Stone Circle New Faces to meet

WHOO Meet the pups! @Clay @West Tyree @Leta @Newt, @Nikai @Korei Julia @Vespera @Ira @Evergreen @Kove!!!

Valette had finally recovered somewhat from her labor. Most of her pain was gone but she did feel weaker than she had before getting pregnant. It was natural after all, she had not been able to have the active lifestyle she had before. Since there hadn't been any new members, no newcomers, Valette decided that now was a good time for the pack to meet the babies. It would be good for everyone to be together and enjoy something happy. The only new wolf that joined was her father, and Valette wanted him to see his grandchildren as well.

Valette nosed over her little ones, their eyes had opened and their ears hearing fine enough when they chose to listen. She smiled at that, she had long lost the expectancy that children would always listen to her. These were still the good times when they were so young they would not defy her. Valette stood up and motioned for the little ones to follow her. It was very early dawn when the light was not too bright for their eyes, still, it would be a difference with the den. "Come, little ones," she hummed and nudged them forward. She wondered what Greyback would think when she would come out with pups in tow.

She stepped out of the den and stretched herself. Valette then went to lie down a meter from the den entrance. She was calm while doing so, letting her pups know that there was nothing to be scared about. If she was tense or fearful the pups might think that this was something bad while it was not. Plus if one of her little ones did find this scary then they could run to her for comfort if needed. Once all four seemed to be out and at least have their first impressions, Valette howled to the pack to come and meet their newest arrivals. Valette glanced proudly at Greyback. So happy with her children.

Arlette had been extremely eager to see her baby siblings even when they were still in the den. For the first week her mother had kept her out, but when their eyes were starting to open Arlette had seen more of a glimpse. They looked like rabbits but then squeaking and moving not so fast as rabbits. Actually, they were not like rabbits except for the round fluffy part. Still, her mother had not let her come too close but she had been in the same den with them.

Now when she heard her mother's howl she was quick to dash towards her mother. She ran as fast as she could in her excitement. She burst into the clearing by the den like a wild animal. Her tail wagging excitedly as she had to hit the breaks. Her excited expression soon transformed into that of guilt when she saw the warning glare on her mother's face. Arlette's ears flopped back and quieted her excitement. "Sorry," she whispered as she pressed herself against the ground a distance from her mother, Greyback and the pups. Her red eyes instantly focussed on them. Her tail instantly wagging against and her butt wanting to rise from the ground to initiate play. She didn't know that they were rather small for that. "They are so cute!!," she beamed in an excited whisper.

Nikai had patiently given Valette her space with this litter. He didn't want to crowd her too much, so other than occasionally bringing things like food if she needed it Nikai waited. The pups were still wee little blobs anyway, so at this point he could do little in their raising. It was when they grew a little that the fun started for him; when he could start teaching them things.

When the day came for their first day outside Nikai was there too. He arrived to see Arlette there, looking super excited (though admittedly, she usually looked that way). Nikai stayed his distance and he lay down on the ground to appear smaller and non-threatening a few meters away from the den's entrance and the little pups there. He just watched them, and waited to see if they would come to him, or not. Either was fine for him.

Wobbly but not slow, Clay was eager to  be first and push ahead of his siblings so he could squirm his way outside of the den. He stood out easily against them, his small size against their large hefty ones.

He recoiled, shying away from the suns rays that hit his face as soon as he took the first step outside the opening of the den. "Mmmn!" He screeched, half tempted to turn back into the darkness. It was so bright! But he lowered his head and slowly opened his eyes to be shocked by the outside world around him. It was so colorful and everything looked so much bigger than him. He immediately puffed up and wagged his tail and strode out with confidence. He could do this!

He looked around for a bit, noticing odd creatures that looked like his mom, except they didnt. One was big and massive. Scary, he thought. Another one was not so big, but they were so white and he felt their red gaze on him. Finally he saw a speckled one that looked most similar to his mother and not so scary.

Tipping his head, Clay tentatively walked up to him with wide eyes and an agape mouth, sniffing at them before letting out a squealing whine of confusion.

The man watched as his mate ventured outside of the den with their children in tow. They looked so small, but were much bigger than when he first saw them seconds after their birth. He still grieved for the two they lost, but ultimately hid it under a smile of a facade. He wanted to be happy and celebrate his moment, not brood in it.

He plopping down slowly to seem smaller upon seeing the first one emerge. Clay, he remembered. The boy seemed to have a more dominant personality as he pushed and shoved and raced ahead of everyone. Or perhaps he was just curious... though he did looked scared upon seeing him. Greyback hoped he would wander over, but ultimately chose with going to Nikai.

Greyback frowned.

We can't all be winners dad.

Newt is eager to follow his mother along. Usually when she did leave on rare occasion for necessities, he and his siblings stayed inside the safety of the den. Of course, he is not the first to come barreling out of the den. Unlike Clay, who seems confident about experiencing something so bizarre and new, Newt is hesitant. He peers outside of the den uncertainly, giving a weak growl in protest as Clay shoves pass him.

Alas, the boy does not want to be left behind. So, the grayscale pup gathers his courage and trots into the unknown. Immediately, he freezes. The feeling of grass is strange against his skin. One ear swerves in the direction of his mother, while the other points back towards the den. It takes him a few seconds to determine that grass is not a bad thing, so he starts walking again... this time lifting his feet comically to avoid touching it as much as possible.

Around him, others gather at the call of Valette. Some of them look vaguely familiar, while others are strangers. Thankfully, Valette's calm presence keeps Newt from panicking. Unfortunately, his strange avoidance dance makes him unsteady, and with one misstep, the boy falls flat on his chest with an "oof" in front of Greyback.

Over the days that West had walked the earth, the young boy had grown accustomed to the tight space amongst his siblings and mother in the den. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he often found himself glancing at the light falling from the entrance, curious as to what might be out there or where his mother went when she left.

Lucky for him, it seemed today he would finally get his answers as Valette called for him and his siblings ushering them forwards towards the den entrance. The round boy eagerly waddled forward only to be knocked aside by Clay as he shoved through emerging first. West followed behind Newt, pausing as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the new world around him. It was so big! Part of him missed the confined space he was accustomed to, but he was also thankful he could finally stretch his legs and take up all the space he wanted.

West had stood just past the entrance of the den taking in all the new smells and sights when he finally realized there were so many faces around. He recognized a few-- a friendly white one, he had seen glimpses of her before, his mother of course, and a man so tall the young boy first mistook him for one of the large rocks around the den. His tail wagged behind him so fast that he had to step in beat as his blue eyes scanned the other wolves. Soon his paws carried him swiftly to his father, wanting to inspect him further. Was it normal for creatures to be that big? How was he that big? Was he even a wolf or was he just part rock?

The boy's thoughts had raced about as fast as his legs, although his legs wobbled much more, distracting him as he crashed into Greyback's leg. He bounced right off however and pawed at him as if trying to climb the mountain of a wolf, still wiggling and babbling loudly. Unfortunately for Greyback, in his excitement, he seemed to also relieve himself on his leg.

Ira was quick to respond to the call. It had been a while since Valette's last call, but that was fair knowing she now had the pups to care for. However, if she was calling that meant it was likely time to introduce them! Ever since Valette shut herself off for the birth of her new siblings, Ira had stayed glued to the borders almost every waking moment if she was not checking in with Evergreen. Safety was her number one concern and she still wanted to discuss what had happened to Thistle and Evergreen with the Matriarch, but that did not matter right now.

The mountain wolf made her way to the growing circle, her eyes first locking on Arlette's wiggling form before she scanned the others, her height giving her the advantage to see the balls of fur emerging from the den. All of them seemed to be full of energy and noise as they split amongst the gathered wolves. There were many, which explained how large Valette had grown before her labor, but that meant more trouble for her Matriarch and Father. A small smile pressed at her lips as she watched the pups, only growing wider as one let his bladder go on their Father. She knew then that she liked her new siblings already.

She was not sure what the ruckus was about, but really, Leta did not need to know to join in. Her mothers howl was answered faraway, indoors. It was not booming or loud, but from within one could hear: awoo! awooooo! awwwOOooOooo! 

The mouth of the den was always something Leta had aspired to leave, much to her mothers annoyance. It was bright, and it was forbidden... and her curiosity had no answers to what might lay beyond it. Leta was a moth to the flame, particularly when the moon and stars poured their light into the denmouth. Now that the time had come for them to go out, however, she found herself uncertain and tentative. 

Her adventureous nature had yet to grip her. 

So while her brothers eagerly made their way outside, Leta bounded toward the doorstep only to get stagefright and freeze as she stared at the several faces she did not entirely recognize. It wasn't fear that she looked at them with, but rather surprise. Her vision was clearing by the day, and her blue eyes sought familiarity. While her brothers romped around, Leta made a break for it—she sprinted clumsily toward her mother. 

She arrived in due time behind a limb, and peered beyond it for her next conquest. It seemed two of her brothers were dealing with a mountain of a man, and one was dealing with another—and a new wolf came upon the scene. The latest wolf kept her attention, and Leta sucked in a deep breath before full sprinting toward Ira, now, to investigate her, wagging tail throwing off her balance and making her appear milkdrunk.

New Round!! Post order reset!

Valette smiled when seeing the pups all go at it in their own way. She smiled when more wolves gathered and her pups were starting to explore. Valette's ear moved towards Leta who hid behind her at first. However, Valette was not comforting her. She did not want to nurture and praise her for being having fear or angst. It seemed to work since she got the courage to sprint to Ira. Newt and West were busy greeting their father. Which was logical since he had been around the pups since day one. West seemed very excited, which made Valette chuckle a bit.

Valette's eye turned to Clay, who had stormed out. He seemed to go to Nikai. Valette smiled at the sight. She was so happy. Her family all here. Except for two of them. She pushed that thought away. Arlette seemed dying to meet them by the looks of it. She scooted submissively over to Greyback and slipped next to him to look at her two younger brothers West and Newt, her tail wagging crazily. "Welcome all. Let me introduce you to, Clay, West, Newt, and Leta," she spoke and pointed out each pup.

The young female's senses were going off the wall. New scents were flying at Vespera's nose, which made her more curious then on alert which was something she would normally do. However, these scents were completely different then what she was used to. The dark female followed her nose, she followed it before she decided to use her eyes and gaze what was infront of her. The young female froze, her legs became rooted in the spot she was standing in. Vespera noticed other wolves like Nikai, Ira, and Greyback was there, and Valette. Vespera didn't know what to do when she saw three new faces that were so young. Well, Valette did mention something about meeting her pups eventually, she thought to herself, but she didn't want to move. The young female didn't want to show fear to the new pups but she just didn't know what to do with herself. There she stood, contemplating on what to do next, she stayed out of sight, hoping no one would notice her yet just standing around like an idiot. Vespera spaced until she heard Valette say the pup's names out loud, how fitting, she joked to herself. The young female tried to look at Valette with an unsure look, she looked like a cat that was debating on whether or not she wanted to go in. But Vespera felt stuck, she didn't want to frighten the pups by looking like a weird stranger, but she didn't know how to introduce herself since she had little to no experience on how to handle pups since she felt like a pup herself. Even if Valette would assure her it would be all fine, the female still didn't trust herself, she was bigger then them, she was far too sarcastic and awkward to talk to them, so she just stood. If I move so incredibly still, I might be invisible to the normal eye, it sounded like a good plan in her mind, but she just couldn't execute it. Instead, Vespera's eyes widen with curiosity, confusion, and debate at Valette.

The mountain wolf was only expecting the three, but soon her eyes caught sight of the girl hiding behind her mother. It appeared she was also noticed as Leta rushed over to her wagging like a tree branch in the wind. At first, the roan wolf thought the small pup would tumble over, but when she did not, Ira crouched down to meet her new sister's gaze with a smile. Greetings, little one~ She would let Leta sniff and inspect her before reacting, although if she stuck around she would reach a paw out and lightly placed it on the pup's rear to try and steady her.

Leta was quite happy with her present company, and it showed. Her tail hardly stopped moving, and it did so with such verve that the entirety of her wiggled. She stilled only when Ira placed a paw upon her, only to wriggle some so that she could begin to kiss whatever was in her reach. There was no formality here, or hiding her evident adoration of Ira. She could not move with the weight of Ira's paw (though it was steadying, and not at all restrictive or confining to Leta), and she let out a loud succession of yaps, conversational and replying to Ira's own pleasant voice.

When the howl reached his ears, Kove had risen as quickly as his body allowed but, ultimately, hadn’t made it there quite as quickly as he would have liked (and he silently cursed his body for this). By the time he was able to see the idling babes, there was already a group present, many of which he did not have names to match to their faces. No matter, he eased his way in close enough to observe the newest additions, yet hung back enough so as not to impose on anyone else’s personal space. Each child had a name and a face, and he admired them from afar, the faintest traces of a smile emerging.

These ones, he thought, these ones I will live for. Despite his past, despite everything he’d done and missed out on, he had been accepted into the family. Now, he decided, he would change what he could not before. The thought was the final push needed for a smile to fully appear across his maw, eyes bright with admiration.

When one of them - Clay - came wandering towards him, Nikai's tail wagged cheerfully. It seemed his tactic to lower himself to the ground had worked, for Clay seemed a little intimidated looking around at all the other wolves there. Hi there little guy, Nikai said with a soft smile. As Valette introduced them all, Nikai said to Valette: They look great and healthy! Then he turned to look at Clay and said, So you're Clay, huh? Welcome to the family, lil' guy. We'll have lots of fun teaching you stuff as you grow up.

The boy, ignorant to all around him, only gave his attention to the stranger who sat infront before him. It amazed the pup how tall the other was, and he wondered in silence if that height would be bestowed upon his stall stature. 

When Nikai bent down to talk to him the boy instantly huffed and puffed up, his stance widening as he gave yet another small wail.

He had no idea what the words that were spoken meant but he followed the older wolfs gaze to his mother, who was currently beside his father. 

Scary.

Clay immediately lost interest in Nikai and chose to sprint at his sister, rolling into her and toppling them over before looking at Ira. 

His gaze bore into her orange eyes in silence as he gave her the same treatment as Nikai.

 The man watched silently as he children froliced and played amongst the others. He was glad everyone was getting along, especially Ira, who he was most concerned about due to their touchy past. She didnt seem to detest his children as much as she did him. He smiled. Good. Leta seemed to be interested in her as well. It would be good for the girl to have an older sister and not be around boys all the time.

His attention was caught on his smallest son, Clay, who seemed to be interacting with Nikai. While the boy seemed to be outgoing, the act of him standing up to the salt and pepper wolf in a slightly aggressive mannor did something to the Patriarchs heart. He was glad his son was at least not showing fear, but unrest ran beneath Greyback's fur.

Kove was the next who caught his attention, the older mans pelt white and outstanding like Arlette's. While Valette seemed to have a better relationship with him, Greyback was not too keen on forgetting their past and the mans old ways. Wether or not he was changed, the Patriarch would be weary of him around his children. 

Greyback made it a point to glare at the man until Valette sat beside him, her warmth warming his side. He listened to her announce the children, and smiled once more, nodding in agreement as she spoke the names of their kids. He loved them all so very much. 

It was only a small while he noticed something warm and also.....increasingly wet? On his paws? The man looked down to see West releasing onto him. Instantly his brows shot up as he stared at his son with a pointed look. He didnt even know how to react, and instead of scolding his son, turned to his mate with a silent "help me" expression.

The young boy seemed to not even notice his mistake, or perhaps he was too young to care. Instead, he just babbled and yelled excitedly as he shoved his nose into his father's fur, searching to see if he was really that fat or just a fluffball like some of his siblings. After amusing himself momentarily, his attention was drawn to the other wolves that had gathered and he sped off to sniff at all of them. Depending on their reaction he would sometimes drop into a playful stance before running off to the next wolf.

In his circling, West had paused several times at Arlette. She was so white! But she also seemed as excited as he was. Maybe she was also confined to a den? He certainly hoped that wouldn't be his life. Maybe she was white from being stuck in a den? But his siblings weren't white... Eventually, he grew tired from his large energy burst and plopped his butt down in front of Kove. He was also white. West panted, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he glanced up at the larger wolf.

Arlette grinned with glee when one of the pups seemed eager to approach her. It was little West who also seemed to have peed over his father. Arlette chuckled and gently played with West whenever he came to pause at her. At least, the female tried to play with him. When he seemed to be tired, Arlette made sure to run to Kove and greet him with an excited snuggle. 'Grandpa!," she greeted. She had seen him grinning so it must mean he was happy here with them!!

Arlette grinned at the sight of all the pups mingling and meeting the adults. Her mother looked so happy as well, this was a good day. "Aren't you glad you are with us, Grandpa?" Arlette had missed the glare coming from Greyback. She had been focussed on her grandpa. "I'm glad that you did!!," she assured him. 'I can't wait till I can play with my siblings," she chatted to the old man, sitting close to him.

NEW ROUND

Valette watched with pride and glee how all the pups were exploring. She loved watching these interactions which she knew were really important. Clay seemed to be all over the place and not fearful at all. That was something to watch out for as it could end up in some reckless behavior as a teen. Valette chuckled when Greyback needed her help. She was about the grab West and clean him but he was already running off to meet others. "Guess you will need a bath later," she murmured to her mate with a grin.

She was used to it by now, spending some time in her den with four pups who all did their business there. Though she made sure that the den stayed clean or would get some new bedding for her children so they would not get sick. Valette leaned against Greyback. "This is the best," she hummed happily to her mate. She was so happy that she could experience this all with someone she loved and a pack full of good members. This was all she wanted.

Vespera's heart stopped, the female bit her tongue to try and hold back the whine in her throat. The young female began to move frantically around in her place, Valette hadn't acknowledged her presence, therefore, Vespera had to figure this out all on her own. The dark female moved her right paw forward but stopped mid-step for she began to hesitate on her actions, she wanted to rush to Valette's side so that she could feel comfortable for herself since she didn't know what to do. Vespera gulped, she felt her paw getting tired so she placed it down a little bit forward from her chest to where her other paws were huddling. The young female looked like she was going to fall over on herself and her stance was awkward, but she held that position for a good long while. Her heart began to race, she took another gulp and looked at her positioned paws. With her muzzle pointed to the ground, she closed her eyes and inhaled through her nostrils and exhaled through the mouth. Vespera craned her head slowly up and forced her eyelids open to reveal her purple gaze, she stared at Valette with one last pleading look before she began to walk slowly forward out of her hiding place from the shrubs. 

The Easthollow wolf carefully stepped into the clearing and paused where she was, she could see the other Easthollow wolves. She then glanced at an elderly white male, she raised her eyebrow in confusion but she didn't bother to stare at him anymore, instead, she did a quick scan of who was here, Greyback, Korei, Ira, and Niaki. There was another snow white wolf, a smaller one, she assumed it was one of Valette's other children. The young female felt trapped, but she fought for her muscles to show relaxation since she was in the presence of others. Vespera felt like a deer that had been spotted by a hunter, she forced her limbs to not freak out and scramble towards Valette, she inhaled as much air as she could to the point where she looked like a chipmunk that stuffed its cheeks with nuts and she marched over to Valette. She admitted that she looked very silly and she hated herself for doing so, she did her best to avoid the pups for now since she didn't want to upset them by her just being there. Vespera let go of the air that she was holding and sat very close to Valette's side since her other side was being occupied by Greyback, "Hi," she whispered loud enough for Valette to hear. The female turned her head and looked at Valette since she wanted to avoid eye contact with anyone, her violet orbs were showing signs of insecurity, she didn't know what to do next.

To the roan woman's surprise one of the other pups ran her way toppling over her younger sister. If she recalled correctly his name was Clay. She blinked and leaned back as he recovered from the tumble and turned his hard gaze to meet her own. Maybe it does run in the family. Ira pushed the thought away and offered a softer look than her usual stone-y features to the young boy, but refrained from touching him. He didn't seem as openly friendly about all the new faces as Leta had. Instead, she offered a small nod, Clay, it's nice to meet you too. Of course, she knew the two likely did not understand her yet, but it felt more natural than remaining silent. 

Leta was completely caught-off guard by her brother, and so when he crashed into her she was at the whims of gravity and whatever control her brother himself might have. With an oof! of her own, Leta blinked at him, startled (but unafraid) for only a moment. When she saw Clay entangled with her, she beamed and forgot all about Ira—she was happy to see him, and let out a pleased yap before she attempted to plant a sisterly kiss to wherever she could land one. Ira spoke again, though, and Leta turned to look at her as Clay did, though her gaze was far softer and warmer than his. 

Puppy babble came out of her mouth then, a nonfussy, curious wrarerear? something perhaps Clay (and the rest of their siblings) could interpret in their joint puppy language as do you understand what she's saying? Adults were strange, but she decidedly had no issue with them... even if she could not really understand them, yet.

A glare bore into his skin, causing the fur along his back to raise. Whilst he kept his focus on the children and their antics, his gaze did drift for a moment in order to locate the source of his unease, only to find his daughter’s husband on the other end of the stare. He held the other male’s gaze for only a second or two, though his own eyes lacked any insight as to what he thought; per what was typical of him, Kove was as neutral as he’d always presented himself to be. Before the other could turn his sights elsewhere, the northerner had already redirected his attention back towards the pups. Whatever issues the grey male had with him, they could be addressed at a later date. In that very moment, all the Inuk could focus fully on were his grandchildren, and he wasn’t about to change that for anyone.

Eventually, his patience seemed to pay off, as one of the boys came over and plopped down in front of him. “Hello, West,” the man uttered, a smile never leaving his face. “Enjoying your outing?” He didn’t expect an answer, not really, but he couldn’t help but to speak to the child anyways; he had always done so and this time would be no different. He was preparing to try and engage the boy in a bout of play when Arlette came over and his attention was redirected towards her. He gently nudged her cheek with the side of his muzzle, silently greeting her before chuckling. “Inngutak. Hello, Arlette,” he then verbally greeted, glad to see her. Truthfully, he would always be grateful, as she was the one to bring him to Easthollow. Had he never met her, he likely never would have found his way there, and he certainly never would have been able to meet any of his grandchildren, let alone the newest additions.

When she sat he followed shortly after, his joints silently cheering for the relief they were given at last. “I am,” he replied, glancing at little West. “I’m happy that I get to experience this. I never thought I’d be able to meet any of my grandchildren. Coming here was… it was one of my better decisions.” Where would he currently be, had they never crossed paths? Such were thoughts he did not wish to consider, not even for a moment; the feeling that came with being there, not only in that moment but all of the others as well, was warm and engulfing, something he could not escape even if he wanted to (and he definitely didn’t). “When they are a bit bigger, I could teach you a game to play with them that my siblings and I used to play when I was just a child,” he offered. “If you’d like to learn, that is. Your mother and her siblings even got to play when they were little.” It was a memory that he often looked back on fondly, given that it was one of the few memories that he had of them all together and not acting up. “Would you like to learn, West?” he then asked the boy, the tip of his tail twitching from the faintest motions of a wag. And although he didn’t expect him to respond to that question either, he still watched him expectantly, enjoying the moment.

Little West stared, a toothy grin plastered on his face as Kove spoke. He had no idea what was being said, but having the attention of the man excited him. This was pretty evident by his wagging tail that seemed to only speed up as Arlette joined them. Soon there were many words spoken between the two causing the boy to just tip his head to the side in confusion, ears flopping over. However, something about the older man's tone made him think that whatever was going on must be about him! With both pairs of eyes on him, West jumped to his feet puffing out his chest and decided to let out his own strand of confusing noises for a response. harbafbah arfga!