Dawnlark Plains New Life

Set on 4/19 @Grayday

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Cat had given birth the the packs newest additions a few days prior and it brought Pema great joy. She hadn't seen them yet, and didn't expect to until they were old enough, or until she was given direct permission. But she did want to talk about them and she thought of no better person to talk to about it then Grayday. She would have talked to Cat about this as well but, she was likely still rather protective over her new borns and wouldn't want anyone other than Day around them.

So she set out that morning in search of him, eager to hear about the good news and ask a few of her own questions.

Things were going well for the male. He knew there was a bit of unrest in the pack, and he would have to deal with that one way or another, but for the moment they were all healthy and safe, and there was food enough to support the young and old. When Pema found him that morning, he was heading back to the den with a slab of deer haunch in his law.

It was promptly dropped when he detected Pema's scent, and he switched directions to head her off, tail wagging happily and he trotted toward her. "Pema!" he barked, coming to sniff appreciatively at her shoulder. She was already well into pre estrus (or whatever) and her body would soon be ready to bear her own own young. "How are you today?" he asked with another wag of his tail.

She soon saw Day heading in her direction with a mouth full of deer, no doubt for his hungry wife and youngest children. He greeted her with a friendly bark and a gentle nudge. She returned his affections with a wag of her tail, happy to see him manuvering around without hesitation.

He asked how she was feeling, a normal question, "I'm alright. I feel a bit... off though. But I think it's just because I'm so excited for your newest litter. How is everyone?" she asked asking about the whole family.

Grayday didn't tell her that he suspected it was from her impending heat, for the sake of keeping Raven and Mix's timelines straight. But he did was his tail, glad to hear that she was in a good mood and happy about his children. "Everyone's perfect," he said with a wag of his tail, giving into the urge to bathe her cheek in licks. He still got all wiggly and excited when he thought about his three youngest children. "I'm sure you've heard but there are two boys - Eventide and Winterbourne - and one girl, Kasatka. Cat says there's a pale, peachy one who will maybe look like her, one that's kind of light silver-blue, and one that's darker grey with ruddy highlights. But I can never remember which is which."

The last sentence was said with some chagrin, but he tried not to feel too bad about it. He knew his children by scent and name, and their appearances would change a lot in the coming months either way. "I'm worried about Easy, though. I thought she might be back by now, but... well, we'll wait a little longer. She's a wanderer like Dawn. And I haven't had much chance to talk to the rest of the kids, either."

cameo as always; if they're not close enough to the den for this then dm me on disco and i'll delete this post.  tags are for reference and not (necessarily) inclusion!

kasatka was usually comfortable next to her mother's warm, plush pelt but today was different.  her baby blue eyes had opened and her gums hurt, most likely from the milk teeth that would soon start to come in.

her tiny little nose wiggled towards the bright spot that betrayed the mouth of the den, and her little ears cupped foward the best they could as daddy's rumblings started to form something a little more like words.

mmmm.  muh.  muh-muh-nnn.  her lips played with trying to imitate them (with little luck) and surprised at being able to hear herself speak, she gave a delighted babble that was probably able to be heard by pema and with any luck, stir some kind of maternal instinct in her.

Her tail wagged when she heard the names and genders of the pups. She had heard words circulating but it was good to have some actual conformation. She turned her head aloof for a moment when Day spoke of how Cat described them. Wondering why he had phrased it that way until she understood what it meant. With how much time they had spent together it was easy to forget that Day was blind now. She thought of how hard it must be to have a new litter and be unable to see any of them. It wasn't the worst thing in the world he would be able to hear and smell them, but still...

He moved on to the older children, a few Pema considered her own. She shared his consern but want to keep his spirits up rather then empathize with them. "I'm sure the new arrivals will bring us all back together again. They must be itching to meet them. I know I am." she said her last sentence in almost a playful whisper.

And then she heard a faint noise. Her ears pricked and swiveled until they were pointed in the direction of Cat and Day's den. Realizing that is was one of his newly born children she couldn't help but let out an excited whimper and a gasp. She almost took a step towards the den but remembered when she hadn't gone in the first place, out of courtesy. "Ooooh. When can I meet them Day? It's killing me." she said playfully but in all seriousness.

"I hope so," Grayday admitted with a little wag of his tail. "Maybe Easy's big sister senses will kick in and she'll turn up tomorrow." It wasn't going to happen, but Grayday had hope. He was sure she'd come back eventually, even if it was not as soon as he would have liked. Kids were like that sometimes, and he'd done his best to prepare his previous litter for the world - Easy especially, since she'd always seemed like a flight risk to him.

"How about right now?" he laughed, turning and gesturing for her to follow. He wouldn't be letting her cuddle them or anything, because he was selfish and he wanted them all to himself and Catori, but she could certainly look! "Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you - that girl, Skraeling? What's she look like?"

Her tail raced as he offered to take her to the den. She wasn't sure how close she would be allowed to get or if she would even be allowed to see them, but every inch closer was worth it. Knowing her boundries with a new litter was crucial and this would tell her exactly where that line was.

It was only a short walk away from the den, but Day had a question regarding the looks of the newest joiner Skraeling. She laughed a bit before answering. "You know now that I think about it she sorta looks like a brown sheep." she said jokingly. She didn't think that Skraeling was a bad looking girl, it was simply the first thing she thought of when she thought of the girls wooly coat. "Her coat is rather wooly, brown. And her legs and the tip of her tail are a dark brown or black. Along with her face, though her muzzle has to be the darkest spot on her. Oh and her eyes are..." she had to think a moment, it wasn't often that she tried to remember what someones eye color was. "...green I think."

She would have asked why he wanted to know, but for someone without sight, she thought it might simply be to have a mental picture of them to go with the smell.

"But is she cute?" Grayday pressed, not really stopping to think about how his questions might sound. He was intent on knowing what was going on in Sunny's life, and intensely curious about any girl who might end up as his daughter in law. He'd liked Aliac for the role, but Skraeling had seemed sweet as well.

They reached the entrance of the den, where Grayday greeted the @Spiritwalker and asked if they could show the kids off to Pema. @Eventide, @Kasatka, and Winterbourne were still too small for him yo be comfortable with others touching them, but he wanted his friend to be able to see them in all their adorable glory - one of them might as well!

the bright spot suddenly became blotted, and kitten's eyes focused on the two!!!!! bodies that crowded the mouth of the den.  she wormed her way over with excitement as her blathering became more intense.  muh-maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ya!  her front paw reached for the strange big body (though she was still much too far away to come into contact).

While in the beginning of his life Eventide had been absolutely opposed to any and all Big Bodies, they were slowly beginning to grow on him. Still, this new one had him a bit on edge; had Kitten not made the first move, he might have stayed back in the shadows and waited until the threat was gone. 

Nonetheless, Kitten had gone forth, reeling them both into the light. Later in life, Eventide might find his sister’s (all of them, really) curiosity to be a daily hindrance, but for now, it was only a light burden. 

Upon noticing the Dry Big Body beside the New One, Eventide’s tail began to swing with a strong, familiar wag; nearly enough to take him off of his paws.

Feel free to join in @River @Spiritwalker

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When asked if Rae was cute, Pema paused for a moment wondering why Day would care about such a thing. He had Catori and if in another universe he was looking for a different mate, he couldn't see her, why would that matter. But Pema knew about Day's fatherly instincts and knew he had been wondering about Sunny's future, including his love life. Day at one point had expressed to Pema that he had hoped Sunny would have persued her, but he was over that now. It seemed as though he thought that he and Rae might have something between them. "I'd say so. I wouldn't say shes exceedingly gorgeous, but that's just my take. I take it your asking in regards to Sunny?" she asked hintingly. "I thought I senses a spark between the two." she admitted, something that she took note of the first day Sunny introduced her at their borders.

As they walked up to the den she could hear Kasatka shouting out even before she had a chance to look in at the light brown little miss. Pema crouched down at the entrance of the den, making sure not to cross the threash hold. Her tail wagged with excitement at seeing the little pup. "Hello there little Miss." she stated in an excited tone of voice.

Following behind his sister was a dark brown little boy, his tail shaking his whole body. At first it seemed as though he may not come out. "And to you as well little man." she said with a playful voice. She turned her head trying to see the third, but it had not come into view yet.

Grayday's tail wagged at this news. "Well, no one gets exceedingly gorgeous until you're in love with them," he said with a satisfied air, glad to hear that his son was at least not scraping the bottom of the barrel. Skraeling had seemed energetic and fit, and that was just as important as beauty in Grayday's opinion. "I really hope you're right. I'd like to see him settled down before I... well, before too much longer," he explained, hoping he'd covered his slip-up well enough. He'd been about to say "before I die" - but he didn't want to worry anyone, and there was no reason to go shouting about his impending mortality when he was still strong and hale.

Grayday to intercept the tiny bodies that were bobbling toward them. "Here's Kasatka, and this is little Ty," he said to his friend, ducking into the den to extract Winterbourne as well. "And this is little River. Cute, right?"

she melted into her brother as he arrived alongside her, still enamored by the big body.  she made a noise and kitten tried to copy it, resutling in a prolonged haaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiii!!!!!!!!

Pema liked Grayday's words, about now seeing someone as truly beautiful until you were in love with them. There was something poetic about it that she enjoyed. Soon after he introduced all of the pups to her, all of them sitting within the den just within view. When asked if she thought they were cute she couldn't help but smile and laugh a little.  "Oh they're beyond that Day. They are precious." she stated, her tail still wagging.

She laughed again when the little Kitten let out a loud call. It almost sounded like a 'hi' but she was much too young to know words. But it was absolutely cute none the less.  "She's going to be a real talker when she grows up."  she said to Day.