Bronze was as solemn as ever as the morning unfolded. Pleasant colors painted the sky as the sun began to peek over the horizon; splashes of orange and pink were bright against the falling snow, white and crisp as it landed on the frozen earth. It was a rough season for the rapidly aging male, but he knew he needed to be up and moving -- or he was afraid he would fall into sickness. Arthritis threatened to cripple him, but for now he would fight the soreness and fatigue and push onward, determined to live through the winter for his children. With each passing season he grew rather obviously older. Once strong muscles had begun to deteriorate, though he was a rather impressively-sized brute even still. And so the man padded across the range with no goal in mind but to stretch his sore muscles and invigorate his body on this chilly winter morning. And what a morning it was! Brown gaze scanned the horizon eagerly, watching the giant trees, swaying with the gentle breeze, limbs quivering under the weight of the accumulating snow. It was quite a sight, and yet Bronze still longed for the mountains of his birthplace. His children had not wandered far from home -- perhaps if he saw them through the winter, he could take them farther north on an outing of sorts, to admire the massive peaks, which would still be tipped with snow far into the thaw of spring. Despite everything, a gentle smile would rest on the man's features. He could ask for nothing more, and he truly did not feel as though he had earned any of this ... and oh, was he grateful.

Gray paws crunched through the snow, making paw prints wherever the green-eyed pup went. She drew shapes in the fresh snow with her steps: a bird, a flower, a cloud. Anything to entertain herself on this cold day and keep her moving so she could stay warm. Jendai was really just avoiding the den and her mentor, but she wouldn't admit that. She was trying to be happy with the mentor she had been given, trying to be happy with being so small and the path life had picked for her, but it was hard. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the sound of paws crunching nearby. She lifted her eyes from the snow and she spotted the large form of her father passing by a little ways away. She smiled excitedly and bounced through the snow over to him, calling, "Dad! Dad!" She caught up to him, reaching up and pouncing on his tail with a laugh, her tail wagging behind her. Speech

His train of thought -- which had really been going nowhere in particular -- was shattered by the familiar scent of his daughter, accompanied by the sound of delicate paws against the snow. Bronze paused in his tracks, shifting to watch the girl approach. She was a bit faster than him, and leapt forward to nip at his tail. His joy at seeing his daughter was painfully genuine -- unmarred by anything negative whatsoever. His smile was very real, and his eyes glimmered with affection. "My little Jendai," he greeted her in a low tone, leaning down to nudge the side of her neck. It truly was a beautiful day, oh so picturesque -- the snow-tipped tree branches were the things of dreams. He was grateful it was not a strong snowfall, but simply a pleasant, soft one. Perhaps snow for playing in. A slightly playful smile appeared as he ruffled the fur on the top of his daughter's head with his nose. "What's on the agenda today, my beautiful daughter?" The possibilities were endless; they could explore or sleep or .. really anything she wanted.

Jendai's tail whipped back and forth happily, a soft giggle coming from her as her father ruffled the fur on her head. She looked up at the big male with pure adoration and love that a daughter could only have for her father. She wanted to be as big and strong as him and be able to protect their family and all the brave things Bronze could do. She ran an excited circle around his forelegs, laughing the whole way. She stopped in front of him again at his question, her head tilting to the side as she pondered it. What would she do today? "I drew some stuff in the snow!" she replied, pointing a few feet away where her pawprint pictures made holes in the soft, white snow. "But I'm kinda bored with that soooo..." She looked back up to him and said, "Can you teach me how to fight, dad? Huh huh?" She bounced up and down excitedly, hoping he would agree to teach her something. She wanted to learn so bad! Speech

Jendai was an eccentric one, most definitely. But all of his children seemed to be a bit different. His adoptive father had been rather serious and strict, and hadn't given him much room for the kind of playful interactions that he had with his children now. They only had one life to live, after all; why not let it be something they looked back upon fondly? Bronze was happy to let Jendai enjoy her childhood while she still was able to. He watched as she gestured to the markings she'd made in the snow, and he nodded, as though proud of her accomplishment. And he was .. however small or insignificant it might be. But she was bored, she said; she wanted to learn how to fight. What was it with his children and fighting? The blood of a warrior seemed to run through their veins -- at least for Mercury and Jendai. He wasn't sure whether he should embrace their interests quite so readily; though he didn't know why they wanted to learn to fight, he worried that the taste of blood would somehow change them. Taint them. He wanted his little children to stay naive forever, but he knew that wasn't realistic. A sigh left his lips, but the grin returned quickly. Perhaps they merely saw his scars and wanted to somehow be 'strong' like him. The thought was endearing, and he felt his heart surge as he watched his smallest daughter. If only they knew how weak he had been. But one of the best things about being a father was that you got the chance to start anew. His own four thought of him and Silent as saints, even though they were anything but. Bronze was determined to keep this image of him alive in their minds. "I can teach you a few things," he said, chuckling gently. It would be difficult to fight with a child merely six months old, but he would succumb to her wishes. "First though, let's see what you have. Come and try to take me down." He was old, but he was not yet weak ... and his daughter was small -- there was little chance she would harm him badly.

Jendai looked up at her father with her big, pleading puppy gaze till he finally agreed to teach her a few things. She gave him a huge grin and bounced up and down. "Okay!" she replied excitedly and took a few steps back from the large brute. She knew she had the same chance in taking him down that a snowflake did surviving on the sun, but she would certainly try! At least he could tell her what she was doing wrong, right? The gray pup tried to mimic some of the wolves she had seen sparing around the pack by bending her knees a little and sticking out her tail straight behind her and folding down her charcoal gray ears against her skull. She wasn't sure exactly why they did that, but they all seemed to do that some in some form or another so it must be right! Then Jendai bolted forward, using her small size to be light on her paws. The snow slowed her down a little, but not enough to bother her too bad. She slipped past Bronze's forelegs and went for his back leg, aiming to wrap her jaws around the lower part of his back leg. She wouldn't really bite him, of course, but just act like it. Like play fighting! Her siblings and her did that all the time. Speech

He could only hope that Jendai's desire to learn to fight stemmed from her desire to protect her family, and not from her need to harm others. Bronze saw no malevolent intentions inside his smallest daughter, but she was still young and easily swayed. The man was beyond grateful that she was surrounded by honorable wolves, and had yet to witness bloodshed and corruption. A smile graced his weathered features as he watched her back up, getting into a protective stance. It was good for a first try, and he nodded approvingly. She was quick to launch her small body forward, and he silently applauded her slight fake out. Rather than coming straight for his chest, as many would expect, she slipped by his side and managed to snag the lower part of his left hind leg. "Very good," he noted aloud -- there was no pain, just a mild sensation of jaws clamping around his leg. But she was small, and it would be easy for him to shake her off, and he did just that, jerking to the right and hopefully away from her, to give her a brief lesson on how she had to realize her size and make it work to her advantage, as well as being aware of how easy she was to toss around at her age.

Jendai felt a glow of satisfaction from her father's praise. The satisfaction was short lived, however, cause Bronze's leg jerked away from her, dragging her through the snow a bit. Luckily, since her grip on his leg was loose his limb slipped from her mouth easily when he jerked away from her and she only stumbled a bit from the sudden motion, leaving the gray pup under the larger wolf. She jumped back from the moving leg, her bright green gaze glancing around quickly to figure out what she would do next. She ducked all the way under him, which wasn't much of a stretch for the small fea anyway, and reached forward to grab at his right hind leg instead. Again, not a solid bite. She never wanted to hurt her father. She held onto the limb just tight enough to show where she would have bit him if it had really been a fight. Speech

His children were perfect -- completely flawless. They were all developing very distinct personalities and he felt as though they complimented each other so well. Ara was sweet and quiet, with a heart of gold; Jendai was small but fierce, and he did not doubt she would develop a fiery temper not unlike his own; Mercury was devoted and passionate, and Bronze saw so much of himself in that dark-furred boy; and Faolan was a true gentleman, a loving and proud young boy. And as he watched Jendai stumble backward, he knew then that he had succeeded in life. Despite his regrets and his plentiful shortcomings, he knew he had done his best given his circumstances. He knew then, too, that he would not see another winter with his small, fiery daughter and that he needed to embrace his time with her as much as he could. A serious conversation would have to be had soon, and he wondered if he should shed some light for them on his past life. They had never pried, they were still so innocent and pure -- but someday they would wonder what he had been life before his children were born. He had told them that he and Silent had been together since they were children, a true fairytale romance, but the in-between was explained vaguely; they had lost one another, and had been reunited. His pleased expression only faltered for a moment, but soon he felt Jendai slide under his chest and aim for his back right leg. It was gentle but firm enough that he couldn't simply slide out from her grasp, and he stumbled slightly as he tried to move away from her by heading forward. "Perfect," he noted with a chuckle. "Bites to legs are good at breaking down defenses. When a wolf has your leg you're much more likely to stumble and fall." It was a brief lesson, but a good one; though he suddenly found himself wanted to play more than teach her how to fight. The man's mind had wandered and it showed as he swung around and roughly nudged his daughter, trying to send her sprawling into the snow. Play-wrestling certain was useful training for fighting, after all.