Fin gave him an adoring smile and reached down to give him a few encouraging licks upon his fluffy cheek. She then reached behind him to nudge him forward with her muzzle, past her. Little Jay was in charge today. "I'm right behind you," she crooned reassuringly, smiling as she waited to see what he would do. Hopefully not cry...
Little Jay was happy when his mother reached down to place licks upon his cheeks, and this was displayed in a rapid wagging of tail. However, then his mother nudged him forward by the butt, and that made little Jay a lot less happy. His tail wagged another few hesitant beats as he looked over his shoulder, up at his mother. His lip wobbled a little as he looked forward, but then he realised that he didn't have to walk in that direction.
With this new idea, little Jay turned around -- during which he flopped flat on his face once, considering this walking thing was still such a new discovery -- and he started to march back towards the den. He didn't intend to let his mother stray him from this path: there was nothing little Jay wanted but to crash down in the den with his mommy, where he'd feel safe, and yet accomplished at having taken a little walk outside, albeit short.
For a moment, it seemed like Eljay really would stride forward now armed with his mother's encouragement. Fin beamed down at him as he began to move his little paws. He was going to do it! He was going to show her how brave he really was!
But then he didn't. Instead of proceeding out into the world, Eljay made a fumbling turn backwards and then toddled right back towards the safety of the den. Fin stood staring after him, dumbfounded for a moment. It seemed her baby perhaps hadn't been born with her courage, but apparently he shared her penchant for having a mind of his own. Marveling over how the little wolf never ceased to amaze her, she eventually padded after him with a soft chuckle on her lips and curled up back inside, happy to snuggle until her brave little outrider fell back to sleep.
Little Jay waddled on home, looking over his shoulder occasionally to see if his mother was following. Luckily she was, and he was content to plop down in the den once they were back home. With a content sigh, little Jay lay down inside the den and snuggled up to his mother, exhausted from the day and glad to rest for now.