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 Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:48 pm
 Was Iosef exhausted? Absolutely. But it was well worth it, and he would not trade his exhaustion for anything if it meant giving up a moment of his new life.
He had a family! A family of his very own! And they were beautiful and perfect, every single one of them, done to each and every hair on their bodies...every breath, cry, whimper. These past weeks, he had been working three times as hard; doing his duties amongst the pack...spending every moment he could aiding Seraphin...and then, as often as he could spare a moment, spending time with his pups. It felt as though a part of his heart had been taken from his body, and walked outside him now in these five puppies.
They were getting older now, old enough that they could venture out of the den and experience the world outside, and that realization filled him with excitement...and dread.
The world could be cruel. Iosef knew that, first hand. What would he do if any cruelty befell those he loved so dearly? What if one of the Sisters abused his sons? What if training was too hard on his daughters? He nearly wept at the thought.
But he knew also that he could not shelter them forever. And it would only be worse for them, in the long run, if he coddled them terribly. So, he had decided that today he would allow them some freedom: he would keep a watchful eye and allow them to wander the densite freely...while the Sisters were all training and the location was nearly abandoned, of course.  Chimera was in no rush to go out and explore the outside world. At this very moment, all he wanted to do was take a nap. It was very warm inside the den, snuggled against the bodies of all of his siblings and mother, and he resented it terribly when they started to leave to follow Father outside.
Exploring wasn't in Chimera's blood. He was hardly an adventurer, and in a way it was perhaps lucky he had been born male -- like both of his parents, Chimera was hardly a warrior incarnate. He had a gentleness to him, a softness...a, some would say, laziness. Still, he meant well enough, and so far due to his father's ever-watchful eyes, he had managed to evade any hardship in his life.
Reluctantly, the many-colored pup crawled toward the mouth of the den to see what the fuss was about, eyes half-lidded with sleepiness.
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:32 pm
 Today would be interesting, it would be the first time they would get to explore, under the ever watchful eyes of their parents of course. They spent pretty much every waking hour with their mother as she was the pack nanny, but time with their father was somewhat more limited. He had work to do for the pack and while he wasn't sure yet what exactly that meant Perdicas was always happy to see him. As exiting as today's adventures could be Perdicas was slightly reluctant to leave the soft warmth of his family, but as Chimera left the pile he took followed suit.
When he excited the den the warm sun met him, it wasn't as warm or inviting as piling up with his parents and siblings were, but was still nice. Perdicas looked at his father and then to Chimera, smiling widely. This was great. "What are we going to do?" He asked curious about this new world. Seraphin loved being a mother, even more so now that she had pups of her own to care for. It was difficult at times when she not only had her own brood to watch over, but the Queens and Thealia's as well, yet she always managed to keep track of each and every pup. Today she was looking forward to watching her pups explore the world a bit more, they were old enough now that they didn't need to be holed up in the den, and when Iosef led the way out she gave each of her pups a reassuring nudge. "Go and play." Her voice called to them softly. Eyes lite up when she watched Chimera followed by his brother Perdicas wander out first. Though to the pack they were nothing Seraphin made sure, for now, to treat each of her children equally, though she knew with time limits would be set on what the boys could and couldn't do and their sisters would be treated much better than they were by the pack.
So was life in Antianeira but Seraphin wouldn't have it any other way. And Iosef was such a loving and kind mate and father, she really did pick the best male in that respect. Watching his face light up every time he saw the pups, the way he was so gentle with them, it was perfect. Standing Seraphin gave her tired muscles and stretch before following the three of them out of the den. The other pups would follow in good time, she did not want to force them if they chose to stay inside, but she hoped that they would all take advantage of the time to play together outside as a big happy family. Unlike her brothers Najara was eager to see the world. She had tired quickly of the walls of the den and wanted so badly to just run and jump and let loose. When her mother stood Najara was instantly at her heels following Seraphin out of the den, tail wagging wildly. Look at the colors, the smells and all this space! Her brothers didn't know what they were missing not wanting to fully participate in the adventure of exploring. Letting out a happy bark Najara immediately set about exploring every inch around the den they had called their only home for so long.
Nose glued to the ground the mint calico pup was taking in all the various smells as quickly as she could. It was almost overwhelming at times. She could also hear various creatures about, leaves rustled in a gentle breeze, and a few bugs scurried along the ground trying to avoid being stepped on by the curious pup.
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:28 am
On a day like today… was it really necessary to hurry?
While not the first to leave the den, nor being quite the last, Isobel picked her way into the sunshine with a mix of curiosity and queer anticipation; she dearly wanted nothing more than to stick her nose to the ground, wiggling about as joyously as her sister, but a small part of her whispered that perhaps an even more exciting game could be had (and played) with relative secrecy. Following the gentle nudge from her mother with a little wag of the tail and a sweet smile, she trotted casually into the bright daylight and found herself a suitable spot just outside. It seemed just a little uphill and near the centre of the family clearing, a nice and equal distance from both den and forest, and settling herself onto her stomach she lifted her muzzle to the sky with her eyes serenely shut. She seemed to be taking in the sweet sunlight as it poured over her neck and back, back legs tucked under her belly and front paws stretched with each individual toe spread, but oh - she was up to so much more!
With her eyes shut and her ears perked, she practiced identifying the individual sounds of each family member; the snuffling, eager searching of her sister, the eager voice of her brother - the sound of her father as he quietly breathed a short, watchful distance away, and the sweet sound of her mother as she urged Isobel and her siblings to play. If she sat particularly silently, and let her ears funnel about as they pleased, then she could even hear the disgruntled shuffling of her youngest brother as he unwillingly sat outside the den; while it wasn’t a particularly fun game, and Isobel could think of a few dozen better ways to find out what her family was up to, she figured it would make for good training. Someday she’d have to train, after all, so why not start now?
However, Isobel was still a puppy - and like most, her patience would only last her so long. First one pale golden eye opened, then the other, and beginning to wiggle all over she wondered just which sibling she would coerce into game. Najara seemed her best bet, though perhaps Perdicas would enjoy a good romp… and while Chimera looked and acted like a true snooze, surely something would be able to brighten his day! A part of her wanted to wait for the last brother to emerge from the dens, but that pesky other side poked at her need for some good playtime. “Do you guys wanna play a game?” she asked, bunching up her back legs and laying her chin on the ground. “Like tag, maybe? I bet it’d be fun to stretch our legs a little.”
Or perhaps someone would suggest something a little more fun, maybe a little more active. Either way, Isobel began crawling toward the unenthused Chimera as though ready to pounce.
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:08 pm
 For a while, all that showed of Romir was his pale nose, warily tasting the air and unable to guess at its unknown smells. He took a few minutes to take in the sight of his family so spread out, registering how Najara's forceful personality sent her racing, how Chimera's hesitancy had him crouched not far away. How his parents still watched them ceaselessly, even though they were now outside.
Once he felt reassured that life outside his den was really almost identical to that inside of it, he bumbled out of the den unceremoniously, shadowing his mother's paws as he continued trying to process the enormous brew of smells that now enveloped him. His tail wagged at Isobel's invitation, but he found himself much more interested in watching what was about to happen to Chimera than getting involved himself.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 11:28 am
Chimera lingered at the mouth of the den, like an indecisive prairie dog watching for danger outside. His nose twitched, unable to ignore the intoxicating medley of smells outside, and he edged closer to the outside world without even realizing it. Within moments he had wormed his way out into the sunshine, still sprawled on his many-colored belly, flattened out like a slug.
Warmth. Warmth was nice!
His eyes flicked over to the oncoming shadow of his sister, and a smirk crept up his maw. Ha! Isobel thought she could sneak up on him, eh? He may have been languishing in the warmth, but he wasn't blind! He quietly pulled his hindlimbs beneath him, muscles tensing as he prepared for her to pounce -- so he could pounce right back!
Iosef found a raised perch on a pile of rocks, which he leapt up to so he could see all around. If Chimera was the tentative, nose-poking prairie dog, Iosef was the bold one that sat up on its haunches and kept an eye out for eagles.
Except it wasn't eagles, precisely, that he was waiting for. Indeed, something else was on his mind, and, the more he thought about it, the more it began to bother him. "Seraphin," he asked, tentatively, "Have you seen Varia lately?"
It was kind of a stupid question, seeing as Seraphin hadn't exactly been training lately -- not with the double workload of pups to mind and the recovery from pregnancy -- but he had an odd niggling fear lurking at the back of his thoughts. He had heard, through the grapevine -- an admittedly small grapevine, there being so few slaves in the pack -- that Varia had disappeared with Casimir a few nights hence, and that didn't bode well in Iosef's mind.
He really rather liked Casimir, although the oaf hardly seemed the best and brightest sometimes. He certainly didn't deserve anything that involved being alone with Varia. Iosef hoped he was alive.
The idea that Varia might have been wanting him for some other reason never occurred to him. It was, after all, Varia.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 7:27 pm
Perdicas turned his attention to Isobel for a moment. A game would be fun, since they had much more room to move around out here than the den. "Tag sounds fun, or any game." But it seemed that she already was playing a game as she stalked towards Chimera. Perdicas smiled and wagged his tail, watching to see what would happen with this. Chimera didn't seem like he wanted to really to be out and about but one could never tell, sometimes those who didn't want to participate in the beginning had the most fun by the end.
Moving over beside his twin brother Perdicas flashed Romir a small smile and then returned his focus to Isobela nd Chimera just in time to see Chimera get ready to jump into action. "Get her Chimera!" He cheered his brother one, but for a moment stayed out of the play. Besides it wouldn't be fair to outnumber Isobel in this game.
Watching her pups have the freedom to explore all around was a wonderful sight. Each one seemed to show and develop their personality a bit more each day, it would be interesting to see just how they all turned out as adults, as not only their personalities but events in the future would shape them into the wolves they would become.
At Iosefs question she gave him an odd look. It was hard enough to keep track of thirteen puppies as it was, but to also keep track of Varia, that was not too high on her priority list right now. Oh she did know that Varia hated her, who didn't Varia hate? And she was also aware of the rumor floating around the pack and Varia and Casimir, that had been shocking but she did not consider it any of her business. However if Varia did end up with pups it would add to her already full workload. "I haven't seen her for a few days. Why do you ask?" Even though Seraphin was pretty sure she knew why he was asking.
Glancing up from taking in all the scents that came to her Najara looked over at her siblings, the game of tag had been suggested but she wanted to play something more exciting. Oh sure chasing her siblings around was fun, but where was the challenge it in. What she wanted to do was something more intense, perhaps a bit dangerous. Watching Isobel and Chimera begin a small game of who could tackle who first wasn't really what she wanted either. Perhaps her parents would get distracted talking about Varia and she could sneak away to find something more appealing to her sense of adventure.
Best to test just how far she could wander while they were partially distracted, plus with Chimera and Isobel romping about she had a fairly good chance of making it further away before being spotted. Lowering her head back to the ground Najara continued to sniff about, looking very much like she did when she first emerged from the den. But after a few seconds began to work her way further away, as if something interesting had reached her nose and she just had to follow it without realizing she was wandering off - but she did know and was doing it quite deliberately.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:38 pm
Chimera was pretty darn good at playing casual.
Of course, Isobel still noted a small change in the way he enjoyed the sun, and knew well enough that she oughta watch her own backside in this game - should he really pounce back, she should figure some way to counter it and turn it to her favour. She was also aware that she was being sorely obvious, and that there was no way for Chimera to not really see her minty pelt against the otherwise autumn foliage flooring, but she liked to pretend for a while that she did blend in. Sure, Perdicas had announced rather loudly that the game was afoot, and glancing from the corner of an eye Isobel saw that she and her brother were becoming a centre of attention; didn’t really matter, so long as it was fun! Creeping along as quietly as she could for the sake of the game, sliding one paw over the other, she gave her little hind end a shake and licked her lips.
Then, like a hunter after prey, she let the springs in her back legs fly loose and nearly threw her small frame at her brother - paws outstretched, tongue lolling, eyes focused and intent, it almost seemed as though she had forgotten this was an actual game. She was a mighty wolf at that moment, a warrior pup, and even wished that her other brothers would join in on the tustle - she could take all three, if she really wanted to! She was absolutely sure of it!
Just before she could land on her brother, however, Isobel slammed down her front paws and landed just short of a strike. She pushed herself into a quick sideroll, completely changing her angle of attack, and swiping out a paw she barked, “Come get me, Chimera!”
In her excitement she only just noticed her sister’s course of inspection change, though she wasn’t quite paying enough attention to think of doing anything about it, and had heard the quiet whisperings of her parents, which only just made her hesitate in her game a bit. They were talking deep things, things that she would one day probably have to worry about, and taking her eyes of Chimera just a moment she let her gaze flicker to her father. Why was he asking that particular question, she wondered briefly, only just leaving herself open for attack.
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 11:23 am
Chimera rolled away from her pounce, and as she came up short he took the opportunity to roll onto his paws. He paused there a moment, just long enough to collect himself, and a grin spread across his maw. Isobel wanted to play chase, did she? He'd give her chase!
He sprung forward, letting out a playful growl as he leapt forward, tossing his weight at his temporarily-distracted sister.
"Just makes me uneasy, not knowing where she is," Iosef said, brow furrowing. He glanced around the area, thoughtfully, and caught sight of Najara creeping off on her own; his eyes narrowed, and he watched her, hawklike, but did not move from his perch yet. "Where she might pop up next. And what she's doing to my slaves."
If Casimir could not give her what she wanted, that meant Tui could possibly be next. And that would be unacceptable.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 10:54 am
Romir sat very still, feeling himself pulled in a large number of directions. His eyes were locked on Najara, who surely knew that she was wandering out of their group, and his ears switched back and forth between the happy barks of the rest of his siblings and the worry in his parents' voices. He wanted to watch them all, and he wasn't sure what to do.
Eventually, the group fight happening by the den entrance won him over, though his bright eyes kept wandering over to Najara; what was she doing? He tried to coordinate his paws, flinging them forward in a lollopy gait that took him close to Chimera and Isobel. Now...how was he supposed to do this? He wasn't sure he entirely got the whole idea behind wrestling, but he didn't really want to be excluded, so his snapped his needle-lined jaws onto Chimera's tail, his bright eyes betraying his nervousness at this whole situation.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:21 pm
Isobel only just turned her gaze back to Chimera in time to see her brother, suddenly animated, come flying for her, paws out and grinning like a fool. In a fraction of a second her eyes grew wide with surprise, little limbs flailing to right themselves for the game of chase her brother was instigating; she couldn’t recover in time to fully turn herself about, or change direction to either side without being caught, so she did the next best thing.
Lowering her head and putting out as much speed as she could muster, she barreled straight toward her brother’s leap.
Her play attack didn’t necessarily go completely as she had hoped, as when she collided with her brother it wasn’t strong enough to knock him off his paws - instead, she fell right onto her back - but it did invite a good tustle in which she batted playfully at his mottled maw, rolling about when she saw Romir approaching from behind. He wanted to play, too? Well, she certainly wouldn’t say no to a little help, though perhaps he was going a step too far by biting… she had almost formed a warning for Chimera, but was a little slow in executing it, and all that managed to come out was a very concerned, “Oh, oh!”
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:41 pm
As exciting as it was to watch his siblings play together, Perdicas was drawn towards his father right now. Moving towards the silky pelted male, Perdicas did his best to mimic his fathers every move. When his father cast a glace at Najara he did the same thing, narrowing his eyes slightly more in an observational way then an angry one. Where was his sister going? Didn't she know that they needed to stay close to the dens where it was safe?
His ears perked up as his parents continued to talk about Varia and their obvious worry about not knowing where she was at all times. He had yet to meet this Varia and knew so little about her that Perdicas didn't understand why not knowing where she was.
Seraphin smiled as she watched her children romp about, taking full advantage of their freedom. Her eyes caught sight of Najara, clearly trying to sneak off without making it look obvious, wasn't that cute, already showing the desire to be independent, even if it was dangerous at such an early age. But she could see Iosef had Najara in his sights and could relax knowing that he would not let any harm come to her. Glancing up at the sky Seraphin judged what time of the day it was. "Afternoon training going on right now, you needn't worry about her coming here now."
Oh she was so close to getting away without her parents noticing. Well she was sure they noticed but so far they hadn't said anything to stop her. In fact now her pace picked up a bit, her paws nearly bouncing off of the ground. Freedom, sweet glorious freedom! Najara chanced a glance over her shoulder. Oh crap her father had his eyes locked on her and she was not going to let her get away as easily as she thought. Maybe it was best to make a break for it, see how far she could run before she could get.
With a moment of hesitation Najara had to make the ultimate decision. She didn't want to anger her father for running off, but what she desperately wanted was to explore and see things. Tiny paws dug into the dirt as Najara took on a burst of speed, which for at her age wasn't much but it would get her a couple of extra feet before she was caught that was for sure. Gotta see, gotta explore, gotta live life to the fullest until she gets caught.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:28 pm
Chimera laughed, proud of himself having gotten the upper hand on his sister -- just when she thought she'd caught him off his guard, too! -- and was about to launch into a full-scale attack when he felt the sharp points of teeth prod into his stubby tail.
Yelping, he whirled around, having completely missed Romir's arrival. "Ahhhh!" He tried to swipe at his brother and, rather uncoordinatedly, found himself tripping over his paws, tangled up in a heap of paws, his tail, and two of his siblings. "No fair!" He gasped, writhing to try and escape, not even sure if Romir had his tail anymore or if he was just tangled up in his own limbs and those of his siblings.
Iosef began to say something, but halted immediately as he caught Najara's bolt. Without speaking, the small wolf nimbly leapt free of his perch and raced to her, not daring to let her out of his sight.
But it wouldn't do to have her think she was in trouble! If Iosef had a flaw as a father, it was that he was perhaps too soft; after all, he had never in his life held authority over anything, really, and he loved his children with every fiber of his being. It wasn't really in his nature to be strict or stern.
"I'll catch you!" He barked out, his tone playful. If Najara wanted to run, well, he'd make a game of it -- a game that included Daddy, thank you very much.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:01 pm
Romir quickly relinquished his brother's tail, rather dumbfounded at the roil of chaos he had started - this treacherous limb-pile he was tipping over into. "Ouch!" he yipped, instinctively wanting to keep some moral high ground, and tumbled away from Chimera feeling rather foiled at the whole 'play' thing. Wrestling was not so fun, maybe. Feeling nervous, he sat on his tail and looked back for his mother, more than half-ready to give up on adventuring and spend some well-earned time cuddling against her warm belly.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 6:32 pm
Perdicas had caught his fathers attention turn to Najara and then watched as his sister bolted off. Well she shouldn't be doing that! And while he didn't want to be left here sitting alone he knew it was important for father to go after Najara and make sure she didn't get hurt. His eyes glanced over to his playing siblings, his quiet mother and then at their surroundings. He really didn't have anything to do, nor the desire to do anything, but to sit here and patiently wait for father to return with his sister. So that is what he would do.
From the corner of her eye Seraphin caught her daughter dash off into the trees, and while her muscles momentarily tensed ready to go after her Iosef was the one who did so. Smiling at her mate as he chased after Najara in a playful manner her attention turned back to the rest of her pups. "The rest of you stay put." She told them softly not wanting them to think that it was okay to run off. Perhaps when they were a bit older she would give them more freedom but for now it was best to stay close to the dens.
Her eyes fell upon Romir, who seemed to have grown tired of the rough play and was looking like he could use some comfort. "Romir why don't you come lay with me?" She offered to the pup, not exactly wanting to command him to do so, but more invite him to join her even if she could tell that is what he wanted at this point.
Hearing her father call out behind her made Najara squeal with excitement. So she wasn't in trouble for running off, this made it that much funner. Paws carried her as fast as she could go through the trees, kicking up some leaves along the way. Tongue lolled out of her mouth and she couldn't help but giggle at the fact that her rebellious actions had turned into a sort of game. The problem was, that Iosef was a lot faster than she was, and being so young her stamina was pretty poor at this point. Well perhaps instead of a game of chase they could play hide and seek. It was a pretty good plan.
Not far up ahead and a bit to the left of the trail was a large bush that would allow her to hide. Najara changed her course slightly and within moments found herself sliding to a stop under the thick leaves. Panting heavily Najara peeked out through one of the cracks between the leaves to see if her father had noticed where she had slipped to or not. It took every ounce of her being not to laugh, but she managed to hold it in and waited to see the outcome of this new game.
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