Redhawk Caldera On the merry-go-round that we call life

for @Chickadee but puppies are welcome as well!! Backdated however much

Despite silently (and not so silently) hoping for only two children this year, Maia couldn’t dream of being any happier. It was the same every time. @Eljay kept them fed, alongside the rest of the pack, and Maia rarely left at this point. It was too early.

@Callahan, @Frolic, and @Glee. The girls were rambunctious as their names suggested and Callahan reminded her so much of both Jay and Aiden. She wondered if he would grow up serious or carefree, and then quietly spent a moment hoping her oldest from the previous year was safe and happy out there. She missed him just as much as she missed the others.

Maia smiled, distracted as Glee began to climb Mount Brother just as Frolic began to (again) make a slow break for the den entrance. Not yet, sweetheart. And Glee, your brother isn’t a ladder. She picked them up and settled them next to her again patiently. It might last a few moments before they got restless.

chickadee answered instinct and started hunting for her mother and the pups as soon as she was able. grateful for her experience in moonglow, she settled into a pattern of play and visits, excitedly driving all else from her mind.
today was no different; she whuffed toward the kiddos, dropped a squirrel beside maia, and rolled about on the ground, waving her paws in the air.
"hi, mom. hey guys! come get me!"
and for a little bit, chickadee hoped she would think of nothing else.

The real world compelled her more and more every day, though Frolic still liked to pretend every now and again, particularly while cooped up in the den. Today, she imagined Maia was a giant squid with countless tentacles, three of which curled around each of the puppies. She didn’t want to eat them, just shake them like maracas, as she was part of an undersea mariachi band!

But then a visitor appeared in the den’s mouth and Frolic happily squirmed away from the imaginary world and back into the real one. On unsteady little legs, she galloped toward the twitching figure silhouetted in the doorway, all gleeful and girlish giggles as she pounced her older sister.

Maia urged the pups out from her side with a smile. Go and say hello! Frolic didn’t need much encouraging, and she watched fondly as they played.

She hadn’t asked many questions of Chickadee since she’d returned, openly grateful to see her safe, but trying not to cross any boundaries. She didn’t want to stifle her daughter here, and she remembered how things had gone before Chickadee left. There hadn’t been anything she could say before to make things right, and there wasn’t much she knew how to say now.

Clearly she’d dealt with some of what troubled her somehow, away from her family… and a part of Maia hurt to see it. It wasn’t something she’d ever let her daughter see; imagine, being upset that she was looking better! It was a failure for her, one she would bury alongside everything else.

chickadee looked up at her mom as the little sister came rollicking closer. she pretended to grab at the kiddo, missing here and there with long hoots and little laughs, acting as if it all was a big struggle.
there was lots to say, so much that it was really easy not to say any of it. "mom, do you need me to stay?" chickadee asked earnestly when there was a lull in the play.

Frolic had never met a stranger, though she quickly came to like this particular visitor best of all. She was so much fun! They laughed and tussled until the little tyke was wheezing for breath.

She splooted on the ground, pressing her cheek to the cool dirt as her tiny flanks heaved. Over Frolic’s lolling head, the guest—her sister—said something to Maia.

Lifting up just a little, Frolic breathlessly exclaimed, Mum! Suh-stay-ay-ay!

Maia smiled and watched as Frolic seemed to immediately take to her older sibling. There would be time, when they were older, to teach them to fear strangers and to distrust those they met, but Maia always hoped that lesson could wait. She never wanted them to think the world was full of things that would hurt them.

Chickadee’s question took her by surprise. Maia looked at her daughter a moment, then smiled. I want you to, of course. But I don’t need you to do anything except what you think will make you happy. She wished every year that they wouldn’t grow up to leave but it was a selfish want, and she knew better. She’d left to find her own happiness apart from her parents; her children would have that same chance.

But we are always here, and we always want you back home if it’s something you want to do. The door was always open. Maia was careful with what she said, though. Her perceived failings weren’t her daughter’s fault and she didn’t want those feelings to leak through.

there was a moment for thoughts, and then she relaxed against the ground. "i think i'll stay close, then. just for a few months. i can be back and forth, so i'll be available to hunt."
neither of them mentioned eljay just then, but the girl's father was heavy upon her mind. "i'm happy both places."
she went back to frolic, prodding the little belly gently to tickle and resume their wrassling.

The grown women’s voices lulled Frolic into a doze, though she woke with a loud squeak when Chickadee came back to resume their wrestling. Although decidedly groggy, Frolic bounced onto all fours and slapped her forepaws at her older sister’s snout, trying to grasp the bridge of her muzzle in her little jaws in a mock dominance display.

Since Maia’s an NPC, we can fade this here? Although I’m game for a few more rounds if you like!

let's fade <33

a grin, a laugh; she worried frolic back and forth and eventually sprang to her paws, leading her little sister in a merry romp back and forth in front of their doting mother.