Hearthwood River straight from the water

Kyrios was over the moon about their venture to Hearthwood, which did not surprise him. He was, after all, his mother’s son. It was a constant struggle to keep him restrained to the den site, for he had a bad case of wandering paws. Karina certainly had her own paws full and XIX was grateful to her for taking in the twins. The ghost wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to repay the Baranski for her selflessness. She was truly an exceptional mother.

Just as little Ky approached the mouth of their den Atropos finally decided to grace them with her presence, in all her sleepy glory. A smile rolled onto his maw at her appearance, and he pressed a quick lick to the top of her forehead before nudging her forward. “Time to get going, little Stark,” he cooed affectionately in encouragement as he stepped away from the den. The twins would be perfectly fine on foot — maybe a little slow due to their short attention span — but they were more than capable of walking themselves. Bennet swung slowly from her mother’s jaws as they started toward Hearthwood, Lachesis following close behind.

Just like Karina, the healer had planned for their excursion to take up the whole day. It was an opportune time for the pups to explore some of their home with their parents accompanying them. It was slow, as expected, but the ghost did not mind. Truthfully, he had missed spending time with his former apprentice. As a result of a series of unfortunate events, the pair had been put together once more — plus three energetic bundles of fur.

The breaks, though frequent, were received warmly. Even Lachesis’ oversized paws were aching due to the distance they had traveled; he could only imagine how the children were feeling. Karina’s words spoke the truth — they were almost home. The river was pulsating in the distance, welcoming the mod podge family to Hearthwood.

The group piled into the den with weary sighs of relief. It had been a long day for the children and their parents, and Lachesis was thankful that it was coming to a close. His nostrils twitched at the coppery smell and just as he was about to fill the den with his voice Karina beat him to it, a smile pressed to her lips. He nodded softly, mimicking her smile with one of his own: “I’ll go grab us some.” Without hesitation the ghost spun on his heels, following the scent outside. Although he wished he had brought the deer himself, he was grateful to whoever had left the gift for them. With a smile falling onto his pale maw Lachesis went to work on the deer’s hind leg in order to separate it from the rest of the body. There were five mouths to feed after all.

Trotting back to the den with deer leg in tow the ghost clambered down the entrance of the den, his chartreuse gaze fixated on the oddball family. Setting the leg down Lachesis fell back onto his hindquarters and motioned for Karina to eat first.

stick with those who stick with you

While Atropos would have been keen on wrestling her brother for the rest of the morning, the beckoning grunt of their provider forced her to attempt to wriggle out from underneath his weight in order to follow. She gave his cheek a tug as she attempted to pull him along with the rest of the family, never entirely sold on the ending of play-time. She was not certain why everyone was out here, but it was very exciting nonetheless, and her tiny tongue lolled out of her mouth as she released her brother to gallop forward beneath her parents' legs.

The trip began as entertaining and automagical as the little Stark could ever have dreamed up, and everything and anything she could find ended up getting smelled or chewed.. including the tails of her siblings whenever they made the mistake of coming into her vision. While Bennet was typically kept out of reach, the pale girl did her best to make her feel included with nose bumps and tail nips along the way. She started out the adventure enthusiastically, bounding back and forth along their path, in between legs, in and out of tall grasses, and tackling her brother for good measure. However, her parents insisted on walking forever forward, and after a while, the tiny girl did not have the energy to upkeep anything more than simply following behind their tall legs. As the sun waned overhead, she was thankful for the stops for milk and rest, but by the time the shadows grew long and the heat dissipated, her paws and muscles ached, and adventure had been lost to fatigue.

It seemed unending. When the adults walked into a tall bush, and into a large, dark opening, it momentarily encouraged Atty's drive for adventure once more. She padded after her brother enthusiastically inside, wishing to explore its corners, but all thoughts of that disappeared once the peppered woman laid down and offered milk to them again. Stopping mid-trot, she completely diverted her path over to Karina, thankful for the opportunity to release her muscles of strain and to fill her belly with milk. She plopped herself down against the new-smelling ground, and buried her face into the comforting fur until she found a teat. Her eyes closed, passively feeding until fatigue collapsed her entirely into sleep. She wished desperately that this time no one would pull her from it.

Oh he was ready, ready to face the world, ready to conquer every part of it! Starting with his sister, a yip escaping him as she snapped at him and slipped away. The boy quickly followed, chasing her creamy tail between their father's legs and beyond. The whole journey was a blur of adventure, half the time spend chasing Atropos, and the other half the other way around, with small breaks to investigate particularly colorful rocks or crawling insects; Not to mention drinking. Kyrios could hardly focus on filling his belly though, so many things to see, and hear and smell. He would sit still only briefly, to preoccupied with the world that had finally been opened up to him in full. Eventually he did start to feel weary, steps no longer quite as bouncy as he continued ahead. He felt betrayed by his body, still so many things unexplored and yet his paws refused to carry him there, aching with every step. As he fell back he whimpered lightly, frustrated at his inability to keep in front of the rest of the family. He came in line first with the salt and pepper form he knew as mother, muzzle stretching up towards his smaller sister in her grasp. There was a mixture of envy and worry in his eyes as he watched her swing back and forth, why was she being carried when they had to walk? A shrug shuddered through him as he fell back further, ending up between the large forepaws and sturdy legs of his father. He looked up at the green-eyed giant, a silent question in his puppy-blues; Are we there yet? And in reply he heard the soft call from up ahead, though the words were mostly lost to his young mind, the soothing effect was welcome, and soon after he would learn that they had meant what he hoped. He saw the silvered tail disappear beneath a bush, into a dark hollow, and his tired feet were momentarily forgotten as he raced ahead to inspect the new den himself. He wanted to make sure that it was a good and safe spot for his family, otherwise he'd chase them right back out, tired or no. While the girls all got settled he walked on stiff legs around the perimeter of the large den, eyes wide and ears perked, making sure to search every nook and corner, and only then was he satisfied that they would be okay to stay here. Meanwhile, his sisters had started nursing again, and his father… was gone? Kyrios shook his head side to side, searching for the ghostly man, still not feeling quite safe, needing the other male to help him watch over his siblings. It fortunately didn't take many moments before he was back, and the off-white boy stumbled to meet him, stretching to rub under his chin lovingly, thankful that the pale of his fellow protectors was here, so he could rest, just for a moment. Finally the pup could snuggle down between his sisters, latching on tiredly to get a bit of milk, before falling asleep still with the teat in his mouth. Word count: 528 ”Speech”

CaptDanger @DA & vw1956stock @DA

@Lachesis it's up to you if you want to do one more reply or just archive it. <3

All three pups were already asleep when Lachesis returned, their small breaths quick but even as they dreamed about the new, exciting world they had discovered today. The new den was cozy and comfortable, and Karina knew that once Kjors was here it would even feel like home.  As the pale healer padded in with dinner, Karina felt a stab of guilt for wishing he was someone else. They had enjoyed a wonderful day together, the best they’d had since Karina was a small pup, and the princess was grateful that her would-be mentor was willing to salvage their battered relationship—even if it was for the pups’ sake more so than their lost cause of a mother.

Something squirmed in the pit of Karina’s stomach when her eyes landed on the deer leg, but she disguised her repulsion behind a smile of gratitude. It had been one thing to smell the carcass from afar and know she ought to eat it, but it was entirely different to have it appear before her, severed muscle and tendons dangling beneath torn fur and flesh. If a wolf could go pale Karina would have done so when Lachesis set the meal at her feet and indicated for her to eat.

The young mother steeled herself with a long breath and then set to her meal, taking a few bites before nudging the leg toward Lachesis in an invitation for him to eat as well. The task got easier as she went, her natural instincts kicking in the more she consumed. “Thank you,” she said to her companion as they finished, and Karina was surprised to realize that she had been enjoying the meal by the end. Perhaps it had just been hormones and instinct, but Karina wondered if carrying a dragon in her womb for so long had changed her. She and Bennet had shared blood for three moons.. maybe she had some dragon in her now as well. As her cloudy eyes closed sleepily, Karina promised herself to ask Kjors in the morning, when he came to visit her new living quarters. 

   

    
 

It did not surprise him that the children were fast asleep by the time he returned to the new den. It had been a long journey for them and if he was exhausted he could not imagine how they felt. Rest would be good for them, and come morning he would give them a little tour of their new home. It felt good to have them within reach instead of trekking across the territory to visit his children. They were all he had left — they were his future; his legacy — and he did not want to be an absent father. XIX also wanted them to love Hearthwood just as much as he did, even if they did not decide to stay once they became of age. As long as the river wolves reigned there would always be a place for them among the cedars.

A smile rolled across his pale {blood stained} maw as the blue-eyed Baranski thanked him, his tongue pressing against the back of his teeth as he searched for remnants of deer. He pressed his nose to her cheek to show his silent gratitude. Lachesis would forever be grateful to the silver girl; tending to another wolf’s children was not an easy task. He could remember the day that Anastasia had agreed to taking care of Shade’s children after his mate had disappeared, which had secured their positions in his pack. The Slayer children had never felt anything but love and appreciation for their ‘adoptive’ mother and XIX hoped that his own children would feel the same toward Karina. He waited patiently for the pale wolf to doze off before he slipped out of the den, not wanting to disturb the hodgepodge family. Though he was physically exhausted his mind was not; he was in pursuit of the river bank so he could soothe his thoughts and allow his head to clear before attempting to fall asleep.

stick with those who stick with you