Charred Ash Draw our bundle of joy

Little family time! @Maera @Lacey lemme know if yall would like anything changed <3

 

His daughter was getting stronger every day and with a mother like Maera, she seemed to have the want and support of going further. He always had to wonder when she'd be ready to meet the others. The Draw was full of safe (yes, Kerberos was slowly starting to believe even Zerxes was safe despite his wife's creeping suspicions) wolves who were family. The temporary leader didn't ever push the matter, though. Their daughter was still young and would have plenty of time to make an introduction.

He quickly padded towards the den with a rabbit for Maera hanging between his jaws. His tail swaying softly behind him. The new father was always excited to see the two other Rigels. No matter his mood they always seemed to make him feel at least a hundred times better.

The tawny male slowed down as he came towards the entrance, setting down the rabbit before laying down on his stomach. Yellow eyes quickly searching for that fur ball of tawny and chocolate. "Hello Lacey." He whispered softly into the den before he smiled up towards Maera. Kerberos turned his head offer to grab the rabbit he had brought. Carefully he placed it close to his wife, unsure of her appetite at the moment.

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Waking up was Lacey's favourite thing to do.

Well, actually, everything was Lacey's favourite thing to do. She was still so new to the world that no experience had lost its shine and polish yet. Everything was immensely exciting. The fact that every day her vision was sharper was beyond thrilling. That her ears had popped just a few days ago and she began picking up on muffled sounds was both frightening and exhilarating. Already, she was deeply in love with her parents' soothing voices, the deep timbre of Kerberos and the softer hush of Maera easing her into contentment whenever she felt uneasy.

Whenever light began to filter into the den and tickle the baby blues behind her tightly closed eyelids, Lacey would spring awake, and the day would become a hundred times more exciting for her, and a hundred times more exasperating for her parents. After all, Lacey wanted absolutely nothing more than to reach the light, and she spent the majority of her days alternating between napping, nursing, and trying her damnedest to sneak out. Thus far her parents had not failed to keep her contained.

So when Kerberos arrived, Lacey was already awake and scrambling around the den on strong little legs, trying to give Maera the slip. She turned her head rapidly when the very muffled sound of her father's voice spoke incomprehensible words to her, but she turned too quickly and overbalanced easily. Toppling onto her side, the Rigel girl giggled wildly and began scooting toward both father and light beyond, and when she found her paws again, it was to pick herself up into a hurried waddle that she imagined would carry her right past her completely, utterly amazed father at mach 2.

Except Lacey's fresh new imagination was a thousand times exaggerated and she moved about as quickly as a tortoise, so Kerberos would have zero trouble catching her.

(This post was last modified: May 22, 2017, 11:41 PM by Lacey.)

The woman had been woken up by their daughter, watching her carefully, amusement lingering in her features as she tried to ‘escape’, the mother gently pulling her back every time she got too far for her liking. That was until she caught the scent of her husband lingering outside the den, a rabbit in his jaws as she pushed herself onto her paws, stretching out her limbs by pushing her front paws forward with a soft yawn. “She’s definitely got your energy.” She mused softly, sitting back down and watching them interact from a distance. He really was the perfect father.

She started to slowly tear into the rabbit, silently thankful for the meal. Her appetite had slowly started to return to her shortly after their daughter had been born. She supposed the physical exhaustion of delivering children was enough to make any wolf want to devour a horse… either way she wasn’t about to complain. She couldn’t help but chuckle when Lacey rushed towards her father, falling on her side. She’d get there eventually… but Maera didn’t want her to grow up yet… or ever. Was this how her mother had felt watching them grow? She was already up and moving about the den, soon enough she’d be outside and exploring the territory… and maybe beyond. Maera wasn’t ready for those thoughts… not right now.

 

His tail thumped at the earth behind him as his daughter seemed to greet him. She was by no means speedy but she made good ground. Kerberos watched as she tumbled for a moment and had it not been for infectious laughter he would have worried. "May have my energy but has your toughness." His yellow gaze looked up to Maera with a wide smile before returning to their child. Lacey seemed content now and had a bit more hang of things.

"My little explorer." He whispered softly with admiration as he reached his nose out towards Lacey. Kerberos scooted back slowly so he was more in the sunlight. "Come here Little L." The father cooed out softly in an attempt to lure his child into the sunlight more. Of course, his attention went up to Maera to make sure she didn't mind Lacey getting some sun time. This was their child. It was still a crazy concept to think about. Kerberos was convinced he had to have been the luckiest man on the earth.

He spread his paws a bit to give Lacey a walkway towards his chest if she made it that far. He had faith though, he always would. Part of Kerb had to wonder if this was the feeling that Triell and Naira had with their litters. What a wonderful feeling to finally be able to experience and understand.

(This post was last modified: May 22, 2017, 06:51 PM by Kerberos.)

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As she flew toward her father, she couldn't help the cascade of giggles pouring from her widely opened maw. She was doing it! She didn't have the foresight or the intelligence yet to realize that Kerberos was intentionally moving backward, nor enough of a grasp on reality to know that she wasn't, in fact, as fast as a Formula One racecar. She was just going, going, going... she was gone! She was going to get to that light and they weren't stopping her!

Except she wasn't. As the pup felt the warm splash of sunlight on her back and tasted a fresh breeze for the first time, she screeched to a halt and froze in place. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were pinpricks as sheer daylight poured into her vision, and only after several seconds did she realize that it hurt and gave in to the instinct to close her eyes. The chirping of birds was hardly a peep in her plugged ears, and the hushed rustle of leaves in the wind was too quiet for her, but nevertheless she was overcome by a sudden onslaught of stimuli.

Fearless and fierce though she was in the den, the heavily squinting pup could not process her sublime change in scenery all at once without some form of comfort. She quickly closed the remaining distance to Kerberos' chest, unwittingly going to him just as he asked, and buried her face in his coarser hair while her tail wriggled close to her rump, betraying her unease about the place she'd finally reached. It was much, much larger and busier than anything she had ever known yet, but the sweet smells flooding her nose were tantalizing and wonderful as well and she drank them in hungrily.

She couldn’t fight that grin as she quickly finished devouring her rabbit, licking her paws and maw clean from the blood that had lingered in her fur. She rose again, slowly moving towards the sunlight. “Our toughness.” He really didn’t give himself too much credit – and in a place it was due too. He was acting leader now… before that he made one hell of a Guardian, even if the title had never been officially bestowed upon him. He wasn’t the same wolf she met in the grove all those months ago… that much he was certain. He’d grown since then, and so had she… and so had their family.

Their daughter’s laughter and happiness was infectious, her innocence to the world still new as Maera watched her take her first steps into the sunlight, following the girl in suite. “Adventurous too… she’s going to be a pawful... curious and outgoing like someone else I know.” And Maera wouldn’t have it any other way – her tone conveyed that fact along with the grin that had grown larger on her maw. She softly nudged Lacey’s side, a quick lick over her fur before she settled down next to Kerberos. “A part of me still can’t believe this is real… that we did it.” They’d started a family, found a pack who had come to be something of an extended family… it all felt so real. It was real.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

 

He gave a bashful smile to his wife. No matter what he put himself through he didn't think of himself as tough and even if he was he certainly didn't imagine himself as tough as Maera.

The new father didn't miss the kind nature of his wife's comment. He watched as their daughter seemed to halt in her movements and Kerberos couldn't blame her. This was a much different setting than the den that laid just a few feet away. He had faith that she would push on, though. Wasn't she the child that had just fallen but giggled? A large smile spread across his face as their daughter finished the distance to his chest. He would give her the comfort she needed in this moment and Maera was next to him if their Little L wished for her mother's touch instead.

"I couldn't be happier, though. I can't imagine myself any other way now." He admitted as he looked down at Lacey tucked against him. Gently he attempted to roll the child over onto her back so he could nose at her stomach, a wolfish attempt at tickling. "I love that dark muzzle." Kerberos whispered softly. It was a reminder of Maera in their daughter as if personality wasn't enough to see who the parents were.

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With Kerberos' coarse hair tickling her soft puppy nose, Lacey cuddled close and dared to blink her eyes open again. The blinding light stung her eyes but she managed to squint enough to relieve the pain, and soon enough it disappeared. Moment by moment, the cub explored her sense of sight and the effect bright light had on it. By the time Kerberos commented on her muzzle, something she was entirely unaware of, she was able to look around freely.

She didn't, though. She was swept off her paws by the stronger force of her father, dumped with care onto her back. She had only a second or two to adjust to the new position before the lead male's nose dove for her belly. An unfamiliar sensation spread from the point of contact. Lacey was compelled to curl her limbs in and flail to try to throw him off, and she squealed and squeaked and giggled relentlessly as Kerberos found her most ticklish spot, right in the center of her belly.

She fought her father as valiantly as any three week old cub ever fought, batting with her soft paws and snapping her tiny, nonthreatening jaws at him, but she was uncoordinated at best. It didn't take long before she was reduced to a helpless infant unable to stop her laughter, and she lost control of her bladder even as she tried to roll toward Maera.

(This post was last modified: May 24, 2017, 10:23 PM by Lacey.)

@Lacey @Kerberos Sorry this took so long! DM me through slack if I've missed posting in any other threads for family stuff?

She grinned at his comment; laying her head on her front paws to admire her daughter as she played with her father. “Me neither… I can’t imagine still living like I did all those months ago.” Living alone, fighting for every meal with no sense of feelings or emotions… meeting that way too chipper lone wolf in the Grove, travelling with him after a business proposal she couldn’t turn down, falling for him… it seemed like it happened so fast, but it felt right, and always would. He was took the words right out of her mouth – she couldn’t imagine herself any other way now.

Her daughter tried to roll towards her and Maera let out a soft chuckle. “I think she got the best of both of us.” She teased softly, as she gave her daughter’s head a soft lick. She was honestly still processing the fact that she was a mother now, and that all of this was real and not some dream that was going to slip away from her… that this wasn’t a figment of her imagination. Sometimes everything felt a little too perfect, but she tried to push that thought aside… all she had to worry about was being a good mother… something she still feared was out of her capabilities.