The Little Mornings

Ahhh. Aurielle tactfully masked the grin in her eyes with a look of concern as Malalia looked up at her with a tremulous smile that said she’d have been thoroughly glad for the ground to open up and swallow her whole at being found.

Ayodele waved gently, having witnessed Aurielle’s heats the past few years. Aurielle let Lia work her way through opening, up and listened with a genuinely sympathetic wince as the young woman let it all out. “My first heat I got told off by a pup that I was going to catch my death of cold from soaking in the stream in autumn.”

Her lips twitched at the memory of little Viviane and her stick and mud doll-wolf. “It feels like standing still is hell, like there’s so much energy bouncing around inside that I’ll explode if I’m in one spot for too long. It’s frustration, restlessness… up until this last Autumn, I’ve spent most of my seasons running myself ragged so I could sleep, soaking in the stream, running some more, and planning obsessively over future ideas for the pack, festivals… anything for a distraction. Including fighting bears.”

A soft chuckle escaped her as she cast a glance to Lia, asking, “Is it something like that?”

Her tone was genuine, kind and sympathetic, reminiscent of her own experiences. It was a rough time for a newly-minted woman, and while Malalia wasn’t part of Valhalla, she was more than willing to help her get a handle on her new developments. If anything, it was practice for teaching her own three new daughters about that time when they were old enough.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think