Paradise Falls Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken

This wild heart can't be broken

Motherhood had been surprisingly peaceful so far. The little ones did little more than sleep and suckle, leaving their mother to get plenty of rest herself, for which she was grateful. Though as time passed, even though they were growing well, Flair did start to worry, just a little. Addison especially seemed to be content in her dreams, stirring only when the warmth of her mother strayed briefly, but she settled down quickly once Flair returned from her errand. Her brother was slightly more active, if still much quieter than pups aught to be, in the mother’s opinion, simply piddling about the den, investigating placidly and showing very little interest in the outside world.

But today, Flair had decided, they would be pushed a little, ensuring they continued to develop even in their own, quiet way. She wanted them to meet their ‘cousins’ and hopefully move to one of the cave’s soon, to keep all three pups closer together. So, when she returned from her morning stretch, rather than curl back up with her children, she reached down to nudge them – gently at first, but with increasing insistence, not relenting until both pups had ventured out into the light.

Finley was pleased that the weather continued to improve after the freak late season snowstorm a couple of weeks previous. She was also happy that her and Jethro’s daughter had grown old enough to be left alone for a couple hours at a time. That allowed her a little more freedom to go for a walk, hunt small game, spend some alone time with the other adults of the pack.

This morning she had a single wolf in mind, and that was Flair. The mother had been pleased to hear that her friend had delivered two healthy children of her own, and that things seemed to be going well. Finley had yet to be able to go see the young family herself and so was determined to get over there today. If only she knew this was the exact moment the twins were seeing the world for the first time.

Coming upon the scene, green eyes lit up at the sight of the strawberry furred child laying in a sunbeam in the grass. Looking towards Flair she called, ”If only Ryder had been half that calm at her age.” Atara was somewhere in between, not as busy as her sons had been, but not as sleepy as this one appeared to be.

Much like his sister, Micaden was in no hurry to leave, what he had assumed to be the entirety of the world up until this point. As he always did whenever their mother left, he had curled up next to Addison to share body heat, expecting the bigger warmth to return soon. But alas, he was not to have any more snuggles it seemed, for the nose that nudged him was much more demanding.

Still, he stuck close to his sister, inching behind her as their mother relentlessly pestered. Only when Addison took the final steps out into the light did Mica begrudgingly follow, eyes pinched to slits against this sudden and unwelcome change.

The sound of a strange voice was what finally made him open his eyes, only to be flooded with the brightness once more. His senses overwhelmed, the boy sneezed loudly several times, shaking his head to clear the overload before, at last, he was able to see the vastness of his home.

”Speech" Thoughts

NickiStock @DA

This wild heart can't be broken

Their resistance was unsurprising, but it couldn’t beat the mother’s stubborn insistence, and eventually both pups made it out into the light, each greeting the sun in their own way. Flair could do nothing but smile at her children and the expression only grew brighter as they were joined first by Finley and then Chan soon after, the father’s loving approach to his children making her heart swell; This was all she had dreamed of.

Looking to Fin, she chuckled lowly, shaking her head a little. “A’ worry sometimes that they’re too calm fer their own good,” she confessed, though it was with warmth in her voice and love in her eyes. With any luck, the twins had simply inherited their father’s temperament rather than her own; We can only hope…!

As Chan addressed the younger woman, Flair moved over to sit herself beside him, between their children, hip bumping up against his. She briefly looked down to meet his eyes, joy and love beaming in her golden eyes. Then she turned her attention on Finley, expression sobering a little – in the midst of her own happiness, she would not forget that all wasn’t perfect in Paradise Falls. “Yes, any news?” She prompted, eager to hear both about her friends’ daughter, who she had yet to meet, and the wandering older brothers.

The agouti woman moved closer once Chan arrived, lounging down comfortably so she could get a closer look at the sleepy children. Her own green eyes were bright with affection, she truly did love cubs, her own of course but just pups in general. It was such a special time, so small and innocent, untouched by life yet, everything was new and ready to be discovered. It was no wonder they were exhausted, imagine if everything that you did you were doing for the very first time.

Looking up, Finley was more somber, ”Atara is doing well, growing bigger every minute it seems like. I’m sure before long she’ll be over here demanding to play with yours.” Blinking in an attempt to compose herself against the sadness that was threatening to push through, ”Ryder is…. Still adjusting to the change, I think he would have an easier time if Caspian was home.” She had thought the boy would be home by now, and knew that her son spent most of his time looking and Jethro had as well but there had been no sign of him.

Plus there was the fact that Atara was a single and they had had to bury her brothers only a couple of days after she had been born. Inhaling sharply, she plastered a smile on her face, ”But they’ll be alright, these things take time.” She didn’t want to talk about this so she quickly changed the subject, ”They’re beautiful, what names did you settle on?” That should redirect things nicely.

The world was a bright blur of brown and green, much too vast for his young eyes to fathom. What he did see was the movement, his mother’s familiar fiery presence, and then another well known blur of grey and tan, pared with a rich, calming sound that enveloped Mica like a hug. The sudden wet sensation was less welcome, eliciting a small whine of protest, but there was little the boy could do to fight off his father’s treatment.

At least it was over quickly, leaving Micaden to shake his head markedly, letting out a low grumble to underline his displeasure. But his offense didn’t last long, tail starting to wag as he joined his family. Oblivious to the adults’ conversation, the pup bounced onto his hindlegs, placing both paws against his father’s flank and barking lowly, just once, pleading for his attention. The world was far too new and massive for him to take in, but his dad was a familiar place to turn, one that always brought comfort.

”Speech" Thoughts

NickiStock @DA