Auster's winter proved to be less harsh than the winters of Boreas, yet the gray and rainy days were equally as miserable as the snow-covered ones of the northern continent. From the covered deck of their estate wing, Aliana watched the steady drizzle as the rains fell over the inner gardens of the estate, turning the ground into a muddy sludge. There was a flash of lightning and gentle rumble of thunder in the heavy gray sky, telling the queen that this storm would not be passing any time soon. A weary sigh passed her lips; that meant she was going to have to try to keep all six of her rambunctious sons occupied indoors without destroying anything. A crash from behind her inside their bedroom suite informed her that this task was going to be much easier said than done.

Aliana walked back into their suite, sliding the deck door shut behind her, and saw Revenant chasing Quill around the room, the two pups colliding into furniture and walls as they skittered about the wood floors. "Revenant, Quill! Be careful, darlings!" she called out to the two boys, but they were already scampering out into the hallway that connected the other wings together, their laughter echoing around the quiet halls. Ali heaved a sigh and shook her head, yet wore a motherly smile all the while; what was she going to do with them all? Not only had she given birth to the largest litter Fenmyre had seen, but all six pups had been high energy boys as well! Raising them had been exhausting and would continue to be, but Ali had never been more full of love and joy in all her life.

As if sensing her good mood, Bolero began to chirp a dulcet melody from his perch above one of the windows. Aliana smiled up at her companion, taking a seat beside the window while she began to harmonize with his tune. The queen gave soft vocal scales in time with her avian's chirping song, the two voices blending into a simple yet mellifluous melody.

"Aliana & Morendo"

Morendo laid perched on the edge of the large bed in the middle of the suite, his charcoal paws dangling over the edge with his head resting on his forelegs. His two toned aquamarine and pink eyes shifted back and forth as he watched his brothers run back and forth across the room, chasing after each other with loud clatters as they ran into all kinds of stuff and made a mess in the process. He was just considering maybe knocking one of the pillows off the bed into their path to trip them up when he heard the door open and his gaze lifted to look at their mother as she came into the room, soon calling after his rambunctious brothers to be careful. They of course didn't even slow down and just took their game of tag down the hall and out of the room. Well, that hadn't been as fun as possibly hitting them with a pillow, but it did at least get their loud noises out of the room which he was pretty happy for.

He shifted to curl more into the bedding so he could finally take the nap that had been stolen from him, snuggling into the soft bedding in a little donut of white and gray speckled fur. Before he could really even begin to fall asleep though he heard the familiar sound of his mother's companion chirping and singing from the window and his ears perked, his curiosity making him lift his head enough to peek over the bedding at his mother and the little bird. He always loved when his mother and Bolero sang together and he silently hoped that would be the case this time. Luckily it was and he smiled a little while he watched them make a pretty song together. Unlike all the noise his brothers had been making this was a good noise. It was noise that had a purpose and actually made him happy to listen to.

His nap forgotten, Morendo climbed out of his little nest of blankets and hopped down off of the bed, walking over to his mother to settle in between her forepaws, smiling up at her while he enjoyed the impromptu little concert with Bolero, leaning into her foreleg happily. He was always happiest when he got to spend time with his mother. He just felt like he was that much more comfortable when he was with her instead of with his brothers and like he didn't have to pretend to like certain games or things that they liked to do. He could just snuggle with his mom and listen to her pretty songs. "Your singing is so pretty, Momma," he said sweetly when she was done, his tail wagging quickly against the floor.

"Aliana & Morendo"

At some point amidst her singing, Aliana felt a warm little weight nestle in against her paws. Bright aquamarine eyes turned down to gaze lovingly at her little Morendo while he snuggled in against her forelegs, his adorable smile on his tiny face warming her heart to the point of bursting with love. Oh, how she loved her children so much! Lifting a dainty paw, Ali gently stroked over her son's head and down his back, giving him little bits of love while she sang with Bolero. It was a simple airy melody, nothing complex, but it filled the otherwise quiet suite with its delicate feminine tune. She adored spending time with all of her children naturally, but Morendo had always been the one to cling tightest to her. While the others split their affection between her and Chimera, and Quill remained mostly withdrawn to himself, her sweet little Rendo had very obviously become a bit of a momma's boy—not that she was complaining in the least! He could be her sweet little boy for the rest of time.

When her tune drifted off into its finale, Bolero chittered happily from his perch and Morendo commented on how pretty her singing was. Aliana beamed down at her lovely boy and slid down to her belly so she could scoop her son up in her paws and nuzzle his little face, then nuzzle her snout into his soft squishy puppy tummy and fluffy fur. "Thank you, my darling Morendo! You're Momma's sweetest little gentleman." Unable to keep the smile off of her face, Aliana brought one of her petite paws around to dance her toes over his belly and chest in light tickles, playing with and snuggling her sweetheart at the same time. "Momma spent a lot of time practicing her singing when she was only a bit older than you are." Granted, she left out the part where she had been taught her vocal lessons by a slave matron during her imprisonment, but her children didn't need to know that. She was perfectly content letting them keep their innocence to the world for as long as possible. They would have the life and love she never knew.

"Aliana & Morendo"

Morendo wiggled happily as his mother slid down to her stomach to be more on his level before she scooped him up to snuggle him, making him giggle and squirm as she nuzzled into his belly. He loved his momma so much and especially loved when he got to have time to himself with her. It was always way more fun to hang out with her when he didn't have to deal with loud, messy brothers getting in the way. They could go hang out with dad if they wanted, he'd rather be here with his mom and listening to her sing. When she brought her paw to his belly and started tickling him he giggled even louder and started trying to squirm away, swatting at her paw with his own slate-dipped paws. "Moooooom!" he whined between his bouts of laughter until she finally stopped.

He was still giggling a bit when she told him how she hadn't been much older than him when she had started practicing her singing and his eared perked, his two toned eyes looking up at her curiously. She had been singing since she was little like him? Even puppies could sing like that too? He wiggled out of her grasp so he could hop to his paws in front of her, giving her a look with big, pleading eyes. "Can you teach me how to sing too, Momma?" he asked excitedly, practically bouncing in place with how eager he was to make such pretty music like she did. "Pleeeeeeeease?" Maybe he could even get Bolero to sing with him sometimes! Or he could find his own little song bird! He couldn't wait to be as good of a singer as his momma so he could show off to all of his siblings and his dad!

"Aliana & Morendo"

It was all too amusing to her, watching her son kick and flail while he burst into giggles and laughter while she tickled him. Aliana gazed at her sweet little boy with the most pure love a mother could possess. She hoped he never lost this childlike wonder and innocence to him. Her own life had been filled with so much pain and sorrow and heartbreak that she wished for nothing but sunny days and happiness for all of her sons. Of all her children, Morendo had seemed to form the strongest bond with her. The others fell somewhere in the middle or more towards their father's affections, but there was no denying Morendo was a mama's boy at heart. She loved him for it though and she wouldn't change him for the world. Amidst her tickling, Morendo swiped a tiny paw at hers as her toes danced over his soft squishy belly, loudly complaining as he squirmed and giggled, drawing laughter of her own at their little game.

Eventually, Morendo managed to wiggle out of her grasp, and Aliana put on a mock pout as her son escaped her, but quickly returned to beaming at her lovely boy. She knew from the moment he started giving her those big puppy dog eyes that he was about to start begging her for something. Aliana hadn't been expecting what his request was though, and when Morendo asked her to teach him to sing like her, her bright eyes widened as she smiled. When she'd given birth to all boys, she hadn't expected any of them to want to follow in her footsteps, least of all her love of music. Yet here was Morendo, defying all of her expectations in all the best ways. "Of course I'll show you how to sing, my little dove!" she replied, her fluffy tail wagging happily behind her. "We can practice as often as you'd like, and someday, you'll be one of the most talented singers in all of Boreas and Auster!"

Reaching a paw forward, Aliana helped to straighten her enthusiastic son's posture so he was sitting up properly. From his perch, Bolero came flittering down to land on the floor beside the two wolves, chirping happily and ready to be a part of the lesson. "The most important thing to remember about singing is that all of your music comes from your chest. Breathe in and hold it, feel your lungs and diaphragm inflate." Aliana demonstrated by drawing in a deep breath until her chest puffed out, then slowly let it out. "Try breathing as deeply as you can. That feeling you get right above your tummy? That's your diaphragm, and that's where your music comes from. When you sing, you breathe from deep inside and let that do all the work. Then your voice just makes the notes." Aliana took another deep breath, then let out one long, smooth note, which Bolero mimicked alongside her. When she finished, she smiled to Morendo and gestured with a paw for him to give it a try.

"Aliana & Morendo"

Morendo waited eagerly for his mom’s response and as soon as she agreed he beamed up at her with excitement, his own tail wagging in a blur. He couldn’t wait to be an amazing singer just like her! Maybe one day he’d be even better than she was but he couldn’t imagine singing prettier than his momma. She was the bestest ever! When she reached over to straighten up his posture he followed her direction enthusiastically, sitting a little too straight up at first where it made his chest puff out really far and had to find a happy middle ground somewhere in between.

His two toned eyes flicked toward Bolero when the little bird landed beside them, chirping and just as happy as he was, and he gave the little bird a grin before refocusing his attention on his mom again. He did as she instructed and took in a deep breath, paying attention to how it felt when his chest filled up with air. He had never really noticed how he could feel the air in his lungs before since it just happened without him really thinking about it, but now that he was it was kind of a weird feeling. He wasn't real sure what a diaphragm was, but he could feel the air fill his lungs as he breathed real deep and held it, following her lead when she let the breath out. His head tilted as she told him how the diaphragm was the feeling right above his tummy when he was breathing deep and ultimately decided that was a really weird word.

Morendo's face lit up with a grin when he watched his mother breathe in again and let out another long note which Bolero mimicked with her. Listening to them sing was by far one of his favorite things and part of him just wanted to keep listening but then his mother motioned for him to follow suit. He was a little nervous about it, but he didn't want to let his momma down! He drew in another deep breath, remembering what she said about filling up his lungs with his diaphragm—whatever that was—and when his chest felt real full he opened his mouth and tried making a pretty note like she did. It wasn't so pretty at first, more like a yell than singing, but eventually he got kind of close. His singing was more high-pitched and kid-like than hers, but he was doing it! He giggled as he finished, grinning up at his mom happily.

"Aliana & Morendo"

Aliana couldn't help her proud motherly giggles while she watched Morendo emphatically begin following her every direction something a bit too well. He sat up so straight his little chest puffed out and he looked like he was going to topple backwards, so she quickly caught him with a snowy paw and helped him get more comfortable. His little wagging tail beat against her paw all the while and almost made her laugh aloud; he was so precious! As they began their deep breathing exercises together, she watched Rendo as his little chest inflated and deflated with each breath, seeing the intense focus on his tiny youthful face. A soft smile graced her face while she watched him, and then after she sang her first note, she watched while Morendo prepared and sang his first ever note. It came out more like a barking yell at first, but the longer he held it, the more it began to mellow out into one constant yet pitchy note.

Ali beamed proudly at her son, ruffling his fluffy head with her paw once he'd finished. "Very well done, little maestro! You just sang your first note!" she congratulated him. "When we sing, the note we make without controlling our voices is our midtone. It's the natural sound of our voices, and the middle of our singing range." Aliana demonstrated again, holding the note for a few seconds. "But, if we adjust our vocal cords while we breathe out, we can make the notes sound higher or lower. That is called our range." Once more, Aliana demonstrated by singing a simple set of scales, starting low and moving up to middle notes, then to a higher pitch, all of which Bolero mimicked with her.

With a wave of her paw to her son, she gestured for him to try. "Now you try, Morendo! Find your middle note, then try lowering your voice, like you do when you whisper or growl at your brothers. Then try going higher, like when you cheer or yell." Another gentle smile touched her lips as she added, "And try to relax when you do, sweetie. Singing shouldn't make you tense or nervous. It should bring you peace and make you feel happy. If you feel yourself forcing it, try relaxing your shoulders back." By relaxing the muscles up around his chest and back, it would allow Morendo's lungs more room to expand, and thus more air for him to sing with. It would also make it easier for him to control his flow of breath for his notes.

"Aliana & Morendo"