It was midday, and her stomach was growling, but she ignored the tratorious body-part. She had far too much on her plate to worry about food right now, with finding Valarius being on the top of her list. Little did she know that he spent a lot of him time watching over the den and listening for signs of trouble. Actually, she knew almost nothing about where he kept himself. She padded across Valhalla, feeling the sheer length of it in her paws. She passed by a few wolves she didn't know, going about their daily lives but they held little interest to her so she simply stalked through the grass like she was invisible, as she sought out her prey. She didn't want to call out his name, and give away the game so she kept her silence. Aside from her noisy scramble through the grass with her carelessly placed paws and constantly wiggling bum and waving banner. Why couldn't she find him, where was he? She tried catching a strand of his scent but didn't have the first clue how to hunt. Also she could do was walk the length of the territory until the pesky brute was found. "words"

It was one of the times in between his daily trips by Emer's den- to see if she needed anything and to scout for trouble. He was laying on the plain, beside a small puddle from the rain a day prior. The clouds reflected in it, a fact- he lazily noted. Occasionally, a wolf would pass and he'd offer a greeting but most of the morning had been spent alone. He'd doze off and on, different sounds pulling him from his slumber. The last sound to wake him were the paw-steps of another, but he glanced around seeing on one. Assuming it was just a passing wolf, he lowered his head back to his paws, his chocolate lids falling over his blue eyes with a sigh. His tail flicked lazily on the ground, his body relaxing as he fell blissfully into a slumber.

She was astounded at her good fortune when she found him. He twitched once to her paw-steps before falling into slumber. She had to pause a moment as she struggled to hold in her giggles. She crouched and did an over-dramatic tiptoe to where he lay sunning himself in his sleep. She did giggle this time, soft and quite beneath her breath. She made her way over to his back, stopped when she reached it and eyed the boy critically as she struggled to form her battle tactic. No matter what happened here, it would be a rude awakening for the poor unsuspecting brute. She took in a breath, swishing her tail before her, before leaping onto the back of the man, leaping over him, landing heavily in the small puddle of water, swishing around in the little puddle so her tail dragged against its bulk as she faced him again, reared up on her back legs and pawed at him. ?Rooar!' she challenge him, as she waited for him to retaliate. "words"

The bright sun warmed his chocolate coat, as he rested on the dried plain. His body relaxed in the light, mind slipping away into unconsciousness. A sigh left him as he drifted off, though it would be in vain. A sudden weight on his pack, caused his eyes to shoot open. Moments later, his bright blue eyes were met with the green eyes, of Cecily. 'Roooar' She challenged, and he chuckled. He pushed himself to his paws, staring down at the pup in the water, leaning down on his front paws- in a bowing motion he looked sternly at her. "Y'know, it's not polite to wake a bear from his nap!" He spoke with a stern voice, though towards the end of his sentence it ended with a roaring noise. Rearing up on his hind legs, he roared into the air, waddling on his hind-legs towards the pup. "I think I spy a tasty wolf pup!" He said gleefully, mimicking a bears growling noise as he approached her. His tail swayed behind him, supporting him on his hind-legs, though his hips ached in protest. He was getting to old for this...

She had woken the beast and emitted her challenge, feeling the coolness of the little pond swirling against her legs as they thudded back into the water was a small distraction from the boy before her. He had risen with her rude awakening, and he seemed ready to challenge her. He gave an odd little bow which surprised and somewhat confused her, and her head was tilted his way when he in turn reared up on his back legs. She squealed in shock, surprise and simply pure delight at this turn of events. She knew he welcomed play, but was surprised and delighted with the extent of it. He was the only adult who really played with her, and she loved him for it. Squealing through her giggles she backed up, the water pulling at her legs as she waddled backwards, away from him. ?oh no!? she gasped as she turned and ran. She ran a few steps, rolled in the grass a few times and came back with a totally different expression on her face. ?Beware bear, the knight is here!? she called out in a deeper voice, rolling her steps towards him with an exadurated swing of her tail and butt as she marched. She eyed him a few times, considering her approach. She darted a few steps towards him, feinted to the side and ran away once more. She did this one more time before starting a headlong dash towards him and jumping, aiming to tackle him down with her shoulder. "words"

The little brown pup gave a squeal, and he wondered if it was from fear or delight Delight confirmed it, when she started giggling. He started to chuckle, and tried to turn it into an evil bear chuckle. As she backed away, he staggered on his hind legs towards her, roaring into the air. She darted away, and from his raised position, he could see her roll about in the grass. "Aye my prey is wounded from the giggles!" He said in a triumphant roar. The little brown pup never ceased to amaze him, as she came back towards him- with a totally different expression. A knight, the pup, certainly had an imagination. He halted in his movements, eyeing her as she moved. When she moved towards him finally, and feinted, his brow rose slightly with an impressed look. She'd take naturally to fighting. Finally, she slammed into him, and with an "Uff!", he tumbled backwards. Moving to wrap his paws around her, in both ways to trap her- and to protect her from his weight as he fell, he groaned dramatically. "I've been bested by the knight!" Against he dirt, his head lolled to the side, his tongue sticking out, as he played dead. "The evil bear... is dead." He announced in a whisper, before growing still.

She jumped and her attack landed. His paws, much more massive than her own would wrap about her and she squealed as she went down with him. It seemed her prey was hardly about to go down without a fight. Once again she would come out of a fight with Val triumphant. Landing on top of his belly with his paws about her. His words where dramatic and confidence boosting as she struck a dramatic pose upon his stomach and cast a glance towards his face which hung to the side with his tongue sticking out. She giggled and wiggled her bump as she faced his head. She crouched lower, her tail swishing to and fro behind her and over his coat as she watched him.



She gave a moment long her to ensure her prey was ?dead? before pouncing forward again, landing just below his neck and tapping both paws over his tongue ? careful to keep her claws away from the soft thing. She squealed with laughter ?Gotcha! Whats the dead bear gona do nooooow? she taunted, her bump wiggling behind her. But then she simply flopped down ontop of his belly and looked up at the sky. ?Hey Val?? she asked softly as she shuffled into his warm belly fur.


"Speech"

His playful and heroic act was over- the small pup had defeated the giant evil bear, and now he lay dead on the ground. The small pup jumped on top of him, and he let out a little huff as her weight connected but remained still as she trampled over top of him. She was quiet for a few moments, before asking what the dead bear was going to do. He was contemplating an answer, when she laid down suddenly, and her soft voice spoke, 'Hey Val?'. His looked up at the sky, and glanced down at her. "Hey Cecily?" He replied with a slight chuckle, looking up at the blue sky- and waiting for her to reply. What was the little bear fighter thinking about that had her so quiet? His cerulean blue eyes stared at the blue sky- the depths of its color only disrupted by the white fluffy clouds as they floated past, as he awaited what Cecily had to say.

She made herself comfortable on his warm bulk, breathing in the scent of him and relaxing with a few soft breaths after their game ? she love Val, that he never hesitated to play with her and was there in an instant when she needed him. But she had stuff on her mind right now and for a rare Cecily instant she was still. Well... mostly still, her tail did a slow swoosh behind her and her paws dug comfortably into his coat, needling at it in gentle and small movements. The boy answered with her own name and his eyes seem to go skyward. She smiled again, looking down on his familiar features and held no doubt that what she was about to ask was simple right like the day was bright and the night was dark. It was how things were supposed to be, she knew it in her heart and was simply setting it right. She delayed for another moment in the pretense of shifting her weight before speaking. ?Val, would you be my Daddy?? she blurted out, then quickly trudged on. ?You play with me and look after me and always have time for me and you like Mommy and you would be the bestest dad the world has ever seen ? I just know it? she declaired in her perfect Cecily-logic"And mummy said you could be if you said its okay" She would add in triumphiently - remembering her conversation with Emer about the Daddy subject. her eyes where bright and full of hope as they looked down at his blue orbs. speech

He could feel Cecily shift on top of him, her little body moving as he wondered what was on her mind. She never was this quiet. Was she planning to attack him? Innocently, he'd stare up at the sky, his cerulean gaze drifting back to her as she spoke. 'Val, would you be my daddy?' He froze. Would he be her... what? He was about to ask her to repeat her question when she trudged on- explaining it. 'You play with me and look after me and always have time for me and you like Mommy and you would be the bestest dad the world has ever seen ? I just know it' He blinked, thinking about what she said. What would Emer say to this request, and of course, Cecily already had that answer. Emer said he could be, if he wanted too? He looked into Cecily's green eyes and blinked, how could he tell this little girl no?

He took a deep breath, thinking about her words. Would this make the relationship between Emer and him strange? What would it do to them? Could he really deny Cecily a father? Her true father, probably didn't even know that they existed, and she'd never meet him. Her biological father was a monster, he almost didn't want Cecily to know that. Finally he spoke, his words soft. "As long as your mother doesn't care, I would be honored, to be your father, Cecily." He spoke solemnly. His gaze burned with sincerity as he looked at her, silently making her an oath. No one would harm her- or her siblings and mother, while he was around.

The girl was all coiled up inside with anticipation, still and breathless as she looked down at him, waiting for the answer. He seemed to be lost in thought, mulling over what she had asked of him. She supposed that, well it was utterly right for him to be her Daddy, it was still a lot to take in at once. The coil wound tighter in her chest as she waited, and when at last he spoke it exploded. She bounded to her paws and jumped into the air, thudding back onto his belly again and doing a funny little dance. She had done it, she had a Daddy now! One that would love her and look after her forever and ever. ?I?m sure she?ll be really happy to have a Daddy too!? she said in a total twist of logic, but said in complete commitment as she answered his question about Emer being ok with it. She finished her dance and looked down at the face of her father ? blood meant nothing to her, it was in the love and loyally and total trust she held for him ? he was her dad now. She flopped back down onto his belly and cuddled her head into the crock of his neck, almost purring with pure happiness to the situation. ?Daddy.? she stated. "Speech"