Northstar Vale give me a second light

Two days earthside saw little Sylianos becoming much more active and inquisitive. He had only limited senses to rely on, but maximized their utility to explore his mother's, father's, and brother's scents thoroughly.

Tamar was the crisp smell of fresh water on the breeze, the aroma of newly cropped grass, and the sweet allure of mother's milk. In her, Sylianos found all the things that made him feel warm and loved.

Arsenio was the ruddy smell of earth and steady stone with a hint of pine sap, the smells of a strong man who patrolled his home. In him, Sylianos found all the things that made him feel safe and loved.

Saleem was the smell of summer rain on warm rocks, a complement of his parents' smells. In him, Sylianos found all that made him whole.

He was lying with his face pressed to his mother's belly now, accessing ancient wolfish memories of running through sunlit fields while he basked in the quiet peace between feeding and sleeping.

Saleem’s rear paw touched his brother as the former nursed, nearly full of milk now. When he finally dislodged himself from Tamar, Saleem wiggled closer to his brother, comfort in their torsos touching one another. Tiny pink paws felt Sylianos’s own tiny feet, and the boy smiled, happy.

She didn’t want to leave her own pups for very long, not with how often they needed to nurse. But after their latest feed, Towhee summoned a brother or father figure to look after them. While they napped, she would steal away for just a little while to check in on the newest Galanises.

Hey, it’s Aunt Towhee, she announced when she found her way to the den among the red trees.

She peeked inside, hovering in the den’s mouth and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. It felt presumptuous sticking her head inside but it wasn’t like she would hear an invitation. If Tamar or Arsenio didn’t want her hovering, they could tell her to vamoose.

Into the comfortable cocoon of smells surrounding Sylianos came an unknown.

The tiny newborn could not see nor hear this intruder introduce itself, but his head lifted and his throat produced a curious warble almost as if he could. New smells flooded into his pugged nose, faint compared to the impeccable sense of smell he would one day wield, but distinct enough. Water, muddier than Tamar's smell; something earthy but more green than Arsenio's smell; a sweetness, but a little different than mother's milk. Others, too, but he could put no concept to those.

Sylianos was loathe to leave Saleem's side, so he didn't move toward the smells, but the wobbly craning of his neck and loud snuffling would make clear his interest in them.

Strange, muffled sounds vibrated through the not quite open ear canals of Saleem. Like his brother, he did not yearn toward the new scent, but instead stuck close to his sibling's side. Saleem's head wobbled uneasily atop his body as he tried to gather more information about this stranger.

Nobody told her to skedaddle, so Towhee made herself comfortable in the den’s mouth by easing into a sphinx-like position. It took her eyes a moment to finish adjusting to the dim interior, though when they did, she was rewarded with the sight of two pups that looked exactly alike.

I see that replicating is the hot new trend this year, she quipped, reaching out and wriggling her toes near the twins’ faces to give their little noses something to do.

This particular hot new trend was feeling cold, actually. Between the craning of his own neck, his brother's wobbling, and Towhee lying down in the entryway, a small space had opened between the two cubs and and let in a small draft. Not enough to catch a real chill, but enough to be remarked on, which Sylianos did with a loud and displeased squall.

More sounds, more movement of the air around him and the mirror that was Sylianos. Then, a shrill sound from his twin, and Saleem caterwauled as well, sounding the alert. For if one of the boys was screaming, the second was always likely to join the chorus. They ran on the same schedule, after all.

The noises the newborns made didn’t bother her, seeing as she couldn’t hear them. But first one, then the other, began to visibly fuss until they were throwing tandem tantrums. The sight was actually kind of endearing, though Towhee knew that crying babies could disturb an entire household.

Okay, okay, I can take a hint, you guys, she teased as she slowly edged out of the den. Settle down for your mom now, okay?

Towhee clicked her tongue as she turned to head back to her own pups. It had been a brief visit and she hadn’t caught their names, yet she was happy that Tamar’s newest additions seemed healthy (if not happy with her!).

With another rush of stranger smell, Towhee was gone, leaving Sylianos and Saleem both inconsolable until they were drawn closer to Tamar's body. When warmth enveloped him and chased away the chill, Sylianos hushed up at once and spared only the few seconds it took to wrap his body up in Saleem's before drifting back off to sleep.