Gone Tomorrow

The she-wolf laid with her eyes half closed, her muzzle resting on her cream paws. The light breeze picked at the fur on the back of her neck, offering some respite from the summer heat. Since giving birth, sleeping had been a major part of Corinna's routine, only now she had the freedom to do outside of the den if she wished. The sun's rays had beckoned her from the darkness of the den, and she was more than willing to brave the heat if it meant being able to stretch out completely and breathe in the fresh air.

The den itself was not so far from her, just a few yards away. Close enough that if her sons needed her, she could be there in a moment. She had asked them to stay close and not wander too far out of reach. Though now that they had seen the light, that was asking quite a lot of the Aesir boys. Their little world had expanded dramatically, and now it was all she could do to keep them close to home.

The soft pitter patter of feet drew her attention, causing her to raise her head from her paws. "What are you doing?" she called out to the young one trying to clamor his way out of the den.

Blue eyes stared out of the den into bright light. Since his first time in the Big Place the pup had been fascinated by it. It was so big and it smelt so different. There were so many sounds that were muffled and muted inside the den. The more he thought about it the more he wanted to get out. His feet suddenly itched; he wanted to move. Pulling himself from his brother’s slumbering body, trying not to wake him, Sceral decided he would sneak out and say ‘hi’ to the Pokey Stuff again. Big paws shuffled along in what Sceral hoped was a sneaky exit. Unfortunately, this was clearly not the case. The sound of his mum’s voice calling out to him caused a puppyish pout. Boo. He poked his head out and stared at her with squinted eyes that tried their best to adjust to the dimmed sunlight.

All around her was Big Place and his tail thumped a little against the side of the den’s mouth. “Noffin’!” he replied before trotting over to her, wobbling the whole time. He was getting the hang of this walking thing, it seemed. Dropping clumsily to his rump in front of his mum, Sceral wagged his butt and his tongue lolled out of his mouth in a tiny wolfish grin. “Wha’ you dooooin’?” the Aesir pup asked his most loved wolf. He glanced over her briefly and decided to try and copy her pose. Lying down, he tilted his head this way and that way before finally deciding that, yes, this was exactly right.

Gone Tomorrow

The selfish part of Corinna hoped that her voice would send her son scurrying back into the confines of the den, safe and sound. But it only drew him closer - his shrill voice explaining that he was doing "nothing", and despite herself, Cori smiled as she watched her son wobble his way towards her. His response drew a wolfish snort from her, because it had been a while since her two sons were ever truly doing "nothing". Still, when he plopped down in front of her, she kissed his small forehead, a loving growl rumbling in her throat.

Grinning, she watched the young cub fall to his stomach, twisting and turning to get comfortable. "I was trying to nap, my sweet," she confessed, using her muzzle to try and roll him onto his back. "Were you looking for something, Sceral? Or did you just want to see outside?" Now that they were out, she would be hard-pressed to keep them confined to the security of the den. So now it was time to teach and explain this big wide world that was all around them. Keeping them fed and safe was only half the job of a mother.

As soon as his mother planted the soft kiss on his head, Sceral poked his tongue out in an attempt to return the kiss to the tip of her nose. He loved his mother, very much. Did he love her as much as he loved Serach? He loved his brother, yes, but it was a different kind of love for his mum, one that he didn’t quite understand yet. The same applied to his dad; Sceral knew that he often checked up on the Aesir boys and their mother. He loved him too, didn’t he?

A nap. Sceral and Serach had to take naps a lot, especially when they were tired. Was mum tired? “Tiyed?” He peered over at the den mouth; why would she sleep out of here and not inside, in safety? Turning his head back to his mum, as if to ask, Sceral didn't expect Corinna’s nose to suddenly be against his side, pushing gently. He let out a yip of surprise before he giggled—it tickled! Slowly the Oak Tree Bend pup was rolled onto his back without protest. It tickled him more on his tummy and he squirmed with delight, his little tail still wagging.

Mum asked him questions; was there something he wanted or did he just want to see the outside, the Big Place. He paused his wriggling to think. Both, really. Or maybe neither? The pup wasn’t sure. He had questions, though. Like what that thing was. Pokey Stuff. Maybe his mum knew what the Pokey Stuff was! She knew a lot of stuff, Sceral was sure.

Rolling over onto his stomach again, he patted his paws against the ground and watched as the Stuff folded beneath the weight before almost springing back upright. “Wha’s this?” He asked, swinging his head from the Pokey Stuff to his mother (with an inquisitive tilt of his head) before looking back down at the floor. Pat pat pat pat against the Pokey Stuff. Pat pat pat pat pat …

Gone Tomorrow

The babbling was one of the things that Corinna's fully functioning ears had never been quite able to adjust too. In time, she knew that Sceral and his brother would begin to speak properly and that picking up random words from the adults was how they would learn. "Tired," she agreed, taking care to properly enunciate the word so hopefully her son would follow suit the next time he wanted to use it.

She was able to push him over without effort, but rather than be bothered, Sceral began to squirm and giggle. Where his childish words were more grating on the ears than she cared to admit, his laughter was a completely different thing. Grinning happily, Cori cooed at him in return, rubbing her nose in the warm fur of his underbelly, every once in a while taking playful, and harmless, nips at his paws as they dangled in the air helplessly above him.

The laughter died away as she asked him what it was he had been doing, coming out of the den. His wiggling stopped and she lifted her muzzle from him to give him space to think. He rolled over to his stomach, and it took all of her self-control to not laugh in amusement. Not at his question - but at his posture. The tilt of the head was a trait that had been attributed to her on more than one occasion, and it warmed her heart to see him duplicate such a mannerism, even unknowingly.

Slipping down to her stomach to lay beside him, Cori batted the grass herself, the vegetation springing back up when she lifted her cream paw into the air. "This is grass. It's a plant." She explained, turning her head to look at him and gauge his reaction. Picking up her right foreleg, she balanced for a moment, trying to "point" in the direction of the wooded area not that far to their right. "See those tall things, with green tops and brown bottoms? Those are trees. They're also plants. Just like the grass." Drawing his attention back to the first item in question, she patted it once more, emphasizing it's name as she said it.

Sceral was absolutely ecstatic that his mum joined in with the patting game and tried to go even faster, looking more than a little bit ridiculous as his entire body swayed with each raise of a leg. She told him it was called grass and was a plant and the Aesir boy squinted at it, stopping his patting briefly. “Graaaass.” he mused, trying the foreign word out. “Grass. Grass!” Okay, that was easy enough it seemed! “Heyo grass! ‘m Sceral!” His tail wagged as he continued to paw at the now correctly named grass. Now for the second word: plant. “Pphh?” Oh! Oh, that was difficult to do! “Pluh. Ppphhhh? Ph-lunt. Plunt?” He looked at his mother eagerly. Had he done it right? Was she proud? He liked their names but he had decided he liked his name more.

Corinna gestured to the trees, telling him they were the same kind of thing as grass—a plant—and his eyes widened. He looked down at the grass and then back at the trees. No way! Trees were really big! Were they like adult grasses? Did all these little grasses grow into big trees over time? “Ma, is the ch… ch-ree like a big grown up grass?” He figured it’d be like people calling him a ‘pup’ and big wolves ‘grown ups’. They were both wolves. They were both plants. It only made sense in his baby brain. “’m I gon’ be like a big chree one day?”

Gone Tomorrow

Repetition was the only way her cubs were ever going to learn to speak, and so Corinna was careful to enunciate her words clearly so that he could pick them up and try them out for himself. It went easily enough, she thought. Sceral was delighted at the grass, and his introduction made her laugh. Shaking her head in a knowing way she corrected him on his mistake, "You can't talk to grass or other plants, love. Pl-an-ts." What would they say, if grass could speak? Watching as his little forelegs determinedly slammed down and patted the vegetation in question, Cori wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Sceral's baby blue eyes widened in wonder as she pointed to the trees. They would have been the largest thing he had seen so far in his life, and would no doubt amaze him even further when he was standing next to one and could truly grasp its full height. Her last litter, she remember with a pain in her heart, had been born beneath the roots of a tree. They would have been more familiar with it. But Sceral and his brother were different, she would have to remember that. Settling down on the grass beside him once more, she shook her head back and forth. "No...trees are a different type of plant. Maybe when you're bigger, I'll show you a baby tree," she explained, though she wasn't sure how well he would accept her explanation. Licking his forehead once again, she laughed playfully at his last question. Had she given birth to a tree? No, no she hadn't. "No, you won't ever be as big as a tree. But, one day you'll be as big as me. Maybe as big as your dad!" Ice was pretty big, even bigger than Indru had been. As tiny as they were now, there was no doubt in Cori's mind that both of her boys would grow up to eclipse her in size.

Couldn’t talk to grass? He furrowed his brow and nodded as if to say “yes, I knew that”. Sceral’s ears pricked as best as they could when his mother enunciated the word ‘plant’ correctly. Had he done it wrong? He was sure he had gotten it right! His mother continued, however, explaining that trees and grass were entirely different plants and that baby trees existed. Sceral, once again, furrowed his brow in concentration as he tried to wrap his head around the idea that there were different kinds of plants. Were there different kinds of wolves? “Sooo there’s lots ov puh-laaaaants? ‘Ow many?” Image if there were seven kinds of plants!

She laughed and licked his forehead. He wouldn’t ever be as big as a tree. He briefly pictured it, though; him with all his puppy proportions romping around with tiny little wolves running around his toes. Sceral’s day dream bubble was popped, however, when his mother went on to explain that he would be as big as her, maybe even as big as dad. His eyes lit up and he was suddenly up on all fours, puffing his chest out as much as he could (stumbling forwards slightly due to sudden movement and lack of balance, but managed to right himself). “Um I gon’ be ah—a leaduh too?” Oh, he’d be the bestest king ever! He tried to stomp around, like a member of a marching band, but unfortunately lost his footing and smacked chin first into the ground with a loud yawp. Play it off, Sceral, you’re a big boy and you’re outside now. Scrambling back upright, he turned to face his mum whilst wagging his tail. I’m okay, mum! Honest!

Gone Tomorrow

His face furrowed in concentration, Corinna's son was doing his best to understand. At five years old and a mother three times over, Cori was unable to put herself in his position of truly not understanding the world around him. Certainly, there were things about this world that even she could not explain, and while Relic Lore was a vast place and the world beyond even vaster, she could not claim to have seen even a significant fraction of it. But it always amazed her at how much she took for granted. So she couldn't help but grin down at her son as he asked his next question, even as she shook her head. "There's so many kinds of plants that you could spend your whole life counting them and you'd never count them all." It would be hard to believe, but as he grew and his world expanded, he would come to see that too.

Chuckling and her tail wagging, Corinna couldn't help but look on with some pride as her son puffed out his chest and began to prance around. There was something about dad that intrigued and excited her sons. Fenru, Rihael, and Torrel had all been the same way - though this time Corinna was more secure in knowing dad would live up to their son's expectations. "Mayb-" she cut off as Sceral fell over, smacking his muzzle against the ground. Falling to the ground to soothe him, her tongue was on it's way to lick his tiny forehead when Sceral righted himself and looked up, tail wagging. That set her worries at ease, but she reassured him with a lick to his nose anyway. "You could be a leader one day. If you work hard and show that you're strong and smart, and you care about the pack." But it would be a long time before the tiny fur-ball at her feet was ready for leadership.

Grunting, she hoisted herself off the ground and onto her feet. Lowering the front half of her body, she stretched before rising back up. "Want to go find your dad? Maybe he can tell you what to do to become a good leader."