Corvus felt truly and deeply blessed - and how could he know? The family he'd dreamed of for so long had finally come to be and he wasn't sure he'd ever been happier. He'd never expected six children... Twig was unquestionably the strongest wolf he'd ever known for giving birth to six children... but he love them all, fully and unconditionally. To this new father they were all perfect, and would no doubt to grow into incredibly strong, smart wolves. He was excited that he'd have the chance to help carry them into adulthood. Though he wasn't exactly the youngest of wolves, and thoughts of his mortality were beginning to creep in, lately he could only think about the good. Those thoughts were happily placed on the back-burner for now.

Though he'd only grown up with two siblings he did remember how much he'd valued the more personal time spent with both of his parents. He intended on giving all of his children as much of that one-on-one time as they desired, or needed. Getting to know each of them individually was something he was excited to do, especially as they grew into their own personalities as they got older.

Today he was spending some time with Rye, his littlest daughter. It was hard to say whether she'd stay the smallest but right now it was looking like it. Beginning the big walk from the den to the orchard, Corvus gave the girl a nudge. "Today's all yours, little Rye," he told her gently, pressing his nose gently to the top of her head. "We can do or go wherever you'd like. Within reason, of course," he added carefully.

There were so many of them. Rye found herself reveling in the company of her siblings, of her parents, of the family that seemed to be held together by love and support and all sorts of wonderful things. She soaks in all the comfort, all the togetherness she can. Was she clingy? Yeah, but what little girl isn't at this age. The idea that she'd have dad all to herself today? That was the best news she could have asked for. Her eyes light up at the opportunities, at the possibilities laid before her. So many that her head swims with them.

Within reason, he's quick to specify. Rye giggles, doing her best to keep up as they walk. It was a long sort of walk, and her legs were short, but that was okay! She bounced along happily after her dad, her tail wagging as she did. Dad's chin against her head, and Rye was beaming. Happy. Days like today were the best kind of day, Rye knew that much. After a moment's thought, the pup looks up to Corvus. "Can we go hunting? Something super tasty!" Rye chirped, tone bright and cheerful. She wasn't sure exactly what constituted super tasty, but there had to be something new she could try. Something new and awesome.

As someone who'd come from a small family, he'd always been grateful for his siblings being around - he hoped his children felt the same. Even more family around to love and support seemed like a good thing in his eyes, and he hoped his pups all grew up to think the same thing, rather than feel crowded and overwhelmed. Of course worrying about his children came naturally to him, even more so now that they were old enough to begin exploring the world. Keeping a close eye on all six would only grow increasingly more difficult as they got older, but for now he'd savor how closely they seemed to cling to he and Twig.

Her giggle earned a soft chuckle of his own. He'd bask in their innocence and naivety as long as he could. Somehow they made his world seem so much brighter - brighter than he ever thought the world could be. It was a beautiful summer day too, the perfect sort of day to go hunting, as Rye suggested. The sun was bright overhead, beating down hard on their coats, but there was a light breeze that made the day feel refreshing rather than too hot. "Hunting sounds like a good idea," he agreed. Rye wasn't quite old enough to go hunting anything much bigger than her head yet but something small would be a good start.

Corvus mused over it as they walked together, moving slow so Rye's little legs could keep up with him without too much effort. He remembered sniffing out quite a few rodent nests in the Orchard and figured that might be a good learning experience for his daughter. "I bet if we look around these bushes we'll be able to find something that smells yummy," he explained, slowly as they neared a small patch of bushes nearby. He lowered his head as they drew closer, sniffing out the area carefully.

A good idea! He thought her idea was good! Rye's tail wagged at her haunches, nearly a mile a minute. Hard enough to make the whole puppy wiggle in response. Her eyes glimmered, alight with possibility and all the wonderful things in her head, as he spoke. She can't help but let her feet sorta pick up and put themselves down beneath her, either. Tippy-taps. She was tippy-tapping, too excited for words. Rye does her best to keep up, bouncing along by her father's side. Bouncing and bounding as she tries so hard to keep stride. That, and she was grateful that he was moving slow enough for her to keep up. Rye just can't stop smiling.

They neared some bushes, and Rye eyes them curiously. She watches her father carefully for a moment, then mimics what he does. Sniffing at the ground, snuffling around the bushes. Rye sniffs at the dirt first, accidentally inhaling it. She sneezed with a quiet achoo, before setting her muzzle back down... not so close this time. She moves excitedly to one of the bushes, stuffing her nose beneath it and not finding anything worth eating beneath it. There was some mushy fruit though, which the girl grabbed for a moment before spitting it out. "Ewww, why is it all gross?" Her nose wrinkled. "What kind of smell am I trying to smell?" She asks, looking to dad for a hint.

His smile only brightened at her obvious excitement, his tail swaying in a steady arc behind him. His pace was steady but not overly enthusiastic, making sure Rye was able to keep up without getting winding so soon in their little adventure. That wouldn't do either of them any good if they had to head back home so early. He continued to sniff around the edge of the bushes, watching out of the corner of his eye as she found an old piece of fruit and bit into it temporarily before spitting it out. For a moment he felt his heart lurch in his chest, worried that maybe what she'd grabbed was poisonous... but it wasn't, just an old rotted bit of fruit, and he had to remind himself that he wouldn't always be there to protect her. She'd have to learn what was and wasn't safe, just like the rest of her siblings, and Corvus didn't want to be stiflingly overprotective.

"Make sure to give everything a good, long sniff before you eat it. I know that fruit probably smelled a lot better than it tasted though," he explained, conversationally rather than in a talking-down-to-her kind of way. That was how his parents had raised him, more like an equal to them rather that someone who would always be beneath them, and he took their parenting as an example of exactly how he wanted to be.

"Maybe... something like this. Here," he nosed to a patch of droppings he'd found, clearly belonging to some kind of rabbit. The scent lingered around that area, and he made to follow it around the edge of the bushes, searching for where it might lead. "I think there might be some rabbits close. We'll have to be quiet when we find where the smell leads, though!"