Blacktail Deer Plateau I'm looking for a way now

@Blue Willow but would be cool if @Constantine @Eilidh @Casmir and/or @Lasher showed up too!

There was no mistaking it: Blue Willow's litter had been born.

If it wasn't the Beta's disappearance, than it was the faint scent all around the plateau that made it clear. Emanating from the Beta's den was the scent of new life and milk, and no doubt a proud Taltos carried that scent around the lands with him as well. Though she'd never experienced the wonder of newborns, Saena knew that scent the minute she first encountered it, thanks to countless years of ancestral love for and familiarity with youth ingrained into her wolf brain.

Upon realizing that the Plateau harbored new and fragile lives, the pale Blacktail grew restless. She prowled the Plateau's edges, hounding any creature that dare approach. Luckily, no wolves saw fit to visit the Plateau during these frenzied patrols of hers. She wasn't really fit to be a Warden or a Warrior, but Saena might not have thought twice about attacking an unwelcome stranger with her cousins' lives at stake.

Today, she'd chosen to make an attempt to see them for the first time. She paced with a mixture of excitement and nervousness outside Blue Willow's den, hesitating and changing her mind and changing it again, until finally she peered into the sweet smelling darkness and quietly called, "Aunt Willow?"

Blue was adrift in a sea of happiness. Loving her babies with every thing inside her. She hadn't realized how deep the love for the little bodies that lay nestled next to her ran. It was almost a frenzied type of love, it was a beautiful thing. She tilted her head, to study them. She knew she should be getting some sleep, while they were snoring away, but she just couldn't. She felt the need to simply stare at them, their little fury bodies next to her. Two large and one not so large, he was the runt and he worried her, so she kept her eye on him. Constantine, Eilidh and Casmir.

It was then that she heard the soft call of her niece and though she was protective and a bit cranky, she did not deny her entry. However, if she was to act against her wishes she would send her swiftly packing. She looked to the den entrance warring for a moment, then she called out quietly. You may come in as long as you mind your manners and not stay long Saena. Then she waited curled protectively around the little lives that lay nestled there.

*flails into here*

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Warm. It was a word he didn't know, but he didn't know any words at all. The thrum of noise was just a vibration to his delicate little skull, certainly there were not even distinct sounds much less words. Though he could detect a difference in mother-sound, father-sound, sibling-sound. Neither sibling was distinct in sound, though. Both were faint rumbles compared to the much more powerful vibrations of each parent.

She curled around him, the center of his world: Warm-Milky-Gentle, feel-taste/scent-sound. Something had changed about the way she did it and he released the teat on which he had been suckling, sensing Different. Different was neither here nor there in his head, it was just what it was. Different.

With wobbly strength, he raised his skull upward, thrusting it into the cold air and turning his body around to unknowingly face Saena. The boy did not know he was doing it, though he did realize right away that the milk had disappeared. Unaware that it was he himself who had made the choice to let it go.

He had made a terrible mistake. Quietly, he mewled a protest and used his legs to try and find the nursing spot he had abandoned.

She was invited into the den, albeit with a set of conditions. Saena hesitated outside the den mouth when Blue Willow told her to mind her manners and that she couldn't stay long, suddenly unsure whether she even wanted to go in. She, Blue Willow's neice who held two trades and nearly a third, perceived that she was being spoken to like a child. To say this irritated her was putting it quite lightly, and to say this treatment upset her was a massive understatement. She was very nearly an adult and knew instinctively how to handle newborns and their protective mother, but the feeling Blue Willow gave her with those simple and likely harmless instructions was that she was an untrustworthy pest, and she hated that.

She grit her teeth, wavering, but eventually entered the den. She wouldn't likely forget this subtle slap on the wrist, but her curiosity over the babies outweighed any indignation she felt. She deliberately refused to meet Blue Willow's gaze for fear her annoyance would show (unwittingly showing it pretty plainly), instead turning it on the dark mewling bundle at her belly. Her gaze softened when Constantine's tiny sounds reached her in the darkness, and for a moment, she forgot that she was supposed to be irritated. "You're cute," she said softly with her tail swaying back and forth.

Blue thought about the words that she had spoken, and she didn't see any harm in them. She did smile though when Saena came, but she was momentarily put off when she refused to meet her gaze. She wondered at it, perhaps she was just nervous to meeting the little ones. Blue shifted and moved so that Saena could see them a little closer. How are you today Saena? I am sure the little ones will learn much from you when their a little older. Blue continued talking as if everything was fine. She didn't think her words had caused strife.

Blue chuckled Yes they are That is Constantine Julien Mayfair, this little pale bundle here is Eilidh Aria Mayfair she is the only girl, and the little one here that looks exactly like Constantine is Casmir Llewellyn Mayfair. So what do you think? I'm glad you came to see us.

He was unaware of the stir that his presence caused; his presence and that of his siblings, that was. There was, in fact, no awareness of anything outside of his own little world bubble. Which consisted of: eat, sleep, wiggle, relieve himself, repeat. Constantine didn't worry about others or care what they thought about him. He simply existed and assumed the world would care for him, as it always had.

The boy unwittingly wiggled farther from his mother's side with his nose raised high in the air, seeking warmth and milk from the wrong direction. He made a soft noise of discontent, then flopped back onto his stomach and rooted around on the ground as if a teat might appear from it. His paws kept circling, drawing him somewhat nearer to Saena though of course he wasn't fast. At all. So he really wasn't making much progress toward his ivory-tinctured cousin at all.

Though she resolved in those quiet seconds to end this meeting with a sharp reminder that she wasn't a kid anymore, her confidence faltered when Blue Willow addressed her more gently. Perhaps her aunt did realize that the way she'd spoken had hurt Saena. That thought made her ears wilt slightly, and guilt crawled into her belly and settled there like a dead weight. She met the Beta's gaze for just a moment, and swallowed.

Then Blue Willow began introducing them, and she pushed down any uneasy thoughts she had, as well as the suspicion that she might've been wrong. Only Constantine was moving around, while Eilidh and Casmir were both quiet and still. The largest, however, was helplessly whirring his arms like windmill blades, likely making more of a dent in the earth than any meaningful forward motion.

"What's he doing?" she asked, forgetting that Blue Willow probably didn't know any more than she did, and also forgetting that he couldn't speak either.

Blue offered a smile when Saena met her eyes briefly. She wondered at the strange look that passed her face. However, she was not privy to her intermost thoughts, so she could not put her at east, even if she wished too. Instead she nudged the little ones a little closer so that she could see them a little better. It wasn't exactly light in there, she would be glad to see the sun again when it came time.

Blue chuckled I imagine he's trying to get to you. He's an explorer that one. He likes to investigate new things. He's deaf and blind as I'm sure you know, so all he has is his sense of smell and touch. Blue leaned forward and pushed gently on Constantine to get him closer to Saena and spoke softly You may touch him if you like, just be careful of his legs. He might get you in the eye. She smiled at the thought of Constantine whirring his legs and nailing Saena in the eye. It would smart she imagined.

His legs kept whirring away, getting him almost nowhere but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Constantine was pursuing, reaching for the creature that caused vibrations far away. Though he had lost the milky side of his mother, he was sure he could find it again. Vibrations often led him to Milky-Comfort, after all. Either directly or indirectly.

His blind, deaf head was pressing toward Saena without realizing it, poking around for the source of the smell/vibration of her. He made the occasional mewling sweet noise calling out to her. Asking her to save him and get him back to the milk, though he had no way to actually say the words to encourage that. So far, he wasn't distressed by it. It was just that he always wanted milk. Distressed, happy, sad, pissed off. All of it meant it was a good time for nursing.

"He is?" asked Saena, who in fact didn't know that puppies were deaf or blind when born. Something instinctual should have told her that, but Saena wasn't particularly instinctual compared with an average wolf, so it was no shock that she didn't know. Suddenly Constantine went from something wonderful to something worthy of pity—how could anyone ever live like that, even temporarily?

She was given permission to touch the flailing babe and she did just that, reaching out to prod his small, squashed face with the tip of her nose. His sharp foot caught her in the lip but even though it hurt it was so easy to forgive him when his sweet little cries reached her.

"When can they see and stuff?"

Blue nodded her head yes all babies are when they are born you and I were. Which makes them so helpless. Blue knew it was a bit pitiful to be born that way. But it also was nothing short of amazing. They survived with help, but they survived being deaf and blind and mute.

A small smile slid it's way across Blue's face as she watched the two interact. A deep fierce pride filled her chest when she looked at Saena. The girl was not her child, not even her niece by blood. However, the healer gladly accepted her as family, she was so proud of her as if she was her own flesh and blood, her own child. In about 11 days, some are late bloomers and will have to wait 15 days, but usually it's in about 11. It will pass quickly.

Skipping with permission.

"That's so long to be blind," she mused, resisting the urge to tell Constantine how much his life must suck. That was a rather tactless thing to say in front of his proud mother. Besides, he couldn't hear her anyway.

"How long until they'll be outside with everyone?" she eagerly asked. There had come a time in her life, and surely every other wolf's, where she was moved away from the whelping den permanently. She hadn't been to Hawkeye's whelping den since that day, though she'd visited Pied's on occasion. These were never sentimental visits, and she wondered if Blue Willow's children would return to the place of their birth later in life. Maybe they would, like her, merely keep on walking and never return to that den.

Blue chuckled softly It is isn't it. But we all start out that way. If you ever have children, they will be blind at first too. Blue thought on that briefly. Any child from Saena would be beautiful as she was.

Blue frowned in thought, a few more weeks I believe. She couldn't remember, when exactly the pups could be good to go. She was trying to remember when the pups of the plateau were able to go out and about and she thought it was a month, but she wasn't sure.

*slooowww*

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He crawled and moved, but most of the progress to Saena was made by the adult wolf herself. As she pressed her nose to him and he raised a paw to unintentionally hook her lip, the boy was comforted at the nearness of her. Constantine had faith in all things, all smells, all motions and all vibrations in life. Nothing had ever done him harm and he had no awareness that it could.

The vibrations continued as conversation happened between his mother and the visitor, though he had no idea that was why. He pressed into the leg of the visiting female and if she didn't move, would settle for a moment with his belly across her paw to rest. All of this wiggling was quite tiring.

She was disappointed by the answer, but Saena did her best to smile. A few weeks was a long time. She couldn't help but wonder how anyone was patient enough to wait for pups to grow up, or how anybody could stand it how they were unable to do anything until they eventually did grow up. She often forgot all the adventures she'd had as a child, and so forgot that pups weren't just blobs until they were deemed adults. It was easy not to think back, sometimes.

Briefly, Saena was enchanted by Constantine as he let his pudgy belly flatten over her paw. He was so tiny, it was hard to believe that someday, he would tower over her like many of the plateau wolves did. "How long until they're big like us?" she asked, knowing this time that the answer would be months, if not a full year. She had no concept of how old she was, after all, or that she hadn't been alive a full year, so guessing was hard.

Blue chuckled, she remembered herself as a youth. How she had thought, it was so slow to grow up. Now though, it seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Season to season, they no longer lasted very long.

Blue frowned for a moment thinking. About nine full moons. She didn't know how else to explain it to her niece. Calendar's were not a part of such things for the wolves. When fall comes around again. But once they are a two or three moons old, they can play with the older wolves around the plateau. Before that near the den of course.

Sorry to skip you again, Harper, but I wanna get this one wrapped up since the pups are almost two months old now. Danni, maybe we can fade with your next post?

Constantine seemed pretty content nestled against her arm. For fear of disrupting him or inviting his mother's ire, the Blacktail forced herself to remain as still as she possibly could. For a long while she watched him, trying to think about what he might look like in 9 moons and finding that it was hard to picture. Surely, he would look like the rest of them, but would he be huge like Pura, or small and lean like Lasher?

Glancing at her aunt, she said, "that's a long time." Even three months was a pretty long time to wait to play with them. Gesturing to the rotund babe, she said, "uh, I'll let you take him. I should probably let you all get some rest." She was tempted, sorely tempted, to try to move the puppy on her own, but knew the consequences of hurting him would be dire. It was something she was completely unwilling to risk.

When Constantine was moved back to a comfortable position and Blue Willow was comfortable enough, Saena began slowly backing out of the den, though her eyes seemed loathe to tear away from the children. "I'll visit again," she promised, forgetting all about her previous ire as she slowly withdrew.

Blue Willow pushed Constantine closer to her underside, where it was warm. She graced a small smile upon her niece. I look forward to it. Thank you for coming Saena.

Blue watched as she backed up, though she kept her eyes on the nestled little ones. Saena was a good woman, she was growing into her own. And Blue was extremely proud to call her family.

After Saena left, she lowered her head to her paws. She closed her eyes, a nap would not go amiss.