Redhawk Caldera moonpearl

as evening flung gold paint across the horizon, chickadee, giggling and blushing a bit, rushed @Kivaluk from their densite. the babies would be all right for an hour or so, she reasoned, long enough for the new parents to spend a little time together.
now she surfaced from the lake, refreshed, returning to shallower water only to scrub herself on the rocks there. chickadee flung herself upon the shore in radiant pleasure. "it's so nice to have so much help."

even as chickadee pulls herself out of the water, kivaluk lingers for a bit longer; letting the lap of the water over his back soothe him. it was his equivalent of a long, hot shower after a longer day. he peeks an eye open at her, making an noise of agreement deep in his throat. your parents are great. he agrees.

though he had not imagined anyone would let him and chickadee to raise their kids all on their own — it took a village after all — her parents had really raised the bar of grandparents ( not that he had any real expectations going into this thing ).

he pulls himself out of the water with a small grunt, shaking the bulk of it out of his fur before flopping down beside her with a playful huff, peppering her cheek with kisses.

i'm still a little afraid of them, he admits with a grin. but i love watching them with the kids. it gave him hope that he could break the generational curse that he and akkuma and galana had, had to endure. that his kids would never grow up knowing the abandonment wound of he and his closest siblings. plus, knowing that he wasn't leaving her to tend to the kids all by herself while he was tending his duties as raven put his mind at ease.

"afraid of my parents? really?" chickadee asked, not wanting to be too skeptical as she truly hoped he would tell her what about maia and eljay was so frightening. "they're so good with them, aren't they?" she sighed. "well, they should be. raised enough kids here." her eyes shone in delight. "i'm really — just — i'm so happy to be back, kivaluk."
she rolled now to kiss him back, to nip playfully at him, to pull at his fur and relax fully in the arms of her very attentive and responsible husband.

well yeah, kivaluk says with a shrug. they're my in-laws. you're their daughter. i think i might always be a little intimidated. he couldn't really rationalize it, other than he could only hope that he lived up to the idea they had of a husband for their daughter.

he grins down at her, peppering where ever he could reach with kisses as she nips at him and tugs at his fur.

i think i wanna be your parents when i grow up, he grins wider, sincerity in his tone. surrounded by children and grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. at least, this was how he saw their relationship.

well. that was fair. she kissed him again, because she could, and felt herself responsive and warm beneath the delightful lap of the water. no danger of catching herself in the family way again, she thought with a flush at her own boldness.
chickadee's eyes danced upon his. "we can do that, you know. my parents have lived here for a long time. we can do the same. maybe our grandkids will even be born where our kids were, and the great grandkids too."
thinking ahead, far ahead, because the moonthorn could not imagine a future old and grey without kivaluk.

though it feels a little weird, the idea of stepping into someone else's legacy and adopting it as his own: but there was stability there, and that was what he'd been chasing ever since he was a child. the blackthorn roots were strongly rooted in this place: and he was apart of that root system now, too.

he'd taken part of their last name, after all. a mesh of their families: the moon wolves and the blackthorns.

i couldn't imagine anything i want more, kivaluk admits softly, truthfully.