Stone Circle the a team

Any family permited invited!

 

Leta roused and mewled quietly. It was time to eat (as it often was for Valette's large cubs), and with a smack of her lips Leta did as she must until she was filled to the brim with food. Despite being born smaller than (most, if not all of) her brothers, Leta seemed eager to change that now that she had emerged from the womb. Compared to the day she was born, Leta's indulgent side had caused her puppy belly to swell and her shape to be, well, round. 

It was no wonder that once she had finished her breakfast Leta rolled onto her back accidentally when trying to get comfortable. Having no navigation system to speak of, she could only sense that something was amiss when her world felt topsy turvy; she let out a panicked squall, and her legs flailed uselessly as she attetmpted to right herself to no avail. It was not something that would cause the girl bodily or mental harm, though one would not know that by the confounded and distressed noises she made... noises that were loud, given she could not hear them herself.

Days are spent doing the very basics, the majority of that time sleeping away without a care in the world under the protection of his dutiful mother. Newt is unaware of his sister's exact predicament, but he feels her sudden shift. A squeak escapes his jaws, as if echoing Leta's own cries of discomfort. The dark boy crawls in the vague direction of his sister, searching for the comfort she brought him. Newt does not get far, however, as his legs quickly buckled without strength to continue. Nonetheless, his nose pokes something fluffy and familiar smelling. He lets out another loud squeal, @Valette usually reacted to those... maybe he saved the day and found his sister! (Or perhaps he just bumped into West or @Clay.)

Valette had a tough time recovering from her labor. She didn't feel as quick to her feet as the last two times. She was glad to be in the den resting. The previous times she was itching to get out of the den and get back to work. Or at least, she would be torn between doing alpha work and being a mother. Now she was content to just rest with her children growing. It was a cycle of eat, sleep, repeat. Sometimes the mother would break that pattern by cleaning her growing babies. She was still in shock how big they were especially now they could take milk whenever they wanted.

Valette roused from a double cry. Often she didn't respond right away as her experience told her that pups didn't need to be tended to at every squeak they gave. It would almost be impossible with four of them. Valette lifted her head and assessed the situation. She smiled at the sight of Leta being too round to roll back. It sounded contradicting but in real life, it was clearly something that could happen. Valette reached to her only daughter and nudged her gently enough that it wouldn't hurt but with enough force for the pup to turn the right way. She licked over the little one's face and then over her brother that was close to her and seemed a bit distressed with hearing her cries.

Clearly, their ears were starting to work, it would be soon when they would open their eyes then. Valette hummed happily. "There all settled again," she whispered softly and looked adoringly at her four bundles of joy.

Arlette had been outside the den for days. She had been extremely curious about her new siblings. She often was allowed to have a peek in the den to see the small babies. Arlette realized she did miss a bit of the attention from her mother but decided to push that away. She was not a baby, and the new babies needed her mother more. Perhaps with was because Keen and Merrit were both gone and she didn't have many wolves of her age.

Arlette peeked into the den again, she couldn't help but react to the cries as well. "Everything okay?," she asked, clearly dying to get a closer look but her mother had been firm. She was only allowed to poke her head in. Arlette decided to be bold and moved one paw further in the entrance. "Can I see them up close, pleaseeeee??"

West rivaled his siblings in size. He had at birth, and boy did he sure now. Perhaps it was his hunger that drove him to be so large. The male seemed to almost always be latched to Valette if he was not asleep. You could say he has a hollow leg but...the boy was too round for that. The sounds of his siblings did alert him however as he pulled away from Valette's teat with some milk running along his chin. Also curious about his siblings' predicament, West would attempt to scoot closer, but mostly just flailed at his mother's side.

Her hearing was not what it would be, but it was there. She quieted when another noise was made that did not come from her person, and her head learned toward a brother—Leta could not know which—who responded to her. And suddenly, her world was right again; her mother fixed the way in which she lay, and the cub let out a happy coo. 

West was beside her, and soon enough his scooting would lead to one round belly feeling the mass of him—she was nearly unbalanced and let out a startled noise that soon morphed into a happy one. The press of Newts nose was still against her, and she felt great comfort in their nearness. Her little tail wiggled, some, though stopped upon hearing Valette. Again she fell silent, and her head shifted in the direction of her (though could not turn). Too weak to keep this up for long, Leta's head soon rest against the ground again. Needless to say she hadn't the slightest idea of what was transpiring around her.

Fortunately, Valette is a wonderful mother and able to resolve the situation smoothly with Newt’s detective work. Soon enough, he feels his sister shift under his nose. A quieter whine escapes his lips, concerned and unable to tell exactly what is happening without the use of sight. His own hearing dull and not quite what it could be, but the vibration of Leta’s happy coo is enough to set the dark brother at ease. His own tail wags a few flicks before he loses the strength to continue. Nudging his sister gently with his nose again, he lifts his forearms and pokes at her round side.

Valette turned her head when Arlette seemed very keen on seeing the pups. Unfortunately, Valette was quite strict and growled at her older daughter. She deemed the pups too young and too fragile to be seen by another wolf. She didn't want her babies to get sick. "Arlette, later," she huffed but then realized that she couldn't really be too mean to her. "When they are a bit older. Then you can watch them as often as you like," she assured. With that the pale female seemed to leave, looking disappointed.

Valette had to be tough, she already lost two and didn't want to lose another pup because she let wolves too close to her newborns. She nosed over them protectively, once again checking if they all were alright. It was exhausting but she loved every minute of it. They seemed to be active enough to her liking.