Stone Circle Come visit your new siblings

@Steph @Clary @Ezra

It had been more than a week since the pups had been born. She had only allowed Stark inside of the den. She felt that her newborns were too fragile. Now they were a bit older she felt that the older siblings could have a peek at their new siblings. Valette climbed from her den. A rare sight but she was quite thirsty. But first, she howled to her children to come visit her. The mother trotted to the river close by and gulped down water as quickly as she could. She knew her newborns couldn't be without her presence for too long.

Valette had to balance enough to drink and not staying away for too long. She didn't stay away for longer than a minute or two. Then she rushed back to the entrance and got back inside. She went to lie down and curl around her newborns so they would be warm again. Her ears were alert to listen if any of the older siblings were coming to visit.

Steph, sensing that her mother needed distance from the other wolves in the pack, hadn't visited her mother since the birth of her nieces and nephews. She had passed by the den to drop off food, but she herself was nothing more than a fleeting figure. 

She was pleasantly surprised when the howl for she and her siblings finally rang out from their mother. Her tail wagged as she abandoned her trail of potential prey in lieu of meeting the newest members of Easthollow. When the den entrance came into view, her ears folded on her lowering head. She looked around, expecting Valette to be outside, but when Steph didn't see her, she assumed she must have been inside. She lowered herself to the ground as she peered inside, allowing her eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness inside. 

She could make out the form of Valette, and the tiny bodies in the den next to her. Steph's tail thumped the ground audibly. Hey, Mom, she greeted softly. How are you? How are they? she asked. She assumed all was well, as she hoped she would have heard before now if anything was amiss.

Valette smiled when her daughter appeared. She hummed softly in greeting. "Hi, Steph," She greeted. Valette then realized that Clary might still be traveling. Perhaps it would be only Steph visiting today. The female motioned her to come closer. She trusted Steph after all. She hoped her daughter would help to watch them from time to time. "You have three new siblings," she smiled. "This brown one is Keen, a female. And the dark one is Merrit," Valette spoke proudly. Then her eyes fell on the little white one.

"And another sister," she added. She looked a bit saddened while looking at the smalle white pup. She was half the size of the others. "I am not sure she will make it,' Valette stated with a frown. Mostly mad at herself. She couldn't figure out why this white one was much smaller than the others. She tried to nurture it more but she wasn't sure if it was helping. "Hopefully she will though."

Steph rolled the names over in her head, liking them instantly. She frowned as her gaze landed on the third smallest pup, listening as Valetted admitted that it may not make it. Did we have a sibling that didn't make it? she wondered aloud. Was it often that pups were born but didn't survive very long?

They're so tiny, she said in awe. I can't wait until they are old enough to come out and play. She was already starting to plan things to do with Keen and Merrit. But, of course, none of it could happen until they were old enough for it to be safely done.

Valette followed Steph's frown to the small white pup. "No, no. They all three survived," Valette nodded. "But the white one is so tiny. I don't want to name her and then lose her," the mother admitted. She glanced at Steph again. "If she goes out with the other two next week then I will name her," Valette decided with a nod.

"I can't wait either. This den is getting pretty boring after awhile," she admitted to her older daughter. Though, her children always made sure that she had something to do. "Hopefully all three of them will make it. The white one might look like my own mom if she has red eyes," Valette explained. The pups eyes hadn't really been open yet.

She was glad to hear all of her siblings had made it, but was till sad to think that this one might not. She understood, though, about not getting attached until they knew if the pup was going to make it or not. Steph dearly hoped it did, but if not, she would focus on her remaining, healthy siblings. 

Her ears perked when her mother mentioned how boring the den could get. I could watch them if you want to get out for a little bit, she offered, eager to spend some time with them. Steph would no doubt protect them with her life, just as Valette would. Her eyes shifted from her siblings to her mother. Your Mom was white? The opposite of she and Steph.

Valette offered her daughter a smile. "That would be helpful. They need my warmth the most," she explained. She was glad for Stark, bringing her meals and such. And of course Steph as well. She was good company. Valette then nodded to answer her question. "Yes, both of my parents were. But my mom, your grandma was an albino. She was white with red eyes. It isn't so common, that combination. Your uncle Xan also has white with red eyes," She then spoke. She knew Steph had met him as well.

Steph was content to watch the babies and listen to her mother. In her head, she tried to imagine the wolf that Valette described, Steph's grandmother. She wished she could have met her, and she wondered what happened to her, but she didn't want to bring the mood down. She sounds beautiful, she expressed openly. 

She frowned, though, when Valette mentioned @Xan. I don't think he likes me, she confessed, her eyes downcast. Their very first meeting, when Steph and Clary had snuck out of the territory, and Xan found them, had not been a pleasant one between the pair. And when Steph had tried to visit a couple months ago, she didn't get the warm, fuzzy feeling that she had expected from her Uncle. She supposed it was her fault, because she was so mouthy in their first encounter. She had hoped they could put it behind them. But, it just didn't seem so in reality.

Valette smiled and then nodded. "She was," the female spoke. "But she never realized it herself. Even though, she had to withstand bullying from her own pack and family she stayed kind. Perhaps too kind and naive." Valette thought about her mother and how she had given up after Kove and her separated. It had been too much, to lose the one she thought she would be with forever.

Valette snapped from her thoughts when Steph spoke. "Xan? Of course, he does. He is just weird and grumpy sometimes," Valette assured. Keeping from Steph that her uncle had been in a very bad pack and perhaps learned some habits there that would never really go away. Valette realized she hadn't visited her brother in a long time. "So you like your baby siblings?," she asked with a grin.

She frowned as Valette told the history of her grandmother, how she was bullied by her own family. Why would they do that? she asked. Steph had never been bullied, and she couldn't imagine family being the one to do it. But, it seemed Valette's mother had come out on top, despite it. 

She wasn't sure if she completely agreed with her mother's opinion of her Uncle. Maybe he was just grumpy all the time, but Steph had taken it personally. Maybe, she replied, but she still felt like he didn't like her. 

The smile was brought back to her face as her gaze went back to her sibling. I do, she said softly. She could already imagine taking them out, teaching them to hunt, and basically being a great big sister.

Valette thought back to the story her mother told her when she was younger. "Because they were a pack of dark-colored wolves and she was born an albino. Instead of loving her uniqueness they hated on what they thought was unnatural," Valette explained to her daughter. "Our fur coats were common. And with her red eyes, they thought she was a monster. Pretty sad," Valette sighed.

Valette chuckled at Steph being skeptical. "He is different, but that is because your grandparents split and I went with my mom and him with our dad. Our father went back to his previous pack which isn't a good one. Oh well. You don't have to like him," she assured her. Valette smiled at Steph. I know you will be wonderful at it."

She listened as Valette explained why her grandmother's pack had treated her so badly. Steph frowned. They should have looked at who she was, not what she looked like, she responded firmly. Steph could not imagine someone bullying her just because her fur didn't match what everyone else's was.

She shook her head quickly side to side. It isn't that I don't like him. I just didn't feel like he liked me, she corrected. Our first meeting wasn't exactly a good one, she admitted softly. Clary and I snuck out of the pack lands when were a few months old, she admitted. We went up the mountainside that borders Bearclaw, and Xan caught us. He told us he was our Uncle, but I didn't believe him. I sorta mouthed off to him, she confessed, eyeing Valette to see her reaction to that. She hoped her mother wouldn't be too mad at her. He threatened to tell you if we didn't go with him, but I didn't want to go with him since I didn't know who he was. I don't think he liked that. Steph wondered if he still held that against her. After the less-than-warm greeting she got, she could only assume that he did.

Valette sounded a deep sigh. 'Yes. I know but some wolves aren't raised to think like that," she spoke. "Maybe it is good that she left and came here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't be here either," she spoke. It was amazing how life could turn out to be different if her mother had stayed.

Valette smiled now Steph was telling her about their run-in with Xan. "I know. Clary told me soon after this happened. Because she told me honestly I wasn't mad at either of you," she explained. The mother chuckled softly. "Xan is just very authoritative, I think. But you shouldn't let him decide if you like him or not. But I don't think you need to be good friends with him, to be honest. He lives in his own world."

Steph nodded her agreement. I hope she found kindness after leaving that pack, she expressed. It sounded like Valette's mother certainly deserved it, rather than being bullied in a pack that didn't appreciate her. 

Her eyes widened in surprise when Valette said Clary had told her of their outing. Steph had no idea her sister had spilled the beans, but obviously Valette hadn't been too upset, since she never confronted Steph about it. That snitch, she said playfully, with a smile.

Her head tilted when her mother told her she didn't need to be good friends with her Uncle. Steph found it odd that her mother would say that about family, since Steph thought family should be as close as possible. But, remembering Ezekiel, she realized her mother was on to something. I don't dislike him, I think, she concluded. But maybe you're right that I don't have to be friend with him, she added. She left the door open to having a relationship with her Uncle, if fate so wanted, but Steph would no longer hold fear that he didn't like her. It wasn't like they seen each other every day, or belonged to the same pack. It was a worry she simply didn't need.

Valette nodded in reply. Her mother had found kindness but also some newly found hardship in her life. Her mother's life had ended quite badly with the cougar attack and her unwillingness to live. It was quite saddening. But Valette knew that she had been at peace with that decision. She forgave her mother for giving up. It made her want to fight for life even more. "She did," Valette just spoke to her daughter. Perhaps another time she would tell about Scarlett some more.

Valette grinned. "Totally," she chuckled. The mother laughed. "Clary is not a good liar and she knows," Valette added. Clary was too excitable and genuine to really lie. She liked that trait about her daughter. Each of her children had wonderful qualities in her opinion. Valette hummed. She had a pretty good life. She couldn't complain especially with these little babies by her side. "Exactly. I see the pack as my family. Xan is also family but perhaps I see him more like how I see Morningside. A good friend, an ally. Relationships are different when you aren't in a pack together, at least in my opinion. I would help Morningsiders just as much as I would Xan. I don't differentiate between blood bonds to friendships." Valette focussed the most on the wolves in the pack, the ones she saw daily.

If she thought about it, Steph wouldn't be all that surprised that Clary had told their mother about their adventure. Her sister was all heart, and Valette was right, not a good liar. At least Valette wasn't mad about it, which Steph counted as a blessing.

She listened as her mother explained the dynamic between herself and Uncle Xan. She supposed it made sense for them. But, if Steph was in that role, she couldn't imagine being distant from Clary or Ezra. Even now, when they were out on their adventures, Steph knew it would be just like old times when they got back. 

Then there were her packmates. They were just like blood family to her. Steph, like her mother, didn't really differentiate. Regardless of how they came to be, they were her family. I understand, she said. And she did. She wasn't sure how that would equate to her lack of a relationship with Xan, but she supposed it wasn't all that important right now. 

Her eyes went back to her new siblings, smiling as she realized her family had just gotten that much bigger. Alright, she began. I will let you and them rest. But let me know if you need anything, okay? she said pointedly, looking at Valette. She wanted to make sure her mother had everything she needed.

Valette nodded. She really did need some rest. She thanked her daughter. Steph had been a great help. The female gave her another lick. The mother hummed. "I will, Thank you," she spoke. She then let her daughter go. She was glad for Steph saying in the pack. She realized she needed her daughter. She was lucky not all three of her kids were wanderers. Valette curled around her newborns to keep them all snug and warm. She would make sure that all three would survive and become healthy adults.

- end-