Oak Tree Bend The World is Yours

This is the pack thread to introduce @Azra and @Kisina. Please let @Aponi respond first, but after that no posting order.

Pups begin appearing outside the den and are usually allowed to play near the entrance. Hearing begins (ears rise at ~27 days) and canines and premolar teeth are present. Weight varies now from 3 - 7 lbs. (1.4 - 3.2 kg.). Puppies are now extremely mobile and begin to understand the basics of the world around them. Parents and adults responsible may find that they are constantly kept on their toes as they try to keep the puppies from venturing too far. As the pups' eyesight improves and starts to focus, they are able to recognize family, siblings, and other objects around them. They are keen to pick up patterns in speech, sounds and words and may mimic them to practice social skills. By the end of this period they have memorized the sound of their mother's or caretaker's voice and now never fail to recognize it.Estimated human age: 2-3 years old.

Mid-morning, sunny and light breeze

There was a distinct grove in the ground from where Serach's body had been sitting. Since the birth a few weeks before, he had moved from that spot only to collect food from the caches to deliver to Aponi and the occasional trek to the borders to mark it and ward off any curious creatures who might venture too close. He was more relaxed this time around than he was last year, but he was still vigilant in his protective duties. Today was no different, although he was walking a fine line between being extra tense and extremely excited. Aponi had decided it was time to allow Kisina and Azra out of the den for the first time and he was struggling with the excitement of watching them explore and experience the world for the first time and terrified that something dangerous would befall them.

But he could not keep them confined to the safety of the den any longer, so he dutifully lifted his head and howled out, calling his pack mates to him. Finished, he looked back down into the den and called out, "It's time. The others should be here soon."

I Always Make the Same Mistakes

The mother had enough experience to know that by the time the pups were actively trying to escape the den and explore that it was time to loosen the reigns. They would still need constant guardians but they needed more than just this hole in the ground. Serach seemed to know it as well, when she suggested they introduce them today there was no protest. Aponi wasn’t sure if it was just time passing or the arrival of the pups but the tension had lessened slightly. Her mate sat at her den everyday, protecting them and providing them and in return she encouraged the pups to interact with him as much as possible.

His howl was unmistakable, it was time. Nodding towards the pale face that peered into the den the mother nudged the small wolves at her side out and into the open. Once they had stumbled their way out and into the light the silver wolf followed, stretching her legs as she did so. It was getting cramped in there already and she missed sleeping out in the open. Standing beside Serach, Aponi’s blue eyes watching the pups diligently and tentatively she pressed her side against his. Would he reject this small interaction or accept her?

No matter what his reaction was her own expression remained pleasantly neutral, eyes trained on the pups. They were what mattered most right now.

The girl had enjoyed her time in the den but as she progressed through her first weeks, she had grown impatient and squirmy. Her stubby limbs had practiced how to hold her pudgy frame. She was getting pretty good at it too if she did say so.

As they were herded out into the world, Kisina did her best to use the walking skills she had tried to hone in the den. What the child had not been expecting was how bright everything was out here. Baby blues rapidly blinked as she swayed a bit. Had it not been for the sweet scent of her mother and her familiar slightly blurred form, Kisina might have considered rounding back into the den.

It was with hesitancy at first that she continued to move forward, aiming to get back to her mother's side.

"speech"

KISINA Donata

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

He had seen them out there, from the lip of the den in those few, quick moments he had escaped out from under his sister and his mother: the white fluffy things. They were different than his mother and sister and even his father who could have been considered a similar color. Or himself, he remembered. He was white. They were all covered in fluff but it had... a pointyness to it. Their fluff had ends. But the fluff in the great big... bigness looked like the softest thing he had ever seen. No hard edges at all. They made no noises. Some times he peeked out and their weren't any fluffs at all. Or there were so many they started to get kinda... darker. It was then that Azra realized that these fluffs had a lot going on. They were busy folk, busier than he was—he just laid around in the den and played all day. Fluffs had places to be and things to do.

But today he was going to see them up close.

Or well, closer anyway.

The pale boy barreled straight up the incline of the den and rolled right out into the world, and what he found there was a little disappointing for a few reasons:

1. There were only a few fluffs
2. He had thought that the big bigness and the fluffs was pretty much all there was
3. But now there were some other colors and other kind of semi-fluffs (substantially less exciting)
4. And it was all kind of overwhelming?
   

Not knowing what else to do and being only a very small, helpless and confused child he tipped back his head and began to cry.

Corsair had known it was coming any day now. He'd had decided he was looking forward to it, even though he was still nervous and unsure about what exactly it meant. He'd already felt the absence left by his parents' distracted attention, so his first thought when his father howled and called for them was excitement about getting to see his mum. Picking himself up from his resting place, he made his way to the birthing den, the excitement growing with every step.

"Mum!" His pale green eyes lit up as they swept over the familiar forms of his parents. Offering them a woof, he was stopped in tracks before he could approach them by movement around their legs. Two small - had he ever been that small? - bodies were there too. One brown and one white, one moving and one clearly upset. Unsure of what to do, or even if he should do anything, Corsair decided to stay where he was. Slipping down to his haunches, he was quick to slide down fully onto his stomach so he could more closely look at them, trying to remember what his first experience into the world had been like. Had he cried too or gone looking for his mother? Probably, not that he would say so out loud, especially not if @Mabel or @Ayla were around. Where were they anyway?

The Donata yearling was going to take her sweet time to answer her father’s call and she wasn’t afraid to admit it. If it had been her mother Mabel might not have even come at all, but the teen had a huge soft spot for her dad so she had begrudgingly gotten to her paws. Much to her chagrin despite how long she had purposely taken she was only the second one there, her brother laying on his stomach. Brown eyes watched the two little wolves in front of her parents warily, not coming any closer towards them.

She was more than happy to watch from the back, near the foliage where she could escape as soon as was permitted. She wanted nothing to do with her younger siblings and this was clear not only from her distance but from the disdainful way she curled her lip at them. So all of this fuss and heartache and stress had been over these two? The way Ayla had walked in a daze and she herself had felt the need to escape the territory everyday to avoid the tension was because of them. She was sure of it, and while she would never hurt them - she knew that would kill her father - she wasn’t going to fawn over them.

They had made her life hell and she wasn’t going to bend over backwards to make theirs heaven. They could make their own happiness as far as she was concerned.

I saw you in the village playing mandolin

Ayla Donata

She was late. She was so so late, but she had to find the perfect present for her younger siblings. What did you give puppies anyway? She couldn't quite remember if she had anything she preferred as a child. In the end, she managed to catch a duck that had survived a run in with a hawk earlier in the day. With the bird itself stashed away in one of the caches she had plucked some feathers from the bird to add to those that had buried themselves in the fur around her ruff and at the edges of her lips. She really hoped that puppies liked feathers.

Her siblings seemed to be holding back, but the distressed noise coming from the light one pulled at her stomach in uncomfortable ways. With her ears folded back and her tail tucked low she scooted closer to the pup, letting the feathers fall from her jaw in a fluffy snowfall as she scooched closer to the ground, her tail sweeping against the dirt as she tried to make comforting sounds, a tight, tense smile on her face as she wondered if she was too close, and if her mother was likely to get mad at her? Would her presence just make things worse? "Hey, there... little... guy." God she was trying to sound reassuring but if the noise didn't stop soon she was pretty sure she was gonna puke. Hopefully the feathers would be distraction enough.

No posting order!

From the moment Aponi, Kisina, and Azra stepped out into the sun, Serach's tail had not been still. He was filled with an excited nervous energy, anticipating how this collision of worlds would go. It was one thing to announce their birth to the pack and a whole other to let them meet face to face, to get to see the burgeoning personalities that were starting to form inside the Bend's youngest members. So it was with a beaming smile and a wagging tail that he greeted Aponi and his youngest children as they toppled out of the den. When Aponi leaned into him, his heart skipped a beat at the sudden warmth. Without thinking about it, he leaned back into her, going so far as to turn his head and nuzzle the base of her ear. Perhaps it was the nervous energy, perhaps it was the endorphin rush that came at seeing Azra and Kisina stumble into the world, but either way, he was happy and content.

Watching with amusement, he couldn't help but chuckle as Kisina and Azra took their first steps into the sunlight. He didn't remember, but he imagined he had struggled with all the newness and sensory overload too. "There there now," he cooed at Azra, lowering his head to look at his son, hoping to reassure him. Looking up at the sound of Corsair, he wagged his tail and woofed a hello at his older son. He was a momma's boy, and so Serach wasn't really surprised that Corsair seemed more interested in Aponi than in either of his siblings. He could handle that, but what he struggled with more was the look of disdain on Mabel's face as she made her appearance, barely sticking out from the foliage surrounding the den. Frown pulling down the corners of his lips, he pulled away from Aponi's side and walked over to his oldest daughter.

Reaching out to nuzzle her cheek with his muzzle, he asked her "What's up, Mabel?" in a tone that clearly asked, what's wrong? He knew that crying pups weren't fun, but her curled lip was more than just annoyance.

(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2018, 03:02 AM by Serach.)

@Ayla @Corsair @Chamomile @Azra no posting order!

I Always Make the Same Mistakes

Serach pressed heartily against her touch and what was meant to remain a neutral expression cracked into a wide grin as he nuzzled her ear. However, she was quickly distracted from what was becoming a warm fuzzy moment by the sound of crying. Kisina seemed perfectly fine just to toddle towards her but Azra had let out a wail that only puppies could really master. Another mother might have immediately reached out to comfort him but Aponi was much too curious to see how he would respond to his packmates attempts at consoling him.

Corsair had crawled upon his belly towards the pale pup but the mother smirked when it seemed that most of his attention remained on the silver female. Of all of their now teenaged litter Corsair was most firmly attached to his mother. Ayla tried to please them both equally - and everyone else for that matter - and Mabel sat strongly in Serach’s camp. Leaning down she kissed the crowns of both her sons affectionately, adding a playful nip onto the older one’s ear. Almost as if on cue the children’s sisters arrived one after another.

Mabel’s curled lip was certainly disgruntling and Aponi would have curled one her own back in warning to play nice if Serach hadn’t already strode towards her. It was probably for the best, the teen would appreciate her father’s softer intervention more than the queen’s tough love. It was Ayla’s entrance that brought a healthy chuckle from deep within Aponi’s chest, feathers stuck comically from the teens fur, both on her face and a few strewn throughout her haunches and tail as well.

For now she just sat back and let it all unfold, she would intervene if necessary but not before then, it was time for the children to learn.

(This post was last modified: Jul 21, 2018, 02:37 PM by Aponi.)

Also @Lila since I forgot to tag you with Aponi!

Mabel wanted to leave, it was a reoccuring theme when it came to her younger siblings and just like last time was halted by the appearance of a littermate. Ayla came in covered in some kinds of feathers and made them rain down upon the pup who was crying and the cream coloured pup rolled her eyes. It was no surprise that her sister was going overboard trying to fuss over the pups but it sure was annoying.

And, just like last time Mabel had been so distracted looking at her littermates that she hadn’t noticed her father’s attention turn to her. She had no intention of faking being nice but she normally would have at least tried to look a little more neutral. Dropping her curled lip as he strode toward her the teen averted her eyes, ready to get called out for acting inappropriately.

Instead, her father’s true meaning shone clear. On one paw sher was happy not to be getting reprimanded but on the other, well Mabel was still a teenager. A well adjusted adult may have tried to communicate how she was feeling, or apologize but it would be a long ways away before the teen had that kind of emotional control. So, instead she gave her father a bright sarcastic smile and said, ”Oh, nothing!” In a sickly sweet voice, then she dropped her eyes away again. This time she was definitely going to get in trouble.