Rhaegara really should have expected the onslaught of questions that poured from her daughter’s maw, a soft chuckle of amusement escaping as she quickly pressed a tender kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “Settle down, Little Dove. We’ll get there with time.” She could recount all of the stories in due time, but it did take time. “The sky walkers.” She answered simply. “They created all of the wolves, and we are their image… we are most like them, but they also created all of the other creatures, and they send them to us for different reasons.” She explained more thoroughly.

“The mice and the deer are sent so we can survive, so we can hunt and provide for ourselves and our families… the birds too, though special birds like Huginn become our friends instead and we live in harmony with them… the bears and the badgers and all of those scary creatures are sent to test us, to help forge our strength and remind us why family is so important. The lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” She hoped that she was speaking simple enough for her still young daughter to fully comprehend what she was saying.

Then came that more difficult question and she hummed softly. “We should… but not every wolf sees us all as family. They turn away from that connection and think only those they are related to in recent generations are family… and so everyone else is an outsider… they will only protect a small group instead of being nice with everyone. Wolves can be strange like that…” Truly, what had she gotten herself into?

Rhae knew that being a mother meant sometimes annoying your children with words like ‘settle down’, or ‘be patient’ or, god forbid, ‘no’. She accepted the fact that her daughter wouldn’t like everything she said or asked of her, but it didn’t mean she’d let it fall by the wayside. It wasn’t her job as a parent to make her happy all the time, it was her job to raise her and that was what she was doing. Her daughter tried to hide a yawn, but Rhae could see it hinting at her features.

She trailed off, another yawn and Rhae smiled softly. “That’s right, Little Dove… we’ll just have to teach them all better.” She was the perfect one to teach them all… Rhae had no doubt she would grow up to be a spirited and stubborn young lady who would always stick to her ideals. “They are… this entire pack is your family.” She assured her. Saga and she had spoken about this moons ago. Their kids were family. “Family is more than recent blood… it’s the wolves who will be there for you no matter what.” Blood of the covenant was thicker than the water of the womb.

She slowly started to quiet, and then she was quickly drifting off to sleep. Rhae smiled softly. It was still warm, and sleeping outside would not hurt them. Instead, she simply curled up with her and drifted to sleep herself.

Fade