Wheeling Gull Isle love isn't lying; it's loose in a lady who lingers

Now that @Blueberry had been alive nearly a moon, and the other pups seemed to be thriving as well, Maegi thought it was perhaps time to give them all some space. The weather had grown warmer, and she'd shifted them mostly outside—save the coldest nights, where she kept them close and didn't sleep, plagued with visions of Sobek's chilly lifeless body.

Today, the five of them were in the clearing just outside the den, the leaves above dappling their pelts in intermittent sunlight and shadow. She sagged gratefully into the dirt, laying half on her side, ready to use her long limbs as a scoop to bring back any wayward child.

It didn't take long. @Peregrine, she snapped, catching a glimpse of his questing nose just inches from a bramble bush. Maegi grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him away; he squealed, indignant, but quickly forgot about the transgression as he found a new quest in playing tug-o-war with @Prevost and a weather-worn stick.

Rolling her eyes, she glanced toward the other two, Blue and @Vesper, wondering what mischief they'd get themselves into. 

It had been so much easier when they were senseless and practically immobile.

perhaps because she was the firstborn, vesper had grown into the dominant role amongst her siblings— not that her littermates were docile by any means, but they generally deferred to her when she made her will known. she was fiercely protective of her sister, smaller and less coordinated than the rest of them; she tolerated no bullying or rough-housing of blueberry. vesper herself was smaller than both peregrine and prevost, but she was unafraid to scrap with them and play-fought with a calm determination.

bwube'ee she chirped at her sister, the others distracted by a game of tugging. her vocabulary was growing steadily, and the ability to communicate with mother had given the child a palpable self-assuredness. c'mere, she encouraged, having pranced away to put some distance between them.

a game of chase, at first glance, but in vesper's mind she imagined she was helping her sister practice so that her coordination might catch up to the rest of them. as they continued to age, the gap in their development would decrease naturally, but vesper didn't yet grasp that blueberry was a month younger and doing just fine for her age.

She had been wrong about Venninne. The name, anyway. It didn't fit. The girl was brave and strong, sure, but she was also a chatterbox—something the erstwhile guardian of the isle most definitely had not been. Maegi was lost for a while, pondering. It was only when she had woken from a dream, a word on her lips, and found herself blinking awake and looking right at the eldest pup.

Vesper. And so it was.

Maegi's face split in a grin as she watched Vesper show her little sister around; she was grateful for the girl's caution, given how much smaller Blue was compared to the others. It reminded her of the role Vaati had played in the earliest days of her life—protecting her, teaching her. Caring for her when so few did not.

It was good to have a big brother. . .or, in this case, a big sister. Still, she carefully watched their play, taking note of any discomfort or fear on the littlest child's part.

c'mon, she encouraged again, tail wagging and body shaking with joy as her young sister clumsily closed the distance between them. vesper didn't yet have the emotional intelligence to read her sister's body language, so whether or not blueberry was frustrated or enjoying the game was lost on her; the pale girl was playing it, and that was what mattered.

either way, vesper licked her sister's cheeks affectionately when she reached her, and then leapt away to start the game over again.

I know this is pretty old — @Vesper we can close this out if you want to focus on newer development!

She rolled onto her side, enjoying the sun-warmed earth, and the way the ground eased the stiffness in her muscles. She still carried some baby-weight; it sagged on her thin frame, and pulled at her spine and joints. Most days were spent in constant, dull aching—and the pups' increasingly rowdy play didn't help matters.

Maegi was content to watch her children, giving one or the other a jaundiced eye when they wandered too far afield. But for the most part, they were obedient, and she was afforded a moment's rest. As hard as it was to mother a growing litter of four, she wouldn't have it any other way.

last post!

vesper continued to play with blueberry for a time, and then the four of them began a rambunctious game of tag. when it was blueberry's turn to be it, the dark child leveled a pointed look at her brother and sister, and the oldest three went easy on their pale sister— not so easy that she would suspect, but not as fast as they naturally would so she didn't get discouraged. after several rounds between them, they collapsed in a puppy-pile next to their mother and the family took a long nap in the sun.