Stone Circle i love chew

tags for reference info; all welcome! maybe @Adeline , or someone else he hasn't met yet?

Nikai had quickly come to see @Steady and @Valette as his and @Keoni 's parents. He had been so little when his mother died that she was quickly becoming a blur of the past to him. It was only since recently he had become more aware of everything around him, of the wolves, adults, pups. There were many questions in his mind, but that Valette and Steady were his parents was not a question, just as Keoni being his sister. Althaia and Witchhazel were things that were almost like a bedtime story; once told, once experienced, but now they were gone and Nikai sometimes wondered if they'd ever been real to start with. He didn't often ask about them either. Sometimes when he thought about them he felt sad and missed them, but once Keoni or one of his parents would be there, he would easily forget again.

His eyes had started to turn green now, too, and Nikai more and more became a small version of his future self in terms of appearance.

Today, the boy was lounging in the snow outside of the den with a stick he had found nearby. Ears were splayed in concentration as Nikai battled the fierce stick, holding it wrapped between his front paws in front of him while he chewed at the edge, mouth agape while teeth scratched the bark off the stick.