Speech

Torin had a bit of time away from his duties, allowing his father and sister to take over if they so wished. Torin for his part wanted nothing more than to spend time with his children, and today he had a specific adventure in mind for his son Lachlan. So the man would search out his son, starting at the den and unsurprised to find the trail led away from it. The boy seemed to have a penchant for wandering and he was both proud of his little independent scrap and eager to help the boy understand why going too far could be a problem... not that he wanted to scare the boy of course but he needed to know that outside of Lirim he couldn't always be there to protect him and that there were those that would be eager to do nothing but harm him, take him away, something even worse.

So Torin set about tracking Lachlan through the willows, keeping an eye on the waters that flowed under the roots and hoping the boy had at least enough sense not to try and go for a swim by himself.

Art by Vhitany

So yeah Lachlan really liked to explore, but so far he hadn’t gotten lost once. Most adventures brought him home without anyone even realizing he was gone, but any adult that had to take him back to the den seemed disappointed when they found him alone. He didn’t know why. Dad was strong and kept him safe.

That morning the boy disentangled himself from Sio’s side and waddled his way out of the den in a direction he hadn’t yet been before. He wasn’t much a fan of being wet so held no interest in the water. He did enjoy the sights and smells however. He looked up into the branches above, the leaves changing to a vibrant yellow as the season slowly gave way to winter. The red marked boy stood poised, bright blue eyes watching the sun glitter through the foliage.

Speech

It only took a little bit to spot his son, peering up in wonder at the sky through the leaves. Torin stifled a chuckle seeing the little boy posed as he was. He came up beside him, settling onto his haunches and turning his head upwards, he sat like that for a moment before breaking the silence. "What are we looking at?" He asked, curious what it was his son was so drawn in by. He cast a glance at Lachlan from the corner of his eye, then slowly lowered his gaze, turning his head to look at the red masked boy. He was in wonder with how much the coloration of his father had come through on his son, seemingly skipping him to reappear in two of his grandchildren. They were all gorgeous in his eyes of course, perfect in every way.

Art by Vhitany

Lachlan sat happily, he was silent as usual and still for once. He enjoyed the way the sun glittered as the foliage shifted and danced in the light breeze. The corners of his little puppy lips pulled back slightly, but he wasn’t so engrossed that he didn’t perk his ears and look over as his father appeared. His grin grew larger but he didn’t make any motion to stand up and greet his father with any kind of affection besides the excited thrumming of his tail. ”The sun is shiny behind the leafs.” He told his dad matter of factly with another grin. ”What are you doing?” Lachlan asked as he lifted his pale body to his paws, ready to keep going on his mission of exploration.

Speech

Torin chuckled as his son explained what it was he was looking at, nodding in agreement at the simple statement. Then Lachlan asked him a question and Torin looked down at the boy, as always ready to move on to the next adventure. "Looking for you." He responded plainly. "I wanted to know if you wanted to learn how to swim." He said, feeling the hesitation at opening his son up to the dangers of the waters, even gentle as they were here.

"Or if not, if you wouldn't mind if I came alone on your latest adventure." He watched the boy, wanting to give him the choice in the matter, though he also tried to make it clear he would at least be around regardless.

Art by Vhitany

”For me?” He responded with a giggle as his father continued. Would he like to learn how to swim today? Lachlan was always rather hesitant to get into the water. He liked to dip his toes in but that was as far as he enjoyed going so far. Maybe it would be better if he had his dad next to him? Torin wasn’t clear on the matter, but Lachlan knew that his dad wasn’t going to allow him to keep exploring on his own. That would be alright though, he liked to spend time with his father. ”I think I’ll swim.” He answered in his usual short sentence. The boy wasn’t very talkative so far, but his eyes were bright and his sense of adventure strong.

Speech

His son giggled and Torin felt his heart soar, nothing buoyed his feelings quite like his children being so openly happy, aside from that of his mate's obvious happiness. He reached down to gently tickle at his son's cheeks. He waited patiently for his quieter son to respond, eager to see what he might choose. Lachlan finally seemed to decide and Torin nodded.

"Okay, we need to lay some ground rules first." He started, edging towards the river. "You need to promise you won't try swimming by yourself yet, even though I'm going to teach you. The river will change through seasons and could become too much still." He looked down at his son, seeking to meet his eyes. "Promise?" He stepped into the river, feeling the shallow water swirl against his lower legs, just barely above his ankles, here at least. He'd wait for is son to respond before going any further.

Art by Vhitany

Lachlan enjoyed the affection from his father, not that he returned it very well. He leaned into the gesture slightly and closed his eyes blissfully as he answered and his father was given his decision. Torin laid out some easy ground rules for the boy to follow and he nodded slowly in affirmation. They would be easy enough. Lachlan wasn’t a huge fan of the water anyway, and before they knew it the weather would be much too cold for that nonsense. ”Yes, Dad.” He said dutifully as he stepped forward cautiously, his white paws soaked in the water quickly. ”It’s so wet.” He said with a smile as he looked back up to his father.

Speech

Torin watched carefully as his son gently splashed into the water. Chuckling as the boy stated the obvious and Torin nodded encouragingly; as much as it seemed to be too obvious to him he wanted to encourage his son's curiosity. Torin settled onto his haunches, shivering a moment as the cool water hit his rump. He extended his forepaw out to his son.

"Next you need to lift your paws off the ground. For now let's keep you in the shallows, just move forward until the water's up to your stomach. Just pull your forelegs up and stretch them out, and paddle them. Keep your head above the water. You can grab onto my paw if you're ever worried, and remember you can stand here."

Art by Vhitany