Bearclaw Valley sesi finds a worm

All welcome - PPing @Scarlett's presence, which I assume is OK! Set before the BWP, after omen.

The day dragged on, and the feeling in the pit of Sesi's stomach did not go away. It turned her into a veritable pest, soiling herself and mewling like a cat trapped in a burning building. Eventually, her tired but ever-loving mother was forced to offer the distressed baby something else to focus on whilst she cleaned up the stinking mess in the den - a rare peek at the outside world.

By now, her mother must have realized that Sesi was not one to stray from the norm, and she was allowed to sit near the mouth of the den with minimal adult supervision. Desna would have been blocked in by a leg or pinned by the tail - at least - but her cautious sister was content to sit and watch, frowning suspiciously at the shifting light. It was getting darker.

Suddenly, no more than foot from her tiny paw, something slimy and pink popped out of the earth. Sesna's eyes grew wide, and she scrambled back against her mother with a squeal and a hiss. The weird thing was dancing, reaching its tapered end around to pat the ground like Velma looking for her glasses. The bristling pup just stared, lips twitching over non-existent teeth.

There was something wrong. Raziel could feel it, and he was sure the rest of the pack could too. The Alpha tilted his head back and gazed at the sky which was an unusual color, a color the Roman had not seen before. Something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to be something good. Thick, dark and heavy clouds drifted slowly overhead as the silver wolf trotted silently away from his den to where Scarlett's den was. He hadn't seen Kove for a long, long time and was wondering if that traitorous bastard left again; he wouldn't be surprised if he did.

The air was thick with humidity, and as Raz stopped in his steps to look around once more, he wondered if the whole Teekon Wilds was affected instead of only Rising Sun Valley. Because it sure felt like it. The Roman shook his head wearily, whatever it was, it better happen quickly; Raziel didn't like waiting for these things to happen. Because from his experience, the long you wait, the more terrible it was. And the Alpha didn't feel like dealing with a problem so quickly after their last one.

He shook away the disturbing thoughts as he stopped by the entrance of the den and finally made his way inside just in time to catch one of the pups - was it Sesi? - scramble back against Scarlett, blue eyes fixed on something in the earth. By then, the pups would've gotten used to his presence; Kove wasn't around often nowadays so it was up to him to do the husband and father duty, just like it had been before that good for nothing Inuit came back.

Why was he doing this, exactly?

A looming shadow interrupted Sesi's staring contest with the Slimy Weird Ground Penis. She blinked up at the pack's Alpha - a wolf had been introduced to before the wiring in her brain had settled into its current pattern, and therefore accepted. Now, strangers and new sensations alike made her anxious, and each had to go through a lengthy courting process with the young pup before she would accept the change into her life.

The dancing worm was in the very early stages of that process. Sesi fired a squeaky bark at it, rear end wriggling nervously against her mother. She looked back up at Raziel, urging him to do something about the new threat with a high, pleading squeak. Get the thing!

Perhaps he should just leave and leave Scarlett and her children behind. He had no business with them anyways, he felt no connection to any of his packmates, so why was he still here, leading the pack that was destined to die the moment the white king and queen claimed the land? Besides, if he left, then Scarlett would know who she really depended on, not that idiotic Inuit, but himself. He was the one who had been by her side since the start, the one would cared for her when she was pregnant and now looked after both she and her spawn with Kove when the man wasn't there, which was hella often.

Why should he care for the children? They were not from his seed, therefore they were not his, but that traitor Kove's. Every time I look at you, I see your goddamned father, he thought viciously as his cold teal gaze alighted on Sesi's form. Your names are from your blood fathers origins, every bit of you screams Kove. I hate you, all of you. But deep inside, Raz knew that no matter what, he could never bring himself to hate the kids. They were innocent after all, and they didn't get to decided which father they'd like to have, it wasn't their fault they were stuck with the traitor Inuit who wasn't around anymore.

Ah well, guess he would have to play the father role now. Just don't expect him to back away into the background once Kove came back, because he sure as hell wasn't going to do that. Kove didn't deserve to be Scarlett's mate, much less a father to these children. He wasn't going to let it happen, and he didn't care if he had to kill the Inuit for him to be gone. So what? He was ruthless, yes, but only when necessary.

Raz was drawn back to reality when Sesi barked at the thing on the ground, her butt wriggling nervously against her mother as she looked up at him with bright blue eyes, urging him to do something with the worm with a pleading squeak. Raziel sighed, grabbed the worm in his jaws and threw it outside and came back in. It was probably dead, but he didn't care. "Your biological father's a goddamn ass," he whispered conspiratorially to the child, making sure Scarlett couldn't overhear them.

Raziel made quick work of the worm, snatching it from the ground and flinging it into the distance. Sesi watched it disappear, stunned that her foe had been so easily defeated - and, much to her surprise, quite disappointed to see it go. The situation had come to an end much too quickly, and now there was only the pressing air around her and the feeling that something wasn't quite right. An invisible foe.

The little girl stepped away from her mother, towards Raziel, receiving the Alpha's unkind whisper with a confused look and babbled "Blu-buh-drr?" Perhaps he was saying something about the general unpleasantness in the air; she couldn't possibly be alone in sensing it. Sesi walked in a tight circle at her leader's feet, glaring alternately up at the foreboding skies and Raziel's chin. "Baaa-flu-boo," she complained to him, swatting and glaring at the unseen enemy above. "Ba-FLU."

Perhaps he should have tortured the worm before flinging it away, discarding a pup's enemy so quickly probably wasn't what he was supposed to do. He was new to all this parenting stuff, and he wasn't going to magically gain information on how to be a perfect parent - no, he would have to learn by experience. And for a moment, the Roman wished for the children to grow up quickly to the stage where they could speak, but that thought was swiftly discarded. He would enjoy their childishness and cuteness while it lasted, god knows what trouble they would get into when they were older.

He didn't know whether to look forward to the pranks they would undoubtedly pull as they aged, or to dread that phase. In the end, he decided not to dwell so deep into that subject and tossed those thoughts away, coming back to the present once more.


Sesi stepped away from Scarlett as he spoke. By her confused expression and her babbling, it was obvious she didn't understand what he meant, which was to be expected as she was still young and unable to comprehend full words, much less complicated sentences. So Raziel watched with soft teal eyes as Sesi walked a circle by his paws, sometimes glaring at the skies and others at his chin while babbling something he didn't understand.

"Yes, Ba-flu," Raz said, his lips quirking upwards ever so slightly. "You can feel it too, can't you? That something's wrong."

Raziel decided to humour the pup, repeating her nonsense. The little girl's ears perked up at. She stared at him, stunned, but it wasn't wrong before relief and joy lit up her face. He knew. Abandoning her usual caution, Sesi raised herself up on wobbly hind legs and patted her forepaws against the Alpha's knee, woofing and snorting in her high-pitched little voice. Do something, she pleaded without the vocabulary to actually say it. If you know, do something!

Sesi stared at him before something akin to joy lit up her usually inscrutable face. He cocked his head, confused at what he had done to make the usually introverted child to grin (?) at him and pat her forepaws against his knee. Sesi didn't usually initiate affectionate touches like this, or even playful ones; Desna was the one that did all that. The silver pup was usually cautious, what had he done for her to abandon all that?The Roman didn't know.

He shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand what she wanted to convey.

Sesi's joy was short-lived. She retreated from her alpha's knee, wearing the very embodiment of disappointment in her sharp little face. Raziel did not understand. He could not sense what she could sense - and even if he could, the communication barrier made it difficult to do anything. He could neither stop The Thing from happening nor placate the pup, who - upon realizing that all was lost - began to sniffle loudly.

Within moments, she was inconsolable, rooted to the ground by the sheer weight of her sorrow. The only thing to do was to put the wailing whelp back at her mother's side and hope the crying would eventually knock her out.

Last post from me!