Rhyme had been getting a much needed bath after an incident with a mud hole. How was he supposed to know that momma didn't want the den all mucky? He liked the way it felt on his fur and he was also rather sure that it would have made a great bed. Rhythm insisted however, and before he was allowed back in the den he had to get cleaned up. Rhys hadn't waited on him either, not that he blamed her. So after his bath he'd leave then den (after going through all of that to get in there he didn't really want to linger anymore.) After his promise to stay out of the mud Rhyme would make his way down the knoll that their den sat on top of, though he'd been over the space what seemed like a thousand times by now there was always something interesting to find. Today he had his sights set on a big ol' buffalo femur. He was pretty sure he had been chewing on this the other day for dinner. So this was where it had been discarded. Eagerly he'd set about chomping down on the giant bone, a rather amusing sight to see such a tiny pup gnawing on his gigantic bone. ""

Ahhh….. autumn. One of her favorite seasons. Birna marched back toward the densite after a long patrol, her limbs sore and aching. She'd been taking stock of the prey numbers as well and the whole process took far longer than she thought it would. As the large woman reached her den she sighed at the pile of leaves that were blown up against the entrance. Quickly she started scooping the leaves away into a little pile and just as she was about to go into her den for a nap she heard the distinct sound of teeth on bone. Oh? The noise was coming from Rhythm's den and Birna decided she may as well stop by and see how everyone was doing. While the warrior woman didn't know much about how to interact with pups it was her personal duty to keep everyone in the pack safe. She soon saw the source of the noise, a young pup (no double one of Rhy and Valen's) chewing on a large bone. She grinned. "Hello young one, that's quite a large mouthful you have there. Do you need any help?" speech

He was happy to just sit and chew the afternoon away, momma would come collect him when it was getting closer to dinner. Then when he got sleepy he could happily curl up with her and his sister and end the day appropriately, with snuggles. He hoped their dad might come and tell them a bed time story too, those were the best nights. While Rhythm most certainly had his heart he couldn't deny how special time with his father was. He wanted so badly to be Valentine. As a tiny pup those dreams would seem like they could easily come reality, but as he grew that certainty would fade. Nomming happily at the dried bone he didn't hear the approaching stranger until she was practically on top of him. Seeing her from the corner of his eye would prevent him from jumping at her words, but his wariness of her was still obvious in his tail curling up under his slate blue form. "Hullo..o" He'd answer her back softly, suddenly quite bashful as she asked if he needed help. Rhyme would look from her pale features to the bone and back again before saying, "Tis' kinda big..g..g." He'd again look to the bone before looking back at her, "Wan' sum?" He'd then offer, slowly becoming a bit more friendly with every word he spoke. ""

Birna mused at the differences between Rhyme and his sister Rhys. The boy seemed to be more quiet and tentative but overall he appeared to be in reasonable health. She smiled and laid down across from the boy. "That's very kind of you. My name's Birna by the way. I'm a warrior under your fathers command." Ok, technically she wasn't a warrior yet but she intended to remedy that very soon. Birna gazed at the bone and shuffled over to the other end, placing one paw in the middle and another at the far end. "The marrow is the best part, lets see if we can get to it." Carefully, so as not to disturb the boy's own chewing she bit down, hard, her large and powerful jaws crunching and crushing away at the bone until she finally managed to sever it. Licking her lips she gingerly gnawed off the sharper ends of the larger half so that the boy would cut or poke himself to badly getting at the marrow. "There we go." She picked up the smaller half and maneuvered it out of the way. "Wanna try some?" speech

At her smile Rhyme's tail would be placed back to a much more natural position, even managing to wag as she offered her name and who she was in the pack. He'd smile shyly at her, almost trying to hide behind the bone as his brilliant blue and purple gaze took her in. "Am, Wh..Rhyme. I wan' be dahddy." He'd tell her as she came to across from him. "...marrow is the best..." She'd tell him as she lowered her head to the bone. He'd gnaw quite ineffectively he'd realize as her powerful jaws went right through the bone. His eyes would widen in wonder as she quickly made it to the center. Wariness forgotten he'd scootch closer as she asked if he wanted to try. He'd nod enthusiastically as he reached out his tongue to lap at the tasty treat within the bone. "Id good!" He'd offer in delight, not hesitating to consume a bit more. How much was Birna gonna eat? ""

ooc: Thank you for your patience!

Birna dipped her head in a more formal greeting. "It's nice to meet you Rhyme." Her head tilted slightly at the words that followed after his introduction and for a moment she wondered if she'd heard them correctly. Rhyme wanted to be… daddy. Be a daddy?! Wait, no, he had to be talking about Valentine. He wanted to be like Valentine, well that was perfectly normal for young boys to idolize their fathers. "Oh? Do you want to be a good fighter like him? Or an alpha like him? What do you like best about your daddy?" She was pleased to see he was enjoying the marrow and slowly warming up to her. Birna wanted to gain the trust of the pups in Imperium so that she would better be able to protect them. Hell would fall swiftly on those that sought to harm Imperium's youth…. assuming there was anything left for her to shred after the parents dealt with them. Birna leaned down and nudged the larger half of the bone closer to Rhyme. "Here you can have the big half, I'm pretty full from an earlier meal." She pulled the smaller piece toward her and began to gnaw the ends down before lapping at the marrow herself. speech

She. Was. So. Neat! Birna was polite in her response, she said it was nice to meet him! While it surely was only niceties she'd ease his worries ever more. He'd quickly become comfortable around her, even before she asked about his daddy. "Wan' be brave n' strong, wanna be the leader n' marry momma!" He'd tell her proudly, pausing when he'd become distracted by her power. "Daddy's fun, n' silly." He'd give his second answer as she nudged the bigger part of the bone towards him. He'd accept this arrangement, while the whole bone had been his she did open it so deserved a bit of the reward within. Happily he'd take the bigger portion and gnaw happily at the nutritious insides of the bone. As he consumed contentedly a thought would appear in his mind. The other she wolves he'd met all had brothers and sisters for him to meet. Cascade introduced her older children, they were already as big as daddy! Esti told him that she had a brother for him to meet too, he was just grumpy right now and didn't want to play. Did Birna have a brother for him too? He'd stop suddenly and look up to her, "Does Birna have big brother for Rhyme too? Like Cas n' Esti?" The prospect would excite him again, his tail wagging like mad behind him as his imagination got the better of him. ""

*screeches* I thought I replied to this! feel free to bug me if I'm taking awhile

A soft smile continued to grace Birna's lips as Rhyme began to relax a bit more around her and excitedly stated that he wanted to be a brave and strong leader. She snorted a bit when the boy said he wanted to marry his mother. She knew it wasn't in any seriousness the boy being far to young to really understand what he was saying. "Marry momma? But what about your dad? Don't you think he'd be a bit sad if you tried to marry her?" Pups were silly… and despite herself Birna was becoming terribly attached to this newest litter. She couldn't quite put a paw on why. She'd always been fairly indifferent to the youngest of wolves… "Well, if you want to be strong and be a leader like your daddy you'll have to train very hard." Her thoughts drifted back to Rhys, the girl who showed so much promise as a warrior and although Rhyme seemed to be a bit more quiet and cautious than his sister she imagined he held that potential as well. "Are you looking to be a strong fighter? I think you and Rhys could be quite ferocious with practice." The boys next question caught her completely off-guard. Björn… to be perfectly honest it had been awhile since she'd chanced letting her thoughts linger to long on him. He was always in the back of her mind and she was always wondering where he was. However, by some strange miracle she had grown used to being without his presence. The thought had been unthinkable for most of her life but slowly she'd accepted her solitude and replaced his presence with ambition that would keep her focused and looking to the future but in all honesty there was nothing that would ever fully take the place of her dear brother. However, just as she was about to answer she shook her head as she suddenly realized what he was asking. He wanted to know if she'd had any children with Valentine and she chuckled. It was a fair question. Most of the pups in Imperium had been fathered by the Rex but she was had held little interest in having a litter and even now with her growing affection for pups she would content herself with watching over the current pups of Imperium as if they were her own rather than seeking a litter of her own. At least for now. Oh goodness she couldn't believe she was even entertaining the idea. She didn't know the first thing about motherhood and she quickly shook the thought from her head. No, she had goals and ambitions to attain for the good of the whole pack and all it's members from the largest to the smallest. "No, I do not have any children. Though if my brother ever shows up again I'll be sure to introduce you. Perhaps he can be an honorary brother?" She grinned. "SPEAK"

Rhyme beamed proudly as he gave Birna his well thought out plan of the future. Dad wasn't going to have to worry about anything because Rhyme was gonna lead and take care of mom for him. However Birna brought up a very valid point that he hadn't thought about. Would Daddy be sad if he took momma? He'd let out a soft hmm as he thought about her words. Thankfully there was training to focus on. She was right too, he was going to have to really train hard to attain his goals. "Very strong!" He'd assure her. He'd ask his question and would have to wait a moment as Birna made up her mind. The answer was not what he had expected, and more than a little disappointment would show through. However Birna did offer him an alternative that he didn't want to refuse. He'd perk up 100% at the mention of her own sibling. "Yeh! On-O-Rary brother!" ""

i'm okay with ending this thread where ever, i'm down with a new one where Rhyme is a bot older <3

ooc: Sounds good to me!

Birna grinned as he stated he wished to become very strong. She nodded. "Then you must be prepared to train hard, but I believe you can do it." Slowly she got to her feet and shook out her coat, sapphire gaze marking the spot of the sun in the sky. It was about time for her to start her next patrol shift. "I must get back to patrol. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Take care Rhyme! Tell your parents I said hello." She offered another soft smile to the boy before getting to her paws and trotting toward the border. -exit- "SPEAK"