Mommy had left the den again in search of more plants. His brother was still not feeling well, and since the healer lady knew how to take care of him she had been making periodic trips outside of the den to bring back whatever was needed in order to break his fever. The child had watched her come and go, always with the order that he should remain there with his brother. She said it was to keep an eye on him, since he was sick and all, but he felt useless sitting around watching his twin be sickly. It was no fun, and he really did nothing but sit around staring, or moving so much he created a nuisance of himself. I've seen the plants, he thought, I could get some myself. Mommy would never approve of his idea...but she did not need to know everything.

He had no plans to travel far, not the way she did, but the healer's child at least wanted to check the immediate vicinity. With a cautious look behind him to make sure his brother was still resting, asleep and fighting off the fever that had yet to break, the month old pup tread carefully for the den's entrance. He peeked out first with his nose, scenting the air, identifying Mommy's scent and the natural scents of the Fjord. Eyes of two different shades of blue stared wide with wonder, the child's intent momentarily forgotten as he became distracted by the grandeur of the world outside of his den. Wow... Why does Mommy go so far away? There's lots of plants here!

Encouraged by what he saw, and his fevered brother behind him in the den, the pitch colored child stepped tentatively out of the den and into the open, cautious at first but becoming bolder the further out he went. There was no one about, and the healer lady was likely not to return any time in the immediate future. Which meant he could have a peaceful moment here for himself. He smiled as he strolled, his tail waving as it curved out and up over his haunches. This was his home; why should he be afraid? As he walked, he spotted green, a tiny weed with numerous leaves and a long stem. He grinned. A plant for brother! He bounded toward it and grabbed the center of its stem between his teeth, growling in his effort to finally snap the plant in half. With a partially demolished, leafy weed stem victoriously between his teeth, the healer's boy spotted another weed and raced toward it, further away from the den, to gather it up too.

Jakart nosed the remnants of the deer and looked out across the Fjord to where his brothers dens were. He had been hunting his tail off to keep Callisto fed, and in turn the pups she refused to let him see. A peek or two inside the den when laying meat before the entrance, the shadowy silhouettes of wriggling babes eventually transforming into talkative pups. He let out a depressed sigh. The male wanted to see his children. Tell them stories and carry them on short walks to let them safely see the world beyond the den. At least he knew they were both males, one being hungrier than the other by the incessant want of milk. Definitely his son, remembering his own hunger as a pup with a smirk. Done removing the haunch of the deer with a final tug Jakart looked over in the direction of Callisto's den. For the moment he was alone, Narcissus off chasing Belladonna or something, and as he picked up the savory hunk of meat his eye caught movement down in the fjord. It was Callisto. There was a sudden tightness in his chest. She wasn't at the den, which meant the pups were alone, which meant if he really wanted to see his sons he could do so without interference. Jakarts toes ground into the earth at the thoughts. It wasn't as if he would ever harm the babes, not that his lover knew that or since... Jakart was already moving, mind decided. There would be repercussions for sure. But it had been a month! Over the dips and turns his flighty and excited paws carried him closer to the entrance to the den. And at once he stopped at the sight of a little umber ball of fur making it's way out of the den. The grey wolf dropped to his belly and lay the piece of meat off to the side. His breath quickened at the sight, mismatched eyes slowly peeking up to stare at the pup. The child moved with determination, a harmless weed in his mouth. Already taking after his mother it seemed. Was that the hungry one? Still on his stomach Jakart watched, crawling a step closer. He decided an outright call of attention would startle the child, thinking of something to make the pup notice him in a less alarming way. Hmmmm. If it was the hungry one... Jakart looked at the meat beside him, picking up the deer thigh. With a casual stride, paws shaking slightly as he closed the distance to his son, Jakart stepped closer and closer to the young one. It broke his heart, but the father had to act natural and see if the gild would seek his attention, depositing the meat at the dens entrance as if nothing had changed. The male kept his ears perked, titled back slightly as he sat with the meat between his paws and began to tear off pieces for the she wolf that wasn't there. "Talk" "You" Think "Companion"

There was an excited glint in the child's eyes as he closed the distance between himself and his newly spotted weed, and his tail wagged his excitement. For a first trip outside of the den, it was sure turning out to be a momentous, eventful occasion. He had never imagined to find so many plants simply waiting to be plucked up and taken back to the den, so many more ways that his brother could be helped. That his mother had overlooked them seemed an insignificant detail compared to the approval he hoped to receive for assisting her without an invitation to do so, regardless of the fact he was currently breaking rules simply by being outside of the den. That could be overlooked once she recognized his capabilities, right? That he knew what he was doing and could be trusted to help instead of sitting around doing nothing?

He sure liked to think so, and did think so as he set aside his wilting weed to grasp another and begin tearing it too from its stem with an unnecessary show of force and another determined growl. This one broke sooner than the last, and he stumbled back a step, falling onto his rump with a startled blink that silenced the growl he had been making. But with another piece of plant between his teeth, the child only felt victorious for a second time, and getting his small, round body to his paws with a vigorous shake, he marched over to his first plant to add the second to it.

Movement made him stop before he could grab up both plants and begin a search for a third. For a fraction of a second, the pitch colored boy feared he was caught. It was Mommy, the healer lady, and he was going to be in serious trouble for being out here on his own, regardless of the plants. Frantically, he reached for the weeds, crushing them further in his haste, and paused again as he realized the wolf was not his mother. In fact, the wolf was a stranger. Though...not entirely. Frozen, the two-blue-eyed pup stared as the large grey male stalked forward and deposited a piece of meat at the front of the den and began tearing it into more manageable bits. I know this wolf, the child thought. He had seen him a number of times, always just at a glance and never so directly. The healer lady never allowed it. Which meant he probably was not technically allowed here now either...

Determined to follow his mother's example, the grey-pawed boy strode forward purposefully, weeds still roughly gripped in his jaws with his head and ears perked up and his tail curved with a dominant authority that was his own creation. This was his den, with his sick brother inside. If Mommy was not here to do the growling, then he would! And so he did, his tiny voice raised in the most threatening growl he could achieve at his age. His blue gaze stared at the back of the larger figure, marching closer toward him with the determination to get his attention and make him leave. On impulse, he spit out the plants he was carrying and leaped forward, aiming to latch his tiny legs around the wolf's tail and bite at it repeatedly. He would make this stranger sorry he showed up when Mommy was away!

Jakart could help but glance at the pup out of the corner of his eye as he pulled on a hunk of stubborn flesh. At least the meat wasn't as bloody as others could've been. If Callisto came back and he had a set of red jaws the implication she could come to realize... But no. He would never think about doing such a thing to his sons, his two boys. But there in itself was the probable basis of Callisto's fear. Was it because she had never seen him interact with pups before? Was it simply because he was a male? Unless he could broach the subject with her, of which his stubborn lover would probably reject the question as to why he still wasn't allowed in the den then he would simply not set foot inside for Callisto's ease of mind. But a pup that was outside on its own? There was a possibility for interaction. Even as the pup growled at what must've been a complete stranger Jakart simply let the child be even as his pinned ears heard the ambling steps get closer with an audible puppy growl. A smile broke across his muzzle as he felt his son tackle his tail and bit and nip at the fur of the appendage. Already a healer and a hunter. A model child of both parents. Maybe the grey wolf would teach him about the throat on prey soon, even as he felt the pup gnawed at him Jakart stood up and quickly backed over the sprawled child and bowed his front. Every detail of his son was surveyed like hunted prey. The darkness of the pelt and the grey cheek marks beneath mismatched eyes. The tiny fangs that were still coming in that held a few pieces of tail fur. Jakart nosed into the pups mussy fur and deeply inhaled the scent of his progeny. The child was strong, even as the father winced as his son bit his nose a quick lick stumbled babe. For a first close encounter it wasn't so bad, although when Callisto came back he would have to give the job of rearing the twins back to her. "Talk" "You" Think "Companion"