The Sentinels The rest are twice as dear

i love this song so much so these will be titles for a while <3 No Time at All from Pippin

all welcome! I wanted thread 200 ;)

Dante wouldn't admit it, but not being able to visit the forest's new arrivals upset him more than he'd expected it to. He hadn't visited Blue and Lasher's first children often either, but it had been nice when he'd had the time. It was a self-imposed restriction, yet he stood stubbornly by it. He hadn't told either parent why he had failed to stop by, and he hoped they took no offense. Blue at least likely knew from Aria's visit.

Currently the Beta sat near the stream, idly gnawing on a large branch. It helped to relieve some of the tension and work out some of his frustration, and he gritted his teeth against it, feeling the wood crack under the pressure of his jaws. The solid wood held, though, and after a moment he released the tension and resumed worrying it instead.

A light fit bubbled up and he paused in his chewing to let it pass, turning his muzzle to the side. The coughs would fade out as the day progressed, only to return usually the next morning. Some days worse than others. It had been weeks and, though Eilidh and Aria's solutions helped, it showed no signs of going away. He knew that there was nothing for it but to keep going and hope that, soon, it would go away. He gave a few final, violent attempts to get some of the yuck he could feel lurking deep in his windpipe out, but in failing, resumed gnawing with greater intensity. If only kicking this cold were as easy as reducing the stick to splinters, maybe he'd feel a bit better.  And maybe he'd be able to finally welcome Lasher and Blue's daughters to Donnelaith properly, instead of avoiding them and feeling tremendously guilty for it no matter his good intentions behind it.