Shadow had only caught a tiny glimpse of the new litter so far, despite forsaking his other duties to stand beside the den. Other wolves came and offered the family congratulations or food, he himself had given the new family two freshly caught rabbits and congratulations. But he really really wished to meet the pups for a longer time.
Shadow cautiously sat down near the den entrance today, keeping watch but his real intentions were perhaps to see more than a few glimpses of the pups. Judging from the continuest mewlings and the occasional muttered groans, raising a litter of pups was no easy job. Shadow didn't even know how anyone could stand that, much less manage to push them out! And just because of that, he now held a new level of respect for the mothers and all mothers around Teekon Wilds.
Slowly he wrenched his gaze from the mouth of the den to the faraway mountains then back to the surrounding area, his eyes narrowed.
A presence lingered at the den entrance. One that did not go neglected by the argus-eyed Jökull. Squirming free of her sibling's (and her mother's) clutches, she approached the anonymous with callow steps. She was a inelegant blob, closing the distance between herself and this stranger who smelled like Tuwawi, Njal, Leaf, and many others. Jökull wondered if she would ever meet these “others,” or if they were just imaginings of her brain.
Experimentally, she barked at the entity sitting patiently at the habitation mouth. It was a sound of suspicious greeting, one she has heard her parents emit from time to time. Whoever he was, Jökull needed some verification before fully exiting the den. Her young mind could not comprehend mistrust, but she did understand instinctual dubiety.
Shadow sat, his eyes narrowed at a horizon when a small bark sounded from the entrance of Tuwawi and Njal's den. He whipped his head around and a small smile crept onto his face, this was extremely rare as Shadow rarely showed any expression. His eyes glowed and he laughed softly at the sight of a silver furred pup. What was her name? He thought for sometime. Jökull was it?
"Hey little one." he whispered softly, hoping not to disturb the other inhabitants in the den. Jökull was the first pup he had seen clearly, the others was just a blur and he relished this experience.
She was met with soft croons. Shadow's excitement at seeing her rubbed off on Jökull, urging the little hellion to pick up the pace. In doing so, she stumbled a couple of times, luckily not falling flat on her face. She has not got walking down quite yet, but she's getting there!
Eying the male, she noticed how similar looking he was to Njal. The only key difference she could make out was his charcoal outline; black tipping his spine, tail, and ears. Furthermore, his eyes lacked the metallic gold of her father. Appearances meant nothing to the babe though. Neither did blood as she bounded up to Shadow. She nosed his left arm roughly before toppling over and away, out of his reach.
“Puh-ehh!” she boisterously demanded. She noticed how her speech was all jumbled. So much so, she could not even say 'play.' “Pay?” Nope, still not right. “Pray!” The letter 'L' continued to elude her. Much to her dismay.
Shadow smiled as Jökull struggled to walk towards him, she stumbled a bit before nosing his left arm and toppling away from him. He laughed as she tried to pronounce 'play' correctly. "Play?" he said, grinning as he did so.
Puppies were hella cute. He remembered when a female wolf from his natal pack gave birth to a litter of pups, he had thought they were really cute and dreamed of someday teaching them how to fish and hunt and fight before his father came and ruined it all. He killed the female and sent the pups away to their death.
Maybe he had a second chance.
Gasp! The word! He said the word! “PAY!” Oh, but! She could not say it. Annoyed, Jökull growled at each failed attempt at saying 'play.' After a while, though, she began to realize the absence of one particular letter in the word: that pesky 'L'! Try as she might, 'L' continued to escape her, so she settled on a different alternative: “Pway?” Oh well. Not everybody can be perfect.
“Pway! PWAY!” Jökull hollered with jostling movements. She danced and skipped and tripped, goading the older wolf to play with her. Really, anything would do. Shadow could spin her right 'round, and she would still be entertained by it...even though she wished to omit the vertigo afterward.
Shadow laughed as she continued to try to pronounce 'play', in the end she settled with 'Pway'. "Alright." he said relenting to the young pup's words, he eyed the den entrance worriedly hoping that no one inside had awoke from Jökull's hollering for him to play with her.
He picked her up and threw her a short distance into the air and caught her as she fell then did it again. The third time he laughed and lay on his back, tired.
lmaoooo Shadow's like
![[Image: throw-baby.gif]](http://penguinssauce.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/throw-baby.gif)
Finally, he acquiesced. Oh boy, oh boy! It felt like an exhilarating nippiness struck her from the inside out, this excitement! Shadow has not even touched her yet but Jökull was getting that intoxicating high.
“Yaa,” she pipped up as Shadow initiated an activity quiet unknown to her: taking the nape of her neck gently between his teeth and picking her up off the ground. Oh, this was a new gam – MOTHEROFGODSHE'SFLYING. Before she could even comprehend what this new game would entail, she was airborne. Gravity would see to it that she not linger in the air for long, plummeting to the world below. This is it, she thought. This is how I die.
Die she would not! Not today. Shadow was there to cushion her fall...or impede it. Jökull was not really sure what was going on. All she knew was that he was doing something and it made her feel high. Literally and figuratively.
“HUAH!” she wailed as this man – this enigmatic, fantastic wizard – flung her into the air again. Halfway up, she began to laugh. Try as she might, she could not cease her laughter. She kept chortling gleefully as she fell back into Shadow's embrace once more. Even the few seconds back on earth was spent laughing. Shadow threw her up once more before stopping, tired.
Her little ticker was thundering away inside her ribcage. Jökull was more than fulfilled, so she did not pester him to do it again. She thought that propositioning him for more might make her heart explode!
Giggle-fit having ended, she wobbled over to Shadow with ecstatic baby blue eyes and hollered: “FIN. TANKS.” Fun and thanks, in baby speech.
Lol! :P
Shadow sighed as he stared into the sky, a smile etched on his face after he had played with the young pup, Jökull. It had been ages since he had fun with a pup and he enjoyed it more than ever. A pup's smile or laughter would be the best thing that Shadow ever received. They were so joyful, so free of the burdens that older wolves carry.
As Jökull wobbled over to him and hollered her thanks, he smiled even wider. He was glad that she found it fun, the pups back at his natal pack used to love it and beg him to keep doing it to them.
I hope it's okay if I have Jökull exit here. It was fun threading with you! :)
As time wore on, Jökull began to feel the aftereffects of extreme playtime: tiredness. So much had happened all at once, so it was pretty overwhelming for the babe. Taking a step forward, she stumbled face-first into Shadow's lush neck. Ohh, he was so warm and fluffy. Kind of like mommy...Jökull conked out still standing/leaning against her pack mate’s neckline, jaws quivering as she gummed at the fur there. Mmm. Imaginary milk.
- EXIT VIA SLEEP -
Same, :)
Shadow smiled gently down on the pup as she stumbled into his neck and gummed on his neck fur. She must be tired after playing, he laughed softly, not enough to awaken the baby. Ahh, puppies were adorable, he sighed quietly and turned his gaze on the horizon. He would stay with the pup for a bit longer.
Silvery gaze on Jökull, he smiled softly.