Fallen Tree Cove Nothing I couldn't say

Oh, the sounds he had made seemed to electrify the air. First to react was his father; rising from the floor to let out some elated words of discovery. The tyke's head snapped away from Namid, focusing now on the suddenly very animated face of his papa. His name was in among the words, and so was the one he was trying to say! One of the larger ones had understood him, hadn't he? Little progress could be made in deciding whether or not the King had indeed gotten the message. The voice of his mother rang out in their shared space, now much louder and more charged with energy than ever before. At first their ecstatic behavior was concerning, but the wide, warm smiles and wagging tails – something he had already discovered to be a good thing – had a smile of his own growing on the young prince's face. He had done something good! He made them happy with that sound! It must have been right! The child's grin grew and grew until it was an open-mouthed smile. His own stubby appendage joined in with the others, nearly waggling him off of his feet at first. As his twinkling blue eyes peered up at the great guardian, her voice came back in reply. “Yes.” “Mom.” His pink tongue began lolling again. She advanced, repeating the word he had tried so hard to say and scooping up the dried out ball. Curiosity clouded his face as Cernan turned to observe, but it was replaced immediately by triumph. He did it! Her sudden lunge into the daylight had the child flopping into a play bow despite the heat. He watched her disappear again, now certain that she knew exactly what he wanted. He needed to do this more often! Now that the place was devoid of his mother's presence, the tawny boy whirled to face his other parent. With uncharacteristic enthusiasm, the usually quiet prince tossed his head up and did it again. “Muh! Muhmuh!” His eyes fell excitedly onto the agouti man's face, now unconcerned with the fact that this was not the name of his sire. He was simply sharing his discovery at this point – joyful that something so wonderful in their eyes had been accomplished. If they were happy, that meant he should be too! He stared up, hoping that the bigger being would again reward him with happiness. He didn't have to wait long for a distraction to arrive however, again in the form of his dam. As soon as his little eyes found her and her present, the child's lungs went to work. “Muh!” he called out, now bursting with joy. This time he waddled forward with spunk, choosing to soak his neck and then rub his shoulder along its surface. The ball squished just as planned. Why didn't he think of trying this before! “Muh” had delivered yet another round of refreshing liquid; and right when he'd asked! Cernan reclined on the ball for a few moments; letting the water get nice and deep into his fur. Just as before, the object eventually lost its magic qualities, prompting him to his feet. This time the youth grasped the deflated ball in his pinprick teeth and carried it the few short steps toward his parents. If it worked before it would work again. The thing fell gently, to the stony floor at his little paws. Now half soaked, the Vuesain boy stared up at his mom. He was confident now. He could try that last part. It was another “mmm” sound, right? With an upward lifting of his fuzzy head, the child barked, “Muhm!” A smile was still plastered expectantly on his maw. Wolf © Kurt Thomas Hunt Photography Background © Chesapeake Bay Program Manipulation © Jenandra

The king watched intently as the realization crossed the silvered facial features of his beloved queen, a sudden glow and sense of excitement enveloping her whole being. Enough so that Vespertio couldn't resist catching the infectious emotion. Darkened tipped tail waving about quicker than ever to stir up the loose debris scattered about the den floor. A quick shift of his golden gaze to the two remaining children to ensure they were alright in all of this sudden commotion. From first glance, it seemed the once tussling siblings were un-phased by this new discovery of speech from Cernan. Instead opting to take a cat nap from their extreme activities.

Their father's attention was soon cast back to his jubilant son upon the departure of Namid once more whom was set to fulfill his child's request for more water. Lowering himself down onto his elbows in the form of a bow, Vespertio chuckled softly as he watched Cernan continue to repeat his mother's name pridefully despite the fact it was the improper term for his sire before him. "That's it Cernan! Mom. Now you need to work on saying Papa for you ol' man here." Another chuckle falling past inky lips to flutter around the den. He could only imagine the emotion he would feel when his brood picked up on his name. How joyous and proud he would feel to hear these little bundles of joy calling him papa. 

Soon, a blockage in the light filtering from the entrance announced the matriarch's return, a larger dripping ball of moss clenched delicately between her jaws. Pure delight clouding the young Vuesain's features as he doused himself in the cooling gift, repeating his name for Namid yet again. This time ringing more clear than before. A smile of his own plastered Vesper's lips, coming to rest back into a full laying position. "Our boy has said his first word. Their growing up so fast." He spoke softly, turning his attention to his wife nestled against his side. Adorning her cheek with an affection lick of his tongue.

I'M SORRY FOR BEING A HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING-cries-

Namid Veusain Namid watched as the boy rolled himself over the liquid filled ball, reveling in the refreshment that it brought to his chubby little body. There was no doubting that Cernan was the biggest of the bunch, and certainly the happiest to eat. He was also the momma’s boy, while Aleister tended to stray toward his father and Neha going anywhere that she could get attention. She was perfectly happy with how each of their personalities were turning out, though the little spitfire of theirs might be trouble in the future. A smile curled upon her lips as she set her mismatched gaze on her son, laughing as he flipped about. Auds swiveled to catch the words of her husband, "Our boy has said his first word. They’re growing up so fast." he exclaimed. The pale queen’s tail gave a wag, a chuckle escaping her jaws. ”Indeed they are, my dear. Before too long I suppose we will have to move them to the communal den, then they will have no need for their dear parents,” she said, giving a mock sigh. Truthfully it was a sad thought to think that they would one day have no real need for them, but she was happy to have them tucked safely away at her side until such a point. The young prince waddled up to her, moss ball clutched in his tiny jaws. He dropped it at his paws, baby blue eyes looking up at her expectantly though he was panting happily. Such a spoiled bunch they were growing to be, but she was happy to give them anything their little heart’s desired. But, even she couldn’t keep up this running from the lake to the den even with how short the distance was. It was much too hot, and there seemed to be a nice breeze working it’s way up. “Momma cannot keep running like this, too hot. How about we go outside and take a nap where it is cool, yeah?” she said, dipping her head down to press a kiss to the side of his neck. Turning she gave an indication to the young and her husband to follow her, moving outside the stuffy den and into the shade of a nearby pine. The needles provided decent bedding on the ground, and in the shade with the breeze it was the perfect chance to nap off the sweltering haze. Flopping onto the ground she sprawled out with a sigh, a hum filling her chest happily as she listened to the birds chirping over-head and felt the refreshing breeze move her fur. No doubt it would be even better for her son, for that mixed with the water already on his pelt would only cool him further. "Speech." And if that mockingbird dont sing...

(This post was last modified: Aug 04, 2015, 03:20 PM by Namid.)

OOC: One more post from each of you and I think we can wrap this up! :)

Pale eyes flitted all over the queen's face; primed and ready to react to whatever happy sound of gesture she would make next. While her words were still pleasant, he could feel that her tone wasn't quite on the same page as he. His smile faded some as she spoke; tongue still flapping about between his pinprick teeth. The excitement was only making him warmer at this point. “...outside...” Outside? The young boy's emotions mixed in the most confusing way. Outside was fun, and awesome and full of new things, but today it was also uncomfortable and hot. The anticipation of seeing the outside again was beginning to win the boy over, however, as he turned to glimpse the entrance. The child felt her tongue against the fuzz on his neck; quickly turning his head to see what the matriarch would do next. The pup's stubby tail leapt into action; wagging furiously at both the new activity and the affection he'd received. His siblings seemed keen enough on the idea too; bumping into the boy as they waddled after Momma. Obediently the younger prince followed, eyes wide with awe at the world. It was still so strange and amazing! He was so absorbed with taking in all the new stimuli, that the change in footing came as a surprise. There were all these thin, tiny sticks on the ground instead of dirt, rock or grass. The youth paused to sniff the new ground cover; his attention returning to mother when he heard her unceremonious flop. Startled eyes softened when she seemed to faintly smile. Even so, it was best to go check on her. The pine needles now abandoned, Cernan became aware of the breeze. His wet fur seemed to chill instantly, and here under the tree they were safe from the hot sun. Now at his dam's side, Cernan waddled up toward her face. Perhaps out of mimicry, or because he was still a bit tired from playing earlier, the Vuesain boy collapsed softly onto the ground as well. He faced her muzzle, spending several seconds relaxing there before his puppy nature got the better of him. With a lazy, gentle paw he batted at her face. A couple soft swings landed before his whole body came to rest again. An expectant grin appeared on the pup's lips as he lay sprawled on his side. He was just goofing around a little, after all. It was too hot to really play. Wolf © Kurt Thomas Hunt Photography Background © Chesapeake Bay Program Manipulation © Jenandra

A soft chuckle of his own made its way past the thin lining of his leathery lips as his rounded audits listened to the words his wife spoke. In time it would be necessary to move the growing family for the birthing den could only contain so much and already the cramped space was nearing its max capacity. Soon, though, motion caught his golden gaze as Namid moved with a beckoning motion for both children and husband to follow. Rising to his paws there was no hesitation on getting a chance to escape the sauna that had become their family den.

Immediately the king of the lake was greeted with a relieving breeze that blew at his pelt gently enough to keep the heat at a minimum. Watching the silvered form of his beloved, a soft smile appeared on his lips at the way she flopped lazily into the pine needle bedding beneath a patch of shade. Cernan not far behind in as his smaller body mimicked her own, a single paw swatting in that typical puppy manor at her rested muzzle. At this the agouti man shook his head with a grin pondering how the boy could have any energy left in this heat.

Glancing at his remaining two children he gave each of them a nudge toward the shade before padding over to the small gathering himself, body collapsing in a similar fashion to the cooler portion of earth. Yawning briefly, salmon tongue licked at his chops before giving each member of his family a loving glance. Vespertio would not partake in the family nap this time, instead opting to keep a vigilant eye on the slumbering bodies knowing too well the dangers that could be lurking both above and below looking for an easy snack such as young wolf pups.

Exit/Fade