Hearthwood River born to get wild

His plan had played out beautifully. The little Stark had been poking and prodding at him in feeble attempts to rouse the sleeping mountain when he jumped from his position on the ground. He did not mean to startle her as much as he had, but he was still pleased with her reaction. As he pressed his cold nose to her stomach he growled playfully into her soft fur, his grin never once wavering. Once he decided he had started her enough the ghost fell back onto his hindquarters, his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as he studied his daughter. He felt guilty for giving her such a fright and hoped that she was not too cross with him for his actions.

He remained where he was and maintained the small amount of distance between them. If the little Stark wanted to launch her own attack he would let her. It was important for her to learn how to protect herself, whether she felt as though she needed to or not. It was a skill she would need to acquire once when she entered adulthood regardless of what path she chose. Even a healer like Lachesis needed to know basic fighting skills — especially when it came to protecting his pack and his rank.

“You okay, Atty?” He inquired after a suitable pause, his head tipped slightly to one side as his chartreuse gaze remained focused on her pale form.

stick with those who stick with you

The Stark princess wriggled and fought her father’s muzzle, her adrenaline piqued and running rampant throughout her tiny body. She kicked and nipped and did her best to push her body away from his growls but he was completely humongous and there was no escaping him. The fight only ended once the tall ghost finally relented and released himself from her tiny paws. As he did so, Atty finally righted herself upwards and sprinted away a couple of gallops before circling around to see if she was being chased. She paused in confusion once more. Her father sat there, staring at her – and so, she stared back, her body, tail, and ears all erect. It was a little frightening, but also very entertaining. She wanted to be chased, even if it made her little heart flutter strangely. She was ready to run, but he said nothing for some time.

Instead, when he finally spoke, it was clear play time had ended for him. He was back to her gentle and soft-spoken Daddy, and her poised-for-play stance melted immediately. She lowered her tail and head, and trotted toward him happily, tail wagging happily. Phew, zombie-daddy was done! She had really shown him whose boss! She approached him, slinking to his chest and rubbing against his legs lovingly, giving all of the kisses she could to assure him she was glad he had made it.

so sorry for the wait <3 @Atropos

Her well-being, long with her brother’s, was his number one priority. The pack, and their safety, was also high on the list. They relied on him, just as the twins did. He would do anything — everything — for them. While Heartwood was a hodgepodge group of wolves, they were family… and he would do anything for family.

His soft words had pulled her away from the act of play, causing her expression to sober up almost instantly. XIX kicked himself for being so serious and ruining her fun, but the little Stark seemed unfazed. She bounded forward, a lazy smile perched effortlessly across her pale maw as she closed the distance between them. As she snuggled up to his warm chest he pressed a flurry of kisses onto her forehead, just as she pummelled her with her own affection. “You want to explore, Atty,” he started after giving her a final ‘boop’ to the nose with his own, “or would you like to take a nap?” XIX was game for either, especially the exploring option. As long as the little Stark was with her father, he was alright with her going past her boundaries. 

stick with those who stick with you

It was a big choice for a tiny girl, and Atropos paused her cuddling to meet her father’s gaze with wide eyes. Naps were good, she liked those a lot.. but that was something she could do anytime, with Mommy and the others.  She had Daddy all to herself, which never ever happened ever, and she was going to take advantage of every moment that she could hold her eyelids open. Atropos squirmed from Lachesis’s grip, toddling as fast as her little feet would carry her toward the forest. She had already forgotten what her other option had been; all she knew was that she was rebelling against the nap. 

 After running many miles (about three wolflengths) a realization had the girl's heart leaping into her throat. What if she had outrun Daddy and lost him?! Her sudden halt caused her to tumble forward comically, and she scrambled to her feet in order to check if Daddy was still following. Upon seeing her father close behind, she wagged her tail fiercely, nearly vibrating with joy.  She made to bark for him to catch up, but it came out as a strained little squeak (just as all her efforts at verbal communication did).  She smiled and bounced, too excited about what lay ahead to even stand still. When she was with Daddy it was always an adventure. 

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2016, 12:00 PM by Atropos.)

@Atropos We can fade out w/ this post, or yours, and have updated father/daughter thread? <3

 The ghost should have known that the suggestion of a nap would have gone unnoticed when the option of adventure was available. It had been foolish for the Stark to suggest something as boring and lame as a nap; exploring was much better.

Atropos was off so quickly he would have thought a bee had stung her rump. She bolted forward, sprinting for the trees ahead of them, with a wide grin pulling at her lips. Amused, XIX remained where he was, his chartreuse gaze focused on the little cotton ball. After a moment’s hesitation, the ghost pursued his daughter, his pace much slower than hers as it did not take much for his long legs to catch up to her. Her small, encouraging squeak caused the older wolf to chuckle, his eyes rolling in amusement as he followed closely behind. Wherever the little Stark wanted to go, he would follow — until her legs were no longer capable of carrying her delicate body over the unknown terrain. He did not want to subdue her wanderlust, for he knew all to well what that was like.

This time it was his turn to give an encouraging bark as he ushered the girl to keep going further. He would not allow any harm to come to his daughter; for now, they could explore as much as she wanted to. 

stick with those who stick with you