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the three tiny bodies who had been birthed into the world were a great source of interest to the beta male; upon his return from his long hunt, he had returned swiftly unto the den and not departed. nostrils filled with the scent of milk and the clean fragrance of their new fur, he spent hours grooming them, preening their tiny folded ears and acquainting them with his presence.
presently, the afternoon stretched white and cold before them. blue willow had gone to stretch her legs at his prodding, and he slid into her position around them, tucking them into the curve of his dark body and nestling the smallest mayfair, the boy casmir, between his forelegs. he hummed lowly a tune from the glen.
Luckily, that torture had ended. Now, all she wanted to do was to drink milk and fall asleep. Unaware that her mother was outside the den, she nosed along Lasher's stomach, searching for a teat. While she knew this wolf wasn't the one that fed her by the difference in scent, he was also big, warm, and furry too her, as was Blue Willow. Surely if they were practically the same in her mind, besides the difference in scent, this one would have milk too.
His body only started moved in protest when the milky one left. The scent was immediately noticeable as not being present. Though he liked the other one well enough (Warm-Different was the only way his puppy brain could describe his father), he liked the milky one best. Because, clearly, she had the milk.
He raised his head to seek the milk, wondering if perhaps he had merely lost his sense of smell because who knew where smells came from anyway? His nose collided with fur and he started to search with his little mouth for a teat. Unaware that it was his sister's soft fur that he was investigating, not his mother's or even his father's.
little eilidh and constantine nuzzled both him and each other, and lasher cooed into their small folded ears, caressing each one in turn with a gentle tongue. beag réalta,
he purled to his tiny daughter as she mouthed along his side. agus sméara dubha , an dá de do,
the beta whispered toward brawny constantine and delicate casmir.
presently he gathered all three pups between his forelegs and favored them with kisses and soft touches, the beginnings of a song from donnelaith beginning in his throat.
It settled him, though. Knowing that whatever it was was taking care of him, as Dry-Comfort always had. He pressed against his father, nestling nearer and still occasionally moving his mouth in search of a teat but mostly feeling comforted just that an adult was there. For the moment, his search for the milk was forgotten.
Saena's original intent in passing near the resident whelping den was to drop off the present she'd brought: a rabbit ear, painstakingly torn from a fresh kill. She knew almost nothing about the development of children, and so she brought tucked into the back of her mouth a piece of tender rabbit flesh as well, wholly unacquainted with the inability of puppies to eat solid food at this tender age.
She meant to leave these offerings at the mouth of the den, but the silky baritone of an unrecognizable song made her stop. If Lasher was present here, it meant either that Blue Willow was resting or she was away... and, overcome with a sort of greed as well as an abrupt need to seek Taltos' council, Saena placed her bundle down, tilted her head down into the dark space and sniffed loudly.
"Lasher? That was beautiful." She allowed a moment, in case the dark Beta flew out of the den in a sudden fury that she would approach so brazenly, but then she tentatively called, "Can I talk to you? I also brought stuff for the puppies!"
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he finished the song with a lilting sigh and had just pressed his muzzle to the down atop constantine's hard little skull when saena's gentle voice sounded outside of the den, curious and young. saena,
the beta murmured from the darkness of the shelter, not wanting to startle the pups with a raised tone. come in. or would you like me to come out for a moment,
the man amended, although he was immediately loathe to leave the small writhing bodies.
He moved away when the vibrations happened overhead, though. Curiously moving his legs and heading toward another noise he had felt in his bones. His mouth reached out for it and he grasped his sister's closed ear, running his mouth across it and tasting it.
She let her gifts tumble out of her mouth, the piece of rabbit fur flattened under the flesh, and turned her eyes upon the pups. The palest of them was seemingly training to be a bull, while the larger dark pup was training to be a cannibal. Saena watched them fondly for a little while, but when they did nothing more interesting than headbutting and ear sucking, she let her attention go back to Lasher.
"Right, uh..." she trailed off, unsure where to begin. Fidgeting, she pushed a paw forward to tip the rabbit meat toward the pups, then said, perhaps a little quickly, "um, how do you get anyone to respect you?" Realizing this sounded oddly directed, she backpedaled quickly and said, "Well... what I meant was... I'm having a hard time getting anyone to take me seriously. I thought having trades would help, but... well, lots of wolves here still treat me like a dumb little girl, even though I have more trades than almost all of them! The other day a total newbie completely ignored my request for submission, even though I feel like I've earned the right to request it from them, and called me kid! And..." she paused, chewed her lip, then figured it'd have to come out eventually. "And... I really, really wanna help lead here someday... so, you see..."
Here she trailed off, unsure how to phrase this innermost desire of hers—what she really wanted was for the wolves to treat her like an equal, so that when she attempted to rise they wouldn't ignore her as though she had no right to show dominance, but she knew they didn't see her as one. Though they spoke to her like she was an adult, not a single one of them, except perhaps this man, would admit or even act like she was on equal footing with them. She'd seen evidence of that time and time again.
Her eyes wandered back to the pups, and she made a silent vow to herself that, when they were a bit older, she would never treat them like stupid little kids that amounted to nothing. Though she would never allow them to take her place as self-proclaimed heir to the pack, she would nevertheless show them all the respect she felt they deserved, which was far more than was shown her most of the time.
he watched the antics of his children warmly, but his attention belonged to saena, though he vaguely wondered for whom the girl had brought meat. listening to her words, the beta male's hackles bristled slightly at her mention of insubordination. saena had more than earned her place among the grown members of the plateau.
you are entitled to respect, saena,
lasher murmured. but you must first find confidence within yourself. i myself ask for respect, but i find myself respected without forcefulness. blue willow, also, and dante himself maintain themselves in such a manner.
he was not surprised to know that the girl wished to help lead, as her father had before her.
do you find that you grow frustrated easily, saena?
taltos asked softly, shifting his paws to accommodate the tumble of tiny bodies.
"About certain things. I don't like how everyone ignores my attempts to find my place as if I and my efforts are insignificant. I try pretty hard to help out, and sometimes it's like no one notices that. It makes me frustrated," she said, and then more quietly added, "why does that matter?"
he was amused by her expressions as she watched the pups, but kept his features neutral, focused on her words. taltos' heart ached for her; he had never meant for the girl to feel this way. with junior and tytonidae gone their own ways, and pura rarely around, it had fallen to her, this tending of her birthright.
when you are frustrated, and it comes easily to you, others sense this, and react. and if they are a cruel or mischievous sort, they will try to push you. goad you. you must not let this happen.
Eventually, being a chew toy got irritating. Deciding this was no longer fun, Eilidh escaped Constantine's grasp and crawled towards her father. She buried herself in his fur near his belly. Her intention had been to escape her sibling, but the warmth from her father provoked another results. Within a few moments, the day was forgotten as she entered a deep sleep.
"How do you even do that?" she asked abruptly the second he finished speaking. Saena had enough trouble controlling her jealousy and occasional spark of anger when someone wasn't goading her. It would be almost impossible, she thought, to control it when someone intentionally tried to bring it out. "I mean, how do you... Not get frustrated sometimes?"
he hummed for a moment beneath his breath, then gave saena a long look, pulling his eyes away once to tend to the cubs like a broody hen. i do get frustrated, but i know that if i allow myself to feel it at those crucial moments, perhaps i will lose control. and so, when the moment has passed, i go to hunt, or to run, until the emotion has lessened.
losing control of yourself could spell worse consequences for you than it would had you maintained the facade of calm. if you must dominate your fellow wolf, do so not in anger or frustration, but in firm control. these emotions can be sensed, and are weaknesses.
But still she didn't say that, and at last, went with, "I'll do my best." She made no guarantees. She wasn't in a position to make promises, having so recently been slighted on multiple occasions by newcomers and Blacktail veterans alike. Maybe one day she would find the balance that he spoke of, but probably not for a long while.
Glancing at his slumbering children, Saena murmured, "thank you, Lasher. I'll let you have some alone time." Much as she had with Blue Willow, Saena began scooting backward out of the den, but paused before fully withdrawing and said, "they're gorgeous, by the way."
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taltos nodded at the girl, smiling at her compliment. thank you, saena. you are welcome at any time,
he added, happy to extend the standing invitation to the aspiring future leader of the plateau. as she departed, the man ducked down his muzzle among the children, cooing softly to them as he slipped into a half-slumber.