Arrow Lake it's the last song of the night
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#1
All Welcome 
looking for @Aurëwen but @Dragomir and @Isilmë welcome as well <3 dated for early evening of 04/03 or so

He'd managed to snag an ailing mountain goat, even as he himself was still on the mend. It had injured itself somehow, whether through a fall or an escape from another predator, and hobbled on three legs. Easy-peasy. He'd ran it down, snapped its neck, and now he dragged its dead ass to his baby mama--literally bringing home the bacon.

Well, the--what do you call goat meat? I don't feel like Googling that.

Hei, he greeted in a whisper, setting the carcass just outside the whelping den and settling down beside it. I brought you some food if you're up for dinner. How are the kids? His own mouth watered, and he swallowed, hoping that his stomach didn't gurgle and give him away.
Common · Trigedasleng
wearing my dream like a diadem in some better land.
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#2
The surge of visitors following the herbalists’ delivery, despite pleasant intentions, had given cause for the new mother to adorn herself with hesitancy. So when a voice pressed against her ears, the silver kept quiet for a heartbeat — instinct telling her to be wary, as her muted mind roused from its sleepy, rosy list.

But, no; she soon eased, and knew it to be the shadowed rasps of her courter. Withdrawing a scarred snout with as much gentle deftness as she could — so as to not tousle their snoozing children (so she hopes) — Aure wobbled to dainty paws and made to pick her way towards the entrance of the thicket.

All the while, she returned with a lilt of, ”Ravenous, from ze moment they were born.” Her words were just as hushed as Verx’s, but she was halfway through settling back down when she realized her little err. ”Ah — ze, ah, kids, I mean. Not me,” eyes crescenting with apologetic mirth, ”but dinner would be lovely. Thank you.”

Aure regarded him with bleary, patient eyes; her demeanor was exhausted, but tender. So much had happened in the last several days. So, rather than eat just yet, she pressed a pale paw to one of Verx’s own; the delicate ivory properly dwarfed by his obsidian, cinching her claws gently into the dark velvet. A gesture of further thanks, affection, and — ”I appreciate it. How... how have you been, dragostea?
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#3
to her utter disdain, the warmth of her mother vanished just as wakefulness was beginning to touch the girl. upset! it was hot and fierce and sudden and in an attempt to contend with this new emotion she used all the strength in her small, underdeveloped body to flail wildly. but alas! she moved an inch, and then another, and up and down —those two simple, so incredibly important sensations— were confused with one another. the ground beneath her was colder than the absence of her mother, and she was moving the furthest she'd moved in all her life. fear! a paw stuck to her muzzle and her maw yawned open and clutched it tight, all the while emptying her pitiful bowels as she rolled ever further on, at a pace that felt utterly terrifying but more closely resembled the gentle fall of a dandelion's puff. her previously carefully cleaned pelt is marred by debris and the products of her leaking bowel, but she rolls steadily on towards the pair. 
Ghost
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#4
He smiled as she exited the den, giving her joke at least a rough chuckle. I know what you meant, Verx said gently, shuffling to allow her to sit close. Ever since the kids had been born, he was reaching this sort of uneasy peace--with her, with here, with himself. It wasn't quite there yet, and he still felt like he could break down at any moment, but it was getting better. It was getting back to some semblance of normal.

I'm all right, he responded, glancing down at her paw on his before returning his gaze to her face. Hangin' in there, I suppose. What about you. . .you getting sleep? I could always watch them, if you needed a little time to yourself.

Wow, yeah, such a chore, looking after adorable little fuzzballs. If he had functional nipples, he'd probably just take over entirely. As it was, he was forced into the passenger seat--but still along for the ride, though.

So I-- Before he could finish the sentence, their daughter came rolling slowly toward them, dirty and reeking faintly of her own waste. Verx wrinkled his nose at her approach, unable to resist a snicker. Oh man, little girl, you're a mess, he remarked, clucking his tongue. He shot a silly look at Aure. 'Least we know she's not afraid to get down and dirty. Make a good little warrior with that attitude.
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#5
Drago is skippable in the post order, will pop in here or there.

Had Dragomir the means to do so, he would be thanking his lucky stars that he was in the darkest corner of the den, and Isi was in the light, rolling in a cascade of waste toward their parents. He was oblivious to all of this, though his muzzle wrinkled as his sense of smell was assaulted. It wasn't so much that it was disgusting, because what smells he had experienced thus far were all quite natural ones, but it was potent.

He crawled further into the back of the den and placed his head down on his paws. All at once he was transported to a yellow-brown grassland, with the fanning umbrella of a green canopy over his head. He stretched out his neck, reaching gradually from the ground all the way up to where the leaves drifted in the hot wind, and he reached out with pliable lips and a colossal blue-purple tongue to grasp the nearest cluster of leaves. He pulled them into his mouth and munched thoughtfully; in the real world, this meant Drago was chewing on dirt.
wearing my dream like a diadem in some better land.
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#6
So far, Aure’d been enraptured with her beloved speaking; at the mention of taking over for her, she couldn’t help but release a faint, breathy laugh. ”Verx — if I saw you looking after them, I wouldn’t even get a moment of sleep at all. But—“ But, when Isilmë gummed and babbled her way into the would’ve-been-tender moment, her lashes flurried in surprise and, of course, concern. But the mirth from before came back, and she met Verx’s silly look with another crease of eyes. ”I really did just bathe her—“

Her gaze trailed up farther, where the smell of expulsion seemed to originate some ways from Drago. Ears feathered at Verx’s words of little warrior, and a soft simper kissed the corners of her lips, ”You should see how she fights when she dreams. Might be telling of what sort of warrior she will flourish as.” The mess in the thicket would be tended to soon. For now, Aure reached for Isilmë instead; gathered the girl into the ivory crook of her elbow and brought her close to her breast.

”You stink,” Aure groused, low and loving, but pressed her pale muzzle to the cream of Isi’s pudgy self and began to wash once more. ”But you do not stink as much as ze goat, belea, mm?” Her smile came full, now, gleaming whether her words or actions elicited a response from their messy daughter or not.

Silvery eyes flickered back to Verx, a tad distracted, but she couldn’t stop smiling even after cleaning had ended. ”You did come from one, after all,” Aure preened into Isi’s cheek, attention on her, even as her teasing pranced to the father. ”And I’m sure even warriors have their moments.” Tongue in cheek, she veered her eyes away with faux innocence, and instead peered about once more for Dragomir. He must be slumbering somewhere...
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#7

even more upset! she could smell the stink of herself, and her wild journey was abruptly put to an end when she collided with something that had her unleash a clipped scream that was stopped when the dizziness caught up to her. she was still for a moment, and then she was again moving, and her mother's tongue was moving over her in a way she didn't like at all. too exhausted and overstimulated to struggle as she usually would, she instead stuck her limbs straight out in the manner of a cactus, face set in firm dissatisfaction.
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#8
Verx began to laugh, rasping and deep, a kind of chuckle he hadn't had in a while. The corners of his eyes creased in a wide smile as Aure cleaned their daughter, stubborn as a mule. Good girl. His eyes flashed to Aure as she continued to speak, taking issue with just one thing--only one.

She came from two, he clarified, smile going a little crooked. I never thanked you for saving my life. Must have been a mess, and you jumped right into it. He was certain that no one else would have gone to the lengths that she had. Just another reason why he didn't deserve her. So thank you. I--well, I owe you, I suppose, he snickered.

He reached out his nose and poked Isi on one of her stiff little paws. Your mom's just trying to help, you know, he said in mock reproach. Least you could do is make it a little easier for her.
Common · Trigedasleng
wearing my dream like a diadem in some better land.
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#9
The husk of amusement was what drew Aurëwen back from her rumination of Drago’s whereabouts; he should be snoozing, shouldn’t he? An argent eye gazed sidelong, finding him smiling in a way that clutched at her heart, stifled her lungs with appreciation. Goddamn this male. He made it hard to breathe, and she was left looking a little lost, a bit stupefied and wondering, as Verx began to speak.

It was only when he mentioned something about saving his life and a mess that Aure began to actually think beyond the foggy, dopey vestiges of When had he become so beautiful? Even blinking became a burden, but she did it anyways — the sound of his laugh still tousling her heart, the same way Isilmë did in her arms.

Aure’s own smile pressed at her scarred lips, but it was faltering; her sculpted jaw clenched, throat constricting with a nervous little swallow. “A mess” of that evening was an understatement. If she’d seen herself,  bedecked in the blood of her beloved from throat to breast, snarling and spitting commands on the cliffs without order... No, she wasn’t a warrior. She couldn’t be, ever, right? She’d... she’d... she’d only known Rose was wrong. She’d only fought for the living.

Shivering from her reverie, Aure returned once more to her company, eyes gentling as Vercingetorix moved in on Isi, now. Softly, she lilted, ”There is nothing you owe me, Verx,” leaning forward to delicately, hesitantly kitten-lick along his nose that touched upon their daughter’s stalk-straight paw. ”Having you here with... us is all I could ever ask for. All I — we — need.” Her wistful, humbled eyes shied from his, then, and she drew away before giving him the chance to chase her.

Why was she so shy with him, now of all times, and well past the time to be? So... fidgety? Aure bit at her lips, a little more than sheepish, ”Of course, if you ever think of some way to, ah... repay me, well, er, you...” — preening distractedly at Isilmë, eyes flickering to the thicket — ”You know where to find me.”
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#10
The little family of three interacted in the light of the thicket, and Dragomir continued to lounge on his own in the shadows, shoveling whatever crunchy goodness he'd found into his tiny maw. His chewing was ineffectual at best, but luckily soil had a few properties that made it doable. His wet gums worked the dirt into a fine pâté that he managed to choke down his throat. Unsupervised, he managed to do this for several minutes before it all went to hell.

His preoccupied parents might hear a subtle huk-huk-hrk-hrk sound issuing from the darkest corner of the whelping area, where they would find Dragomir hunched over himself in the best way a little bean of a pup could do, vomiting black dirt onto the den floor with painful heaves.
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#11
despite herself, the girl was calming down - her rolling had taken quite a toll, and sleepiness prevailed over her desire to cause more trouble. (or rather, her natural tendency to) when she felt the touch on the bottom of the paw and the odd bought of feeling that came with it - something resembling an itch - her limb twitched once, twice, and her legs faltered and fell into her chest, and Isi fell into a light sleep.
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#12
He felt suddenly self-conscious at her words, eyes darting away. He didn't do sentimental well. Maybe he should make more of an effort, but it just wasn't in his nature. The teasing was something more in his wheelhouse, and he returned his gaze to her with a smirk. Verx opened his mouth and was about to spout a cheeky rejoinder when the terrible sound from the back of the den caught his ear.

The brute slipped past, a big dark shadow, to see Dragomir puking his little guts out onto the floor. Uh, Aure?! he called out, horror in his voice. Drago is throwing up something dark; I don't know what it is, but. . .

He lowered his muzzle to sniff at the pile. It didn't smell like anything insidious, like blood. It mostly was just earthy, tinged with bile. Still, his heart hammered in his chest as he licked along the little boy's spine, trying to ease the convulsions. It's okay, buddy, it's okay, he whispered quickly, both for Dragomir and for himself. Because, like, it would be okay, right?!
Common · Trigedasleng
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#13
puts on Mommy Nurse Pants™


Of all the times for her sentimentality to wrench itself from her mind’s clutches, it had to be this. One moment, the maudlin on her face had reset into goading; her eyes had creased towards Verx, daring him to retaliate. Oh, she could tease just as well, if not bett—

The next moment, he’d rushed into the thicket, and she’d followed suit with Isilmë; plucking the girl from her stiff-legged grumbling and bringing her into the green warmth of the brambly abode. Ears curved toward Verx’s call just as he began to tend to Dragomir, “Stay with Isi,” was all she replied, flitting to and past the great shadow and positioning herself above their son.

Blessed with much daintier paws, Aure curled down and around the boy, and wrapped one paw beneath to gently knead up into his belly. Although the loam hadn’t been entirely digested there, the pressure should coax from below and help his throat ease and let out. “Oh, it’s— it’s soil—” she began, for Verx, but ended up massaging her tongue along the pup’s spine and shoulder blades. 

After a time, where she aided Drago in hiccuping the last bits of it, she  ( warily )  relaxed and nosed carefully at the boy’s throat. Shame lurked at her thoughts, but instead reported: Mure was eating dirt. Just dirt.” Quietly looked to Verx with worried-relieved eyes from over a shoulder; an uncertain curl came to her lips while she waited for her pulse to beat normally once more. “I... I think it would be good for you to watch them, too.”
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#14
It sounded and looked a lot worse than it was. Dragomir's dark vomitus, eerily similar to coffee grounds in the low light, could have spelled a real emergency if he hadn't been eating dirt just moments prior. And his vomiting sounded rather like choking, but it was just the peristaltic action of his esophagus expelling the remains from his stomach. He was okay, and therefore squirmed uncomfortably under the pressure of his mother's paw when she pressed up into his gut. He was soothed only when Vercingetorix and Aure swept their tongues over his dark back, warming him.

With a final little cough, Dragomir fell still but for the wiggle of his tail. His wet nose continued to work over the den floor with some interest, and for reasons unknown to him or many experts on the subject, he wanted to eat more of it. But the unpleasantness of his experience kept him from doing so for now, and if not that, then his parents' interference kept him from doing it.