Wolf RPG

From the bank of the winding Whitefish River, Saena can see the outline of her former home etched against the darker background of the mountain. Her heart aches to return to it, to wander its deep woods once more now that she knows the pack has left it, but she has a duty to her family and her subordinates to lead them somewhere safe. As much as she yearns to claim the plateau and make good on her childhood vow to lead the plateau pack, she can't shake the feeling that the territory is cursed, and the memories accompanying it would be bad for her already poor psyche. She resists the urge to settle them there, but she can't stop sneaking glances at it as she bathes her pups.

Their vision is surely sharpening now, which surely accounts for their spike in activity, though their ears are still small and rounded and she still doesn't know if they can hear or not. She's too oblivious to realize their activity and sporadic behaviour is probably stress more than anything; as far as she knows, babies can't be stressed out. That's an adult thing. With a grown, Saena exasperatedly reaches out between licks across Milo's spine to scoop up Indra, who insists on trying to toddle away. The river is too near for Saena to let any of them explore, but the ruddy pup is testing her patience something fierce, and this only gets worse when Laurel tries her luck, too.

"Okay, stop," Saena snorts at them, reaching out a paw to squish Indra into the ground in an effort to keep her still. However, the pup is deceptively strong and wriggles free easily with a gleeful noise, and Saena has to spring forth to grab the child by the scruff, only to turn back and see Laurel beating a hasty retreated. "Hey!" she snaps, dropping Indra alongside Milo (who immediately attempts to squash his sister) and pacing worriedly after Laurel to capture her before she goes too far.

indra didn't know the reason for her mother's furtive glances, but she sure took advantage of them. with a delighted yap she was off -- only to be quashed by the oppressive-mother-paw. she wriggled on her back wildly, babbling screams issuing from her tiny mouth as she managed to pry free. with mother's attention elsewhere milo was fair game and she pounced upon him with clumsy abandon, intent to chew his ears until she was extracted by an adult.

Desna was hesitant to approach while she was looking at Saena and her struggles to keep the pups from exploring. She remembered herself when she was small, she had been the adventurer and did wander in all sorts of directions. Saena had told her that she was a scout so Desna had the feeling that these pups were most likey the same as their mother. Desna approached at a submissive pose, not really wanting Saena's fangs against her skin. Though the young female figured she was less of a threat than strangers.

The young female however had recognized the white tip of silver tip mountain... She kind of wanted to see Mason but she also didn't want to loose her pack. Once they settled she might visit him. It wasn't like males could be trusted.... right? "Hi Saena," she greeted. "Do you need and extra set of eyes to watch them?"

Any hesitance Saena felt in days prior about her pack approaching the cubs has long since vanished. While it's still distinctly possible that any one of her subordinates could prove untrustworthy and harm her vulnerable children, Saena is confident that any soul who dares to try it will not leave the scene alive, and for that reason has nothing to fear from her subordinates. So where a mere week ago she would've sent Desna away with a pointed growl, the sight of Scarlett's yearling daughter brings relief instead.

"Yes, please," she sighs as she struggles to pick up Laurel and is rewarded with a paw in the eye. "Ow, you little brat," she says, tone clipped, as she hoists her liver-nosed daughter into the air. She isn't particularly gentle about it, but the cubs are hardy enough that they can take their mother's firm handling, for the most part. As Indra leaps upon Milo, the boy growls and fights back with fierce gusto and, fearing for the well-being of her red-haired child, Saena takes several steps forward as if to intervene should things get too heated.

Placing Laurel between her forepaws, the sylph shakes her head and groans, "thank god there are only three, 'cause a fourth would kill me." Or itself, more likely, but she kept that morbid thought to herself.

in a few steps she had hit her mark: the back of milo's head. clumsily she fell upon him and gummed the back of his neck, her broad limbs splayed as she tried to pin him without any skill. she could feel her mother hover above her and slowly she looked up, her gums wide and panting. with a screaming babble she stood up and excitedly tried to jump up towards her mother's chin while she did adult-things. indra commanded attention -- demanded it -- with a gurgle she tried to leap again only to fall recklessly on her haunches with a stupefied expression.

Desna was hesitant to get closer. She was curious about that for sure. She stepped closer after a moment of doubts and then looked down at them. She had to smile at how cute they were. The young girl's tail started to wag. She could not imagine that she had been so small once. Then her life was still happy.

The young female kept her eyes on the pups. "I can imagine," she spoke. "My mother had four..," she spoke out loud in realization. Where they that tough on her when they were little? They couldn't have right. She watched Saena and how roughly she treated the pup. She didn't comment about it, though she was watching. Was this normal? Did her mother do that with her?

"Four seems uncommon," remarked Saena, who had only ever known wolves with litters smaller than that, including her own litter. "It must've been tough. Scarlett was a brave and strong woman, though," and in so saying she forgot any mean and unfair thought she'd ever had about the white-furred female who was buried in the maplewood somewhere. That was perhaps the worst loss, but not one Saena had thought anything about until now. While she hadn't forgotten about Scarlett, the deceased were quick to slip the mind.

"Your mo—" and she got no further than that before Indra shrieked something horrific and made a surprisingly successful bound into the air. Even Milo flinched away mistrustfully, and Laurel shied back behind her mother's legs. "What the hell, child," Saena asked, but Indra leaped again and Saena pulled her muzzle deftly out of the way. She fixed her ruddy girl with a knowing side-eye when the oomph of a stunned child hitting the ground and not knowing how to react indicated that Indra was briefly stunned, and that was all it took for Milo to get involved.

He wasn't as good at leaping as his sister, but he attempted nonetheless, and sooner or later he was bound to step on Indra or fall over on Laurel or both in the process. "Whaaaat," Saena drawled in response to the male pup's weird bleating as he landed clumsily for a third time and promptly tumbled over onto his side, and she shot a grin at Desna, as if inviting her to join in in whatever messed up game her children had devised.

indra breathed rapidly, splay legged and unbalanced on the ground. she looked not unlike an  upturned ice-cream, splattered on the dirt without shape or bounds. this seemed an inviting prospect to milo, who caught her vulnerability and seized it. he practically bowled her over and indra sunk to the ground like a slug, her ears pinned and expression fixed with an angry glare. she would have stayed immobile did she not hear milo's demanding bleats; unwilling to be outperformed in gaining her mother's attention, indra clamored loudly besides the dark brother.

Desna looked at Saena when she started to talk about her mother. She felt her heart grow sad but also proud in a way that Saena was saying that about her mother. The alpha female was about to say more then one of the pups interrupted her. Desna watched from how the girl jumped and all the pups seemed to be in disarray. It even confused Desna.

The young girl looked at the pups, not sure what she could do. The pups seemed to be wrestling of some sort. Desna looked at Laurel and then back to the two others were one looked like Reek. "What... What about my mother?," she asked curiously, hopefully Saena could remember what she wanted to say about her. She moved her muzzle down and tried to nudge Milo, maybe it would give him some other focus instead of his sister.

The clamouring of her children drew Saena's attention keenly away from Desna, and she snorted out an exhausted, "oh my god, shush already!" It was no use, though, and the Alpha female knew that. Her kids were a handful. They were destined to always be handfuls, and yet she loved them dearly. It was quite the contrast to the way she'd felt before giving birth to them. She couldn't even imagine wanting to be rid of them now, even if they drove her insane.

"She was the strongest wolf I ever knew," said Saena. It wasn't dishonest. Saena had known plenty of strong wolves in her lifetime, but Scarlett was definitely among them. "I don't know how she ever handled four of you," she muttered, surprised that she remembered that Scarlett had a fourth child, on that hadn't come to Phoenix Maplewood with the mother. She didn't know his name or the name of the father, but she did remember there were four. "And to come to a brand new pack with three of you. She was very brave." Braver than Saena, who was craven in some respects.

indra would have been happy to continue the pesting of her poor brother; that was until saena's barked admonishment caused her to cower. she froze and frowned, collecting herself into a huffy sitting position with a dramatic whump. sufficiently quieted (for the moment) the fire-kissed child looked at valette unabashedly, completely oblivious to the adult's conversation.

Desna nodded slowly and then smiled as she remembered her mother. The young female was inspired, especially because her alpha thought this way about her mother. Desna realized she could take the good from her mother as an inspiration in life. Her mother had been something special even before the depression took her life.

"Thank you, Saena. It means a lot," she spoke to her, sounding a bit choked up. Valette's eyes fell on the pup and then smiled. "Maybe we were just calmer than yours. I mean you are pretty on fire too," she spoke, hope she did not overstep her boundaries. She meant it in a good way after all.

Her pups continued to mill about, with Indra staring without any shame whatsoever at Desna, and Saena clucked her tongue as if to usher them to her. It worked for Laurel and Milo, whom she then trapped with gentle and harmless placement of her hindquarters upon their tails to prevent them from running away, and then she swung a leg forward in an effort to sweep Indra toward her as well. "C'mon," she implored, "nap time." For her as well.

"Thanks, Desna," she said before settling herself with her children. Laurel and Milo, now freed of her grasp, went for her teats instantly, causing her to wince lightly. "Indra," she cooed, hoping the third babe would oblige her, though as she rested her head across her legs she knew she would let the red-haired pup do whatever she wanted short of wandering off. Saena was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to close her eyes for a time.

indra had been busy observing the strange wolf, unaware her studying may have been seen by some as far too intense for a whelp of her stature. it was not until her mother called her that her gaze was torn away; abruptly the little whelp jerked her head in her mother's direction, surprised by the sudden change in topic. she was not old enough yet to recognize speech, though she knew the sound of her name meant something to her. she rose, stumpily strutting over to her mother to plop silently at her feet. with valette and the rest of the world forgotten, the flame-furred babe fell swiftly to sleep.