Lost Creek Hollow I can't assault her before I tell her I love her

For mother dearest @Liffey and any fambly member who wants to join!

A small rat swung to and fro from her mouth as Deshyr proudly trotted to the den site, all arched tails and beaming grins. It was a small kill, not enough for a full grown wolf in all honesty let alone a nursing one, but it was hers, and she had done it all herself. A twig or two was still entangled in her fur and she had dirt still smeared upon one side of her cheek from where she dove for the rat. But she had done it!

The girl made for her mother's and baby sibling's den partially to show off, and partially to give to Liffey if she needed it. No doubt Rannoch was providing well enough but Deshyr was almost obsessed with doing things for her newest siblings.

Coming to a halt before the mouth of the den, Junior bowed her head slightly and unceremoniously dropped the tiny meal before the opening. "Heeey, mum!" she called as quietly as she could (which wasn't very quiet) into the void, nose wiggling as she took in the milky scent. It wasn't as overpowering as it had been. "I got you something!"

They were growing so fast. It was Liffey's second litter, so she should've known already this was the case. And she did, really, but she still felt blind-sided by the sight of her little ones toddling around the den on their stubby legs, getting into as much trouble as they could. She sighed wistfully as she watched them now, @Sionnach and @Tiarnach clambering over @Aengus as though he were a mountain to claim while @Eshe dozed in the corner.

Speaking of kids who grew up too fast, there was one now. Liffey's ears perked at her older daughter's voice and she lifted her head with a smile. "Hi there, princess," she said, gesturing with her muzzle to welcome the girl in. The den they had carved out was sizeable to easily fit them all. Rannoch was a sizeable wolf on his own, but it was more due to the fact that Liffey preferred to live in a palace. Something more suited for the Frostfur royalty that they were.

Liffey's voice drifted out from the den and Deshyr felt a familiar, pleasant warmth spread across her cheeks at her greeting. She noted the inviting gesture and scooped the rat back up in her jaws before heading into the den with a gleeful giggle.

While the den was quite cavernous, and she was sure her father took up nearly half of the space when it was fully occupied, here it was mostly Deshyr's long, unwieldy legs that gave her the most trouble. She (and no doubt Breccan too) had had a major growth spurt within the last few months and was still trying to figure out how to navigate this new adult body. Folding them awkwardly underneath herself, the girl settled beside her mother, keeping an eye on where all the puppies (especially the sleeping Eshe) were.

"Fff'r 'ou," she said with a mouth still full of rat, before depositing it in a free space for Liffey. Well, for her or Rannoch or one of the puppies; it didn't exactly have a gift tag on it. She quickly turned her attention back to her siblings, laughing as Sionnach tumbled from Mt. Aengus. "They're so big now!" she breathed in wonder. Well, bigger, she wasn't entirely sure how fast they were meant to be growing.

Liffey scootched to the side to allow her daughter more room, which turned out to be an unneccessary gesture. Not even Breccan could quite boast Rannoch's size, at least not just yet. She watched Deshyr enter and get comfortable, only then noticing that even her eldest litter were still growing. Her pregnancy and this litter had distracted her from seeing that before, and now Liffey had another thing to feel that motherly guilt over.

"Aw, thank you, kitten," Liffey said with a smile as she eyed the rat. She wasn't all too hungry at the moment, so it would likely turn into weaning fodder for the kids later. It was still very appreciated. The less Liffey had to leave her puppies, the happier she was.

"They are, aren't they?" she replied as her eyes shifted back to the warring Frostfur babies, "They'll shoot up like weeds from here. Next thing we know, they'll be bigger than your father. Especially that one." Liffey gestured towards Aengus with her nose as the pudgy boy rolled to his feet and lunged at Sionnach with Tiarnach still holding fast to his tail, being dragged along. Liffey giggled at the sight.

She beamed at the thanks given, before they both turned to watch the warring puppies. Deshyr's ears turned to her mother as she explained, her eyes widening at the mention of them growing up to be bigger than Rannoch. Surely not! She couldn't imagine such tiny babies growing into beastly mammoths like her father. However, as her eyes roved over the darkest (and fattest, if she was being honest) of the litter, she couldn't help but realise her mother may be right.

"You guys should've named him Rannoch Junior!" she said with a laugh, her ears flicking back at the unexpected loudness of her voice; the relatively close quarters of the den seemed to amplify it tenfold. "How long 'til they can go outside?" she asked, quieter this time, glancing from her mother to Sionnach just in time to see her tumble underneath Aengus' sheer girth, hauling poor Tiarnach along with him. They were a riot; Deshyr couldn't wait for them to be able to come out and play with the rest of the pack!

Liffey wondered if her mate had been as large as Aengus when he'd been that age. It seemed such a shame now knowing how near they'd lived to each other, and yet it had taken them so long to met. Sure, she'd been less than a year when their paths had finally crossed, but still. She cherished every day she'd had him in her life and she wanted as many of those as was possible to have.

The suggestion of a more appropriate name for Aengus made her smile. "You know your father's too humble to name one after himself," she commented affectionately. Plus his heart was too big to not name them all after those he loved or at least in honor of them. Her eyes lingered on little Eshe - the perfect example of this fact. But she let that part of her commentary slip and instead considered the answer to Deshyr's question.

"They're old enough now to be allowed just outside the den, actually," Liffey admitted a bit reluctantly, "But only with vigilant supervision. I have a feeling these little critters will take off to go take over the Hollow in a second if given the chance." Sionnach would probably be the one in the lead, if she had to guess. But it would take the rest no time at all to chase off after her.

She gave only a smile and light roll of her eyes to her mother's answer, though still definitely agreed with her there. Rannoch was indeed a humble man (at least, in her eyes), and it showed in everything he did, even via puppy-naming tactics. They were all named after old, important relatives who Deshyr was sure were all fine wolves even if she would never have the chance to meet them. Their spirits would live on in the younger generation.

She looked to Liffey as she explained, her ears perking up as she said they were actually old enough to play outside right now! However her swift amendment caused Deshyr's ears to fall just as quickly. Damnit, she wanted to take them out on adventures now! "Well, me and big brother Breccan will be here to guard and herd them back whenever you need!" she said with a wide grin, turning back to the pups.

"Dibs on teaching the fat one how to hunt," she added light-heartedly, motioning to Aengus who now had poor Sionnach pinned.

Liffey was grateful for Deshyr's willingness to help her watch the kids. It was so different having her and Breccan and Gannet to count on to help out when she needed it. She had so much more freedom with this litter than she'd had last year when she was on her own to raise them. Having support made her love being a mom even more than ever. The fact that her support was her family made it even more wonderful.

She had to stifle her laugh when her daughter used a bit of colorful language to describe Aengus. "Deshyr," she reprimanded, fighting her smile, "Your brother's name is Aengus, not the fat one. And he's not fat either, he's... healthy." Liffey glanced sidelong at him as he fought to keep Sionnach down. Quite healthy indeed.

Healthy. Riiight. The suppressed laugh behind Liffey's scolding was not lost on Deshyr, who offered a toothy grin back. Well, she wasn't wrong, was she? Her younger bro was on the chunkier side, but that just meant he would grow up to rival his father in stature. As for the others, they also looked healthy enough, save for little Eshe slumbering away in the back there. But maybe she was just naturally a tiny wolf like her mother.

"Sorry, Aengus," Deshyr mocked apologised, leaning down to brush his head with her nose tip. The momentary distraction allowed Sionnach to gain the upper hand, toppling him. Oops. She turned back to Liffey with an excited thump, thump, thump of her tail. "You know, I don't mind watching them for a bit if you want to go stretch your legs!"

Liffey smiled as her daughter apologized to her rotund little prince. "Good girl," she said, watching as Sionnach seized the opportunity to re-engage her littermate in their deathmatch. She considered taking a nap while she watched them, but Deshy's offer perked her right up.

"You sure? They might be small, but they're fast and quite clever at coming up with ways to get in trouble," Liffey asked, only a little bit joking. The kids seemed well occupied with each other at the moment, but she suspected they might take advantage of her absence to get up to something if they didn't see their older sister as an authority figure yet.

The two puppies tussled in a glorious death match who had Deshyr unsure of who she should be rooting for — Aengus, the unrelenting titan? Or Sionnach, the opportunistic knave? Or perhaps the freckled Tiarnach, lying in wait? She glanced over at little Eshe again, realising she was the smart one for staying completely out of her brothers' and sister's shenanigans.

At Liffey's warning, Deshyr gave a laugh, looking from them to her mother with a confident gleam to her eye. "I'm sure I can handle them," she said, completely underestimating her new siblings' capacity for mischief. She then turned back to them, leaning forward slightly to cast a mighty shadow over the Frostfur brood. "Fun police, reporting for duty!"

Liffey smiled at the confidence in her daughter's features as she reassured her that the kiddos would be in safe hands with her. She had always been immensely proud of her children, but now was one of those moments where she took a moment aside to appreciate it fully. In many ways, she missed when her first litter were still small and she could tuck all four of them right up beside her and just hold them there, safely at her side. But, she appreciated now how well they had grown into the admirable adults they were now.

"You know, I think we might have raised you right," Liffey said with a laugh as Deshyr towered over her siblings, who had only briefly paused to give her a sidelong glance before returning to war. The mother stood and gave herself a soft shake before planting an appreciative kiss on Deshyr's template. "I won't be too long, but just call if you need me," she said before slipping out into the sun. She didn't bother warning her littlest ones to be good or saying good bye. They wouldn't have heard or heeded anyway, which was okay with her. Let them be little.

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