Dragoncrest Cliffs i am three oceans away from my soul

Thuringwethil can always count on a few of her little family back at the cavern at any point during the day. Some combination of them was always in the cavern, @Wildfire and @Blixen, Blixen and @Artaax, Wildfire and Blixen again. When she returns late in the afternoon, she doesn’t expect none of them to be there. Her brows knit together as she searches the cavern and notes Hush in the corner, asleep with a half-eaten kill nearby. Thuringwethil chuckles to herself before she steps further in, searching to latch onto a scent that might leave her further in. Wildfire’s dislike for enclosed spaces doesn’t lead her much further and she wheels herself back and out of the cavern.

Pushing through the thick foliage in the narrow path that leads to and from Hougeda, Thuringwethil focuses on the opening expanse before her. The lake is calm, reflecting the late summer light. The open plane is, more or less, empty. A rabbit hops naively from one spot to the other but she does not see her mate or any of her children. Heda picks her nose up and angles toward the sky, singing a song for her family—to return, to call.

Wildfire was pretty sure she had somehow contracted a urinary tract infection. She stared out over the woods, sighing as she lifted from her squat. Nothing had come of this latest call of nature but an unpleasant burning sensation. She still felt like she had to go but she wasn't producing any urine. This was roughly her twentieth trip outside the cave to relieve herself and she was weary of it. Turning, she winced slightly as she trekked back indoors to seek out Portia.

"Portia?" she called once she stepped inside Hougeda. She didn't see the Skayona, nor any sign of anyone else, for that matter. It was a rather pleasant if warm day; perhaps the majority of the pack had stepped outdoors. Wildfire walked across the eerily quiet cave, wondering who had taken her children and where. They were at an age where she often left them behind at the rendezvous site, usually with supervision but not always. And they were also old enough to venture out of the cave with a trusted adult.

She sensed nothing amiss until she reached the far side and heard the commander's call. A strange feeling of dread threaded through her as she kicked up her heels and trotted in her mate's direction. She found Thuringwethil near the lake and cocked her head questioningly. The children obviously weren't with her. There was no reason to worry, yet Wildfire felt that sense of disquiet growing. Flanking her mate, the young mother turned to squint at their surroundings, searching for the familiar black, white and red smudges.

Artaax had the hiccups. It was probably the third time in his life he'd experienced this loathsome situation and good lort did he hate it. He laid upon the floor was a useless sack of puppy, all four of his limbs held limp as he waited miserable for the next little jolt, and the next, and the next, and the next. He was pretty sure that this was going to be the rest of his life. He would never sleep again. He would never have another moment of peace. It was all over for him forever.

The sound of his nomi's call caused him to stir. His ears perked as a tingle of excitement prickled along his back. He hopped eagerly to all fours, prancing out of the cave into open air where he quickly tossed his head back and added his own high-pitched, kinda squeaky, kinda yowling, howl to the fading echo of her call. With his tail flapping to and fro, he followed his mother's fresh trail to find both parents standing together near the lake.

Artaax was quick to close the distance between them where he wove cat-like in and out of Wildfire's legs, then bounced upwards to land an adoring nip on Thur's chin. The tension in the air was completely lost on him as he plopped down onto his haunches and leaned over to sniff at Thur's foreleg, his tongue flicking out here and there as his nose trailed down to a large, black paw. It was also completely lost on him the fact that his hiccups had disappeared somewhere along the lines, which meant he would once again think his life was over forever the next time he had them.

One ear swivels back as she hears footfalls, much heavier than those of three rambunctious puppies but without anything clumsy. Wildfire’s scent fills her surroundings, with nothing else in addition, and she slowly turns around to see her mate without their children. She licks at her lips, then tightens her jaw with a weird feeling she doesn’t want to admit. Wildfire doesn’t say anything as she approaches, feeling the tufts of fur as they come close enough for contact. The rest of the call’s recipients are nowhere to be found for several more minutes.

She’s about to open her mouth when she turns to see Artaax coming the way both she and his other mother had come from, wondering where he’d been stashed that she missed it. Still, his brother and sister are not tagging along and she snaps a glance to her mate and shuffles her feet forward. It takes more effort than she expects to hide the concern on her face. Thuringwethil takes a deep breath and backs up, turning around to begin a move along the lake. Her nose flares for a scent that will leader her anywhere and, for a second time, she calls for her children a little more directly.

Only one of the three materialized, bounding toward them and weaving through his mother's legs like a kitten. Wildfire bent down to lick between Artaax's ears, murmuring words of endearment into the pale fuzz atop his head. When he moved toward his nomi, she lifted her head and peered around expectantly. If he was here, his brother and sister probably wouldn't be far behind. The kids tended to stick together, after all, though... not always, apparently.

"Where's @Blixen and @Bobby?" she asked, peering down at the oldest in case he might know the answer. She glanced up at Thuringwethil, sensing her concern even if she kept her expression carefully controlled. "If they don't show up soon, we're gonna give all their supper to their brother," she said loudly, in case they were hiding nearby or something. She wiggled her eyebrows at Artaax.

She winced in the next moment, though, as she felt that damned itching and burning sensation. She felt an urge to pee but she knew it would be futile. Wildfire bit back a sigh, hoping that when the two missing children finally appeared, Portia would magically show up with them.

Blixen had fallen asleep a few hours ago in a particularly warm patch of sunlight. But the sun had long begun her descent, and her cozy spot was markedly chilly when she awoke to the sound of her nomi's howl cutting a commanding line through the woodlands. Her tiny ears pricked and she lifted her head from her paws and followed the sound with a sweep of her lengthening muzzle—Blixen was growing rapidly out of her rolly-polly puppy form. Already she was gaining ground on her brother's height (though she would later plateau out to stand relatively shorter than them both).

It took her some time, but eventually she caught up with her family just as nomi sent up a more pressing call. She flattened her ears as she approached, slinking up from behind Artaax to whimper placating noises towards her fire-licked mother, and the impressive shadow of her nomi. Wildfire was the first to recieve her affections consisting of little licks and nibbles, and she rubbed against her mother's legs as she moved past. Her little tipped tail waved back and forth as she moved to appease her nomi next and, just as with Wildfire, would attempt to reach up and kiss at her chin.

Artaax was last, of course, and she turned on him as she usually did: with a yap of joy and a big sloppy kiss to his marshmallow cheek.

Wildfire greeted him with the usual bout of affection, which stirred a happy growl from the little wolf's chest. Nomi, however, moved her paws away from his nibbles and looked back towards the den. He canted his head as he watched her, then glanced up as his mom asked after his siblings. Artaax gave a casual shrug in response as he really had no idea. Seemed like he'd seen them back in the den, but he hadn't exactly been able to lend his attention to anything other than the hiccups that had nearly taken his life.

Artaax's dual-toned eyes brightened at the prospect of getting to eat everything. He had only about thirty seconds to hope that Bobby and Blixen would remain missing so he could partake in his prize before his sister arrived. He gave her a small pout that switched to a smile as she poked at his cheek. He returned the gesture with a light nip to the base of her ear before looking about them again to see if Bobby would arrive and steal the rest of his dinner.

Bobby couldn't stop giggling as he watched his family from his hiding place. The little black and red pup was hiding in a bush, crouched down as low as he could manage. He had thought it would be pretty funny to watch his family looking for him, and all the while he was there, just watching. And it was funny! Very funny actually, until he heard his mom say that she was gonna give all the food to Artaax. The smile dropped off of his face and he scampered out of the bush as quickly as he could, hurrying around the lake to his family.

He stopped when he got close to them, and hurried towards his siblings. I here! He said in his high puppy voice, stumbling over and head butting Artaax lightly. He then sat and looked up at his parents, a little bit of a guilty look on his face.

Wildfire is the first to properly address Artaax but she follows it up with something light to keep him distracted, something she hadn’t thought about doing. Her ears swivel upon her head as she looks to the pale boy and tightens her jaw. Wildfire may have had her doubts when it came to raising them in the beginning but even still, she has a leg up on her and some of her decisions for parenting seem to be better than treating them as anything more than regular puppies of a pack mate that she so happens to be a little more fond of than the others.

Blixen is not far behind her older brother and she’s given another wave of relief to see her come to the three of them. Thuringwethil turns to greet her, lowering her chin for the kiss, followed by her own between her eyes. Her mouth is about to part to ask about the third children when she sees a blur of black and red coming from beneath foliage, a little too proud of himself. Slate eyes narrow as she watches him bound forward, announcing his presence, and she fights back the lick of anger that laps in her chest.

The relief she feels does not entirely go away and she glances to Wildfire, unsure how parents go through this on a day to day basis. She has nothing previous to compare it to, her own biological parents absent in her life, but she eases a breath to cool the anxiety that developed. “It is important you come when I first call you,” she begins, speaking to all three of them but her eyes have settled hard on the youngest. “Do you understand?”

Her tease seemed to work, as Blixen and Bobby suddenly emerged from the woodwork as if on cue. Wildfire shook her head lightly at the latecomers, though she was quick to kiss their faces when they came within reach. She wouldn't give all their supper to their brother, though she made a mental note to give Artaax a slightly larger portion tonight to reward him for his promptness and obedience, and to demonstrate to the other two how important it was they come immediately when called.

Thuringwethil laid down the law reverberating inside the young mother's head and her lips threatened to twitch into a smile. She schooled her expression, however, as she faced the three pups and nodded her head to complement her mate's words. "And if you can't come right away because you're a little ways off, just howl to let us know," she added, giving Blixen and Bobby a little squint.

Blixen's ears flicked back briefly at Robin's arrival, though her eyes betrayed the unbidden elation she felt at the sight of him. He was part of their whole, and while she was making a grab at the dominant one of the trio, she still valued her brother's all the same. But before she could commit any commentary to words, Nomi directed a firm direction towards them all, though her gaze seemed to linger longest on Robin. The little spitfire of a girl felt no spite towards her mother's for their desire to keep track of the litter; she'd learned in her short stints beyond the company of an adult that the world was much, much bigger than she was capable of handling alone. At least right now.

However, she did bob her head at Wildfire's suggestion. "Okay, momma." She sing-songed with another sweep of her hyperactive tail. "What we doin'?"

Artaax's face drifted into a small frown when Bobby finally did appear. He nipped at his brother when the other pup bumped against him, trying to show the disapproval that he felt only because his nomi did. He gave his brother a superior smirk when both parents scolded him, even though neither were particularly vehement about it. His gaze flickered up to his darker mother in hopes of sharing that knowing grin with her, but he looked away again when Blixen offered a distraction.

Her question was a good one, and so he silently moved his eyes towards Wildfire expectantly.

Bobby's previous mood was crushed when he realized that he'd truly made his parents angry. While the goal of hiding from his parents had been to mess with them, it had been all in good fun, at least to him. But they must've missed the whole joking thing about the joke. Especially Nomi, but when did Nomi ever really like playing around. His ears dropped, and his guilty look for guiltier. Nomi and Wifi scolded the kids, even Artie joined in with a smug look on his dumb face. Bobby narrowed his eyebrows at his brother, angry that he didn't have his back. Dumb Artie. He thought. 

Ok mommies, I won't hide in bush from you ever. He said, shuffling his feet a little. Luckily, Blixen (who was his favorite sibling at the moment) asked a question that had drifted through Bobby's thoughts. His mood shifted quickly, as a puppy's mood often did, and his tail began to swing again. Yeah what we doin? Said the youngest, echoing his bright red sister.

I'm going to wrap this up? <3

The children seem to understand, or at least agree, what she has to say. Blixen and Robin voice their agreement while Artaax is silent but she doesn't need to hear his words. He'd been first to show up, anyway. Thuringwethil looks to Wildfire for a brief moment as she lets herself relax a little now that all three of them are here. "Let's go down to the water," she offers with a little smile, dropping her head to nudge the nearest bundle of child as she guides them back down through the cavern and further to their own private beach.