Wolf RPG

At twenty days old, the children were growing like weeds. All three were thriving, standing, wobbling, and beginning to babble incoherently. The most precious few weeks of their lives were over, and Fox had no doubt that these three would survive beyond their developmental stages. That, of course, meant that the remaining nameless daughter needed a name. Fox had pondered long and hard over the past week, trying to think of a suitable name for the pitch-black pup, and finally, she'd settled on one.

"Raven Haunt," she said aloud for the first time, even though it had solidified a few days prior. "That’s your name." Fox licked the top of the little girl's head and smiled. Her first name was an obvious choice, being that of a black bird, and her second name was that of the man who could have easily been her father, if circumstances had been different. As soon as she saw Peregrine, she'd let him know as well.

He searched for Somnia exhaustively, yet the Gamma seemed to have vanished without a trace. Peregrine eventually decided to give up for a while, as he couldn't afford to spend too much time or energy chasing ghosts. He shuddered at the thought. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have been pissed first, worried second. But he trusted Somnia so completely that he didn't believe it was possible for her leave under her own power. That meant something had to have happened to her, which was not a pretty thought at all.

The Alpha male headed to the den to take a break with his family and give his aching ankle a rest. When he arrived in the doorway, he found Fox standing over their littlest, who he had quietly begun to think of as Blackbird, even though it wasn't very creative. He slunk inside, licking his mate's cheek and greeting the pups as they came up to him by slobbering all over their faces.

Smile falling somewhat, he lifted his head and caught his mate's eye. "I have bad news. I'm pretty sure Somnia's gone," he said softly.

Fox was more or less out of the loop with much of the happenings in the pack. It frustrated her to no end, but her children would always come first. They were the future of Redhawk Caldera. Without these three little buggers, the journey that she and Peregrine had made from the plateau was for nothing. Okay, that was a little dramatic, but we are talking about Fox over here. If she wasn't the drama queen, she was at least a drama princess, and her mini-me Wildfire was a close second.

When Peregrine arrived and dropped that bomb on her, though, Fox furrowed her brow. "Gone? Are you sure? Maybe she’s just…" but unlike Finley, Somnia had never really been an outrider. "When was she last seen?" Fox asked, refusing to believe their most trusted member would just up and leave without saying a single word to them. It was almost as bad as Ashton's disappearance. And there was an answer Fox could accept, presented nice and neat in a little package. "Maybe she caught Ashton’s scent somewhere," she offered. It was an easy explanation... one that she could live with.

Fox reacted much the same way he had when Elwood had brought Somnia's disappearance to his attention: with disbelief. "I've searched a bunch today and yesterday," he confirmed, lips setting in a grim line. "I haven't seen her myself since that day she came by and proposed the pack hunt," Peregrine added, an ear twitching almost pensively. "And I guess that's possible, though Somnia wouldn't just go meandering away without letting someone know. That would be incredibly out of character." I'm afraid something bad must have happened, he thought, though he didn't say it aloud.

"We'll keep looking," he continued after a moment, sighing softly through his nose, "though it's hard, with everything else going on." His lips twitched into a faint smile as his eyes dropped to the puppies wriggling around their feet. He bent down to lick Wildfire's head, then nudge Nightjar's side. Last, he nibbled at the tip of the youngest's ear, before straightening up again and meeting his mate's eyes. "Can you believe these little assholes have been here the better part of a month already?"

Fox's mouth twisted as Perry explained that he'd been searching for Somnia over the past few days. It really wasn't like her to up and leave... but it hadn't been like Fox to do the same when Haunter had passed away, either. Perhaps instead of picking up his scent, Somnia had found his body. Again, it seemed like a logical (enough) explanation, and one that Fox was content with for the time being. She was more than willing to believe that story over anything more sinister.

When Peregrine mentioned the kids, Fox grinned. As they'd grown and been able to venture outside the den more and more, Fox had been more relaxed and less resentful of the little turds. "Crazy, isn't it? Which reminds me! I finally picked out a name for this little squirt," she said, gesturing toward their darker daughter. "How do you feel about Raven?" Fox would let the first name sink in before dropping the girl's second one.

Peregrine was glad for the change of subject, especially since it concerned their final pup's name. His heart beat excitedly and he waved his tail in anticipation. The name she dropped was not unlike Blackbird in meaning, though quite different phonetically. He liked it quite a bit more and smiled, tail wagging even faster, to show his approval.

"Melikes," he quipped. "It fits both our naming conventions," he observed, "just like Nightjar." His eyes flicked to their boy, then to their mouthy redhead. "Guess you're the freak," he said to her, his tone affectionate despite his words. He chortled, especially when Wildfire smiled up at him with wide, golden eyes and waved her little black tail.

Peregrine seemed to like the name, which Fox took at face-value. Wildfire was the oddball out of the group, even if Fox had been silently thinking another name for her in the background. "Actually," she admitted, "I’ve been calling her Dhole in my head for a little while now." Fox said this with a sheepish grin, wondering if Peregrine would be upset that she had basically been ignoring the girl's name in place of a nickname. "I’ve never seen one… but I’m pretty sure she’s got the exact same markings. Darker tail, darker nose." The mother shrugged lightly, then went on.

"I was thinking about giving Raven a second name. So her full title would be Raven Haunt Redleaf-DiSarinno." It was quite a mouthful, but Fox wanted to honor Haunter in some way. The girl did resemble him a great deal, if only because she was as dark as he had been. "What do you think?" she said, directing the question at the newly-dubbed Raven. Fox wondered if any of her children would be unhappy with their names as they matured. It wasn't something she had ever come across, as far as she knew, but maybe it could happen.

Dull? Peregrine thought, perplexed. He still didn't quite understand even when Fox explained, though from contextual clues, he was able to guess, "Is a dull some kinda animal...?" She shrugged and he did the same. He didn't care if his children had a dozen nicknames, just like their fiery mother.

When she mentioned a middle name, Peregrine bobbed his head. Their other daughter had one, so it made sense to give Raven one as well. He approved of the name with a flick of his ear and another of his tail. He didn't make the connection between the name and Fox's former lover. Eventually, he would probably realize, though he wouldn't mind. For now, he just thought Fox was in the mood for a creepy, haunted baby.

"Too spooky for me," he whispered playfully, jade eyes finding Raven's blue ones. The father smiled broadly. "Spoopy!" he added in a babyish voice, though he wasn't usually one for baby talk.

"Of course," she replied, when he asked about Dhole's name. He seemed happy enough to give the children a dozen names... perhaps to make up for the fact that they only had four three this year. Peregrine also took Raven's second name in stride, calling it "spooky." Haunter always had been a bit spooky, but perhaps that was part of what had drawn Fox to him in the first place. He was worlds different than Peregrine, that was for sure. He'd been far more reserved and stoic, while Perry was happy to (endearingly!) blather on and on.

Fox settled down, sighed contentedly, and watched the pups as they tumbled around one another. Fox was still rather curious about what their personalities would be. Nightjar seemed the most "serious" of the three, and Wildfire was definitely living up to her name. Raven seemed quieter than both of her siblings, perhaps more meek, but Fox didn't think that she would be like that forever. When Wildfire came wandering near, Fox licked the top of her head, then nudged her playfully.

Raven giggled at her daddy's tomfoolery, then turned away to keep playing with her brother and sister. His eyes followed her, then flicked to Wildfire as she wandered closer to her mother. "Don't let her lick you, Wildfire! She thinks you're dull," he joked to their older daughter. Of course, she wouldn't understand anyway.

Fox had settled down, so he did the same. He rotated his sore ankle a moment, then leaned against the den wall, glad to be off his feet for a bit. "Hey," Peregrine said suddenly, straightening somewhat. "Haunter -- that was the name of your..." He trailed off, then nodded. The sentiment was nice. "Okay, how weird is it that we named our little girls after big black dudes." He laughed quietly, then sank back against the wall again.

"Dhole," Fox corrected with an impish grin at Peregrine. Wildfire was anything but dull. In fact, all of their children were anything but dull, and Fox hadn't expected anything less. She did have high hopes for them, and she would push them to follow whatever path they chose. If that meant they were destined to stay here and watch over their future siblings, that would be awesome. If it meant that they would branch out and start their own thing, Fox would be equally pleased with that outcome.

Perry's voice caused her think-train to derail, and she nodded when he spoke of Haunter. While Fox had more or less gotten over the loss, he would always have a special place in her memories. His last sentiment made her chuckle, remembering that Wildfire's middle name was Attica, a variation of Atticus. "I hadn't even thought of it that way," she replied with a grin, watching the three babes tumble over one another. "Do you think Nightjar should have a second name?" she asked. Would he feel weird being the odd man out?

Fox voiced concern over Nightjar's lack of middle name and without missing a beat, Peregrine replied, "He does have a middle name: Jar." He snickered, then shook his head lightly. "I like that he doesn't have one. Maybe that can be our little tradition: girls get middle names, boys don't. You know, I don't have one and neither does Oss. But Aether and Crete did. I don't recall ever being bothered by it," he said with a shrug.

Speaking of their son, he was busy backing away from his sisters, who'd decided to tag-team him. This put him within reach of his father, who reached out and scooped Nightjar against his chest. The boy gave a surprised yap, then began to squirm as Peregrine nuzzled the top of his head. When the pup continued to struggle, Peregrine released him with a jokingly offended, "Well, fine then! I don't want to hang out with you either, Mr. Night J. Redleaf-DiSarinno."

Fox rolled her eyes at Perry's "joke," but decided it was just as well if Nightjar didn't have an official middle name. Hell, none of the girls in Fox's family took their father's name, so why should Nightjar get two? Not only that, but starting a new family tradition was right up Fox's alley. "Oh, I like that idea," she quipped with a grin. The idea of next year's pups was still a long way off (for her, anyway), but the thought did linger the back of her mind.

When Peregrine wrestled with an inconvenienced Nightjar, Fox chuckled. It seemed clear to her that Perry was meant to be a father, and she wondered if she appeared the same way. She probably hadn't appeared that way at first, but maybe the perception had changed since then. Fox certainly felt happier and lighter than she had a few weeks ago.

His mate seemed keen on the idea of starting their own little tradition and he smiled indulgently at her. Future litters were far from his mind too, though surely if all went according to plan, they would have one each year of their lives together. They were freshly four and two, respectively, and could breed for the better part of a decade. They would get to use so many names.

"I now have a child named after each of my litter mates, save for Crete. I honestly don't think that'll happen either, not after what he did. I've told you that story, right? About how he vanished into thin air and we found out later he'd knocked up another guy's mate? Ragnar's mate, of all things. Ragnar is the Alpha of the bay, the pack that I'd consider a sort of ally. Sorry, I'm rambling." Peregrine grinned sheepishly.

The dark Alpha male then stretched out his hind legs and let his chin sink to his forelegs, his shoulder still leaning comfortably against the earthen wall. They had created a sort of playpen in between themselves, in which the children seemed content to play with one another. Peregrine watched them with a smile on his face, his eyes slowly drifting shut as the hours of searching for Somnia finally caught up with him.

Fox listened patiently as Peregrine explained that he'd named two of his kids after his siblings now. She couldn't imagine naming her own kids after her siblings... unless they actually looked like them. Then again, that was just the way she did things. Fox often had to remind herself that she and Peregrine were a team. Compromise was not something she'd been familiar with before he had come into her life. Now that the children were here, she would have to compromise for them, too.

As Perry settled down, Fox watched as Wildfire moved near her. Instead of licking her head this time, Fox allowed her to snuggle close to her ribs, and Fox too began to drift into a dreamless sleep.