Blacktail Deer Plateau the devil put dinosaurs here

Day broke over the wilds and the Alpha pair's den began to fill with soft lavender light. Everyone remained fast asleep, save for little Osprey Jr. Her eyes fluttered open and she grunted as she rolled from her back to her belly and stood on all fours. She gave her plump little body a quick shake, then began to nose toward the den's entrance. Little did she know that one of her father's dusky eyes cracked open to watch her.

She sniffed her way to the doorway, then stepped just beyond it and squatted to tinkle there, having only recently begun to prefer toileting outdoors versus inside the den. Once she finished her business, she scraped some dirt and grass over the puddle, then turned and bounded back inside. Her mouth opened to unleash a loud bark but her father's paw suddenly struck out and pinned her to the den floor, effectively silencing her.

Little Junior grunted and squirmed. Peregrine's grip slowly loosened and she managed to slip away and stand up with an indignant huff. Turning, she trotted back to the den's mouth and stepped outside, refusing to turn and acknowledge the sounds of her father rising behind her. She twitched slightly when his cold nose brushed the top of her head.

With an eye roll intense enough to knock over buildings, Osprey Jr. hopped into the world at large and began to trot around the den site, her gait uneven due to her over-sized paws. She was now very familiar with the invisible boundaries and didn't need the adults posted to remind her of them. Although she toyed with the idea of making a break for it, she felt her father's watchful eye on her and, for the time-being, was happy enough running around the small dooryard.

After letting her play a while and burn off some of that inexorable energy, Peregrine glided to stand over his young daughter again, causing the pup to freeze and peer up at him. Motioning for her to follow, he began to trot across the center of the clearing. Osprey Jr. bounded happily after him, looking like his shrunken shadow. When he led her right through the invisible fence, she didn't even pause, though wonder filled her tiny breast as the Alpha male led her a little ways into the woods, just far enough for the den site to disappear from view.

It was a little over a week, since Osprey had moved in with Blue willow and began to make a very slow recovery. The good thing was that the jaundice was gone, but she was still very pale and weak. Despite their best efforts to fatten her up by bringing food, she still couldn't eat much and had developed a habit to prefer to have her meals away from other's eyes. That way she could hide, whatever she had not eaten (and usually it was most of it) and pretend that everything was alright.

Of course, the healer didn't buy it for a second, because she was experienced enough to see that Osprey was making very little progress. However the girl continued to play, as if she knew nothing of it. It was this early morning, when she was busy digging a hole to put yet another hare someone had got for her and which she had barely touched, that she heard someone coming. She lifted her head, ears perked up and her heart began to race, while fear for being caught swelled up in her chest.

Eventually she put the hare in the shallow hole and quickly pushed earth around and atop it to hide it. Satisfied with the result, she took a step back to catch her breath and calm down. Osprey would have slipped away unseens, had she not caught scent of Peregrine and later seen him too. Her brother was not alone, however, there was a mini-him following in his footsteps. "Perry!" she called out to him and got to her feet, them slightly trembling under her weight. "Good morning!" she greeted.

I've been looking forward to this meeting! :D

I'm trying to avoid having two characters in one thread, so I'll continue power-playing Perry. :)

Little Osprey paused and looked behind her, only she couldn't see her home any longer. A feeling of trepidation washed over her and a troubled look settled on her face... but when she glanced around at her father, any misgivings fell away. Grinning now, she romped toward him, skidding to a halt underneath him and nipping playfully at his stomach.

Shuffling sideways, Peregrine moved out of the way before his daughter's sharp teeth could do damage to his bits. He ducked his head toward her when he heard movement in the brush ahead. Swiftly and instinctively, the Alpha male stepped right back over the pup again, a protective growl bubbling in his throat. It quickly dissipated when his sister, frail but recovering, stepped into view.

"Osprey!" the swarthy Alpha male exclaimed, causing his daughter's ears to prick. Sliding out from between her father's forelegs, the puppy capered toward the new, unfamiliar wolf. "This is your niece, Osprey Jr.," Peregrine purled affectionately as he watched his offspring fearlessly approach her namesake.

Peregrine moved to sit beside his sister so the two adults faced the pup even as she craned her neck backward to peer up at her aunt. Her tail stirred the air and she reared up, planting her over-sized forepaws against Osprey's legs, unaware of the illness that made them frail. She barked loudly, then began to lick the adult female's leg as if she knew the two of them shared a name and had reserved a special place for Osprey Sr. in her books.

Osprey smiled at her brother, regretting every day of her illness that had kept her away from him. She froze, however, when the little version of her brother began to scurry in her direction. Her ears drew back and her heart began to beat faster, she licked her lips nervously and cast a wary side-glance at her brother. Was this safe? Didn't he consider for a second that she might be dangerous to the young one? That, whatever had caused her illness, could affect the little girl? Blue willow kept telling, that the bug that was tormenting her body was inside and yet she couldn't tell anything more about it. Because she didn't know, she treated the symptoms, but had no idea of the cause.

She leaned down her head carefully to sniff the girl's fur without touching it, let her be in contact with her for a bit and then carefully withdrew her foot and took some steps away from her. Osprey looked at the girl with a lot of sadness in her eyes. "I am so sorry," she whispered.

Sorry that the meeting that should have been joyful and happy, wasn't going to be that way.
Sorry that she had not been there from the very beginning.
Sorry that she couldn't promise anything for the future.

Unlike the other adults, who made a fuss over her every time she saw them, the silver she-wolf withdrew. Osprey Jr.'s feet planted on the ground as she backed away. The pup blinked, her tail waving a little uncertainly now. Her head cocked and her father distracted her by leaning over and nipping at the tip of one black ear.

"Blue Willow doesn't seem to think you're contagious," Peregrine said to Osprey, saddened by his sister's reluctance to interact with her niece. "You're looking better too. I mean, you still look like a moose ran you over..." he quipped softly. "But the yellow's gone. Don't worry, Osprey, everything's going to be okay." It was a blanket statement not only for this particular situation but in regards to her illness overall.

Clicking his tongue, the Alpha male summoned his daughter closer to him with a quiet, "Junior." He hoped that using her title would prevent confusion between the two. The pup, who'd only begun understanding her name and what it meant, flopped nearer to her dad and sat squarely between her forepaws, craning her head around his swarthy leg to keep her blue eyes on the elder Osprey.

"Blue willow thinks, but she doesn't know for sure," Osprey countered, her voice full of fear. She seemed to recover, but the good signs could deceive. The girl was a burden to the pack already, she didn't want to be threat too. Therefore she kept the little distance she had put between herself, brother and his little girl.

"So you went ahead and called her Osprey?" she asked, casting a quick, curious glance at Peregrine and then back to her namesake. She still felt disappointed that their first meeting had to go like this and she hoped that one day she would be able to make up for it. Maybe it was a good thing that the girl was so small, her view of the world was not yet complicated, she didn't question or doubt like the grown-ups did.

Imma pop one little spot in here for yerpso :)

Blue Willow was carrying rabbit towards the den that Peregrine and Hawkeye shared with the future of the pack. She was tired of late, because she was running herself ragged but she refused to stop. She still hunted for the alphas in the morning, then border patrol followed by hunting for herbs then throughout the day she checked on Osprey. She knew something was still going on with the girl, and something was not right but she couldn't figure it out. If she had to venture a guess she would figure that Osprey was not eating like she should be, but she could not know for sure.

She was loping though her usual coat was not as shiny due to the fact that she hadn't been grooming as often to busy, she made a plan to do that today she happened upon Peregrine and Osprey and heard Osprey and she frowned she kept walking and walked boldly up to them and spoke quickly as she dropped the rabbit at her feet. I do not think I know you are fine. I would have been sick by now trust me, it is something inside your body sometimes are body fights us and only us. She tilted her head and smiled SO it is fine for you to play with Junior. I have to get this to Hawkeye before I take some time to groom this pelt of mine so if you'll excuse me. She dipped her head at Peregrine and offered him a smile, licked the top of Juniors head, grabbed her rabbit and loped off.

"I trust Blue Willow and her knowledge of illness and medicine," Peregrine countered right back, smiling at his sister to show he didn't mean to pick a fight with her; he just wanted her to understand. "Yup," he added, his smile taking on more of an impish curve before a morbidly funny thought struck him. She had once argued that he should not name his child after her while she was still alive. "And there's no need to off yourself. Besides, it's already done."

Abruptly, Blue Willow appeared, looking quite careworn and speaking breathlessly. Osprey Jr. reacted to the Beta female's presence with a gleeful bark, running up to the dark she-wolf. However, the Healer moved on before either the Alpha male or his daughter could properly acknowledge her, though he made a point to shout, "Get some food and sleep before you run yourself ragged, Willow! That's an order!" after her.

"Junior," he said a moment later, stopping the puppy in her tracks even as she made to chase after the Healer. Reluctantly, the toddler bounded back to her father's side. "See?" he added to the other Osprey. "If Willow says it's safe, it's safe." He then swept to his feet, stepped back and nudged Junior's bottom, urging her to approach her silver aunt again.

Interpreting his unspoken message, the black puppy capered toward Osprey the Elder again, pouncing her left forepaw. Before she began to nibble her aunt's toes, her wide blue eyes flicked upward, as if expecting Aunt Osprey to shake her off again. When she didn't, the pup growled happily and began to gnaw on her relative's paw.

Willow's sudden appearance made Osprey jump and eye the black she-wolf warily. She lived with the healer, therefore she had got used to the fact that her health was constantly checked and that she couldn't escape Willow's scrutinizing gaze, nor could she lie to her. But by being out in the open she had thought to have some sort of privacy, but now she had a feeling that she was being followed and observed from afar too. She craned her neck to look after Willow's form, until it disappeared in the woods, and then frowned slightly.

There was still part of her that didn't fully believe that she was alright, even if Blue willow and Peregrine felt so sure of it. Therefore - she let Junior play with her paw, not withdrawing it this time, and observed her doings with an amused expressiong. "Hard to believe that we were this tiny once," she said to Peregrine.

Long after Osprey Sr.'s paw was saturated with warm, sticky drool and imprinted with several toothmarks, Osprey Jr. relinquished it. She took half a step backward, then dropped onto her haunches. Channeling her inner kitten, she lifted her stumpy right foreleg into the air and began batting in her aunt's direction, without actually making contact. She punctuated this motion with several irritatingly sharp barks.

"She wants you to play!" Peregrine translated. "It is pretty hard to believe. Do you think she'll be big like Hawkeye and me? Or maybe she'll take after you and dad, be all slinky and svelte and fast on her feet," the proud father mused.

"It's hard to tell, when they are this small," Osprey spoke from experience. They hadn't been the last litter their parents had had, therefore they were able to help out in raising the young ones and do some predictions too of, how big they would grow up to be. And usually they were wrong on every single occasion.

She lied down on her side, so that she could be in the eye-level of the kid and that the little girl would get some sense of being the big and mighty wolf. Osprey then raised one of her fore-paws and batted Junior's side lightly.

"True story," Peregrine replied simply, then fell silent, grinning rather foolishly as he settled back on his haunches to watch the two Ospreys interact.

When the gray she-wolf sprawled on the ground, Junior immediately pounced toward her, only to be arrested by the appearance of a large, silvery paw. The pup immediately turned her attention upon the five attached digits, clamping onto two of them with all her might and then giving the foot a few good shakes. Her teeth were sharp and likely uncomfortable for her aunt, though luckily she lacked the power to truly do any damage.

Meanwhile, another paw tickled at her ribs, causing Osprey to loosen and eventually lose her grip. Squealing, she backed up a few steps, then tripped over her own feet and tumbled into the grass. She found herself lying on her side now, looking a lot like Osprey the Elder's smaller, darker mirror image. Junior blinked her blue eyes and then her tongue rolled out of her mouth in a tiny, wolfish grin as she stretched out her body like a cat's and touched her little black toes to Aunt Osprey's nose.

"You are cute," Osprey told her niece after observing Junior's "fight" with the giant's paws and eventually sprawling out in the same manner the Elder had. The kid probably didn't understand a single word she had said, yet she hoped that she had sensed the meaning behind them - that she liked the kid a lot. It was hard not to warm up to this little bundle of fluff and joy.

"What are the rest like?" she asked Peregrine, without averting her gaze from Junior.

Since I know you're trying to wrap up your threads, let's fade this? :)

Osprey kept grinning, as if she understood the compliment. She then let out a great, big sigh... though not a sad one. It was a happy, contented sort of noise. She was comfy, lying there, staring at the planes of her aunt's face. It was impossible for the child to grasp the concept of their relationship to one another, yet all the same, it was like she sensed that this wolf was special.

"Adorable and poopy," Peregrine answered, a smile in his voice. "It's crazy how they're each forming a distinct personality," he added, then took a few moments to describe each pup's emerging personas. When he finished, he said, "Kids are great. You should totally look into them someday, Oss," and laughed gently.

Adorable and poopy indeed. It was a mystery for Osprey, how their parents, who had had more than twenty kids in their lifetime, had put up with all of that mess. Secretly she was glad that she was not part of it and got to enjoy the pleasant effects of having a nice and fluffy puppy.

"I will, I promise," she said with ease, not knowing, that it would take a very long time, before she would be able to fulfill her promise. She then sighed too and closed her eyes, feeling absoultely happy to be here at this moment with a person she loved dearly and a kid to whom one day she would become a very good friend.