Neverwinter Forest we'll be counting stars

AW, but hoping for the boys. @Cypress @Rannoch @Eshe

The sun beat down upon the Wilds – though the tall pines of the forest worked as a canopy at times to shield its inhabitants. She had not conversed much with her new siblings, though not by any fault of their own. She was still uncertain around her father and Eshe, but she was hoping to mend the gap that had come between them all, and move forward now. With the famine over, and the news of her brother’s death still fresh in her heart, Allure did not wish to waste anymore time upon ridiculous grudges.

With a small antler firmly in her jaws, the girl ushered her way to the den site, dropping the prize to her feet and prodding her nose partially in to the den, listening for any warning from Eshe should her company not be desired. When she was met with nothing, she took the silence as approval, and bowing down to lay upon the ground at the den entrance, she pulled the antler forward, nestling it between two pale paws. “Cypress.. Rannoch,” she beckoned quietly, wondering if they would come to her.

“Nuh?” came the query from the silver prince as a call came from the mouth of the den. He had been spending that afternoon tiptoeing about the den, looking for something to get into. He was positioned near the rear of the den when his attention turned to find another wolf that he had never met. The initial hesitation that he had felt when their first visitor had stopped by was long gone and the pup welcome any wolf who stopped by. Not wanting to waste another moment, he clumsily gathered himself onto his paws and galloped towards the front.

As he got closer, the first thing that struck out to the child was the stranger’s eyes. The hue was as brilliant and their father’s. To this quick though, he questioned, “Dah?” This question fell as arrived before her pausing as he tipped his head up to get a good look at her. He knew that she wasn’t his father, but her eyes were confusing him a great deal. He looked at her for a moment with a thick brow, examining her. As his eyes took her in entirely, he noticed that she bore a gift between her paws. Excitement surged suddenly through his being as he look from her to the antler.

How did she know that he LOVED antlers? They were becoming all the more common in the den as their teeth were coming in. Without missing a beat, the boy reached out and clamped his needle-like teeth around the prize, his eyes reaching up once more in an imploring manner, as if to say: “Kindly please let go so I can take this away.”

Kneading his paws against his mother’s abdomen, Cypress nursed for the pure pleasure of doing so. He and Rannoch had breakfasted upon regurgitated meat earlier in the day, but the little soot sprite was still quite dependent upon his mother and turned to her for comfort and familiarity. He, like Rannoch, turned at the sound of their names — he knew now that he was “Cypress” and his brother was “Rannoch” but he was just as likely, at this point in his life, to answer to his brother’s name. Privacy was not yet a part of the boys’ lives, and if someone called for one Neverwinter prince, they would almost certainly be greeted by two. Gathering his paws carefully beneath him, Cypress pranced forward with his downy fur fluffed into a disarray of defensive hackles. “Hey!” bespoke the brightness of his eyes, and he bounded forward with as much speed and accuracy as he could muster.

Like Rannoch, Cypress found himself confused by the female’s eyes — but more than that, he recognized that her fur was the same color as his own. It did not trouble him to be of a different hue than his mother, father, and brother, but it fascinated him that this female was painted in the colors of shadow and ink. “No, no,” he disagreed staunchly. This was not their father. Nor was it the red wolf who had come calling. He barked sharply, his entire body bouncing with the force of it: “State your business!” was the feisty little message, but Cypress’ ears were thrown forward in eagerness and not tucked against his skull with fear. Like Rannoch, Cypress welcomed visitors — but not before he had his say about it!

The soot sprite watched as his dust bunny brother clamped his baby teeth on the gift that was proffered, but was more interested presently in the girl who held it than the antler itself. This would change, naturally, once Rannoch had it fully in his possession — for anything that Rannoch had, Cypress wanted. Still, he found himself enchanted by the similarly-pelted female — and he bumbled forward without hesitation, placing his tiny paws upon her shoulder and balancing precariously upon his haunches to look more closely at her face. Breathing deeply of her scent — it bore both familiarity and newness — he stretched up his blunt puppy muzzle with an entreating stare. Only by chewing on her face could he unlock the mysteries of the universe.

She was met with a tawny ball of fur. Rannoch peeped his head out, and the girl could not help but smile as the boy endearingly toddled closer to her – pudgy paws and all. He seemed confused, his voice questioning her as dah – something she would have taken for ‘dad,’ and yet the girl did not connect the confusion to stem from her eyes – the very same in which Scimitar had passed down upon her. Instead, she took such a baby slur, and she tipped her muzzle slightly to the side.

The boy instead focused upon the antler, and without hesitation, tiny teeth made to latch upon the prize, and she was met with an imploring gaze. She would have eagerly made the trade for a kiss, but was soon distracted by a dark pup – the final of the two.

Cypress, she assumed, was far more vocal about her visit – and a wolfish brow arched as the boy firmly spoke the word ‘no.’ With a tiny bark, he bounced forward, ears alert, and began to investigate her. She released her hold upon the bone, her own nose twitching as she made to touch it to her younger brother’s own tiny nose – before allowing him to chew at her face. “Allure,” she introduced, her smile widening at the welcome wagon she received. “Sister.”

As the bone was released, the child’s eyes brightened. Seizing the moment, Rannoch drew the object a step away so that he could have it all to himself.  Watchful eyes observed his two siblings as he mindlessly gnawed at the bone. As Cypress and Allure interacted, Rannoch’s attention to the prize shifted dramatically. Now that he had gotten what he had wanted, the young prince wasn’t nearly as interested as he had been moments ago.

He toddled forward as Allure introduced herself to the duo and to this the prince tipped his head to the side as he pulled up alongside his brother. “L….” He attempted awkwardly, his tongue failing to mimic the noise the noise that the bi-toned wolf had spoke. “L-Lah?” He sat after speaking, looking up to her with wide eyes.

As their noses gently touched in a tender kunik, the soot sprite found himself enthralled. “Awoooooah!” he piped softly in response to her introduction, conveniently placing a shrill howl in the middle that wavered and cracked with all the force his tiny lungs could muster. The sound of his own voice pleased him so much that he ventured forth again — “AwoooOOOoooah!” with a sprightly wag of his tail. The word “sister” was more concerning, and with a characteristic furrow of his brow, the blue-eyed prince glanced at his brother the way a guilty schoolboy might glance at his classmate’s test answers. “Wah?” he mimicked his brother, not entirely able to manage the tricky “l” sound himself. Personally he liked his version better, but it’s mainly because it involved making more noise — and unlike his quiet, stately grandfather, Cypress was a noisemaker and a half. He was the elephant in the room.

His tiny teeth closed over the curve of Allure’s snowy chin, chewing experimentally, though the pressure of his jaws was feeble and harmless at so young an age. Turning to regard his brother with eager eyes, Cypress called him over. “Nah!” he chirped. Come see! This wolf was the same color Cypress was! The knowledge continued to prove exciting and exhilarating.

“Yes,” she agreed, deciding she would answer to anything they wanted to call her – and she felt her heart warm as Cypress explored her chin with his tiny jaws. She allowed them to romp upon her, and in turn, would nose them both with affection before pulling her muzzle back to study them. They were curious with her – and it was good to see they did not shy away from strangers so quickly.

Lifting herself up slightly, the girl bowed her front half, her rump wiggling in the air as she enticed a bout of play, her bright eyes studying them both and wondering if they would make the first move. “Play?”

His brother’s urging lured him forward. Unsteady paws brought him toddling to his brother’s side. As he parked himself in place, the youngest prince tipped his chin up so that he could get a better look at his sister.  It was rather peculiar how his two siblings looked alike and nothing like him. He shifted his glance between them with a curious tilt of his head. Knowing nothing about genetics or the words to express his thoughts he remained silent and looked to the both of them with a quizzical expression.

This expression promptly faded once Allure mentioned Rannoch’s favorite activity-- play!

His expression re-molded into pure joy and her words caught his attention. Nodding his head, and quickly turning to Rannoch, he offered a breathless “Yah!” It was time to play! Turning back to Allure, Rannoch sprung into action and propelled himself as her, hoping to latch onto her ear with his needle-like teeth.

Allure — “Wooah” in Cypress’ burgeoning vocabulary — nosed gently at the pudgy little raven’s fluffy body and he giggled protest, ticklish and vulnerable and soft at this fledgling stage of life. Automatically he skittered back as she shifted her stance, her tail lashing the air as her forepaws bowed in eloquent invitation. He knew what this meant, but the word-cue spurred the stygian-winged boy’s excitement as it had Rannoch’s. “Iss! Pay!” he chirped, bouncing exuberantly from side to side as he watched the dandelion fluff boy charge in, aiming for the girl’s ear with his fangs bared. Instinct told Cypress that he couldn’t let his brother go up against the “enemy” alone — he was a pack-oriented creature by nature, but barring that, he was incredibly protective of his littermate. While Rannoch went for the ear, Cypress dove low and slightly to the side, his head tilting to the side as he aimed to tattoo her foreleg with his teeth.

Her name might have been difficult, but they all too easily understood the universal wolf bow for play – both sprung in to actin, and laughing, the bi-toned girl tipped her head down so the silver boy could grasp her ear, while Cypress peppered fore forelimb with tiny sharp teeth.

She allowed them to tug and chew, her own jaws gently nipping between the two to tug on fur or nose at them gently. These were the interactions she had missed with her mother and father’s last litter – and so she was grateful she had an opportunity now to at least get to know part of her newer siblings.

He landed! Grasping onto her ear, Rannoch’s tail waved as he mentally claimed victory. With a sense of pride about him, the prince tugged at her ear and growled lowly. Though he had been the victor in his attack that did not mean that he was done tugging!

Being so small, Cypress had no experience with pulling his punches; he chewed with all his might at the two-toned girl’s foreleg, imagining himself to be quite ferocious indeed. In all actuality, aside from minute pinpricks of pressure, he wasn’t likely to do much damage — still, he growled with brow furrowed and hackles dancing wildly along his spine, more prominent along his neck and shoulders. His forepaws sought to wrap around the girl’s leg as he fell hard to his side, kicking like a rabbit or a cat might with his hind legs as he furiously worked his jaws. Milky blue eyes sought Allure’s face, and Cypress was surprised to see laughter in her eyes. Hadn’t he frightened her? There were days he and Rannoch scared themselves with their vehemence, but she seemed patently unaffected by her pint-sized foes. To that end, Cypress began a mission to climb atop her. He skirted around to her hindquarters, drew breath, and began an ultimately futile attempt to reach the very top of her head, starting with an impossible leap aimed toward her slender hips.

She had become a jungle gym of sorts – flailing limbs kicked at her, teeth nipped, and she could only try to give back almost as good as she got – though she was careful to keep her own larger from inflicting any pain. Rannoch leapt for her ear and Cypress made to climb up her sprawled out form, and lifting herself, the bi-toned girl gave a quick shake of her fur before playfully leaping away a few paces, coaxing the boys to romp a bit more.

There would be many days the girl would seek out the boys from here on in for a round of play – she had every intention of bonding with her brothers as much as she had her own littermates – and perhaps their company would ease the companionship she so dearly missed from her other siblings.

As Allure leapt back, the boys followed suite as the leapt into action. The continued playing as the day grew old and eventually, as both boys grew tired, Allure helped them back to the family den so they could sleep the rest of the afternoon away, happiness filling both boys from the fun that they had had with Allure.