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Marble was spending most hours of the day outside. She didn't bother playing around or looking for company, no, there much more interesting things to do.

The pudgy pup trotted towards the den, head up and a rock nestled between her teeth. This wasn't just any rock; it had the shiny stuff inside. One of many she had found scattered around her home.

Marble dropped her new find by the other five that were propped up against a bolder. She blankly stared at them, transfixed by their glow.

mahler had not stopped searching for thade, but admittedly spent less time outside sagtannet as of late. it was the sum of equal parts: one, a constant despondency, and the other, his embroiled sense of pragmatism. his son had been too young to survive outside the wilds, and it was a truth he must accept.
perhaps to quell the ache of his heart, he turned toward the young that star had begotten on the rocky slopes. their father visited; he knew when howl arrived and when he departed. mahler descended toward the den-mouth, chuffing toward the small pup that was out-of-doors. "hello," he grunted, settling himself nearby.

She was so preoccupied with her rocks, the greeting went completley ignored. It took her a moment to take notice of the dark figure, and she quietly gasped when she did.

The man was too dark to be her mother and too large to be her brother. Marble did not recognize his features. Who was this wolf and why was he so close to her rocks? Oh, her rocks!

Her attention from the man to her geode collection. She dove towards them and began grabbing them, because she was certain he'd come to tamper with them. Of course Marble couldn't fit all of them in her jaws. Whenever she picked up a second one, the first would fall.

hi sorry I've been so slow :( but I dont want star to be a bad mama lol so here we goo,, sorry if I slow the thread down!!!

 

Whether or not Marble knew it, Star watched her with a gentle smile from the den. Her children were growing quickly, especially the boy- but Marble was the explorer, always outside and in nature. Perhaps she would not be warrior or hunter, maybe more of a naturalist- but that was okay. Star was lax on her children's goals, as long as they helped the pack in some way once they were old enough. 

Seeing Mahler approach Marble, and the girl trying to gather her falling stones, Star smirked. She glanced down to the sleeping @Calcifer , before pulling herself from the den to approach the pair. Greetings. She spoke to the eisen respectfully, before leaning down to place a kiss on the forehead of Marble- which looked rather robotic, awkward, coming from the typically unaffectionate matron. Star nudged her daughter gently, before pointing her muzzle to the darker man, This is our eisen, Mahler.

the little girl-child amused mahler, who had lain down on his belly a bit away. he watched as the babe raced away, stones bulging in her jaws and then clattering down as she sought to gather them up.
coughing to cover a chuckle, the gargoyle crossed paw overtop the other and watched as star exited the den. "your mother is a kind voman," he remarked, wanting to remain unthreatening toward her child. "you like the pebbles?"

As soon as mother came out Marble's frantic attempt to pick up her things came to an end. She stopped, placed a paw on rock that didn't manage to roll away, and stared up at her mother. The kiss was unexpected; she wasn't used to Star's physical affections. The girl sneezed and blinked in response.

Then she looked back at the man—Mahler is what mother called him—who was now asking questions. Marble could barely grasp his first question. All she picked up was mother and kind. Yes, mother was very kind. The whelp nodded quickly.

She wasn't sure what pebbles were. The pebbles. He couldn't be referring to her brother. His name wasn't the pebbles. He couldn't be talking about mother either. She'd already been spoken about.

Marble's brow furrowed as she thought over the question. Her gaze fell towards her rock. Oh! Mahler must be talking about her rock! She looked up and nodded again.

At Mahler's words she smiled gently. Another mother might've answered for her child or butted in, but Star was no helicopter mom, and was content to sit back and let her child do the answering- the question was directed towards her, of course- nevermind the fact that she was not even old enough to form a full sentence. 

At both of Mahler's statements, the girl simply gave a nod of her head. Star laughed aloud, and here is where she butted in: Marble is a very quiet girl. Time would only tell if that trait would remain, but Star had yet to hear her even attempt to utter a word in the form of a babble, and found it quite curious.

children were quite expressive. marble did not speak a word, and yet mahler saw every part of the process she reached to connect the word 'pebble' with her own little collection of stones. "she knows there is no need to speak alvays," he jested back to her pallid mother. 
"can i see?" mahler asked of marble, gesturing toward the nearest beloved item. even if she was not yet old enough to respond, he wished to inspire trust between himself and the child.

Her hard thinking warrants a break. As the adults went back and forth about things she couldn’t quite understand, Marble rolled one of the rocks beneath her paw. She loved the way it felt; all the curves and indent. Each rock was different from the other. That’s what was so fascinating about them.

Marble came back to reality when Mahler gestured to her collection. Her grip tightened, and she moved back slightly. She was hesitant to let her own mother touch her things, she wasn’t ready to let a stranger touch them.

Star smirked at Mahler's comment, and was only more amused when Marble clung tightly to her rocks. Her gaze shot back up to the eisen, A little guardian- she certainly has my blood. Of course, it was not the same sort of things Star fought to protect... but sometimes it was nice to interpret in this way. Even if her daughter had a rock obsession, the matron would find a way to see it in a positive light- though she would likely never understand.

"she does," he chuckled softly, amused by the little girl's refusal to surrender her stone. "and she knows vhen to hold onto vhat she must guard. a credit to you, star." surely these were the first round seeds of loyalty, to one's kith and home. all of sagtannet would be that to marble, and also calcifer. and their mother, for as long as she called their pack her own. "in a few months, perhaps they vill be ready to accompany the rest of us upon a hunt."
in time he left the little matron there with her children, a kind word to each as he turned away, intending to finish the remainder of his patrol.