Silver Creek They're burning down the world

@Indra and @Laurel as asked!

As Saena plodded back through the unfamiliar wood toward the clearing the cubs were housed in, she let loose a mighty yawn. There was yet much to be done, borders to fortify and instructions to give and reports to hear, but the Alpha female was weary and sought only the comfort of her children. Her paws fell heavy on the ground with steps weighed by exhaustion and hunger both, and beneath the fur Saena's eye sockets were slightly sunken, but she was in good spirits as she passed along the bank of the river that cut through their territory, and when she swivelled and headed southwest to the glen her children were sure to be in, she was smiling.

Strong, they were. Her children had crossed leagues to get here, some of the way in the clutches of loyal Phoenix wolves and some on their own soft new paws. They would probably not remember the journey when they grew up, nor the home they'd left behind, but Saena would, and she would remember how they had survived the hard journey, and all wolves of the pack had long since earned the right to know them. Milo had taken sick with a cold, but Indra and Laurel were hearty and healthy as far as the Alpha female knew, and as she broke through the trees into a clearing that would house many wildflowers but was bare now, she barked for her children. Someone was watching them, and Saena shot them a nod of thanks, but it was her cubs she was focused on.

indra had been harassing milo when she heard the bark -- instantly she removed her teeth from his cheek and sat upright, little ears flipping forward absurdly over her face. with a yell and a bound she clumsily loped over to her mother, who had just now crested the rise to the den site. indra did not notice how tired she looked, or how weary her stride was weighed. joyously she leapt upon her mother (or attempted to), supplanting excited yips and licks aimed for her muzzle.

Loud snores came from Laurel's throat as she lay sprawled across the floor of the den, completely oblivious to her awake siblings messing about. The snores were interrupted rather suddenly by a bark and Laurel shot up from her sleep. Ignoring whoever was babysitting at the time, Laurel clambered to her feet and with a loud and excited "aaaaawb!" she plunged herself at her sibling and mother, trying to bounce on top of Indra's head to reach mommy's chin too, in order to shower it with licks too.

The exuberant response of her children brought a grin to Saena's drawn face. She had no tail to beat back and forth but her hind wriggled eagerly as first Indra and then Laurel galloped toward her, leaving a much more sullen Milo to sulk in their wake. She knew her son was just as loving when it mattered, but he rarely took kindly to his sisters' rambunctious behaviours, at least when aimed at him.

Saena dipped into a play bow, shaking her narrowing hips in a bid for play, and as her cubs went for her face with tongues and sharp teeth, she tossed her head about like a stallion and bopped them at every chance she got with her slim chin. Her tongue lolled and she aimed a sloppy lick at Laurel before rising up slightly to gaze down at the pups fondly.

"You are true phoenixes," she told them, though she wasn't sure if they could yet understand words.

indra's bid for her mother's affection was matched; laurel was quick to clamber aside the pale wolf and for a moment indra scowled, though her good nature soon caught the better of her when she saw her mother's grin. with a little yet cheery yip she scrambled alongside laurel, demanding attention in the way only a puppy could. her mother's voice caused her to pause and she tilted her head to the side and froze -- though not before responding with a loud and playful yip.

It seemed that Laurel's plans were fruititious, for her mother smiled — which caused Laurel's smile to broaden in excitement, too — and play commenced. Laurel nipped at her mother's chin several times, sometimes hitting nothing but air when her mother was too fast for her, while trying to push Indra out of the picture. After receiving a lick from her mother, Laurel settled down on the ground for a moment, allowing her sister some attention.

Ears pushed forward and Laurel tilted her head, looking at her mother, at the words. She responded with little more than a "Bawoos!" and once more got to her feet. Laurel tried to climb her mother's side so that she could clamber across her shoulders, hoping to triumph Mt. Saena.

The inexplicable joy that flooded Saena's breast and set her heart aglow was so unfamiliar that for a moment, she wondered if she was ill. Her head swam with it and she became disoriented, which gave Laurel enough time to clamber over her shoulders. What the hell, wondered Saena when she attempted to lift her lower half and couldn't do it. Her swiftly growing Pinky was too heavy for her famine-weakened limbs to lift any longer. "Bawoos indeed," she grunted.

Instead of lifting the girl as she'd wished, though her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of how weak she'd become, Saena dipped her head as low as it could go and attempted to tumble Laurel down onto Indra. Oh, she still hated the girl's red fur with a passion, but it was in the good nature of play that she nipped at her fiery daughter's ear, having hoped to have pinned her temporarily beneath her paler sister.

indra had been excited to be the receiver of saena's gaze, though the moment was fleeting. her brow furrowed as her sister clambered for (and promptly received) saena's attention. hey! she rose shakily, stomping right over to the duo with all the pomp and circumstance of an overfed duck -- a look of offense crossing her features as laurel said something and it was reciprocated. indra wanted to play! she wanted in! "bawoo!" she parroted insistently, a frown tugging her features as an unidentified emotion seized her. was it sadness? jealousy? she did not know the name.

but the emotion was short lived, and the memory even more-so fleeting -- for saena had dropped her muzzle and laurel had come crashing atop indra. with a yelp she leapt back, tumbling unceremoniously onto her rounded bum in surprise.

Laurel giggled as her mother mimicked the word that she had just said. Just as she conquered the climb and reached the top though, Laurel felt movement and she started to slip and fall.

With a confused "Oooof!" Laurel tumbled down her mother and right on top of Indra. At least she had a soft landing, though soon Indra disappeared from underneath Laurel. She righted herself and shook her head, to look at her sister, who'd fallen on her butt. Laurel laughed at her sister and then unceremoniously pounced her, trying to pin Indra to the ground.

want to fade this? :)

archiving!

indra tumbled roughly to the ground, laurel atop her. with a dejected sigh the youth wriggled under her sibling, nosing saena with plaintive mewls. she grew limp, though she did open her mouth wide in a playful growl as laurel stood over her. not a single thing was amiss in indra's life; she had her sister, her brother and her mother -- and she was content.