Heron Lake Plateau i could tell she wasn't lying, you were lying with a lion up there

Caiaphas was pretty relaxed about parenting Svalinn, which pleased Niamh to no end. He wasn’t too hard to entertain- he was a boy, and boys liked to tussle and play rough- and while she would have enjoyed simply going full rough and tumble with him, she also had to remember that he was still quite little. Niamh hadn’t had much experience playing with pups this much younger than her, so she chose to err on the side of caution and be extra gentle with him.

Not that Caiaphas came across as a pessimist, but she was definitely a realist when it came to pack security. As much as Niamh wanted to believe something like what’d happened with Screech would never happen again, in all likelihood, it would. ”No. He didn’t have many friends, really,” She admitted. She’d likely been his best friend, or one of very few, at least. And as far as Niamh knew, he didn’t exactly socialize with many others outside the pack.

When Caiaphas gave her her blessing to punish the boy if he got too rough, Niamh cast a look at the boy who seemed to sense he was being mentioned, and gave him a toothy grin. ”Oh I’ll punish him alright. C’mere ya ruffian,” She said, turning on the boy and scooping the boy toward her with one rangy foreleg despite his protests, and burying her muzzle in the squirmy but soft undersides of his belly, she blew out a breath of hot air through partially pursed lips- giving him a loud, wet raspberry to his belly. The child squealed and flailed against her, high pitched voice descending into mad laughter.