Neverwinter Forest Molly Malone

"Conor be feer an' Conor be faine an' ee wants me for te wed. 
An' Ae would marry Conor- but me fadder op an' sed-
Aeeee hate te tell ye daughter, what yer mudder never knew,
'tis Ae's the sire O'Conor, an' thus ee's kin te yew." 

Having finished cleaning her paws in the stream, she'd begun to muck about in the water, flipping pebbles over with deft movements of her large paws, singing idly to herself as she did so. She paused in the song- one which had been sung to her by her father a long time ago, and she really only understood it now- to flip over a bigger rock, creating a cloud of mud and sending a little minnow darting away, looking for shelter somewhere else. She followed it, slowing down to wait and see where it went so she could find it again. In the meantime, she continued her silly little song.

"Collin be feer an' Collin be faine an' ee wants me for te wed. 
An' Ae would marry Collin- but me fadder op an' sed-
Aeeee hate te tell ye daughter, what yer mudder never knew,
'tis Ae's the sire O'Collin, an' thus ee's kin te yew." 

She'd found where the minnow had hidden and had flipped over another rock, sending it flashing down the stream, far away from the idle girl, who wrinkled her nose and continued flipping over rocks, continuing to sing the verses and supplying other male names which always bore the same outcome- her father was the sire of Fionn, Jack, Murphy and Paddy, and thus was kin to her. Eventually, she strolled lackadaisically out of the stream and sat down to allow her paws to dry before she finally continued on in the song. 

"Weel. Ne'er there was a lass so sad an' sorry as Ae was. 
Th'lads aroun' are all mae kin, an' me fadder is the cause!
Ae'd hate to thenk Ae'll dae a sad an' sorry, lonely miss-
Ae thenk Ae'll go tae muther an' complain to her o' thes!" 

She giggled softly, and bent over, admiring her reflection in the water. The sun shone through the gap in the trees, sparkling in the sun's surface as she looked at her face in the water. She looked very little like her mother, or her father- save perhaps for the blue of her eyes which matched the sliver of blue in her mother's. But both her mother and father had been dark-furred, and there she was, as light coloured as a dove. She changed her voice slightly, and finished the song.

"Daughter, dennae fear an' fret 'boot what yer fadder's gone and done,
sure ee's gone an' sown 'is seed and sired many a 'andsome son,
Yer fadder might be the sire of al the lads around but steel-
ee's not the sire o' yew, so marry whom yew weel!"

Hope you don't mind Mama! <3

Kaskara dealt with the news of her brother and sister's death as best she could, but sometimes it overwhelmed her, and she broke down. Whenever she was around her children, however, she felt better, lighter; like the burden had been lifted. She and Jorunn had taken over the leadership of the pack, and although she had never thought to be alpha beside her nephew, here they were anyway. The dark alpha moved through the woods, reinforcing the borders as needed, and periodically checking on caches. She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard her daughter's singing, and headed toward the stream to investigate.

There she found Szabala singing one of Kieran's songs and bouncing through the stream. The chilly weather hadn't settled in deep cold yet, so Kaskara let her daughter play in the stream, though soon she'd call her out to dry off. What song is that, Szaba? She settled herself along the bank of the stream, watching her fair-furred child bounce around the water to her heart's delight.

Still humming to herself nd admiring her reflection, Szabala hadn't noticed that her mother had joined her on the bank, so she turned sharply and grinned a surprised, happy grin. She left the water and moved to her mother's side, pressing along it like a cat greeting its owner. Mother was always good to see- especially given the fact that Szabala didn't like to spend time hunting, so whenever she got hungry, she'd go to her mother, or try to bum food off her siblings. The only time she would avoid her mother was when she'd been told to go do something- so she would spend time alone to avoid completing the task for as long as possible, but given that she'd been assigned no chore on that day, her mother was a welcome sight. 

She shrugged and sat beside her mother, still looking toward the water. "Just one o'fadder's," She said. "Rian denna like et- says et's selly." She said, but she didn't sound terribly discouraged. Her brother's opinion about the song didn't matter too much to her, given that she held her father's opinion higher than anyone else's, and if he liked the song, she did too and her brother was full of bologna if he did not. "Ae'm goin' te marry anyone Ae want someday too. Raight, Muither?"

Well, Rian doesn't know a thing about us girls, does he? Kas quipped, kissing her darling daughter on the head. And you're right; you can marry whoever you want! Not that Szaba would be getting mated any time soon, but Kaskara was a firm believer in love, especially now that she was older and had felt its effects firsthand. Love was not always easy, but it could change lives for the better. She only hoped her children would experience that type of love in their lives, especially outside their home. She loved her children dearly and would do anything to protect them, even give her own life, but sometimes loving your family wasn't the same as loving a significant other.

What's your plan for today? she asked softly, rolling over to lie on her side, exposing her dark fur to the warmth of the sun, hoping to draw some of its rays into her. It was starting to chill during the day, and she often woke to find hoarfrost over the world. Soon they would be drawn into their dens to wait out the winter, and Kas wanted to soak up as much sunlight as she could until then.

Szabala shook her head when her brother was mentioned. "Nae. 'E likes mud an' dert an' silly thengs." She smiled and leaned into her mother's touch, flapping her tail happily against the ground, enjoying the attention she was getting. "Ae'm gonnae marry the most 'andsome lad in the world, an 'e's goin tae be a great hunter." She proclaimed. She had yet to meet someone who struck her fancy, of course, but in her dreams he was quite vivid- a stappring young lad, already more or less grown up in demeanour, a pure gentleman who indulged her every whim and need. She was a princess now, as well, so she couldn't imagine him being anything less than a prince himself. 

Her mother didn't seem terribly inclined to go do something, and had made herself comfortable on the ground. She thought twice about asking her mother to hunt for her, and instead flopped herself down on the ground beside her mother, stretching out in the sunlight. "Ae don't 'ave any plans, Muither," She said, as though the idea was silly. She didn't like responsibility, nor did she like having something needed of her. She was perfectly comfortable lounging about with her mother until she got hungry.

Szabala was quite adamant that she would marry a handsome hunter, which made Kaskara chuckle warmly. Her daughter could marry whomever she chose, whether handsome hunter or warrior or healer. Whatever Szaba chose, Kas would support her decision, even if the choice was no one at all. Though generally wolves were pack creatures, sometimes a wolf would prefer to be alone, as she had for many years. It was only when she met Kieran that she began to see a future with another, and their family soon followed.

Kas nudged her daughter's cheek with a laugh. We'll have to find you something to do, little dagger. What interests you today? Perhaps they could go on an adventure, or find her siblings to play. Whatever it was, Kas didn't want her daughter to be idle, even if it was in her nature to be a little lazier than most pups.

The questioning of Szabala's interests brought a reflective shine to her baby blue eyes, and yet, she could reflect upon how much she would rather just lounge the day away at Kaskara's side. A dark line marked her face as he lips frowned and she looked up to her mother. "Ae dennae, Muither," she answered shortly. 

It was that response that drove their afternoon as interest was attempted to be discovered within her. Despite their best efforts, Szabala could only answer about how she wanted to marry the best hunter that the world had seen. Though the two had quite some time to go until they would discover Szabala's real interests, at least the day had let them establish just what the dusty-haired girl wanted in her future mate.