Floral & Fading

He dropped the large bundle of lavender onto the pile of herbs in front of Solveiga’s alcove and smiled, pleased with himself. He’d been gathering since dawn, and she would probably be stunned at the size of the pile he’d compiled in the cave, comprised entirely of useful herbs. He’d retained a lot more than what one might expect from his early puphood of listening to Erani’s lessons in healing.

A call filtered into the den from the borders, and his head swiveled, ears perking to listen. He finally turned, surprise overridden by a sense of gladness to hear his littermate. She had done her best to keep Celestial afloat in his absence, and he understood her lack of visiting. A pack, and a litter of kids would keep anyone busy.

As he drew near, he spotted her, first, and then two smaller forms of similar coloring. In fact, as he drew nearer still he saw that the only difference in the two pups was gender and the eyes, as well as the female being much smaller than the male. His eyes flicked from the pups to Faite, and he grinned as he slid to a stop. “You, dear sister, have twins.” And from the whiffs of scent he could catch from her coat on the breeze, they weren’t the only pups in her litter.

His haunches lowered as he grinned down at the pups. “Hello! I’m your Uncle Regulus.”