Settling into her home had been pleasant, easy even. Knowing that she was surrounded by her family took away any hesitations she might have had, even lending a confidence that she would not normally have when joining a new pack. Catching up with Dirge had been wonderful and it was with both he and Hydra and mind that the wolf moved, carrying a freshly killed squirrel along with her.
The invitation to meet their children had not been forgotten but looked forward to, an excitement threading through her like an electrical current. It had been a long time since she'd been around whelps, her own on the verge of two years and scattered across the lands. She could hope that she'd see them again, but for now, Keres would focus on the family that was
here.
Approaching the leaders' den (
@Hydra @Dirge ), Keres chuffed around the squirrel in her mouth, muffling it slightly but probably maybe audible. Giving the den some distance, she waited until she saw some form of life to move closer.
It was rare that Mintaka was still asleep at this time of day, but the girl had caught a bit of a cold from all her time spent out in the rain in the previous month, and she was a little... under the weather. But even then, the silvery girl was an exceptionally light sleeper, and stirred when she heard the noise of a stranger outside the den.
Naturally, she had to investigate.
Pale blue eyes flickered up to the woman. She'd never met her before, but... maybe she was a packmate. She had to be, or Hydra would've probably eaten her by now.
"Who're you?" she asked, voice a bit nasally from how stuffy her nose was. But she certainly wasn't unfriendly.
There. She spied movement, tail waving gently behind her as she watched and waited. A young girl, silver with eyes like the sky, emerged from the den and Keres could not help the excitement that rushed through her body, paws shuffling in a brief bout of
tippy taps. Stepping forward once, twice, Keres set the squirrel on the ground so that she could answer the girl properly.
My name is Keres. I'm your father's sister.
She would not move forward any closer yet, not until the girl made some kind of indication that she was comfortable with such an action.
The woman had silver fur, like Mintaka, but her eyes were the color of pine trees. Still, her excitement was contagious, and the girl found her tail wagging and her ears angling forward when Keres tapped her paws on the ground.
Father's sister? A relative! Mintaka bounced a bit, bypassing the squirrel for now - surely it was just sleeping - and headbutted Keres in the chest in greeting. She was a bit clumsy, as the cold impaired her fine motor skills, but she copied the tippy taps of her aunt's feet with her own.
"I'm Minty!" she announced, grinning up at the woman. Her voice was slightly stuffy. "You like to dance?" she questioned, referring to the tapping.
Apparently, she did not need to wait for invitation, because the girl zipped forward in a streak of fluffy silver and shoved her head right into the woman's chest. Her tail knew no manner of stillnes now, head dropping to nuzzle Minty on the cheek brieflty. Her heart swelled greatly, immediately falling in love with the way she copied Keres' own movement.
I do!
She pranced in place, grinning widely. She did not mind being silly for children, happy to entertain them. Do you?
The girl let out a soft giggle when the woman nosed at her cheek. She liked this lady a lot - there were so many people around here who were so nice. "I do! I like dancing," she announced, proceeding to take a few steps back. "Watch."
Then, Mintaka would take a few running steps forward and tumble in a sort of messy front-flip, landing on her back. A signature move that she'd just made up.
The laugh tinkled like the awe-striking stars twinkled above at night and she could only continue to smile, ears thrust forward to listen as that voice chimed away. Nodding, the valkyrie encouraged her: Watching!
The tumbled only served to twist her further around Minty's paws, wound in tight already to the charm of the young girl. That was lovely!
She exclaimed with a laugh. Did you know you can dance even when you're laying down?
And Keres proceeded to drop and roll to her back, flailing and writhing around, huffing and snorting, doing what she could to draw forward a laugh once more.
Mintaka beamed up at the woman and stretched her paws up, content to just lay on her back on the dirt for a moment. "Thanks! I just made it up," she announced, watching Keres upside-down. And then she spoke again and pale blue eyes widened in interest.
Her aunt flopped onto her back as well, and rolled in the dirt. Mintaka watched with round eyes, maw parted in surprise. You could dance on your back! She burst out into laughter and copied her, absolutely coating her back in dust, but it was worth it.
The girl broke off in a fit of sneezes, still laying on her back like a turtle.
Well, bless you!
She exclaimed, grinning at the girl from her upside down point of view. Got dust up your nose, did you?
She asked, remaining where she was for a moment before roling onto her side, a gentle puff of dust swirling into the air. What other things do you like to do, Minty?
Keres truly wanted to learn all about them, sparkling green eyes only for her niece at the moment.
Mintaka sniffled and sat up, rubbing a paw across her snotty nose. It was gross, but definitely worth it for her month of being a mud-monster. "I got snot up my nose," she explained seriously, sniffling again to keep it from dripping out.
"I liked to play in the mud, but it made me sick, so... maybe I don't like to do that so much," she explained, though a bright grin spread across her expression. "I like to be a superhero! I protect alllll the animals in the forest." It had not occurred to her yet that she was also an eater of those animals - everything she'd ever eaten had come in the form of body parts or miscellanious hunks of meat. It was not the time to learn that. "I'm very strong," she bragged then.
A pause, then she tipped her head to the side. "What'd'you like to do, Auntie Keres?" she asked, interested.
Snot!
That would explain the slightly nasally voice, now that she thought about it. With this being her first time meeting Minty, Keres had assumed that that was simply her voice; this of course was corrected immediately. Mud was the cause, though, so no, we didn't like the mud. It was not fun, though she was sure that Minty's jaunt through said mud wouldn't be her last.
A superhero, hm? Do you have any special powers to help you protect the animals?
She asked, getting up to venture closer, lowering her head to clean the pup's runny nose and dusty face up. This was a distraction, of couse, from the fact that her back paw found the squirrel she had brought and kicked it out of the girl's immediate presence. There didn't need to be any trauma today. Not on the first meeting, thank you.
Let's see...
The silver adult thought as she reclined back on her haunches. I like to explore, sometimes at night so I can see all the stars. Have you ever done that?
Mintaka let out a loud whine as Keres cleaned her face - a mild complaint, really, because she knew she needed it. It was just that she didn't always like that close of touch. Face-to-face. It was uncomfortable, being fussed over, and she wasn't really used to it. Watched like a hawk, yes, but much of her family were not particularly touchy.
"So many powers," she explained, a grin spreading across her maw when her aunt finished cleaning her up. Not once did she notice the squirrel. "Mostly I'm just super strong and scary and stuff. I scare all the bad things away."
Bright blue eyes lit up and Mintaka leaned forward. "You like to explore, too?" Man, this woman was great! How had they not met before? "I love the stars! They're like... little lightning bugs all stuck up in the sky." Satisfied with her explanation, Mintaka tipped her head to the side. "What do you know about stars, Auntie Keres?"
I love to explore,
She smiled again. And I love the stars too! Maybe one day, we can go on a trip to find the best place to watch the stars from, hm?
When she was a touch older, of course. Perhaps she would drag Dirge along as well, force him to get out a little bit. Or maybe they could abscond Hydra from her duties and have a bonding day. Whatever the plans turned out to be, Keres had no doubt that they'd be enjoyable.
Let's see. I know that some of them make pictures called constellations. And some of them have names, and even some of them we can't see all the time.
Her knowledge had been gathered over the years, though she'd never done much of anything with it. Her mother had once looked at the stars in a longing fashion, as if she'd find something in them; her daughters had been taught some of their names by their father, something she regretted not paying more attention to, now.
What about the moon? Do you like the moon?
"I want to go see the stars with you, Auntie Keres," Mintaka cooed, tail swishing back and forth as she stared up at her aunt in wonderment. She was so big and old, surely she knew so much more than Mintaka! The only problem was, Keres had woken the sick pup up from a nap, and... well... she was still kind of sleepy.
A yawn suddenly pulled from her maw and she nodded her head. "I love the moon," she emphasized, blinking round blue eyes up at her kin. It was pretty clear that she would need to head back into the den and rest again in just a moment.
// We could fade soon?
A soft laugh left her then, delighted by both the girl's answer and her general presence. It was good to be among family again, even family she had barely the chance to know just yet, though that was not a good enough reason to keep her from sleeping. Rising to her feet, Keres nudged the child gently, beginning to usher her back towards the den. It's time for you to get some rest, hm?
Her tail waved gently behind her, the promise of their future adventures hanging over both of their heads.
Into the den the young girl would go while waited, watching until she was out of sight to turn away and move down the mountain, finding a spot for her own den.