Nova Peak after him, he's getting away!

Open to anyone!

Though his eyes were open, they were not yet remarkably functional, and so Swift was still reliant on his nose and sense of touch to tell him what was going on in the world, and on this warm morning, it was not a whole lot. At least not yet. His family dozed in the building heat of summer, but a gentle breeze had blown a faint scent to him. One that was probably only noteworthy to him, for it was a smell that had been occasionally blowing into the den ever since he had been born and thus would have been mere background smell to the rest. It was the scent of some plant. But this time, it seemed to call out to him, and he turned his stormy blue eyes toward the entrance of the den. He could not perceive forms so well and knew only that it was brighter in that direction, but it was not the light that pulled him. His neck stretched out, and his legs began to pull him. He shoved his paws into Allure and Pasha as he turned, scrabbling forward clumsily. He was only as quick as a handicapped turtle trying desperately to flee a predator, but he made a steady beeline for the entrance on legs that tried but could not yet lift his belly from the floor.

Kaskara had visited Bazi and the pups a few times since their birth, but she had never remained longer than a few minutes, to chat or drop off some food. She had wanted to give them space, time to adjust to the new world, before she dove in. But today they were almost two weeks old, and she knew their eyes would be opening soon. She wondered if they would want to see her.

But instead of worrying or wondering about it, she simply made her way there. With a grin, she stepped into the den, only to nearly squash one of her nephews in the process. Laughing, she stepped back and planted herself outside the den, right smack dab in the center of the opening. He could still peek through and smell whatever he wanted to, but her body was a barrier between him and the outside world.

"Hello little one," she said softly, wondering if his ears were working quite yet. "I'm your Aunt Kaskara. Or Aunt Kas, if the first is too hard to say." She smiled, her heart swelling with love and joy at the sight of him. She thought this might be Swift, but she wasn't sure.

Someone appeared. He knew this wolf by scent, she had been there before, and he would continue to know her by scent for now because she was just a moving blob against the light. A moving blob that was not about to deter him, though he did pause. His head bobbed as his eyes peered at her, trying to distinguish her as more than a blob. But that was pointless.

The plant was still calling to him, it had thrown a lasso around his neck and was dragging him. Swift resumed crawling. She spoke to him, but all he perceived was vibration, and this would not deter him either. He downright ignored it and continued on his mission, one stubby leg after another hauling him closer and closer.

But then, something that would deter him. A leg. He bumped his nose against it and rrrrr'ed. He pawed at it, his primitive growling popping into a squeak as he tried to pull himself over.

Her heart soared at the thought of this little child growing up into a big boy, her nephew. He was tiny now, and would be that way for some time, but she was glad that he was able to see and hear her, even if he couldn't understand yet. He bumped into her leg and she laughed, watching him try to pull himself over it, growling and mewling at it. Kas giggled and ran her nose along his head and spine. "One day you'll be able to do that. Let's hope its not anytime soon."

She was not making his efforts any easier, and he completely ignored her affection as she nosed his head and spine because for the moment he was focused. He grunted, and continued to rrrrr as his muzzle bumped its way along her leg. Suddenly, he found a place where the obstacle did not seem so insurmountable: it was her paw, which was relatively flat compared to the rest of her leg, at least to the little Frostfur. Swift spared no time, not that he was very fast because he was nothing of the sort. He dug his stubby forepaws into her as he hauled himself forward and over the paw, tumbling clumsily onto the other side because grace was thus far a foreign concept to him and he could trip over air. He gathered himself, and continued his forward march.

Kas laughed, enjoying watching her nephew's antics. He was trying to get up and over her leg, and finally he found her paw, which was decidedly smaller than her leg. She allowed him to crawl up and over her, and as soon as he was clear of her, she shifted so she could see him crawling away. He hadn't gone far, and she was enjoying this moment. He was belly-crawling away from her paw at a snail's pace. Even if he felt like he was getting away, there was no way she would let him out of her sight.

She did not stop him. There was nothing in his way. He continued to haul himself forward, toward a line of taller grasses some great distance from the den; it seemed much further to him, though he was hardly aware that he was even heading there specifically, for he was being compelled by a force unknown. Soon, however, the infancy of his mind and body took over. He stopped, and started to whine softly. He had hauled himself from the den, to his aunt, over her paw, and had gotten this far toward his mark, but he had had enough. He was exhausted, and he lay his chin on the ground with a loud sigh. His whining tapered off into other soft, tired noises.

Though Swift had been desperately trying to get away, to see the world that he was just beginning to understand, his tiny body soon tired. Kaskara smiled at him as he whined and whimpered and set his chin between his paws. She grinned and lifted him, ever so gently, by the scruff, to place him back into the mouth of the den, near her own front paws.

She bathed him, removing the dirt form his legs and belly, recalling a time when she had done this for Kiv, Paar's child. She missed him terribly, and missed Paar too. All this time around babies made something stir within her, though she was unsure of what it was. Was this the blooming she had heard about, when a female was ready to mate?

She ignored it, however, and focused on this little boy in front of her, one of three nephews she would soon romp through the forest with soon enough. She smiled at the thought of Allure, named for her grandmother, and hoped she would be willing to get dirty with her. Kaskara might be female, but she was far from girly.

He was lifted, and he did not fight it. He was too tired to even issue a trademark rrrr whenever someone disturbed him. He was, perhaps, even a bit grateful as he was nestled between his aunts forelegs. She bathed him, and he dozed, soothed beneath the gentle strokes of her tongue. When she stopped, he shifted, and lifted his head to look at her. His gaze was brief. His mouth split into a wide yawn, and he took a stubby leg and swiped it over his head and face as he wriggled between her legs, seemingly attempting to fight off the impending sleep. Whatever had drawn him out of the den was long forgotten.

Kas grinned down at the little child. Where before he had fought to get away, it seemed his energy expenditure had hit its quota for the day. He was exhausted! She grinned and continued to bathe him, loving the feeling of his fur beneath her tongue, and the way his warm body wiggled between her forelegs. She would always remember this tender moment with her nephew, even as he grew older and bolder. She knew they'd grow quickly, and although she loved the thought of seeing him age, she as also a little afraid of it. What kind of wolf would he turn out to be?

Last post for me. We can have another sometime :D

What kind of wolf would he turn out to be, indeed. He had already demonstrated some traits that were likely to stick with him. He was impatient and grumpy, and seemed to have two minds that warred within his little skull: the mind of a carefree pup and the weathered mind of a stubborn old man. He was also bold. He had yet to develop any kind of fear of the world around him and brazenly faced each new thing. What the future held for him, though, was anyone's guess at this point. For now, the smallest of the Frostfurs slipped into sleep, lulled by the warmth and soothing caress of his Aunt.