Swiftcurrent Creek Here come the meat sweats

This one's for you, @Kaskara. Others (esp. mom and sibs) are welcome too. :)

Today, the littlest pup followed the same routine as always: he woke up, ate some breakfast (mostly milk supplemented with some pre-chewed meat), played with his brothers and sister, then passed out. But when he woke, something was different than normal. Instead of feeling well-rested and ready for some lunch, Relonikiv felt warm and listless. He didn't feel hungry at all.

While the other three took their noontime meal, he sprawled on the den floor, trying to keep cool. He faced the den's entrance and enjoyed the cold air that leaked inside. It wasn't enough, though. Pushing himself slowly onto all fours, Relonikiv bumbled across the den to the mouth and stuck his head outside. The bracing air immediately refreshed him and his usual smile appeared.

He still felt a little green about the gills, so he shot his mother a backward glance (she didn't seem to mind for the moment) and took a single step outdoors to fully expose his little body to the cold air. Relonikiv shivered slightly and sat as the slight fever began to break, his blue eyes taking in the wonders of the surrounding wilderness.

Yay, puppies! :)

Kaskara had only met them once, briefly, right after their birth. She hadn't lingered long, for Shadow had been there and it was truly he who needed to spend time with his children. Kaskara would see them grow and change every day if she wanted to, and she hadn't wanted to interfere with his visit. So that day she had glanced at them, given her congratulations, and sat back with her brother, surveying the scene.

Today, however, was different. Scimitar had visited them multiple times and had come back smitten with them. Kaskara grinned through her mouthful of rabbit at the thought, wondering if her brother and Bazi would ever reconcile and produce a brood of their own. It would be up to them in the end, but she hoped they could; they would be good for each other, once the stubborn streak had faded.

She approached the dens hared by Bazi and Paarthurnax and the young pups carefully, her eyes and ears alert for anything out of the ordinary. When she got closer, however, it became apparent that there was something going on here, and it wasn't a bad thing, either. Dropping her rabbit near the den's mouth, Kaskara grinned at the littlest one and settled down on her belly, chuffing softly in greeting.

Surely he had seen her coming, but whether or not he would want to come to her was a different matter entirely.

Everything was covered in white. Relonikiv didn't know that the snow hid the ground, or that it would melt and green grass would spring up in its place. He could not know that the bare limbs of the trees overhead would one day soon be resplendent with foliage and that the air wouldn't always pinch with cold. He took everything at face value. He was so young that he lived only in the present; past and future were concepts beyond him, as was change.

All the same, something did change in this wintry scene. A black shape appeared, growing larger as it came closer. The pup's blue eyes fixed upon it, wonderingly tracking its movements. In his excitement, he held his breath. When it took on the features of a she-wolf, his curious expression turned into a beaming smile and he let out a quiet whoosh of air. His tail began to wag, sweeping at the dirty snow by the den's mouth, and he bounced onto the balls of his feet to greet the stranger.

"Oogh! Oogh!" was today's greeting of choice. The youngster tried to leap up to lick at his guest's chin, then he rolled onto his bottom and ducked his head, instinctively showing submission. If she required it, he would have no qualms rolling on his back and showing his belly. In Relonikiv's mind, everyone was above him and he was happy with his place in the world.

Kaskara smiled as he licked her chin and then rolled back into submission. With a soft laugh, she licked his forehead and bumped his cheek gently, showing him he could sit up if he wanted. Then she lowered herself further to get onto his level, and watched him carefully. They were getting so big already! But what was he doing outside the den? It was cold out, though not unbearably so. He stood near the den's mouth, where the snow was dirty with spots cleared away, so he would be relatively warm.

"Hello, little one," she said softly, wondering if he could hear yet. His eyes were open, a beautiful blue color that reminded her of a summer's sky. Eventually they might darken into brown or gold or silver, but today they were blue, like all puppy's eyes. "I'm Kaskara, but you can call me Kas." She knew he wouldn't understand her, small as he was, but there was something calming about talking to a pup. "I wonder which pup you are. I haven't met you yet, but I saw you once. You were so small." She ran her nose across his shoulders, feeling the tiny bones and shoulder blades beneath his fluffy fur. He was so tiny! It was a miracle that he rolled and waddled along at all.

Like most adults, this one did not require any extreme forms of submission. The only one who ever did, really, was his eldest brother, Trajan. Little Relonikiv didn't mind it one bit, though. While onlooking adults might think the firstborn quite rough and commandeering, the runt really didn't know better. Anyway, he was easygoing and complacent by nature, so he was content at the bottom of the heap.

The new stranger spoke to him and he grinned up at her, enjoying the feminine lilt of her voice even if he didn't understand a word of what she was saying. "Ohpi!" he declared, talking right over her. Intuiting that this was rude, he hushed, waiting until she appeared to be done before making noise again. "Lolo. Upuh!" He didn't even realize it himself but he was attempting to mimic a common greeting ("hello") and another word he heard often: "pup."

Her black muzzle brushed against his back and he closed his eyes, revealing long, lovely lashes. Relonikiv made a noise low in his throat. Nonverbal though it was, it was a rather unmistakable sound of enjoyment, encouraging Kaskara to continue skimming his delicate little shoulders. He liked being touched.

Sorry about the delay here. Life has been crazy. <3

The boy spoke, though the words didn't mean anything to her. Nevertheless, Kaskara smiled and nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Soon you'll be saying real words, little one. Words that I'll understand." When he closed his eyes, she continued to trail her muzzle across his shoulders, nibbling at his fur where there might be dirt or debris stuck in it.

"Then we can talk about what you like. And what you don't like, too." Kaskara grinned, giving the boy one last lick on his forehead, before pulling away just slightly. She looked down at him and smiled, "Would you like that, little one?"

She began nibbling at his fur, which sent waves of pleasure through him. With a happy sigh, the pup flopped down at her feet to properly enjoy the relaxing sensation. He continued babbling, though he fell silent when she licked his forehead, then drew away. Relonikiv rolled onto his side to look up at her questioningly, tiny brow furrowed. Why had she stopped...?

She was smiling. He naturally returned it, though he reached out a scrawny foreleg and asked, "Ushy?" Relonikiv then rolled back onto his belly and pushed himself upright, only to begin winding against her forelegs like a neglected kitten. "Ushy!"

It was clear that he enjoyed being touched as the boy began twirling himself around her forelegs. She laughed, not understanding what "ushy" meant, but getting the hint: he wanted to be petted again. She returned to grooming his back, nibbling along his fur and enjoying the sensation as well. Kaskara settled down into the grass to be nearer him and to get more comfortable. With her rear legs sprawled out, she invited him into the nook of her front legs, and began her ministrations again.

Likely unable to resist the towheaded child's adorableness, Kaskara situated herself and invited Relonikiv to sit between her outstretched forelegs. By now, he had grown a little colder, so he happily plopped down and snuggled close to her chest. When her tongue began running over his head and back, his eyelids fluttered and his chin sank to rest on her foreleg. He didn't mean to fall asleep, yet he felt so warmed and soothed that he was incapable of resisting the siren call of slumber.

Last post for me!

Kaskara chuckled softly as the boy, settled between her paws, fell into the jaws of slumber. She didn't have much experience with pups, but she understood enough that their growing bodies required two things in abundance: food and sleep. Of course they required love and guidance, but food and sleep were required above all, if they were to grow. Kaskara enjoyed sitting with this little one, the rabbit for now forgotten.