Wolf RPG

Someone had brought a bone into the den. Despite his position at the bottom of the pile (metaphorically speaking; he was the Omega of this small puppy pack), it had somehow wound up in his possession this evening. Relonikiv lay on his back with his head propped against Paarthurnax and the bone perched on his fat little belly. His forepaws wrapped around the meaty knob at its end as he cut his milk teeth against the firm cartilage. It already showed signs of having been used and abused by the others, so perhaps that was why his brothers and sister did not fuss at him for holding onto it; they were already done with it.

Babbling and cooing as he gnawed, the puppy stared at the ceiling of the den. By now, his eyes had opened to perhaps half mast. Everything was still fuzzy and blurry but Relonikiv didn't even realize it, of course. He loved this new sense, just as he loved everything, even his browbeating eldest brother, Trajan, and this hand-me-down bone. The tiny pup smiled up at the stone ceiling, grinning and drooling. The view might have been bland from here but the baby dragon was nonetheless content, enjoying it and the traces of blood and marrow still left on his chew toy.

Nefarious had been meaning to stop by Paarthunax's den to see her and her children though he had allowed his own hesitation on the matter to hinder him, and for the time being, keep him from them. After all, they were not his children and he had no rights to them by any means, and thus had managed to convince himself that the right thing to do was to give her space. This tactic was effective for a while, but Nefarious was a curious being; it had been at the soft urging from the Mother of Light, Atka, that inspired Nefarious to make the move and visit Paar and her babes. Nefarious did not come to Paarthurnax's den empty pawed, instead bringing with him a hare for Paar herself, having laid it at the mouth of the den not really sure where else to place it, and for the children he'd brought with him a fawn pelt he had taken and lain out to dry shortly upon his arrival in the Creek. Initially, it had been for his own uses but it was the season of giving and he did not wish to show at the new mother's den empty handed. That felt rude, though this mindset was born out of Nefarious' own social customs. In Alkuma gifts were often brought to mothers and their newly born babes, and customarily, if this had all happened in Akkuma Nefarious would not have waited so long to make his first visit but then again in Akkuma he'd been of an important stature and it was befitting of his role as the Angakkuq to be of the first to visit and "bless" the children in honor of Atka and Sos.

Nefarious would do no blessing of these children, knowing that his faith seemed to belong to solely him (as far as he was aware at any rate); yet the tradition of giving was not one he was so willing to break.

For a moment the Shaman hesitated, wondering if it was okay for him to go in, or if he should sit outside of the den, after he'd announced his presence to Paarthurnax. Physically, he dithered on the threshold, trying to decide if it was alright for him to proceed further into the den as awkwardly as he could, or if he wanted to turn around and try it again. Some other day in the distant future. Nefarious stayed towards the den's exit, not wishing to impose upon the small family or invade their space, though judging by how small the children were it was likely they did not need much space. He dropped the pelt he'd brought, nosing it towards the babes, offering the children — though only one appeared to be awake presently, if the glimpse of milky blue told Nefarious correctly — a hushed "Hello little ones," Knowing that even if they could hear him (which he wasn't sure that they could) they would not be able to return much of a greeting in response.

After a while, the little boy grew tired of his plaything and let it slide off his chest onto the floor, which vibrated when it struck. Made curious by this sensation, Relonikiv rolled onto his left side. Instead of the ceiling, a face hovered above him now. His blue eyes widened at the sight, nearly opening all the way. This was not his mother, nor his three siblings. This was someone new.

Relonikiv mewled, not in fright but out of utter curiosity. He wanted to roll onto his stomach and scoot toward this newcomer, yet he remained prostrate, gazing up in wonder as the stranger's mouth moved. He had seen his mother do this too. He didn't know what it meant but he smiled and giggled at the familiar sight on an unfamiliar face.

Finally, he managed to roll onto his tummy, his neck momentarily bent at a very strangle angle to keep his eyes on the large wolf. Now right side up, Relonikiv was forced to momentarily tear his gaze away as he turned himself around to properly face the stranger. Arching his neck again to peer up into that new face, he bumbled forward slightly and issued an inquisitive sound: Ooora?

Bazi had taken her leave earlier in the day, and Paarthurnax had bid a fond farewell to her pale companion. She watched her exit their little hollow and trot out into the bitter cold, before curling herself about the little bodies of her children to nurse them. Her nose bumped the hindquarters of her firstborn, nudging him close to her belly but far enough from his siblings to hopefully not cause disturbance amoung them. Unfortunately, however, Trajan was a stubborn creature - he wriggled from his place to muzzle between his siblings, shoving little Durnehviir from her place and wreaking havoc as he moved.

He was definitely his father's son, and not just because of that silver pelt.

By the time they were done, cleaned and snug beside her, Paar had begun to feel the weight of her eyelids. She yawned, placed her wary head atop her extended forelimbs and looked over each pup: Traianus, who was (finally!) fast asleep; Julius, who snored gently and twitched his tiny white toes; Durnehviir, who mewled softly as she dreamed of whatever it was that cubs dreamed of; and Relonikiv... who was still very much awake.

Paarthurnax watched him quietly with a smile of sheer adoration as her littlest son lay on his back, gripping the bone that had been delivered to the den earlier that morning by a kind pack-mate, and worked his brand new milk teeth on its rugged surface. The sound of approaching paws on fresh snow outside was the only thing to draw her attention away, and the crimson Frostfur lifted herself slightly to loom protectively over her brood. Only when the announcement of a familiar presence was given did she relax again, and resumed her position to chuff softly in invitation.

Nefarious slipped into the burrow, and she blinked sleepily up at the two-toned features of her comrade. Her tail flopped lazy at her rear and her smile blossomed, more so when she noted the tiny Relon's sheer excitement at the new wolf in their den. "I think Relonikiv likes you," she suggested. There wasn't really anything that her golden pup didn't like.

Having never had much experience with children Nefarious left feeling rather ...clueless. He knew the six but it wasn't as if Suluk had ever held "puppies 101" classes with his children. The topic of the birds and the bees been covered so that his children were not entirely ignorant of how babes are made but when it came to being around children Nefarious had no idea. They were tiny, and very fragile looking and Nefarious spared Paarthurnax A silent look as if to convey his question of how she was not terrified of accidentally squashing them. Perhaps though, she was better equipped to deal with their tiny stature as a woman. Nefarious not claimed he really knew. The golden child - that was awake - abandoned the bone he been gnawing on in favor, it would seem, of Nefarious. Pumpkin orange gaze focused upon the little squirt; because he did not know the child's name so henceforth came up with a mental placeholder instead.

The boy rolled onto his stomach and fixed his gaze of milk he blue up on Nefarious. Slowly, as not to startle the child, Nefarious what his head so the child did not have to strain so much. "Hey little man," Nefarious murmured to the child after he let out a curious noise. Likely, the extent of the vocal skills at this stage in his life. Nefarious peered up at Paar through his lashes, keeping his head low for the child to investigate if he wished to, to catch her smile as to which the shaman returned, speaking that she thought the boy - Relonikiv - liked him. Nefarious did not know what to say to that in response, so set up for a quiet noise of contentedness before his gaze went down to Paar's active son. "So Relonikiv is your name, huh, little dragon?" Given Paar and his once conversation about dragons, among other things, Nefarious just sort of assumed because it was an exotic sounding name, not unlike the child's mother's own.

All of the den's permanent residents wore pale coats: his mother was soft shades of red and gold, as was his sister; Trajan was a sleek silver color; and both Julius and Aunt Bazi possessed snowy white fur. For this reason and many others, Nefarious greatly intrigued the young boy. When he lowered his head, Relonikiv stretched out a paw to touch that thick, dark fur. It felt the same as everyone else's, which coaxed an, Ooh, from him.

Oora? Oora? he chirped again, smiling broadly now. He rolled onto his back, showing the newcomer his belly. His tail pressed between his legs, covering his privates and a strip of his pink tummy. Oora? The tip of his tail wiggled as he instinctively showed submission. Relonikiv remained like this for perhaps ten seconds, then rolled back onto his stomach and scooted forward to investigate Nefarious's big, broad paws.

Nefarious blinked up at her, and although he did not respond with words, his smile spoke a thousand words. She had a lot of respect for him, this wolf of an unusual upbringing, who made her curious and uncertain at the same time. A part of her worried that she might offend him, considering his strong beliefs while she opted to follow only the way of the wolf. Religion had erected a huge barrier between she and Shadow, and although Paar had tried hard to understand his ways and learn from him, she'd realised that she could not accept them. And as they were a huge part of who he was, it would not have been fair to demand that he change.

She relaxed and watched as little Relonikiv flopped over onto his belly, his little golden tail wiggling between his hind limbs in a very obvious display of submission, and her smile softened somewhat. Her littlest son had been destined to be at the bottom of the pecking order since birth, just as it seemed her firstborn was so eager to remain at the top despite his palest brother being so much larger than him. Durnehviir was perhaps of equal size to Trajan, but had yet to display any dominance.

Her pack-mate spoke directly to the tiny child, who finally rolled back over until he was right-side-up, then shuffled forward to investigate paws that were probably about the same size as Relon himself. Little dragon, he called him, and Paarthurnax felt her heart skip a beat. He had remembered, and her feathery tail flopped merrily at her hindquarters as she continued to watch in silence.

Subtly, Nefarious began to relax, the tension in the junction between his shoulders easing the more comfortable the shaman allowed himself to become. It was obvious that Paar did not mind his presence for she would not have invited him in if she had minded, and as long as he stayed still there was little worry of accidentally squashing one of her little dragons though the other three were safely nestled against their mother's side. Great Bear Gods above they were adorable especially Relonikiv, Nefarious thought in a mix of awe and bewilderment as the golden child stretched one of his tiny paws to touch his fur. A soft laugh escaped Nefarious' lips, muted so as not to startle the young dragon inspecting him, when the small child let out a soft "ooh", as if he found Nefarious to be facinating. The innocence of the inquisitive child before him was warming, and though Nefarious had never taken much interest in children prior he definitely saw the appeal. Undeniably, they were precious little lives to mold and encourage.

"They're adorable, Paar," Though likely the exotic sand flower had heard the exact same thing from numerous others, or at least quite a variation of "adorable" since their birth. Nefarious did not desire to be so mainstream, though he was no just saying it because it felt appropriate to compliment her on the children she had given birth to. Nefarious spoke because he had genuinely meant it. Nefarious' attention was stolen from the new mother when the child let out another noise, to see him flop on his back and tuck his tail between his legs in submission. Though the golden child's nature immediately because apparent to the shaman, Nefarious could not help but feel perplexed, even when the child rolled back over and scooted closer, presumably to investigate him further. "Dragons don't have to submit to me, you know, even little ones." He murmured in hushed tones to the child though Nefarious understood the principle that Relonikiv would not understand.

Many pups mistook toes for teats at least once and Relonikiv, though already showing signs of being a bright and inquisitive child, would not escape childhood without making the error. He nosed Nefarious's right paw for a moment, investigating the bumps of his knuckles and the crevices between each toe. He licked at the male's claws, which tasted exactly like the den floor (which he'd licked on occasion). Ooh, he murmured every so often as he examined his pack mate's foot.

It was the dew claw that finally lured him in with false promises of warm milk. He spotted it and stretched out his neck, his mouth closing around the little nub of a toe and giving it a tug. No milk came into his mouth, so his blue eyes rolled up to Nefarious's face almost questioningly. He sucked even harder, several times, his cinnamon ears folding back when still no liquid gold spilled into his hungry mouth.

His doting mother took notice of his behavior and swooped in to rescue her pack mate's toe. Suddenly Relonikiv was airborne as Paarthurnax clutched him around his midriff and placed him near her belly. The pup whimpered happily as a nipple presented itself and he began to suckle. He forgot about the visitor momentarily, though as soon as he was finished eating, he might recall Nefarious's presence... if nap time didn't swoop in first.