Welcome to Gaia! ::

Whinn halted in her cleaning as she saw Yero enter, his eyes said it all. These were their children... their creations. They were simply beautiful. When he muttered the first words, the first mention of family, all she could do was nod. She observed as he scented them, finding the little male staying close to her side whilst the females were more adventurous. She would not ignore their mewling for milk, and nudged them one by one in the right direction as they settled and began to drink, leaving Whinn to rest those grey, misty eyes on Yero. "It's amazing..." she said softly, fatigue obvious though she kept it in the back of her mind. First and foremost she had to assure that their children grew up healthy and strong. Later could come nap time.

Whinn smiled tiredly as Yero's muzzle came to rest upon her shoulder, a small sigh escaping her in contentment. Her eyes were fixed upon the three small fur balls who were hungrilly drinking from her. What a strange thought... Her mind was quickly racing off into the future: watching their eyes open, teaching them to hunt and play and fight... teaching them how to function in society. They would all grow up and be well mannered children like their parents and she would love them all until the day she no longer saw them. She gave the closest pup a gentle lick -- it happened to be the dark female with the stripes. "What shall we call them?" she questioned softly, her eyes now once again burrowing themselves into Yero's.

And so the time passed, wearing on the new family into the fall. The pups grew under their parents careful watch, each maturing, developing a distinct personality as they slipped into that stage known as adolescence...

A coat of ribbed silvery khaki and ebony appeared on the horizon; a pair of inherited red eyes studying the scene before him. The cautious, refined male, thus nicknamed Marzi by his more playful sister, slunk through the sparse foliage silently. He had grown quite a bit since the last time he'd really been around home, having been a rather reclusive member of the family. He spent a lot of time on his own in the adjacent field catching mice and other small rodents, pondering on his role as the only son of his father. As he approached the opposite side of the river, he paused, watching his reflection in the sanguine liquid. Such a blend of mother and father was he, he had her nose, his eyes. Often times he thought he was a rather ugly blend, but it didn't matter. Appearances didn't matter much to him at all; it was all in personality, and he had inherited both parents cautiousness and wisdom. Lifting his eyes from the water, he spotted his sister and father, and called out to them. "Hello there!" Sure, he'd often be off by himself, but that didn't mean his family relations weren't still good.

Creeping up from the den, the ebony sibling with the eyes and wit of her mother, and the tongue that came from some far-off, unrecognized ancestor, came Lia. She, like her brother, had silent steps and was quite fleet-footed, seemingly suggested by her off-white toes. Cloudy grey eyes were fixated on her father as she stretched, then slunk up behind him. She was on the verge of a suprise attack when she raised her eyes suddenly, wide in alarm and ears perked in anticipation of her brother's approach. Before he had even come near, she knew he was there. They shared that special bond; both of them being so quiet, they could sense eachother. She took a seat a few paces from her father and sister, shifting as her brother approached.

Whinn, evidently enough, moved through the forest, the red autumn sunshine casting her fur, like her children's, into a slightly crimson hue. She had been on the hunt away from the river all day, and carried upon her neck was the fresh scent of a healthy hare. The hare had turned prematurely white, and Whinn had spotted him before he spotted her; thus he made a good meal. She licked the remnants of caked blood from her muzzle idly, trotting up behind Lia and giving her a nuzzle before stopping, taking in the scene of Yero and Nessa. She sighed softly, contently. Their family had grown and flourished. She had succeeded thus far in fulfilling her role as mother.

Marzi grinned widely as he watched Nessa react to his voice. He loved his siblings dearly, even though he was often by himself in quiet reflection or concentrated study. His thick tail raised, beating back and forth against his feathered haunches, similar to his sisters (gasp! hehe) as she splashed through the shallow river to join him. He chuckled softly as his father often did as Nessa came into contact with him, and licked the droplets she'd flung from his muzzle, not caring about the others that nestled into his thick pelt. He, in return, buried his nose under her jawbone, wuffing heavy, warm breaths to her ear for a beat. When she perked and trotted away, he came casually through the water. Each step was carefully calculated to keep the maximum amount of fur dry. He, being a very thick-pelted wolf, did not like getting wet because it made him puffy afterwards. An amusing thought for him. He came to rest at the opposite bank, feet wet and all smiles as his family came to meet.

Lia also lit up when her father recognized her beside him. As he came closer, she lowered her muzzle, gently buffeting his ear in an affectionate hello. She then sat straight, her ears forward at attention as he spoke. She thought on his question for a moment, grinning as he mentioned what a pleasant suprise her presence was. "Quite well, father. I've been practicing my hunting technique with Marzi. He's gotten to be quite the hunter!" And at that, she passed an affectionate glance toward her brother as he came to rest upon the same bank as herself, and she saw him blush at the comment.

When Nessa returned to her, there was an inexpressible moment where Lia simply looked on to her older sister in silence, as if absorbing her now more filled out, grown features. She never remembered her older sister being quite so grown or beautiful. She sighed softly; happily. Her tail beat the ground softly, her ears pinning back momentarily as she gave a whine of happiness. She knew that her sister often felt left out because of Marzi's closeness with Lia, but they all knew she was just as much a part of the family as any.

Whinn stood a pace or two away in silence, watching her young daughters and son as they welcomed eachother so warmly. Yes, success was definately a word that she'd be glad to use in her vocabulary. Coming from such a broken, odd family, she couldn't have imagined a better adulthood than this. A gentle smile softened her wisened features as Yero rose and came to her. She settled her head against his neck for a moment or two in silence before pulling away again, her eyes drifting from her mate to her children and back. "Yes," she said with a quiet laugh, again her eyes resting on them as they seemed to greet eachother over and over. "It seems to be the only thing I can rustle up these days! But I suppose they are old enough to hunt for themselves, as they have been these past few days..." Her voice trailed off, as did her thoughts. She began to remember her own childhood here, beside the river. And then Yero came along, and they had instantly been attracted to one another. It was an odd sort of fate, and it was strange for her to look back and then see where they stood now: parents, with three beautiful children to look after, and they were growing up all too fast. Soon, they'd have their own families, and the cycle would repeat itself with their children and so-on, and so-forth until the end of time.

(Awwwww they are all so sweet! crying )

Her eyes fell upon Nessa more decisively now, her ears rolling forward contently as she resumed her position on the ground. She knew Nessa sometimes felt left out, but often wondered why she didn't come along for a little excitement once in a while. "To the field to search for something other than fish. Wolf cannot live on fish alone, I always say." She said in a warm tone, her eyes alight with childlike happiness as she realized that she had grown up primarily on fish; and therefore didn't want to spoil her children by letting them do the same. It was time for them to spread their wings and discover other delicacies, as she knew they would.

Marzi likewise held a respect and love for his father that was genuine and singular. He was aware that his father and himself were more alike than he originally was oblivious to, and he liked having that sense of closeness. He laughed softly at his father's comment, almost blushing under the loving tones that his father constantly bathed him in. "We shall see, shant we, father?" He said with a signature chuckle which reminded him so much of Yero. He settled his rather large self down sphynx-style, a casual yawn escaping his onyx jaws. His thoughts were often on how happy of a life he'd had thus far, being of adolescence, now. He had time to look back on his puphood already and appreciate it. Maybe now, he could find himself a suitable mate and bring her home... let the family grow. Let his father take the rank Marzi always thought he and his mother deserved to share.

Lia smiled genuinely upon both mother and father, somehow feeling that the focus was primarily on her, the youngest of the three, though the rest of the family was present. Marzi seemed to be eons older than her in the way he acted so much like her father, but she knew that she herself was growing to be quite a lovely sight, worthy of some male interaction, which she had yet to tangle with. She knew that Nessa was out and about much more than her in contact with others, and she was slightly jealous of her sister, though she wouldn't let it show. "It's okay, father... I understand. Mother just likes to make things easy on an old-timer like yourself!" She laughed as she spoke, she herself easing in her posture. She noted that at their little interplay, Whinn had blushed slightly, and passed Yero a slightly scolding, yet playful look. Mother always knew best, she thought.