Moonspear tooth-hurty

Osiris and his siblings were growing every day, and with this growth came various developmental milestones. Recently, he had discovered a spot in his mouth where one of his teeth used to be. Despite his initial surprise, Osiris learned that losing teeth was perfectly normal; a heavy sigh of relief had been released upon discovering the event's normality.

When one of his back molars wriggled for a few-days too long, Osiris sought the company of his Aunt, @Lyra. He was used to teeth lasting a day or two tops, not a week like the troublesome molar had persevered. Although she was not in sight, Osiris followed the most-recent trail that she had left behind. Although he couldn't decipher just where she was heading, as the trail weaved along the middle-most section of the mountain, Osiris followed her scent.

Lyra had spent most of the morning in the lower slopes of Moonspear, sorting through frost-touched ferns and trying to scavenge whatever herbs she could find which had not yet succumbed to winter. It was not a fruitful search, and the Ostrega woman realised she would have to go further afield if she were to find anything of real use. Her medical stores were getting lower and lower each day.

On her journey back up the mountain, Lyra had gained a shadow along the way. She did not realise it at first, until she heard heavy footfalls behind her each time she paused. Surely one of the pups, she thought with a mischievous smile. They were still quite clumsy in their growing bodies. With practised stealth, the woman quickly stole away into the surrounding woodlands, blending effortlessly into the darker under-brush. There, she waited for her nephew (or niece!) to appear on the path, her tail twitching back and forth in anticipation.

Osiris followed after Lyra with unpracticed stealth, unsuspecting to whatever schemed she had up her sleeve. Her trail directed him to a secluded trail that weaved between frosted timbers. Once in the wooded area, Osiris paused and glanced around uncertainly; her scent was strong, and he knew that she was near. 

"Aunt Lyra?" he called, pressing his ears towards the front of his skull in an attempt to notice any indication of his relative's proximity. "Are you there?"

His footfalls slowed and became trepidatious as the young boy called out her name, and Lyra lowered herself further into the brush, completely stilling. He came into view moments later, ears pressed forward eagerly as he searched. Hydra and Dirge had been training their children well, but they still had a lot to learn.

Quietly, Lyra slunk by Osiris' position, weaving her way through the undergrowth so as not to let him be able to pinpoint exactly where she was, before she made her way around a nearby tree. Moving past it and onto the trail once more, she finally came out into the open, only this time she was coming up behind her young nephew.

Her sly steps quickly turned into ground-eating strides as she suddenly charged at him, fully intending to tackle the juvenile to the ground provided he didn't brace for her attack.

Once oblivious to Lyra's looming presence, Osiris became aware of her suddenly.  He turned at the sound of her ground-eating strides, and with little time to react, his expression fell into a dumbfounded stare. 

Lyra was upon him within seconds, driving Osiris to the ground with his belly up. He yelped out of surprise, his tongue stroking against his loose tooth with an intensity that forced it free. Once released, the molar tumbled back towards the back of his throat, and instinctually, he coughed as it rolled down his windpipe. Once the feeling had vanished, Osiris looked to Lyra with surprise; finally, a moment to react!

"Aunt Lyra!" he exclaimed, "You made me swallow my tooth!"

Her pounce landed successfully, and Lyra drove her poor nephew to the ground before he had time to utter a single word. He was a sizeable boy, seemingly inheriting much of his height and weight from Dirge, but she still toppled him. His build would serve him well in the future should he learn how to wield it properly; but for now, the pup was still growing, long-legged and clumsy.

Pinning him, a wicked smile curved across her features as Lyra opened her mouth to teach him a valuable lesson about reaction times and always keeping his guard up, before she noticed Osiris choke and splutter, staring wide-eyed up at her. His tooth?

It was then her turn to look surprised, and the Ostrega woman quickly backed off her nephew in alarm to allow him to his feet. "Osiris, oh, I'm so sorry!" she stammered, flustered for a rare moment, but it was quickly replaced with a show of reserved concern and she moved closer to take a look at his jaws. "Here, let me see."

Once freed, Osiris obliged. Rolling onto his stomach and hoisting himself onto all fours, he did as he was instructed. "I don't know how bad it is, but I can taste blood" Osiris revealed, his voice ripe with uncharacteristic timidity. 

Thrusting his open jaws towards Lyra, Osiris allowed for her to examine the damage that had been done. Although worried, he felt some solace knowing that he was in his Aunt's care; Lyra was the best medic the Teekons had ever seen.

Obediently, the boy rose onto his paws once more and allowed Lyra to inspect his mouth. His statement was acknowledged with the smallest of smiles. She was amused by his apparent horror at tasting blood; it must've been a new sensation. No doubt there would be many more times it would happen again, though Lyra only hoped he would taste others blood much more often than his own.

Osiris held open his jaws while his aunt closely examined (as much as she could) where the blood was coming from. There was no sign of the missing tooth, but blood pooled around the back of his mouth, indicating one of the larger teeth had been jostled free. And apparently swallowed, as it were. "That's to be expected," she said in response to his concern. She pulled back her head with a satisfied nod. "It should stop bleeding soon. Come, we'll find a river so you can wash it out," she said as reassuringly as she could, motioning for Osiris to follow.

"Okay," Osiris agreed in acknowledgment of Lyra's direction; his worries had mostly vanished, given the reassurance she had offered. 

With a course of action decided upon, they set off in the direction of the river in a light jog. Keeping to Lyra's side, Osiris remained silent until a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "I'm going to lose all my teeth, right, Aunt Lyra?" he asked, fascinated with what he had just experienced. "Why does that happen?"

With her young nephew in tow, the two headed towards the nearest stream. Snow could have worked for this just as easily but Lyra didn't trust it not to have anything in there that might irritate the area where Osiris' tooth had once been. No, the clean waters of a river would suffice — the coldness would help numb the area, too.

Osiris was oddly silent for a while as they travelled, until suddenly he made an unexpected comment that coaxed a huff of amusement out of Lyra. "That's right," she said, turning to meet his inquisitive gaze. "Those are your baby teeth, they eventually fall out to make way for your adult teeth." At this, the woman bared her fangs in a grin, pleased with how her own set had served her thus far in her life. "Your new ones will be bigger, sturdier, made for tearing meat from kills." And your enemies.

She slowed as they came upon the stream, dipping her head to take a drink before gently saying, "the process of growing in your adult teeth will be painful, though."

"That's ... interesting," was the extent of what Osiris had taken away from the information Lyra provided. Though, as he stole a glance of her impressive grin, Osiris couldn't help but wonder, "Is there a way to make adult teeth come in sooner?" He licked his chops in anticipation; undoubtedly, an influx of adult teeth would benefit him greatly. 

When they arrived at the riverside, Osiris bent to drink; he kept one ear upon Lyra, listening. The mention of growing pains, coupled with the sharp rush of river-water, caused him to wince. He shot his head up, his ears pinned upon his head, and his lips drew a straight line as he regarded Lyra with hurt in his expression. "That was supposed to hurt like that, right?" Osiris asked.

A way to make his adult teeth come in sooner? An interesting question. Lyra didn't exactly know how — or if — such a thing were possible. Although after watching each litter of her younger brothers and sisters go through the various stages of puphood, it really only seemed to hammer home one thing — it all just took time. She remembered waiting impatiently for Vela, Jarilo and Galaxy to finally grow big enough so she could play with them; it seemed like it had taken an eternity. Now her brother was much taller than herself, and Vela was off chasing adventures somewhere unknown. Lyra's thoughts drifted sadly towards Galaxy for a moment before she brought her attention back to her nephew. "I don't believe so..." she murmured distantly, looking down to him.

His boyish features were twisted into a grimace, and it was then she noticed he too had taken a drink, only for the icy water to remind him of the wound in his mouth. She couldn't be sure how much pain he was in, so she offered with a delicately quirked brow, "yes, although if the pain is too much I have some herbs that may help with that." Yet there lingered an unspoken challenge to the youngster — but you're strong and brave, right? You don't need those silly plants.

Still, she would oblige him if requested; she wasn't completely heartless. It was only to test his mettle, to see how well the boy did with the discomfort. She motioned to the stream as if to say try again.

Lyra's implied challenge eased both Osiris' pain and disappointment; even without most of his adult teeth, he'd be able to prove himself to her. "No," Osiris answered, his eyes lingering upon the water's surface as he braced himself for the impending discomfort, "I don't need the herbs." Then, without further delaying the inevitable, Osiris began to rinse his mouth.  

The inflicted area began to throb as he began to flush out the wound, and it took everything within his willpower for him not to wince. The dulling of his discomfort was an indication that it was time to spit out the water; flecks of flesh-colored dispersed with the current, sending the remains downstream. 

Raising a paw to his chin to wipe away the remaining water droplets, Osiris looked at Lyra once more. "That wasn't too bad," he fibbed, downplaying the pain he had truly felt.

No came his response as he declined the herbs, and the edge of Lyra's lips curved into a proud smile. Good. This type of fortitude would serve him well. She watched as the young boy steeled himself before dipping his muzzle back into the icy waters. A trail of red streamed lazily from his mouth, drifting downstream, vibrant in colour at first before it quickly faded. After a few moments, Osiris then raised his head once more, turning to her with a chipper statement.

Letting the smile overtake her features completely, Lyra moved to nuzzle his cheek, wiping the rest of the water away in a rare show of affection she reserved only for those closest to her heart. She finished with a lick to his forehead, hoping it would help ease at least a little of the discomfort evident on his face. "You're so very brave," she commented softly with a laugh, hoping he'd never have to endure a pain any greater than simply losing a tooth.

With this, she withdrew and quirked her head for her nephew to follow for a mid afternoon wander.