The world isn't ready

Those pawsteps belonged to the old Mercenary, his gaze ever watchful, his body ever ready to do what it must. The children were getting older, bit by bit, and soon the man was sure they would meet him for the first time. Sure they likely smelled his scent, but Feli respected Mara’s boundaries, as well as Ruthgar’s, and had been patiently waiting for this day. His ears were perked forward, nose twitching a little as he breathed in the fine air of the morning. He hadn’t gone to wake Ruth, letting the man sleep in after they had been training. Ruthgar might be sore with him, but the old man had a feeling one of these days soon Mara was going to release their sons into the world for the first time. Ruthgar needed to be rested for that.

Of course Felicien hadn’t expected one of the little scamps to have come out this early in the morning. Weren’t good little pups still sleeping in their den? He couldn’t help but let a hint of amusement enter his eyes before his “natural” face slipped over him, and the male slowed himself. He had scent the pup before he saw him, had even heard a little bit of rustling… but it seemed the pup had heard him too, for the little one wasn’t moving about anymore. At least the lad had some common sense.

He decided to keep going though. Let the child have his or her moment. It wasn’t exactly… like him… but Felicien had a soft spot for the young. Besides, these were Mara’s children… they couldn’t just be treated like anyone else’s kids. But Feli kept a corner of his gaze on the tree as he began to pass it, waiting to see if the youth would leap out to try and defend his territory or if he merely wanted to play. Either or, the good news was that Felicien was no threat.