Redtail Rise landor's cottage

shortly after her business with Augur, she travels to the woman's whelping den, where she knows two pups have been born.

but she's heard of the new mother's hunting prowess. and with their numbers few, it is time for an official reckoning.

Avicus pulls just shy of the den and calls for @Sunday Morning.

her audience is meant for the woman alone, but she is curious about the newborns on the Rise. she hasn't seen them yet; she's kept her distance. god knows how protective new parents are. but enough time has passed. . .

she wishes to see her future warriors, too.

also @Thursday Evening and @Thursdays Dawn are welcome!

Soon, her cubs would be a month old. And soon, she would once again be able to leave them to rejoin in the hunt. It was her own area of expertise, though she did not mind looking after her cubs. She understood it as a necessary part of life, and was satisfied with all that was. Her cubs had begun to eat regurgitated meat, and soon would eat only this. They had only just over a week left of consuming mothers milk; for their teeth had been growing, and her teats smarted. 

She hears the sound of anothers approach. It is not the familiar tread of her man, but it is not an entirely unfamiliar sound either. Beyond Mountain Boulder, others now and then dropped meat nearby; it was him who bridged the gap. Red Woman had brought things, too, when able. But then and there, Red Woman was alone.

As the woman had helped to provide, Sunday Morning did not think the other here for any reason that meant harm. And so Sunday Morning received her happily as she emerged from the mouth of the den. But instinct was something she could not entirely beat away, and she did not go too far from the mouth of the den without Mountain Boulder then present. She trusted Red Woman and the rest, but her children were finding their legs and might be inclined to test them out for their own run.

They would be hunters someday, but first they must live long enough to become such. Sunday Morning chuffed a warm hello, tail swinging left and right in happy greeting.

it's only the woman. she should have expected as much.

how are 'hhey? she asks, nodding toward the den. perhaps they'd come out to play, to see what the noise was. for now, she's patient.

and once she's asked that—knowing the woman is wordless—Avicus returns to her main thought. you are hunh'er. and have hunh'edh here. 

she gives the mother a deep, respectful nod. 'Hhclawan, the Wealda names her. hunter. she's proven herself worthy. hunh'er.

She suspected Mountain Boulder was hunting, but it was clear Red Woman was here for her. Sunday Morning liked Red Woman and was glad to see her there. Red Woman gestures to where her cubs rest; she did not doubt that sooner rather than later, one would rouse upon feeling the chill without her there and investigate. Her gaze searched for any one of their faces, but her ears could hear the chorus of their soft and slow breathing. Still asleep, for now.

Sunday would embrace the quiet for as long as she could. Their energy grew, as did their penchant for adventure. Several seconds or long minutes would do her well. But looking to the den, her tail wagged as Red Woman posed her question. It was something of an answer, even if Sunday did not understand it as much; they brought her joy, and they were growing strong.

The pale once-Blod turns her head back to Red Woman as she speaks more. There is not much that Sunday Morning does understand, but her ears perked to hear Red Woman trip over a word that did sound so close to one of them. Hunt. Her head tilted at the first mention of it, and shifted the other way at the other derivative of it used. By the final time, Sunday Morning felt that was what Red Woman spoke of.

The deep and respectful nod is answered with the lowering of her own head. She darted toward Red Woman long enough to supply grateful and submissive kisses both to the others chin. Sunday Morning moved to press against her leader for a beat with her head before darting nearer to the whelping den once more.

Sunday Morning rumbled contentedly toward the woman. She knew that when she could rejoin the hunt, she would run and hunt with and for Red Woman.

can be a cameo! <3

though thursday evening has begun to enter the stage of development ( unbeknownst to him ) where he would begin to pick up on words, with both of his parents being non-verbal he mimics the sounds they do make; miming their gestures like a small mirror.

they, both, are incredibly fascinating to him. they are not stuck in the cycle of growth as he and thursday's dawn and thus captivate his attention much of the time.

exception being when he play wrestles with his sister; seeking to be the most dominate. he is not always successful but it is a fierce and bonedeep instinct that drives him all the same.

at first, he lingers back when a woman with the pelage of the cardinal feathers augur brought to the den; at least one of which coveted by thursday evening with an unyielding possessiveness.

boldness soon marries his curiosity and he approaches after a few beats, weaving betwixt his mother's front legs.

There was noise, and movement. Her mother left the den, and Thursdays Dawn heard the rumble of a voice. Curiosity pulled her from the confines of the den, and she came to stand close to her brother and mother, puppy blue eyes gazing up at the red woman before her.

Cameo for now!

she can't help but grin at the small, pale forms that reveal themselves. what else could they be? both Augur and the woman are the color of fresh-driven snow. she does not move to touch either of them, though, merely giving them a brief nod before returning her gaze to their mother's.

she blinks softly, smiling at the woman. being a mother herself has softened her, somewhat. she sees potential in the young ones, and doesn't know how to verbally express her hope that they will become all that the Rise was founded upon.

instead, Avicus moves forward and touches her nose to the hunter's forehead, then pulls back. a benediction, if you will.