Northstar Vale Away We Rush We Run for the Hills

Hotaru is now old enough to leave the den! All welcome esp family. Assume @Reiko is right behind until she gets the chance to pop in. @Sumi @Haruki set for mid-day Friday

Hotaru had no concept of time, but within the days that passed walking had become a breeze. The familiar white blobs of her family had grown with clarity and now she was beginning to tell each member apart. Her mom had been the easiest, she was always here and much bigger than her and her siblings. Sometimes another adult visited, larger than Reiko with brown adorning the bridge of his nose. The Princess had yet to put a name to it yet, but she had learned to find comfort in @Takeshi's presence as well. Then there were her siblings, together they made one happy little family unit, or so she thought.

The horrors and drama that consumed the Empire were unknown to the girl, in fact, most of the Empire was unknown. She had learned with time that the light shining through the entrance was not bad, but she had been instructed to stay close. Now that her eyes had developed, the harsh light no longer bothered her. In fact, the glimpses of the world outside were mesmerizing, beautiful, a land unlike any she could ever imagine. It would be no surprise that with time for the idea to grow on her, Hotaru too wanted to explore past the reaches of the den.

Hotaru did not know much, but she did recognize the need to stay close to her mother. Ensuring that Reiko's eyes were open, the little girl would paw at the Empress' leg before turning to bound towards the entrance of the den. She wanted her to follow, and with a small tail wag, she'd vocalize the need before turning to leave the mouth's entrance. Hotaru was still forced to squint upon exiting the den, but she had learned that she just needed her eyes to adjust first. The world was so much bigger than she could ever imagine, she wanted to see all of it, but going alone was a terrifying thought. Rather or not her mother had moved to follow, the young girl would turn back to the den's entrance letting loose a series of babbled barks to gain the attention of her siblings and hoped they would come too.

Despite all the turmoil that surrounded the new-mother, the lack of desire to eat, to see anyone - she was still a mother and would do so regardless of how she felt at the moment. Awoken from her light sleep as the gentle pawing of one of the quickly growing children forced her eyes to gently flutter open, a smile tracing along her pale lips as she saw little Hotaru demanding attention. She looked at her, they looked at each other with clear eyes, sentient eyes. What is it Hotaru? The words were but a breeze as she spoke to the young girl, uncertain of how much she can hear still or even understand. Still, she spoke to them regardless. 

At first, she followed the girl with intrigue, eyes watching the daughter carefully as she trotted awkwardly toward the mouth of the den. Of course, she was curious, was it time now? So soon for them to stalk walking away? They would be a handful soon, too soon, but still, the mother couldn't help but feel that same sad pride of watching the little ones become stronger every day. They were her greatest achievement, the pride she had left during her failures as an Empress.

Hotaru babbled in an attempt to talk, uncertain of what she was saying, Reiko simply smiled and rose to her feet. I'm coming~ Looking down at the other two puppies, they were rather quiet still and seemed good for the time being for Reiko to tend to the more mobile of the siblings. Gingerly walking over to Hotaru to escort her daughter to the new world, the others would follow in their own time. With a few licks to clean off any dirt that clung to the clumsy princess' head, Reiko's own eyes wandered to the vale. Even now it was as beautiful as it was, despite all the turbulence. What do you see? Turning her attention back to the princess, she wondered what the girl would do now?

Takeshi made his way along till he spotted the girls, one little and one littler, standing outside the den. Reiko murmured soft words to Hotaru that Shi could not hear from this distance, but soon he made his way closer, coming from behind to run his snout along her side as he slid up beside her. Adorable, isn't she? He hummed as deep blue eyes fell towards his daughter. She seemed happy to be outside, gazing upon the world with wonder only a child could have. 

His gaze moved to Reiko momentarily. There had been a twinge of guilt at the meeting for giving her such a reaction, for the pain he had caused her. He had only meant to harm Yuudai, but things had escalated- and he'd ended up hurting his own wife. He wanted to inquire if she was okay... but last he knew, she'd still been angry with him, cold even. He did not wish to be assaulted by cold words, but his gaze grated along her, looking for any signs that she was still troubled. She was up and standing now, interacting with their daughter, probably okay... 

Their daughter. Takeshi's gaze fell back to the girl. She was like a mini-Reiko, all pale and pretty, blue-eyed, small. Even smaller than the empress, more innocent too, playful and naive in all her actions and completely uneducated. He hoped to seem them grow up mannered and smart... but this was an endearing time too, perhaps even the best time for a little girl. At this time they were not fighters, not full of attitude... that time would surely come in a few months, but obedient daughters were his favorite.

Haruki slept soundly, as he did most days and nights, untroubled by whatever tumultuous happenings were occurring within the Vale. Reiko had done well in shielding her children from the worst of her low mood, and her son was none the wiser as he lavished in the extra attention he and his siblings were receiving. The days had flowed in a steady pattern of sleeping, playing, and eating, and Haruki was content enough to do this forever. That was until the strange bright light at the entrance of the den became just too tempting to ignore.

Multiple times, Sumi had tried to go explore the Great Beyond on her lonesome, but was corralled back time and time again. Hotaru was the first to realise that in order to go investigate, one needed to bring mother along.

Haruki stirred as his source of warmth (Reiko's hind leg) shifted and then disappeared, and he slowly roused with a series of disgruntled whimpers, stubby ears flicking back as he heard his sister call for her siblings. One eye peeked open lazily, only to watch the pale forms of Hotaru and Reiko slip from the den. "MMMNnneh!!" he suddenly cried, instantly - albeit clumsily - on all fours and racing towards the Bright. Having fun without brother? Not on his watch!

His head popped out of the den just as Takeshi arrived. The tension between their parents would go unnoticed as the rest of Haruki's self emerged from underground and he bravely began striding towards the large figure of his father. He was not quite sure of the difference between he and Reiko, but he knew that while they were Different, they both were still Trusted. So the young prince headed towards the Emperor, tail wiggling in delight as he wordlessly demanded a kiss on the forehead. As he rightly deserved, of course.

It wouldn't take much to gain the attention of her mother, and much to her relief she chose to follow instead of drag the Princess back in as she had so many times before with Sumi. She stood waiting until Reiko was at her side outside the den, a few licks pressed to her head that drew out light babbling. She did not understand the words her mother spoke, but it was the best attempt she could give as a response.

Hotaru was about to wander off when a shadow cast over her head. When she looked, it had been the large wolf that visited every so often. For a moment the girl moved to hug her mother's side, but when she realized it was a familiar face she'd awkwardly tip tap over to greet her father. It was then that a loud protest echoed from the depths of her home and Haruki came stumbling out quickly for his own attention.

The Princess watched with her own small tail wag, but would ultimately let her brother take the spotlight. She offered a garbled greeting as Haruki passed batting at the air between them before letting her rear plop in the grass.

just a note, mostly to myself; this is before the news was broken to her that Yuudai is 'dead'!

Takeshi's arrival was almost a surprise, of course, he was also their guardian and so she shouldn't be too surprised of his visits whenever he was around - but she couldn't help but still feel rather on edge with his presence regardless of the situation. For now, his touch was gentle, and she welcomed it. It had felt like a long time ago since she had any pleasant touching that didn't feel like something she had to recoil from in order to protect herself. In fact, she almost melted at the moment after the initial shock. She was angry at him for the display at the meeting - but that was a talk for another day, not now, not with the children here.

Yes, they all are. Hotaru and her siblings were all adorable, and Reiko would never see them as anything less for as long as she would live. She was certain of that. No matter how big they grew, they would always be adorable. Because they were her children.

A call from within the den stole her attention away, the young prince demanded that he too would step out into the world and not let his sister take all the limelight today. Stumbling out from within, he was quick to focus on Takeshi; Reiko took no offense, it was why she was set on a father being present. A male figure to look up to for a prince - should she had chosen a wife, she wondered... would a trustworthy male in the vale had been sufficient as a role model? She was certain the answer would have been yes. For now, she smiled as the two children seemed more interested in their father, perhaps being someone new who wasn't always helicoptering around them was a nice change for them.

Her eyes rose from their little bodies onto the man who would act as their father (for now), and waited to see what he would do. Even if he was terrible at the meeting, if he was good to the young ones, that was what truly mattered.

Reiko agreed, and made no move to remove him. How lovely! He could focus on his children here without any family drama, or at least none he had to think about at present. Hotaru was shy at first, clinging to Mama's leg cutely before slowly toddling her way over, likely to greet her father- but was intercepted by his son, who was much more eager. Takeshi gazed down at the happy boy, love in his stormeyes, and as if he read his mind, leaned down to place a lap of his tongue at the unruly hair on his forehead. Haruki, my boy, look at you, growing up so fast~ He cooed. He was satisfied with the way they were developing- Haruki bold and demanding as a man must be, and Hotaru, timid and humble like a good woman. But he would not let his shy daughter go unacknowledged, and so took a step towards her too, placing a kiss upon her crown as well, with the risk that Haruki might demand his attention back in a tantrum.

Haruki perked up as his father spoke his name, one of the very few words he understood at the moment. Still, despite not understanding the rest of his words, Takeshi's boy sat up straight with pride, receiving the lick upon his forehead with a happy gurgle. He basked in the show of love, and it was becoming clear Haruki was a glutton for attention.

As their father moved from him to Hotaru who stood by shyly, her brother's gaze followed, widening as he saw his sister receive the same treatment. His head whipped to turn to mother with an expression of horror. Was she seeing this? Rude! How easily father had betrayed him! So the boy snubbed the man, turning on one paw and toddling towards Reiko with his head tipped back, wordlessly demanding that she shower him with kisses instead. He knew at least mother loved him.

In the time that her brother received the attention he sought, Hotaru's attention had been entirely sapped by a nearby flower. Luckily it was merely a foot away from where she sat so she could sniff at it from her seat, soon raising a paw to bat at its petals. It came as a surprise as a kiss was pressed to her own forehead, the shadow that had been cast over her completely unnoticed until her father's touch broke her intense concentration. A squeak escaped her as the girl tilted her head back to blink up at Takeshi letting loose her familiar childish babble.

Softly she smiled as Haruki obviously was jealous of the attention his sister was getting, they were a handful and thankfully it was only the two of them while Sumi still slumbered in the den, unaware of what was happening (otherwise they would run out of mouths to shower the children with the kisses they demanded). She even playfully eyed the boy with an exasperated eye-roll as if she did in fact see what was happening over there.

While Hotaru was occupied with her father, Reiko would give what the little prince wanted, his own little shower of affection, kisses and nuzzling. It was moments like these that almost had her forget about all the troubles that seemed to pile up, at least her children were happy, and that alone made her happy herself. She knew times like these wouldn't last, more so than beyond the children growing up oh so fast already, and so, she would enjoy them as they came. 

Even Takeshi's presence wouldn't ruin this, she wouldn't let it as she bathed the boy with her tender licks and soft playful nips.

wrap soon maybe? also warning here for weird implications/gross takeshi for those who know the stuff that's planned o_O

Though he glimpsed the boy passing him to demand attention from his mother instead, for now Takeshi was focused on the girl. Thankfully, Reiko obliged to Haruki's wishes- and so Takeshi did not have to somehow kiss and nuzzle two children at once. The moment was pure bliss- his beautiful wife, his darling son, adorable daughter. The tension had ebbed away into purity for the moment. Unfortunately, this was possibly the beginning of some very unpure things, as Shi kissed his daughter again and again, somehow very much enjoying the feeling of showering her with attention. Was this the love of fatherhood? He pulled away to gaze down at her little face, so cute, smiling gently to himself.