Heron Lake Plateau guiding light

if you have time I'd love a thread @Owen! tags for reference and i figured i'd do some ppc-ing of the ppc-pups!

@Phoebe, @Vasa and @Kite were quite a handful -- Eljay was trying to gather them all to teach them some hunting, but they were all over the place. The four month old pups would get distracted around every corner and the lesson hadn't even started yet. "We have to find your brother first," he explained to them, "You don't want him to miss out on the lesson, right?" Meanwhile, they all complained because they wanted the lesson now and then when that didn't happen they'd all three go their own way, distracted by different things, while Eljay tried herding them together. It was a thing he was used to, having helped raise his younger siblings, but it never got any easier.

For now Eljay's own desires to have children of his own some day were put on the back burner. @Raven and @Quixote needed his help and it was easy enough to forget his own wants in this. So what if he was running late compared to mommy and daddy and Liffey? He'd always been a late bloomer, so maybe his time would come, and if not, then he would just have to do with helping out the other wolves of the pack be parents. At least he got to interact with and help raise the pups this way, and he was happy to feel somewhat useful for one of the first times in his life for these fresh Alphas and parents.

"Owen!" he called out, only to realise that while Vasa and Phoebe had stayed by his side, Kite had run off alone again. ".. Kite? Oh no..." And with a sigh he turned around and started to track Kite's scent trail. Looking for Owen would have to wait for now.

Owen felt safer with a little distance between him and his sisters sometimes, especially on a day like today when the girls all seemed extra-rowdy. Even Kite's unsteady legs were frisking all about and looking for trouble. Owen didn't really envy Eljay his job, but he wasn't about to go running over to make himself a chewtoy for his mischievous siblings—Eljay was the one who'd been silly enough to volunteer for puppysitting duties, and now he could reap the consequences with no help from Owen, thank you very much. Owen would just stay right here deep in the cool shadow of the prickly bush, where it would be very difficult indeed for either Phoebe or Vasa to sneak up on him. (Kite never seemed to be all that sneaky at the best of times still, frankly, in his experience. She had enough trouble getting her little white paws to go in a straight line, never mind tiptoeing and pussyfooting about in stealth mode.)

Yet no sooner had he thought this, as he stayed silent and made sure his own cloaking remained firmly engaged, remaining still except for the slight tilting-back of his head as he blinked upwards and checked the far-off skies for any further signs of either starfall or snow (Owen still wasn't entirely certain which of these he could most reasonbly expect and when) when his musings were interrupted by Eljay's concerned call, first for himself and then right afterward for Kite. Owen blinked again in surprise as he lowered his eyes nearer earthward, and got to his feet with some concern. At first he thought that Eljay must simply be overlooking the middle Redhawk-Voulge sister, but no: Owen didn't see her now either, as he cautiously poked his nose out from his hidey-hole and looked warily about. Phoebe and Vasa were keeping themselves well-distracted wrassling with each other at the moment so Owen went ahead and extracted the rest of himself as Eljay put nose to ground and started snuffing about for Kite. The wind was in Owen's favor, and it was no difficulty whatsoever to stealthily haunt Eljay's own tracks as the puppysitter followed the trail of the missing girl. But with Eljay's attention divided between the ground and chivvying the other two girls along in an attempt to keep them closer by, Owen sighted the other one first. Kite? he said, a touch of uncertainty warring with concern and surprise both in his voice, and then concern quickly won out as he continued, Wait, no! Stay back from the pond—Dad said!

 Maybe it was mere coincidence, but that seemed to be the direction her meandering feet were taking her surprisingly quickly today. What a time and use for her to be learning to walk swifter and straighter, Owen thought as he quickly sped up into a gallop to try and catch her up. He didn't like how much of a head start she had on them all, though—already?! He felt another sharp pang of sympathy for Eljay as he tried to get between Kite and the water and herd her gently back toward the group: how could these smallish wolves manage to cover such distance in so short a time, anyhow?!

Eljay went on to track Kite out -- Owen was generally fine in his experience, so he was more concerned for Kite in the moment -- but it was no easy task. Vasa and Phoebe kept getting distracted with one another. Each time he called them to follow they would follow for a few steps before one of them would pounce the other again. And each time when he called them to follow they would start arguing about who started it in front of him, almost as if they really expected him to punish the starter for it. Eljay knew it was a different one each time anyway.

"It doesn't matter who started, you should follow," Eljay said, though there was a softness to his voice that was probably the reason that the pups didn't take his authority very serious at all and continued their wrestling matches.

It was when he heard Owen's voice that Eljay's interest was piqued. His head turned to the source of the sound and so did Vasa and Phoebe's, who had been wrestling again by then but suddenly fell silent to look. "Stay here," Eljay instructed the pups and he quickly hurried in the direction of Owen's voice, where he saw Kite running towards the lake with Owen behind her. He hadn't heard precisely what was going on so it looked to him like Owen and Kite were both trying to go to the lake, which it was far too cold for and they should learn to swim better first, anyway. Eljay wished that he had more authority so that he could simply command the pups to stop in their tracks, but he knew that calling out would fall to deaf ears anyway. He did call quickly — "Kite, Owen, stop!" — but his voice was completely lacking any form of authority. It was panic which had the upper hand at that moment.

Eljay started to run towards Kite to try and stop her, as she was at the front of the little group, while hoping that they heard him. As he galloped forward - though he wasn't very fast, never had been - Kite did look at him as he called out. However, her paws didn't stop running. Distracted, Kite's paws ended up in a tangle and she fell, then tumbled even faster towards the cold water now. Eljay was too far away to stop it from happening, but he hoped that at least Owen would see what a terrible idea this going-into-the-lake-thing was and that maybe he would be fast enough to stop Kite's fall to doom (and Eljay's, if he had to get himself wet and cold by pulling her from the water).

Eljay really was too nice for his own good. Owen had refrained from rolling his eyes when the puppysitter had oh-so-kindly tried to suggest to his more rambunctious sisters that no matter who had started their latest wrestling match, they both really should follow the adult, but Owen couldn't stop himself from giving a little eyeroll when the puppysitter panickily called for him and Kite to stop a minute later. With an explosive sigh of exasperation Owen lunged forward to make a grab for whatever bit of Kite he could most easily reach, wincing slightly as his paws hit incredibly cold icy mud (bluuuuhhgh! Who would voluntarily run on this stuff?! Sheesh, Kite!); blindly he felt fur between his teeth and snapped them shut in desperation even while his eyes spotted Kite's petite white feet, never entirely reliable, gathering a bit too much of the cold mud and starting to skid out from under her and fly up over her head and around in an almost comically inept cartwheeling motion. He yanked his head back as far and hard as he could, even as he felt his own feet starting to skid.

Ah'm shtryin', can'shew shee Ah'm sshhtrrryin'?! he tried to yell none too loudly and legibly back at Eljay with his mouth full of sisterskin and fur as soon as he could find the breath to try and do so, even as he hauled back on Kite's tail and she squealed in ear-bleeding-pitched protest. He might be trying though it was true, but it still wasn't entirely arresting either of their forward momentum. Owen let out a screechy yelp of his own as he felt freezing-cold water oh dear heavens how could water ever possibly BE that cold snaking up inbetween his toes and then overlapping the tops of his feet. Oh no, oh NO— Now it was his turn to start to panic, flailing his limbs about wildly—which only increased the area the cold cold cold water could reach, really, but Owen wasn't exactly thinking straight here—as his eyes rolled wildly and pleadingly back in Eljay's vague direction, silently crying help help HELP! along with he and his sister's more audible and less-cogent cries. Owen didn't have quite the speed and weight to pit against Kite's, but hopefully Eljay would...?! He could only screech and pray. ...And hope that his other sisters wouldn't give him too much hell for it in the future, though that concern was small and distant and dim in his mind right at the moment compared to the big cold lake that was waiting RIGHT THERE underneath him to swallow him up (and probably wake the giant monster Owen was still half-convinced lurked at its bottom up from its hibernation, too, just to eat him up whole).

It really happened all too fast. A tangle of limbs, a whole lot of flailing, and in the middle of it their poor hapless sitter trying to straight it all out. An audible gasp escaped Phoebe the moment she realized what was about to happen—she went stock still even when Vasa seemed to surge forward after Eljay. It was the waving end of Vasa's tail that stirred her to action finally and she followed, though at a distance.

They were supposed to stay away from the lake. Her mother had told her this. Her father had told her this. It had been even more a warning now because the weather was changing and the winds were colder and while they were certainly much bigger than they had been on their own introductions to the water, it was still a beast of its own nature.

Most of all, in the droplets that came winging back to her from where she stood, it was cold. Her hackles rose along her spine as she whined and recoiled, uncertain and unable to decide what to do. She wanted to help, really, but Eljay already had his paws full trying to snag two of them from the water and really didn't need a third. Or fourth as it were, seeing how Vasa was already carrying on trying to throw out suggestions.

”Vasa! Stop!” she called and fearfully so, because gods only knew hollering get them, get them! wasn't exactly helping—but she wanted to yell it too.

i had to join too, i hope you guys don't mind me.

word count: 251

not at all, welcome! ^^

Everything happened so fast and yet it felt as if it was all going in slow motion. Owen grabbed bits of Kite as she tumbled down, but her forward momentum seemed too fast for him to stop her. Eljay ran as fast as he could, but it seemed he was falling short. In the distance he heard Phoebe's voice call for Vasa but he really couldn't spare it any attention if he wanted to have a shot at saving Kite and Owen who were headed to the lake fast.

Just as they seemed to be crashing straight into the lake Eljay reached them. Not having any time to slow down or grab either -- let alone both -- of them, Eljay just crashed straight into Kite and Owen both. There was a piece of dryer land behind them where he managed to knock Kite (and Owen, presumably) into who Eljay had straight-up ran. She then started to yelp and wail from the impact -- she'd probably be sore for a few days there -- but at least she wasn't fallen-into-a-lake. Eljay looked around to see what happened to Owen. He hadn't quite realised yet that Vasa and Phoebe were still out there somewhere and that Vasa had been headed his way, too, for now fully focussed on Kite.

There was in Kite a burgeoning rebellious streak, born of frustrations she could not yet put a name to. She was different, and she knew it, and she did not like it in the least. She stuttered when she signed, and she was never quite as fast or steady as her littermates. With every passing day, Father Time told her that she was never going to be. This brief flash of wickedness — running away from her poor, put-upon puppysitter — was the first time she had been the fastest at anything. Would it be the only time? Much to her dismay — she wanted to see for herself how cold the water was — Eljay managed to knock her onto dry land. The impact was terrific. She landed with a heavy thud that knocked the wind out of her, and when at last she could fill her lungs, she sucked oxygen heavily as if she’d been punched in the gut and spilled it on a slightly hysterical warcry.

The howl roared up from her gut like dragonsfire as she scrabbled wildly, trying to get her footing. It was easier now than it had been in her infancy, and she propped her wildly wobbling legs up and lifted her head to regard Eljay with her first true spike of defiance. “No!” she both shouted and signed, panting raggedly as she backpedaled one jittering pace, then another. “What’s the use?” she demanded, her pumpkin-orange eyes furious as she dared any of them to contradict her. “I’m never going to be a h-h-hunter! I can’t do the same things you can and it feels like — ” Her signing grew clumsy before slamming to a stop (as much of a stop as the fluttering Kite was capable of).

Woot! Glad to have you both join, hehe. I'd send Owen over to hug you if he wasn't all over mud now.
And yessss... Rebel!Kite = <3.  :D 

Owen's teeth were starting to chatter, half out of fear and half from the icy waters swooping far too quickly up his toes, and then his legs, and nearly up to his elbows as he splayed his legs out and tried to arrest their momentum and find some sort of purchase in that unbelievably cold mud. He overrode his chattertooth instincts to try and clamp his mouth shut all the more firmly, squinching his eyes shut in the process as he held on with all his might and kept trying to yank Kite back. She didn't weigh that much less than him; Owen was no muscle-bound weightlifter, and in fact very much the opposite. Usually that wasn't something he had cause to regret, but boy did he regret it now, as he felt himself being dragged inexorably deeper into the water along with Kite.

And then help came swooping in—of a sort, at least. Eljay hurtled into the long-legged pups at speed, and knocking her out of Owen's loosening grip fortunately tumbled Kite up onto dry land where she was safe, at least assuming her legs held her there properly this time. Owen— couldn't check properly to make sure, a little too focused on his own less-lucky position, with only his left forepaw reaching land of the quartet, although fortunately the water he crashed into wasn't deep. He screeched anew and flailed and managed to get himself a lot wetter than the pond itself did, though, as he heedlessly flung a random mixture of water and mud all about while trying to get his legs back under him to propel himself away from the cold cold cold water. And Kite...wait, where was Kite?! As he managed to wallow upright, the last he'd seen for sure of his sister she'd been slipping into the icy pond's embrace, and then... then the sequence of events got a little confused in Owen's mind. All he knew for one panicked moment was that he didn't see her in front of him anymore, and far too far beyond stretched the endless, ice-rimed waters. Owen made an inarticulate noise of fear and unhappiness as he splashed out one determinedly large step deeper—he shuddered as the chilly liquid splashed up onto his chest—and then a flash of movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see Kite scooting her butt well back onto dry and warm and safe earth. Oh, great— yeah, that was real fair. He didn't see what she had to yowl about: Eljay had gotten to her in time, while her brother had to deal with the awful half-swim she'd almost taken for herself.

 Owen's open mouth grimaced as with a grumbled, Gwwwargh, he shambled his way back up onto the mud and then onto the less-slick and less-wet patch of ground nearer his sisters and Eljay, where he plopped his own shivering rump down closer to Phoebe's right side than he usually tended to settle. Not that he wasn't grateful that Kite was obviously okay, and even still mostly her proper colors from what he could see at a quick glimpse rather than half pondmud-brown like him—which, well, he somewhat grumpily supposed probably looked better on him than on any sister, at least. (And despite the danger of putting himself within such easy range of their mischievous teeth and paws, his sisters would put off some body heat, hopefully...right? Ugh, the sooner he could get himself heated up and dry once again, the better! Right now his bones felt like they might never be warm again.) He tilted his head first to one side and then the other, swearing he'd somehow managed to get several scoops of pond inside his disproportionately large ears. It was only after this that he properly registered what his wobbly little sister was saying.

Owen's head snapped upright. What?! he said to Kite, his brow furrowing as he stared at her in bewilderment and tried to figure out what had brought this on. He wasn't used to this bizarre wild streak she was displaying now—hadn't on some level even been aware that little Kite, Kite of all people! was capable of such daring and deliberate misbehavior—and somehow the concern she voiced now had never quite crossed his mind. W- w- whaddaya mean, Kite?! He'd just sort of...assumed that all wolves were hunters of one stripe or another. Some were better and some were worse, sure, but... did Kite really think she was never going to improve enough to help the pack in such a way? This was a boggling revelation for Kite's brother, who simply hadn't thought that far ahead, and been rather too wrapped up in mastering his own inept and clumsy attempts at hunting even those random inanimate objects scattered about the packlands that always seemed to get the better of him. But his eyes and ears matched, as they skillfully deciphered even her less-graceful furious signing, having had considerable practice at this point. Her signage and spoken words both matched, so that there could be no doubt he'd really heard her say what he thought she'd said. And it did dawn on him now that yeah, maybe it really was true... maybe Kite wouldn't even manage to make her legs work obediently enough for her to ever join a pack hunt, or go bounding after an escaping bunny. Never? thought Owen to himself with aghast awe, hardly able to fathom such a thing. Never ever?! He gawped stupidly at her and tried to collect his thoughts. Buh... b- b- but Kite... he started, and then stopped. His teeth really were starting to chatter without the intercession of others' fur to cushion them now. But he reached out a goopy paw inarticulately in her direction, trying to reassure her despite having no real clue what to say to any of this just yet. Someone else would hopefully have something a little more useful to respond to her with, meantime, if all that Owen would offer up was this helplessly mute gesture that even now dropped a large glob of cold mud onto the dirt below. This was what inner craziness had sent her racing toward the pond today, though?! Owen would never have imagined it, not in a million years. And even now she was experiencing difficulties holding her agitated form still.

As the trio of wolves seemed to tangle and untangle themselves to some sort of relative safety, Phoebe watched the continuing series of unfortunate events unfold with concern. No doubt their mother would certainly have all their hides for this, provided they didn't go about dunking themselves to death in the water again.

At Kite's outburst though, she felt herself leave the scene of trying to corral Vasa for her less than still sister. It was hardly going to be effective, but she met her with soft whines and a quivering nose—for how of the lake she did smell!—to try and soothe her. It was a strange thing, this little tantrum she threw, but in some way Phoebe understood. Kite had always been the least steady of them all, but that had been what had made her so very much her.

”You shouldn't say that, Kite,” Phoebe offered, ignoring her brother's attempts. But even she knew, perhaps had even thought the same. They had begun their share of hunting things, yes, but it had always been in fun... or so she thought. Had they left her out, all those times when they had play-tracked something to death? Seeking some sort of help that may have been more reassuring, her eyes flashed to Eljay as though he would have more to say.

Something adult, anyway. Adults were good at fixing things, right?

Eljay looked around, panting from the exertion. Owen was all covered in mud and water, Kite was safe enough but wailing. Eljay frowned as Kite started a story, which luckily she didn't just sign but also spoke. His signing had never really become good. He'd tried, he really had, but already the newest brood had surpassed Eljay's signing skills -- and comprehension. So it seemed ironic that Kite would say she wasn't going to be a good hunter, and that she couldn't do the same things other wolves could, while speaking and signing both -- the latter a thing Eljay wasn't half as good at as Kite already was.

Still, it wouldn't do to remind her of any of that, he knew. "Oh, Kite, but you..." But Owen responded then, though not very eloquently. Eljay looked at Phoebe as he suddenly heard her voice, who offered a more eloquent reply than either Owen or Eljay so far. Eljay knew he should step up, and he said: "We all have things we're really good at and things we're not so good at. Like, uhm... I'm really bad at ptero and I'm not very good at fighting. But everyone knows I do my best, so it's... So we... So all together, we're a pack, and we help each other find our strengths." Eljay smiled at Kite -- and the other pups -- hoping that they got some sort of positive message from what he said, even though eloquence had never been one of Eljay's strengths. Kite fell silent for now and Eljay moved in to nuzzle her cheek reassuringly.

since Kite is back at PPC, feel free to pp her if you want to. :) Nvm Kite is back! :D

no pls D:

Kite’s existential crisis was so overwhelming and so all-consuming that her typically gentle, cheerful nature seemed utterly burned away by the wild glint in her fiery eyes. Guilt leapt to join the fray soon after. She’d ruined Eljay’s lesson and caused poor Owen to be cold and soaked! The monochrome fledgling looked blindly around at her siblings, barely registering what they were saying to comfort her, and was indeed silent in the wake of Eljay’s kind reassurance. After a few deep breaths, she felt calmer, but she still felt wretchedly forlorn. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled in a tiny voice. “I di’n’t mean to yell’n run away. I mean, I did.” Be honest, she scolded herself sharply. Her ears drooped momentarily, but she made herself stand tall as she confessed her crime: “I did mean to yell and run away, but I’m still sorry I did it.” She wibble-wobbled her way over to make the rounds, starting with Eljay. She smushed her face against his breastbone in a clumsy answering nuzzle, trembling not only with her usual jitters but with trepidation, too.

It was to Owen, Phoebe, and Vasa that she went next, peppering their faces with apologetic kisses. “Thanks for loving me,” she said simply, “even though…even though.” It occurred to her that she was very lucky to be part of a pack, but more than that, she was very lucky that her pack just happened to be her family.

“I feel better now,” she lied, conveniently forgetting her earlier self-correction to be honest. “I’ll be quiet and learn. Promise.”

I am cold as I write this post, actually, lulz... all the more to get into character for all of yours' sakes, alone, of course.  :P  ...Probably going to be slow and playing catch-up for some time yet though, if not ending up PPCing outright, jfyi if any of y'all didn't already know, urf. >.<

Owen's paw drooped as he sat there bewilderedly listening to Kite's words. He made another inarticulate noise in his throat, of inchoate sympathy this time as he sat shivering there indecisively for a moment before scooting one large step closer to Kite. He couldn't think of any good words right now, here, but he could at least offer her a spot of less-articulate physical sympathy.

Owen was stopped in his muddy tracks however by the more decisive swooping in of Phoebe, who brushed aside his and Eljay's fumbling words like a regal duchess sweeping down a narrow hall and hardly noticing the inept peasants she tumbled out of her way in the process. "You shouldn't say that," she told Kite more authoritatively, and Owen nodded fervently along like a mindlessly bobbing bird on a branch. He was a little annoyed that Phoebe had stolen the show here, in truth, but at the same time more relieved than irked, since she at least seemed to have a really good idea of something more certain to say to Kite. Owen glanced back over his shoulder to check on the positioning of Vasa as she too scooted in closer (actually paying attention for a moment—for a change!), then quickly snapped his eyes back toward Phoebe. Even as he hunched there shaking and looking to her for direction, however, she looked over at Eljay and passed along the baton of speech.

Owen's brow furrowed as he scooted another half a step closer to Kite while listening to the puppysitter. All this pack togetherness talk sounded fine and fancy, but really Owen wasn't sure how that could quite manage to work. He'd thought he'd managed to get pretty good at helping his sister Kite along...when he felt like it, and saw she needed help anyway...but she'd managed to slip away from all of them today pretty good and almost jump into the lake—which Owen could imagine would only have been as bad or worse a chilly shock than he was experiencing, for spindly already-shaky Kite. And did this pack strengths thing mean that given Eljay's admission of weaknesses they all had to now become experts in not just ptero but also fighting, or perhaps split up those tasks among themselves, as the dutiful next generation? I-i-it's okay, Kite; o-of course w'— he began, but then his philosophical maunderings were rudely interrupted by a sly pink Kite-tongue that jittered itself closer and swept across his face.

Yipes, s-s-sisterkisses! yelped Owen as he jerked in surprise and some dismay—gosh, Kite, didn't she know those things carried cooties?! Owen couldn't have been too put out though because a minute later he thought to use his big muddy paws to retaliate—but Kite was too quick for him, and had already eeled out of the way and bobbled over to Phoebe to offer her the same treatement. Owen gave his paw a mighty flick anyway, to launch a big glob of the world's coldest mud at Kite, but his aim was pretty terrible and it angled much closer to Phoebe instead. Whoops! Er—maybe she somehow magically wouldn't notice? Owen himself jitterbugged with alacrity over toward Eljay's furry side instead, where more heat radiated anyhow and maybe he'd be safe, or at least safer from any impending sisterwrath (a phenomenon proven just as dangerous, if not quite as gross and girly, as sistercooties). He hadn't quite gotten there when another thought occurred to him and had him snap his neck back to stare at Eljay with an air of unjust accusation even as Owen hitched his butt a little closer to the elder wolf. H-h-hey wait, i-if we're a-a-all good at all d-diff'ren' things, t-t-then don't w'need s-s-separate teachers'n's-s-stuff too? He thought there was probably a better way to be asking about this, but he felt like brainfreeze was becoming a near-literal thing right at the moment, and his impetuous question's urgency was quickly overtaken by other, more immediate physical needs of his body. I'm s-s-s-so cold, he said, with his so-often-heard wheedling whine creeping back into his voice. And if Eljay wasn't going to warm him up enough maybe Owen would snag himself a Kite-shaped blanket, in a moment...which, well, might also act as something of a puppy-shaped shield, he thought as he glanced back with a bit of wildness in his eyes to see how offended Phoebe had been by that whole globby mudlobbing escapade. Had he slipped away quick and quiet enough; would she know it was him? (It was a little dumb to even think she might not figure out who had sent that little "gift" her way, really, given that only one of them had fallen into the lake after all and Owen was not nearly as stealthy as he hoped, but once again it also wasn't like he was really thinking all that straight right at the moment.) He really hoped that Kite had stuck close enough that a speedily and desperately outstretched paw of his might snag her readily and whoosh her in closer well before any Phoebe retaliations hit him, or before Vasa jumped in to support her sisters for that matter, but—well, it remained to be seen.

Posting since Phoebe's on ppc again. No problem Bryn, that is totally understandable! <3 <3

It was heart-wrenching, what Kite said. Eljay found it hard to believe that someone so perfect and tiny and, well, perfect could think that way about themselves. He had known his own siblings as confident creatures; some a little softer, some a little more abrasive, but never insecure. Peregrine and Fox' children even moreso. This was something entirely new to Eljay, who, despite not being very confident himself, found it very hard to grasp and understand why someone would feel that way. He was glad that Kite spoke up for herself and honestly said that she was sorry for running away and yelling.

As Kite came over to collect a hug, Eljay briefly put a paw on her back in a soothing gesture. He pressed his nose against her head and softly licked the top of her head. It made him feel proud and happy that Kite managed to overcome the bad feelings in such a mature way -- he'd seen and helped many pups grow up but as he aged, this year it was different; as if he was no longer just a big brother type of wolf but felt a tiny bit like a father to them, too, as he helped them grow into themselves. Eljay proudly watched as Kite made the rounds; with Owen, even now, yucking out about receiving affection from his sister. Before Eljay could say something about this however, he noticed how much Owen was shaking and shivering.

Owen's question was a valid one, and Eljay went about answering it halfway through: "Yeah, it's good to have different teachers if you wanna learn something specifically." He was going to add that the pups should look at who they'd like at a teacher, or at least what they wanted to learn, themselves, but that's when he noticed Owen's shivering was getting out of hand.

"Let's go somewhere warmer," Eljay suggested. "Moving will make you a little warmer and then we can all snuggle up somewhere together. Doesn't that sound nice?" If needed, Eljay would further warm the pups up right here, but he thought it more productive to get out from the cold instead. Then he could help them warm up somewhere where they wouldn't get all wet and cold again right away.

Normally, Kite would’ve laughed at her brother’s obvious discomfort with her barrage of PDA, but she just wasn’t up to it right now. A tiny smile still danced upon her lips, but she was mercurial in her avoidance and shifted away from him before he could pelt her with mud. She remained quiet and subdued when Owen asked a rather important question, and somehow, Eljay’s answer managed to make her feel worse. She didn’t know what she wanted to learn, but she felt rather pessimistically that she was going to have to settle for something that she wasn’t all that excited about.

Worry for Owen made her cross; she was a “tough love” kind of girl, not nearly as nurturing as her mother. A frustrated little whine churned in her throat as she skittered closer to him and pressed her jittering body against his, bubbling and brewing like a fuzzy hot water bottle. “Stop shaking, Owen,” she commanded him nonsensically, but though her voice came out sulky, her tangerine eyes were full of concern and her brow was furrowed in a squinched up pout. She wasn’t going to cry — she wasn’t a baby! — but if he didn’t get warm and stop that shaking soon…

“Eljay,” she wheedled softly, looking up at him with round, worried eyes. “Did I break Owen? Is he gonna…is he gonna end up like me?”

It was really weird in its way that Eljay was sitting here readily admitting that the pups might need other teachers, other supervisors besides himself. It was weird to begin with that he would admit to not knowing everything! In Owen's experience, most adults tended to do just the opposite: they'd blather endlessly on and lord it over the younger generation how much smarter and better and wiser they were and that therefore puppies ought to do and believe everything exactly as that adult wished them to. Yet although it was nice of Eljay not to be operating off such a highfalutin' assumption, Owen wasn't quite sure he really wanted a different teacher, or that he was entirely ready to leave his beloved puppysitter behind. If you'd asked him that morning maybe he'd've insisted he was plenty ready to graduate, but now...? Owen's inability to do much about his suddenly-wayward sister Kite today had shaken him.

Literally, too. 'K- k- kay, he said to Eljay's suggestion of moving elsewhere and getting warmer. Warmer sounded awesome. Warmer sounded great. Right now he was pretty sure his bones were turning to ice though and that he would never ever be warm ever again. He scooted with alacrity in even closer to the puppysitter, leaning into the warmth and away from sister Phoebe's suspicious eyes over there... What mud glob? Had anyone else seen a mud glob? Why poor little shiversome Owen had no idea where such a thing might have come from, gee! (Phoebe in the meantime was pretty unconvinced and making her shadowy way around to her brother's far side, where she'd have a better line of sight on which to line up her own shot...)

'K- k- k- k- kay, he repeated himself to Kite, bobbing his head in obedient acquiescence to the smaller pup. Owen's rouged head moved rather jerkily as he tried to straighten it back up though, and so he amended this to, I'll t- t- try. Was he going to be able to stop shaking? Owen himself was getting a little concerned by how out of his control these shivers seemed to be getting, Eljay's and now Kite's gratefully shared body heat or not... This concern was not much helped as Kite herself voiced her worries to Eljay, that maybe her brother would end up with a permanent case of the uncontrollable shakies. The young boy's eyes widened in dismay at the thought. It seemed touching, almost humorous for Kite to be the one worrying about him but, well, Owen was worried about Owen now too, to be fair. What if he really wasn't able to stop the shivering? Would his body forget how to be warm if it went on too long? N- no, K- Kite, I d- d- don't think it works l- l- like th- that! Owen hastened to reassure her, but with growing panic rising in his own eyes his tremulous voice was less than convincing. Phoebe's eyes shifted from narrowed and vengeful to troubled as Owen's eyes met with hers for a moment over Kite's black back; Vasa on the other hand had come around to Eljay's other side where Owen couldn't see her, so who knew what she was thinking. Owen had seen cold puppies before, had been chilled himself previously, but never nearly this cold, he was certain... And who knew, maybe getting too cold for too long was what had happened to teeny tiny baby Kite herself once upon a time, back in that blind oh-so-long-ago murky past that none of them could quite remember just after being born! This really was a worrying notion, because Owen himself certainly didn't know of any other explanations for her difficulties that made any more sense than this. Though his imagination had always been a little too vividly creative for his own good.

Eljay frowned worriedly as Kite said that Owen should stop shaking and he said he would try. It doesn't work that way, Kite, Eljay said, his tone friendly. Let's get moving. Your... You'll feel as if you don't want to move at first, Owen, but you gotta break through that and get going or you'll get colder. Eljay nosed Owen's cheek lovingly before he got up and started to make his way back to the rendezvous site. It seemed the pups had all quieted down and weren't going to run everywhere and nowhere anymore, luckily; they too saw the seriousness of the situation.

Only as he got up and tried to coax the pups to get moving and once they were in motion headed towards the rendezvous site did Eljay realise what Kite had said about Owen's shaking. What did you mean, Kite..? he queried then; With Owen turning out like, uhm.. like you..? It was very hard for Eljay to deal with any pup insecurities because he had so many of his own and he put everyone else, even the children, on a pedestal. It was just really hard for him to imagine any of these perfect angels being anything less than, well, perfect. No matter what happened.

Kite fell silent as Owen and Eljay attempted to assuage her fears, though her expression remained tight and drawn. It wasn’t until they reached safety and warmth that a sigh gusted from her mouth and she looked mournfully up at the green-eyed Blackthorn, carefully counting each freckle. “I just…” she mumbled reluctantly, trailing off. She really wasn’t trying to be a downer. She hadn’t felt this different from her siblings until today, and she wasn’t sure what’d brought on such negative feelings. Raven and Quixote had never treated her any differently, and if anything, the alpha pair had treated her with more tenderness due to her obvious impediment.

“If I have to be like this, then…” She shrugged, turning her muzzle to the side to brush away an imaginary piece of dust, her wibble-wobble bobblehead shaking with intention tremors. “If it’s just me, it’s okay,” she explained bravely, “but what if it’s con…con…” What was the word? “What if Owen, Vasa, or Phoebe catch it from me? Like being sick.”

Owen was feeling more and more miserable as he sat there shaking, but obediently though with drooped head got up on his feet and started moving again along with his sibs and Eljay. It did help...a little. Owen took a deep breath though and tried to reassure himself that Eljay too had said it didn't work like that, just as Owen himself had said although the younger boy thought the puppysitter more experienced and worldly and therefore rightly more confident in voicing such an opinion. Except that then a few minutes later Owen's ears pricked alertly as they heard Eljay asking Kite just what she'd meant, anyway... which meant that Owen couldn't trust that the puppysitter had known what he was talking about just before, after all. Crap! Really?! Owen's heart fluttered in his chest again with the revived wish to panic. ...On the plus side, this newly refound fear did warm him up a little more as it got his blood pumping.

What helped most though was when they all piled under the familiar overhang, out of the weather where their environment was less snowy and cold and all of them could huddle in a heap not too far away from walls of dirt and stone. Owen distracted himself again for a bit in busying himself making the warmest possible little nest in the far corner away from the open entry. It took him a second to remember the word Kite meant, anyway. Yeah, what if it is contagious? he blurted, turning big scared eyes on their sitter. Have you ever seen another pup who had Kite's shakies? Owen's eyes widened further, as his mind invented an even bigger potential disaster—Or even a grownup!

His heart was definitely pounding now, as he jerkily kicked an errant twig out of his way and curled gratefully up with his brethren. They seemed so deliciously warm and dry compared to him...Owen hesitated for a bit, but cuddled up close to Kite as well as Eljay, deeply hoping that his shivering form was going to reassure Kite more than it'd further scare her. And he did feel like his shaking was diminishing now, if still more slowly than he'd like. I'm glad you didn't fall in, he whispered to Kite with a nervous little hiccup of a giggle. Or else you'd be extra-super-duper shaky right now, wouldn't you! His concern for his smallest sister did not however extend itself so far that he wouldn't make sure she stayed firmly sandwiched in-between him and his other sisters as he tucked himself in. Especially Phoebe—Pheebs might have gotten distracted for right now and be chewing absentmindedly on Vasa's ear instead, but eventually she was bound to remember that mud glob again.

Eljay didn't really think that there was anything amiss with Kite, but then again, as if they were his own children Eljay's words were perfect in his eyes. Whatever small deficits they had weren't really bugs in the system. They were features!

Luckily they reached the rendezvous site soon and Eljay found them a snug place where they were out of the wind. He positioned himself so that he could be warm for Owen and instructed Kite so that she too could lay comfortably on Owen's other side. The others piled up as well, making sure that Owen was no longer shaking and cold.

When Kite tried to pronounce contagious and then asked if the others could catch it, Eljay's heart broke a little again. He frowned, looking a lot like he was frantically trying to keep stuff together but also didn't really know what he was doing. Of course it's not contagious, he said quickly. It didn't help for his panic that Owen chimed in, als worrying that he might catch Kite's tremors. I think that it's... That everything that makes you Kite is part of what makes you Kite. You were probably just too perfect, so they -- whoever made you thought they should add something just to make sure you didn't get too arrogant about it. Eljay nuzzled Kite's face lovingly. I don't know why you are the way you are, I mean, why... He trailed off, finding it hard to directly address the tremors in a positive way. But they're not contagious, 'cause they make you you. It's something that belongs to you, not anyone else. He just hoped that his message would come across, and mostly that its positive implications would. Eljay wasn't the best at pep talks, but he hoped his intentions shone through.

Being in a place that smelled and felt so familiar was immensely comforting — enough that Kite managed a smile for her apple-eyed brother. “Maybe if I fell in, I’d be extra-super-duper still,” she quipped, poking out her tongue and attempting to cross her eyes at him to make him laugh. She did feel better, though she’d probably need a couple of days to really process her condition and what it meant. She’d have to adjust, just like Towhee had — and if her aunt could do it, so could she. She could still find a way to help the pack and be a good Redhawk.

She watched Eljay curiously, and when she looked at him, she didn’t see the anxiety or the uncertainty or the panic. She saw a perfect creature — who really did have the loveliest freckles! — and when he nuzzled lovingly at her face, something flip-flopped within her breast and made her feel shy. Slightly stunned, she hastened to lean forward and bathe his chin in kisses. “Th-Thanks, Eljay,” she said softly, utterly flummoxed, wondering what they’d added to him to make him less perfect. If there was any flaw in the green-eyed male, she couldn’t see it, but she didn’t say so.

Owen managed a moment of stillness at last along with his wide-eyed surprise for his sister's vivid suggestion. An incredulous laugh that only stuttered a little with his more-fitful shivers broke the spell, though, as Kite pulled the most awful silly expressions. H-hey, didn't Momma always tell you not to pull faces like that, just in case your face's 'spression got stuck that way?! he teased back. Just imagine, it almost actually happened today! Better not tell Raven.

In all seriousness, though, the scenario didn't seem that implausible to Owen. He was too distracted by the notion in fact to take any note of the extra-doe-eyed looks Kite was now giving Eljay. An ice statue Kite, he murmured to himself instead, marveling even as he scared himself just a little with the notion. He didn't know what really would have happened to his sister had she gone tumbling into the water, of course—and he was glad they didn't have to find out the hard way!—but surely it would have been nothing good. His sister's quite dramatic imagery stuck in his imagination, though. Owen shivered, less out of physical cold finally and more out of the small chill that went down his spine. Just imagine what the pond monster woulda thought of that, if Ice Kite went sinking down into its lair!

The thought of Kite becoming super still from falling in was kind of funny. He almost went on to say that that wasn't how it worked, but then decided against it. It didn't really matter. Eljay chuckled as the pups bantered among each other a bit (and okay, a little bit at Kite's funny face). He was relieved to have gathered them all in a safe place again; it had been quite a scare, not just for the pups, but for him too. Eljay realised he was growing tired and stifled a yawn just as Kite thanked him.

Eljay smiled at the heart-felt thank-you and he nuzzled Kite's cheek lovingly. He leaned down his head to rest it on his paws, happy to be in a pile of cosy pups who were totally safe again.

Apologies for the wait!

“If my face got stuck that way, you’d still love me,” Kite said without missing a beat, secure in her family’s love for her even when she wasn’t at all confident about her life’s trajectory. She coiled herself around Owen a little tighter, just to make extra sure he wasn’t going to freeze to death. “I bet the pond monster would fear me,” she added. “I’d tell’im that Redhawks and Blackthorns are — ” Her slim jaws cracked wide with a sudden yawn. “ — arm den dangerous.” Whatever that was. She’d heard it somewhere around, but she didn’t exactly know what it meant — just that someone “arm den dangerous” was tough, and not to be messed with. That sounded like her family, all right.

Smiling smugly, she lowered her muzzle to her paws, her breathing starting to even out and steady as the excitement of the day began to catch up with her.

<3
*also starts yawning as she types this post...*  Last post from me for this thread though, I think.

Of course! said Owen—like there was any doubt he'd ever stop loving his silly little sister, stuck-faced or not. He gave her an affectionate jab with his nose to gratefully acknowledge as she squooshed her form all the more tightly around his. (Besides, this way she made all the better a fuzzy shield between him and his other sisters...whom Owen still suspected may be plotting some sort of nefarious prank or revenge. He was safe enough for now, though, surely, with little Kite right here and Eljay hovering protectively behind...) And, 'Arm den dangerous' indeed, he agreed readily, though exactly what that saying was supposed to mean mystified him somewhat as well. He wasn't about to back down on his staunch support of Kite now, though, especially when she was being so kind and supportive of him in return. Well, that and he didn't want to irritate his fuzzy hot water bottle into leaving his side, admittedly. Bet you'd scare any ol' pond monster making stuck faces like that, though, yeah, he added with a grin and a gentler nudge.

Her and Eljay's yawns were contagious, though, and Owen had to stifle one of his own shortly after. It had been a long and trying day for all of them, really, and now that his shivers had died down to near-nothing, exhaustion came to the fore for the brother as well. Owen glanced at the rise and fall of Kite's ribcage, and then scrunched himself determinedly closer to Eljay as well, practically burrowing into the sitter's larger and fluffier side in an attempt to steal as much warmth as possible. (He was still cold, even if he wasn't quivering anymore, after all, so Owen felt pretty entitled to it.) Phoebe and Vasa would have to make their own accommodations; Owen was resolutely not going to move for anything or anyone else. Than's Eljay, he mumbled in belated agreement. His limbs grew heavier and heavier as his eyelids started to droop. He fumblingly reached out a tired paw to cuddle Kite in a smidge closer to himself too and was soon lightly snoring in blissful contentment.

also my last! i loved this thread <3

The chatting of the pups moved to the background for Eljay, who didn't participate in their last exchanges as much; he just nodded his head, smiling softly as he listened vaguely to what they were saying, his eyelids feeling heavy. As he heard his name he lifted his head and looked at Owen, smiling softly. I'll always be there for you, he then promised and he lay his head down on his paws again, ready to drift off to sleep now after a long and exciting day.