Eshe sunbathed outside the den while her cubs napped in the shade inside--for now. It was a small moment of reprieve, and they could wake up any second. That, however, was no horror to the mother. She was delighted to spend all her time with them; they, and Scimitar, were her world. She had removed herself from leadership solely to dedicate her time to raising her brood; she did so enjoy being a stay at home mother.
Goldhawk had gone on an adventure, and Eshe was only sad she had not been able to say goodbye. She thought on this idly, her eyes turning toward the den.
At six weeks old, the pudgy little Neverwinter raven was still highly dependent on his doting mother. Although she could, at this stage, leave her beloved boys for several hours at a time to hunt, Eshe wanted for nothing — Scimitar provided all that she desired. Because of this — and largely in part to Eshe’s inclination not to be separated from her darling dears — Cypress and Rannoch had virtually never been separated from their mother for any significant period of time. Often while he napped, the elder of the two reached for his mother to suckle or knead at her ever-present form, and when he found the solid reassurance of her to be absent he roused immediately, a storm cloud of petulance cast over his already solemn visage. He was, by nature, a happy boy, but expressed his moods in a more subtle way than his sunny brother.
Cypress tumbled sunblind out of the den, starry-eyed, a fretful murmur stuttering in hiccupping whimpers from his lips — “Mama? Mama?” — and made a stumbling beeline for his mother. Tipping his head back to regard her, he reached up to press the tip of his nose to hers. “Mama peas invite Cy osside?” he begged, hoping she would allow him to stay with her instead of going back into the den alone. Fussily, he kneaded his paws against the plush fur of her breast, tucking himself into the triangle formed by her forelegs and rolling onto his back with his tail curled demurely betwixt his splayed hind legs. His forelegs curled demurely, tucking up under his chin as he gazed lovingly up at her. “Mama,” he said solemnly, and regaled her with a river of childish babble simply for the joy of feeling like he was having a conversation with her. “Mama, today,” he rambled sleepily, “today is a ky-yet day. Qui-et day. Today is a qui-et day.”
He had been pressed against Cypress as they both had napped, just as they slept most of the time. Cypress was the ying to his yang, the peanut butter to his jelly-- his everything. Despite him being in the midst of an all-encompassing dream he was pulled from it as Cypress pulled away from his side. Opening his eyes slowly, Rannoch caught the fleeting figure of his brother. Despite his grogginess, the cub did his best to push himself onto his unsteady paws and followed his brother out into the open.
He teetered towards his family happily, pausing as his brother babbled on so that he could shake himself off. He cooed happily as he shook himself before continuing on. “Momma! Cy! Can innvitee Noch ousside?” He asked from the entrance, waiting for permission with baited breath.
Eshe moved to flop over to her side when she heard it.
The sound of movement. Shifting. Her ears pricked, and she knew it came from the den. Don't worry. Don't think anything of it at all. But then there was the most adorable little voice that confirmed her 'fear'; there was a cub that had awoken! The request was too darn cute, and Eshe didn't see the harm in inviting him outside. Why, he could lean on her belly, or she could wrap him up in her arms...
Sure, Cypress, come on outside to your mama,
she invited, nosing the earth between her forelegs as a 'right here' indicator. She smiled at his words. Yes, Cypress love. It is nap-time, and all the world knows the princes of the forest need their sleep so that they can get big and strong, like your pa,
that'd get 'em every darn time, it would. Ah, there was Rannoch, now--she expected it, in a way. Him and Cypress were thick as thieves, and this she loved.
Come on out, baby. But it's quiet time,
she informed--this was their scheduled nap time!--nodding sagely.
“Momma! Cy!”
There was, at first, a natural flicker of selfishness for the undivided attention of their doting mother — but Cypress loved his brother, and fortunately his cross, petulant expression was hidden against his mother’s breast. When he turned to face Rannoch, a bright smile tugged at his lips, banishing anything but a sleepily joyous expression. “Noch!” he called out in a high, sweet treble from his vantage point between Eshe’s long, slender forelegs. He listened to his mother’s words, digesting them as the gospel truth, and his blunt muzzle formed an “o” of wonder as he looked invitingly to his brother. One paw splayed out lazily. “Peas and teng-kyu come out, Noch!” he said, recalling his manners and minding them well. He glanced up at Eshe with furtive surreptitiousness, hoping she’d noticed.
And abruptly, he tried to sleep — he so ardently wanted to be more like his father! Cypress did not share the fur pattern of his immediate family the way Rannoch did, and even at this young age he tried to overcompensate with an abundance of perfectionism. He would never be quite like Scimitar — wolves would not look at Cypress and recognize immediately the family resemblance in him as they did Noch — and at this tender age he imagined if he slept enough, his fur would mottle to an agouti hue. Despite all this, though, Cypress didn’t feel like an ugly duckling — just a different duckling. He had learned the words “same” and “different” and knew that color played a part in it. A green leaf was different from a red one, after all.
The sun was warm and soothing, and in time Cypress’ restless tossing and turning ceased; he lay on his back in his mother’s arms with his forelegs curled against his chest and his hindquarters tucked up and covered with his little tail. “Mama, when?” he questioned in a soft, sleepy voice, still adhering to the rules of quiet time. “When we gonna big’n strong like Paw?”
Noch is a brat and I don't know why since he writes himself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
He smiled at his mother's approval, readying himself to burst onto the scene. He did not feel tired and instead felt fully rested and ready to play. But as he crouched down a damper on his plans came: quiet time. Urges to protest came bubbled in his throat as the child stood so that he could fall back onto his haunches. As he sat a pout formed on his dark lips, the heaviness of his expression bottling up the words he wanted to say. He gave himself a personal timeout in that moment as he allowed his displeasure froth within his being. It was rare that he got into such a mood and he was finding that he felt this way more often when he freshly up from a nap.
Cypress invitation fell onto deaf ears as the youngest child brooded in his own self pity and it was only until his father was mentioned that the child pulled himself from his pouting. His ugly expression faded into a look of curiosity.
“Paw?” he echoed, finally pulling himself from the den and towards his mother and brother. As he pulled beside them, he looked to the two which a pinch of childish jealousy.
“Scuse,” He said, looking to the area where he wished to be. “Can vite?” he asked, placing a paw on his mother's arm to indicate just where he wanted to go.
Eshe, mother of the year, noted the expression on her sons face. She forewarned, Rannoch, darlin', listen here--when you make those sour faces, if you hold it for too long it will stay that way forever!
Her eyes widened, and then she turned her focus back to Cypress. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping; Eshe went to bury her nose gently into his tummy, and blew a raspberry against it. He then spoke, his inquiry a fair one... and asked in just the sweetest voice!
Whe-
and then Rannoch arrived before them, his sweet, cherubic little face hovering in their midst. Now, Rannoch, what did mama tell you boys about interruptin'? We say excuse me, first, if we must interrupt!
She parroted the lesson, the chastisement gentle but well-meant. She moved to kiss his brow, tenderly, and at his inquiry she spread her arms so that she could fit him in, as well. Come on in, since you asked so nicely, and then I will tell you both,
Cypress should not have derived pleasure from watching his little brother get scolded — and indeed, there was a large part of him that felt guilty about it. Normally the boys got into trouble together, causing their sainted mother to take them both aside and remind them of Good Manners. It was usually a package deal. Still, part of him did gloat — Rannoch was being scolded while he was being cuddled. As they’d gotten older, Rannoch had exhibited a greater propensity for dominance than the gangly raven, making his demands more evidently known and striving more often to be the center of attention. It was sweet to huddle into his mother’s breast and watch the show — a babyish giggle burbled from his smiling muzzle as she tickled him, but his own expression turned mutinous as she invited Rannoch to join him in her loving embrace.
It was Cypress’ turn to play the brat, and he immediately sprawled out his little body to take up as much space as possible — making it abundantly clear that there was only room for one Neverwinter prince in Eshe’s arms, and that prince was Cypress. “Oh, no,” he piped, trying to sculpt his features into an expression of sorrow and failing miserably as a wicked glint sparked within his misty blue eyes. “Noch too big’n strong.” He kicked out his oversized paws and lanky legs, his still-pudgy belly round and soft as he huffed out a breath. “I sorry, Noch,” he said blithely, “maybe haffa go back inna den.” He was trying to be subtle about excluding his brother, but at this tender age, subtlety was a yet undiscovered art.
His face would stick like this-- forever?! He could not imagine living a lifetime with this expression glued to his face. The panic at the thought was enough to wipe the look off of his young features. Fearing for the worst, Rannoch lowered his head bashfully and looked on until he had decided to pad over and join his family.
He was welcomed into the embrace with open arms from Eshe, but his brother’s response caused him to pause mid-step and look to his brother with a look of disbelief, dumbfounded by his brother’s actions. “No, no Cy,” came his counter as he place his paw next to Cypress as he attempted to figure out just how he could fit into the family huddle. A smirk found a way onto his lips as he continued, staring his brother in the eyes. “I gosta prowtec yew and Momma-- I 'ave ta be ‘ere!” He took another step so that he was halfway to being settled into his mother's arms, only his forelegs remained outside of her hold as he awaited Cypress' response.
She turned to look back to Cypress, who had sprawled out between her forelegs to take up as much space as possible. Eshe was puzzled, for a moment, until he spoke... and then she swallowed a laugh. She knew to laugh would only encourage him, and cute though the jealous display was, Eshe wanted to instill fairness in her boys. So she nosed Cypress gently, and then pushed the rear-end of Rannoch over her foreleg so that he had room between her arms.
I need both my boys to protect me,
she insisted, then, and reminded them, what kind of work is the best work? Teamwork. Why, I couldn't have just one little boy--I needed two! My little team! Your fairy God Mother, Deirdre, ensured that I would have the perfect little team,
she hummed in ones belly and the others back. So together, you two can accomplish anything. You have been blessed!
Cypress knew when he was beat. “I sorry, Noch,” he piped up again, far less triumphant this time around. “I did a lie.” Honest to a fault, the pudgy little raven elaborated: “I did a lie ‘cause I fo’gotta share. Forgot to share.” His little, bearlike ears drooped as he looked up at his mother and brother. “I sorry, Mama. I sorry, Noch.” He scooted over accordingly, making a point to give Rannoch more room than was necessary to make up for his social blunder. “I dess Mama needs bof — bothhhhh — of us, so I invite.” The idea rankled; he still felt jealous and selfish over his time with Eshe, but the misty-eyed boy knew when he was wrong. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to his brother’s cheek and settled back in the crook of Eshe’s arm with a contented — if a wee bit chastised — expression.
“Ess-yuse me, Mama, we gonna strong’n big like Paw tomorrow?” asked the stygian prince hopefully. Tomorrow always seemed like such a long time away! “Whassa fairy gaw-marrer? Whassa bessed?”
Jealousy had made the pair forget what was most important: team work. As he settled down his glance jumped from his mother to his brother as his head lowered in embarrassment. Despite his feelings of spite he couldn’t forget how important Cypress was in his life. “I sowwy,” he mumbled, not being one to normally apologize swiftly but this was a special case and he knew that he had done wrong. “Cy an I supwa stwong team!” And to this he reached over and nudged his brother’s cheek, smiling as he pulled back from their embrace.
Talk about fairy godmothers and their Paw distracted him easily and after Cypress asked some questions he decided to chime in with his own. “Whossa Dei? Siswta?” He was quite confused on who the magical entity was. “And, yes, Pawppa! Tomorrow? We stowng?!” He was sure ready to be big and strong like Scimitar!
That's right,
she commended to her apologetic boys, smothering them in kisses next. Good boys!
The next subject came, and she smiled bemusedly at the inquiry of when they would be big and strong, as their father was. Not tomorrow, no; it will take time. You must eat well, every day. Before you know it, you boys will be taller than your own mama!
But for now, she could look upon them beneath her, where she wished they would remain. These moments, where they huddled together, she would never forget.
Before you were born, there was a famine. It wiped the food out of the lands, because the food ate the green, which these strange bugs devoured. Your mama was very hungry, and very tired. I was weak and you boys were in my belly. I feared I might lose you, because I could not feed you properly in there. Well, one day, your mama fell over and was in a lot of pain. That's when out of nowhere, a white wolf with green eyes came out of the blue. She did something and the pain was gone! It was magic, it was. And then, both you boys came, healthy and strong as can be! And you are perfect! She is not your sister,
she informed, But she is one of the most powerful wolves in the Valley, no doubt,
Eshe, in her ailing state, did not know she was speaking of a young girl. But even if she knew this much, her thoughts would not change--because the whole of the story was true, she had been there to witness it and feel it, to boot.
Burbling softly, nestled cozily alongside his brother, Cypress listened to his brother’s rapid fire questions with a few emphatic nods of agreement. It was hard for him to ever imagine fitting in his mother’s stomach — with or without Rannoch. His eyes dubiously eyed his mother’s lean, plush middle, misty blue eyes drifting up to her face to see whether she was joking, but she seemed perfectly serious. “Ess-yuse me, Mama, how?” he piped up, ever the inquisitor. “Didja eat us first?” That would certainly make sense. Cypress had seen his father and mother eat haunches of venison that outweighed him. How he’d emerged in one piece, though, was simply a Mystery of Life that he had yet to decode. The gangly raven was a little young for the, “where do puppies come from?” talk, but his thirst for knowledge was insatiable.
“Wooah is our sitter,” Cypress said tentatively, looking up at Eshe with wide, limpid eyes as he sought to confirm this piece of information, “sis-ter. Wooah eyes like Paw eyes.” It certainly seemed like a long time until he and Rannoch would be tall, broad, and strong like their burly father, for which the stygian prince was slightly disappointed. Still, there was an element of childish stubbornness in his reply: “Mama,” he said, quite concerned, “when we tall, we gonna still be your lit-tle team?” If not, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be tall. He found himself wondering about Scimitar’s mama, but it didn’t occur to him to think of Eshe’s. It seemed she was divinely born, as were all women. Cypress had yet to meet any little girls his age. His only playmate was Rannoch, thus far.
Curiosity was quick to overcome both boys as they settled besides their mother and listened to the tales that she told. He knew he would have to meet the witch someday and hopes that they would get to cross paths. The boys continued to ask questions and got the answers they desired in turn and soon enough it was time for another nap so that the boys could get stronger.