There's Something More

Walk | "Talk" | think

He never seemed to grow tired of his children hopping and climbing all over them, no matter how early it was in the morning when they started their mad scramble to be let out of the den. Perhaps things would be different if he was younger or perhaps if they had more than more litter under his belt, but as it was he was just trying to soak in every little moment of being a family with Aranea and their children. Maybe it was because he knew that these moments would be limited and numbered before their time together as a family would be limited to visits and trips so every day felt that much more precious to him. He chuckled as they crawled all over them until Aranea finally got to her paws and made her way out of the den they shared. He would rise as well, letting her take the lead, but still waiting until all of the pups had made their way out of the den before slipping out into the sunlight as well.

He watched each of them with such pride, hanging back toward the den so that they could all enjoy their supervised freedom how ever they wished. He loved them all equally, but he'd be lying if Balthier didn't take up a small soft spot in his heart since the boy took after him so much. Forte did that for him as well, looking like a perfect split between him and Aranea. But, if he was being honest, they were all more beautiful and perfect than he could have ever imagined. He grinned as he watched them play and turned to Aranea for a moment, his tail wagging gently behind him. These pups had breathed such a life into him and she was entirely the reason for this shift in his perspective and for that he was grateful. Finally it felt like he had a reason and a purpose that he had been missing for all of these years. He was a little afraid of what the future would hold, but he did his best to not linger on that too much so that he wouldn't get distracted from his time with them now.