babies breath in the breeze
Epitaph Motif piped up readily, a moment of clarity sparking in her round eyes. "Is that why you sleep in here?" she questioned. He held back a sigh. A soft nod of his head was the best he could offer in response. He had remained in the den so that Miss Shaye could be certain he didn't die in the middle of the night, initially. Now he was tied to the den by his role as a nanny. No doubt once the pups were grown enough to be left alone for longer periods, he would be cast out of the den to find his own space. Somewhere to settle within the borders that was entirely his to do with as he chose. The two little ones cuddled up against him would certainly have free passes to invade any space he tried to claim, there was no denying that. Poem pressed her cherubic features into the fur of his chest, snuggling in for the tale. Motif was enthralled by the possibility of a story. "Sure, Taphy, I would love to hear it." she announced. Before he could launch into the tale, Poem lifted her face out of his fur to stare up at him with big, round eyes. ”I’d like to hear it. Tato says we’ll drown if we go to the bottom of the water though, how did the wolf find treasure all the way at the bottom of a lake?” Bold little creatures, these two were. No doubt they would be forces of nature, when they were grown. He released an airy chuckle, eyes crinkling at the corners. "How about you two get comfortable, and I'll tell you?" he teased with a smile. Before he began, he craned his neck to tease a scrap of moss out of Motif's ruff, just behind her left ear. "Once upon a time, long before either of you were but a twinkle in your mother's eyes, there was a brave warrior." he began, voice lilting with the familiar twist of the prose across his tongue. "He was on a quest for riches and fame, searching far and wide across lands that most wolves could only dream about. One day, he happened upon a glimmering lake in the middle of a beautiful forest. As he grew closer, he realized that it was not the water that glimmered, but a thousand pieces of glittering gold and precious gems!" he let loose a soft gasp of excitement, gaze drifting between the children to gauge their reactions. "Determined to have this treasure for himself, he swam to the centre of the lake and dove down deep. But the crystal clear waters were deeper than they looked, and try as he might, he couldn't make it to the riches! He was tired, and out of breath. He began to despair, for he would never have the treasure he wanted." "He returned to the shore of the lake, and watched the water lap gently at the sand. He was quite upset to have failed his task." his tone turned morose, mimicking the hero's mood. He reached down to softly nuzzle Poem. "Then, he looked up. He saw a bird singing gently on the other shore, and not a moment later, a fish tossed one of the glittering gems onto the shore. How astonishing! As he watched, a whole school of little fish began to bring shining treasure to the shore. The wolf began to listen closely to the bird's tune, until he had it memorized. Slowly, he snuck up on the little bird. It was stealing his treasure, after all. In one fell swoop, he gobbled it up. A tasty treat!" he nibbled Poem's ears fondly. "Gathering the trinkets between his paws, he settled down on the shore and began to sing the tune himself. First, a hum, and a few fish began to toss tiny gems to him. He worked his way up, until he was howling the beautiful song to the heavens, and the whole school of fish was hurling the treasure ashore, piling it upon him faster than he could keep track of! By the time the sun had set, there was more treasure on the shore than he could carry, and still more at the bottom of the lake. He covered it all in the hide of a freshly killed deer, and slept soundly knowing he had done well that day." He glanced down at the pups, checking to see if they had fallen asleep yet. If they had, he was considering settling down to sleep away the rest of the morning alongside them. |