Bearclaw Valley fix you

last post in BCV, shortly before their departure :) @Scarlett maybe so he can see the pups before leaving? :3

Bearclaw Valley was different from Blackfeather Woods. Cicero had looked through the surrounding territories, but he had also spent enough time to look through Bearclaw Valley. Scarlett was rather busy and with Raziel in charge, Cicero was sure they would head home soon. It was time. They had stayed here a good while, and Potema and Damien seemed to be getting tired of this place.

Cicero did not care much. He did not care for Blackfeather Woods nor Bearclaw Valley, but was interested in how different they were nevertheless. Presently, the adolescent was gathering some herbs that he could possibly bring home to Blackfeather Woods. There were a few that did not grow well in Blackfeather Woods' darkness but were abundantly present in Bearclaw Valley. For a moment longer, the dark youth enjoyed the sun shining on his patchwork back while he searched around the valley, looking for the good stuff.

It had been terrible. Damien's expectatives for his stay in Bearclaw Valley had been all but fulfilled. Both Kove and Scarlett were too busy with their new litter to pay the minimum attention to their guests, and on top of that, the Beta, who was now Alpha had been a pain in the ass since day one. It was disappointing to see that Kove had been overruled by his subordinate, and that now the pack was in hands of a non-dark-brother, which put their ties at risk. This journey had not only been a vacation for Damien and his siblings, it had been a mission to reinforce the bond between the two packs, and it had failed big time.

The little time he'd had to talk to ove had been surprisingly dissapointing. He'd enjoyed it for a brief moment, but then he'd understood that he was nothing compared to the attention he needed to put on his young, and just to top it off, Damien hadn't even had a chance to see the damn things! Not even the bear had been around to spar, not even once.

Damien was grunting as he walked about the valley. He knew that Cicero was overjoyed with excitement for how different the place was to Blackfeather Woods, but he differed. The difference made it annoying, too colorful, too loud. And Potema, she hadn't even been around at all. She was surprisingly sneaky and he'd only seen her a few times in a month here. But there was Cicero. Gathering herbs to take back home.

"What you got there?" he asked as he approached. "Is it poisonous?" he inquired. Poisonous plants were the only thing that seemed to interest the dark pup about herbs, and he seriously hoped his brother was looking for ways to knock Grimnir or Raziel out.

Definitely!

Scarlett felt bad for leaving the BFW youngsters to their own devices. But she couldn't leave her babies... Now their eyes were opening and Scarlett had to pay even more attention to them. Luckily for her Kove was currently babysitting. Scarlett went to stretch her legs and go for a drink. As she was taking a small break she scented their guest. Instantly she felt horrible. They obviously wanted to see the babies, or well talk with him. Scarlett howled for them, to locate if they were close. Luckily for her they were.

She trotted to them, feeling weird without the extra weight. She still had some weight but she wasn't as bloated as she was two weeks ago. "Cicero! Damien!," she greeted when she found them. "Thank you for the squirrel! It was great. Are you ready to see the babies now?," She asked. Scarlett was a bit nervous though, she didn't want anything to happen to her little balls of fur.

Cicero felt little for Kove. He remembered that Kove had once been a part of his life, but in his time in Bearclaw Valley the male had not really sought him out, and Cicero had not sought Kove out. He decided that it would be okay that way, as the sentiment seemed mutual. Perhaps fate would put them on each other's paths again some day. It was almost time for them to go home now, so Cicero did not think that fate would choose this particular visit.

When he heard Damien approach, Cicero greeted his brother with an affectionate, rough nibble on the shoulder. Damien then asked him about the plants he was gathering. "No," Cicero said. "They are for wounds. Good herbs grow better in light places, some of them, so I wanted to bring some home." It wasn't like they were able to kill Grimnir here, anyway; Besides, even though a construction would be possible, Cicero preferred not to carry any poisonous herbs home, lest he or his siblings might get poisoned.

Scarlett soon joined them. She looked much different now that she had had her pups. Cicero nodded in greeting. She asked if they were ready to see the pups, and Cicero nodded in silent agreement. He smiled to indicate that he was glad they would see them before their departure.

Is it too late to join?

Potema had a big haul, but not unreasonably so. Her mouth clamped tightly around more than two bundles of herbs that the apprentice had wrapped up for her mother's stores, and her chin tucked close to her chest, holding a few more. In this awkward position, the princess scrambled to Scarlett's call, waddling uncertainly towards her brothers and depositing a few herbs next to Cicero's stores. She nudged both her brothers affectionately afterward 

Fashionably late, she heard Scarlett's offer to see the pups she had borne a few weeks prior. She looked the female over, noting with interest the remarkable difference in her size. She had looked like a balloon before. But now she had slimmed down to what Potema thought was her original size. However, her mother had told her about gaining weight during pregnancy, so there was a chance that Scarlett had done just that. "Of course! If you'll allow us."

The answer spoken by Cicero wasn't as pleasing as Damien expected. But he still was expecting something similar. He knew that his brother was serious about healing, he'd even earned his trade already, so picking up "good herbs" was always on his list.

"Alright." he said "But I'm pretty sure poisons grow in light places too..." he suggested. That was his interest, an he was not good at herbs. He needed his brother for this and he needed him to be committed. It wasn't like they were going to make a fox barf, they were going to kill a pack-mate.

When Potema arrived, Damien shut his mouth like he'd said something terrible about her. Hopefully, she hadn't noticed, but Damien stil didn't want his sister to know about his plan. Grimnir had been her attacker, whether she remembered or not, and the dark pup was going to avenge his sister. He rolled his eyes when she deposited even more herbs along with Cicero's, but still took her nudge and returned it in afection.

When Scarlett came into the scene Damien immediately noticed the difference in her shape. She was not as rounded as that time when they'd arrived. She offered to see the pups, and surprised, Damien nodded, that had been one of his goals when he came to this place. Finally!

You can always join!

Scarlett was pleased to see how happy or well, intrigued the youngsters looked. "Okay lets go to my den then," she smiled, though there was a hint of nerves going through her. The female trotted to her home. Her babies were with their father but Scarlett had still missed them. Maybe it would be good for the youngsters to see a bit of the outside. "Wait here," she spoke before going inside the den. She grabbed @Nanook first, placed her in front of Damien, Potema and Cicero. To do the same for @Desna, @Sesi and @Xan. She looked proudly as Scarlett sat by her babies. She was very attentive that they wouldn't crawl under the bushes or something. She wanted to keep an eye on them.

"They go from light to dark and their names are Xan, Sesi, Nanook and Desna," She smiled and nosed over her squeaky little balls of fur. They were more adorable each day. Scarlett laid down, curling around them figuring that they must be hungry. It would also distract them from exploring too much, she knew the girls really liked to explore a lot. Desna liked high places and Nanook and Sesi probably had explored every inch of the den already.

Desna was crawling around the den, at one time she had to climb over one of her siblings but that was okay. It would make her climbing skills better and she had to go that way, she couldn't go around her sibling. Though before she reached her destiny her mommy returned. Her tail wiggled excitedly because she wanted some nice milk. Though instead she was grabbed. Her dark little eyes looked around being so confused. Desna squeaked when there was so much light! So many noises! So many scents to smell. The bossy girl demanded to put back instantly! Her mother placed her by her siblings and Desna curled against them, since that was the only thing that she new. Once her mother laid down with them Desna scrambled her way to her mother.

The plump pup eagerly started drinking. Her charcoal fur shining in the sun. She drank eagerly, being soothed by the warm milk and her mother's strong scent. Otherwise it would be rather overwhelming all those noises and sounds. After she was full Desna started her climb on Mt. Mommy and snuggled in her fur. She might be bossy and liked to explore but now the dark girl just wanted to be close to her mommy. It was then that she saw those other big wolfs. They were like her mommy! She let out a whine because the light one had a scary eye. A hiccup and another cry came from the fat pup. A cry for her mother to tell it was okay. The dark one also looked really scary. Then the girl let out a gurgle, wanting them away. Now! Mommy was theirs!

Cicero was about to tell Damien to leave the poisoning to the herbalists, but he noticed the startled expression on his brother's face when Potema arrived and kept his mouth shut. Instead, Cicero focussed on looking forward; towards their meet-up with Scarlett's children.

What with how excited she seemed at the prospect of showing her pups to the Melonii children, Cicero had thought she would've shown them earlier. They happened to be near Scarlett's den and it was easy for her to bring out the pups.

Cicero knew little of how to handle pups, and so he just stared at them in silence while he contemplated the miracle of how he had ever been that tiny.

Potema noticed both her brothers' reactions to her arrival. They were talking about something they did not want her to hear, from Damien's jaws snapping shut. Her eyebrows raised questioningly, but she kept silent. That, they could talk about later. For now, they had something more important to look at. 

She did not know what to expect with newborn pups. What they would look like, what they would do. Scarlett brought them out one by one, Potema's curiosity rising with each new bundle. They didn't even look like wolves. More like pieces of shed hair with legs and a face. And they were chubby. Had they been so fat and fluffy before? She tried to imagine Damien like that and nearly laughed.

One of the pups climbed up on Scarlett's side, mouth smeared the milk it had kneaded out of its mother's side. It looked at them, and made strange, gurgling in what she thought was an attempt at a bark. She smirked, moving forward to sniff the little fat bundle. "What's her name?"

Sorry for holding this up guys!
I think @Nanook and @Sesi have been adopted? You guys should join this thread too :D

Hopefully, Potema had not heard Damien speaking about the poisons, but he decided not to find out just yet. He just kept his mouth shut and concentrated on the pups. Scarlett led them not so far away to her den and one by one she brought the pups out of the hole. They looked... Weird. Mother had described how a pup looked, but Damien had imagined that they would look more like -well, wolves...

From stark white to charcoal black, each one of them was of a different tone, but all of them strictly inside the greyscale. They were fat bundles of fur, and if it wasnt for the paws and the eyes they would have seemed more like potatoes than wolves. Damien decided that they were funny, but it never crossed his mind that he was once as rounded as Desna. No. That wasn't possible.

"Do their names have a meaning?" he asked. Theirs did. Cicero had been named after a known member of the brotherhood and his middle name, Sheogorath, was the name of the Daedric Prince of madness. Potema had been a wolf queen, and Vaermina was the Daedric Prince of dreams and nightmares. And as for Damien, his name meant "the son of darkness", and his middle name, Mehrunes, had been chosen after the Daedric Prince of Mayhem and destruction, Mehrunes Dagon.

Scarlett chuckled at how Desna reacted she was really true to her name. A soft hum came from her lips. She sat by her pups, just being able to see and then meeting all these other wolves were something that would be quite something for her little ones. She would make sure they could always go hide by her if they didn't feel safe. "Yes. The dark one is named Desna, it is Inuit for Boss. She is a bit bossy actually," she chuckled. "And we have Nanook meaning cute or kind, also Inuit. Sesi means snow. And then we have Alexander which means 'to defend'," she hummed. "We figured that was fitting since he has three sisters," she explained.

Scarlett looked so proud when she saw her little ones. They were all healthy, so far she could check. They were active and were starting to develop their own personalities. They were adorable. She loved them a lot. She was curious how Desna would interact with the others. She was usually the first with everything while she was born last. Funny how things went.

Desna was laying on her tummy. She was only two weeks so she could only crawl really. When the white one came closer she let out a cry. She had the scary eye! Or well, not two normal ones like everyone else. She let out a squeak because she had to protect her milk bar! These big ones couldn't take away her spot! She opened her mouth which was only pink with gums. She didn't even have teeth yet. She moved them together. Not that it looked very ferocious. She wondered where her other sisters were. They were usually exploring too!!

The dark pup crawled back to her mother, knowing her scent by heart, she didn't even need to see where she was, plus her warm voice that was speaking guided her right home. Only the two week old pup didn't move that fast. She let out a whine for her mother, which was instantly reacted to as she saw her mother grab her and place her by her paws. Desna placed her head on one of them. Her mommy.

Cicero stared at the pups and he listened while his siblings asked questions. Scarlett went on to explain their names thereafter, and Cicero continued to observe in silence, watching them. They were so little, and looked barely conscious of the world around them. How fragile and small. How innocent. It was intriguing how all wolves were this small and innocent at one point. Even he.

"They are nice," Cicero said with a smile, although mostly out of etiquette and not because he thought they were very nice. They were small and useless so far. He did not tell her that, though, did not let it show. For all she needed to know, he thought they were nice.

The inquisitive girl was not intimidated by what she thought was the pup's way of defense (I mean, who would?). Instead she giggled in a girlish manner, something she did very rarely. It mostly had something to do with her imagining the pup in a darker coat with white eyes.

"She reminds me of you, Damien." It was true. The resemblance was uncanny. Damien was a very bossy pup, both back then and now. She could see him doing this to someone who had dared disturbed his meal.

The meanings, although respectable, seemed a bit hollow to Damien. He decided he wouldn't make a coment though, because Scarlett and Kove were indirectly part of his family, and he wouldn't hurt that bond with words. He was smarter than that.

Cicero did however make a comment, and said that the pups were "nice"... Nice? He doubted it. They were smelly and loud and too much of a problem to be nice. Damien doubted, sincerely doubted that he had ever been that useless, and those thoughts were just wiped out of his mind unconciously. He had always been a handsome wolf, mother always said it.

To Potema's comment, Damien looked at her and grinned like the douche he was. Something like this, if wolves could somehow do that, and adding a "funny..." just to make clear that he DID NOT think it was funny at all. But then, that same thought somehow became a thought of himself becoming a dark brother, and these were Kove's children.

"Will they come to Blackfeather Woods when they're ready?" he asked, "ready" meaning prepared to become recruits. If he remembered well, mother had said something about Kove's son being part of some sort of deal, and he was curious about that.

Scarlett picked Desna up when she sounded in distress. The mother licked her to comfort the girl who had been so brave already. Scarlett smiled proudly when Cicero said that they were nice. She hummed as a thank you, she loved her little babies. They were perfect! Scarlett chuckled at Potema's comment. She couldn't help it because she could totally see Damien as a fat little puppy screaming for more. Damien didn't seem to like it though, so Scarlett made sure to hide her chuckle. Her ears perked up.

"Well maybe," she smiled. "If there is room. But for now they will still be with me for most of the time," Scarlett assured. Plus BFW was a very demanded pack, she heard it had lots of members maybe there wasn't even room for her little ones. And when she was there herself she wasn't sure if she liked the dark woods to be really honest. But she wasn't telling the pups that. "I will discuss it with you mom."

Desna was glad when her mommy picked her up. She kept her head on her mother's paw and yawned. All this seeing was super exhausting but she didn't really wanted to sleep with all these big scary wolves round her. She tried to keep her eyes open but sleep was catching up to her and she couldn't help but to just pass out. She curled up against her mother's paw and just happily passed out forgetting the world around her. She was so sleepy that she was certain her super mommy would watch over her. Other than that the pup didn't have much to worry about. She had all that she wanted, which was food comfort and warmth.

Upon seeing how unamused Damien was, Cicero grinned handsomely as he added, seemingly uncharacteristic -- he did not joke that often these days -- "She is fat like Damien too." Damien then asked if they would come to Blackfeather Woods, and Cicero wondered why. For training? From what Cicero remembered, Kove had not been a strong killer of a wolf, and it was evident from his time in Bearclaw Valley that Scarlett most certainly was not either. Cicero did not care for the children the way Damien did; did not see potential in them like Damien seemed to see. He kept his mouth shut, however, his face returning to its serious former self while he allowed the rest their conversation.

With no more than a brief and respectful dip of his head, Cicero then turned around and slunk off to gather more herbs before their return to Blackfeather Woods. As quickly as others had gathered around him, he was gone again, vanished into the shadows. He would spend enough time with his brother and sister yet on their journey homebound, and he had met Scarlett's pups now, so Cicero was ready to leave.

last post :)

Last post

Potema laughed at Cicero's joke. It was rare for her second-eldest brother to crack any jokes now; to hear at least one exit his lips, regardless of its hilarity, made Potema happy. She missed the old, happy Cicero. The one who smiled and laughed all of the time. Now he was, for lack of a better word, an emo teenager, contemplative and sulky. She wondered what event made Cicero change his ways (a change in player?). Part of her hoped that he would come around before adulthood and became the happy Cicero she loved again. "He is right." She poked at Damien's stomach. "Guess you found your soulmate, Damien."

With the wolf Raziel in power in Bearclaw, Potema severely doubted that these pups would come to train in their woods anytime soon. She kept that to herself, knowing that it was up to her mother after all. Cicero disappeared into the background; he was always good at that. Knowing that he was off in search of herbs, Potema walked forward and licked Scarlett's cheek again. "Thank you," She said, turning and giving her brother a nod in farewell before following after her brother, regardless if he wanted her company at the moment. Their duty was not yet over.

Damien growled when Potema poked his belly. He wasn't fat; all of him was muscle, and he was not enjoying the joke, it was clear by the way he was looking at his siblings, like he wanted to rip their heads off. He would let them know what he thought later, when Scarlett wasn't around to witness the atrocities he would commit. And at the moment he tried to concentrate in the question he'd made to Scarlett, and the response she'd given.

Damien was not interested in the pups, like Cicero believed. He was interested in the way things were arranged with the packs, how the relationship between Blackfeather Woods and Bearclaw Valley worked. It clearly wasn't a strong bond, and Damien saw little to what was supposedly an "alliance", and his question about the pups was out of curiosity. Maybe Kove would show his loyalty by offering his own children to the brotherhood. He was certainly not showing it in any other form...

The night child sensed his brother go, and after him, Potema followed, not before licking Scarlett's chin courteously. It was time to go. Damien had no other business here, and he was actually itching to go home. He needed time alone, in real silence and darkness. This was no place for him. He wasn't as adaptable as Potema.

Damien nodded, he was not a talkative boy, and then parted to somewhere darker in Bearclaw Valley, if he was lucky enough to find it.

Scarlett giggled when they made fun of Damien, but she hid it in such a way she wasn't offending the young prince. He seemed very pained by his siblings making fun of him. That would be something if Desna ended up with Damien. Scarlett had mixed feeling about that. But over all he seemed like an accomplished young man, especially when he licked her under her chin as a goodbye. So they did have manners. They just don't respected Raziel apparently. "You are welcome!," she called out in goodbye. They were good kids. Scarlett knew that even though they lived in a dark forest they had some good in them.

The recent mother was getting back inside her den with all her babies there. She made sure they got a good feed after being so good. Hopefully she would get to say goodbye to the Black Feather kids. She wanted to wish them a safe journey. She hummed softly to lull her babies back to sleep. It seemed to be working given her a moment of rest too.

-END THREAD!-