Charred Ash Draw the fish are barely breathing

For @Scorpius but @Aquaria is more than welcome to join as well! Mention of @Treyah in his thoughts.

RE:  A recent heat wave has left the forest drier than usual.

The past two months had flown by, even if they were filled with more milestones than Draven dare counted. His second son and only daughter had been born, he had inconspicuously rose to leadership and soon his children would be big enough to move from the birthing den to the main area. The father wasn’t sure exactly when Treyah would decide to do this and the dark Leigh had made no mention of it. Truthfully he enjoyed having a seperate area for the female and the pups to grow away from some of the males other pack members.

This time around Draven was finding fatherhood much easier than the previous year. There was no heavy expectation to be a great romantic couple with the mother and he had a little bit more experience. So, instead of waiting for the pups to seek him out and ask him about plants he made it a point to try and visit with them daily so as to not miss anything.

It was late in the afternoon by the time the alpha had finished sorting through the herbs - a task which he now had minimal time for compared to before his change in rank. Emerging from the infirmary Draven noted that while he had been preoccupied clouds had moved in to cover the sun. It gave only very little relief from the blistering hot weather they had been having but anything was better than the blazing sun he supposed. Shaking off any dust or debris he might have picked up the father made his way towards the smalling birthing den.

Coming to stand on top of it so as to not give away his immediate location by sight he sighed loudly, ”Now where or where could the children be? I thought they might be around and want to go for a walk over the borders but I guess not.” If anything was going to get their attention that would be it. With all the aggressive coyotes these adventures had been limited and the father wouldn’t take them far but at only two months it should be exciting enough.

Scorpius had to put a paw over his muzzle to keep himself from laughing.

He had followed his father all the way to the medicine den and did his best to remain unseen. It was working. Deep in the infirmary there were a lot of smells that tickled his dad's nose and likely distracted him from the fact that Scorpius was near. And when, finally, Draven appeared outside of the den the boy squeezed down against the ground and made himself as small as possible. His father didn't turn and look in his direction and kept on walking back towards the hole in the ground they called home.

Just according to keikaku (translators note: keikaku means plan).

Quickly, the boy stole into the infirmary, grabbed the most inviting looking plant the lovely smelling, purple Prarie Crocus and ran back after his father. He made sure that he swung wide around the den so as to look like he was coming from a different direction than the infirmary. Scorpius wanted to look like he had found this plant all on his own. Then his dad would be very proud of him and like him more than @Aquaria

"'AD!" he called with his teeth still firmly in the stems of the flowering plant, "OOK! Ook it I fnd!"

He had no idea what he had picked up was toxic.

The man was doing his best to be a devoted father, leader and healer, but he was flawed. He tended to throw himself wholly into whatever task he was doing and that meant he sometimes missed things going on around him. This tunnel vision was not aided by the strong scents of herbs that wafted about the infirmary. The stealthy combination allowed for his son to stay completely hidden from the man as he worked and even as he exited the den.

For a few moments there was no answer to his playful call and Draven rationalized the pups may be asleep or already out with their mother. His nose was still becoming accustomed to the air and clearly the residue of pollen and he couldn’t get a clear feel for it. Ready to turn away in search of them, maybe make it a family walk his eyes suddenly widened in panic.

There clamped firmly in his toddler son’s jaws was the bright purple flower of the prairie crocus. Helpful when applied topically to wounds certainly, but toxic and potentially deadly when ingested. Walking forward hesitantly Draven wanted to shout to spit it out immediately but was well aware of childhood antics, no matter what he said Scorpius would want to do the opposite. Instead the healer smiled, ”Oh wow! Would you look at that!” Then coming closer he gave a large dramatic sniff, ”Do you think I can have a closer look? It might be just what I was looking for.” Nevermind the fact that it was clearly from the infirmary. Slightly limp stalks and faded petals were not signs of a freshly picked plant.

If only wolves knew what doors were.

His father seemed very keen on his find. Suddenly he very much didn't want to turn this over. It was his! He'd found it! He'd wanted his father to be proud, and clearly he was, so that box was checked off and then the next box read "Keep The Poison." When the gigantic nose came towards his pretty purple flowers the pup jerked his head away. "Mnnn!" he grumbled.

"No take, jus' 'ook," he commanded with his chin tipped up. Mother said these exact words all the time and now he was getting to use them and it felt great. But what if it was what his dad was looking for? He'd have to give it up then for sure, which was pretty disappointing but Dad was Dad after all and he set the other half of the rules. Warily, he watched the matching green eyes.

oh wow I suck, sorry this took ages

Draven’s worry grew closer to panic when Scorpius jerked his head away, the flower still firmly clamped in his jaws. The healer’s heart sped up a few beats but he did everything he could to remain calm, making a big show over inspecting the prize. Nodding in agreement he murmured, ”Just looking,” though what he really wanted to do was take hold of it and pull it away. Unfortunately, that was probably not a wise option as he did not want the pup’s teeth to puncture the stalk in an attempt to keep hold of the herb.

Sniffing dramatically the father hummed and tilted his head to the right and then the left, then snuffled at the stalk near Scrop’s teeth. Finally he broke out into a huge smile, ”Oh wow! Scorpius I can’t believe you’ve found a prairie crocus,” wagging his tail in pride he added, ”I’ve been searching for one of those for weeks.” He failed to mention that he had already found one and stored it away and this was clearly the same plant.

Knowing this probably wouldn’t be enough and that Scorpius would need more of a reward, ”Would you like to help me put it in the infirmary? I can show you some of the other plants, it can be something you and I do together.” He wasn’t sure how being a parent to multiples worked, but when he was a child anything you did with just one parent always seemed extra special.