Fool's Gold Chasm Holes in the floor of Heaven

Enera had been trying to sleep, but now her mind was racing. All the wolves? Everyone? But distantly, mama was saying. From a long time ago. "Where did the birds come from? Like Huginn? What about the deer? Where did they come from? And the mice? And the grasshoppers?" It was all so big and she'd always wanted to learn. She just didn't realize how much there would be... she would just have to work harder.

Her whirring mind settled on another topic. "Mama? If we're all connected, why are some wolves mean to others? Shouldn't we all be nice, and help each other out, if we're all family?" her brow furrowed as she looked up at mama. She was momentarily distracted by another falling star, but her attention was now held firmly by her mama's story, by their history.

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?

Settle down were words Enera heard frequently and generally hated, but this time she listened, because if mama was telling a story, it meant she wouldn't get to hear more until she'd quieted down. And right now, she wanted answers!

"It's really nice of the skywalkers to send us the other animals to help us," she said, trying to hide a yawn. She didn't like the scary creatures that were sent to test them (her mind turned to the Scary Lady), but if it made them better at being wolves, and made it better for them to take care of each other...

She frowned at her mama. "But..." she yawned again, bigger, and her eyes were growing heavy. But she didn't want to sleep now! She wanted to know more! "Well, we'll just have to teach them all better, right mama?" she asked, snuggling deeper into her mama's side. "Aweho and Marrah are my family..." she mumbled quietly, even as her chin touched her paws and dreams tugged her down to join them.

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