a whole new world

It was another day, summer helping warm the pines some though it seemed it was colder than it usually was this time of year. Félicien wasn’t sure if the colder patterns were merely because of the volcano’s eruptions or if it was simply because he was getting even older. The cooler temperatures, coupled with his advancing age, would have the old man tempted to stay in the den more and were were it not for the miracles Avalon bore them. Each of his children were a little blessing… and goodness only knew how Avalon managed to have five of them! He had been worried sick with such a large litter that she or the pups were going to have some sort of complication and the fear of losing any of them had crept into his mind more than once. Thankfully none of them had passed and, with the exception of Amée being considerably smaller than his siblings they were all healthy… what more could he really ask for at this age?

For the most part the children had all remained in the den without too much trouble. Astor was particularly curious about the world beyond where they slept, although they were all starting to ask questions and wondering when they would be able to explore. Féli knew it was only  a matter of time before their first trip out of the den… and the old, blind wolf was far from ready. He wished he could freeze time, stop any of them from again, though that was far from realistic thinking.

He was curled against Avalon that morning as he slept, chest rising and falling with a slow cadence. He wasn’t sure how late it was but hearing Astor’s voice, sounding more distant than it should, caused Felicien to stir. His ears perked and the old man slowly got to his paws. His muscles gave a bit of protest but he was sure once he was up and moving he would be alright. He moved to the entrance of the den and breathed in; sure enough Astor had wandered away from the den. His son hadn’t gone very far though and judging by the chirping he heard Félicien had a good idea where he was.

He moved towards Astor with a low hum, letting his other senses guide him when sight could no longer aid him. “Trop impatient de voir le monde, Astor? Les oiseaux vous appelaient-ils trop fortement aujourd'hui?” {{Too eager to see the world, Astor? Were the birds calling you too strongly today?}} The French slipped off his tongue easily. He had been speaking it more ever since the pups were born, determined that they would know both English and French… at least somewhat. If those chose not to speak it that would be fine… but he wanted them to at least recognize the language when they heard it even as they aged.