Dragoncrest Cliffs Imagination

For the pups but AW!

Day by day the children of Sapphique were growing stronger and more adventurous. Their little legs had begun to set under them and they petered around Erzulie's burrow looking for trouble. In the morning, Njord had set off to the beach and returned with a long strand of thick, wet, slimy kelp for the kiddos to play with. "Rise an' shine lads 'n lassies! @Loko, @Coraline, @Sobo, @Mireille... Yer Da's got a surprise fer ya!" he called to them. Though Njord couldn't wait for them to grow up, he also knew to cherish the time they were so small.

the sea-sprite had always been wary of the man who occasionally paid visits to the home she shared with her mothers and siblings, purely by virtue of him being... well, a him. he smelled different from @Erzulie and @Rosalyn, more like her brothers but not quite enough like them to engender any sort of trust. and while one day she might come to regard him as her father, presently coraline could only muster up cautious curiosity tinged with the vague threat of fear whenever njord came calling. this time, she answered more out of some misguided protective instinct toward her siblings than anything else; they did not seem to share her misgivings, and while coraline was not a guardian at heart, this did not lessen the resulting desire to protect her littermates from whatever fate might befall them at the hands of this smelly other. especially when she saw him carrying something strange and wet and rather ugly. so she toddled toward njord on unsteady legs with an exaggerated tilt of her head, one ear flopping down to smack her forehead as she inquired: wot dis?

edit - oops thought the pups were older i'm a bad pup player. can we assume this is forward dated a little so the speech makes more sense? if not i can edit <3

mireille also did not know what to make of the stranger who was not a milk-giver. mama and maman provided all that she did need, though she was indeed curious.
but there was already a hard line of haughtiness forming in the redstone girl. she had seen too many days the pride with which her mothers carried themselves, not truly observant, only instinctual.
it was this sensation that sent her toddling after coraline, peering dubiously with bleary puppish eyes before the sharp scent of salt and vegetation struck her nostrils.
mireille padded alongside her sibling and stilled.

The arrival of little teeth had meant for a big problem.

Previously unbothered by anything but even the slightest hunger, Loko had become an implacable grouch. He grumbled at his siblings. He menaced his mother's teats with plucks and bites—as well as any nearby ears and paws. Not even his own was safe. That morning, as his father arrived, he was gnawing and drooling over his wrist as he sat groaning and gurgling at the ache he could not quell.

Fixated on his troublesome jaws, Loko seemed not to notice Njord until he snuffed up the pungent odor that Njord had brought along with him. Unlike his more mindful sisters, the pup spared no time for thought as he quick-stalked forward to make a rude and heedless lunge for the kelp.

It didn't matter to him what it exactly it was besides something new to mouth and chew.

Sure thing!

Njord dragged the vibrant ribbon of green kelp before the mouth of the den. The tiny babes waddled from their mother’s side to investigate (to Njord’s overwhelming delight). Unexpectedly, it was the girls who led the pack: Coraline, followed by sister Mireille. Although their puppy fur was still soft and downy, their true sire’s freckles dotted both of their faces. The seafarer could feel his heart twist a little and knew, in that moment, he would deign to be a father to them, in Merlin’s honor.

Next, the blonde red-tail, Loko, tottered forth. The boy was less discerning than his sisters – as soon as Coraline asked wot this, her brother took a mouthful of seaweed.

Njord chuckled, completely in love with them all (though unaware of any skepticism from the girls). He admired their individual personalities. “That, mo chridhe, is a piece o’ kelp,” he explained to the kids, “grass of tha sea.” Njord picked up one end between his incisors, tugging at the reed with small jerks of his head to see if they would want to engage in a game of tug. “Bet you canna take it from yer Da,” he challenged.

posting to keep this moving <3

she did not catch many of the words the red-tail man spoke, but her little pupils sharpened catlike as njord began to drag it in front of the quartet!
quite unlike the prisswise girl she was becoming, mireille darted ahead, seeking to shoulder over and around, rather clumsily, any sibling that was near.
mireille nipped once! twice! for the kelp, missing each time but not dissuaded.

unsurprisingly, two out of three joined coraline in short order. her bigger brother's absence was only missed for a moment; for the moment, there were more captivating things to command her attention. her head tilted to the opposite side as the man spoke, then back, trying to make sense of the explanation. she eyed the kelp with no small amount of skepticism, unable to decide which sound to attach to the ugly little thing. kel, she tried, sniffing delicately toward it and finding the scent of it far more pleasant. brine and ocean greenery, scents that would come to define the merchild in settings beyond her seaside home in future days. she didn't quite like the harshness of that sound, though, so she tried another. crrrr... grrr.. rrr no, that wasn't right! frustrated, she let out a huff and took a decisive step forward, as if she meant to attack it. ass! she finally finished, flopped ear twitching to an upright position. assgrass. she sounded quite proud of herself.

slides back in shamefully. sorry everyone, puptato days are hard sometimes

hope no one minds if i fade! <3

for some time njord entertained the children, and when it was over, mireille had changed her opinion of him.
he was part of her circle now, and had established that this day.
the girl napped later, satisfied.