Turtleback Lake so tall, so goofy, so full of snacks

For @Ryder and @Caspian
Dawn, Broken Clouds, 73F/23C

It had been about a week since Chan had dropped the child into their lives, and the last few days he was beginning to leave the den. Finley could not help but be attached to the pup who now suckled alongside her son, and against better judgment had given him a name; Caspian. It was the name of the king of thieves, the feature of many of the songs and lullabies from home. Including the song she had been humming to Ryder the day Caspian had joined them.

It was proving a little difficult to have two children at two different ages, Ryder now about six weeks old, and Caspian she had no way of knowing but he seemed a couple weeks behind. Despite all this, they were already beginning to resemble each other, mousy brown fur fading into cream. It was funny how life worked wasn’t it?

Finley was dreading having a further conversation with Chan. She knew there was every possibility he would come and ask to take Caspian to be raised by Flair after what happened. The mother had no idea the details, only that the other woman had been heavily pregnant, and then injured and no children had ever come. She didn’t pry, it was not her place. But, she knew deep down that the more days passed, the more attached she and Ryder were to the newcomer, who she already thought of as a second son.

The sun was low on the horizon, just peaking over the lake, painting the sky with shades of orange and yellow. Ryder lay just outside the den she shared with the boys, watching as it rose, taking a few moments of peace for herself.

The small boy had already seen and felt so much, though most of it was lost on him. Lost, like he had been. The memories were nebulous and unformed, images in the sand that the tides were already washing away. But there were impressions that stuck with him - loneliness, despair, worry, confusion, strangeness, and then, at last, comfort. Safety. Peace.

He had a (new? different? maybe?) mother who was warm and loving and him sang softly to sleep, and a big brother who dared him to keep up as they grew and tumbled about the den, and each day he felt a little further from the wretchedness of his nightmares. Though all these things were far beyond his comprehension, these days of stability and growth had allowed the young lad to begin to flourish. His life was so short, but already it seemed almost like two different lifetimes.

The tiny vagrant prince yawned as the morning light spilled forth and stumbled his way out of the den, looking for the comforting shape he knew now as his mother. At the moment, he simply wanted to collapse into their soft fur and feel the warm sun and bask in it all, to make sure it was real. Making his way forward on increasingly steady paws, Caspian made straight to Finley's side and fell in a heap there, letting out a sigh.

(This post was last modified: Jun 26, 2022, 05:30 AM by Caspian.)

Ryder stretched his legs and spine, little appendages growing longer every day. He'd only recently started to comprehend his own growth, and he marveled at his weed-like limbs as he completed his wake-up routine. How big would he get? Even the adults were different shapes and sizes, probably still growing themselves, but he'd never seen one say, as tall as a tree. Could he get that big though?

Caspian toddled past, and the youth was pulled back out of his head and into the actual world. A grin spread across his muzzle and he jogged forward, looking to get ahead of his new playmate as he always wanted to be. When he popped out of the ground, however, Ryder did not immediately go for Finley. She was always there, and with the ignorance of childhood he took that for granted. Instead, the boy surveyed for what was around them today.

Given it was one of the last remaining bodies of water, the lake had become a large draw for animals of all kinds. Ryder never seemed to run out of new things to gawk at and investigate. Something was moving at the shore, and that was all he needed to see. He took off like a shot to inspect the mystery creature.

Like most mothers, Finley’s moments of independence were few and far between. This morning was a prime example, she had maybe a quarter of an hour along watching the sunrise before both boys made their way out of the den. Caspian settled safely against her belly and the mother craned her neck to give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

Green eyes then settled on Ryder as he also exited the den, but did not come to visit with her. As long as he did not wander too far she did not mind, and she said nothing, not that that was unusual. She was raising them to be dutiful and polite, but other than that she was trying not to interfere with much. If they respected the wolves they needed to, and did the chores when asked then that was perfectly good enough for her.

Still, she did what she needed to do, and turned to look out on the horizon for anything that might pose a threat to the small family. Or anything that might interest them. She couldn’t find anything that stood out, but that didn’t mean nothing was out there,

Nestled against Finley's warm shape, all was right with the world, and Caspian's eyes were closed as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness. He curled more tightly against his mother, releasing a small chirp as he felt her soft kiss hit its mark. A warm feeling of contentment washed over him.

A ear was pointed toward Ryder, lazily following his progress out of the den, and momentarily the child stirred once more as he heard Ryder's footsteps fading. Curiosity rippled across the blissful sleepy seas, and the boy stirred, sitting up. Where was his brother off to? Caspian looked up questioningly at Finley. Then he sat up and looked around, ears perked forward, now fully attentive.

His mother did not seem concerned, gazing out across the family's surroundings beatifically. Feeling secure with his mother looking out for them, Caspian rose to his feet and padded off toward the lakeshore, toward his brother.

"Ry!" he called out, seeing the other break into a run. Caspian hurried after his brother, not wanting to miss out on whatever adventure his brother was off to.

Ryder heard his brother call after him, but did not pay the other pup much mind. He continued to focus solely on the object of his curiosity, legs steadily eating up the sandy distance between. If Caspian wanted to join in the activity, he assumed the boy would know to follow.

The critter chirped and chittered, beady eyes watching Ryder with great suspicion as he closed in. The muskrat was thoroughly displeased to be bothered, having hoped to finally be given a break. Rather than slip back into the water, it turned to face the coming children directly and stood back on its brown legs. Its sharp-edged teeth clicked in warning, but the paling wolf was not deterred.

In fact, Ryder giggled, thinking the thing looked rather funny.

The Lennox woman wanted to keep them this age forever, curious and exploring nearby, and curled up against her belly. It all seemed so easy in this second, which was not something she got to experience very often. Everything had been tumultuous since she had arrived in the Lore, so she cherished these small moments, even if they were only a few seconds long.

It seemed that this would be the case now as Caspian stirred next to her, before getting up to follow after his brother. With a small sigh, the mother also got to her paws and had to blink a few times as her head swam for a second. The prolonged heat of the drought, and providing milk for the boys with her slim stature sometimes caused lightheadedness from time to time. Exhaling quickly, she followed slowly behind the children, allowing them to explore while still being close enough to intervene if needed.

When the muskrat stood up and chattered Finley flashed her own fangs silently in warning. If it made a single move she would be swift to end its life. Besides, she was feeling a little hungry

Cas did his best to catch up with his brother, small legs carrying him down the shore as his paws ate into the soft sand. His path followed the set of prints already set by Ryder, and a heat rose to his face as the pale boy ran. He didn't want to miss out.

His pace did not slow until he was close, eyes widening as he saw the creature facing off with them. It had funny, squarish yellowed teeth that reminded him of broken sticks. Up close, the scent was stronger too, the musk strong enough to make his nose wrinkle and ears fall back. But, Ryder hardly seemed scared of the strange animal. And mother was already close by, ready to step in as she flashed a toothy warning back at the strange little beast. Cas wasn't gonna be afraid, either.

Determined not to be last at everything, the little prince lowered himself, circling around to one side. The muskrat would have to face him, or Ry, but it couldn't keep its teeth pointed at them both.

He swiped a paw out. It turned with surprising speed, facing him and leaving itself exposed to Ryder at the same time. "Grawrrr!" It was chattering at him, and he gave his best menacing growl in response. Cas stalked closer, senses alert with excitement and concentration.

Just as he did not key into his younger sibling's whereabouts, Ryder was also oblivious to their mother having joined the procession. Even as she stood only a short distance from him, with his back turned Finley may as well have not been present at all. The boy pawed at the air between himself and the only other being within the scope of his awareness, his grin growing all the more goofy every second.

Caspian then darted out from his peripheral, capturing the critter's attention and effectively stealing it away. Briefly, that sunny smile turned into a frown as his ears leaned back with annoyance. He considered walking away, but couldn't imagine finding anything more fun even if it meant he got to play by himself. Instead, Ryder made the choice to bend and flex to accommodate his baby brother.

He padded closer, and was happy to see that was enough for the mustelid to begin eyeing him too. It felt forced to divide its attention, and clearly did not feel comfortable with the stacking odds. With a gravelly hiss it gave the children its best muskrat cuss and then dove for the waters. Letting out a single sharp bark, Ryder shot after it, far from ready to be done with the game.

(This post was last modified: Oct 15, 2022, 01:59 AM by Ryder.)

The Lennox woman watched closely as both booths approached and pawed at the muskrat. Maybe if she were a different kind of creature she would feel bad about these kinds of antics, but as a wolf this was just child play. It was good for them to explore the world around them and practice their hunting skills like this. The smile only faded for a brief moment when she saw the yellow teeth clicking dangerously close to her son’s paw but everyone came out unscathed.

With a loud hiss the rodent disappeared beneath what was left of the lake. After only a second Ryder was diving out after him and that was the point where she felt she needed to intervene. Her oldest was only about 6 weeks old, and the youngest only around a month. They were certainly not old enough to be taking deep dives and chasing after muskrats.

Striding forward with authority she quickly caught up with Ryder and nudged him gently back towards the shore. Expecting protests she said shortly, ”No swimming this early boys. You’ll have to wait for the afternoon.” God forbid one of them went beneath the surface while it was still dim with the dawn. They would all need to find something else to do. Herding them to shore she offered, ”Come on, I’m sure we can find something on land to chase.” And they were off on the hunt again.

FADE