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 Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:37 am
Cora was exhausted, her spirit felt wrung out. Who'd have thought she'd have a litter of seven? SEVEN. Jeez. If Gaias had looked poleaxed when she had told him she was going to have pups it was nothing to when he'd first seen the litter nuzzling at her belly.
It had all been wonderful, brilliant, a moment of perfection as they'd sat with the little ones between them. He was such a gentle thing and seeing him welcoming his children into the world had affirmed, again, that she'd made the right choice in a mate. Her mother, too, had begun to 'like' Gaias. Or at least stop giving him 'concerned glares' when she thought no-one was looking.
Because of that, Cora hadn't felt so bad asking for her help... She had been reluctant to do so, and wanted to prove she could 'do it herself' - but she was exhausted. Seven little ones, night and day. She needed a break. Even if it wasn't from all of them.
Her mother had seemed almost relieved when she had asked her to take care of some of them for the day - Cora wondered why. Oh well, she was thankful, no matter what her mother was thinking. Her father, too, had offered his help and so a plot for giving the new parents a bit of a rest had come about with some of them going with their grandmother to learn the rudiments of tracking, some with their grandfather to visit the shrine and some staying with their father where he was going to show them a little bit about how his garden worked.
Ushering a few of her little ones, she could see her father in the distance, waiting on them on the way to the shrine.
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:40 pm
 Mother looked tired, Pegasus thought as she traveled at the larger wolves heels. But then again there were seven pups to watch over and Pegasus knew that having that many siblings was sometimes overwhelming to her, it would also likely overwhelm her parents too. Today she was going to spend some time with her grandfather, it was an exciting change of pace and Pegasus couldn't wait to see him. When she caught sight of him up ahead her tail wagged furiously and she wanted very much to run up ahead and greet him. But at the same time she wished to stay at her mothers side. Torn between those two things Pegasus jumped between a slow steady pace beside her mother and quick bursts of speed that would put her ahead before slowing down and waiting for her mother to catch up once more.
All the while a million and one questions rolled about her head. What would grandfather teach her today? Would mother stick around or go for some alone time? Would her other siblings be having fun with their activities today with other pack members? Pegasus held her tongue keeping all these questions unspoken as surely the answers would reveal themselves in time.
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:13 am
Dia followed at her mother's heels huffily. She had wanted to go hunting but noooo the boys had gotten to go. She didn't care if she'd get to go 'next time', she was stuck here this time.
"Sucks, doesn't it Kuri" she muttered.Kuri was pretty content to be going to the shrine. She loved seeing grandpa and had heard whispered tales amongst her siblings of the shrine and dearly wanted to see it. She adored her sister, though, and in a show of sibling solidarity she made faces and grumbled along.
"Yeah".Kalain was waiting for the group at the top of the now well-worn path towards the shrine. His eyes gleamed as they took in the trio following behind their mother - grandchildren! Who'd have ever thought... Every time he saw them, though, a little hurt crept into his heart that these were not also Cyana's grandchildren but Mu'sha's. He cared for Mu'sha, truly, but it was a deep and bonded friendship, not love. Had the past been a happier one he might be now taking Cyana's grandchildren to the shrine. But, then, had that been the case he'd likely not be here, would not have what he had now and was thankful for.
He greeted his daughter and grandchildren with a smile, licking heads and nuzzling at grumpy girls until the pair had cheered up considerably. Oh, their little tails and ears! They were such a beautiful brood of grandchildren.
"Are you all ready to go into the shrine, my little sparrows? You'll have to keep your voices low and your step light so's not to disturb the spirits at their rest!". The tone was light, cheerful, but carried a hint of a truth in it - he expected them to behave their best here.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:14 am
Pegasus' small tail began to wave enthusiastically when she spotted her grandfather and she took on a extra burst of speed tor each him. "Hello grandfather." She barked in greeting and then when he mentioned keeping their voices low to not disturb the spirits her ears dropped just a bit. She didn't know that the spirits could be disturbed by loud noises, but now there were a million new questions zooming around her head. "Would the spirits be angry if we were loud? I don't think Kuri or Dia want to see the spirits. Can we see them? I'll be quiet I promise. Do the spirits talk? Do they have names?" The questions shot out of her before she could stop herself, Pegasus couldn't help it she was just horribly excited about learning new things today.
Suddenly feeling that perhaps she had spoken too much, too quickly Pegasus took a couple of steps back towards her mother, head held a bit low. She really did need to work on controlling her excitement.
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 1:43 pm
 She was almost like a little ghost really amongst the seven. With that many siblings, it was hard to find her own voice, so most of the time Nashira just didn't really speak at all. Not that she removed herself from society all the time, no, but she wasn't quite there all the time. Her eyes might have been upon her mother and sisters, but her mind was away in the clouds . . .
This feeling intensified as they entered the shrine, and even briefly her eyes went unfocused, nearly losing her step before blinking and returning to reality. She couldn't be dreaming right now, especially not here. Not with this visit to Grandfather. Best behavior, best attention, best of everything . . . But dear, she felt so small in comparison to her jostling sisters and exhausted mother! It wasn't a wonder that she trailed behind them, tail down and ears slightly docked.
Grandpa Kalain's presence was soothing, though. Big as he was, he was giving them affection, and that alone let her smile a bit, albeit shyly. Nashira bobbed her head in response to his question, eager to see what he did with them today.
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:20 am
It was only as the group came close to him that he noticed Nashira at her mothers' heels. She was almost as dark, overall, as Cora but had a lot of her fathers colouring too - and that forehead marking! Like a star. He had forgotten to ask Gaias if such a marking ran in his family - if not it might be a sign of something given that it was such a striking pattern. As if to say sorry, mentally, for not noticing her right away the shaman gave her a soft nudge with his muzzle.
He greeted Pegasus with a smile, too, amused at her rambunctiouness and quite pleased with her questioning - it was a good sign to him when the young actually questioned what they were told rather than simply accepting it - it meant they were actually thinking on the subject rather than just taking it for granted. He thought to himself for a whole before answering, though.
"There are times when the spirits probably wouldn't mind you being noisy and times where they'd even want it - I'll teach you more about those, some day - but for the moment there is no reason for noise or ceremony so the spirits are resting. Would you like to be woken by noisy pups when you were snoozing?" His muzzle found her too letting her know not to be discouraged.
Eyeing Dia he could see that she had probably been right about her not wanting to come - she had the look of huffiness and stubborn-minded annoyance which made her look just like her mother at the same age. He hid a grin, though not well. Kuri seemed cheerful enough to be here, though she hung back with her twin making pretend she was also in a huff - her eyes showed her true feelings. Should have left one of them with their father or grandmother, mayhaps, but Cora didn't seem to like to split them up. They had so oft insisted on being beside each other since they were born it had become second nature to include both as one. He'd have to think on that, later.
It really did feel nice to have young ones around again... they pushed away the memories and the pain of the past with every moment spent in their presence. They really had given Kalain something to live for truly outside of his wish to help others.
Even in the bright light of day the shrine was cool and dark. Surrounded by a ring of forest the entangled trees stood on a small rise, the tips in sunlight but the rest ringed in shadows. It was slightly eerie but, to Kalain, very calming. ((I found this tree on holiday and it's kinda like how I imagine the shrine tree except joined / bent / gnarled up to 'bout head height - ex1, ex2))
In a quiet voice, little more than a raised whisper he continued "This is a place for the spirits to live with us - a place where we can communicate with them and ask them. It is a place for you when you are sad and happy, when you need a place to think and when you need a place without thought."
He sat down, inviting his little tribe to sit down around him and awaiting any questions before adding more.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 3:45 pm
Pegasus nodded as her grandfather explained that there were times to be quiet and other times where noise was permitted around the shrine. Sounded much like the rules everyone else, sometimes you needed to be quiet around the dens because others were sleeping and other times you could be as loud as you wanted to be. There were so many things she wanted to ask about the spirits and the shrine. Like hold old was the shrine? How many spirits lived within it? Did the spirits have names? Were there evil spirits? But for the moment she withheld her questions, perhaps grandfather would explain things to them without her constant questions.
So she quickly took a seat beside her grandfather after inspecting the shrine carefully at a respectful distance and looked up at him with enthusiastic eyes. There was so much to learn and so little time in the day to do so. Pegasus was certain she would be spending a good deal of her time at this shrine learning everything her grandfather could tell her. Tail thumped against the ground lightly as it wagged in anticipation of what would happen next.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:49 am
A place to think . . . No wonder she liked the feeling around here. Was that why she was so easily slipping into daydreams as she sat there? And so fast too! And Nashira wondered, wondered if maybe should she stay there long enough, her dreams would become something more . . . Would the spirits teach her through them? Could she communicate with them back?
Could they tell her, at last, why she always dreamt the same thing . . . ?
Comforted by both the soothing presence of the shaman as well as her (albeit more active) sisters, Nashira found her voice, small as it was. "What can the spirits tell you? What'd they tell you, grandpa?"
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