Ouroboros Spine li. i'm just a silhouette

AW but hoping for @Kukutux, @Sialuk, or @Aiolos (or all three! The more the merrier lol. @Samani @Kausiut are also welcome ofc!)

her nestlings weren't yet old enough that they might accompany her to meet their aunts and cousins, still bound to the hearth and babysitter's side (@Shikoba? Maybe?) in her absence. the time would come for the two litters to meet in a few short weeks -- which would fly by entirely too soon -- but for now, it was the dove alone who flitted the short distance between the dens towards kukutux's ulaq with the antler of a recently discovered deer skull clasped in her jaws. 

she had been itching to see how her friend fared following the delivery of her twins now that she had healed enough to move freely, rueful that she had been unable to assist personally in the girls' arrival given her own heavily pregnant state at the time. a fortnight had passed since, surely enough time that no evil spirits lingered at the alpha's den, and with each pass of brother sun that she did not seek out the duck her guilt grew. 

lótë made sure to stop a respectable distance from the moonwoman's den before resting her gift upon the ground and calling out for sialuk and aiolos, knowing they often guarded the ostrega's hearth. she did not want to be mistaken and inadvertently wander too close, or risk stepping on any protective toes if the fellow mother wasn't ready for visitors just yet. 

It had already been three weeks now since the birth of the twins and only a pawful of days later were Lote's pups bore into the world. Their eyes were opened to the new world, trying to focus in the dim lighting the figures of their family around them. Sister, older sister, mother, father... Their mews turned to woofs and babbles and Aiolos already felt a pride for the two daughters he now held dear.

He was in the den with them now. They were quiet for the time and resting as far as he could tell and so allowed himself to slip out from the opening of the den to stand guard at its entrance, squinting his firey eyes to the brightness of the open daylight. With it, he greets Lote who comes into their direction for a visit. Since the return of Firsthunter Aiolos has stayed clear of her own ulaq. Lótë, it is good to see you here. Now, if only @Kukutux were not far...

"lótë!"

aiolos was an attentive and watchful father. the older that their daughters grew, the more moments kukutux took for herself.

she had been returning with a mouthful of late clover, to dry before the sun turned to snow. but the green bundle was dropped at once upon the edge of her ulaq's clearing, and she started at once across with waving tail to greet the cloudberry woman.

"my sister. it is good to see your face." moonwoman still recovered from birth, but was lightened by the visit. adrastus must be with their children then, and she felt it a neverending relief that he had come back.

"how are your papiiraq?" kukutux inquired, inviting lótë to sit with she and aiolos outside the den.

the greenpaw placed the antler at her feet, tail wagging as she greeted the sun with a broad grin. "it's good to be here." it had been too long since she had seen their faces.  she was just about to ask after kukutux when the northron's joyful cry drew her attention. peridots flickered to the moon as fallow crown swiveled, beaming as she stood to embrace the wisewoman as she drew near. 

"i have missed you as well, both of you," she included aiolos in the admission, having grown accustomed to seeing the redwolf every other day or so and finding she enjoyed his company. the herbologist moved her things closer to the entrance of the family's ulaq  -- smiling as her ears captured the soft sounds of the twins' slumber. "the little ones are well, though they are all so quiet and small that sometimes i worry but they do seem to be thriving well enough." wilwarin remained a constant worry, tiny and very nearly sickly, but even the runt of her litter was growing. 

"how are your girls -- sialuk too? i cannot wait to meet my new nieces," she inquired in return, honeyed tail brushing along the ground as it swished idly in contentment.

Gingered and russet tail sways happily to the woman as she settled down the antler she had brought. It was only but moments before the return of Kukutux, herbs forgotten as she greets the young woman she now calls sister. He dips his muzzle to sniff at the things which she had settled here and then returns his fiery attention back to Lote, bounding around the pair as they imbraced and looking over Lote, making sure she looked well and healthy in the time that had stretched since they had last seen one another. Not a long period at all, but still more then he had been used to especially since her pups had been born- all four of them!

They were well enough. Little. Quiet. A far cry different then that of the twins. But Lote was a little woman and it was of no shock that having more then a few pups would mean less room for them to grow within her. He wondered if the majority of her children would be as dainty as her or if some might grow as stocky built as their father.

Not at all quiet, that is for sure. The red man snickers and finds himself settling onto the ground in a lay, content to be a side piece in the conversation as she sisters talked. There was something a bit different with one of their daughters, but this Aiolos kept to himself, unwilling to speak of her what might be, disability, lest Kukutux herself mentioned it.

kukutux grinned. "they have almost the same voice that are loud. they are kausiut and samani," she told her cloudberry sister. "sialuk watches over them in all of her time." her voice was filled with pride for her eldest child, and she was filled again with the want that lótë should also experience this sort of kinship tie with a daughter of her own.

she did not mention the affliction of her daytime star's paw. like aiolos, she kept this close beneath the edges of her heart, to say another time when their circle was close.

"in my village of birth," kukutux began shyly, "a child might come to any hearth and be given meat or milk. i would like this also for us, lótë. it has been a very good thing to have a sister."

lótë only grinned with joy, beaming with it. the tupilak's attack and nuak's bondage had cast a pall on their village -- and not even she realized the extent of the damage that the event had caused kukutux -- but there seemed too many good things in this world, too much love and happiness to share in, to linger in the grief that had fallen over their tribe. nuak would be dealt with in time, and she and the moonwife had both birthed healthy children and come out of their delivery mostly alright. the spirits were blessing them -- for now, at least. rather than fret over the next blow of bad tidings, the dove was choosing to enjoy it while it lasted. 

she committed the names to memory, wondering if she might be able to guess which was which when she met the newest ostregas. "you must be proud -- she sounds like a wonderful sister. i often forget how young sialuk is, she is so very mature." her thoughts wandered to the star, reminding her to seek the beta out and thank her for being so kind as to help when lótë was giving birth. without sialuk and shikoba, she wasn't sure she would've gotten through it. "she was a great help when i had my children...i will always be grateful to both of you for being my rock through all this." she touched her muzzle to kukutux's affectionately.

with the duck's next words, her ears pricked curiously -- attentive to the change in her friend's demeanor. "i would love that. your children are always welcome at my home," she assured in a gentle murmur, lips curling in a warm smile. the doe wanted nothing more than for their children to be close, to be cousins as she and kukutux were sisters even if different blood flowed in their veins.